Boom!!
As the door burst open.
I saw the coachman collapse from his horse, and a group of people blocking the carriage’s path.
“Don’t move!!”
What stood out was their pitiful appearance.
Their tattered clothes were covered in dust and mud, and the hunting bows and worn-out farming tools they carried looked like they hadn’t been properly maintained in a long time.
Moreover, they were clearly starving. Their sunken eyes, hollowed cheeks, and dry, cracked skin showed just how long they had gone without a proper meal.
“…They must be out of their minds.”
I quickly caught the coachman before he could fall.
Even if they didn’t recognize the crest on the carriage, attacking something this conspicuous was a reckless move.
They weren’t thinking straight.
“Huff… Huff…”
An old arrow was lodged in the coachman’s abdomen. Judging by the few arrows stuck in the carriage as well, they must have fired in unison.
And yet, the horse remained unharmed. So, was looting their goal?
“Stay where you are!!!”
One of the men, presumably a raider, spat as he stepped forward.
And then.
“Judging by your clothes, you must be someone important. If you don’t want a hole in your—”
Crack!
He collapsed, an axe buried in his skull.
“What the hell are you babbling about, you bastard?”
They really had lost their minds. Their bloodshot eyes confirmed it.
“Y-You bastard…!”
“Everyone, charge!”
Despite my imposing frame and the longsword in my hand—large enough to make them look like dwarves in comparison—they rushed forward without hesitation.
They really were crazed from hunger.
But I couldn’t show mercy.
They had attacked the Boyd family’s carriage and its coachman. And now, they were aiming their arrows and farm tools at me, a knight.
Slash!
Without hesitation, I cut down the ones leading the charge.
Whirr—!
Then, I threw my hand axe at the archer preparing to fire from a distance.
Crack!
“Argh!”
The axe buried itself in the peasant’s shoulder. But another arrow was already flying.
Unfortunately, its trajectory was toward the horse.
Just as I rushed to deflect it—
Whoosh!
A hand axe flew from behind me, knocking the arrow away.
Then, it curved strangely in midair before embedding itself into the peasant’s chest.
“Sienna?”
Turning around, I saw Sienna stepping down from the carriage, gripping an axe.
“I’ll assist you!”
“Ah, sure.”
…Honestly, I had planned to handle this alone.
But I suppose she had come down after hearing the commotion.
Well, she had grown up in rough conditions, so it was no surprise that she threw her axe without hesitation.
With that, the battle continued.
It didn’t take long to deal with the rest of the peasants.
“Guh…!”
I plunged my sword into the shoulder of the last one standing.
“Why did you attack?”
“Keuk… Heh… Heh…”
Despite the blade in his shoulder, he just let out a twisted laugh.
“Mo… Money… If only we had money….”
“…”
He wasn’t in a state to be interrogated.
I yanked my sword free and sliced his throat.
As his lifeless body hit the ground—
“How’s the coachman?”
Sienna and I checked on the fallen coachman.
He had seemed conscious earlier, but now, he could barely keep his eyes open.
His abdomen, where the arrow was lodged, was soaked in blood, and his complexion had turned ghostly pale.
“He’s lost too much blood… Ah, wait a moment.”
After assessing his condition, Sienna hurried toward the carriage’s luggage compartment.
“I brought a first-aid kit.”
“That’s good.”
No matter how I looked at it, we had to act fast.
Even from a glance, it was clear that the coachman was on the verge of death.
“Here, some cloth… Let’s clean the wound first…”
“We need to remove the arrow.”
“Ah, right.”
The arrowhead seemed deeply embedded.
Leaving it in would only increase the risk of infection.
“Hold on… Tear his clothing, please.”
“Alright.”
I tore his shirt open and poured water over the wound to clean the area.
“It… it’s deep….”
“They got a good shot in.”
Now that I could see the wound properly, it was deeper than expected.
Come to think of it, those peasants had moved strangely well despite their malnourished state.
“Go ahead and pull it out.”
“Understood.”
Gripping the deeply embedded arrow, I carefully observed the coachman’s condition.
…He won’t die from shock, will he?
Still, he was middle-aged, well-fed for a noble family’s coachman, and had a sturdy build.
He should be able to endure this.
“I’m pulling it out.”
With that, I carefully removed the arrow.
Blood immediately gushed from the wound, but Sienna quickly poured disinfectant over it before pressing a bandage against the area and tightly wrapping it.
“You’re good at this.”
“I had to do it often up north. But we need to get him to a proper healer quickly….”
I agreed.
