The Proof (1)
In my view, there was a strong possibility that the woman had come to marry the lord. After all, medieval times were full of political marriages that completely ignored the wishes of the people involved. She was probably here in advance to see what kind of man her future husband was. With a single servant in tow, no less. If that was the case, the likely scenario was that after the wedding, she and the lord would join forces to crush me. Hmm. There was no immediate way to confirm it, which only made me more curious. For now, I’d set that aside and focus on more pressing concerns. The problem right in front of me was the counterfeit money Crachio had handed over. If I suddenly brought it up, would these people even believe me? And if they asked how I knew, what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t exactly admit that the Golden Ball had told me. Above all, I had no real reason to help the bandits. They were evil, so maybe it would be better if they were wiped out…
Those tangled thoughts tormented me all the way back to the mountain stronghold. Should I help the bandits or not? The dilemma refused to leave me alone. If I couldn’t escape, their lives would be directly tied to mine. If they died, I died. If they lived, I lived. Besides, I had already dirtied my hands by getting involved in smuggling. Even if I managed to flee safely, the moment someone from the bandit group revealed that I had participated in the smuggling, my life would be over.
“Good work, everyone!”
The sun hung high overhead. The bandits who had finished their tasks were dragging their exhausted bodies toward their beds. After turning in the money from the alcohol crates and the box Crachio had given us, Phelton quickly washed and slipped into the 15th squad tent to sleep. Harry, claiming his massive frame required a separate sleeping spot, headed off to his own little nest somewhere in the forest. Marcus looked like he had personal matters to attend to, and I wandered aimlessly around the stronghold, still lost in my unresolved worries.
That was when I happened to run into Freyr. His voice trembled and his expression was strangely excited as he told me what he had done that day.
“I… I beat a man today. I’ve killed people cleanly with a single strike before, but this was the first time I beat someone to death like I was torturing them. Mentally, that’s actually h-harder, you know. I thought I was losing my mind.”
“Why? Why did you hit him?”
“The squad leader called it training. He told me to grab a passerby and rob him. So I did what I was told, but when the guy refused to hand over his money, I just… kept beating him until I got it.”
Freyr had clearly ended up in a brutal squad. Still, was this guy mentally stable? As he described the painful experience, he kept smirking now and then. It almost looked like he was enjoying it.
“Look, my hands are still shaking. See?”
Both hands trembled with lingering adrenaline, the backs covered in scrapes and bruises.
“Go get some sleep. You’ll feel better after resting.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
“Try anyway. A deep sleep will calm your mind. You look pretty shaken right now.”
“Do I? I guess I got a little too worked up, huh?”
He nodded with a serious face. Fortunately, Freyr accepted my suggestion like an obedient child and hurried off to bed.
That guy already seemed unstable. I wondered if it was really okay for him to keep doing this kind of work. I put the thought aside and turned to head back to the 15th squad tent, only to run into Nancy coming back from washing her face at the nearby well. The moment I saw her damp hair, a warm smile spread across my face without thinking. After Freyr, seeing her felt genuinely welcome. We were basically comrades who had gone through the same ordeal, after all.
But it seemed I was the only one who felt that way. I greeted her with a friendly “Good work,” but the response I received was ice-cold.
“Could you stop pretending to know me from now on?”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. Weren’t we complete strangers to begin with? Or did you think spending two days together in prison made us best friends? Or maybe you think that since I sucked you off once, I’ll keep being nice and do it again?”
My head spun. What the hell happened to her? She seemed like a completely different person. Where had that pitiful, tearful face begging for her life gone? Why had I ever wasted time worrying about a woman like this?
I felt the sudden urge to find Bernhardt and ask him to take her back.
“Just curious about one thing. Were you always like this?”
“What’s it to you what my personality is like?”
“When they said they were going to sell you as a human experiment subject, you were crying like a fragile little girl. But now you’re completely different. It’s like you’re someone else entirely.”
Nancy chuckled softly.
“Did you really think I was crying for real back then?”
“It was an act?”
“Want to hear another truth? The whole story about the bandits selling prisoners as human experiment subjects was fake too. I made it all up so I could stay here. You fell for it so easily.”
