101
My Villains Chapter 101
26. Fever (2)
I turned the leather bag inside out, soaking the cloth thoroughly. Then I squeezed it strongly to remove some moisture and wiped my sweat-soaked face.
"Would you like some water?"
"...No. I don't think I can drink." Ellen, leaning to one side of the wagon, responded in a barely audible small voice. I wiped her face, neck, hands, and arms, then covered her with the robe again.
"We'll reach the village soon, just endure a little longer."
"Mmm."
It was the third day since leaving South Harbor, and Ellen was suffering from a fever.
From the first day, there were signs something was wrong, and now her forehead was burning hot like a fireball, and she couldn't eat properly.
Despite consuming all the potions that Prince Ulkar gave her, the fever wouldn't go down.
The journey has only just begun... Worry fills my mind.
I got off the wagon and hung the empty leather bag on Spotty's saddle, then casually looked around.
After leaving South Harbor by ship, we sailed for about half a day before landing on land.
It wasn't because something suddenly happened; it was the plan from the beginning.
We took a ship heading west, landed on shore, and planned to join the trade route to Longville. This was my plan.
Why go through such a complicated process... Obviously, to deceive pursuers.
The palace's magicians are chasing Ellen. We can't exactly announce, ‘We're going north! Passing through Lidvern, heading to Longville in Marva!’ That would be impossible.
It's not a particularly great fake... But it's not too difficult, and if it works, we can buy quite a bit of time.
Through this process, the trade group we joined looked like an ordinary group of moderate size.
The leader of this group, who could be considered our employer, was a merchant named ‘Perso’, a man just over fifty.
Apparently hired by a certain count, he was leading three young merchants, two workers, and four soldiers.
On travel routes, larger groups are generally safer. So it was quite common for traveling merchants to request accompaniment from Perso. There were nine traveling merchants, and including the mercenaries hired by the merchants and us, there were ten in total.
Additionally, three travelers who paid to join made the group composition quite diverse.
And the proportion of armed personnel was incredibly high. In a group of just over thirty, there were ten mercenaries and four soldiers.
It seemed a bit excessive, but as I'd heard before, with remnants of bandit groups roaming around, merchants had no choice but to make this selection.
I watched the group walking briskly, then returned to the wagon and sat next to Ellen. Just then, the group started to murmur.
"Hey, look over there!"
"Could it be..."
Pulling back the cover cloth, I looked outside. Dust was rising from the western side where the sun was setting. Following that, the sound of horse hooves.
"Damn it, it's bandits!"
"Everyone, stop the wagons and get down!"
As the wagon stopped and the surroundings became noisy, Ellen slowly lifted her heavy eyelids.
"...What's happening?"
"It's nothing. Rest."
"I'm... Cold."
"Cold?"
As I was about to get off the wagon and rummage through Spotty's saddle, a mercenary suddenly shouted.
"Hey! Stop dawdling and grab your sword and come!"
The mercenaries and soldiers were already holding their weapons, preparing to fight. Among them, a man with a messy beard was glaring at me.
...Didn't he say he was from 'Abiden'? Seems he didn't stay long in South Harbor.
Thinking this, I gave a slight gesture with my chin.
"That guy will take my share too."
"...What? What nonsense is that?"
The man was silenced by another mercenary's restraint.
Me, Ellen, and Utequais all have such distinctive characteristics that it's not easy to hide our identities.
Of course, I'm trying to conceal Ellen's blonde hair and face as much as possible. It's not particularly difficult. Just pull the hood deep down.
But for me and Utequais, we can't change our equipment or turn our robes inside out. The palace's trackers are scary, but the enemies we'll face ahead are just as threatening, so we can't choose options that would reduce our combat effectiveness.
And in fact, even if I try to disguise myself, my physique is already a problem. Not just me, but Utequais is too conspicuous.
Eventually, I half-gave up on hiding my identity. I just need to be careful not to spread rumors.
At that moment, a large cargo cart pulled by a mule rattled significantly, and a large figure revealed itself.
"Urrrgh—"
Utequais stretched lazily and got up, casually wearing an elegant hat and draping a stone hammer over his shoulder.
...Come to think of it, with that visual, rumors are inevitably going to spread, right?
Meanwhile, the bandits were shouting loudly and rushing towards their group. There seemed to be about 20-30 of them. Quite a large band.
I was going to leave it to Utequais, but I can't just stand by and do nothing.
I quickly climbed onto the cart and wrapped a cloak around Ellen. The commotion outside was reaching its peak.
"Hey, that, that bastard!"
"X-eight, it's that barbarian from back then!"
"Aqun-ta!"
Now familiar roars could be heard. Following that were screams, sounds of things being smashed, more screams, urgent shouts - all mixed chaotically.
Ellen, wrapped in her robe and cloak like a cocoon, groaned with only her face exposed.
"Mmm... Phoenix, Phoenix."
"Noisy? Just wait a moment. I'll be right back."
Leaving behind the fidgeting Ellen, I stepped down from the cart.
Utequais had already run far ahead and was leaping among the bandits.
Then, a shout erupted from the bandit group.
"Catch that guy! Handle the others first!"
With that, some of the bandits broke off and charged towards this side.
Good timing.
I put on my helmet and took out a throwing spear from the saddle. As I slowly rode past the mercenaries, "Hey, that, that guy-"
"Please don't mind him and just look straight ahead!"
Ignoring the scuffle behind me, I immediately threw the spear.
Neigh!
"Ugh!"
The lead horse violently tumbled to the ground. The bandits' speed slowed.
"You dog-like bastard!"
