The Pursuit
Kawit had seized control of Slan and immediately set about reorganizing the city. A firm defense required guards, so he scraped together what little money he could and began recruiting anyone willing to work. Thanks to that, a crowd of people who had seen the notice now gathered in the courtyard of the lord’s mansion.
“Is he really offering jobs?”
“I don’t know. The notice said so, so I came… but still.”
“The atmosphere feels pretty grim, though.”
“Where in this city isn’t grim? Just roll with it.”
The gathered crowd chatted among themselves, trying to ease the tension. It was the first time a lord had personally offered work, which only made the situation feel more surreal.
At that moment, a man stepped forward in front of the people waiting in the courtyard.
“Nice to meet you all. I am Kawit, the one newly appointed to manage this city.”
Kawit stood before the ragged citizens in neat, clean attire and spoke with surprising courtesy. The townspeople eyed him with suspicion. The previous lord had never treated them like human beings, and they had assumed the new one had simply been sold off somewhere. Still, a man in the front row raised his hand, curiosity winning out.
“I said questions would come later, but I’m sure you have many. Go ahead and speak.”
Kawit’s expression showed clear annoyance, but this was the moment to win their hearts.
“What happened to the previous lord?”
He had expected that exact question. Kawit recited the answer he had prepared.
“Slan has been neglected for far too long. The kingdom was not unaware of this. Many lords from other territories even refused to come near it, saying it ‘smelled bad.’ As a citizen of this nation, that truth tore at my heart. That is why His Majesty King Reinhardt personally issued a decree!”
Kawit paused after his breathless speech, letting the words linger. The citizens, who had been listening intently, swallowed hard with a spark of hope.
“He ordered me to restore Slan to a city worthy of Tempo Kingdom’s name. That is why I was appointed here. The previous lord has been sent to the capital, Rainbel, to pay for the crime of reducing this city to such a wretched state.”
Kawit wore an expression of deep regret. Every word was a lie, but he could make one genuine promise: the city would finally begin to function as it should.
His speech moved the gathered citizens. They thought of all the hardships they had endured, and emotion surged through them. Then, as if snapping awake, they began to shout questions.
“What can we do to help!”
“Please let us contribute to stabilizing the city!”
“The pay can be low. As long as my family can live in peace, that’s enough.”
It had been a short speech, but these people had endured years of suffering. The slightest glimpse of hope was enough to make them risk their lives. Kawit took a steadying breath and explained their duties.
“First, for the city to stabilize, we must maintain public order. It’s too early to assign soldiers to guard the lord’s mansion. Right now, we need people willing to patrol the city and take part in righteous work.”
“If that’s the job, leave it to us!”
“We’ll help the weak and root out criminals!”
The citizens burned with determination, desperately trying to catch Kawit’s eye. Seeing their fervor, he nodded and ordered his waiting subordinates to select the willing candidates and distribute equipment.
The gear was the previous soldiers’ equipment, thoroughly cleaned and restored.
“This kind of good equipment…”
“Never thought I’d live to see it.”
Most of them were painfully thin from hunger, so the armor felt a little loose, but since it was standard-issue, there were no real problems.
“With this, we have formed a loyal guard of thirty men for our territory. Your hard work will shine even brighter once Slan reaches its true potential.”
At Kawit’s words, the new guards’ eyes gleamed from beneath their helmets. Though it was all an act, Kawit’s administrative skills proved sharper than expected. He continued to instruct the guards with genuine enthusiasm—teaching them patrol routes, what to watch for, and even how to properly use their swords.
Some watched the scene with displeasure, but most were loyal enough to follow Kawit’s orders even unto death, so they simply observed.
After sending the guards off, Kawit returned to his seat and faced a subordinate’s question.
“How long do we have to keep up this charade?”
A few of the more clear-headed subordinates were beginning to wonder.
“Until the city runs properly. To swallow Tempo Kingdom whole, we must first collapse the central government. Do you think we can do that with just our current numbers? We need to build strength. Earn money, establish an organization, undermine the kingdom’s authority, erode the knights’ prestige, and slowly devour it all from within. Like a curse that leaves the flesh black and blue.”
Kawit possessed both a clear plan and the drive to execute it. That was why the thoughtless criminals had no choice but to trust and follow him. The fact that he had escaped that hellish prison in one piece was thanks to his sharp situational awareness and his knowledge of the underground waterways.
“Understood. Then I’ll trust and follow.”
Kawit was busy soothing both the citizens and his subordinates, running in every direction, yet his mind felt refreshingly clear as he considered the plans that lay ahead. That was probably why he felt nothing as he watched the subordinate who had questioned him walk away.
With that thought, Kawit turned his attention to the next task. At that moment, he truly looked the part of a commanding officer.
Squish. Squish.
Whether the heavens were weeping or not, the forest was a muddy mess after the rain.
“Lord Bagan, there are traces of a campsite here. They definitely passed through. Looks like a fairly large group.”
Paul had been scouting the area and discovered charred wood, scattered liquor bottles and cups, and scorched bones. After analyzing the signs, he concluded without doubt that the group had come this way. Years of experience as an adventurer told him so.
“Seems that way. They must have been traveling quite comfortably.”
When Paul returned, his expression was regretful.
“Still, I couldn’t find any trace of the two. Not even a single hair. I looked, but…”
“I didn’t expect that much. We already have solid proof they’re alive. More importantly, which way did they head?”
