The Reason for the Ambush
Elsid was walking along the road after leaving Nao when a boy with green hair and green eyes approached him. "Elsid, sir," called Bearvid, the hero candidate.
"What is it?"
"You're an adventurer, right? That means you've traveled to many places."
Bearvid looked at him with a pure, untainted face and bright, expectant eyes. Seeing that hopeful gaze, Elsid couldn't bring himself to admit that he had only just become an adventurer and that this was his first request.
"Yeah. I haven't been one for long, so not many places, but I've been around a bit."
Even if he wasn't an adventurer, his time as Luke's trainer had taken him to enough places that he could stretch the truth without much trouble.
"I knew it!" Bearvid exclaimed with a delighted face when Elsid nodded.
"Why do you ask?" Elsid said, observing the boy in front of him. Though most of his clothing was hidden beneath a robe, the silver armor and gold ornaments that flashed with each step spoke of considerable expense. From what Bearvid had said earlier about being "just an ordinary boy until he was recognized," it seemed his status had risen suddenly in daily life.
"I used to be an orphan. Then Sir Rance picked me up."
At Elsid's question, Bearvid began his story. Elsid glanced at Rance walking a little behind them. Even with the robe on, his sturdy muscles were impossible to hide. If they were still that solid in his old age, how powerful must he have been in his youth?
"So he's like family to you?"
"I suppose so. He found me starving on the streets and raised me, feeding me and giving me a place to sleep since I was little."
Bearvid answered with a smile.
"Whenever I couldn't sleep, Sir Rance would tell me stories from his days as a wandering paladin. Like how he crushed a back-alley syndicate in the beastkin kingdom, or how he entered the continent's northern tournament to find the strongest warrior, only to lose in the first round—though the one who beat him went on to win the whole thing."
"Sounds exciting."
Elsid readily agreed as Bearvid smiled with obvious enjoyment. His own late grandfather had told him plenty of old stories when he was young. They weren't personal tales like Rance's, but legends of ancient heroes, and they had been endlessly fascinating no matter how many times he heard them. His favorite had always been the story of the half-demon warrior, one of the Five Heroes, slaying a dragon—one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings—with his greatsword.
"Someday I want to go on an adventure so incredible it sounds more like a lie than the truth, just like the heroes from a hundred years ago. And of course, I'll help as many people as they did..."
"That's quite the ambition. I hope you achieve it."
Elsid encouraged Bearvid's dream. After that exchange, the two continued talking at length. It had been a while since Elsid had conversed this much, and he found the conversation with the boy who held such grand dreams genuinely enjoyable.
The task of escorting Bearvid to Agatram was proving uneventful. The well-paved road was wide enough for carriages, so unlike his solo travels, they encountered no monsters at all. They simply walked while chatting pleasantly.
Then it happened.
"Halt!"
Rance, who had been quietly following behind, suddenly shouted and dashed in front of them. Elsid felt no suspicion at the action.
"Hoo... So you sensed it too."
"Yeah. Looks like you did as well."
Elsid had already noticed the presence of people not far ahead. Both men drew their swords—Rance a longsword roughly a meter long, while Elsid gripped his wooden practice sword.
"One, two, three... Altogether, less than ten."
Concentrating, Elsid could hear the faint clink of metal from within the bushes. Whoever was hiding there was armed.
"W-what's going on, you two?"
Bearvid asked in a trembling voice, but neither man answered.
"Lord Bearvid, I will protect you."
Only Rance spoke, pulling the frightened boy behind him and raising his guard.
"Elsid, sir, I'll handle guarding Lord Bearvid, so—"
"Got it."
Already guessing what Rance was about to say, Elsid moved before the sentence finished. He sprinted straight toward the bushes where he had sensed the presence.
Shhhk!
Three daggers flew out from the foliage, aimed not at him but at Bearvid, whom Rance was shielding.
"They must've thought we were easy targets."
Clang, clang, clang!
Elsid stepped into their path and knocked all three daggers aside with rapid swings, sending them clattering to the ground. Then he charged into the bushes, tracing the trajectory back to its source. Three masked attackers in black waited there.
"Die!"
The first one lunged with a dagger aimed at Elsid's throat. Elsid ducked and stepped forward, driving his wooden sword into the man's solar plexus.
"Guh!"
The attacker crumpled, clutching his chest. While that one fell, the other two drew their daggers and attacked. But they had overlooked one crucial detail.
