NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 138. North Watch (3)
When I looked at the empty shelves, I felt my insides burning.
Who is it?
Who the hell are you!
If you bought it without knowing anything, it doesn't matter, but if you bought it 'knowingly', it becomes a problem.
'Which one is it?'
As I stood in front of the display case, looking troubled, the innocent-looking middle-aged woman who had been watching me began to change her gaze strangely.
“Is there anything you want…?”
The clerk tilts his head.
Eyes full of suspicion… … .
Well, the appearance is okay, but the overflowing sinister atmosphere doesn't go away.
“If you’re not going to buy it, then right now…….”
“Do you remember the person who bought the items here?”
When I pointed to display case 113 and asked about the whereabouts of the 'holy relic', the clerk who had been trying to pressure me put his hand to his chin and looked troubled.
“I’m not the type to remember all that stuff, so I’m not sure.”
“Are you sure?”
"hmm……."
The clerk groaned for a long time at my question, but I didn't really expect anything in return.
Even though he knew what 'Yurian' looked like, he didn't recognize me, which was a big factor.
“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember at all. Hohohoho!”
As expected.
Even though I expected this to happen, I couldn't help but feel complicated.
Looking at the empty display case number 113, my mind became complicated.
Who are you?
***
Passes to the northern front were easily issued within a day, along with supporting documents.
It was completed this quickly. This guy named Rooms seems to be quite capable.
Well, I guess Zahat passed by easily too.
“Brother Yurian, but the name written on this pass is strange.”
Joshua, who was looking at the pass, read what was written inside and then asked me a question.
As he said, the name written on the pass was not mine.
Instead of the name 'Jurien Kreifart Frasson', the name written on it was 'Eriksson Pantanya', an unknown English name.
But why is this?
Isn't that obvious?
“Then, did you think I would go to the Northern Front with my real name, you idiot? Of course I would go in secretly.”
It was Pelkor who answered that question.
Perhaps because of his own experience, he didn't have any particular doubts about the name change.
But it was a world unfamiliar to Joshua.
"why?"
“Why, I really am. Maybe it’s because I’m from a noble family, but I don’t know the ways of the world!”
Pelkor looked at Joshua and clicked his tongue.
There is no way that the arrogant Joshua will remain silent in the face of Pelkor's continued sarcasm.
“You seem to have become so used to the way the world works that your head has become dull too?”
“Is there anything this kid can’t say?”
“If this were the system, you’d be dead by my hand, you little shit.”
“What the heck?”
To stop the two who looked like they were about to start a fight at any moment, I raised my hand and stopped them.
“Be quiet.”
It was a concise statement, but the two quickly became quiet as if they understood it perfectly.
“Joshua, is it a problem that you don’t come and go using your original name?”
“……Yes, brother.”
“Okay, then let me tell you briefly.”
Originally, I had no intention of saying anything, but recently, I saw Joshua pitching a tent and walking around, so I decided to say something.
“The Northern Front is where the Third Prince, Lord Kaldrak de Adratan, holds a firm grip on power. That’s why he has such close ties to the military.”
“……I know.”
“If you go to a place like that with the name ‘Cryphat’, what would the world think?”
"……ah."
But Joshua, who was a smart guy, understood everything I said perfectly.
“Then, what I was trying to say was that the demon I caught was from the Northern Front…….”
“It was impossible from the start, Joshua.”
We've never been to the Northern Front, you know.
Yeah, you should have thought about it more deeply.
Of course, from my perspective, this trip was a little more comfortable.
Besides, if Chairman Right, who is not particularly close to the 'military', were to say that Joshua had airlifted the Demon's horn from the 'Northern Front', he would certainly let out a stern warning.
How much do you know and what have you been doing?
“By the way, we have to take the carriage that leaves at the time written here.”
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The road to the Northern Front is heavily controlled, and no one can leave North Watch without a horse and carriage that has been granted permission to do so.
But now I wonder what it really matters, since the interviewer issued the pass at his own discretion.
"ah."
While talking about the pass, Felcor sighed as he read it.
Why? Are you blind?
When I glanced at him like that, Pelkor scratched his head awkwardly.
Without even a head to scratch.
I brought these things to the Northern Front. I said this trip would be comfortable, but it was canceled.
***
Anyway, my destination is not the Northern Front, but the 'Snowstorm Forest'.
Completely severing the breath of the 'one-armed demon' that escaped there, giving peace to the anxious mind.
Because that was the most important reason that made me turn my steps towards the system.
however.
Dalgrak. Dalgrak.
As I was riding in a wagon full of groceries for that, all sorts of thoughts came to mind.
‘… … Should I have just left it to Zahat?’
After all, since it was not an official route, the carriage assigned for passage was not a normal one.
The carriage you are riding in now is said to be a carriage selling goods in a small town near the northern front.
It might be easier to understand if you think of it as something like the so-called 'golden carriage' deployed at the front lines of the military.
Riding in that carriage, with my robe pulled over my head to hide my face, I clicked my tongue at the strange feeling of unease.
'Has this ever happened before?'
I was so used to covering my face.
'It feels like something has become routine… … What is it?'
What breaks my thoughts is Pelkor sighing.
“Ha, I didn’t know it would end up like this.”
Next to me, I noticed a guy who was having different concerns than me.
A sigh filled with worry. The emotional expression and behavior that did not match his size aroused my suspicion.
