Chapter 93
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Ah, What Am I Supposed to Do?
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Steron added in a voice laced with dignity.
"You beggar-like bastards! You thieving scum! You uneducated filth-!"
What's wrong with this guy?
Sudden outburst?
"-That wasn't an insult or belittlement. Was it?"
Nope.
Still, I had no clue what this stubborn bastard was getting at. It must've been how the thieves felt when I spoke.
"What are you trying to say?"
"They are all men acknowledged by the Captain. That's why you called them brothers. Holy Knights don't casually call even fellow Holy Knights brothers. That's the nature of the position."
I knew that much.
But apparently, I'd started calling even the thieves brothers without realizing it.
Anyway, Steron wasn't trying to make an issue of that now.
"Walter runs faster than I can pour all my mana into sprinting. Gazdal's spear pierces Loginin's shield. Crook has the devil's brain-."
"I get it, you bastard. Enough."
I relaxed and let out a chuckle.
My chest, which had been heaving raggedly without me noticing, finally settled.
"You're saying to trust the rest and leave it to them."
"Exactly."
"Got it."
I should've done that from the start.
'Living proactively and acting unilaterally are different things. You have to know the difference.'
It wasn't coincidence that those words came to mind now.
Even the man I respected most never tried to handle everything alone.
He said a leader's true journey begins with balancing responsibility and authority, then distributing them.
'I'm no leader. But for now, I am.'
Good.
I locked eyes with Steron, whose intensity had softened.
"Time to trust them now. Still, Steron, you stay."
Steron didn't argue.
"Understood. I remember well what you said: mutual concessions, even small ones, form the basis of deals and negotiations."
Did I say that too?
Steron rifled through his parchment and continued.
"The basic capitalist Holy Knight must cultivate..."
I must've spouted all sorts of nonsense to these naive Holy Knights.
Guess I stayed here longer than I thought.
He's taking notes too?
Hanging around with Crook must be contagious.
Ahem-.
The big-rock-faced Loginin grinned wide with his massive mouth.
"I'll prepare. Need anything?"
"Rations. Sword. Fast horse—no, I'll run. If you can't keep up, don't bother. Ride if you want."
"I'll run even if I lag behind. I'm faster and tougher than any horse. And good at tracking."
"Meet at the plaza after prepping."
I summoned two small, swift birds—the kind called arrow sparrows for their speed.
I assigned them to Crook, instructing them to relay any emergencies.
Steron returned from the armory with a well-maintained sword and spear each.
"These'll do."
Last used against the Ogre King, so it had been ages since I'd handled blades.
The sword was decent enough, but the spear's blade was too short for my taste. I prefer ones with long points like a sword.
"Steron."
"Yes?"
"Take the spear."
I grabbed just the sword and slung the lever I'd carried from the sanctuary on my back. Somehow, it had become my perfect weapon-slash-staff.
"Alright—."
I started to tell Steron I trusted him, then stopped.
In this situation, what did trust or distrust matter?
Live or die, it was each man's share.
For the wanderers of the wilds and the sanctuary's people alike.
'Fates they must bear themselves.'
So why couldn't I just let them live and die by their fates?
That's just how I'm built.
Thrashing about and stirring chaos—that's the fate I was born with.
Foolish beings embracing, fighting, rejecting each other, influencing fates.
That's humanity.
'The Chairman's words.'
Steron, watching me pace before the meeting hall, sighed.
"Trying to do it all alone... you're too much like him."
I can hear you, man.
I gave Steron and Crook a nod and headed to the plaza.
Do they know what I'm thinking?
'Feels like I might not come back this time. Maybe that's for the best.'
The residents would finally live as masters of the sanctuary once I left.
Backpack on, Loginin stood with Ibu and Hama waiting beside him.
Ibu's eyes burned with pointless resolve. I know what you want to say, you punk.
"Captain. Ibu's never leaving you—."
"Obviously we're going together."
"No way! Huh?"
I'm the guardian.
Guarding only works when we're together.
"Fuck—yeah! Fine."
Ibu threw in a rare, refreshing curse and grinned wide.
Seeing his smile made me realize I'd been tense for no reason.
"Hama. Move with Loginin. You can track by scent, right?"
Grooo-.
Hama was pig-like yet dog-like.
The thing could sniff even in water.
Following me and Ibu's scent on the eastern wind would be child's play.
A massive crow circled overhead anyway, making visual tracking easy.
Time to go.
I eyed only the open gates obsessively.
Narrowed my vision to block out the crowd's stares.
Meeting their eyes might shake my gaze—and my resolve.
