Chapter 16: Who are you?

“Ugh, sa-save me please!”

The man Iska caught by the throat cried out.

“…….”

Iska’s eyebrows narrowed when he saw the identity of the suspicious person underneath him.

He was a boy who had not yet grown because he had a young appearance and voice.

“Please, I beg you.”

The boy, who couldn’t even open his eyes properly because the pouring rain hit his face, cried. There were either tears or raindrops in his small, frowning eyes.

Iska looked down at the gray hair of the begging boy. Although wet from the rain, the color that seemed to be covered in dust was somehow familiar.

Iska didn’t think he was dangerous, so he loosened his hands a little.

“Ugh-hikk.”

The boy coughed with a shriveled face as the air rushed in all at once.

“What were you doing here?”

Iska questioned coldly. It was a rough and deep place to come collect herbs and mushrooms.

“Well, that’s….”

The boy couldn’t answer the question and just rolled his eyes.

“There’s nothing I can do if you don’t want to answer. It’s okay, it’s enough to just kill you.”

“No, no you can’t!”

The boy shouted hastily. The frightened boy’s face was distorted as if it would burst into tears.

“…….”

Iska, who was staring at the boy’s gray hair for a moment, looked up. Iska sensed more movement approaching in the distance. There were several of them.

“Lavella.”

“Hmm.”

Her condition, which was close to naked, came to his mind. He turned his head to see Lavella dressed in clothes, sitting on a rock, and watching calmly.

…She was fast.

“You have company.”

Iska’s cold eyes turned to the boy again.

The boy, struggling to escape, inhaled and grabbed Iska’s hand with both his hands.

“Do, help me. If I get caught in their hands, I’m really dead.”

The boy asked for help with an earnest face. He seemed to be strong at a glance. Iska could tell by the power of grip and the speed at which he was attacking him.

“What shall we do?”

Iska asked for Lavella’s opinion without looking away from the boy.

“Well, I don’t know. It’s not difficult to help…”

Lavella continued as she wiggled her toes.

“!”

“Where are you looking?”

The boy, who unintentionally turned his head in the direction where he heard a woman’s voice, could not even scream at the dagger Iska had dropped in front of him.

“It’ll be a little difficult if it’s at no cost, right?”

The woman’s positive response made the force of the hand holding the boy’s throat weaker.

“Well, my village is near here! If you can help me, I’ll pay you back!”

The boy shouted eagerly when he found a hole to rise.

“Hah.”

‘Village? Ah.’

While Lavella began calculating her price, Iska’s eyes that were scanning the surrounding area turned wide. It was because he finally remembered where he had seen this gray hair.

“…Is it Kuzne?”

“Oh, how did you know?”

The boy opened his small eyes, perplexed.

Also…

“Lavella.”

“Do as you please.”

Lavella shrugged when Iska called her name instead of answering the boy’s question when she noticed his intention.

“Okay, I’ll put off what I’m gonna do with you once I’ve dealt with them.”

“Here he is!”

As soon as Iska tied the boy’s hands and feet tightly, a group of men appeared.

The men looked at the tied target then at the strange man and woman alternately. Iska got the impression that they had become annoyed.

(The men) “Hey, guys. I don’t know who you are, but leave him alone. It’s up to us what happens to him.”

“I can’t do that.”

“What?”

As Iska replied nonchalantly, he leapt from the wet ground.

“Ahh!”

Before the men were able to even swing their weapons, the situation was neatly solved.

The boy’s eyes widened as he lay on the floor looking at Iska, who had taken care of the group in the blink of an eye.

“Alright, now I’ll ask you again.”

Iska approached the boy as blood shed from his sword in the rain.

“Why were you being chased? Who are they?”

“Well, that’s….”

“Is this hard to answer, too?”

“Sm-they’re smugglers!”

At the sight of the sharp edge of Iska’s sword, the boy turned pale and quickly confessed the truth.

“…Smugglers?”

Iska frowned at the unexpected answer.

“Why is a kid from Kuzne being chased by smugglers?”