For now, he was still breathing, albeit shallowly, but as Sienna said, if we didn’t get him to a healer soon, he might not make it.
“We need to head to the nearest city. Quickly.”
“Yes, I’ll grab the map.”
The coachman had navigated without one, but Sienna and I had no idea where we were.
After retrieving the map from the luggage compartment, we examined it together.
“Where exactly are we?”
“We followed this road from the Reichen County.”
We had traveled straight from the capital, Kaine, to Reichen County, and then continued riding eastward.
“Hm….”
“Hmm.”
How far had we come?
Just looking at the map didn’t give us a clear idea.
“There is a way to figure it out.”
“Yes… If we retrace our path, we should reach Reichen County again.”
“But there’s no way we’ll make it there by today.”
Right, a professional coachman had pushed hard all morning and afternoon to cover this distance.
There was no way we could match that pace.
“What about heading to this city instead?”
I pointed at a location on the map.
Since we had left the city of Causriver in Reichen County and continued east, we were most likely in the Bellermark Viscounty.
And there was a city in this viscounty.
Considering the distance, this city was the closest option.
“There is a city….”
“Yes.”
The coachman had likely intended to skip this viscounty, which was currently embroiled in territorial conflicts, and head for a city beyond.
But given our situation, we needed the nearest city.
“But its exact location….”
“If we follow the road, we’ll find something.”
We didn’t have the luxury of overthinking things.
Even if we couldn’t find the city, we might come across a decent village with some form of medical facility.
“For now, let’s lay the coachman inside the carriage.”
Ensuring the coachman remained stable was the priority.
After moving him inside, I stepped out.
“…Huh.”
…How were we supposed to drive the carriage?
I’d need to control the horse, but…
Do I just get on?
As I stood there, having a silent standoff with the horse and wondering how to guide it—
“I’ll handle the reins.”
Sienna, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward.
“You know how to drive a carriage?”
“I’m a beast trainer.”
She approached the horse.
Neigh…!
Despite all the earlier commotion, the well-trained horse of the Boyd family remained calm.
Sienna placed her hands on its face and briefly connected with it.
Then—
“Let’s go.”
Without hesitation, she climbed onto the driver’s seat.
“That’s it?”
“Yes, this horse is well-trained. The coachman will stay inside, and Rain, keep watch while we travel.”
“Got it.”
Did she just… bond with the horse that easily?
I’d only ever seen her train Whitey, so I had no idea how she handled other animals.
Well, in any case—
With Sienna guiding the carriage, we set off.
To get a better view, I climbed onto the carriage roof.
From up there, I could see the vast plains and forests stretching out.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of a village or city.
Still, as long as we followed the road, we’d reach something eventually.
“How’s the view up there?”
As time passed and the sky turned red with the setting sun—
“I see a city wall.”
Thankfully, before it got too late, I spotted a city in the distance.
“A city? Where?”
“If we take that fork in the road ahead, we should reach it.”
A crossroads lay just before us.
Good. We’d make it in time.
Despite being inexperienced in driving a carriage, Sienna had kept a steady pace.
If we had arrived this quickly, then the coachman must have really been pushing hard before.
“Understood! Let’s go quickly.”
With that, we urged the carriage forward, heading toward what appeared to be a city.
We barely managed to reach the city gates before nightfall, but—
“Who goes there?!”
A group of guards, likely the gatekeepers, emerged and pointed their spears at us.
“No entry for outsiders after dusk!”
“…These bastards.”
Was it too dark for them to see the emblem properly?
At this point, I was getting seriously annoyed.
I had expected this trip to be smooth, but of course, things just had to get complicated.
“What did you just say? Bastard? Who the hell are you?!”
“Do you not realize the viscounty is at war?! Turn back at once!”
So the ongoing territorial conflict had them all on edge.
Well, I wasn’t in the mood to be patient either.
Thud!
I jumped down from the carriage, striding straight toward the soldiers and knocking one of their spears aside with my hand.
“W-What?”
“W-Who are you?!”
The soldiers hesitated as I approached.
Anyone could see from my build alone that I wasn’t just some random traveler.
I let out a low growl and spoke in a commanding tone.
“I am Rain, a knight of the Boyd family. We were en route to the marquis’ territory at the lord’s summons when we were ambushed by local residents. Our coachman is gravely injured.”
“…W-What?”
Hearing my firm words, the soldiers’ expressions turned pale.
Then—
“G-Get the knight captain!”
“W-We apologize for our rudeness!”
The entire city was thrown into an uproar.
