“Are these clothes enough?”
“Uh… I think they should be.”
The day after planning our escape from the kingdom.
From the morning, we were busy packing our belongings in the cabin.
“Where should I put this?”
“Um, pack those in the bundle and keep only the important things separately in a bag….”
Even though it was just a temporary cabin, Sienna had stayed here for nearly two years.
Naturally, there were quite a few things worth taking.
“It’s best to avoid cities as much as possible, right?”
“Yeah, if we have to go somewhere, let’s stick to villages that are easy to escape from or small towns at most.”
With wanted posters circulating, avoiding cities was the best option.
If we ended up getting surrounded in a city, we’d have no choice but to fight our way out.
And if that happened, there would be no turning back.
So, we focused on packing camping gear and food as much as possible.
“Where do we get a map?”
“We’ll try to find one as we head south.”
Our goal, for now, was to travel south.
If we headed north, we’d run into snowy wastelands and barbarian territory.
To the east lay the Eastern Alliance and the lands of the demons.
To the west was the Empire.
That left the south as the only feasible option where we could move freely without needing an official identity.
The south originally belonged to the Lugar Kingdom, but after its downfall, the Adel Kingdom had taken over and was now exploiting the land.
The region was being haphazardly governed by newly appointed Adel nobles and former Lugar nobles who had switched allegiances.
It was bound to be in a state of chaos.
“Shall we head out now?”
“Yeah, load the luggage onto Brown.”
“Hmm… got it.”
So far, the plan was solid.
But there was a small—just a tiny—problem.
To go south, we needed to detour through the eastern route.
The Kaine Mountain Range stretched northwest from the capital, Kaine, making it impossible for us to take a direct route.
Since we had to avoid the capital, the only path available was the eastern detour.
For now, we planned to head southeast….
[This is going to be interesting.]
The eastern region included the Viscount Vainella territory, where devils had taken root.
We would try our best to avoid it, but I wasn’t sure what we might encounter around that area.
Still, we had to hurry.
There were already villagers near the forest who had spotted Sienna.
“But… aren’t we standing out too much?”
Sienna voiced her concern as we loaded our supplies onto Brown.
“…You have a point.”
She was right. This was drawing a lot of attention.
After all, Whitey had grown to nearly the size of a Giant Wolf, and Brown was a mid-tier monster even larger than an ordinary bear.
“We could just say we’re monster tamers….”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I even have a license.”
Sienna showed me a certification badge.
It looked similar to a mercenary’s identification badge but had a more intricate design.
Hmm, maybe that would work?
There was nothing about being a tamer in the wanted posters, so it should be fine.
“Let’s just hope we don’t get caught.”
“Y-Yeah….”
Honestly, this was probably the weakest part of our plan.
But we had no choice.
If we wanted to travel far, we needed mounts, and getting horses at this point was out of the question.
Besides, even if we could part with Brown, leaving Whitey behind in the forest wasn’t an option.
So—
“Let’s get going.”
“Yes…!”
I climbed onto Whitey’s back, finally ready to depart.
“You okay?”
Woof!!
Even though I had ridden Whitey yesterday, I still found the experience surprisingly comfortable.
His fur was thick and fluffy, making the ride smooth.
“Hold on tight.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I got on first, and Sienna climbed on in front of me.
Since Whitey could pick up quite a bit of speed, I wrapped my arms around Sienna’s waist to brace myself before we set off.
“You can hold on tighter if you need to.”
“Ah, okay…”
This felt… weird.
When we had traveled from the Margrave’s territory to the Viscount’s lands, Sienna had been wearing armor, so it wasn’t as awkward.
But now, she was dressed in leather clothing.
I could clearly feel the softness of her waist.
…It was unexpectedly squishy.
[Why don’t you just pounce on her already?]
…What the hell?
Does it really think I’m some kind of beast?
[At least consider the burden of having your thoughts read. It’s truly nauseating.]
If you’re that disgusted, then leave.
All it ever does is complain.
Anyway.
“Whitey, let’s go.”
Woof!!
With all preparations finally complete, we left behind the cabin we had lived in for so long and set off on our journey south.
***
A few days after Rain and Sienna left the forest, a warehouse in a village.
“Huff… haah….”
Inside a dimly lit warehouse, where the only source of light trickled through a small window, Juahn—the devil worshipper the villagers had tied up and left to starve—was still clinging to life.
“Sh-shit….”
Having lost loved ones to him, the villagers would come regularly to beat him senseless.
His body was covered in deep bruises, and his ear—recently torn off during one of those brutal encounters—was only just beginning to regenerate.
In this battered state, Juahn seethed in rage.
“That… that bastard….”
His hatred was split between Rain, who had utterly destroyed him, and the villagers, who tormented him yet refused to grant him death.
Locked away in the darkness, his fury festered and grew.
“I’ll devour them all….”
And then—
His swelling malice began to manifest physically.
His skin hardened, taking on the texture of stone.
Scratch… Scratch…
As he twisted his body, his newly formed rock-like flesh scraped against the thick ropes binding him.
And soon—
Snap.
The rope that Rain had tightly secured around his joints finally gave way.
“Heh… hehehe….”
Now with some mobility restored, he systematically broke free from the remaining restraints the villagers had tied around him.
