Chapter 99: v6c5

 T/n Warning . This chapters is  not main plot  related . So don't be  be confused  

 

The snowy road was marked with dotted footprints.

The boy awkwardly asked for the way out of town, nodded very faintly, and slowly started walking in the direction he had been pointed.

His winter coat was frayed and worn here and there.

A young boy traveling alone at such a young age is enough to draw people's interest.

　But what caught people's attention more than anything else was the long sword on his back, which was not suitable for a child.

　Just by looking at it, everyone in the area understands that the boy is from the north.

　A boy with no relatives who came to Nakahara from the north

　However, it is extremely rare for a child to cross the harsh northern winter alone and arrive in this town.

In this city on the Menober Strait.

　The Menober Strait, which separates the north from the midlands, is also known as the Water Dragon Strait because of its violent currents.

The tides, which are so complicated that even the most experienced mariners sometimes misread them, have swallowed many vessels, large and small.

Season, time, weather, or whatever.

Whatever the reason, it is a common thing in the straits that yesterday's tide and today's tide are very different.

In addition, there are reefs lurking all over the strait, blocking the way of ships.

The existence of the straits was the main reason why the war in the north did not reach Nakahara.

　Even the current king of the Forretta Kingdom, a great power in the Middle Plains known for its ambition, would not risk crossing the Straits of Menover with a large army.

Only greedy mercenaries would think of traveling north across this strait.

The dream of a successful rise to power still existed on the battlefields of the north.

There is a chance to rise above the hierarchy and achieve an opportunity for a quick rise, something that is not possible in the central and southern countries where social and status systems are well-developed.

However, even these opportunities tend to disappear recently.

Have those who are willing and able crossed over? Or perhaps the ongoing warfare has advanced the fighting skills of mercenaries to the point where there is no room for newcomers.

Either way, one rarely sees ships carrying mercenaries coming and going in the Menober Strait any longer.

　Only on rare occasions, a small merchant ship would bring information from the north.

　On this day, the boy was on board a ship that had arrived from the north for the first time in a long time.

　 Other were wondered where he is going.

　Maybe he has relatives over here?

　I hope he doesn't get attacked by wild thieves.

The season was about to turn into spring, but there was still some lingering snow here and there in this town, which is the northern boundary of the Nakahara.

After seeing the boy walking away, leaving small footprints on the snow, people in the town talked about him.

And soon forgot about it.

　Two days' walk south from the port town on the Menober Strait.

A small inn along the road.

A tavern that also serves as an inn for travelers.

　When the owner opened the door, a boy in a dirty cloak stood alone.

On his back, he carried a long sword that looked oddly out of keeping with his stature.

:.... what is it, boy?:

The owner looked behind the boy.

　No one was there.

"You're alone? What do you want, a child all alone?:

"...... Stay here,"

　The boy blurted out.

"I have money."

Oh?"

The owner's eyes flashed. The boy holds out a silver coin right in front of his nose.

"I have money."

　The boy said again.

The owner looked at the boy from his toes to his head.

　Then he stared at his face.

　The boy did not look away.

After a long time, the owner finally said, "

"You have money?"

　The boy nodded.

"I won't let you stay ....... Get lost."

"What?"

　The boy's expression turns grim.

"I have money."

"Didn't you hear me? I said you can't stay here."

The owner closed the door right in front of the boy's nose.

　It was that night that the owner heard about the strange boy from one of his regular customers.

　A creepy kid with a big sword on his back is sleeping under a tree in the corner of the square, because all the inns have turned him down.

　It's so cold tonight that it might snow again.

　The kid might be cold tomorrow.

　When the night was long gone and the guests were gone, the owner took his lamp and turned his attention to the square.

Snow was starting to flicker.

　It was not so heavy that it piled up, but it was stinging cold.

The boy sat down nodding at the base of a tree.

　He was shivering with his winter cloak completely covering his head.

However, when he hears his owner's footsteps, he reacts quickly, pulling off his cloak and reaching for the hilt of his long sword.

"What are you going to do with that?"

The owner stopped a short distance away from the boy and said to him,

"You see No one will let you stay here even if you have money."

　The boy stared at the owner. His eyes were a mixture of suspicion and caution. He never takes his eyes off owner's every move.

'Do you know why?"

The boy remained silent at the owner's question.

"Follow me."

When the owner turns on his heel and starts to walk away, the boy stares at his back.

Eventually, he senses that the owner does not seem to be turning around, so he begins to walk behind him.

