Chapter 58: Chapter 58

The people of Wheat Bran Village showed extreme confusion and repulsion toward the group of roughly one hundred and fifty Altoans who had suddenly burst in.

At a time when even ordinary Westerners would be suspected of being bandits, why on earth were Altoans, who already had a high proportion of criminals, swarming in by the hundreds?

Unless they had lost their minds, were these not beings who ought to be yelled at to get the hell out?

Even so, the reason they opened the gate and welcomed them in was, quite naturally, because of Shan.

When he declared he would take full responsibility and repel all of them if anything happened, they could hardly say “I don’t believe you” to his face.

Having stepped inside the wooden palisade, the Altoan group looked in terrible shape, as if they had been wandering outside for a long time.

“Alright, everyone rest! Do not break formation carelessly! Contact with the villagers is forbidden until further orders!”

“Understood!”

Roden, having issued orders plausible enough, walked over to Shan.

He wore an awkward expression, as if he too knew that this situation was anything but normal.

“Who are all those people?”

“Well, it’s going to be a bit of a long story if I explain…”

“Young Master Roden!”

Interrupting Roden was a manservant who came running from afar.

Seeing him, Roden spoke with a glad yet puzzled look.

“Oh, what? Why is that fellow here?”

Shan condensed everything he had experienced in the meantime as briefly as possible and told the puzzled Roden.

From Callion losing consciousness after being attacked by ruffians to rescuing Cheryn who was imprisoned in the royal palace and escaping the capital together.

Hearing the whole story, Roden let out a deep sigh, tightly gripped Shan’s shoulder, and spoke.

“I have so much to say, but… first off, thank you. Truly. For saving my father.”

Had Shan not rushed to the capital first, rescued Cheryn, and performed the surgery after escaping, he would have lost his father.

For Roden, who had lost his mother at a young age, Callion (his only blood relative) was someone immeasurably precious.

Shan scratched his ear with an embarrassed expression and spoke.

“Your father is my father, after all.”

Truly, Shan felt that if he had a father of his own, he wished it would be someone like Callion or Roden.

Rather than some vagrant who abandoned a freshly weaned infant in a village.

After awkwardly expressing his gratitude, the two headed to the village hall to have a proper conversation.

Cheryn, Callion, and the retainers of the Weavers household welcomed Roden.

“Young Master!”

“Mr. Tata, Mrs. Leda…”

While greeting the servants, Roden’s gaze turned to Callion, whose forehead was heavily wrapped in bandages.

Having regained much of his energy thanks to several days of recuperation, he asked with a solemn expression.

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes, Father. How is your head? I heard you were hit quite severely.”

“What a way to talk… It has improved a lot. There is no need to worry.”

Everyone present could feel the affection oozing through the flippant question and the blunt reply.

In the middle of their conversation, Cheryn looked at Roden and spoke.

“So, I would like to know what is going on with the Altoans out there.”

“Ah, that… Excuse us for a moment, everyone.”

Roden glanced around, asked for understanding from the others, and then called only Cheryn and Shan aside to lay out the story.

Its contents were absurd beyond measure.

*

After parting ways with Shan and heading west, Roden realized before long that an ominous mood was swirling within the group.

Under the circumstances, it was obvious what the mercenaries were planning to do after cutting him out.

Namely, seizing all sorts of supplies, including the hugely valuable ogre byproducts.

The desire of those living hand-to-mouth lives was stronger than imagined.

Pondering how to handle this, Roden came up with a bold solution.

It was to subtly contact those among the Altoan mercenaries who belonged to the Brotherhood and inform them that he was working on behalf of the Brotherhood.

‘Pardon? But you are…’

‘Indeed. I am not an Altoan. I was merely invited as a special advisor.’

Without revealing that his true identity was the Lion Mask, Roden introduced himself as a secret member serving under his command.

That he was someone recruited specifically by the Lion Mask in order to bring Shan Barendil into the Brotherhood.

