Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Black Wolf Mercenary Group - 2
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"Doesn't it feel like someone's following us?"
"Hey, Johnson, I get that you haven't been sleeping well lately and you're on edge, but with the war already wearing us down, cut the dogshit talk."
"No, really, it feels like someone's tailing us."
"Sigh... Think about it, Johnson. Who the hell would want to follow us all the way to our remote-ass village?"
"Well, that's true."
As winter approached,
the war finally ended, and the conscripted young men from the village were allowed to return home.
Of course, their steps weren't light. The war had dragged on for so long that there were many casualties, and even survivors often couldn't lead normal lives due to severe injuries.
"What do you think, Leon?"
"Me?"
One soldier asked a boy from the same village, who tossed back his blond hair as he replied.
"No idea. How should I know?"
"Everyone's such an asshole."
"Whatever, let's just hurry up."
"Wait a sec. Don't you know Jace has a bad leg? Let's take it slow."
"Ah, shit, we're running low on rations. And if we don't make it by tonight, we'll all have to camp near the Dark Forest."
"Still..."
"Hey, someone's coming over there?"
"Huh?"
Ahead of the soldiers heading back to the village stood two men approaching with a small cart.
"Hey there, boys. Came out to greet you."
"Uncle Tom?"
Spotting the village's one and only blacksmith, Tom,
the soldiers dragged their exhausted bodies toward him with joyful hearts.
"You all did great!"
"Haha, Tom's still as spry as ever."
"Good to see you. Mom's doing okay, right?"
"Nothing happened to Selenia, did it?"
"Our kids didn't cry too much without their dad, did they?"
Tom's heart ached at the sight of the village men inquiring after their families.
In a tiny village of barely a hundred souls, forty men had been forcibly conscripted.
Of them, only about twenty had made it back.
More than half had lost their lives in the war and never returned home.
"Everyone's family is healthy, so don't worry too much. Now hop on the cart. I'll give you a ride back to the village."
"Thank you. You even prepared the cart for us."
Carlson, the eldest among the soldiers, spoke on their behalf with gratitude.
It had been a grueling journey home with so many wounded, but the cart made it bearable.
"Haha, no need. This guy suggested it, and the Village Chief pushed it through. Thank him, not me."
Tom pointed to the man who'd come with him.
The man, with a build a head taller than a sturdy knight and rippling muscles that screamed power, wasn't watching the returning villagers right in front of him—he was gazing off into the distance.
"Pardon me, but... was someone following you?"
"Pardon?"
Carlson was caught off guard by the sudden question from the black-haired man.
"What're you talking about? We didn't see anyone like that."
"Then it's a skilled ranger. Tom, looks like our worries are coming true."
"Damn it. So what do we do now?"
"Nothing we can do right this second. Even if we took them out, they've made it this far—the village location's probably exposed anyway. Better to act natural, like we haven't noticed a thing."
"Got it. Get the wounded on the cart first."
The soldiers couldn't follow Tom and the black-haired man's conversation, but they loaded the wounded onto the cart as instructed, and it turned back toward the village.
The soldiers were curious about the black-haired man, whose intellectual air contrasted with his tough build. Carlson asked Tom on their behalf.
"Hey, Tom. If you don't mind me asking, who is he?"
"Oh, you don't know?"
Tom scratched his cheek, wondering if he should start from the basics with such an offbeat question, then answered.
"That's Sian. Son of that hunter, Ian."
"Ian's son?"
The returning soldiers—village men—didn't look their best.
The war had been so grueling that every face was etched with exhaustion and pain.
'But isn't that a quilted jacket?'
Curiously, the quilted armor the soldiers wore looked just like the quilted jackets issued by the army.
"I'll help push too."
"Hm?"
A blond pretty boy approached me as I pushed from behind to help the weak donkey pulling the cart and started helping out.
'You can tell exactly whose son he is just by looking at him.'
He was Sylvia's son, Leon.
But he was smaller than I'd thought? Just a bit bigger than Chloe?
"You're Leon, right?"
"You know me?"
"Yeah. This might be awkward, but I'm Sian—the guy who married your sister Chloe two months ago."
"Oh, you're..."
Leon didn't seem surprised. He just looked at me with mild curiosity.
"Not much of a reaction."
"Yeah. Chloe's past the age where she should've married by now. I just didn't expect it'd be Ian's son. The Village Chief doesn't usually accept outsiders."
