Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Chapter 101

Bremen’s group grew suddenly nervous when Rickart and Marie began following them.

They knew he was a decent man, but they couldn’t help being afraid of someone capable of cutting off a man’s head with a staff.

Why is he following us? Did we do something wrong? Is he after the cattle after all?

All sorts of thoughts raced through their minds.

Everyone looked to Bremen, wondering what they should do. If they were going to run, they needed to do it quickly.

Bremen had been walking at the head of the procession, but he moved to the rear and shouted. Even his voice trembled slightly.

"W-What do you want?"

From a distance, Rickart raised his staff as if to say everything was fine. Marie waved in greeting.

Their intention not to harm anyone came across clearly, but the group was still frightened. Rickart was now carrying a sword they hadn’t seen before.

When he finally caught up, Rickart spoke to Bremen. In his left hand was a sword wrapped several times in cloth.

"I’m heading to the eastern expeditionary territory too—no, I mean the frontier. May we travel with you?"

"...Huh? Why? No, no, we’d be glad to have you, but why would you want to...?"

They couldn’t have been more grateful to have someone as strong as Rickart in their group. Still, they couldn’t help wondering why.

Everyone else was heading there because they had no choice, but Rickart was different. He could have lived a peaceful life, yet he was voluntarily setting out into a dangerous and unforgiving world.

"I want to see for myself whether there’s truly anything there worth staking our last hope on. I’ll never find out if I spend the rest of my life tending sheep, will I?"

"..."

There was no arguing with him if that was what he wanted, but Bremen couldn’t understand it at all.

Then again, severing a man’s head with a wooden stick was even harder to understand.

Whether they understood him or not, they had neither the right nor the strength to refuse when Rickart asked to join them. Not that Rickart had threatened them, of course.

Everyone remained silent, both bewildered and afraid. There was neither a welcome nor a rejection.

No, at least one person welcomed him.

Roy approached Rickart with a delighted smile.

"Big brother."

Rickart smiled and pointed at the flower crown on his head. Roy’s grin grew even wider.

"Th-Then shall we set off again? Or perhaps everyone should introduce themselves first?"

Bremen asked while looking around at the others, but no one could bring themselves to speak.

Only Hartmann stepped forward without hesitation.

"I’m Hartmann. I’ve always wanted to repay your kindness, and I’m glad the opportunity seems to have presented itself."

Rickart looked at him. Hartmann seemed steadfast, upright, and gentle by nature.

Rickart accepted his offered hand and shook it.

"I’m Ricky. There’s no kindness to repay. It wasn’t as if I owned that land. I hope we’ll get along on the journey."

Watching the two young men exchange peaceful greetings instead of snarling at each other reassured the others.

"This is my wife, Elia."

"I’m Becca."

"And you’re Roy, right?"

Rickart already knew the boy, so he spoke while stroking Roy’s head. Roy giggled happily.

"I’m Ricky’s wife, Marie ."

Marie stepped forward and introduced herself as Rickart’s wife, though the others seemed somewhat awkward about it.

Unlike Rickart, whose clothing looked like an assortment of mismatched pieces, Marie was unmistakably a swordswoman.

She wore a dark blue gambeson, close-fitting trousers, long boots, and a cloak—and above all, there was the sword at her waist.

They knew nothing about the young couple’s past, but it was obvious that neither of them was ordinary.

The group consisted of Bremen the guide, the Hartmann family, four siblings whose father had died the previous day and who had now lost both parents, an unmarried former prostitute and her baby, and the newly joined married couple, Rickart and Marie .

"Now that introductions are over, let’s get moving again. We’re headed to Wertheim. I’d like the two of you to guard the rear."

"Understood."

Rickart nodded.

The rear of a procession was both its most vulnerable and dangerous position. Since Rickart and Marie had no children and were both in their physical prime, it made sense for them to guard it.

In that respect, the group resembled a wolf pack on the move.

The cattle, the four siblings, and Dalia traveled in the center, while the Hartmann family took the lead.

Naturally, Bremen served as the scout, occupying the position a military unit might call the point man.

Rather than huddling together and blindly walking down the road, they formed a rough marching order and continued onward.

