Volume 3 - CH 28.1

「Those women really are like the plague. They even came with this thing.」

Maxis voiced his discontent while looking at the chained werewolf in the push car.

Omiros and Maxis were transporting the werewolf with a push car. The werewolf’s entire body was bound by chains and couldn’t move at all.

At first, the werewolf was locked in the warehouse, the sturdiest building in Algore, but the manager of the warehouse came and asked them to move the werewolf to another place.

Algore had no jail. There were only two kinds of punishment in Algore, either banishment, or the death penalty.

The most they could provide was a temporary confinement room. But then, it was only fitting for humans, not for something with a bigger size than human, such as a demi-human.

「Don’t say that, Maxis. She’s the little sister of the Goddess’ beloved hero after all.」

Omiros chided the complaining Maxis.

The biggest religion in Algore was the faith of the Goddess of Wisdom and Victory, Rena. Thus he felt that they had to respect the Hero’s little sister as he had received the Goddess’s favor.

In addition, Qupis, who was hostile toward the Hero, ended up losing the Algore citizens respect, it was one of the triggers of the civil war.

""

Thus, Omiros didn’t want to repeat such a stupid mistake.

「Why are you saying that too, Omiros? I mean look, it’s because of those women that the Dark Knight and ogres are heading toward Algore. Our country might be razed to the ground by those monsters.」

Omiros understood what Maxis was trying to say.

Because he also knew that one of those two was enough to destroy Algore.

「Maxis. We are Algore’s warrior. How can you consider yourself one if you’re that afraid ogres and the Dark Knight.」

「Even if you say that…」

「You’re overly worrying about this matter, Maxis. It’s not like those girls will just sit and watch the battle unfold. Just one of them can easily defeat the Myrmidons… Maxis, you were not in Velos with me so let me to tell you that those ogres are no match for those girls.」

The Hero’s little sister and her companions had met Omiros’ father, Montes, just a while ago.

Omiros remembered what the girl called Kaya told his father.

「I see… I guess I can’t say anything in this regard, but Regena is a completely different matter.」

Omiros’ heart tightened upon hearing Maxis’ remark.

（As expected, that matter is already final, eh. Is there really nothing I can do for Regena?）

""

Omiros was pondering over that matter with a sad look on his face.

It wasn’t just limited to Maxis. Everyone shunned Regena. So many people had died by Qupis’ hand. And though Regena had nothing to do with what her father did, everyone couldn’t help but hate her just from the fact that she was Qupis’ daughter.

Thus, Omiros concluded that it might be much better for Regena to leave Algore.

He was really glad upon seeing that Regena was safe and sound. Thus, he had thought it possible to take her back to Algore. All he had to do was dealing with their biggest problem, the Dark Knight. But now, seeing Algore’s reaction, he knew he couldn’t keep her here.

Moreover, according to Regena’s testimony, the Dark Knight who had saved her and her clan was an extremely kind person.

Ironically enough, the ones who tried to kill her were humans just like her, while the one who saved her and brought her to Nargol was none other than the enemy of those humans, the Dark Knight.

Yes, even Omiros felt that it was such an irony.

Omiros who wanted Regena’s happiness above all else didn’t wish to affect her decision in this regard.

（I wonder where that Dark Knight is right now. He might already be near Algore to take Regena back with him.）

Omiros and co arrived at their destination while he was pondering about such matters.

The place they were heading to was an abandoned warehouse. It was originally located outside of the rampart, and repaired into a house. It was one of Qupis’ clan houses. The house was the only one which was left untouched during the civil war, it was also the place where Regena was held captive.

The window of the wooden house had already been smashed, of its two entrances, one had already been sealed with a plank.

Humans aside, he doubted whether such a building could hold a werewolf captive, but Algore really had no other building.

「Oh my, if it isn’t Young Master? Another person to be sent here?」

Someone who stood in front of the house greeted Omiros. He was the guard of the house.

Omiros was confused as to the reason why there was a guard appointed to this house.

And then, he recalled the guard’s remark from before.

「What do you mean by another?」

Omiros asked the guard.