“What's going on?”
Pelkor looked at me for a moment at my question, then opened his mouth as if he had no choice.
“This carriage’s destination is my hometown.”
Hometown?
“Were you from the Northern Front?”
“Well, to be exact, it’s the villages around there.”
somehow…….
Pelkor glanced outside the carriage with a hazy, yet lingering gaze.
“Damn country town, I thought I’d never come back.”
Oh, it doesn't look like you're lost in thought.
The way he muttered to himself made it seem like he really didn't want to come here again.
“Are you okay?”
Rattle, rattle.
As the carriage continued to move, the coachman spoke to me.
Originally, the hometown of Pelkor.
He is a well-known merchant who sells groceries in villages near the northern front.
The reason he made room for us was because the interviewer, Rooms, had told him.
"it's okay."
“That’s fortunate. When the Rooms interviewer suddenly asked if there were any empty seats, I was surprised, but this is it, you guys are lucky.”
“Haha, thank you.”
“I don’t know why you’re heading north, but… huh?”
It was at that moment that the merchant responded to my thanks.
His eyes widened.
I also got up and turned to where he was looking.
Aren't there soldiers wearing thick tunics turned over to protect against the cold weather conducting inspections in the middle of the road that has been paved all the way to the northern front?
“No, what’s this sudden inspection? This has never happened before.”
The merchant, who seemed troubled, swallowed hard and asked me.
“Are you by any chance the people who did something strange? Judging from the fact that the seats were filled in a hurry, they don’t seem to be ordinary people.”
He is not someone who 'did' something strange.
He's the kind of person who 'would' do weird things.
“It’s a ‘wedge.’”
Pelkor muttered as he saw the emblem on the shoulder of one of the knights through the small window visible ahead.
I just happened to see that pattern.
Wedge unit.
The direct unit of the Third Prince, Kaldrak de Adratan, who holds sway over the northern front.
There are no ordinary soldiers, but rather an elite group comprised solely of those with the rank of knight or higher.
“……This, it would be awkward if your face was revealed. Sir Yurian.”
Of course.
If it's a group that's as big as 'Wedge', it's natural to recognize 'Yurien's' face.
If we get caught here, we'll be in a difficult position in many ways.
First of all, why did 'Closed Eyes' come here?
Whether or not it was ordered by the royal family.
Moreover, there is a successor to the Craiph family, one of the four great families.
'… Should I make a mask with Angelica?'
If you do that, instead of hiding your identity, wouldn't it be like announcing, 'I'm a suspicious person'?
Besides, the mask made of Angelica would be even more suspicious since it would resemble the 'Black Knight'.
Either way, it's a headache.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
While I was still pondering, I got closer to the soldiers who were conducting the search, and naturally, one of them, who appeared to be a 'wedge', took the lead and approached the merchant.
“Where is your destination?”
“I’m from the village of Gerlin. I came there to exchange groceries.”
“What else?”
“We’re carrying some people. About three people.”
“……Three people? What is the purpose of coming to a small town like Gerlin?”
Gerlin, that seems to be the name of the town.
'Wedge' continued to mention the town, muttering in a disdainful tone.
Pelkor's eyes sharpened slightly as he listened to that.
Are you saying that it's your hometown?
He used to curse at people for being a country bumpkin, but he seems to be angry when someone else curses at him.
“I think you said it was your hometown, but I’m not sure. Can’t you just check the interviewer’s passport?”
A man nodding to the merchant's words.
At the same time, he was approaching the back of the carriage with other soldiers.
“Get off and present your pass.”
A businesslike tone of speech that reveals no emotion.
'Should I reveal my identity?'
I feel like I have no choice but to reveal my face. If I hide it, I'll end up in an even more awkward situation.
Suddenly──!
But before that idea could be put into action, one person stepped forward first.
“Damn it, I went through all that trouble!”
It was Joshua.
His face was filled with resentment and discontent, as he was unable to turn the 'horns' he had so easily acquired into a tale of bravery, claiming that he had brought them from the Northern Front.
“Hello, I am Joshua Kreifart, a member of the Kreifart family.”
Joshua, who had boldly exited the carriage, opened his mouth to 'Wedge', who seemed to be the highest ranking person among the people conducting the inspection.
“The Cryphat family?”
“Why on earth is a member of one of the four great families of the Empire here…….”
As the soldiers were confused and questioning, 'Wedge' approached Joshua and opened his mouth.
“What brings a member of the Cryphat family to a remote place like this?”
“I was wandering around preparing for the entrance exam.”
“Advanced exam…….”
The Cryphat family's advanced test.
It must have been famous, because the wedge unit knight's voice seemed convinced.
“By the way, are you a wedge?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I have something to tell you.”
As he said that, Joshua glanced inside the carriage.
His eyes turned towards Pelkor and were filled with anger.
Until now, he had harbored resentment and hatred towards Pelkor, who had tormented him. And the sadness of the days he spent repeatedly setting up and folding tents as a porter.
“In this carriage…….”
What are you trying to say?
I stared at Joshua for a long time, and eventually our eyes met.
"in……."
Whatever you say, I can handle it.
Somehow, I made my way through the crisis and was confident that I could do it again this time.
As he thought that and smiled broadly, the color of 'fear' began to darken over Joshua's head.
'Joshua, say whatever you want to say. I will listen.'