Huuu-.
I drew a long breath.
How long since I'd sprinted full tilt?
"Going."
Piiiing-.
Wind whistled sharply past my ears.
Like air through a pinhole.
I burst from the sanctuary in one go.
My reflection flashed in a stream crossing the plain.
Ragged-shirt getup no better than rags.
A clean, vivid blue cloak flapped wildly.
Ibu stuck right beside me, afraid to lose his guardian.
She wore a rag-like dress too.
Even in tatters, with only Yuderg's stolen red cloak for color, she shone like a goddess.
Loginin's mana was just leaving the fortress.
Hama hustled after.
Each light step sent heavy vibrations from our pursuers.
We crossed the plain that'd take half a day on foot in a single dash.
'Which way?'
A few yellow birds circled far off.
Navigating like pros.
"This way."
Might not need the firefighter's imaginary navigator anymore.
Not with birds showing shortcuts.
Though they had flaws...
"Captain! No path ahead? It's a canyon."
Birds don't account for ground-bound animals. No wonder they're birdbrains.
A 15-meter chasm gaped at the cliff's end.
"We can jump this."
"Yaaah-! Ibu jumps too!"
Hama'd piggyback Loginin or vice versa. Figure it out.
I rolled my eyes mid-stride to scan.
Where the hell was this?
Everything looked alien.
The places I went were always new.
Fresh spots.
Weird monsters, exotic races.
People with different views and mindsets.
A thrilling world.
'Hate it, but love it.'
My lips curved up inexplicably.
I became the wind, following the birds.
Not blind pursuit.
'Fastest this way?'
Lie.
Birds didn't always pick optimal paths.
That's why I couldn't ditch the imaginary navigator yet.
'Birds have their obstacles too.'
I adjusted course by gut each time.
'Gotta cross that mountain anyway—faster through the village than over the peak?'
Duh.
Folks in barren lands hunted to fill food gaps.
If you could handle bows and traps, hunter beat farmer for basics.
So Ear's birds instinctively feared humans. No village routes.
"Stop-!"
Lax guards chased us sometimes.
"-Wait, how's that thing so fast...?"
Eyes only.
I quickly mastered bird-nav combo for speed boosts.
"Captain! Ibu's thirsty!"
Breaks were essential.
Catch breath, quench thirst.
"Not tired? Holding up?"
"Ibu's super noble, this is nothing. Plus, Ibu slept tons. You must be sleepy, Captain."
Oh yeah, barely slept.
What to do when sleep won't come?
'Body's aching, eyes sticky—kinda wanna crash.'
Got too comfy in the sanctuary.
Idiot.
Should've trained body alongside mana practice.
Too late now.
"Rested? Let's go."
"Loginin and Hama keeping up?"
"Not far off."
Birds overhead marked them like buoys.
'Finding comfort in birds. Reliable. Convenient.'
We crested mountains, whipped gusts through villages.
"Ibu, where are we roughly?"
Ibu shrugged at every question.
"No clue."
So brazen?
"First time here. Gramps and Granny said don't go far. Strangers eat you up."
Quirky home training that stuck.
Avoided army camps, big cities.
Once skirted a market; Ibu got distracted gawking, crashed through a wall. Grabbed her scruff, bolted.
★
"Captain, how many days we run?"
"Four-ish?"
"Four days means sun born and died three times. Right? Say yes."
"Yes."
How long as clueless adventurers?
Deep woods revealed new birds.
Small turkey-like, gray feathers, white heads.
'These were with Requiya's crew too.'
They perched on high branches, staring.
I activated Blue Eye, scanning.
'No presences...'
Blue Eye pierced trees, revealing forests beyond.
I fixed on one spot, zooming vision.
Won't enhance Blue Eye, but—.
'Huh? Zoom function? News to me.'
Hadn't used it much lately, so no surprise.
"Captain, what's up?"
"Hold on."
No bandit or Requiya traces, but something off.
Beyond grass and trees' life force, alien biological traces.
'Bloodstains.'
Obvious.
Cold, but firefighter eyes knew them well.
I headed there pronto.
Grass flattened.
Branches snapped, dangling or dropped.
'Went this way.'
Blood trail thinned to palm-sized spots.
'Mana in the blood. Not Requiya.'
Palm to fist-sized.
'Clotted? Dying?'
Nail-sized again.
I prayed desperately.
'Not my friends.'
Please.
Keen-nosed Ibu sniffed behind.
"Captain, over there..."
I looked where she pointed.
"No..."
Ah, what am I supposed to do?