Rickart followed at the very back, carrying the sword in his left hand and using his staff with his right.

When the fields finally ended and they entered a road traveled by others, he was overcome by a renewed sense of emotion.

He had truly returned to the world.

Around that time, Marie suddenly climbed onto his back.

"My legs hurt."

Sometimes Marie would whine to Rickart like a child for no real reason, and this was one of those occasions. Without saying anything, Rickart simply carried her on his back as he walked.

It would have been exhausting for an ordinary person, but Rickart could now carry her all day—or even walk for several days without rest—without summoning the "wind."

Marie mischievously blew against the back of Rickart’s neck or nibbled him lightly. Rickart merely chuckled.

Perhaps she behaved this way from time to time because she had grown up without receiving love. Maybe she was compensating for what she had lacked by acting spoiled around him.

Rickart never found it bothersome and indulged her every whim.

If anything, he felt grateful. Most of the time, she wore composure and independence like armor, so her behaving this way meant that she occasionally lowered her guard for him alone.

At some point, the grass disappeared from the road, replaced by gravel. It seemed to have been a riverbed long ago, before the water dried up. Following it led them into a canyon.

Mountains rose on either side, though neither was especially tall.

The problem was the people watching them from above on the right.

Were they ordinary travelers or bandits?

There was no way to tell from their appearance, and the distinction was essentially meaningless anyway. Out on the road, anyone could become a bandit if a vulnerable target appeared and the opportunity presented itself.

The travelers kept glancing nervously toward the mountain, while Rickart simply stared up at it. Even from that distance, he could tell that the strangers’ attention was fixed on the cattle.

They didn’t rush down recklessly. Instead, they carefully assessed the group’s strength—how many men there were and how well armed they appeared.

"Marie , get down for a moment."

Rickart lowered Marie from his back and selected a suitable pebble from the countless stones scattered across the road.

Then he hurled it at one of the men watching from above.

The pebble shot through the air in a perfectly straight line across the vast distance. It struck a man wearing an ill-fitting helmet squarely in the head.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound echoed through the canyon.

The man didn’t die, but the force behind the stone snapped his head sideways and sent him crumpling to the ground. He had been knocked unconscious.

The others flinched and turned toward Rickart.

Rickart picked up another stone and threw it. Moving at an unbelievable speed, it shattered someone else’s jaw.

The man could have dodged, but the stone struck him before he could get past his momentary confusion.

Crunch!

Broken teeth scattered through the air.

Only then did the watchers’ eyes widen in alarm.

Ignoring their reaction, Rickart picked up another stone and prepared to throw it. The people on the canyon ridge hurriedly dragged their companions away like startled monkeys and disappeared beyond the crest.

Rickart casually dropped the stone and dusted off his hands.

Then he spoke to Lena, the eldest of the four siblings. She appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen.

"If you’re traveling a long distance, you should sell all the cattle except the one carrying your belongings. The calves in particular won’t last long."

Livestock might have been strong, but their endurance was surprisingly inferior to a human’s. They also struggled to adapt to changing environments.

They ate and drank a great deal as well, making them unsuitable for long journeys. Cattle were best used to haul heavy loads within a village or between neighboring settlements.

Perhaps because she had just witnessed Rickart’s almost miraculous stone-throwing skills, Lena merely blinked at him.

"Ah, well, um..."

Under normal circumstances, she likely would have followed Rickart’s advice, but something appeared to be holding her back.

"Is there a reason you can’t?"

"W-Well... The cattle were the price paid for our mother’s life. Our father told us never to sell them..."

The price paid for their mother’s life.

There was clearly a deeply painful story behind those words, but Rickart didn’t pry.

"If those cattle cause you to join your mother, she’ll be heartbroken. But if you survive and safely reach the eastern frontier, she’ll be happy. The choice is yours. However, if you insist on taking the cattle with you, even I can’t guarantee your safety."

Rickart’s words were somewhat cold, but they reflected reality.

No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t perfectly drive away every fly and mosquito that continued to swarm around them.

One or two people might die in the chaos. If that happened, the younger children would be the most likely victims.

He couldn’t control every possible variable.