As he gulped down the hot soup, the boy's face finally took on the appearance of a blush, like that of a living person.

"Is it good?"

the owner asked without a smile.

The boy remained silent as he stared at the owner, then nodded.

Then he rummaged through the leather bag strapped to his body, pulled out a silver coin, and silently held it out to the owner.

"I told you I don't need the .......""

He said,

"I don't take money from little boys."

The boy's face twisted in question at the owner's answer.

"I just didn't have enough manpower,"

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He said.

The soup is expensive . You can start working here tomorrow.

The boy's face contorted as if to say, "I was just in need of help."

　Surprisingly, however, the boy slept in the humble bed in the room he was given and started working at the inn the next morning.

The boy said very little except for what was necessary.

When he did speak occasionally, it was often with the words.

"This?"

　Each time, the owner would say.

""Is this it?"

　and corrected him.

The boy was more intelligent than owner had expected.

　He learned to do whatever he was told at once.

　Within three days, he was doing most of the work at the inn.

However, his eyes, filled with suspicion and wariness, remained the same.

　"Hey, boy. You work hard."

One day, one of the regular customers at the inn called out to the boy.

　The boy kept quiet and continued working.

　"Well, I can understand how he feels. You remind me of him."

The patron mentioned the name of the owner's son, who had died with his wife in an epidemic a few years earlier.

　"I guess he's back, isn't he?"

　From that day on, the boy's attitude softened a little.

He was still a quiet , but the piercing, murderous intent in his facial expressions and gestures disappeared.

The boy sometimes called owner "father".

One day, a group of aristocrats stayed at the inn on an urgent business.

All the regular guests feared that the boy might be rude, but he responded with a polite manner that even the owner found remarkable.

He can do the math, he's a well-educated boy,"

　Said by a regular customer, the master nodded silently.

Once, the owner asked the boy where he was headed.

　The boy replied simply,

"To the south."

　A month had passed since the boy arrived at the inn.

　Someone knocked on the door of the inn.

　It was a man who lived nearby.

Mordo came out," said the man.

　The owner's complexion changed at the man's words.

　The owner accompanied the boy to a house on the outskirts of town, where they found livestock being savagely devoured in the yard.

　"Everyone in the house has been killed," the man said.

The man said, and the owner told the boy, " Don't look."

"Call the soldiers in the city."

The man nodded darkly at owner's words.

　It will take three days to get there and back, even if we send a messenger. I hope there won't be any more victims by then.

　When they returned to the inn that day, the boy unexpectedly said,

"Father."

The owner looked at the boy.

It's time for me to go," he said.

"I guess so."

　The master nodded

"Okay?"

　He said, as if warning him.

The excessive suspicion and murderousness that you carried around with you. That's what you needed to get by in the north. But from here on, in the middle plains and in the south, you won't need it.

"That's why no one would let you stay at the inn," the owner said.

"That's all changed in the past month. Now you can stay at any inn. Remember to be polite when you speak to people."

The owner looked the boy straight in the eye.

'You must have learned it from your father and mother, don't bring shame on them."

"Yes, "

　The boy nodded his head.

　The boy then continued, "The mercenaries of the north,"

I will repay you what you have done for me."

After asking the boy to wait one more day, he walked into the forest outside the city with his sword on his back.

　The next day, the boy returned with the head of a large beast hanging from his back.

　The whole town was in an uproar.

　It was the head of Mordo, the magical beast that had attacked a house on the outskirts of town.

"You hunted it all by yourself?"

The boy showed Mordo's head to owner, who was stunned, and then carelessly tossed it to the ground.

"Thank you for your help,"

　The boy said.

'The soup was delicious.'

Then he tried to turn his back.

The owner stopped the boy, telling him to wait, and hurried back to the inn to bring a leather bag.

　He had prepared it long before.

"Take it."

　He handed it to the boy.

The boy shook his head when he saw the amount of food and silver coins packed in the bag.

"I can't accept this much."

"It's a parting gift. If you don't accept it, I'll throw it away ."

The owner said,

"It's a long way south. Be careful."

"Yes, ".

The boy bowed deeply to the owner.

"My name is Almark. I'll repay you someday, I promise."

"Fine," said the owner , "Take care."

　The boy waved his hand to owner and finally said,

"Thank you very much,...... father ......."

　Then he turned on his heel and started walking.

　The spring grass was beginning to sprout on the road, where there was hardly any snow left.

The boy's figure eventually disappeared beyond the road.

Owner was staring indefinitely in the direction in which the boy had walked away.

 

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