Chapter 12: Out into the World (2)
Chapter 12: Out into the World (2)
The next morning.
"It's time. Everyone up."
At Beard's shout from the final watch, everyone got sluggishly to their feet.
The first night watch and the last night watch were the cushiest of the guard duties. One of the two was always the captain's lot. Even in a small outfit, if you were the captain, such privileges were only to be expected.
With eight men, they could at least keep accumulated fatigue to a minimum. Any fewer and night watch became a serious problem.
"Captain, the squire isn't anywhere in sight."
"I don't know either. When I relieved the watch she was sleeping beside the knight, but at some point she vanished."
Grown men well older than a girl who was, on the face of it, in her late teens addressed her with unwavering deference.
Her status as a knight's squire was the first reason; the large crossbow on her back was the second; her height and the faint wildness she gave off were the third.
"She didn't come in from outside—you missed her leaving from right beside us? Were you actually keeping watch?"
Aul, the mercenary company's second-in-command and only archer, needled him.
"Even if I had seen her, what was I supposed to do? Was I to block the squire's way and demand her reasons? Stop talking nonsense and get ready to march."
Aul was also a man who used an alias instead of his given name due to his own circumstances.
True to his nickname, Owl, he saw well at night. As a former hunter, he often caught squirrels or mountain birds on the road and made meat stew with them.
He was indispensable both in and out of combat, so Beard tolerated a certain amount of backtalk from him.
Homi returned soon afterward with two limp rabbits, one dangling from each hand.
"Ah, just as expected!"
"We'll have some proper meat soup for the first time in a while."
The two rookie mercenaries swallowed hard. Beard's eyebrows twitched at the sight.
"Hey, idiots. You're already dreaming about a share without even thinking of Sir Knight first? Shut up and chew your rations."
Aul raised a fist and cuffed the two starry-eyed idiots on the head.
Beard nodded in satisfaction. A foul-tempered veteran made discipline much easier to maintain.
"Ow, why'd you hit us? He shared something good yesterday too. Can't blame us for hoping."
"Shut it."
The grumbling greenhorn promptly fell silent.
Meanwhile, Homi was skillfully skinning the rabbits and skewering them to prepare for roasting.
At that sight, the rookies gave up hope. If Homi was only roasting two scrawny rabbits, none would be left for them.
Aul, who had been watching with an 'of course' look, suddenly glared at them.
"You stupid fools. The man you're dealing with isn't a commoner, nor a fellow mercenary or adventurer. I'm talking about a noble knight."
"And?"
Aul sighed. The greenhorns, ignorant of the world's ways and fearless, clearly did not grasp the point.
"If he curses you, drop flat and beg. If he praises you, flatter him like you'd give him anything he asked for. If he hands you moldy bread, eat it with tears of gratitude. And never ask him for anything. No—don't even speak to him first! Don't stare at him either! That's how you deal with a noble knight. Got it?"
"I-Is it truly necessary to go that far?"
One of the other greenhorns shot a sidelong glance at Eugene.
With his warm smile as he stroked Homi's hair, Eugene looked almost like a priest.
Though his imposing build, charisma, and equipment at once proclaimed, 'This one is a knight!'
"Would I be speaking so cravenly if I were some spineless halfwit with no pride?"
"No."
"Absolutely not, sir."
The two greenhorns shook their heads.
That was because they had once witnessed Aul fighting a small band of bandits.
The surrendered bandit he had tortured was handled so brutally that even his own comrades' knees had gone weak.
After seeing a hunter's flaying skills applied to a human being, they could not eat anything for the entire rest of that day.
Naturally, the veterans had approved. The harsher the discipline in a mercenary company, the better its chances of survival.
"Any other questions?"
"None, sir!"
"Good."
But a moment later, Aul found himself embarrassed.
Homi was smiling as she carried over the pot of stew, now filled with rabbit meat.
The rabbits had been put over the fire not to make a roast, but in order to render their fat for weapon maintenance.
There was no guarantee they could buy maintenance supplies exactly when they needed them, so they made the most of anything they could source locally.
"Beard."
"Yes, Sir Knight!"
At Eugene's call, Beard, who had been seated, sprang to his feet.
Even big Beard had to look up at Eugene, and he was exceptionally well armed even for a knight. On top of that, he was the successor to the Knight of Prophecy and an honored guest invited by the city.
Even Beard, who swaggered before his own men, had to keep his wits sharp.
"I'm boiling a meat stew. Would you throw in some potatoes? Since we're at it, let's do it properly and eat together. As for salt, we have our own, so that won't be necessary."
