Arrival at Agatram
"Welcome to Luber, land of the Traum Empire. What brings you here?"
As we approached the guards at the city gates, they greeted us in a businesslike manner. At the same time, Lance pulled back his robe to reveal the silver eagle emblem attached to his armor and spoke.
"I am Lance, a wandering paladin who serves Pios, the god of light and healing. We are merely passing through on our way to deliver the hero candidate, Bearvid, to the Temple of Light in Agatram."
"I see. The temple already informed us of your arrival. Welcome, Sir Lance, and..."
"Hero candidate Bearvid."
Upon hearing Lance's explanation, the guards' previously formal expressions melted into warm, genuine smiles. With just a few words, Lance and Bearvid's identities were confirmed beyond doubt.
After verifying the two of them, the guards turned their attention to me.
"Pardon me, but what is your status?"
"We cannot allow anyone with unclear identity inside unless there are special circumstances."
The two guards stood alert, properly fulfilling their duties.
"I'm a D-rank adventurer. I've been hired to escort these individuals. Here, take a look."
I handed over my proper adventurer's identification, putting them at ease.
"And this fellow here is the scoundrel who dared to attack us."
Of course, I didn't forget to introduce the assassin leader, still gagged and being dragged along beside us. Normally, a criminal like him would be taken straight to prison, but when Lance explained the situation and insisted we needed to bring him to Agatram, the guards agreed not to take him away.
"Understood. Given the circumstances, we won't detain the prisoner."
"Since everyone's identity has been verified, you may enter."
Once the guards finished their checks, they stepped aside and cleared the path. Lance, Bearvid, myself, and the assassin leader being dragged behind us were finally allowed into Luber.
Inside the territory, people bustled about energetically. Merchants conducted their trade while residents browsed and purchased goods. Though I couldn't see them from here, I imagined farmers diligently working their fields as well.
"Elsid, are your wounds all right?"
While I was taking in the sights of the city, Bearvid asked with a worried expression. His gaze was fixed on my bandaged side where I'd been injured. I smiled and replied.
"I'm fine. This much will heal after a good night's sleep."
"I'm sorry. Since I'm a paladin and not a priest, I can only use healing magic on myself... If it weren't for that, I could've treated you."
Lance, who was still dragging the assassin leader, spoke with an apologetic look as he watched me smile.
"It's really all right. This is barely more than a bug bite."
I said it hoping to ease their guilty feelings.
"If you say so, then fine."
"Understood, Elsid."
Only then did the two of them nod, their gloomy expressions finally lifting.
It was at that moment, when their faces had brightened, that a voice called out.
"It's been a while, Lance."
A man clad in gleaming white armor appeared from somewhere and addressed Lance as if they were old acquaintances.
"Well, well. So the promised escort was you all along?"
"That would be correct, sir. Paladin Ferris, reporting for duty. I will faithfully carry out the mission to protect Bearvid."
True to his paladin nature, Ferris declared his intent to fulfill his duty with a formal salute rather than a simple bow.
"Good. Thank you. I don't need any introduction for myself, but this is Elsid, who was guarding Bearvid before you arrived. And this person is..."
"Then that young boy must be Bearvid. A pleasure to meet you. I am Ferris, and I will be guarding you alongside Senior Lance."
Before Lance could even finish speaking, the paladin named Ferris stepped forward and introduced himself to Bearvid once more.
"I-It's nice to meet you."
"My, you still have much to learn."
When Bearvid bowed his head in greeting, Ferris scratched his head and remarked as such. Just as Lance had mentioned before, the lack of confidence in his trembling voice and overly formal speech seemed to be the issue.
"By the way, if one of you is the escort... then the man with the gag that you're holding, sir..."
Ferris's gaze finally landed on the gagged assassin leader.
"Right. He's the leader of the assassins who attacked Bearvid. Unlike the others, we managed to gag him before he could commit suicide and captured him alive."
"I see. The fact that you brought him all the way here through the gates means you intend to take him to Agatram as well."
"Of course. I plan to ask a high-ranking priest at the temple in Agatram to uncover who's behind all this."
Lance spoke with a determined expression.