“D-deal! I was supposed to make a deal, but I couldn’t prepare the goods….”

Dealing with a smuggler. Is he the one who was trying to get the Kuzne weaponry out? Iska’s eyes cooled.

“We’d better take this guy to the village for now.”

“Of course, you’ll pay me for saving you, won’t you?”

And to check what you’re hiding.

Agreeing with Iska’s words, Lavella burst into laughter.

* * *

“What is that?”

As the rain had just stopped, Canpiden, who was preparing dinner, asked as he saw a lump chasing the two.

“I picked it up.”

“…….”

The boy’s head dropped sharply at Lavella’s clear answer.

“Why don’t you look so good?”

His body was covered in mud and his face was pale.

“I got into a situation.”

Iska explained, swallowing a laugh.

“Dabel, look at his wound.”

“…Did you hit him?”

Canpiden glanced at Lavella after looking at the bloodstains on the boy’s face.

“Why would I do that?”

The boy’s body hardened when Lavella’s insensitive eyes turned to him.

He thought she was a pushover because she was smaller and weaker than himself, but he almost died.

The boy had pushed the woman away and tried running away.

“Hey. You can leave, but you have to pay first.”

The wound was caused by the woman who blocked his way and led him to trip in shock.

The boy’s whole body trembled when Lavella slightly raised her hand.

“The world isn’t as easy as you think, is it?”

Iska eventually burst into laughter and pushed the boy’s butt with his foot.

“Now, just eat this.”

He was given a bottle and medicine.

The boy who kneeled on the floor in an awkward manner, accepted the meat handed to him by Iska, looked around and began to eat in a hurry.

*   *   *

“They’ll be there soon.”

After dinner at the inn’s restaurant, Ritelni asked the opinion of the man in front of him.

“Since he said they were going to cross the mountains, they probably would be.”

Ritelni, who was considering how to keep Iska out of Kuzne, simply decided to attack Iska’s group.

If it was Iska, he would immediately notice and send his group ahead to deal with it himself.

Ritelni even brought in Setz, who had lived as Iska’s shadow for operations and secretly carried out his duties.

“Kirah… I wonder what kind of people they are. I can’t believe they’re thinking of crossing the mountain.”

“…….”

“Dabel must be struggling. I think we’ll be there as early as three or four days, so let’s leave tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

It was to set up camp in a village a little ways from Kuzne and then head to Kuzne around the time Iska’s party would arrive.

“Setz, you watch the situation and jump in if you can.”

If the strong Setz was his opponent, Iska would not be suspicious even if he dragged out the time.

“After all, you’re a very hands-on master, aren’t you?”

Ritelni grinned as he looked at his dark green eyes. Even while joking, there was no change in Setz’s face.

“You’re no fun. It’s a little bit of an insult if you’re not there.”

“…….”

Ritelni shook his head and sighed.

“By the way, I’ll finally see Kirah’s Captain.”

“…….”

Setz’s calm eyes seemed to ask if he was using this method for that reason.

“I’m curious. Don’t you want to see it for yourself? What kind of person are they that our master likes them so much?”

The stone-faced Setz seemed to slightly agree.

“Let’s observe carefully. They could be our colleague or our enemy.”

Setz nodded and responded for the first time to Ritelni’s words.

*   *   *

“This is a quicker shortcut.”

“…….”

“It’s not on the map, but it can shorten the trip in half a day, I’m telling you.”

The gray-haired boy raised his voice, asking for trust with an innocent look.

“…….”

Canpiden made a look at Lavella asking what to do.

“Let’s go.”

We have to fill in the map anyway.

Lavella smiled and rolled up the map in her arms that had not yet been completed.

Her eyes, however, gave a chilling warning to the boy.

‘If you make a fool out of us, I’ll have to rip your head off right now, got it?’

The boy who understood immediately shuddered and lowered his eyes.

She was so strong that he felt foolish for being possessed by her beautiful appearance. The pressure from her was enormous.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes.”

At Canpiden’s instruction, the boy nodded gently.

It was not just the woman. The men with her were also scary.