Clang!
Elsid didn't carry only one sword. As the first dagger came in, he drew the Arming Sword from his other hip—still in its scabbard—and blocked both strikes. At the same time, he twisted his body and slammed his wooden sword into one attacker's head.
Thwack!
With a solid impact, the man staggered, clutching his head, and collapsed. The last attacker charged with a desperate cry, swinging his dagger, but the blow never landed.
Thud!
Elsid's kick to the stomach sent him reeling before he could reach him. A final strike to the head with the wooden sword ended the fight.
"You three have a lot to answer for."
Elsid spoke to the subdued men.
"We won't tell you anything."
"Ignorant fools who know nothing of the truth!"
"For the great one!"
Each attacker muttered a cryptic phrase before biting down on hidden poison capsules. They chose death over capture. There was no time to stop them.
'Wait—one of the last one's words...'
Elsid felt a strange sense of déjà vu at something the attacker had said, but he pushed the thought aside and stepped out of the bushes.
"I see you handled your side safely as well."
Rance stood with his longsword dripping blood. Two mangled corpses lay sprawled around him. Bearvid clung to Rance like a frightened lamb. Seeing the scene, Elsid let the earlier unease slip from his mind.
"We should head to the next village quickly. We don't know when the next attack might come."
"Understood."
Elsid agreed with Rance and quickened his pace toward the next settlement.
***
The three arrived at a small village called Erin Village and immediately found an inn. They secured a room and laid the exhausted Bearvid on the bed.
"R-Rance... we're safe now, right?"
"Yes. We'll be fine here at the inn for the time being."
"Th-thank goodness."
Hearing Rance's words, Bearvid relaxed and soon fell asleep. It was understandable. Witnessing living humans become corpses was a heavy shock for a child.
Rance quietly tucked the blanket over the sleeping boy and left the room. Elsid followed him out.
"Those attackers who showed up today—what were they?"
The moment they were outside, Elsid skipped the pleasantries and asked directly. He already knew from the brief fight that they weren't ordinary bandits after money. Their movements had been too professional, too well-trained. So why would trained killers target Bearvid, a hero candidate chosen for possessing a fragment of the mysterious power that had once defeated the Demon King a hundred years ago? No answer came to mind, so he asked outright.
"Hoo... If I stay silent now, I'd just be an inconsiderate man."
Rance sighed and pulled a white sheet of paper from his robes, handing it to Elsid. On it was drawn a symbol: a sword, a staff, and a book arranged in a triangle, each enclosed in smaller triangles that together formed a larger circle.
"This is called a Holy Sigil."
After showing the drawing, Rance took the paper back and tucked it away.
"It's the sacred mark of the hero granted by the benevolent god of the Carnea Continent to those with the potential to become heroes."
"Then the reason we were attacked..."
"Yes. They were clearly trying to steal Lord Bearvid's Holy Sigil."
Elsid understood why they had been attacked. But one thing still didn't make sense.
"How do you steal a mark that's carved into someone's body?"
"Even among hero candidates, the location of the Holy Sigil varies depending on each person's aptitude," Rance explained kindly. "Hands, legs, back, and many other places. It's possible to transplant it to another by cutting off the marked area and performing magical procedures. Those who receive the transplant gain a portion of the hero's power."
"What happens to the one who loses the sigil?"
"Fortunately, they don't die, but they lose all their power. However, Bearvid's case is different from the others."
"What do you mean?"
Elsid tilted his head. Without realizing it, Rance had dropped the honorific when speaking of Bearvid.
"Bearvid's Holy Sigil... is located in his heart."
"That means..."
"Yes. For Bearvid, losing the sigil means death."
"I see..."
Elsid rubbed his face. Most of the details were confusing, but one thing was clear: this was no simple escort mission protecting someone from bandits or monsters. They would have to risk their lives against professional assassins.
"I'm sorry for accepting this request without explaining anything. If you want to back out now..."
"No. I'll continue the request."
Rance's voice trailed off as he watched Elsid rub his face, but Elsid shook his head.
"I was planning to go to Agatram anyway. It's just one more troublesome matter to deal with."
He had no intention of abandoning the request now. Though he had only spent a short time with Bearvid, the boy was pure and full of dreams. Elsid could never walk away knowing such a kind child's life might be in danger. No matter what anyone said, he would see this request through to the end.