「Ah, my bad. I forgot to tell you about this matter.」

Maxis was the one who replied instead of the guard.

「We captured a suspicious fella while you were guiding the Hero’s little sister’s group to meet uncle.」

Omiros finally understood that another person was caught.

「I heard that person was caught by the warriors who were sent out to see the situation of the myrmidons. According to that fella’s testimony, he came from Rox Kingdom, which is located far south of this place.」

「Seriously, Rox Kingdom? He came from such a faraway place? For what reason did he come this far?」

Omiros knew about Rox Kingdom. In fact, it was one of the places he stopped by during his training journey. Thus, he knew that Rox Kingdom was really far from Algore.

「This man insists that he’s only an average traveler. That’s why we restricted him just for formality due to the current situation in this place.」

「I see.」

Omiros nodded upon hearing that.

Maxis was right in this regard, they were currently in a state of emergency. Everyone was really scared of the Dark Knight and the ogres that might attack at any given moment.

In addition, there was a possibility for the captive to be another spy with a bug planted in his body like Echigos. Thus, they had to restrict the traveler’s movement.

「Come to think of it… what kind of a person is he? Is he by any chance a minstrel?」

Minstrels were traveling singers who made their own songs and traveled to various places. Minstrels had always been welcomed in a place with lack of amusements such as Algore. Unfortunately, the person in question had to be restrained due to the current situation in the country.

「Yeah, this man did proclaim to be a minstrel.」

The one who replied was Maxis.

「When we inspected his belongings, we found a musical instrument, albeit a broken one. Ah, come to think of it. He was also carrying something awesome with him.」

After saying so, Maxis took the thing lying flat beside the guard.

「Take a look.」

Omiros took the thing given by Maxis.

「A shield?」

It was a round shield.

The shield had a gem embedded in it, it was obviously a high quality shield.

And then, he finally noticed something about that shield.

「This shield… is an enchanted shield!!!」

Omiros couldn’t hide his shock.

The shield let out a faint light despite not reflecting the sunlight.

It was certainly a splendid armament. Enchanted shields weren’t something you could easily come by. Though the quality of the enchanted shield was obviously lower than the one owned by Shirone and co, it was still a splendid armament for Algore’s standard.

Humans couldn’t make enchanted shields, thus it was obviously a dwarven made shield. But then, even the dwarves couldn’t make gears without materials. That’s why only a limited number of people had enchanted shields.

「Take this, Omiros. You might need this shield for your fight against the Dark Knight or the ogres.」

Omiros pondered for a while upon hearing Maxis’ remark.

He knew that Maxis was being realistic. He might face the greatest fight in his life today. That’s why having a splendid enchanted weapon would raise his chance to survive the battle. But…

「No, we can’t just take this, Maxis. We cannot tarnish our pride as warriors. This shield should be returned to its owner.」

Omiros rejected Maxis’ suggestion.

（We shouldn’t take someone else’s possession no matter how difficult our situation is.）

Omiros had seen several countries that were destroyed by goblins or orcs along his journey.

Upon witnessing such tragedies, he then understood that he shouldn’t steal someone else’s possessions as they might really need it at some point.

And his feelings hadn’t changed even now.

「I see… well it really can’t be helped if you say so.」

Maxis shrugged his shoulders, giving up in trying to convince Omiros.

「Let’s return this shield to its owner. Please open the door, I want to meet the owner of this shield.」

「Understood, Prince.」

The guard followed Omiros’ order and opened the door.

The inside of the house was empty, all furniture in the house had been taken out.

Thereupon, Omiros could easily locate the minstrel, and possibly the owner of the shield, sitting in the corner of the room.

The minstrel stood up upon noticing the figure of Omiros and co entering the house.

「My deepest apologies for causing such troubles in your travel.」

Omiros bowed his head to the minstrel as he expressed his apology for their treatment towards him.

「Don’t worry about it, please raise your head, Your Highness. You’re not the one to be blamed, I just came during such an unfortunate timing.」

The minstrel surprisingly let go of the matter with ease.