CH 33

A darkened world in front of me.

I wake up to the shock of something shaking and shaking.

“This is …….”

I’m pretty sure Cliff hit me and knocked me unconscious …….

“You awake?”

“Fourlock?”

I’m eye to eye with Fourlock, who is riding his horse and looking at us.

I just realized I’ve been horsed around, too.

“I see you’ve awake. Thanks God.”

Nina’s voice came from the opposite direction of the Fourlock.

When I turn my head in that direction, she too is looking at me with a worried expression.

“What happened to Cliff ….?”

I asked Fourlock, still in a hazy state of consciousness.

“I guess Cliff you called is Leon. That horse that you are riding, that kid saved us.”

“This kid?”

I take another look at my horse.

It made a neigh with good mood.

“It happened just after you lost consciousness. This kid kicked Leon off with two other horses. It was so sudden that he couldn’t react. We took advantage of the opportunity and escaped from that situation. Even with the two of us, there wasn’t much chance of us winning.”

“You’re one of the Seven Star Captains, aren’t you? How can you be so unsure that you have no chance of winning?”

“There is too much difference in experience between him and me, and while we might have barely had a chance at winning three to one, we decided it would be difficult to win with you gone.”

It’s true that Cliff …… I mean Leon looked much older than Fourlock.

So even if they’re the same seven-star captain, his rank is higher than him.

Afterall, it took the three of us to compete with him.

I can’t believe all we can do is running away.

If only the skill I acquired from random skills were advantageous in battle…

I bit my lip in frustration.

“I was surprised when it was happening. That fearless horse, who had never carried a single person before, never thought it would be able to carry you so easily.”

Fourck looks at me and the horse running with me in an unusual way.

“I regretted that I had been given something terrible when I got it cheap from the Marquis of Zweite, but I didn’t expect it to do so well.”

“What did you just say?”

I ask Fourlock once again for a word I can’t hear.

“I didn’t expect it to…..”

“Before that. Didn’t you say you got it cheap from Zweig?”

“Uh, yeah?”

Flinching a little at my question, Fourlock replies.

“It was about a year ago. Lord Zweig offered me a good horse at a low price to celebrate my appointment as the Seventh Star Captain. Speaking of Bolganov Zweig, he is a man who has achieved many military successes in past battles. I was happy to accept the offer because it came directly from him.”

“I see. I got the point.”

I stroked the horse’s head slowly.

The horse makes a pleasant neigh sound.

“It’s been a long time, Lucy.”

I no longer doubted it.

This fur looks familiar.

This is the Lucy who was by my side when I was treated like a slave in the Zweig household.

To prove it, she neighed loudly and happily when I called her Lucy.

“Sorry I didn’t pick you up soon. But it’s good to see you.”

“Do you know the horse?”

“It’s a long story.”

I patted Lucy’s head again.

She also makes a pleasant squeal again with a neigh.

“So, where are we headed now?”

“We’re on our way to the Ecute Forest now.”

Nina replied as she heard me ask Forlock and picked up on it.

“Are you going back to that hideout of yours?”

I turn my head towards Nina.

“Yes. For once, I wanted the nearest place to rest.”

“‘……. No, we’d better not go there. It might be a bit far, but let’s just keep plugging along to Jorgen.”

“Why?”

“The reason I was able to find Nina is because I bought the information from Leon that Nina had escaped into the Ecute Forest. Maybe I’m overthinking this, but I think it’s safe to assume that they know where youi hiding out.”

“That …….”

Nina quickly casts a shadow over her face.

“If we can get to Jorgen, he won’t be able to touch us easily.”

Jorgen is more crowded than Wisheside.

There are also a lot of strong adventurers, so it should be hard for Leon to make things worse.

“What about Fourlock? He is an enemy of Asualev…….”

“We can tell the guildmaster that he has no intention of hostility at this time, and he’ll take care of it. In the worst case scenario, we can tell him that Leon was manipulating him.”

“No, I’m a proud Seven Star Captain of Lisbet! There’s no way I could commit such a treacherous act as escaping to the enemy side!”

“You’re a pain in the ass.”

I turned my face back to Fourlock.

“You’re the one who was betrayed first, aren’t you? Considering what Leon said, you should think that there is no place for you anymore when you go back to Lisbet. I’d heard that you have a lot of enemies, and you’ll be dealt with secret and be finished immediately. After all, the same Seventh Star captain even came to take your life.”

“Ugh ……. Surely …… you’re right.”

Fourlock was disheartened by my obviousness words.

It may come as a shock, but it’s easier to give up when you’re told so bluntly.

“Good. Then I guess our destination is Jorgen.”

“I understand.”

“…… Alright.”

They both shake their heads at my words.

He confirmed that, and turned Lucy’s direction of travel towards Jorgen.

◇

“I assumed they’d be back here.”

Ecute Forest.

A man was standing at the entrance to a large hole at the base of a large tree.

The man scratches his skinhead and feels a little annoyed that he missed his guess.

“Fine. I know where they’re going.”

The man turned his back on the big hole as if he had given up.

Instantly, the big hole explodes, and scorching flames erupt from the big hole.

The roaring flames extended their domain from root to trunk, trunk to branch, and branch to leaf, gradually engulfing the great tree.

“Don’t think you’re going to get away from me easily.”

The man murmurs to no one in particular, and leaves the Ecute forest.

The large, burning tree dyes the night sky red and illuminates the back of the man as he walks away.