When tokens possessed only by the higher-ups of the organization were added to secret passcodes, they had no choice but to believe it.

In the first place, hadn’t their employment in Shan’s unit come from the orders of their superiors?

Thinking of that, it was not particularly strange for Roden, a squire and aide, to be a secret operative.

‘Do you know what is causing the atmosphere right now?’

‘Yes…’

Judging the opponent to be their superior, the Brotherhood mercenaries immediately informed on everything.

The fact that some mercenaries were instigating to kill their employer, Roden, divide the supplies, and go into hiding.

Afterwards, based on the tips from the Brotherhood mercenaries, Roden caught the ringleaders by the tail and executed them all, establishing discipline.

Thus reduced from twenty-eight people to twenty-four, the group safely proceeded west toward Hasra.

It was about four days after that when they encountered a group of Altoans.

“They said Prince Conrad lifted the lockdown on the capital a few days ago and ordered the expulsion of all remaining Altoans and mages.”

The trigger for that was none other than the jailbreak Shan had pulled off.

Since it had already been breached once, continuing the lockdown lost much of its meaning, and with food running short, Conrad opened the capital and drove out all the Altoans.

The Altoans cast out in such a manner scattered in all directions in groups, and some of them heading east made contact with Roden’s party coming from the east.

Among them were several members and families of the Brotherhood, making it difficult to simply turn a blind eye to them.

If it had been the past, when they exploited Altoans to their heart’s content under the pretext of protecting them, that would be one thing; but hadn’t the current Brotherhood undergone a major overhaul as an organization that protected Altoans?

No, in truth, even without that, Roden would not have been able to ignore them.

Unlike his solemn and stern appearance, he was a soft-hearted and kind person.

*

“As we took in a few people like that, rumors spread that there was a group of Altoans, and more gathered… and before we knew it, this many had assembled.”

“Quite a lot of crazy things happened…”

“Well, still not as much as you. Infamy is spreading around that an Altoan knight occupied a village. That’s why I came looking for you here on purpose. Otherwise, I would have had to make a slight detour.”

“What? Such a rumor spread?”

To the puzzled Shan, Roden shared the rumor that had recently spread around the vicinity.

That the green-eyed knight, Shan Barendil, killed the royal knight sent by Prince Conrad and was occupying a village, acting like a feudal lord.

Even though Shan had merely paid money for food and stayed at the village hall, it seemed a few villagers who received death threats had spread malicious rumors.

“If such rumors spread, how come Altoans haven’t gathered around here?”

“Of course not. Why would Altoans gather at a place just a five or six-hour walk from Hasra only to suffer disaster? These people wouldn’t have come here either if I hadn’t led them.”

“Aha…”

Hearing the story, it seemed they had to leave this village as soon as possible.

Conrad leaving this place alone right now was purely due to his confrontation with Elvin.

Once Elvin recklessly attacked and suffered a crushing defeat, or moved further south to bide his time for the future, Conrad would surely come to clean up this side as soon as he had breathing room.

No matter how strong Shan was, if multiple royal knights and an army of hundreds invaded, there was no way he could stand against them.

“Actually, I had something to talk to you about regarding that matter.”

“About what?”

“I talked a bit with the princess about what we should do going forward.”

Shan relayed the offer Cheryn had made him directly to Roden.

Hearing everything, including the ducal title and independent authority, Roden looked at Cheryn as if she were a crazy person.

Honestly, to someone who didn’t know the circumstances (no, even to someone who did know) they were extraordinarily generous terms to the point of absurdity.

“No, really… did you offer such terms, Princess?”

“Indeed. I can swear upon my mother’s name.”

Unlike Shan, Roden had not shared deep emotional rapport with Cheryn, but he could intuitively tell that the weight of her invoking her mother’s name was far from light.

Wearing a grave expression, he looked at Shan and spoke.

“Have you talked it over with Father?”

Though Callion had entrusted issues regarding the royal family entirely to Shan and Roden in the past, that was when things were not like this.

