An Unexpected Reunion
Luden stayed two more days in the Black Wolf Village. The Black Temple had been cleared, so his goal was accomplished — but as he rested and thought over the road ahead, the days simply stretched on.
Of course, there was another reason, too.
“Ugh... my head. I haven't drunk like that in ages.”
When he'd announced his departure the night before, the village had thrown him a farewell party. Perhaps they'd grown quite fond of him over his stay, because everyone seemed genuinely sorry to see him go.
“Yes. So you're off, then.”
“I am. I can't stay here forever, after all.”
“Heh heh. If it were you, I'd have no objection to your staying as long as you liked.”
Vargar's eyes were full of warmth as he looked at Luden.
And it was no more than he deserved. Luden hadn't only returned the kidnapped children safely — he'd also resolved the matter of the Black Temple, a thorn in the Black Wolf Tribe's side for as long as anyone could remember. And he'd asked for nothing in return. In Vargar's eyes, Luden was a rare thing indeed: an honest, unassuming human.
Even if that impression had been born of a misunderstanding.
“We mustn't let our own selfishness tie our benefactor's feet to this place. Take this, please.”
“This is...?”
What Vargar held out was a small sword with a blade curved like a claw. Unlike ordinary daggers, made for stabbing, this one had clearly been forged to cut.
“It's a fang — one we grant only to the warriors of the tribe.”
“You're giving something like that to me?”
“Take it. It is the proof that you are our friend.”
When he put it that way, there was no refusing.
Luden carefully accepted the dagger and slipped it into his pocket.
“Then travel safely. May our ancestors watch over your path.”
“Thank you for everything.”
With a bow of his head, Luden left the chief's house behind him.
The village was quiet. The Black Wolf Tribe lived by the hunt, so men and women alike were already out in the early morning.
'I said my goodbyes yesterday, so I'll set off right away.'
With his preparations already complete, Luden's steps turned toward the edge of the village. The scenery swept past him — a place he'd stayed only a few days, yet somehow already familiar.
And when he reached the village entrance, a familiar face was waiting for him.
“You're leaving, then?”
“Kyle? Don't tell me you've been waiting here.”
“I came to see our benefactor off.”
Was this what you'd call diligent? So unwavering, from the very first day they'd met — Luden shook his head.
But only for a moment. Soon he was smiling, and he extended his hand to Kyle.
“I owe you a lot, one way or another. Let's meet again sometime.”
“Come find us whenever you like. You are my friend.”
Kyle, returning the handshake, wore a bright, easy smile of his own.
“So he's gone.”
Even after Luden had vanished completely from view, Kyle did not leave his spot for some time.
At first he'd kept the man at arm's length, certain he was the one behind the children's abduction. But once he realized it was a misunderstanding and began guiding him to the village, Kyle had been able to observe the human called Luden in close detail.
A strange human, this one. Surrounded by the tribe's warriors the entire way to the village, his face had shown not a flicker of fear or tension. Even with Kyle's comrade glaring daggers at him from the side, he hadn't shrunk an inch — and for that alone, Kyle had decided, the man deserved credit for his nerve.
And then there were the past few days spent at his side.
Kyle had come to trust Luden — and to call him a friend.
“It'll be quiet around here for a while.”
“Kyle! The human— no, Luden, is he gone?”
“Ruka. You came to see him off too? Luden left the village ages ago.”
To Ruka, who came scrambling up in a panic, Kyle said flatly that he was far too late. The man had accidentally drunk honey wine at Luden's farewell party the night before, it seemed, and had only just come back to his senses.
“Come on, let's head back.”
“N-no, that's not it. Sarah... Sarah's gone.”
“What?”
Ruka's face was tight with urgency.
“I just went by her house, and Sarah wasn't there. The others haven't seen her either. I think... I think she's left the forest.”
“She couldn't have—!”
Kyle's face went pale as he turned to stare in the direction Luden had gone.
His eyes trembled with dread.
Rattle, rattle.
Inside the carriage rolling over the unpaved road, all was comfort. Seated in its plush chair, Luden could feel not so much as a tremor.
So this is what money properly spent buys you.
Fine carriages each carried their own engraved enchantments. Shock absorption came standard, along with protective and reinforcement magic against outside attack — and on top of that, air purification and climate control.
It seemed an absurd extravagance for a mere means of travel — but to nobles, even this was simply another way of displaying their prestige.
“By the way, Sir Luden, what business takes you to Talon?”
“There's no need for the 'Sir.' I'm nothing more than a wandering mercenary these days.”
“I couldn't possibly. My father owes you a debt — how could I presume to treat you roughly over a mere title?”
When the reddish-brown-haired young man across from him said this with deliberate exaggeration, Luden couldn't help but chuckle.
At Viscount Valen's suggestion, he was traveling with the man's son, Gunter — who turned out to be rather entertaining company.
So this man was the spark that set the war ablaze in my past life.
In his previous life, the cause of Viscount Valen's war had been an incident in which Gunter — the young man sitting across from him now — had very nearly been killed by the Black Wolf Tribe.
But Luden's intervention had seen to it that future never arrived, and here he was, facing the man hale and whole.
Fate truly was an unpredictable thing.
With that thought, Luden spoke.
“I have business in Talon.”
“Could it be you mean to enter the knight's tournament held around this time of year?”
Gunter was headed to Talon for the very same reason, and he asked with open curiosity.
Instead of answering, Luden simply smiled.
That was when it happened.
“Lord Gunter. We have a bit of a problem.”
“A problem?”
“There is a monster carcass on the road ahead. May we stop for a moment and assess the situation?”
“A monster carcass, you say?”
At the report of the knight riding alongside outside, Gunter frowned.
