Chapter 89

They were supposed to meet Arin in the city of Colin. It would take three days to enter the city, even if he left early in the morning and rode horses until the evening. 

They stopped by on their first evening so they ordered their meal at a small town inn.  

Maybe it was because he was growing up, but Diego’s food intake had also increased considerably. Ed didn’t fill his stomach that much anyway, so he ordered only light snacks and drank alcohol.   

Ed, quietly sipping a drink amid the hustle and bustle of the crowd, saw a man and a woman entering the inn. He is a tall man with short blonde hair and a woman was quietly following him.  

Seeing them, Ed silently pulled out a dagger from his arms and placed it on the table. Even after seeing that, the man came forward with his luggage behind and stood in front of the table.

“Is it okay if I join you?”

“There are still a couple of vacant seats in the inn, but you want to join us?” 

Ed said as he put down his drink and put his dagger on the table.

“Sit down.”

No one comes without a reason, and the probability that there will be an anonymous good guy who comes to visit is extremely rare. 

It was Ed, who had already experienced that in this world, so he gently touched the dagger handle and looked at them. The man sat down and called the clerk. He ordered a drink, and after pouring it into a glass, he opened his mouth.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Miller.”  

“Ed.” Ed said briefly, and looked at Miller silently.  

Just by looking at him, you can tell it’s not a normal thing. If he wanted to kill, he was confident that he would kill Miller before he even got up from his chair.  

Ed looked at him, and Miller was the first to bow his head.  

“I’ve come here to apologize,” 

Ed replied, “Do you apologize with your bare mouth?”

Miller smiled at Ed’s reply and took an arrow from his bosom. Seeing that, Ed smirked. He knows him well.  And he would have already revealed who he was related to if he was close to him.  

That means the person he met came to apologize.  

“What is it?” Ed asked, and Miller placed the arrow on the table and pushed it forward.  

Edgar glanced at the arrow and saw something inscribed on it. Looking at that, he could see that it was not an ordinary arrow.

Ed turned his gaze to look at him, and he replied with a smile.  

“This is Citra’s arrow, one of the relics of the castle of Citra, the god of death and destruction.” 

Ed’s eyes trembled slightly.  

Relics?  

How many sins did you commit and offering up relics to atone for your sins?  

Edgar picked up Citra’s arrow and looked at it. He looked closely, and Miller said with a smile.  

“An arrow that causes necrosis in the area hit by the arrow. If the arrow hits someone, it cannot be regenerated.”

Non-playable option?  

Edgar put the arrow down in front of him and looked into Miller’s eyes.  

Is it simply an apology? An apology like this could be accepted even a hundred times.  

“And you’re apologizing for what?” 

Miller said cautiously.  

“My name is Miller, the head of the Travian kingdom of Cerberus.” 

Cerberus, those who were killed in the royal capital.

“I summoned a task force to avenge the brothers who died in the royal capital. I commanded them to attack you.” 

Ed burst into laughter at those words. Diego’s complexion changed during that brief laugh, and the expression of the woman behind Miller’s face hardened.  

Ed stopped laughing and looked at Miller. Suddenly Ed picked up Citra’s arrow and pointed it at Miller’s throat.  Miller, however, did not raise an eyebrow.  

If he was a human, it was good to say that he would die the moment he was stabbed by it. Still, his eyes did not falter.  Ed turned the arrow that was still aiming at his throat and inserted it into the arrowhead.

“I accept the apologies, but this is just once. If the next time they target me or those around me again, I won’t miss it like the last time.” 

Miller heard Edgar say that and knew that Ed was sure he was the one who ran away.  

Miller bowed his head politely.  

“It’s never going to happen. Can I ask you one thing instead?” 

Miller asked, realizing that it was an unspoken permission, as Ed looked silently.

“You’re from the Kingdom of Dahlia. It hasn’t been long since you hunted demons in the Kingdom of Travia,” said Miller as Ed listened quietly to the story.  

“There are many demons in the Mazelta Kingdom. Although the Paladines of Citra are catching and killing them, there are still many demons. If the purpose is simply to hunt demons, we will be able to hunt demons with much more diverse support than now.” 

Ed smiled at that. 

Miller asked with a bit of anticipation.

“Won’t you come to the kingdom of Mazelta?”

“I’m not going.”

Ed, in brief, waved his hand.

The apology was accepted, and it meant that there was nothing more to say, so shut it down.

“Can you explain why?”

“Because I don’t want to leave my friends behind.”

Miller bit his mouth at those words. Instead, he got up slowly and looked at Ed and said,

“Anytime is fine. If you come to the Kingdom of Mazelta, I will honor you.”

“Remember,” said Diego, as Miller stepped back with the woman.  

“Whoah. Are you going to let them live, the ones who attacked you last time?” 

Ed said, taking out Citra’s arrow from the arrow house to that question.  

“Because I got a castle relic.” 