She flashed a bright smile, teeth gleaming. The sight made my stomach turn. I felt like I might collapse and clutch the back of my neck. Bernhardt had chosen well. They said the 8th squad’s job was reconnaissance and gathering information, but her acting was on another level. She was going to go far.
Either way, you bitch, don’t expect any more favors from me. You’ll get nothing.
A vicious impulse surged through me. It felt like my soul was twisting and a demon was about to burst out. After parting with Nancy, I returned to the 15th squad tent carrying that filthy feeling. I should sleep quickly like Freyr. If I couldn’t calm my mind, I might really turn into the most dangerous demon in this entire bandit group.
“I’m back.”
When I entered the tent, Marcus had lit a lamp and was diligently carving something with a small knife.
“You’re not sleeping? What are you doing?”
“You asked me to make you a necklace.”
“A necklace?”
Ah. It suddenly came back to me—the ones Phelton and Harry wore. The kind that could play a flute and spray poison. The thought of finally having a proper item of my own brought a smile to my face. And seeing Marcus taking the time to craft it for me washed away the sting of the slap I had received outside. Was I always this simple? For a moment, Marcus felt like family. Even though he constantly gave me a hard time, it seemed he truly cared underneath it all.
With a gentle smile, I walked over to my spot on the floor where a cloth had been laid out. I still didn’t have a bed. I sat down on the cold ground and quietly watched Marcus work.
“Um, Marcus.”
“What? If you’re going to thank me, skip it.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“That money we received from Crachio today.”
“What about it?”
I spoke for his sake.
“It’s counterfeit.”
Marcus stopped carving and turned only his head to stare at me.
“What kind of nonsense is that? How would you know if it’s counterfeit or not?”
Damn. I had spoken without thinking, caught up in the moment. I didn’t have any special ability to appraise counterfeit money, and my evidence was far too weak. When I hesitated, Marcus clicked his tongue and went back to work.
“You must be tired and spouting rubbish. Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep, kid.”
No. I had already said it. There was no turning back. If I let it slide now, I might forever be seen as the guy who babbled useless nonsense. I racked my brain desperately.
“Wait, Marcus.”
“Ugh, what now? I’m busy.”
“That money really is counterfeit.”
“Then tell me how you know. Can you prove it?”
“I can prove it clearly.”
When I answered confidently, Marcus paused for a moment and simply stared at me in silence. Then, in a more serious tone than I had ever heard from him, he spoke.
“Do you understand how big this is? This could turn the entire unit upside down. If we investigate the money and it turns out to be a boy-who-cried-wolf situation, both you and I will face severe punishment.”
His expression was so grave that my heart began to pound.
“Then I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s say you dismiss what I said as nonsense and we let it slide quietly. What if later the boss discovers that the money really is counterfeit? Will our lives be safe then?”
“I can’t guarantee that. It depends on the boss’s mood. But I doubt we’d escape punishment at that point.”
“Then I’ll step forward and reveal it now.”
“Which is why I’m asking you to explain why it’s counterfeit first.”
I put on the most serious expression I could muster, as if every word were the absolute truth.
“I overheard it earlier.”
“Overheard what?”
“Crachio talking. Our kind actually have much sharper hearing than other races. I think we might even hear better than elves.”
Even I felt embarrassed using such a flimsy excuse. I was human just like them, yet this would probably get me treated as a completely different species. How depressing.
“After we left his office, he mocked us as we walked away, saying, ‘They’ll never dream that the money is counterfeit.’”
Marcus’s face hardened.
“If that’s true, why are you only saying it now? You should have told us before the money reached the boss.”
“I wasn’t completely sure. It’s an incredibly serious matter, and there was no way a newcomer like me would be believed. Besides, you don’t trust me, Marcus. You said I might run away at any moment.”
I added, “I agonized over whether to speak or not, and only managed to say it just now. If it later turns out the money really is counterfeit, I was afraid the boss would punish not only me but you, Phelton, and Harry even more severely.”
Marcus seemed lost in thought for a moment, then pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh. He stood up.
“We need to report this to Bernhardt immediately. Come with me.”
We went straight to Bernhardt’s quarters. He happened to be in the middle of lunch, tearing into a large chicken leg. He listened to our story absentmindedly until the word “counterfeit” came up. Then he spat everything in his mouth out in shock.
“What the hell are you talking about?!”