A bandit rushed, whipping the reins, and swung a curved sword. I twisted my upper body to avoid it and counterattacked.
Thud
"Kugh!"
The blade, coated in a red hue, tore through the chain and ripped open his belly.
Leaving behind the fallen enemy spilling his intestines, I quickly threw myself forward. I narrowly dodged the fiercely charging mounted soldiers.
As I rose, I swung Hrunting in all directions. Iron and flesh blocked the blade, but I swung faster and stronger, cutting everything down.
As five pairs of mounted soldiers instantly turned into chunks of meat, the bandits wavered.
"That, that sword! It's the one who killed the Baron!"
"Damn it, retreat!"
Recognizing me, they pulled their reins with pale faces.
At that moment, a man burst out from among the frightened bandits.
"You-! So it was you!"
Definitely human in form, but seemingly a mutant, with coarse fur growing to his cheeks and under his eyes. Moreover, his mouth, revealed while growling, was full of sharp teeth.
"Oh, you are?"
One of the Baron's named subordinates,
"Bastard, you recognize me! Yes, I am the Beast Greer!"
With a roar, he leaped from his horse, swinging a thick iron club. A movement befitting his nickname.
I watched his actions and manipulated the overflowing blood around, bursting it.
Puga-gak.
"Aaah!"
As he covered his face from the sudden blood fragments, I swung my sword in one breath. Momentarily, the blade's coating extended about a yard.
Swish!
A thrilling sensation.
As Greer's body split top and bottom and rolled around, the bandits shouted with pale faces.
"Damn it, scatter!"
The bandits finally started to flee. Soldiers and mercenaries with bows shot arrows into their backs.
A couple of unlucky ones tumbled to the ground, but about ten bandits successfully escaped.
While wiping the blood off my body, a mercenary and a merchant hesitantly approached. Each was holding horse reins.
"These are the spoils for you and that barbarian."
Due to their characteristic of riding horses, bandits are dangerous and tricky to deal with. However, if you can drive them away, you often obtain abundant spoils.
Glancing over, three horses were loaded with armor, weapons, and various items.
When I scratched my head with an annoyed expression, the merchant quickly spoke up.
"If it's okay, I'll purchase these spoils."
"Oh, you will?"
"Yes. For an old mare and gelded horses, I can't offer much... But including other miscellaneous items, I'll give you fifteen pieces."
"Fifteen pieces? In gold coins?"
"Oh, of course."
Oh, that's quite tasty.
In the city fight, I wasn't lucky enough to capture horses, but here luck is following me.
After organizing, we set out again when twilight was coloring the sky and dusk was approaching.
Just as the merchant and mercenaries were unsure about lighting torches, a village appeared in the distance.
Vast fields of wheat, barley, and vegetables were spread out, with a gentle hill rising in the center. On that hill, houses were scattered around a large tree. It was a serene village.
Perhaps due to three days of diligent travel northeast? It was a typical rural village with no hint of sea breeze.
Of course, ‘typical’ was a description by the standards of this world.
The scene, with double wooden palisades around the village and high fences mixed with mortar at each house, was slightly different from the picture in my mind.
The leader of the self-proclaimed vigilante group was, naturally, not the kind-hearted middle-aged rural man.
"One silver coin per person, up to ten can enter."
The vigilante leader, with quite an imposing physique and a knife at his waist, received a wry smile from the old guide.
"Hmm, the price has gone up a bit?"
"Aren't these dark times? Recently buying a dozen bows and crossbows has made the village's situation quite difficult."
The guide and vigilante leader seemed acquainted and exchanged a few words.
Meanwhile, the men on the wooden palisades were scanning the group with wary eyes, looking just like fierce watchdogs monitoring the yard.
"We'll have to camp here. Does anyone want to enter?"
Paying silver coins just to enter the village didn't seem reasonable. In the end, only I stepped forward.
"My companion is sick and needs village assistance."
"Very well. Do as you please."
As I moved, I suddenly looked back at Utequais.
"What are you doing? Come along."
"Village men are scared. They fear me."
Looking back, indeed more than half of the vigilantes' gazes were directed at Utequais.
I couldn't leave him behind. If something happened, it would be easier to handle it with Utequais than alone.
"Forget it, bring the spotted one."
"...Hmm."
As Utequais and I approached, sharply rising wariness was visibly evident. They were unnecessarily touching arrow feathers or readjusting spear grips.
It was understandable. Not only Utequais but I was also an unusually large figure in this world. Moreover, I was wearing black plate armor, and Utequais was dressed in a bizarre outfit, so their fear was justified.
But my mind was not relaxed enough to simply observe such behavior.
"Hello."
"...Wh-what do you want?"
The vigilante leader, looking up at me as I approached, placed his hand on the knife handle.
I handed him a gold coin and spoke.
"We are just ordinary travelers."
"What, oh, this is?"
I handed another gold coin to the middle-aged man whose eyes had grown as large as marbles.
"Three of us need to enter. Please rent us the best house in the village."
"I'll relay this to the village chief."
"Good."
Another coin.
"And this is a request and a warning,"
"...?"
"I'm now entering the village with my sick companion."
"Oh, you have a patient."
"Yes. But..."
Raising my hand and scanning above the wooden palisade,
"When that person passes, I hope no one will have their hand on a weapon."
The men whose eyes met mine shuddered. Their slowly turning gazes returned to the vigilante leader.
"I hope no unfortunate incidents occur."
The vigilante leader, swallowing hard, nodded distractedly.
The gold coins had done their job.
When entering the village holding Ellen, tail-wagging mongrel dogs were guarding the wooden palisade.