"Let's think about that later. You've all traveled a long way and must be exhausted. Get some proper rest today, and we can worry about tomorrow when it comes. I'll guide everyone to the inn we've prepared."
Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Ferris smiled and began walking ahead, apparently deciding to lighten the mood.
After walking for a short while, we arrived at a clean, sizable inn.
Stepping inside, we were greeted by a space even cozier than the streets outside.
"I've reserved one room each on the second floor."
At Ferris's words, Lance and Bearvid headed upstairs. Before going up, Lance requested a length of chain strong enough to restrain one person from the innkeeper. The assassin leader struggled violently as he was dragged away, but against Lance's strength, all resistance was futile.
"Shall we head up as well? If we rest today and depart tomorrow, we should reach Agatram by then."
"Ah, yes."
I had been distracted watching the scene and responded a beat late to Ferris before following him up to the second floor. It seemed I would finally get a proper rest today.
***
The next day arrived.
"Isn't this a bit excessive...?"
"Shut it. Know your place, filthy assassin."
When the assassin leader spoke after having his gag removed, Lance replied with a tone that suggested he wanted to bite the man's head off. Since the man still needed water and food to survive, we'd removed the gag, but in exchange, we had bound him with chains secured by a lock that couldn't be opened without a key.
While this was happening, we followed Ferris, who was guiding us, steadily making our way toward Agatram. Though Luber, part of the empire, and Agatram, heavily influenced by the temple, were lands of opposing natures, they weren't far apart like neighboring territories. A half-day's walk would get us there.
"Elsid, what do you plan to do once we reach Agatram?"
Seemingly aware that our parting was near, Bearvid had grown more talkative and kept asking me questions.
"First, I'll head to the temple to finish the job I was hired for, then report to the Adventurer's Guild that the request is complete."
"If you're going to the temple, that means we can stay together a little longer."
Bearvid smiled, apparently more pleased by that than by asking for my reasons.
"After that, I plan to head to the northern region."
"Wow! Then you might even get to meet the barbarians, the people who only live in the north."
Bearvid spoke with sparkling eyes full of anticipation, his smile never fading.
"Come to think of it, Lance mentioned last time that he participated in the tournament to select the strongest warrior in the north, only to be eliminated in the first round."
"Haha, serves him right. An old man like him shouldn't have shown off..."
Thud!
"The mutt sure knows how to bark."
Just as I recalled the previous memory and spoke, a cheerful voice came from behind, but it quickly fell silent.
"I want to go to the northern region someday and meet the barbarians too."
"I hope that happens for you."
Elsid silently wished that this boy, full of dreams and admiration, would grow up just like this and achieve his dreams.
We continued walking, and soon, Agatram appeared before us—a territory surrounded by dazzling white walls.
***
After arriving at Agatram, we walked a little further and finally reached the temple.
"Then I'll see you later, Elsid."
Though we had traveled together to the temple since it was our shared destination, Elsid and Bearvid's group now had to part ways again. Bearvid needed to undergo the formal ceremony to be recognized as a hero candidate, Lance had to consult a high-ranking priest about the assassins' backers, and Ferris had to submit a related report to his superiors.
"Yeah. Let's definitely meet again."
Elsid waved back at Bearvid, who was waving at him, and said his farewell.
"Ah, wait a moment. I almost forgot something."
Just as Bearvid was about to turn away, he suddenly grabbed me for some reason.
"May the guidance of the divine help this lamb walk the righteous path. Divine Guidance."
Bearvid clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and began to pray. In that instant, a brilliant golden light descended upon Elsid before vanishing.
"I'm not sure how much help it will be, but it should be better than nothing."
Only then did Elsid remember that there had been a completion reward for the request. He also recalled that the reward was a "prayer imbued with divine blessing." Because he had carried out the latter half of the mission with such a strong sense of responsibility, he had completely forgotten about it.
"Thank you. Become a truly magnificent hero candidate."
Elsid found himself smiling without realizing it and gently patted Bearvid's head as he spoke.
"Yes. I will definitely become a strong, cool, and kind hero candidate just like you, Elsid."
Bearvid nodded and answered. Having received the blessing, Elsid truly parted ways with Bearvid. All things considered, it wasn't such a bad farewell.