Volume 14 - Prologue

When they saw the guy I brought back from the arena, some of them startled and some of them even pulled out their swords.

「Wait, wait, wait, this guy is safe.」

「No, no, no, no, what are you saying!? He's a very dangerous guy!」

「Kkuhh, are you out of your mind, Alec?」

「I can't agree with you either.」

Perhaps it is because of the image attached to it, but not only the misunderstood Serina, but even the calm Hannah has come against it?

「Aha! As expected of Alec! You've brought in a great one. Is this one also going to join the Black Cat of the Wind?」

Sarah said happily, but Jamie was holding her eyebrows with her fingers, as if she had a headache.

Yes, the one I brought out of the arena is the Mad King.

A big man in lumpy stone textured armor.

A ruthless fighting maniac who continues to attack with his halberd even when his opponent is down.

A man who has reigned as the grand champion of the arena.

But the truth is a little different.

He had been cursed with a nasty curse that drowned out even appraisal, and was forced to fight as a warrior in the arena.

He wasn't enjoying the arena of his own volition.

That's why he came along with me.

As I observed and searched for the Mad King's weaknesses in an attempt to help Jouga win, I noticed it.

Zorome, the marketeer, the ruler behind the arena, had also said something to that effect.

I had brought him along, but not with the intention of making him a member of the Black Cat of the Wind.

「No, I was undecided about that. But I thought it would be a pity for him to be forced to fight endlessly in that place.」

I'm going to be honest with them.

「Does that mean that ...... he wasn't doing it of his own free will?」

Serina tilted her head and said in a questioning way, and the "Mad King" nodded.

「Ehh?」

「Oh, my. ......」

「Ehh? You've been excited killing your enemies!」

「That's right, that's right.」

「Well, there's a situation there. You must have equipped it with a cursed item or something. Right?」

The "Mad King" nodded his head.

「Is that true?」

「I can't believe it.」

「I don't believe it either.」

Everyone is still skeptical, but for the time being, they're no longer pointing their swords at him, so that's good.

「I'm againts it, Sarah.That guy. What if he gets out of control on the way?」

「It's all right, Jamie, we'll just throw him out when the time comes. Alec and the others are not weak, and this escort mission will be a success.」

「But it'll be a jump in difficulty. I don't think the rewards it's not worth.」

「I agree. Sarah's intuition may be safe at first, but it may turn out to be wrong in the middle of the mission.」

Sarah's party is in trouble over there, If the price is an obstacle, I can just pay the extra fee.

「I'm sorry, but I'm getting out. I didn't hear that the Mad King was on board.」

The trouble was, the coachman seemed to be worried that he might get out of control.

「Now, now. If that's the case, I'll have the Mad King-san ride in my carriage. If you stay away from him, you're all with A-rank party members, and they'll give you plenty of time to escape.」

Nick, a familiar friend of mine, stepped in between us and calmed us down. Since there are so many people moving around, we'll need several carriages, and it's a lot of work just to get the right people.

「That's right. All right, if you say so, there's no point in being scared. Then get in.」

It seems to have come together well.

「So, "Black Cat of the Wind" Alec-san and 62 others will be leaving in 10 carriages. Our destination is Erland, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Vernia, and we will be traveling for five days. I, Nick, will be taking care of the group. Everyone, are you ready?」

「「「Oohhh!」」」　「All right-」

「I wonder if there are that many people?」

I cocked my head.

I thought there were about 30 of us, plus a dozen or so from the first team, although the second team has increased.

「Oh, darling, that's the thing, we had another prospective member come to us this morning. He was a warrior who had been leading the first team of Esclados, so I thought there was no harm in accepting him as a provisional member.」

Saki said.

「I see, he came from Esclados, too.」

「Yes. It seems that they only gathered slaves, and their leader........died an untimely death」

「Yeah. He was a really good guy, defending me.」

Esclados, in his turn-of-the-century black armor and fluffy fur collar fashion, smiled at me and gave me a fresh and endearing wink and smile in my head.

「Are you going to make up that story here, too?」

「Shut up, Serina. You don't know where their ears are. Besides, there are former party members here, so be a little more careful.」

「Ahh, yeah, you're right.」

「Oh, if it's about us, you don't have to worry about it. He really was a terrible person.」

「Well, that's how it was.」

「Sheesh...」

Our carriage started to move. The "Mad King" is on board, so he's at the back of the line. The weight of the carriage is going to be tough, so it's only me, Serina, Saki, and Meena in this carriage.

The sky over the top of the carriage was already dark, and a few stars were twinkling.

「But then again, you're quiet unlike as I imagined.」

Saki spoke to the "Mad King".

The "Mad King" turned to look at her, but remained silent.

「You can't even speak?」

「Grrrr.」

「Hihi-nn!」

「Oops.」

The Mad King let out a roar, but the horses seemed to have heard it and were startled, causing the carriage to shake.

「Oh, I'm sorry, Nick-han.」

「No, no, no. But if possible, please be quiet until the horse gets used to it.」

「Suuure. That's what he says.」

The "Mad King" nodded his head as if in a panic.

「Nick, I'm sorry, but the guy who's coming to see us off might make a fuss.」

I'll go ahead and say it.

「Do you know anyone? Well, I'm sure you have some adventurers in your life.」

「No, I've already said hello to everyone who knows me. Other than that.」

「I see... Then, even if they stop me, I'll come without stopping, but please try not to fall.」

「Yeah.」

We were wary of what was behind us, but the carriage we were riding in passed through the streets of the royal capital without incident, and eventually we saw a flat area around the road.

「It's about time they made a move, isn't it?」

Saki said, but we could see the shadows of men astride their horses.

「Here they come, Nick.」

Nick gave two quick whistles to let the others know that things were changing.

The speed at which the carriage was moving increased.

「Master, shall I go stop them?」

「No, you stay there and relax, Meena. I can handle those amateurs on my own.」

It's not that I'm a professional raider, but it's easy to understand if you think about it.

For the attackers, if the wagon runs away, the attack is basically a failure.

Some people might think that it would be OK to just kill me, the leader, but they wouldn't have known which carriage the leader was in until they saw him.

Thanks to the Mad King's ride, Nick would normally be in the lead, but they switched the order.

So, if they were going to attack, they should have made sure we didn't see them until the last minute.

If they had approached from the side of the carriage instead of right behind it, we would have given them more time to think, and we could have made them more nervous.

「Prepare yourself, Alec!」

「Hyah!」

It was clear that they were hostile. But why are all these marauders so stupid?

Well, if they had any brains at all, they wouldn't have attacked an A-ranked party clan in the first place.

「Jajajajajajajaja javelin!」

I scattered the ice javelin's attack magic at random.

「Gyaaaahh!」

「Pupiii!?」

「Gofufu!」

「Hihi-nn!」

The marauders who had been chasing me fell off their horses one after another and disappeared over the horizon.

「It's like they're not here.」

「Did you really think they could defeat us with that thing? I don't understand...」

I twist my head.

「Well, maybe they were just blinded by the money. Murphy got himself into a lot of trouble with that thing.」

That's what Serina says, but I think she's right.

It's a pity that people don't even know the value of their own lives.

If it was to protect someone, it would be a completely different story, but to be hired for money to attack someone is not acceptable. It's like you're being used by money and your life is being bought cheaply.

「I'll have to make sure I don't take any odd jobs.」

「Yeah.」

「You're right.」

「Yes, Master.」

Nick whistled again, and the carriage's speed returned to normal.

Under a starry sky full of shining stars, our carriage moves along at a leisurely pace.