Chapter 44

Chapter 44

***

The world was not just full of beautiful and fragrant things. There were more things that were dirty and ugly.

Then what if the world were full of only beautiful things? Perhaps, humans would not have been able to endure it due to boredom.

Thus, destroying heaven with their own hands in the end was the nasty habit of the animal called human. Or conversely, maybe that was exactly the human-like thing to do.

Marie left the safe and protected environment, half voluntarily and half involuntarily, and came out to the dirty and ugly world.

She didn't start with the mindset of an immature girl full of dreams. She had heard here and there that the world was dangerous and brutal.

However, there was a difference as vast as heaven and earth between guessing vaguely and experiencing it directly.

There were things that were nothing special compared to what she worried about, and there were things she thought were nothing special but were more dangerous and difficult than expected.

The hopelessness of not knowing where to go, dangerous people whose intentions were unknown, hunger, cold, and death.

It was a world where death was not far away once stepping outside the gate. It was natural to feel fear and want to avoid it. But was it right to live forgetting that, or should one accept it?

In the midst of that, she met two boys. Rickart and Bori-bori. When talking normally, they were just kids her age, but from minor things to many things, there was a difference.

Observing the time, gauging the weather, packing necessary items, and above all, knowing where to go, deciding the path and walking.

There was something different about the boys from her. It was the unique composure and toughness that only grown humans possessed, and the atmosphere emanating from there.

And also, how they acted when facing a dangerous situation.

"Y-you bastard!"

"Kill him!"

The thugs shouted. At that, far from backing down, Rickart rather threw himself at them.

Adult men rushed at one boy in a flock, but the space was narrow. Rickart lowered his stance closely, slashed one person's side, and threw his body quickly into the narrow space.

And passing the thugs, he lightly jumped up onto a table while wearing armor.

Then, crouching almost completely on the table, he bent his knees and spun around quickly like a top.

Whoosh!

As soon as the thugs looked back at Rickart, something white passed in front of their eyes along with a sharp sound cutting the air.

The sharp arc of the sword cut the eyes, noses, cheeks, and necks of several people. The person whose gums were cut had teeth falling out clatter.

"Aaaaaaah!"

The screams of surprised people and the screams of people cut by the blade mixed. Meanwhile, a few rushed at Rickart on the table.

But Rickart jumped up lightly once again and came down from the table, and in that process, he swung the sword left and right quickly swish swish in the air. Then two heads fell thud thud.

Except for Bori-bori, the eyes of the people watching grew as big as they could at the skill close to divine. They didn't know themselves whether it was fear or admiration.

In the meantime, as Rickart pushed away the headless body with his foot, those rushing recklessly were blocked by it. While they were flustered and hurriedly pushing the corpse away to attack Rickart, Rickart wasn't there.

From this point on, they didn't even know where he was, only the sound of a sword swinging was heard. And every time, someone died spraying blood. Those staggering and falling, or those dying at once.

What is this? Am I having a nightmare right now? The thugs being attacked thought so.

Rickart had changed from when he left this pub called 'Anna's Loss'. Had he grown? No, to be precise, it was correct to say it was a change in style.

When a person reaches a certain level, rather than what is good or bad, there is a difference in style. Rickart had unknowingly come to resemble Nameless.

However, he didn't just blindly imitate him, but made it his own.

Timing snatching the moment and clean lines were characteristics, but now he seemed to fight more as his heart desired, somewhat roughly, not caring about such things.

And certainly, his body had grown a little and his muscular strength had grown in a few months. He was getting closer and closer to the skills of his prime.

On the other hand, Marie watched all this as if possessed. The thugs dying didn't enter her eyes, only Rickart was visible.

He was like a painter painting with paint called blood. A painting of a master with very rough lines. It was shockingly beautiful. It was a skill she had never seen before and never even imagined.

Thud. Crash.

The last thug fell on the table like laundry hanging on a line, then fell to the floor again with the table. It didn't even take long to deal with seven or eight thugs.

The scene had no tables or chairs standing properly, and was entirely a sea of blood. The thick smell of blood made her dizzy.

Other people were huddled in the corner trembling in fear. Just like when Nameless came here.

Rickart swung the sword in the air to shake off the blood roughly. Blood spattered patter on the ceiling and walls. And avoiding the cluttered places and avoiding the places where blood pooled, he approached Bori-bori and Marie.

Bori-bori held out a towel with brown stains. It was a towel washed and used many times, and the brown stains were bloodstains.

Rickart wiped the sword, put it in the scabbard, and returned it to the owner. And looking at Marie, he said.

"I fought avoiding scratching the armor as much as possible. But some blood spattered on the surcoat here?"