"I was surprised by his choice too. Oh, feel free to drop the formalities. You're a year older than me."
"Huh? You're younger than me?"
Why's he more shocked by that?
"Do I look that old?"
"No, not that. The rumors say you're amazing, but you look younger than I thought. You definitely don't look old."
"I'm kidding. No need to overreact."
"Ah..."
"And drop the formal speech already. Brother-in-law."
"Whew... Fine. But it'll feel weird if I'm casual and you're not. You go casual too, brother-in-law."
"Sure, Leon."
"???"
What's he so shocked about now? He told me to drop it.
"Something wrong?"
"N-no, nothing..."
Unable to respond to my point, Leon muttered under his breath, "Did I just get played?"
He had some cute quirks, just like his sister Chloe.
We arrived at the village.
The soldiers—no, the village men—tearfully reunited with their families who'd come out to greet them.
Leon was no exception.
"B-brother!!!"
Clia came running first, tears streaming down her face, followed by Sylvia and Chloe hugging Leon.
I stepped aside a bit.
"You did well."
"I'm back, Mom."
"Brother, you worked hard."
"Chloe, congrats on the marriage. And sorry I missed the wedding."
"No, I'm just happy you're back safe."
Of course, not everyone got a happy ending like Leon's family.
"N-no, no way! That can't be!"
"My son! How could you go first..."
"Dad's not coming back?"
Some lost husbands, some sons, some the fathers who provided for them.
At the tragic sight, I just turned my head away.
"I'm grateful to those of you who returned safely, and I offer my regrets to those who couldn't. But today, rejoice in the living rather than mourn the departed. Save the hard stories for tomorrow."
The Village Chief stepped up for a brief speech, and with that, everyone returned home, each bearing the scars of war.
Our family was no different.
"Wh-what the hell is this?"
"It's the house?"
Leon seemed upset that the new house didn't sit right with him, his emotions flaring a bit.
"Isn't that Blackwood? Why use that for a fence?"
"It's not a fence—it's a barrier. Prepared just in case."
"Why's the house so huge? What about heating in winter?"
"That's handled too. So quit worrying about nothing and check out your room, brother-in-law."
"This is my room?"
The very concept of his own room seemed foreign. Leon looked more burdened than pleased.
"Don't like it?"
"No, it's not that... but do I really deserve this? You worked so hard to build all this."
"Of course you do. You're the brother of my beloved wife."
I extended my hand to Leon for the first time.
"Bit late for this, and kinda embarrassing, but let's support each other as heads of the household from now on."
"As heads... Yeah, Sian. Looking forward to it!"
Leon took my hand without hesitation.
His skin was surprisingly soft for a guy, which puzzled me, but I was purely glad to have a comrade to share the family burden.
To celebrate Leon's safe return, dinner that night was a bit lavish.
I brought out meat from a Giant Boar from the Dark Forest—pork.
"Pork belly sizzling away."
"So much meat..."
Leon gulped as he watched the pork belly grill, but he was just eyeing it tentatively.
"Leon, eat up. I prepared this for you."
"Even so, I can't eat all this myself..."
"There's plenty even if you eat it alone, so don't worry."
"Plenty?"
Leon’s pupils shook like there was an earthquake, as if he'd suffered a cultural shock.
"Sian's right. There's tons, so dig in."
"Mom, don't we usually only get a little meat on special days?"
"Leon, don't you know who your brother-in-law is? The empire's top hunter."
"Sylvia, it's not that extreme."
"Heh, no need for humility, Sian."
"Yeah! Brother-in-law Sian's the best hunter. The meat's delicious!"
"Clia, eat some veggies too. Gotta eat balanced to grow up healthy like your sister."
"All boobs and no brain."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing."
Dinner was truly lively.
Of course, eating with others beat eating alone by a hundredfold.
"Still feels hard to eat."
"Why?"
"We all suffered together in the war, went through tough times together... Feels wrong eating alone."
"Leon, you worry too much about pointless stuff."
"Huh?"
"They're villagers, sure, but in the end, they're others. We just look after our family."
"Still..."
"And if they're struggling, they'll ask for help themselves. We'll deal with it then. Worrying about problems that haven't even shown up is just asking for trouble."
"Is that how it works?"
"That's how it works. Now eat some meat."
Looks like wartime camaraderie formed, but that doesn't fill your belly.
"Got it. I'll eat like Sian said."
"Finally getting it. Now hurry up and switch with me on grilling. I'm craving pork belly too."
"...."