What was more, good things kept coming Beard's way whenever he stayed near this knight.
"Good heavens, Sir Knight, I don't know how to thank you for your generosity! Even my own mother never treated me this well. Looks like good fortune has finally found me at the end of my mercenary career."
The bushy-bearded middle-aged man beamed in a way that did not suit his rough appearance.
Aul pointed a finger at the sight.
"See that? That is how you treat a noble knight."
"Whoa."
"To think Captain Beard would behave like that."
A vein bulged on Beard's forehead. Did they think he enjoyed groveling like this?
The party, now grown to eleven, resumed their march.
Eugene and Sorin rode their horses at the center, conversing amiably, while Homi and Aul, their senses keen, took the lead as scouts.
Sway, sway.
"Hm."
"Mm."
The mercenaries gave no outward sign, but thanks to Homi's tail, they were thoroughly delighted.
Merely by having a beautiful woman join a company that had been full of sweaty men, it felt as though the fragrance of flowers had wafted in.
And what was more, with that long, thick white tail swaying so alluringly, it was a feast for the eyes.
They had seen beastkin plenty of times over their mercenary careers, but none with a tail like Homi's. It looked far softer and more supple than the fox fur they had once seen draped over a noblewoman.
Sway, sway.
"Ahem."
Since they could not stare openly, they kept turning their gazes this way and that, pretending to keep watch over the surroundings, and Eugene, unaware of their true preoccupation, was impressed.
"These men are remarkably disciplined. A march this dull should make anyone restless, yet they're quiet and keep a sharp watch in every direction. You have quite an eye for finding a mercenary company like this."
"Hahaha, it delights me to hear his lordship say so. The Beard Mercenary Company, if I may say so myself, enjoys considerable renown in Bonyard."
Sorin, too, had simply assumed the mercenaries were on edge in the presence of a knight — he could never have imagined it was because of a tail.
The guilty mercenaries only sharpened up even more.
Looking around, a beautiful forest stretched out on either side of the narrow dirt road. It was nothing like the gloomy forest west of Kingdom's End.
"But do you really need an escort this large? Around here, the worst you usually see is a few wild dogs, or maybe a stray wolf or two if you're unlucky."
It was fundamentally a village at peace for decades. Even the merchants who visited infrequently used to pass through with modest parties.
Though, judging by the mercenaries' equipment, Eugene could see why they might want the extra manpower.
Their weapons were ordinary spears and woodcutting axes, and only Beard, the captain, carried an iron sword. Their shields looked flimsy enough to split after a few blows from a grown man's axe.
Their armor was uniformly cloth, save for Beard and Aul, who protected their arms and chests with leather that had been tanned.
"If we're going to escort Sir Goffrey, we need to at least look the part. A knight under contract with the city was supposed to come too, but he's been sent elsewhere."
It was likely due to the reason mentioned the day before. The area around the city had reportedly grown unsettled due to the threats of the Gord nobles.
"Dispatched? Did he go to root out some bandits?"
If he worked for Bonyard, he was probably a free knight without a liege. Since Eugene had accepted the city's invitation, the man might be a glimpse of his own future, which made him curious.
"No. To my knowledge, he went to escort an envoy to the Roman Kingdom. I am but a low-ranking official, so I do not know the full details."
"If they sent a knight with the delegation, it must be an important diplomatic mission."
The Roman Kingdom was a powerful nation at the heart of the continent. Though every country claimed descent from the Ancient Kingdom, Roman prided itself on being the genuine article.
Its national strength was one thing, but it was also because it had directly inherited the old capital of the Ancient Kingdom.
It was not a subject Sorin wanted to dwell on, so he changed the topic.
"Sir Eugene, even your squire is exceptional. To serve you with both taciturnity and diligence—those are admirable virtues."
Was he curious about Homi, who had not spoken a single word? The intent behind his roundabout inquiry, disguised as praise, was transparent.
But Eugene played the part of a knight who was naively delighted.
"I thank you for the kind regard. But Homi was born unable to speak."
"Oh dear! How tactless of me. I said something unnecessary."
"It's fine. I can see why a squire this quiet would seem unusual."
A squire was no mere servant. Managing arms was one duty, but she was also a comrade who fought alongside the knight.
She also served as the herald who praised her knight's deeds in his stead and proclaimed them to those around him.
Naturally, an inability to speak created immense inconvenience.
"Still, I can promise you there's no better squire than Homi. I don't know how long my life as a knight will last, but I hope she'll be with me to the end."
Her white tail shot straight up so suddenly it seemed ready to go pop, then settled again. Naturally, everyone pretended not to have seen it.
