The Man Who Stopped the Mad Bull (2)
We thought that would be our final farewell. But as I drove the wagon out of the village, the man was being carried away in an iron cage at exactly the same time, leaving the village as well. A captain and ten soldiers were escorting the prison wagon.
When we exited the village, they pulled ahead of us by a perfect margin. The captain rode his horse while two soldiers sat on the driver’s bench. The rest walked, so the escort wagon moved slowly. Our wagon, now stuck following behind, had to crawl along at the same sluggish pace. To make things worse, wide wheat fields and vineyards stretched out on both sides of a narrow country road that could barely fit one wagon. Overtaking them was impossible. And we could hardly shout at them to hurry up. We were bandits, after all.
The slow speed left my heart frustrated, but instead of stirring up pointless trouble, I had no choice but to quietly trail in their wake. My hood was pulled low to hide my face.
“Please spare my children’s father! He deeply regrets his wrongs, so I beg you, my lords!”
“Don’t take my daddy! My daddy isn’t a bad person! Waaah!”
I kept the wagon about fifty meters behind the escort. Between us, the imprisoned man’s wife and daughter followed the wagon, sobbing desperately as they pleaded with the soldiers to release him. At the same time, the man reached his arms through the bars, crying out their names with raw longing.
“Jane! I’ll miss you and our Peggy so much! Jane!”
“Honey, don’t leave us behind! Beg them for forgiveness! Sob, sob!”
“Damn it, the pair of them are loud enough to drive a man insane!”
One soldier snapped in irritation and slammed the flat of his spear into the woman’s chest, knocking her onto her backside. Then he shoved the daughter’s forehead, sending her sprawling.
“J-Jane!”
“Waaaaah!”
The daughter sat on the ground and burst into loud wails. The soldier glared at the mother and daughter with a menacing scowl.
“Try following us again and I’ll snap your legs like twigs! I won’t let it slide, you hear me!”
He even made a show of raising the spear to strike, thoroughly terrifying the pair before turning away.
“Honey…! Sob, sob!”
“Daddyyyy! Waaah!”
The mother and daughter clung to each other, weeping bitterly. Meanwhile, our wagon drew steadily closer to the two figures huddled in the middle of the road.
“Marcus, what should we do?”
“Do about what?”
“It feels awkward asking them to move myself.”
“So you want me to do it?”
“I thought you’d handle it well.”
Marcus snorted. “Trying to paint me as some cold-blooded, ill-tempered old bastard? You’re the squad leader.”
“Right… I’m the squad leader. The squad leader is me…”
My gaze drifted to the man disappearing into the distance. He gripped the bars with both hands, staring at his wife and daughter with heartbreaking sorrow. It was difficult to look away. His earlier display of raw power—stopping that mad bull with his bare hands—had left a strong impression, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
What is this? I keep feeling like I’ll regret it forever if I don’t take this man with me now.
It was the first time since arriving in this world that I’d felt drawn to someone. Maybe it was because I was the squad leader responsible for recruiting talent. The 15th Squad was desperately short on people. As leader, a bold thought kept rising unbidden: What if I took him in as one of my own?
He had committed a crime, but it wasn’t anything truly condemnable. Above all, he was strong. He would probably excel at warehouse work. Hmm…
“What are you thinking about?”
Dana’s voice startled me. She blinked slowly, watching me. The wagon had already come to a stop right in front of the mother and daughter.
“Ah, I was lost in thought for a second.”
“Tell them to move. We’re busy,” Marcus’s voice grumbled from behind.
But I stayed seated on the driver’s bench, still hesitating as I looked at them.
“What is it?” Dana’s worried eyes seemed to urge me to share.
Not wanting to make a big deal out of nothing, I answered quickly. “That man the soldiers are taking away. I was wondering what it would be like to accept him into our squad.”
“What?” Marcus’s surprised voice rang out from behind.
I turned and asked, “What do you think?”