In fact, Ed had nothing to lose. He was a little annoyed, but because he got experience and a ring from Cerberus’ attack.

If he had brought something useless as an apology, he would have put a dagger in his forehead, but since he brought a holy one, he forgave him.  

Citra, in the realm of Mazelta, is a more trusted god than Astron. He is the god of death and destruction. An arrow with divinity worthy of its name. It is a weapon as precious as the castle relics that Benedict received.  

“I knew I couldn’t get it even with money, so I accepted it and forgave him.”

Ed said so and put Citra’s arrow back into the freezing arrow house. It is an arrow, which is a consumable equipment, but it is different when Edgar uses it.  

There are now three such special arrows, and he has to train himself to handle three at the same time.  

Sasha, who was following Miller, asked. 

“Did you even have to give out Citra’s arrow?”  

“Thanks to the high-ranking archer who listened to me.”

Even if they killed Cerberus’ Special Forces, it’s difficult to guess Cerberus from them. However, when you find out about them at any time, it’s more beneficial to build friendships by offering castle relics than to face a general-class archer as an enemy.  

“And he’s still young. If he reached the level of a general at that age, he might be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the 3 Heroes in the future, so we should build relationships like this.”  

“Will he ever grow to that level?”  

“I don’t know that.” 

There is a limit to growth for everyone, but even if he had only a slight possibility, the castle relic was not at all wasted.

“Let’s keep some distance in the future and gather information about him.”  

“I will.” 

The loss of even the task force puts his position in Cerberus in jeopardy, but it may be a disaster.  

Colins is a city located in the southern part of the Kingdom of Travia. So the weather is warmer. 

Ed’s heart pounded as he looked at Colin’s gates.

“Brother. Let’s go quickly.” 

On the way home, they tried to avoid overnight stays as much as possible, but one day they had to stay overnight.  During that night, the number of monsters increased.  

The number of monsters near the central part of the kingdom of Travia, where the royal capital is located, had almost dried up. So the number of visits dropped sharply, but when they came to the south, the monsters continued to come.  

Yesterday alone, Ed had to deal with nearly 100 monsters. In the past, that was normal.  Sleeping alone, meeting a monster, or wandering through the night in search of a demon.  

It was natural for him to leave the bonfire on by himself and stay up all night with his eyes open without being able to sleep properly, but now there was Diego guarding the bonfire.

And it was the first time he had traveled without a break like this to meet someone.  

Diego said that he wanted to meet Emma and made fun of him as he was in a hurry to go to sleep. But Ed too actually wanted to go even a little faster, so he had to urge Dark, so he was able to get to Colins before the sun went down.  

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

Entering through the gates, Ed tilted his head at the atmosphere of the city.

“What’s wrong?”  

“There are too many people.” 

Then they saw a group of soldiers approaching from the other side. They knocked on a closed door, and the door opened and people came out. 

They started shouting.

“Pel, there is a son of over 14 years old. The son is conscripted. So pack up right away and follow the soldiers’ lead.”  

“Oh no! The officials. My son has been weak since he was young, so he has only stayed in bed. Recruitment is not possible.  “

The man called the conscripted man brushed his beard once and answered.  

“If you look after one person, they will ask you to look after the others. What kind of situation are you talking about now? Do you feel better when pulled out by force?”  

“No, officers.” 

Ed hardened his impression at the sight of a sincere appeal that didn’t even move a soul.

This is the South. The subordinates of the lord were forcibly conscripting the people. But that was only their job. It wasn’t Ed’s business. But when the conscripts saw Ed and Diego, they stopped them.

“Stop.” 

Edgar pulled Dark’s reins to stop, then looked at the conscriptor.  

The conscripted officer’s eyes were scrutinizing Dark, but he seemed to know what he was saying at a glance.  His eyes quickly scanned Ed and Diego’s condition as well.  

Fighting monsters at night and running away covered in dust during the day, it was like a complete beggar. Perhaps that’s why the conscripted officer said in a high-pitched voice.

“You’re riding an inappropriately nice horse.”  

The Lord is not only collecting the Youngji army but also conscripting war supplies.  

“I am not a person of Colins,”

“The moment you cross the gate, everything becomes Colins.”

Ed laughed at that.

“I understand that under the laws of the Kingdom of Travia, private property is safe.”

The conscripted officer snorted.

He can see where they picked it up. But in the case of war, it is possible to exercise the conscription power to the lord.

In the past, even if it was bothersome to get involved with the lord, he would have just left the conversation. But Dark was so inseparable. And now it’s not the same Ed it used to be.  

As Ed picked up the dagger in his arms, a horse running from the back caught his eye. The soldiers rushed back at the momentum of the approaching person running on a pure white horse.  And the horse the conscript was riding on was startled by the momentum, and as it raised its forelegs, the person came down from the horse.

“Hey!” said Arin, who was riding on her horse, looking down at him in a blue glare as the conscript was freaking out.  

“What are you doing to the VIP of the Astron Church?”