The Swift Sword of the Quiet Woods
"When you first showed up in our village, I figured you weren't just some ordinary traveler," Jack said. "But I never would've guessed you were someone who could wield the power of a god."
"Oh, absolutely. I might not look like much, but I'm actually a pretty big deal."
On the way to the troll village, Yohan and Jack exchanged idle chatter that hardly fit the gravity of their situation.
"But seriously," Yohan said, a hint of concern creeping into his voice. "You insisted so hard that I let you tag along, but... are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Of course, Yohan wasn't entirely without worry. In response to his question, Jack gave a casual shrug.
"I won't be a burden. I might look like this now, but back in the day, I knew how to swing a sword."
"You swung a sword? So you weren't born in this village?"
As far as Yohan knew, the village had been cut off from the outside world for a very long time because of the man-eating trolls. There didn't seem to be any armed defense force or militia to speak of, either. Therefore, the fact that Jack knew how to handle a blade suggested he might have been an adventurer or a mercenary before settling down here. At least, that was Yohan's theory.
"Indeed. Back in my bachelor days, I was wandering around and happened to pass through this area," Jack explained. "I got caught, and they gave me a choice: live in this village for the rest of my days, or get eaten on the spot."
"Yikes."
Of course, Yohan thought, shaking his head at the trolls' cunning. There was no way a village of fewer than a hundred people could have sustained itself for so long without any influx of outsiders. The monsters had maintained the population exactly how Yohan had suspected. To put it metaphorically, they were stocking the coop with chickens to keep getting eggs.
"But thanks to that, I even got to marry a wife I never expected to have."
Jack looked up at the sky with a wistful expression. When Yohan had visited his house not long ago, Jack had been living entirely alone. This meant that not only his daughter, who had been chosen as a sacrifice, but also his wife was no longer of this world.
"Ah, it seems I've made the mood far too heavy. My apologies."
"Oh, don't worry about it. None of us exactly grew up sheltered. We're used to this kind of atmosphere."
To be precise, Billy's tragic past, which Yohan had heard just a few hours prior, was so miserable that Jack's sorrow felt relatively easier to bear.
"This young man is also from the outside. At least, that is what I know," Jack said, looking at Billy. Billy nodded silently in response.
"Yeah, he actually told me about it earlier."
"He was two years apart from my daughter. Since the village is so small, there were barely any children their age, which is probably why they grew so close."
Hearing this, Billy gave an awkward smile.
"Two years apart?" Yohan muttered.
"Yes. If she were still alive, she would have turned exactly twenty this year."
Two years apart, and she would have been twenty this year...
"Wait a minute."
Yohan's voice suddenly dropped. Sensing the shift in the air, Falco, who had been blankly scanning the surrounding scenery, snapped her attention to him.
"You... No, wait. Are you twenty-two this year?"
"P-pardon?" Billy blinked, thoroughly flustered.
"Damn it. Twenty-two? You're a total kid! I thought you were my age because you're built like a brick wall, but you're just a greenhorn!"
"W-well, that is true, but..."
Yohan spat his words out in a rapid-fire burst, clearly worked up.
"Ah, screw it. I'm dropping the honorifics from now on, so get used to it."
"Wait, you've been casually dropping them since the very beginning anyway! And at some point, you just started speaking completely informally to me!"
Faced with Yohan's sheer stubbornness, Billy finally raised his voice in protest.
"And why does age even matter so much in the first place?!" Billy shot back, demanding an explanation.
Watching the spectacle, Falco nodded in agreement.
"The kid is right, Yohan."
She chimed in, though she didn't forget to refer to Billy as a "kid."
"And how old are you, then? You pointy-eared folk live forever, don't you?"
However, jumping into the fray proved to be a poor tactical decision for Falco. Yohan immediately redirected his target from Billy to her.
"T-that is..."
"Indeed, I have heard that elves possess incredible ages despite their youthful appearances," Jack remarked, his curiosity piqued.
Even Jack, who had been quietly observing, seemed curious about Falco's age. In an instant, three pairs of eyes locked onto her.
Falco looked back and forth between the three of them before finally making up her mind and opening her mouth.
"Yohan. What truly matters is not a person's inner self. It is their beautiful outward appearance."
A profound silence fell over the group at Falco's confident declaration.
"What a load of horseshit."
Yohan was the first to break the silence with a hearty curse.
"Isn't the saying usually that the inside is more important than the outside? And did you seriously just call yourself beautiful with your own mouth?" Billy asked, dumbfounded.
"I must say, I have never heard such an expression in all my years," Jack added.
The other two spoke in relatively milder tones, but their fundamental disagreement with her statement was clear.
"Ugh, whatever. We're getting close, so everyone get ready."
Yohan snapped, adjusting his grip on the reins.
"My Apostle. You truly are a shy one, aren't you?"
"Did you not deliberately spout all that nonsense about Billy's age just because the atmosphere had grown too grim?"
"..."