Weakened though he was, he was still the head of the Weavers house, so his opinion ought to be heard.

“Yeah. He told you and me to consult and decide.”

“Is that so…”

“Because the person who must lead the Weavers house from now on is you.”

Callion had been injured in the recent attack and was recovering, but he was still in a weakened state.

Convinced that he did not possess complete judgment, he passed the choice to the two of them.

As Roden tightly closed his eyes, Cheryn took a few steps back and spoke.

“It seems my presence beside you might be a distraction, wouldn’t it?”

“Thank you, Sister Cheryn.”

“What?”

At the form of address uttered so casually, Roden beside him glared with wide eyes in shock.

Realizing his slip, Shan let out an embarrassed chuckle.

“Ah, we just agreed to call each other that when no one else is around.”

“You…”

Looking back and forth between Shan and Cheryn, Roden let out a sigh, ‘Hah.’

“So much really happened while I was gone. At any rate, what do you think?”

“For me, I want to help her.”

“I figured as much… Well, anyway, my thoughts aren’t much different.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah. It’s a reward worth taking the risk for, isn’t it? Besides, there’s nowhere proper to take the Altoans gathered here right now, but Palles would easily accommodate this many and more. It’s the largest granary in Pendia, after all.”

In truth, most important of all was that she was someone who recognized and valued Shan the most.

Leaving Conrad aside, Elvin, who had fled to the south, did not seem likely to utilize Shan greatly either.

Based on what he had seen and heard directly and indirectly, Elvin was a typical easily influenced type of person.

The reason Lug was mistreated despite his abilities was also because he was a country knight without connections.

To rise to success beside someone who was easily swayed by the sycophants around him required proficiency in politics and scheming, but Shan was by no means that kind of person.

Even if Roden helped him, there was a limit.

Above all, looking at the title used just now, the two of them might become even closer than a simple lord and retainer relationship.

Considering Shan’s status, it was a truly absurd assumption, but if things went well…

Hiding his cheeky imagination inside, Roden brought out the answer Shan had been wanting to hear.

“I think it’s a much more concrete and solid plan than us becoming independent and turning into some warlord faction somewhere.”

“Awesome!”

Clenching his fist in joy, Shan called Cheryn over and informed her that Roden had agreed as well.

A bright smile blossomed across her face, which had been full of anxiety.

“Ah, truly… I can put my mind at ease. Thank you for the good decision, Roden. I promise appropriate rewards for your house as well as my Shan.”

“Not at all. Our house is a mere merchant family, and I am only a mere squire. However, I only wish that my lord, Sir Shan, receives rewards worthy of his abilities.”

“It shall surely be so.”

Cheryn nodded with a satisfied smile.

*

The very first thing Shan and Roden did was wrap up the contracts with the mercenaries.

Originally, their mission ended with returning to Hasra.

However, their current destination, the capital, was expelling all Altoans under Prince Conrad’s policy.

Shan proposed long-term employment to them.

Those remaining now were people with enough conscience to remain silent rather than actively join treachery, making them individuals with top-tier character among mercenaries.

For them, who needed every single soldier, it was a resource hard to let go.

Naturally, Princess Cheryn planned to pay the expenses using Count of Palles’s assets.

No matter how wealthy the Weavers family was, paying long-term employment fees for dozens of mercenaries with the money a few people carried out was impossible.

Fortunately, all but a few mercenaries accepted.

Shan was quite a fine employer, and in these harsh times when Altoans were persecuted, finding a place to lean on anywhere was more necessary than aiming for a quick fortune.

Those who left also aimed to find family members scattered by the capital expulsion order, promising to return to the Palles fief after reuniting with them.

It was also decided that the Altoan refugees would travel with them.

Not only to rebuild the scattered forces of the Brotherhood, but also because an emerging force willing to follow was needed for the magic revolution Cheryn desired in the future.

Accepting them was a good thing for Shan as well.

In a land where he had no connections other than Cheryn, whether he possessed a force that supported him entirely was a major issue.

