The Man from Marlene (2)
Brick-hard bread that wouldn't even take a knife unless you soaked it in water first, jerky smeared with cheap sauce and left out to dry, and water from a canteen that tasted flat, with a faint musty smell besides.
That was the standard meal for adventurers out on a quest. Truthfully, even this counted as mid-tier rations. Anything below it devolved into stuff beyond description — food that existed for no purpose other than filling your gut.
Compared to all that, what they'd been issued this time was unmistakably different.
"Still, man, look at the supplies we're getting for an extermination force."
Yona smacked her lips as she stared at the bowl of soup steaming gently in her hands. And that wasn't all — the bread wasn't freshly baked, but it at least looked soft enough for a blade to sink into. Eating this well on an expedition was genuinely a stroke of luck.
"Hey, scoot over."
Alec cut in, nudging the rear of a Bronze-rank adventurer who'd joined their party out of the way with his foot.
"What's your problem? Just sit anywhere there's space."
The Bronze-ranker, just about to start his meal, hastily grabbed his bowl and shuffled aside. Yona glared at Alec as he promptly slid his rear into the spot.
"This one's mine. I called it."
"Pfft, that's rich. The whole world's covered in empty seats and you called one?"
Still grumbling, Yona shifted her own rear and made a little room anyway.
"Ahh, this is the life. Earning money and eating a proper meal. What a life."
"You sound like some old codger. Keep acting like an old man in a kid's body and your hair's gonna fall out."
"I'm telling you, it was mine."
"Whatever."
Yona gave a dismissive snort and slurped down her soup. The hot broth slid down her throat, and warmth spread through her whole body almost immediately.
"So, entry's tomorrow night, right?"
"That's what they said."
The extermination force had been organized and moved out immediately after. Entry would only be possible right after sunset anyway, so Yona couldn't fathom why they'd set out late knowing full well they'd arrive in the dead of night.
"Well, more pay for us, so who cares."
Right — money was the correct answer, always. Finding the famed mages of the capital to get back home would cost a fortune. Just picturing the fat pouch of silver she'd pocket once this job was done put Yona in a good mood all on its own.
"So who's that guy over there, anyway?"
Across from Yona — on the far side of the campfire — a brown-haired man sat cross-legged, eating his meal.
"Says his name's Ludwig. Gold-rank, wields a spear."
"Yeah, I know that much."
Tsk. Alec clicked his tongue lightly. Something about it was getting on his nerves.
"Aww, what's the matter, baldy? You're just Bronze and he's Gold — that got you jealous?"
"Screw you, you're Bronze too."
"Hey, hey. Don't make me laugh. A Bronze-rank healer counts the same as a Silver-rank warrior."
"Says who?"
As the two bickered back and forth, someone's footsteps drew near. Yona, who'd been about to smack the back of Alec's head, glanced over her shoulder — and it wasn't the firelight playing tricks on her eyes.
"...Well, if it isn't a precious priestess gracing this shabby little corner of the world. What brings you here?"
The red-haired priestess's face, already flushed, twisted sharply at Yona's jab. Her red hair was tied back in two low tails, and her face was remarkably young. The kind of face that would make anyone ask what a kid was doing in a place like this.
"Yona, come with me. And—"
Vigrind started walking again, then stopped in front of Ludwig. Lud, who was finishing his meal and slurping down the last of his soup, looked up at her over the rim of his bowl.
"You come too."
"Who are you, exactly?"
"You'll know when you get there. Follow. Don't nitpick."
Lud smiled faintly. Then he stacked his empty dishes neatly, gathered them up in his arms, and rose from his seat.
"Very well. Where am I headed?"
Vigrind silently raised a hand and pointed toward the cathedral carriage — the comfortable church carriage they'd ridden in, while the adventurers had been rattled around in cargo carts with the worst suspension imaginable.
"Understood. I'll be along shortly."
With that answer, Lud went off to return his dishes. Vigrind watched his retreating back for a moment, then turned to look down at Yona. The firelight's shadows made it impossible to read her eyes clearly, but Yona had a pretty good guess.
She's annoyed, no doubt about it. How unpleasant it must be for a holy priestess to come down to a place crawling with adventurers like these.
"...Fine, I'm coming too."
The moment Yona stood, Alec rose from his seat as well. Where Yona went, Alec followed. That was simply how Alec's mind worked.
But just as he was getting up, Vigrind's icy voice stopped him cold.
"And what exactly are you planning to follow along for? Stay here and finish your meal. It may well be your last supper."
"You little witch—"
Before Alec could say a word, Yona flared up and cursed. Fists clenched, she looked ready to lunge at Vigrind then and there — but Vigrind herself stood proud and defiant, as if she'd said nothing the least bit out of line.
"Rolling around with the lowborn has rubbed off on your manners, I see, Yona. If Sister Aize saw you now, I imagine she'd weep."