Marcus stroked his beard, considering it seriously before speaking. “We’re short on men and in no position to be picky, so I don’t care if we take him. But what about the soldiers? One wrong move and you’ll be dragged off with him.”
“The soldiers? With the skills I learned from our respected mentor Marcus, I doubt I’d lose to them.”
Marcus gave a short laugh. “But how do you know he’ll even join our bandit group? If he refuses, you’ll have gone through all that trouble for nothing.”
“We can convince his wife and daughter over there. He looks like a total family man.”
Dana cut in bluntly. “If you want, I can let you speak with him.”
Both Marcus and I turned to her at once.
“How?”
“How?”
Dana clenched her right fist and chanted. A brief flash of light appeared, and when she opened her hand, two tiny blue orbs of mana rested there, each smaller than a fingernail.
“Put it in your ear.”
I took one and slipped it into my ear. Dana sent the other floating away on the wind. It drifted like a feather and slipped straight into the man’s ear inside the cage.
“Speak. He will hear you.”
The moment she finished, I spoke. “Can you hear me?”
—Wh-who are you?!
“Shh. Keep your voice down. I’m the person with your wife and child. Look behind you. I’m on the wagon.”
The man turned. I continued while watching his sobbing family in front of my wagon.
“I saw you briefly when you caught the bull earlier, too.”
—Ah, it’s you. But what is this? How can I hear your voice?
“I’ll be direct. I’m interested in you. I’d like to make an offer.”
—An offer?
“I saw your skill with the bull and thought you were very useful. I felt like working with you. Here’s the proposal. In return for rescuing you, would you consider coming under me?”
—Under you? You want me as your subordinate?
“Correct. It’s also a chance to reunite with your family.”
—If I can see my family again, I’d do anything—become your subordinate, walk through hell, whatever—
“Wait.” He was answering too easily, so I cut him off. “If you change your mind after the rescue, your entire family will pay with their lives. Keep that in mind and choose carefully.”
—I already saw how strong you are. Besides, I’ve committed a crime and have nowhere to go. If someone like you comes looking for a wretch like me, how could I refuse?
“One more thing. The work I have in mind is dirty and dangerous. Your life will be on the line every single day.”
The man paused as if weighing the words, then asked cautiously.
—What exactly do you do…?
I answered without hesitation, as if I had been waiting for the question. “We’re bandits.”
“Ughhh… ughhh…”
A sudden sorrowful woman’s wail made one of the escorting soldiers flinch and glance around.
“What was that?”
He looked in every direction, but only ordinary scenery met his eyes. The soldier tilted his head.
“Strange. I could have sworn I heard something.”
He turned to the man beside him. “Hey, didn’t you hear a weird noise just now?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought I heard a female ghost crying. You didn’t hear it?”
“No. Maybe you’re hearing things. Tired and hallucinating, perhaps.”
Just then another soldier pointed at the sky with a trembling finger, face pale with terror. “G-ghost! A ghost appeared!”
All the soldiers froze and looked up in shock. A woman in a wildly flapping robe, hood pulled over her head, floated in midair. Her eyes glowed pure white as she let out an eerie sound that could have been crying or laughing.
“Hehehehe… I’ll throw every last one of you into my cauldron and boil you alive. Hehehehe…”
“That’s no ghost—it’s a wi-witch!”
The moment someone shouted, three corpses crawled up from the ground with wet, groaning sounds.
Groan… Uuughhh…
“Aaaagh! G-ghouls!”
The soldiers fell into instant panic. Even the captain who was supposed to lead them lost his composure, flailing until he tumbled off his horse. When the floating witch gathered mana in both hands, the terrified soldiers lost all will to fight. They screamed and fled in every direction.
“Incredible.”
The man locked in the iron cage swallowed hard, face tense. He had heard the plan in advance from the mysterious stranger who promised to rescue him, but seeing it unfold felt all too real. Above all, the woman floating in the air looked exactly like a true witch no matter how you sliced it. How could a human being float in midair?
While he was thinking that, a familiar-looking man stepped out of the forest with a smile.
“I’ve come to get you out.”