n

n

nOf course, Hans’ way of pulling out his sword looked hopelessly awkward, but he prepared his stance. Despite everything, he was a Steelwall servant, and he had heard a thing or two about fighting.

nUrggh!

nThe goblin made a threatening glare and shook his wooden club.

n‘At most, the monster’s weapon is a wooden club.’

nEven though Hans didn’t have much faith in his sword before, it began to feel trustworthy to him. After all, although his sword looked modest, it was made out of fine iron.

n‘I can win!’

nHans didn’t hide the rising confidence on his face and slowly approached the goblin.

nEhhhhhhhhh!

nThe goblin raised a tree branch with all of its strength and ran towards Hans.

n“Huh, huh?”

nHans made a shocked noise. In his head, many scenarios were already playing inside his head: if the goblin attacked him like this, he would respond like that, and so on. But in the end, they were the delusions of a beginner who had never learned sword fighting. As the goblin suddenly ran towards him, all Hans could do was swing his sword around.

nSlam!

n“Ahhh!”

nBoth of his arms bounced off with the sword. The center of his body lost its balance, and his body shook. It was unsightly.

n“Ohh?”

nHowever, Zich looked pleasantly surprised while watching the battle from a distance.

n‘A complete newbie was able to block a monster’s attack.’

nThat was already praiseworthy, but what happened next was more notable.

n‘He also didn’t let go of his sword.’

nBlood dripped out of Hans’ hand as he gripped his sword. His hands were torn—even though he was a complete newb, he didn’t let go of his sword even when he received an attack strong enough to tear his hand off.

n‘Is he proving that he is from Steelwall after all? Or is it his personal talent?’

nIt didn’t matter either way.

nFling!

nThe goblin swung his club again, and Hans was able to avoid it, but his stance broke. He blocked the next attack with his sword.

n‘Why is this guy so strong! It’s so fast too!’

nThe monster was only a meter tall at most, but each of its strikes carried immense strength. Contrary to Hans’ wishful thoughts, it wasn’t a monster who’d break from the main character’s first touch.

n“Whaaaaaaaa!”

nAt the extreme threat of danger, Hans’ body moved by itself. Letting out a shock or scream, Hans confronted the goblin again.

nHans attacked with his gleaming eyes, and the goblin’s club slammed into Hans’ body a couple of times. Hans received many hits, but because of his armor and excitement, he couldn’t feel the pain. Then, before he realized it, Hans’ sword struck the goblin’s head, deep enough for the attack to be fatal.

nThe goblin fell with a death cry, and Hans also collapsed to the ground.

n‘He won?’

nIn surprise, Zich stared at Hans who was trembling on the ground.

n‘I didn’t think that he would really win.’

nAlthough a goblin was a weak monster, it was still a monster; Zich didn’t think an ordinary servant, especially one that had grown carefully and well under the Countess’ care, would win.

nZich wanted Hans to know how dangerous a monster could be and assess Hans’ fighting abilities. He was surprised to see that Hans was more talented in battle than he expected.

n“Well, good job.”

nAs Hans stared at the ground absent-mindedly, Zich tapped on Hans’ shoulder.

n“Ah, thank y… ah!”

nHans screamed. After his excitement died down, he began to feel pain. Then, over his squirming body, a liquid substance dropped onto him, drip by drip, and his pain began to subside.

n“A potion?”

n“It’s my special service. This is the last time I am offering it, so don’t expect it again.”

nZich still possessed plenty of potions that he had taken from the Count’s residence, but because potions were unbelievably expensive, Zich didn’t want to waste them.

nHans’ wounds healed completely.

n“How do you feel after dealing with a monster for the first time? You don’t believe that you can… at least handle a goblin, right?”

n“…You knew, sir?”

n“It’s obvious what a guy like you will think—that’s why I asked. It’s more important to experience how dangerous a monster is first-hand. You were lucky. Goblins usually travel ingroups, and it’s rare to see one wandering around by itself.”

nZich faced the front.

n“However, it seems like it didn’t completely fall behind the herd.”