Yohan remained silent in response to her teasing. Of course, if Jack hadn't been sitting right there, he would have unleashed a torrent of colorful profanity by now.
"We're almost at the village, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. We're almost there."
Instead of bickering with the Goddess, Yohan asked Billy how much further they had to go.
"Then we should be getting a bite right about now..."
Even for an isolated mountain path, the surroundings were far too quiet. He already knew that wild animals had been practically wiped out in the area, but surely they should have run into at least one or two man-eating trolls by now. Furthermore, the gut instinct he had honed during his days as a grave robber was screaming that this silence was anything but natural.
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
Yohan accidentally uttered the one phrase he should have kept to himself.
"Ah, I screwed up."
Usually, whenever someone said those words, something terrible happened immediately after. Yohan sighed, shaking his head.
Whoosh—
Sure enough, a heavy, air-rending sound suddenly erupted from the side.
Crash!
Immediately after, a dull, heavy impact vibrated through his seat and the soles of his feet. A massive boulder thrown from afar had completely pulverized one of the carriage wheels.
"Whoops."
Yohan quickly leaped off the carriage. At the exact same moment, the carriage—which he had spent a pretty penny to get repaired—collapsed entirely.
Of course it did. Yohan didn't panic despite the sudden ambush. Instead, he even let out a smirk, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Hey, is everyone still alive?" Yohan turned his head and shouted toward the carriage.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"We're safe over here too!"
The other three had already scrambled out of the carriage long ago. None of them appeared to be injured. Considering it a stroke of good luck amidst the misfortune, Yohan scanned the surrounding forest.
Neighhh!
Meanwhile, the horses that had been faithfully pulling the carriage broke free and bolted. Still, he figured running away was better than getting crushed to death by a flying boulder. Rather than chasing after the fleeing horses, Yohan focused his attention on locating the hidden enemy who had thrown the rock.
Whoosh—
Before long, another boulder came flying through the air.
"Hup!"
But this time, Billy stepped forward and caught it with his bare hands.
"Impressive. To catch a boulder flying at that speed and hold his ground."
"Talk about cheat-code genetics."
Jack and Yohan exchanged brief remarks as they witnessed the feat. Then, without needing to say a word, they both drew their weapons. One held the sword he had wielded since his youth, while the other summoned the Light Sword using the Goddess's authority.
"You saw that, right? Stop testing the waters like a coward and get your ass out here!" Yohan shouted provocatively toward the thick undergrowth.
"Hehehe. Entertaining."
A massive troll soon emerged from the bushes. While its green skin and lower fangs protruding past its lips resembled Billy's features, its far more gargantuan build and hideously distorted facial structure made it clear that this was a pure-blood troll.
"I was actually on my way to look for one of our kin who went missing overnight."
The pure-blood troll's voice possessed a heavy resonance that naturally intimidated anyone listening. At this point, it was more fitting to call it a wild beast than a "person." Yohan looked up at the green giant and clicked his tongue.
"Oh, that guy? I chopped his head off."
Not that Yohan was actually intimidated. He raised his hand and flipped the monster off—the same profane gesture he had shown the demon in Balifield not long ago.
"It matters not. He was a weakling among our kind anyway."
"Ha."
Yohan snorted reflexively. The creature was casually spouting lines straight out of a third-rate villain's script. However, Yohan could easily tell that the troll standing before him was larger and had thicker limbs than the one he had slain the previous night. In other words, the monster's boast was no joke.
"First, I shall crush the skulls of the others. Then, I will break your legs so we can have a little chat. And Billy, you deserve a proper beating as well, don't you think?"
The pure-blood troll spoke in an incredibly calm, even tone. But that very composure made the situation all the more chilling. It seemed that saying horrific things with a placid face was a racial trait of theirs. Yohan tightened his grip on his Light Sword and swallowed hard.
"Right."
The Goddess's serious advice echoed in his mind. Yohan nodded, answering in a firm voice.
"Step aside for a moment."
"Huh?"
But at that moment, Jack, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward. His sudden movement startled not only Yohan but also Billy and Falco.
"Are you... a villager?" the troll asked in a mild tone, locking eyes with Jack.
But Jack offered no reply.
Flash!
"W-what the?!"
He simply swung his sword at a speed too fast for the eye to follow, cleanly severing the pure-blood troll's neck in a single strike.
Thud.
The cleanly decapitated head of the pure-blood troll tumbled onto the dirt.
"Now, let us keep moving. The horses have fled and the carriage is broken, so we will have to walk."
"Wait, what the hell are you?! You're insanely strong!" Yohan shouted at Jack.
Jack, who had already started walking ahead, paused and glanced back to meet Yohan's gaze.
"Damn... That was so badass!"
That flawless, lightning-fast swift sword technique. It was a level of martial prowess that could easily rival Wilhelm, the former sheriff of Junk Town. Yohan spoke with absolute sincerity.
"Thank you for the compliment."