Azadin, despite being tired and exhausted, continued to march. As Midiam and Ishmael followed closely, they asked Azadin,
"By the way, if ogre and the minions of the King of Fang have appeared, doesn't that mean there's a possibility that the army of monsters will continue to swarm in from the central inland region?"
"That's possible."
"Then…"
"From what I saw, there was a goblin using magic among the ogre army, and there was even a hobgoblin acting as a squad leader, so it felt like a regular army."
Azadin spoke while recalling that they were after the copy of the Book of Divine King.
It made sense to view them as scouts sent by the monsters to locate the copy of the Book of the Divine King.
'That means I could end up with plenty of wands today, huh?'
Curious, Azadin took out one of the wands to have a closer look.
"So, Midiam, can you tell what this is?"
"Hmm, is it a magic wand?"
Midiam received the bone wand that Azadin handed over.
"I think I need to focus properly to figure it out. But I'm too tired right now. Ah, by the way, if you're asking me to do this, are you acknowledging me as your servant?"
"No, it's just that we're compatriots who met in a foreign land, right? I think it's okay to ask for this much."
"Hmm, you're still like this, huh? Then, can I make a request too?"
"What kind of request?"
"Hmm. Well, on second thought, other than asking you to accept me as a servant, I don't have anything else to request right now."
"Right?"
"Then, I'll make a request if something comes to mind later."
"That's a bit…"
"Anyway, it seems like I need some concentration to inspect this wand. Can I do it after we sleep?"
"Well, I'm tired too after the recent battle. Plus, we've been walking a lot."
"Then, shall we rest here?"
"No, let's hurry. The cost of fodder for the goats is quite expensive, so let's not delay too much."
While pretending to be a blind pilgrim, they arrived at the gate, fed the goats slop at an inn outside the gate, and bought food for themselves. Travel was, after all, an endless cycle of expenses, expenses, expenses.
"Follow me. Oh, but first, we need to change our disguises again."
Azadin started changing back into the appearance of a blind pilgrim. By reversing his clothes and crouching, he appeared a full 30 cm shorter, with his arms and legs also seeming shorter.
His body was so flexible that simply adjusting his posture made his appearance change dramatically.
After returning to his blind pilgrim disguise, Azadin set off, following the refugees. The group was large and it was nighttime, so it didn't take long to catch up with them.
"Ah, you're safe!"
"Thank goodness."
They were glad that Azadin and his companions were safe.
"Yes, I have good hearing, and I heard the victory cheers coming from the village."
"What?"
"It seems you can return to the village. Do you have any means of signaling, like using lanterns, to communicate with the village?"
"Well…"
"If there's a spot where you can see the village, you might be able to check."
"..."
The refugees were skeptical at first, but upon seeing the lights shining from the village on the hill, they realized the village was safe.
"We could send a small group back to the village to check first, and then decide how to proceed."
Azadin's suggestion seemed reasonable to them. While escaping from the monsters was important, leading the elderly and women down the rugged mountain path was a grueling task in itself.
Since Count Kazel was not a merciful man to the common people, there was no guarantee he would be lenient with refugees who abandoned their village.
Therefore, if it was safe, everyone agreed they would rather return to their village.
"Well, let's do that then."
The group halted their escape and selected a few swift individuals to return to the village and confirm the situation. Before long, they encountered messengers from the village halfway down the path.
Since the threat of the ogre raid had subsided, the village had also sent messengers to inform the fleeing villagers.
"They say that members of the Herald Clan appeared and defeated the ogre?"
"Yes. The ogre wasn't the real issue. Honey! A huge monster appeared, and how should I describe it? Anyway, someone in the village must have called for the Herald Clan. By the way, we need to make sure any outsiders stay quiet about this…"
"Outsiders? Do you mean merchants, or that pilgrim?"
"Right. Where did those pilgrims go?"
"What? Oh? Huh?"
"Come to think of it…"
The villagers were bewildered to realize that the pilgrim group had vanished.
***
It wasn't too difficult to slip away under the cover of night. Azadin, having changed his outfit once again, grumbled.
"This is annoying, even though I'm the one doing it."
"Still, it's amazing. Just by changing clothes, your appearance completely transforms."
"Well, the clothes are still oversized, so there's plenty to hide. I can't do this in hot regions. I need to be careful about that."
With that, Azadin descended the mountain path.
"Won't the ogre attack again? Was it really necessary to send those people back to the village? It feels risky."
"No, I had to send them. They're family. If they're going to abandon the village and flee, it's better for them to do so together as a family. If they scatter and flee separately, how will they ever find each other again?"
"But if they stay in the village and something bad happens…"
"The leader of the vigilante group is a seasoned hunter, so he'll understand the situation well enough."
"That's a relief, but still, you fought, right? Aren't you tired?"