As it happened, though called refugees, there was a considerable number of young, healthy people capable of fighting.

Sad as it was, those who were not had already fallen prey to monsters.

Just as Cheryn and the retainers of the Weavers house had faced danger when briefly leaving Shan’s protection, the surroundings of Hasra were currently unsafe.

If they accepted such people under their command and trained them, it meant obtaining a fairly reliable armed force.

After all, an army composed of Altoans would not be welcomed by others.

Considering the Westerners’ wariness toward them, it was truly an army that could only be raised in times like this.

Having settled their general policy, they began drafting travel plans in earnest to head toward the Palles fief.

Looking down at a roughly drawn map, Cheryn spoke with an anxious expression.

“More than anything else, I do not know how to secure food for one hundred and fifty people.”

Even assuming drinking water could be replenished from passing rivers or streams, food did not fall from the sky.

Nor was the scale of the party small enough to supplement it through hunting or buying it with money in nearby cities or villages.

To this, Roden replied with a smile.

“Fortunately, you do not need to worry about money. We have Altoan relics, after all.”

“Oh… Do you intend to sell them to lords we pass along the way?”

“Yes. If they try to forcibly extort them or the like, it will turn into a tragic event in many ways.”

Even with just a few relics of relatively lesser value, draining the food supply of such rural fiefs would not be difficult.

After sorting out a few items worth selling and setting a route based on that assumption, the estimate came out easier than expected.

“We must stop by Toredle Castle on the way. The people sent by my uncle should be there.”

Originally, the location where Cheryn was to rendezvous with Count of Palles’s subordinates was located northeast of Wheat Bran Village.

It seemed it would take about five days of walking.

The next morning, the party, expanded to about one hundred and fifty people, immediately left the village.

The Altoans, who had rested for barely a day after wandering long distances, still showed clear signs of exhaustion, yet none protested.

Above all, it was because a clear destination where they could stay had been set.

“We’re going to the Palles territory?”

“Isn’t that the place called paradise in Pendia!”

“I thought at best we would have to go to the most underdeveloped village in the eastern countryside…”

Even to those living in Hasra, Count of Palles’s fief was famous.

As the only place in Pendia where monsters were hardly ever seen, a land of sanctuary flowing with milk and honey.

If they could start a second life in such a place, they could accept current hardships.

Parents, older brothers, and older sisters carrying young children coaxed and urged the whining children, struggling not to fall behind on the march.

“I don’t wanna walk, my legs hurt. I wanna rest.”

“Hang in there a little more. Mommy can’t carry you on her back either.”

“Sob…”

“Why won’t you listen!”

Seeing the child who refused to listen no matter how gently she coaxed, the woman flared up in anger.

Having lost her husband in the recent chaos in the capital and trying her best to care for her only remaining child, tears spilled over naturally as even that child caused such distress.

Her younger brother was busy taking care of his own family…

Just as mother and child were weeping together, a pitch-black shadow fell over them.

Not only the woman, but even the child who had been crying loudly abruptly stopped weeping.

“Ah.”

Frightened by Roden’s sharp gaze looking down at the two of them, the Altoan woman quickly bowed her head.

It was a familiar gesture typical of someone who had lived submissively all her life.

“I am sorry. We will catch up right away.”

“Give the child to me.”

As Roden swooped up the tearful child, the woman reached out her hands with a startled expression.

But instead of throwing the child aside, Roden placed the child atop his expensive Mount Horais warhorse.

The woman spoke with an awed expression.

“Placing humble ones like us on a precious horse…”

“A few children aren’t heavy no matter how many are carried, so it’s fine. This fellow turned out to be sturdier than expected.”

Originally, the Mount Horais warhorse that Kamad used to ride had been handed over to Roden by Shan, and Roden named the fellow Lipo.

Lipo calmly trotted forward, seemingly unbothered even with three young children on his back.

Smoothly switching masters and all, he certainly possessed a placid temperament in many ways compared to Arwin.