nThe sound of grass swaying in the wind became a bit rougher. Goblins soon appeared and surrounded Hans and Zich. There were at least ten of them.

n“They used a bait with their cruddy heads?”

nThe fact that they didn’t seem to care that one of their companions had died seemed to show that they were monsters without an ounce of humanity.

n“S-sir Zich? Isn’t this a bit of a dangerous situation?”

nHans trembled since he even struggled to fight one.

n“It’s fine. I’ve prepared enough.”

nZich moved his left hand. The items inside his hand collided against each other and clattered.

n“Isn’t that a stone? What are you…?”

nHans couldn’t even finish his question. Zich placed one of the stones in his left hand and secured it on his middle finger with his thumb as if he was going to flick it.

nSwish!

nHe stretched out his middle finger and pushed the stone out. It was a childish gesture, but if a person at Zich’s level did it, the result was different. The stone flew out and pierced the center of one of the goblin’s foreheads.

nPush!

nA bright, red flower bloomed. As if a huge hammer struck it, the goblin’s head exploded. Zich continued to flick the stones.

nSwish! Swish!

nPuck! Puck!

nWhenever Zich flicked his finger, a loud sound rang out and a head exploded. It happened instantly. The monsters didn’t even have the chance to respond, escape, or run. It didn’t take long for the group of goblins to be wiped out.

n“…What did you do?”

nHans was usually cautious when dealing with Zich, but this time, he felt too shocked to be careful. Without even lifting his feet off the ground, Zich defeated the goblins that Hans had struggled to beat.

n“You saw it. All I did was flick some stones around.”

nZich threw his leftover stones onto the ground.

n“I don’t have a reason to pull out my sword for a goblin. This is enough.”

nHans looked up to Zich with a vague look.

n‘I thought he was strong, but he’s at the level to defeat monsters with just stones?’

nHad Zich become stronger in that short amount of time, or was any skilled person able to do this much? But Hans didn’t have more time to think.

n“Get up quickly. Since I poured the potion on you, you can move, right?”

n“…Yes, sir.”

nHans didn’t want to get up, but he forced himself.

n“Let’s start walking again.”

nZich and Hans began to retread the mountain’s wilderness.

n* * *

nAfter that, the two met more monsters. Most of the monsters’ heads exploded at the stones that Zich jokingly flicked, and for those that didn’t die against stones, Zich easily cut them apart with his sword. Hans watched the whole scene as he trembled and vowed to never defy Zich ever again.

nAfter finishing off a couple of roaming orcs, Zich got a clump of grass leaves and wiped the blood off his sword.

n‘As expected, quite a lot of monsters come out once you go in this deep.’

nSince these monsters lived deep inside areas where no humans lived, one could say that they were harmless.

n‘But can there be a monster that is harmless against humans?’

nThere wasn’t a harmless one among monsters; it was preferable to kill off all of the ones in sight.

n‘It won’t be much help, but it’s good to weed them out.’

nThis was the reason why Zich had left a perfectly good road to walk through the mountain’s wilderness. Another reason was to show Hans how difficult travelling could be, and another one was…

n‘Well, this will probably be of some help.’

nHe helped Steelwall by weeding out many of the monsters roaming around their residence. But Zich had no intention to help them beyond that, and there was no way that those in Steelwall would learn of his deed. This was all for his self-satisfaction; it was to uproot the tiniest seed of guilt that he had in his heart.

n‘This is the end. I can help Steelwall according to their situation later on. Yeah, I promised to be a good person, so I should at least do this much. Didn’t I become too good?’

nIf Hans heard Zich’s mind, he might have screamed at the absurdity of Zich’s words.

nZich continued meeting monsters as he walked through the rough path. It had been a long time since Zich advanced straight without many thoughts. It made him nostalgic about his past, but on the other hand, Hans felt like he was taking his first steps to a never-ending path of suffering.

nEven though his muscles ached, Hans leaned on his uncomfortable luggage for comfort in fear that a monster could pop out any moment. Then, when he saw the road in front of him, Hans felt like bursting into tears; it was over now.