‘What kind of people are they?”

It was amazing they all had such beautiful appearances. His curiosity grew in the midst of fear.

After two days together, they were scary but good people. Even though he was caught running away, they gave out food instead of killing him.

In addition, they were his benefactors who saved his life from the smugglers.

‘By the way, if I take them to the village, what happens after?’

The boy recalled the face of an old man’s eyes, sighed loudly, and cried.

‘I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow.’

The boy trembled with fear of the people who followed him. At least grandfather won’t kill me even though he would severely scold me.

*   *   *

“Across that hill is Kuzne village. Look, wasn’t it much faster to come the way I said?”

The boy had a triumphant look on his face.

“Yeah.”

Lavella grinned wide in agreement. It was two days earlier than they scheduled.

“It’s incredible.”

Lavella, who saw the endless plains, whistled with honest appreciation.

The group got off the horse and entered a grass reed forest that grew as tall as a human.

“I can’t see anything.”

“Don’t worry. I know the way.”

It was time to follow the confident boy at the front through the reeds in a row.

“Wait.”

“?”

Canpiden stopped the boy.

When the boy looked back wondering, the four had already taken out their weapons.

“Hey, I’m not lying! This is the right way!!”

“Shh.”

When the boy misunderstood them as trying to kill him and shouted back, Iska rolled his eyes and shut the boy’s mouth.

Iska moved the boy between the group and became wary of his surroundings again.

“!”

Due to the unusual atmosphere, the boy rolled his eyes and closed his mouth.

The rustling of the reeds rumbled.

“Three to the east.”

“Two.”

“Over here…there’s at least ten.”

The four of them each faced the other directions of north, south, east, and west and gripped their weapons.

“Dabel, wouldn’t you rather stay with him?”

“I’ve gone through all sorts of things while wandering all over the country. My body is healthy.”

Dabel angrily narrowed his brows when Lavella looked at Dabel’s fragile body and questioned calmly.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Lavella giggled and soothed Dabel’s hurt feelings.

Dabel’s rage seemed to melt away after hearing Lavella’s laughter.

‘This is why the master is stuck.’

It was when Dabel understood Iska’s feelings.

“They’re here.”

A group of fully armed soldiers appeared at Canpiden’s announcement and surrounded them.

“Who are you?”

The one who looked like the leader asked, pointing with the tip of his sword.

“Can’t you tell? I’m just a traveler. What are you doing?”

Canpiden’s blue eyes swept the soldiers coldly.

“You don’t look like ‘just a traveler’.”

The man who appeared to be the leader was sarcastic.

Iska and Dabel exchanged glances with each other in an unlikely manner.

‘Master, do you happen to think Ritelni…’

‘Yeah, I think so.’

Iska’s purple eyes scoured the surrounding crowd.

‘You’ve sent a lot, Ritelni.’

Was it necessary to do it in such a raucous way? Iska felt like he had something to say when he met him again.

“I don’t think it’s going to end well. I’ll take care of this. Why don’t you guys go first?”

Iska calmly hid his thoughts and said.

“You must never fight….”

The boy murmured in a tense voice behind Iska’s back, who turned to ask for Lavella’s permission.

Suddenly, Iska’s eyebrows raised at the boy who was about to ruin the plan.

“It’s the Imperial Army.”

“!”

Iska’s shoulder tensed. Dabel squinted his eyes to figure out what was going on.

“Imperial?”

Lavella tilted her head. She again scanned the soldiers who surrounded her.

“What kind of plan are you working on? I asked why you came here!”

The man’s voice grew louder.

“Just give me the money and I’ll be fine, I’ll watch people coming and going to town.”

The boy whispered desperately as if to listen to him. The boy knowing who the soldiers were meant that they were not the ones sent by Ritelni.

“The Imperial Army…Whose army?”

Iska’s eyes sank as he asked in a low voice.

“The Royal Army of Prince Rubitz.”

“!”

Iska’s puzzled gaze turned to the boy and then turned to the crows in front of him again.

‘My army?’

It was absurd.