MTM 34

“No. He’s only showing the way.”

“Ah, I see?”

“Anyway, have you had any contact with the mercenary group recently? It doesn’t have to be our own members.”

Zed drew Allen’s attention away from Harto, telling him not to bother.

“The mercenary band? Now that you mention it, once before…”

Allen rolled his eyes as if he remembered something, but then he cut himself off and smiled.

“More than that, get me out of here.”

At Allen’s shameless tone, Zed nodded as if he had expected that.

Either way, to reach the Night Rage mercenary group, even the smallest clue mattered. He had already planned to get Allen out because he knew they couldn’t talk in a place like this.

“This way.”

The gatekeeper who stood behind them spoke, as if he had been waiting, and began to walk. The place he went toward was a room at the end of the underground corridor, arched at the entrance. It wasn’t [stolen content]a completely closed space, so they could see inside clearly, and there was no reason to be wary.

When Zed and Harto entered, the walls on every side were filled with shelves packed with ledgers.

Though the documents were vulnerable to dampness, they were in perfect condition. It was probably because of the creature inside the magical cage on the central table. A large moss worm that fed on moisture was sleeping inside.

“Here.”

The gatekeeper opened a ledger beside it and held out a quill. Zed wrote Allen’s name and his own, then handed over three gold coins. But the gatekeeper didn’t take the payment by hand. He placed a key on the ledger instead. It was the key to the cell where Allen had been held.

“……”

Zed quietly set the gold coins on the ledger and took the key.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Ahhh!”

Freed from the underground cell with Zed’s payment, Allen climbed onto the fountain in Belnok’s plaza and shouted. He didn’t care about the stares around him. He dipped his head into the water and pulled it out, his face showing complete relief.

“Here.”

Zed handed him a clean handkerchief. But Allen brushed back his wet hair with his hand and refused.

“It must be cold.”

“The cold doesn’t matter. The air down there was so damp I thought I’d die of irritation. And why were there so many bugs? In the mountains, even one insect-repelling bead is enough, but down there nothing works. If I’d stayed one more day, I’d have gone insane.”

He had only been imprisoned for half a day, yet Allen talked as if it had been there for years.

He had always hated being restricted under the captain’s orders when he was still in the mercenary group. How could a man like that become a holy knight? It was absurd. His nature hadn’t changed at all from a year ago, even if his appearance had.

“And that gatekeeper, he gave me chills. He stayed down there the whole time and never said more than two words. Is that even possible?”

Zed thought that since Allen talked so much, maybe it had been harder for the gatekeeper to endure.

“Anyway, thanks. I was wondering how long they meant to keep me locked up just for beating one guy.”

Allen looked refreshed as he put on his armor and picked up his weapon. He said that both the armor and weapon had been bought with his own money, and he grumbled again that he would quit being a holy knight apprentice.

It was early, so there weren’t many people around, but Zed could still feel the curious glances.

“So, Zed, what brings you here? You’re supposed to move with your unit, so why are you dragging that kid around?”

“He’s…”

“You’re mad just because I called him pretty? Got it. I’ll drop it. Happy?”

“……”

Even as he said that, Allen stole another glance at Harto. His eyes were full of curiosity, but because of what he’d already said, he didn’t speak further.

Zed looked around and saw holy knights nearby, then lowered his voice.

“Let’s walk.”

“Sure.”

At Zed’s suggestion, Allen started walking first. The three of them crossed the plaza in a line, Allen, Zed, and Harto.

Zed walked like he was a tourist and spoke quietly.

“We were ambushed.”

“Ambushed?”

“Yes. By a flock of crows.”

Zed explained that he and three elite mercenaries of the Night Rage, along with a supply officer, had gone to an abandoned village in the forest. It had only been for reconnaissance, to see if they could find anything useful.

‘Caw! Caw!’

But suddenly, they were attacked by crows. At first, he thought they were just hungry wild ones. But no matter how many they killed, their numbers didn’t decrease, and their attacks grew more frenzied.

In the end, there were wounded men, and his comrades took shelter in an abandoned house inside the village.

Maybe the crows had been waiting for that. They turned into black flames and rose toward the sky, and in an instant the entire village was engulfed. His terrified comrades scattered in panic.

The only one left in the village was Zed. He stayed behind to tend to the wounded, and at some point, the black flames reached his feet.

“After that, I remember nothing. When I woke up, I was in a cave inside the forest.”

Zed corrected himself, it had been a cave, not a cabin. He decided there was no reason to mention the cabin to Allen, because that place was tied to his memories with Harto.

‘So that’s why black flames burned on Zed’s hand…’

After hearing Zed’s story, Harto remembered the day he first met him in the cave. He remembered Zed, gravely wounded and coughing blood, and his heart ached. Harto had heard before that Zed had been attacked by a flock of crows, but he hadn’t known the full story.

“It’s all illusion.”

Allen, who had been silently listening just like Harto, spoke.

“Illusion?”

“Yes. I heard there’s an illusionist who controls black flames. It’s an ancient forbidden art. Once cursed, the flames never die until death.”

When Zed gave him a questioning look to ask how he knew, Allen shrugged.

“You think I spent the last year stealing only? I’ve had my share of things happen too. I could talk all night and still not be done. Anyway, Zed, I guess you were lucky.”

“I see…”

Zed’s face turned serious. The black flames had left him with deep wounds, but the holy power inside him must have kept the curse from taking hold, and the fire had gone out not long after.

“Have you ever met that illusionist in person?”

“No. That’s all I know. I only heard it now and then in the mountains.”

Allen stopped in front of a fruit stand as he answered. When he pointed to the bright red apples, Zed nodded. For three silver coins, three apples were placed in their hands. Harto stared at the apple, round and shiny, almost as big as his face.

“Try it. This place has the best apples.”

Allen said that to Harto and bit into his own apple. Harto hesitated for a moment, then took a big bite like him. Sweet juice melted in his mouth like honey.

“Wow, it’s so good…!”

“Right?”

Allen grinned as if he had expected that, and Harto’s eyes shone with excitement.

“Hey! Barbarian!”

From the alley beside the fruit stall, a group of holy knights came out shouting loudly. They wore silver armor like the ones in Belnok, but their shoulder capes were short, and the holy chalice emblem on their chests was only half-drawn.

That meant they weren’t holy knights, but apprentices.

“Ha, so this is how you want to play…”

Allen snorted and threw away the apple he had bitten into. It rolled on the ground after a short arc.

‘What a waste…’

Instead of being shocked by the sudden scene, Harto only felt regret over the discarded apple.

“What’s this? You lot come swarming in like street punks. If that’s how it is, why not bring your parents too?”

“What, what did you say…?!”

Allen’s mockery agitated them. The apprentice at the front couldn’t hold back and tore off his helmet. His hair was tied back, and it was red. A bruise spread around his eye, blue and dark. It was the mark from Allen’s punch the night before.

“Wow. Your face’s a mess. I made that. Isn’t it a masterpiece?”

“You, you bastard!”

When Allen whistled and laughed, the apprentice’s face turned deep red. He looked clumsy, like someone who had never faced humiliation before.

“Shut your mouth, you savage barbarian! I swear on my family’s honor, I challenge you to a formal duel!”

“A duel?”

Allen looked dumbfounded at the red-haired apprentice who shouted with a trembling voice yet held himself proud.

Even as Allen openly scoffed, the apprentice gritted his teeth and glared at him. The fury spread not only toward Allen but also toward Zed and Harto. To them, all three already looked like allies.

‘If this gets any noisier, it’ll be trouble…’

Zed sighed. Somehow, holy knights who had been keeping watch from every corner had all vanished.