n“The sun is setting. Let’s sleep here today.”

n“Yes, sir!”

nHans answered Zich’s command with great enthusiasm. They were still sleeping in the open, but Hans was thrilled that he could at least sleep near a road.

nHans prepared their sleeping area faster than he would have usually, but he still had many awkward movements. In the end, Zich prepared most of the sleeping area; of course, this was only for now, and Zich planned to make Hans do this task after he became more skilled in it.

nCrack! Crack! Crack!

nWood pieces locked inside the fiery blaze fueled the fire’s flames with their faint sounds. After lighting up the fire, Zich and Hans ate their meals. In comparison to the forest that was covered by thick trees, the area around the road was open. They could see the stars in the night sky.

n“Hey.”

n“Yes, yes, sir!”

n“Are you tired?”

nAt Zich’s sudden question, Hans wondered how he should answer. Of course, he was tired, but he thought a fist would come flying in his direction if he answered honestly.

n“I’m fine, sir.”

n“Really? Then, is it alright for us to continue going this way…?”

n“Actually, it’s a bit tiring, sir!”

nHans shouted out of reflex, and his eyes began to roll. He lowered his neck and flinched as if a punch was coming at his stomach. Zich laughed out loud at how funny that was. Hans’ face reddened, but he felt relieved that the mood had not turned violent.

n“You little **. Don’t worry. We are only going to travel this way until we get out of Steelwall territory.”

n“…Isn’t it still a long way off from leaving Steelwall, sir?”

n“That’s right. So, we are only going to supply our goods in this town and go back inside the mountain again.”

nHans couldn’t help but worry. Zich laughed at how Hans visibly crumbled inside without a sound.

nClip! Clop!

nSuddenly, they heard horse hooves from afar. Zich and Hans both stared at where the sound came from, and from a distance, a dim light slowly approached them.

n“Who is it during this time? A merchant?”

n“No, in comparison to the sound of the horses, the carriage is too quiet. If it’s a merchant, the sound of the horse hooves and carriage should be about the same since they carry a heavy load.”

n“Then, is it a traveler, sir?”

n“No traveler goes around with a horse and carriage.”

n“Then, who is it, sir?”

n“It’s most likely someone of high standing with his or her bodyguards.’

nAs Zich said, the people they saw under their firewood lights were obviously from a wealthy background. They were also people dressed in full armor who protected the huge carriage.

n‘They are Karuwiman’s Holy Knights.’

nKaruwiman was a powerful religious family. They served the holy god, Karuna, who many royals, nobles, and commoners followed. In short, they were a force one couldn’t make light of.

n‘To think it was someone who the Karuwiman Holy Knights were guarding.’

nIndeed, they were not just anyone. The Holy Knights and the carriage continued to head where Zich and Hans were and stopped in front of them.

nNeigh!

nThe horses snorted. Nervous about the scale and power of the Holy Knights, Hans trembled, and Zich got up.

n‘I don’t think they are planning to fight.’

nKaruwiman was a religious family. Of course, that didn’t mean that they had zero rotten apples, but they didn’t go around spreading evil. However, Zich’s relationship with them wasn’t good. No, before he regressed, Zich had fought with them with his life on the line.

nHe naturally felt wary of them.

n‘That woman was also a part of Karuwiman.’

nShe wasn’t just part of it—she was also their saint. As one of the hero’s party members, she could give an incredible blessing to her party members so that they could max out their abilities. She could also heal them, making one confused whether her companions were zombies or humans.

n‘Now that I think about it, how are they all doing right now?’

nZich was lost in thought for a moment when—

nClack!

nA person opened the carriage’s doors and got off. Seeing how the Holy Knights heightened their defense, the person seemed to have been the one they were protecting. Zich looked at the person with interest, and his eyes widened.

nShe was one of those people Zich could never forget.

n‘The female saint?’

nThe person Zich just thought of and had been a central figure in his final death was standing right in front of him.

n