Rickart pointed to the purple surcoat worn over the armor and said.

"......Uh?"

"I asked if you're okay."

"Uh, uh..."

"Anyway, staying here is out of the question."

Bori-bori said looking at the scene that became a mess. Turning his head to look at the bartender, he was breathing roughly even though he only stood still. And he was trembling like an aspen tree.

When Rickart approached him, his legs gave way and he collapsed. Rickart said to him, who couldn't speak and only moved his mouth.

"It's not our fault, you know right?"

The bartender nodded frantically and diligently. Rickart and Bori-bori left the pub leaving him behind.

Unlike before, the innocent appearance was nowhere to be found. Because they experienced many such things during last winter, and they had the ability to handle the aftermath when creating an incident.

"What are you doing? Let's go, Marie."

"Uh, uh-huh."

Marie was in a slightly dazed state right now, but she barely came to her senses and followed Rickart and Bori-bori.

Leaving the pub, the warm air disappeared and cold air wrapped around their faces again. Instead, it felt like their heads cleared being liberated from the stench and smell of blood.

The three people eventually had no choice but to sleep outdoors. Is it better to sleep smelling blood, or better to sleep enduring the cold? Rickart and Bori-bori thought the latter was better from experience.

Lighting a bonfire in a suitable place, Rickart took off the armor again. Even if no one helped, he took it off amazingly well by himself. As if he had handled combat gear for a long time.

"You should be able to wear it again by tomorrow."

Rickart said looking at Marie.

"Ung..."

"By the way, you aren't as surprised as I thought?"

Bori-bori said to Marie.

"Uh?"

"Seeing people die, usually you freeze up when seeing it for the first time. Do you have experience?"

"Ah, well, I often saw executions. Beheading, hanging, burning, drowning, dismembering... Is just now better than those? Anyway."

There were various types of death penalties. Since it was an era valuing honor, the method was different even when executing sinners. Depending on the crime, and depending on the sinner's status, the execution method changed.

If the sinner was a noble, they were generally beheaded, but there was a difference whether done with a sword or an axe. Being beheaded with an axe was a dishonorable thing.

In the case of witches or wizards, though not all, they were burned at the stake with high probability. It meant burning even the soul in fear they might curse after dying.

In the countryside, the lord sometimes beheaded directly, and in the city, there were separate professional executioners.

And, in many cases, it was done publicly. Since entertainment wasn't common, public execution was a kind of popular show.

One of the most terrible executions was climbing high on a ladder, tying the sinner, and a torture technician slicing off pieces of flesh for several days. The longer they kept them alive, the more money they received.

"That might be true."

Bori-bori accepted immediately. Bori-bori also had something like immunity to cruel things since the environment of the times was like this, apart from being pure.

"But you know, what rank is Ricky around? are all Academy students around your level?"

"He is 1st place."

Instead of Rickart who was roasting sweet potatoes or potatoes, Bori-bori answered. At that, Marie was visibly flustered.

"Uh? Uuuh..."

"Why? was the skill a bit lacking to be called 1st place?"

"Uh? Uh, ah, no. No no, not that."

Rickart and Bori-bori didn't know the reason why she was so flustered, but didn't care much.

"Marie, have you ever killed a person?"

Rickart asked. His gaze was directed at the potatoes roasting in the bonfire. The firelight reflected and his hazel eyes were reddish.

"No. Not yet."

"Then it's better to steel your heart."

"I am strengthening my resolve."

"What resolve?"

"Resolve not to hesitate."

At that, Rickart and Bori-bori smirked as if something was funny. Since she didn't know why they were laughing, Marie just blinked her eyes.

"Not that kind. I mean, slicing and killing people, you know. That is strangely addictive? Don't fall too deep into it."

"......"

It was shocking and eerie words she had never heard even from a swordsmanship teacher. So Marie was speechless. What kind of kids...

Bori-bori rolled the hot potato in both palms roll roll, cooling it and speaking. Since the day was still cold, doing this felt surprisingly good.

"I talked with Ricky about why bad guys are bad guys, and generally bad guys were like that. They got a taste for killing people. And they enjoy other people looking at them in fear. Intoxicated by that, they do worse things, and in the end, they can't go back. They forget. what kind of person they originally were."

"So I said principles are important last time."

Rickart split one sweet potato in half and held it out. An appetizing scent spread along with the golden flesh.

Marie had nothing to say feeling somewhat overwhelmed. She just held the half sweet potato, blowing hoo hoo, and ate little by little.

"Training hard and becoming strong is just a process. That itself cannot be the goal. Making good friends, and overcoming difficulties together is more important, I think."

"Right right."

Rickart spoke, and Bori-bori agreed.