Snap, Crack.
Once all the ropes had been severed, Juahn rose to his feet, his lips bloodied from how hard he had been biting down.
Beyond the warehouse door, he could hear the sounds of the village.
—Everyone’s here…
—Don’t run around too much…
Children laughing.
Women bustling about.
The village men were likely out working, which was a bit disappointing.
But it didn’t matter.
They would return eventually.
In the meantime, he would feast on the flesh of the women to quell his hunger, drink the blood of the children to sate his thirst, and then offer them all to his Lord.
And when the time came—he would find and rip apart the man who had left him in this wretched state.
CRACK!
With a single punch fueled by rage, he shattered the lock on the warehouse door.
Creeeak…
As the aged wooden door swung open, warm sunlight flooded in.
And beyond that light—
He saw the horrified eyes of the village women who had just witnessed his escape.
“Kuh… kuhahahaha!!”
He was free.
He had endured hellish torment—
But now, he was finally out!
“Kyaaaah!!”
“Someone, get the men!!”
Though his body was still in ruins, the sheer madness in his eyes sent waves of terror through the villagers.
“Uwaaaaah!!”
And then, Juahn’s gaze landed on a child who had tripped and fallen in shock.
Yes. That one would be the perfect first target.
Children’s flesh was tender, making them ideal for a first meal to regain his strength.
As he stepped forward, extending his hand toward the child—
“This is… what?”
Schwick—!
Before he could even comprehend what had happened, his vision shifted.
The sky—
A clear, blue sky filled his sight.
And then—
Thud… Roll… Roll…
His head tumbled across the ground, spinning uncontrollably before finally—
Thump.
—Coming to a stop at someone’s feet.
“Huh?”
Juahn had spent days seething in hatred, planning his escape—only to lose his head in an instant.
And the last thing he saw—
“That wasn’t the target, right?”
—Was a woman with striking black hair, beautiful even from below.
Crunch.
Then, darkness filled his vision as she stepped on him.
“Yeah, doesn’t seem like it.”
And just like that, Juahn’s consciousness faded into nothingness.
The black-haired woman, who had just decapitated the devil worshipper, casually glanced around.
“Then, what was he?”
“From what I heard, the leader of a bandit group was a devil worshipper. Looks like the villagers didn’t kill him, just locked him up.”
“Revenge imprisonment? Pretty bold of them.”
Despite looking quite young—no older than her late teens or early twenties—no one in the village dared to underestimate her.
After all—
Drip. Drip.
The sword she had just used to behead Juahn was still dripping with fresh blood.
“Teacher, do some intel gathering, would you?”
“I can, but you should also gain experience yourself.”
“Ugh… fine, whatever.”
Thunk!
Grumbling, the woman kicked Juahn’s severed head aside and approached the nearest elder.
“Grandma, have you seen someone like this?”
She pulled a piece of paper from her coat and unfolded it.
It was a portrait—one not widely distributed but only shared among a select few.
A drawing of Sienna.
Though the sketch was quite accurate, the elderly woman shook her head.
“I-I haven’t seen her…”
“Really? That’s odd. We got a report about her.”
Tap.
Her voice remained flat as she responded to the lie, resting her still-bloody sword on her shoulder.
“Teacher! Looks like a false report.”
“…Be more thorough. Villagers often protect criminals.”
“Grandma, is that what this is?”
The woman’s gaze returned to the elder.
“I-I mean…”
The old woman wanted to deny it—for the sake of the young man and woman who had saved their village.
But faced with that cold, expressionless stare, she found herself unable to lie any further.
“W-Well, I… I did see her…”
“Ah, so it wasn’t a false report?”
With a grin, the woman added lightly, “Well, that makes things easier.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“D-Did she do something wrong…?”
“Yeah, we’ve been ordered to bring her in.”
“B-But she saved us…”
“Saved you?”
The woman’s head tilted slightly.
“Why do you say that?”
“S-She took care of those bandits for us…”
“Wasn’t it just a coincidence that she fought them?”
“B-Before that too… she was always kind and never caused trouble… She even helped treat our wounded…”
Though visibly terrified of the woman with the sword on her shoulder, the old lady stubbornly defended the benefactor who had saved their village.
“Is that so?”
The woman listened in silence, then flashed a sharp smile.
She lowered the sword from her shoulder.
Schwing.
And smoothly slid it back into its scabbard.
“Teacher! Let’s head back.”
“…What?”
“You heard everything, didn’t you? She was living peacefully, caught some bandits, and then left. Sounds fine to me.”
“That may be, but…”
The so-called ‘teacher’ hesitated, but the woman just smirked.
“How is this someone a hero needs to hunt down? The kingdom’s orders seem shady as hell.”
“You’re still in training. You should prioritize following orders…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m just saying we should check things out more thoroughly.”
Even with her teacher’s disapproving look, the woman had already lost interest and turned her back on the village.
“Who knows, maybe this is just another witch hunt.”
“…A witch hunt?”
“Ah, do they not use that term here?”
I just mean—maybe she’s being falsely accused.
With those final words, the woman—no, the Hero—left the village.
“Hah… fine.”
With a heavy sigh, her teacher followed after her, disappearing into the distance.