"I am tired, but I need to earn travel expenses."
"Earn travel expenses?"
"That."
Azadin pointed his finger toward the base of the mountain. The campsite of the margrave's illegitimate son and his mercenaries, who had pillaged the village, came into view.
"As someone who has become a herald of the emperor, I shouldn't be acting like a bandit, but it's fine to receive some alms from those who looted the villagers, right?"
"Alms… you say."
Ishmael clicked his tongue.
The margrave's illegitimate son and his forces numbered around 20. They were seasoned mercenaries, and in some ways, they could be even tougher opponents than the ogre from the perspective of a member of the Herald Clan. Especially since Azadin was already fatigued.
'Even if you can defeat them at your peak, it doesn't mean you'll always win.'
Facing a large group alone was always dangerous, especially when fatigue had set in and concentration was low. In fact, many heralds didn't die fighting powerful or notorious enemies but succumbed to more trivial dangers.
"Aren't you worried you'll get in trouble if you're careless?"
"It's fine. Just watch closely. Ah."
Azadin clicked his tongue, realizing he had almost told them to watch and learn from him as an example, even though they weren't his servants.
***
Tarkiev and his mercenaries were camping in exhaustion.
Carrying their loot down the mountain path from the village had left them worn out. Still, being seasoned in traversing mountain terrain, the mercenaries posted guards and were resting in an orderly manner.
The guards, while keeping watch, were having a conversation.
"Ogre coming south during a drought, huh. Meanwhile, the margrave is ignoring his duty to guard the borders and is obsessed with finding the Book of the Divine King. Looks like this place is doomed."
"Well, we just need to get our haul and bail out."
"Do you think we can? There's not much valuable loot left. Plus, our employer still hasn't found the Book of the Divine King. I doubt he'll let us leave."
"If we're employed for a long time, that just means higher wages."
"Feels like danger is creeping closer, though."
Despite their conversation, the guards maintained proper posture and stayed vigilant.
And someone was watching them from the shadows.
'These mercenaries are pretty skilled. They aren't as well-armed as the ones Kozel brought, but they're no pushovers. I'm tired too.'
It was Azadin, who had stealthily infiltrated their campsite. He silently counted their numbers and looked for an entry route.
'Should I avoid being reckless and just put a few to sleep?'
He tied a string to a tree branch, pulled it slightly, and released it.
-Rustle.
The sound of branches rubbing together broke the silence.
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
Two guards moved toward the noise. As they approached, Azadin concealed himself in the bushes, waiting. When the guards were close enough, he swiftly struck the pressure points at the back of their necks.
"Ugh?!"
"Gah?!"
The two guards collapsed without resistance. It was fortunate they weren't wearing plate armor around their necks, making it easy to grab their pressure points.
'Good. Now, let's quickly loot the valuables.'
He approached the mercenaries' cart and began searching through the chests. Although they were locked, it didn't take much effort for Azadin to pick them.
Inside were treasures looted from the villagers, including bulky items like silver candlesticks and dishes. While they could fetch money, their size made them less desirable compared to gold items.
'Did Kozel loot the gold first? Hmm, they didn't look that rich. Ah, they must have sold it to merchants passing through the gates or sent some of it home.'
Azadin packed the silver candlesticks and dishes before continuing his search.
There were carpets, tapestries, and luxurious items like carved sandalwood boxes, dressing tables, and small bookcases with silver inlays.
While these were valuable, they were also too large and heavy. Plus, their distinctive appearance would make it obvious where they had been stolen from. After all, people recognize their own bookshelves and dressing tables.
'The silver candlesticks offer the best value for their weight. Now, let's check the supplies meant for the mercenaries themselves.'
Azadin moved toward the mercenaries' cargo and began rummaging through it. He found sacks of beans and oats meant as horse feed, along with arrowheads.
'Oh, nice. They're carrying arrowheads. And not cheap bronze ones, but real steel arrowheads?'
He excitedly gathered the supplies.
His load was getting heavy now. Although Azadin had strength beyond that of an ordinary human, even he had limits to what he could carry.
To avoid leaving traces and getting caught, he had to resist the temptation to take everything. As he was sifting through the mercenaries' supplies, he noticed something strange.
'Huh? Why is this here?'
It was a bone wand, identical to the one he had taken from the goblin shaman earlier.
'If it's here, that means it's not part of the loot but something they originally had with them….'
Just as Azadin was piecing things together, he heard a shout behind him.
"Hey! Who's there?!"
***
Tarkiev woke up, crawled out of his sleeping bag, and went into the bushes to relieve himself.
"Damn. Must've drunk too much before bed. Waking up in this cold highland air is the worst."
Grumbling, he finished his business and turned back toward the campsite, only to realize that the guards had disappeared. He had assigned them to patrol in pairs, but now they were nowhere to be seen.