But isn't it because they are at their level that they can say such things? It was a world where if you were weak, you couldn't do this or that.

But it couldn't be helped. Whether the starting line was different, or the height of the ground they stood on was different, the two boys' field of view itself was different from what ordinary people saw.

Or the process they went through, or experience, or growth. Truly many things happened during the last year.

And, there was one more year ahead.

The three people departed for Beringen early in the morning. Since it took about a day at a general walking speed, they hastened their steps a little.

However, the way back wasn't easy compared to when they left. Because the snow started melting and the road was muddy.

Ankles sank deep into the mud squelch squelch, so they walked on the field where grass grew. Because grass roots held the ground firmly, it was somewhat better.

Marie looked like walking was hard wearing armor again. Sweat flowed like rain even though the weather was cold. However, perhaps she trained mana to some extent, she followed tolerably well even while exhausted.

Rickart and Bori-bori didn't show consideration more than necessary. They didn't carry her on their back, or carry the helmet and sword for her.

They just guessed the time looking at the sun, went ahead, and waited for her.

"S-sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. We aren't tired."

"......Uh?"

Certainly, the two boys were different from ordinary people's mindset.

Anyway, resting a little and walking diligently, they could arrive at Beringen around evening.

Rickart and Bori-bori also felt like they came to their hometown at this time. In an unfamiliar place, nerves tend to be on edge unconsciously, which was mentally very tiring work.

The two boys entered the Guild Headquarters below the hill first. Dunkel was visible, and leaning his chin on elbows on the bar, as soon as he saw Rickart, his eyes grew as big as lanterns.

And he inhaled a breath of vain air as if he saw a ghost.

"Heok!"

"What's wrong? Just like seeing a dead person."

"......Ah, no."

Whether Dunkel did that or not, Rickart took out Erze's ear, Leto's crystal ball and magic wand, and his bizarre nose from Bori-bori's bag and put them up.

"Request completed. Are the kids doing well?"

Dunkel looked at the items put on the bar, and his eyes, already opened wide, grew bigger and he was surprised as if he would faint.

"Surely you didn't not send food thinking we couldn't finish the job, right? Then it's not funny."

Rickart spoke politely but clearly in a threatening tone. At that, Dunkel stayed blank for a while as if out of his mind, then hurriedly shook his head.

"K-kids, the kids didn't starve to death. I swear. You guys sent a lot of money in the middle."

"Is that so? That's fortunate."

"N-no, not that, you really......"

"There was someone who helped. We learned a lot. Me too, Bori too."

Rickart spoke calmly. But unlike the boy being calm, it was truly a hard-to-believe thing. What he accomplished.

"Was there nothing special at the Academy? Aside from the food problem."

"......Uh, that."

Dunkel seemed to need time to gather his mind for a moment. Rolling his eyes and thinking, he swallowed spit once and said.

"I think you need to establish discipline a bit. Recently, kids who can't be controlled entered a bit. If that's a problem, it's a problem. But well, not particularly a big problem. Anyway, welcome back. Honestly speaking, I didn't expect it."

Rickart just smiled slightly.

"Prepare warm water. I'm very tired. I feel like I returned to my hometown."

"Okay, rest first and let's talk gradually. You worked hard. Let's talk about the reward in detail tomorrow."

It was a job killing as many as two of the Ehrenberg 5 gang. It wasn't something that could be simply settled with a few pennies.

Moreover, it was an incident where not only those two died, but all of the Ehrenberg 5 died, and two of the Empire's 9 Swords died at once.

Rickart didn't know well about the repercussions of the incident or such things. What response the guild should make, or if it would be something other tycoons of the world would pay attention to.

Anyway, right now Rickart and Bori-bori needed to rest. No, there were three people who needed to rest.

"Ah, right. Please prepare bath water for three people. We have a companion. She's also an Academy student, we met on the way."

Rickart said pointing to Marie with his thumb. Marie was wrapping Rickart's red cloak and wearing the hood deep, so her face wasn't seen properly.

Since that wasn't a difficult thing, Dunkel nodded. A purple surcoat brushed past his eyes between the cloak, but he had no leisure to mind it because he was too surprised right now.

Rickart unpacked in the room, took off his clothes, and soaked his body in warm bath water. Then tiredness rushed in almost enough to make him lose consciousness.

It was the same for Bori-bori, and also for Marie who wasn't used to travel. Since they slept outdoors for two days.

Relationships suffering together are bound to become close, which was because a sense of kinship arises.

Having a sense of kinship meant the range of understanding each other widened, and if that sense of kinship grew bigger and bigger, they became a special relationship.

Like that, winter passed, and spring approached slowly. New relationships also started to sprout like spring buds.