Lena and the other three siblings looked troubled and gloomy as they sank into thought. Lena was barely fourteen or fifteen, yet she was now responsible for her three younger siblings. The road ahead must have seemed utterly bleak.

Regardless, without Rickart, their entire group might have met its end in that canyon.

And it would probably have been because of the cattle.

In a sense, this wasn’t merely a problem for the four siblings. Their decision could place the entire group in danger.

Banditry was, after all, both dangerous and difficult. There had to be something worth stealing. Unless they were on the brink of starvation, most people wouldn’t recklessly attack just anyone.

But cattle were unquestionably valuable spoils.

To put it simply, traveling with them was like walking naked through a pack of starving wolves and begging to be eaten.

In this age, the more one possessed, the stronger one needed to be. No one else would guarantee their property rights for them.

Thanks to Rickart, the group continued without stopping. By the time they emerged from the canyon, they could see Wertheim in the distance.

The sunset burned red in the west.

An extraordinary number of outsiders had gathered there. There were several times more people stuck outside the city than there were local residents within it.

They clustered beyond the walls like a swarm of ants, living in tents.

Wherever people gathered, they developed needs. Merchants therefore did business with them, while those with practical skills made handicrafts to sell or built homes and settled there permanently.

Half of them were little more than beggars, while most of the rest were only slightly better off. Amid them, a small minority had managed to accumulate wealth.

Most of those wealthy individuals belonged to criminal organizations.

Of course, in a place like this, it was difficult to distinguish crime from the enforcement of order.

Ultimately, Rickart’s group was unable to enter the city. It was already late as well.

The question was where they could settle for the night.

In a place like this, every patch of ground was bound to belong to someone. Encroaching on another person’s territory could cause serious trouble, even if done unknowingly.

Fortunately, Bremen seemed to have some connections. He was a guide, after all.

After finding someone and speaking with them, he secured a place where the group could stay.

They unloaded their belongings and lit a fire. When they could finally sit or lie down to rest, their exhausted bodies seemed to melt.

The place almost immediately began to feel like home.

There was a reason travelers called the sky their roof. When their bodies were exhausted, simply sitting down anywhere felt heavenly.

Rickart hung his flower crown from the hilt of his sword and rested beside the campfire.

Then he realized that two of the four siblings were missing.

More precisely, Lena and her younger sister were gone.

The third child and the youngest were using their tiny hands to carry various heavy objects, preparing a meal for their elder sisters.

The sun had completely set by the time Lena and the second eldest daughter returned.

Hartmann, who had just finished eating, watched them for a moment before asking,

"Did you sell them?"

"What? Oh, yes. I thought the shepherd’s—no, the hero’s—advice was right. We offered half the money to God, and we’re still thinking about how to use the rest."

The money they had offered to God was probably the price of easing their guilt.

Rickart therefore said nothing.

Marie , however, was different.

"How much did you get?"

"Pardon?"

"How many cows and calves did you sell, and how much were you paid?"

"Well, um... We received two silver coins for one cow and six copper coins for three calves."

They had sold everything except the single cow needed to carry their luggage.

The problem was that the price sounded far too low.

Marie turned to Rickart.

"That doesn’t sound right, does it?"

"Hmm... That’s appalling."

Selling the cattle had been the right decision, but they had accepted an absurdly low price.

A cow should have fetched at least ten silver coins, while the calves appeared healthy enough to be worth two or three silver coins each.

Prices varied by region, season, and the condition of the cattle, but two silver coins for a cow was nothing short of fraud.

If only she had told him, he would have gone with her.

It was unfortunate, but it wasn’t too late to correct the situation.

"Who did you sell them to? Take me there."

"What?"

Rickart left his sword behind and stood with only his staff in hand.

"Before I became a shepherd, I specialized in collecting unpaid debts. Two silver coins and six copper coins is simply outrageous. Lead the way. Let’s go. Marie , keep an eye on this place."

"Sure."

Rickart strode toward the densely crowded encampment.

From a distance, the campfires and bonfires glowing throughout the settlement looked like stars.

Lena stood there at a loss for a moment. But when Rickart continued moving farther away, she hurriedly plunged into the sea of stars after him.

More precisely, she ran toward the brightest star.

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