“As expected, toward Tempo Kingdom. They didn’t clean up at all. You can tell from the cut ends of the branches.”
“Any chance they left it this way on purpose to avoid tracking?”
Paul shook his head at Bagan’s question.
“If so, they would have cleaned the campsite thoroughly. Leaving it like this suggests their movement was more urgent than hiding their trail.”
Bagan nodded at Paul’s precise tracking skills. It was fascinating that a swordsman like Paul knew techniques more common to assassins or seasoned hunters.
“These bastards don’t even consider the possibility that someone might be tracking them. No matter how clever criminals think they are, that’s their limit.”
Paul clenched his fist tightly, convinced they now had a solid lead. Bagan, however, remained unmoved. He had decided not to show any emotion until he saw the situation with his own eyes. So he simply continued forward across the muddy ground, following Paul’s information.
Sally and Arien followed close behind him. As they pressed on through the torn-up grass, a quiet village came into view.
Was there a village near Amir Forest?
Bagan remembered the forest because it lay on the path to Tempo Kingdom. The wild animals were quite fierce, and the abundance of resources occasionally allowed kobolds to form tribes. Of course, since it sat on the border between Sog Kingdom and Tempo Kingdom, they were targets for extermination. Unlike intelligent goblins or orcs, kobolds were monsters hostile to humans, so there was no helping it.
Approaching the village’s wooden fence, Bagan asked a man standing nearby.
“Does this village have a chief?”
“What a strange day. This is the second time outsiders have visited our village. You’ll find Mr. Forte in that large building over there. He’s very old and can’t move without his cane.”
Bagan nodded and entered the village.
Outsiders visited twice, huh…
From those words, he learned that someone had come before them. Whether it was other travelers or the criminal group, he organized the fragmentary information for now.
Bagan and his party moved to the building the man had indicated and knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock.
“Who is it?”
A frail, dry voice answered.
“Just passing adventurers. We have something to ask.”
Creak!
The door opened irritably, and the man inside glared at Bagan with a sour expression for his rude attitude.
“……”
The man remained silent, and for a moment even Bagan was taken aback. But he quickly recovered and spoke.
“You plan to leave it like this?”
His tone suggested that no one greeted guests this way. Forte seemed to decide that ‘a guest is a guest’ after all and invited Bagan and the others inside.
The interior was nothing special. Just the usual furniture found in wooden houses, lanterns and candles that gave off a warm atmosphere, and a fireplace to heat the room. Only the area around the fireplace was built of stone, so there was no worry of the wood catching fire. There were no chairs, so he laid out a mat for them to sit on the floor. Bagan didn’t mind and sat down first, waiting for Forte to take a seat.
“So what do you want to ask?”
The moment he sat down with a labored sigh, Forte jumped straight to the main topic. Bagan appreciated the directness.
“It seems some outsiders came through recently.”
“Hmm. And what business is that of yours?”
Forte suddenly looked at him with suspicion, as if trying to determine whether Bagan was a good man or a villain.
“It is my business. They’re the ones who kidnapped someone precious to me. It was quite a large group, wasn’t it?”
Forte’s eyes widened as if struck in a vital spot.
“They weren’t that sort of people. If they were refugees, of course they’d be a large group. You’ve guessed wrong. They were pitiful souls.”
“Refugees? So that’s the lie they told? How ridiculous. Was there no black-haired cat beastman or a fierce-looking woman with yellow hair?”
“Nonsense. You’ve definitely guessed wrong. There were women, but they were all human, with the common brownish hair you see everywhere. They were so skinny it was hard to tell them apart, but how could people who looked like that possibly be kidnappers?”
The man seemed completely brainwashed. Bagan spoke irritably, his frustration clear.
“Fine. Just tell me where they went.”
“What? I can’t do that. They were guests of our village. How could I spit out their information so carelessly?”
It didn’t look like this would end anytime soon. In the end, Paul stepped forward. The man known for his kind nature spoke up.
“Elder, I apologize. As you can see, this person is rather arrogant. He shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”
Whether Paul truly thought that about Bagan or was simply trying to smooth over the situation, Bagan still shot him a glare. Feeling the stare, Paul turned back to Forte.
“I know the circumstances make this difficult, but we’re in a hurry too. Here! Do you see this identification? It says Gold rank. We are genuine adventurers. I don’t know what they told you, but the clear evidence is right here, isn’t it?”
“That is true, but…”
Paul’s words caused Forte to lower his guard slightly. He roughly understood just how significant a Gold-rank adventurer was.
“They are fugitives who hid their criminal records. Deceiving strangers is easier than anything. But the fact that they kidnapped our companion remains unchanged.”
“……”
Forte remained silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, his brow furrowed deeply.
“Please help us. If you just tell us where they went, we’ll leave the village immediately.”
After Paul’s earnest plea, Forte finally made up his mind and spoke.
“They said they were heading to Slan. They didn’t say it outright, but they were looking for a city that would accept them no matter their story. The only such city nearby is that one.”
“Slan? Understood. Thank you very much for your cooperation.”
Having obtained the information, Paul glanced at Bagan. Bagan nodded and rose from his seat. With their destination now decided, he immediately prepared to leave.
“We’re moving out again.”
Once more, Bagan set his steps forward. Their next destination was Slan, a city in Tempo Kingdom.