Monsters being hunted or fighting over territory was a common enough occurrence — nothing to be alarmed by.
“Very well. Let's rest a moment before moving on.”
At his nod, the carriage soon rolled to a halt.
“I'll take a look around as well.”
“I'd be grateful if you did.”
With Gunter's leave, Luden stepped down from the carriage. Ahead of the halted carriage, the two knights who had ridden out as escorts were examining the carcass of a boar-like monster.
“A Borg.”
“What happened to it? It's in a terrible state.”
The dead Borg's corpse was gruesome even to look at. Its skull was smashed in, and its body — torn and raked with claw marks from end to end — was no better than a rag. It had been ravaged by overwhelming violence.
The work of another monster?
Borg hide was tough and superbly warm, fetching a high price — but damaged this badly, it was fit for nothing but the trash heap. Which meant no mercenary or knight had done this.
“Must have been something with tremendous strength. Did it run into an ogre, perhaps?”
“Judging by its condition, it hasn't been dead long. It could still be nearby — we can't linger here.”
As it happened, the two of them seemed to have reached much the same conclusion, and neither looked pleased about it.
Luden listened quietly, then cut into their conversation.
“I'll take a look around and report back. In the meantime, please inform Lord Gunter of the situation and get ready to depart.”
“Will you be all right on your own?”
Luden was a mercenary in name, but he was also the man Viscount Valen had personally requested. As such, the two knights moved to stop him from doing anything reckless.
But—
“There's no need to worry. I'll check our surroundings and come right back.”
[A Sub Quest has been created]
Sub Quest: Safety First
― Arrive safely at Talon.
🎁 Reward: Random Skill Book (Rare) × 1
In the end, the two knights accepted Luden's proposal. Clearing the Borg's carcass off the road and soothing horses worked into a frenzy by the smell of monster blood would take time, after all.
Alone, Luden entered the undergrowth and, once clear of the carriage, began searching for traces.
“A quest popping up means something's out here... but there isn't actually an ogre out here, is there?”
The Borg's carcass hadn't been dead long.
Whether it had wandered there on its own or someone had dragged it into place, the traces should still have remained. Yet no matter how he searched, nothing caught his eye.
In that case—
Luden raised his head and looked over the surrounding trees.
Just as I thought.
Sure enough. Among the branches reaching straight for the sky, he spotted one bent ever so slightly, and his eyes gleamed. Without the observational skill he'd honed hunting alongside the Black Wolf Tribe, he would never have noticed it.
Keen Perception
WHUMP!
The tree shook violently. Leaves came rustling down, and through them a massive shadow dropped.
Khuhuhuhuhu.
A hulking frame some two meters tall, covered in dark brown fur. Its limbs were long and spindly for its bulk, and long claws grew sharp from its hands.
“A Forest Troll.”
The thing glaring at him with a vicious face was a Forest Troll — a variety of troll that dwelled in the deep woods.
Come down from the mountain nearby, has it?
Forest Trolls were smaller and weaker than common trolls. In exchange, they possessed superb camouflage, which made them a tricky monster to deal with in the forest.
And it was open for business, too.
Leaving the Borg's corpse right in the middle of the road had apparently been a trap. It had to be bait — a lure to drag human prey into the forest.
“So I walked right into it.”
Puhuhuhuhu.
As if to mock him, the Forest Troll let out a grotesque sound.
Brow furrowed, Luden drew his sword from his belt.
This was the second time he'd faced a troll since his encounter with the goblin shaman. Back then his skills had been lacking, and it had nearly cost him dearly — but things were different now.
This time, he was confident he could handle it alone, without a count's help.
What I need to watch for is its camouflage and its claws.
The Forest Troll lunged.
True to its long legs, its movements were agile.
Luden moved to activate a skill in response — but in that instant, something strange caught his eye behind the Forest Troll's back.
What is that?
Something in the shape of a black shadow. Far too fast to make out, but unmistakably closing in on this side.
And then—
“Kyaaauul!”
Spurt!
With a beast's shrieking cry, blood fountained up from the Forest Troll's throat.
Caught completely off guard, the creature let out a shriek laced with pain and bewilderment alike. That it didn't die on the spot was thanks to a troll's regeneration, no doubt.
“Kwaang!”
The ambusher that had appeared out of nowhere pressed its attack, as if to say it wasn't finished yet.
A small frame darted this way and that. Its movements were as light as a stroll in the woods, and its swaying tail dazzled the eye. Each time that youthful face split into a crooked, savage grin and bared its teeth, another wound opened on the Forest Troll's body.
Kruooaaarrr―!
The Forest Troll wasn't about to take it lying down, either. Wounded and enraged, the monster swung its claws — its natural weapons.
But the girl dodged with ease and drove her own claws in instead.
“...”
Faced with the scene unfolding before his eyes, Luden froze, mouth agape.
Because the face of the girl savaging the Forest Troll looked somehow, terribly familiar.
But Luden desperately denied the possibility.
Because there was no way she could be here.
Thud.
At last, the Forest Troll, resisting desperately to the end, collapsed — its throat finally caught in a bite that cut off its breath.
Only then did the girl, who had been darting about without a moment's rest, stop.
She was quite worn out, shoulders heaving, and Luden approached her carefully.
“Hoo... hoo...”
“Wait. You're— don't tell me...?”
“Kyaa!”
The world flipped upside down.
Knocked flat on his back with a familiar impact, Luden found himself looking up at the girl who had flung herself at him.
“Sarah.”
He hadn't been seeing things.
The Black Wolf girl wagging her tail and nuzzling her face against his chest was, without a doubt, Sarah.
Good grief! Why is she here of all places?
She was supposed to be in the Black Wolf Village — so what was she doing here?
Luden was struck speechless with shock.