“Look at that, look at that. You let me put kids on you nicely too, okay?”

In contrast, whenever Shan tried to load children onto Arwin, Arwin glared with glaring eyes and expressed displeasure.

Thanks to Shan coaxing her well from the side, she didn’t go so far as to throw the children off.

Shan, who had originally thought all Horais warhorses had such foul tempers, let out a sigh at the truth he newly realized.

Though there were various incidents, the march heading north was smoother than expected.

Because the number of people was so large, small monsters didn’t even dare attack; and those that occasionally rushed in were all slaughtered by Shan, who arrived like lightning while guarding mercenaries or trained refugees held them off.

Watching that overwhelming skill, people felt they were being protected.

The only unexpected thing was that not long after leaving the village, Altoans wandering all over continued to join them.

The original count of one hundred and fifty gradually grew as they moved north, soon reaching three hundred.

Among them were even one or two high-ranking executives of the Brotherhood.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, after about three days, the numbers no longer increased as much, perhaps because no refugees had fled that far.

The third day after leaving Wheat Bran Village.

Around the time the food bought at the first village ran out due to the larger-than-expected headcount, upon arriving at a manor, Roden negotiated with the baron owning the place, sold a few relics, and secured a large amount of wheat flour.

The baron showed signs of coveting more relics from Roden, but with Shan, the Altoan mercenaries, and refugees standing behind him, he dared not act on his greed.

As was always true, but especially in times like this, transactions were safe only when backed by power.

Even after filling their bellies heartily on the much more abundant food, the group stopped by large villages or small towns whenever they passed by.

Each time, a few Brotherhood mercenaries instructed by Roden secretly left secret codes.

Containing the message that all Brotherhood members should come to the Palles fief.

Afterwards, passing a small river and rounding two mountains, on the sixth day of travel.

They were finally able to meet Count of Palles’s army stationed near Toredle Castle.

“Princess!”

“Aran.”

Cheryn’s female knight guard, Aran, ran over weeping and held her hands.

“You were so late that I worried something had happened to you. If I hadn’t been concerned about our paths crossing, I would have gone looking for you…”

“There were a few things. First, I must apologize to you.”

“Pardon? An apology…”

Only then realizing that Cagon was not beside her, Aran’s face turned pale white.

Cheryn bowed her head lightly and spoke.

“Cagon lost his life while protecting me.”

“I… see. It was what he ought to do as a knight.”

Desperate sorrow filled Aran’s face as she answered with difficulty.

Shan could understand why she showed such a reaction.

As Cheryn had tipped him off, Aran and Cagon were promised to marry each other soon.

Shan, having had no personal acquaintance with the two, hadn’t noticed at all, but Roden unexpectedly had guessed it.

Saying one could roughly tell just by looking at the way they looked at each other?

“By the way, why is Sir Shan here?”

“Ah, he decided to swear an oath of fealty to me. The swearing ceremony is scheduled to take place after arriving at Palles.”

At Cheryn’s words, Aran showed a subtle expression, happy yet with grief lingering.

She was glad that the wish of the princess she served was granted, but it was not enough to bury the death of the lover she had promised her life to.

“I look forward to working with you, Sir Aran.”

“Mm, I as well.”

The number of soldiers Sir Aran brought was about fifty.

Thanks to their joining, the journey heading north became much easier.

After all, compared to having barely twenty properly trained warriors, fifty combatants had been replenished in an instant.

At least there was no longer any need for Shan to rush over headlong just because a few monsters appeared.

What followed was the tedious march heading north once more.

Fortunately, after food became plentiful, they reduced the daily walking distance and moved comfortably, so no one collapsed from exhaustion.

On the fifth day after leaving Toredle Castle, a vast river finally unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

Cheryn, looking tired from the long march, declared with a smile.

“We have finally arrived. Excellent work, everyone. Once we cross this river, from there on is Palles.”

Realizing they had finally reached paradise through their long journey, the Altoan refugees cheered.