"Screw you, you insufferable bitch. Apologize to Alec right now."
The adventurers seated around the campfire had gone quiet, mouths shut, watching the two women. If it were a fight between adventurers, it would've been an entertaining spectacle — they'd normally be hooting and placing bets. But not this time.
A priestess of the cathedral, and one with Vigrind at that? You'd need more than a few spare lives to bet against her.
"Come on, drop it. An adventurer never knows when he'll die — she's not wrong. Go on, hurry up. If a priestess came all the way here in person to fetch you, it must be urgent."
Alec gave an awkward smile and tugged at Yona's wrist. If he hadn't, she really would have thrown herself at Vigrind on the spot.
"Let go, you idiot. Doesn't that get under your skin? Do you even have a spine?"
"My spine knows its place and time, and it's enjoying itself, so it's fine. Go on."
Yona looked at Alec and pressed her lips together, over and over. She was angry. She was the only one who got to give Alec a hard time. Three years of living on the knife's edge together — she was the only one who could read what he meant from a single look. That damned priestess had no right to push him around however she pleased.
"...Lead the way, Vigrind."
With a haughty sniff, Vigrind began walking without another word, and Yona fell in behind her. A few steps in, she looked back over her shoulder at Alec.
"Right — good luck out there."
Alec waved back at her.
"Teacher."
"Oh my, Yona's here. Have you eaten?"
Inside the carriage, hung with five or six fist-sized luminescent stones and warming stones, it was bright and cozy without any need for a campfire. Aize greeted Yona as she stepped inside with a warm smile that glowed warmer still than any lamplight.
"Yes, roughly."
"Good, come in and sit."
Yona entered the carriage, and Lud followed her in. He was so tall that even the fairly roomy carriage felt crowded the moment he stepped inside.
"Ludwig is my name. You may call me Lud."
"Of course, Ludwig. I am Aize."
"...Vigrind."
Unlike Yona, who'd tucked herself into a corner, Vigrind was noticeably cautious around Lud. That woman wasn't the careful type by nature — so watching her around Lud made Yona wonder, suddenly, whether he really was the Hero, or something of the sort.
A demon suddenly appearing, a man claiming to be the Hero turning up out of nowhere — some strange signs were certainly aligning. But what any of that had to do with her being summoned here, she couldn't begin to guess.
"Now, the reason I've called Ludwig and Yona here is—"
Aize produced two cups of steaming tea — when had she prepared those? — and set them before Lud and Yona. Judging by how quickly she moved to the point, she was in a hurry.
"Ludwig has received a divine oracle as the Hero, so I wished to verify it."
"Ah, I thought you would. Only natural, no? I could be a con artist, after all."
Lud answered Aize with his usual easy smile. Could there be a more farfetched story? A man working as an adventurer out in Marlene received a revelation, and thus became the Hero.
"I bear you no wish of distrust."
Aize smiled gently. Even saying the same words, she felt utterly different from Vigrind — soft, kind, considerate. Yona had always been rather fond of that about her.
"Well then, best I show you. Here, look."
And with that, Lud began unbuttoning his shirt. A few buttons came loose in no time, and then he pulled the opened shirt wide off his shoulders.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
With a sharp cry, Vigrind wrenched her head away. Judging by how tightly she'd clapped her hands over her eyes, she really must have seen something she hated — but Yona, entirely unbothered, studied Lud's bare torso.
A great golden harp was etched over the position of his heart. And around it, several unknown characters had been inscribed. Each one glimmered as though stitched in golden thread.
...Golden characters...?
Yona suddenly thought of the pitch-black characters coiled around her own right arm. She had him beaten by sheer number — overwhelming numbers — but his were a sacred-looking gold, while hers were an ominous, bottomless black.
Aize's hand gently covered hers.
"Yes, I've confirmed it. It is indeed the mark of the Heavenly God. However, that alone makes it difficult for me to accept you as the Hero."
At Aize's words, Vigrind quietly lowered the hand from her eyes as well and peered at the stigmata engraved on Lud's torso. Then she let out a small gasp of admiration.
"Well, of course not, I'd imagine. No one should blindly believe on a single mark alone."
Lud nodded along, agreeing with Aize. That earnestness of his, in turn, raised her trust in him another notch.
"As you may know, Ludwig, it has been several hundred years since Siwoo, the Hero of the previous generation, slew the False Demon King. In all that time, not once has a Hero appeared. Nor has a Demon King. Even now, there are no signs of the Demon King's descent. And yet a Hero appears... this is, as yet, unknowable."
"I understand, of course. But I hear a demon has appeared in that catacomb over there. If I face it, wouldn't that prove whether I'm the Hero or not?"
"Well... I wouldn't call it proof, but it would certainly raise your credibility."
"You drive a hard bargain."
"The weight of the name 'Hero' is every bit that heavy."
Aize smiled, and Lud smiled back. Yona could not smile at all.