At that moment, Homi, who had been walking at the front, suddenly drew out her crossbow and aimed it. Aul, too, nocked an arrow to his shortbow.
"What is it?"
"I... don't know either."
At Beard's question, Aul hesitated.
It was because he had not raised his bow upon spotting anything, but had simply followed Homi's lead.
Shing.
But when Eugene drew his sword, everyone readied themselves for a fight.
The brush to the right shook violently, and a large beast with grey fur burst out.
"A wolf!"
"Damned luck."
The mercenaries skillfully fell into formation. In a mercenary's life, wolves were as common a sight as stray dogs.
Usually they only watched from a distance or were spotted tearing at a carcass. It was surprisingly rare for wolves to attack outright like this.
Two wolves charged straight at the party.
While Aul, who held the shortbow, waited for them to enter his range, Homi was already pulling the trigger.
Thwip!
Yelp!
A bolt buried deep in its skull, the wolf collapsed in a spray of bloody froth.
'Excellent marksmanship.'
No matter that it had been running straight at them, accurately piercing a beast's vitals was no easy feat. The destructive power, too, was brutal, as befitted the size of the crossbow.
The remaining wolf flinched for a moment but continued its charge.
'Come on in, you son of a bitch.'
Aul held the drawn bowstring steady and glared at the wolf.
No matter how impressive the squire was, Aul still had his pride from years spent as a hunter and mercenary. He intended to take this one himself.
The instant the wolf entered his range, Aul released the string.
Yelp!
But the beast, apparently wary after seeing its companion die, sprang sideways. The arrow grazed its fur and missed by a hair.
"Damn it!"
Thwip!
Aul's curse was swallowed by the whistle of a second bolt.
Thunk!
Awooo!
The wolf collapsed with a bolt buried diagonally through its left shoulder.
It struggled to its feet for a few seconds and tried to flee, but spat up a gush of blood and collapsed. The bolt had pierced its heart.
'How long has it been since the first shot?'
Aul's senses had registered no sign of Homi bending down to reload.
"Impossible."
When he glanced over, Homi was already loading a third bolt while standing, drawing the crossbow string back with nothing but her fingers.
Just then, a deep howl rang out.
It was as if a wolf's howl—awoooo!—had been lowered to a bass register and mixed with a phlegmy, rasping sound.
"Damn it! A warg!"
Beard shouted.
"A warg? What is that?"
"No wonder the wolves were charging at us so fearlessly."
"Everyone keep your wits about you!"
The rookies looked bewildered; the veterans clenched their teeth.
'A warg.'
It was a name Eugene had heard from Goffrey.
-Wild wolves are big, but surprisingly cowardly. Even mercenaries don't fear them much. Wolves are sensitive to the smell of steel.
-So they're afraid of getting stabbed.
-Yes. In the daytime, you will never catch sight of them, and even at night, they will only size you up from a distance before eventually bolting. However, if they charge at you like mad dogs, be warned. It means a warg is behind them.
Werewolves are weaker but intelligent and treated as demi-humans. Wargs, by contrast, trade intelligence for greater strength.
Its form resembled a wolf, but it was more than twice the size, and it could switch between bipedal and quadrupedal movement, launching versatile attacks.
-A warg lives a solitary, wandering life, but when the mating season comes, it seeks out a nearby wolf pack and attacks. It strikes down and devours the alpha, then claims every she-wolf. After sowing its seed, it calmly departs.
-What a beastly brute. Then a whole litter of warg pups is born?
-Perish the thought! Were that the case, several nations would have been laid to ruin. Reproduction between warg and wolf is impossible. It is simply an act of slaughter and satisfying its lust.
-Is there more I must know about the creature?
-There are times when, even after sowing its seed, it settles down in the area. It mobilizes the wolves to hunt when there is prey nearby that looks appetizing. It is far more dangerous than any common bandit gang, so you must be cautious.
Eugene faithfully followed his mentor's teachings. He sheathed his sword, drew his flail, and stepped forward.
Clatter.
"You scared me."
One of the mercenaries jumped in surprise. An iron club as thick as his forearm, suspended by a chain, had passed right by his face.
That mercenary's face soon shifted to relief.
A knight striding forward, wielding a long weapon that looked, at a glance, utterly vicious in one hand—there could be no more reassuring presence against a warg.
The underbrush rustled violently, and far more than ten wolves burst onto the scene. This warg seemed to have united about two packs.
"It's do or die! Put your faith in Sir Knight and fight!"
The mercenaries let out a battle cry, as if to answer Beard's roar.