MTM 37

“Ah…”

Startled, Harto gasped and stepped back, and Zed grabbed his shoulder.

“It’s alright. He’s one of us.”

“Huh…?”

Harto eased his guard and looked at the gatekeeper before him.

Swoosh.

The gatekeeper slowly pulled back the black robe covering his head. Brown hair and pale green eyes appeared. A silver star-shaped earring glimmered on his ear. It was clear who he was. He was the mage Leon Finer.

“So it was you after all.”

Zed spoke as if he had already known, putting the key he had received in the underground prison on the counter. The key twitched as if it were alive and flew straight into Leon’s pocket.

“Allen handed you a clue. It would’ve been strange if you didn’t notice.”

Swish, swish, whirl!

Leon spoke curtly, but he smiled as he waved his hand and sealed the shop with magic. The door locked, and the curtains closed in an instant. The room should have grown dark, but the candies in the glass jars sparkled like stars, making the interior even more dazzling.

‘So this is real magic…!’

Harto couldn’t take his eyes off the sight. His heart raced, and he wanted to jump and shout in excitement, but he didn’t want to interrupt their meeting.

“It’s a bit late to say, but I’m really glad that you’re alive, Zed. I did believe you’d survive, though.”

‘Wow, his speech is really peculiar…’

He was exactly the Leon Finer Harto knew. The precise and formal tone that seemed polite but guarded toward strangers matched perfectly.

“I learned roughly what happened to you through the tracking artifact, but this one here…”

Leon turned his eyes slightly toward Harto, who had been staring at him with curiosity. His look held no hostility.

“He looks human… but he exudes a similar feeling to a breath worm.”

“Ah…”

Maybe because Leon valued life, he didn’t seem to regard a creature like Harto with fear or suspicion.

“As expected, you can’t fool a mage. This is Harto. He’s the one who saved my life, and like you guessed, he’s a monster… but a special one.”

It was nice that Zed introduced him, but when he heard the word “special,” Harto blinked.

“I’m special?”

“You are. You’re a monster who can take human form and even speak a human language, right?”

Zed wanted to add that Harto could also control fire, water, and earth, but he stopped himself. There had to be a reason Zed hadn’t mentioned that yet.

“Harto? Harto… I feel like I’ve heard that name before…”

Leon repeated the name with a blank look.

Harto’s heart beat painfully. No one had ever paid much attention to his name before, and he immediately tensed.

‘What if he mentions Hartiros? No, even if he does, stay calm. As long as I don’t react, it’s fine…’

While he forced himself to stay composed, Leon suddenly extended his hand.

“I’ve seen intelligent monsters before, but this is the first time I’ve met one capable of full humanization.”

He moved his hand slightly, urging Harto to shake it.

“What’s this, Leon? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you greet someone first. Is it because Harto’s a monster?”

Zed looked curious as he spoke.

‘What? Really…?’

Even Harto was shocked. The Leon Finer he knew suffered from severe social aversion and never initiated greetings or conversation. He avoided human contact entirely, so extending his hand like this on a first meeting was almost miraculous.

For the first time since arriving here, Harto felt glad that he was a monster.

“N… nice to meet you. I’m Harto.”

“I’m Leon Finer.”

Harto took Leon’s hand gladly and shook it. It felt good. He had hope that, like Zed, he could become close to Leon too.

“So, Leon.”

After the brief introduction, Zed pulled over a small chair nearby. He helped Harto sit and then sat beside him.

“Why were you down in that underground prison? And what about the mercenary group?”

“Ah, yes, that’s something I must explain.”

Leon set the magic cage containing the breath worm on the floor and took out several colorful candies, placing them on the counter. Then he swept his palm over them in a circular motion.

Whoosh.

Right after that, the candies turned into fine powder in a spinning gust. The powder spread in the air and began to form something.

“Wow…”

Harto exclaimed in awe. The candy dust shaped itself into mountain ridges, a village, and tiny human figures. It was a magical map. Leon began explaining what had happened to the mercenary group using that illusion.

“At first, there was a massive fire in the village where our mercenary group was, and the members scattered.”

When Leon circled his finger above the gathered figures, several people split apart and ran in different directions.

“You’re saying everyone scattered because of the fire?”

Zed asked in disbelief.

“Yes. Flames spread through the village beyond control,”

Whoosh. The village at the foot of the mountain burst into flames. The fire spread instantly and turned the fleeing people into ash. Then, a diamond-shaped formation of soldiers appeared and marched toward the burning village entrance. As the place turned to cinders, someone shouted.

“A wanted order has been issued.”

“A wanted order? What evidence did they have to say the mercenary group started the fire?”

Zed questioned him, but Leon kept his mouth closed.

Clack, clack, clack. The soldiers doubled in number and searched every part of the mountain. They found hidden members, swung their swords, and advanced in all directions. Some came on horseback. The long whips in their hands showed they were bounty hunters.

Even at a glance, the number of people hunting the mercenary band was enormous.

“…They burned the village only to create an excuse.”

Leon nodded silently.

Zed’s heart felt heavy. He wondered if that excuse existed because his own identity had been exposed.

Then, on the opposite side of the village, tall mountains rose, and a spire appeared, it was Belnok.

“After things calmed down, we leaked information through the continental bulletin that said to regroup in Belnok…”

Figures carrying sheets of paper began gathering toward Belnok along the mountain line. The soldiers chasing them stopped suddenly as if they had received new orders, then regrouped and advanced toward Belnok.

“They know we’re gathering here… Someone leaked the information from the bulletin.”

Leon nodded and tapped the cathedral with his fingers. The view opened, revealing an underground space that looked like a prison. Inside, the gatekeeper Leon stood.

“The soldiers haven’t reached this place yet, but since the wanted order was issued, any captured members would certainly end up in this underground prison. I hid there myself…”

“You met Allen there.”

Leon nodded. He said he had been glad to see Allen again after so long, but the situation had been dangerous, so he had spoken as little as possible to avoid being exposed.

Zed remembered Allen calling the gatekeeper creepy. If Allen had known the truth, he would never have said that.

“Then how many mercenaries are gathered now?”

“Including myself, nine. With you, ten. No… eleven.”

Leon included Harto.

“So that means almost half are gone…”

The Night Rage mercenary group had once numbered around twenty, so that meant half were gone.

“What about the members who were with me?”

He asked, wondering if the comrades who escaped the crows or the injured had survived, but Leon shook his head.

“…I see.”

Zed’s eyes, which had dimmed, now turned pitch black. His expression did not change, but Harto wrapped his hands gently around Zed’s to comfort him, even just with that small touch.