2. The end of a breakup is another meeting
In the morning at the campsite, the crisp morning air flows in, and unlike usual, there is stillness.
Thanks to Austin’s efforts as a ranger since he was 14 years old, his golden hair slipped out of the warriors’ party’s camp tent, which was built far away from the path of the demon king’s army and was well concealed with tree branches and blades of grass.
Isabel was always the first saint to wake up among the party members.
“Haum… Mr. Austin… This morning…?”
A strangely quiet campground.
Isabel, who felt strange in the camp where there was only silence instead of the sound of a month busy making breakfast that could always be heard, quickly came to her senses and took her mace hanging from her waist in her hand.
…..Was it red?
“…Mr. Austin…?”
Austin, who should be making breakfast, is nowhere to be found, and the dishes washed last night are spread out in front of the campfire.
Since the traps Austin set up near the campsite are intact, and the crime prevention magic circle drawn by Maya doesn’t work, it doesn’t seem like an enemy raid.
Where’s Mr. Austin?
In an unusually strange atmosphere, Isabel ran into the tent and woke up the other party members.
“Everyone! Wake up! Come on!”
“Huh… What is it…? Isabelle…?”
“Umm… I woke up… I woke up… 5 Minutes…”
Isabel, who woke up by waking up the party members who were still in a daze, took the party members who were still in a daze outside.
“Huh… Everyone… Mr. Austin has disappeared..”
“…What?”
At the word that Austin had disappeared, the hero and the other party members, who had been blinking their sleepy eyes until just now, went somewhere and quickly opened their eyes wide and looked around.
“No, what’s with Austin disappearing… Huh? Where did he go…?”
“Oh… Austin…? Where…?”
“Austin! Stop playing around and come out! Where did you go without making breakfast?”
“……What is that?”
While everyone was looking for Austin, Gracie opened her mouth with her questioning voice, and everyone’s eyes followed Gracie’s fingertips.
There, lay a small piece of leather.
“…Uh… What is this…?”
Lee Yu-jeong, a warrior who was a little embarrassed, sat down holding a piece of leather, and the other party members who had been wary of the surroundings for a while also huddled together to check the contents of the piece of leather when no one was seen around them.
“A warrior. What is that?”
“Wait a minute… Uh… I can’t eat anymore… You guys take good care of the Demon Lord… Grab it… Don’t look for me…?”
Unable to accept what this meant, the hero and his party stared blankly at the piece of leather for a while.
Looking at it again, the same content.
“Uh…? This… What is this…?”
At the words of the perplexed hero, Adrien jumped up and picked up the bow.
“…Well… It’s obvious that it was a joke! Where did you go scouting again!”
“…Yes. I went for reconnaissance. This piece of leather… Must have been a joke.. Wait and it will come.”
“That… That’s right…! Just wait a little bit… And he’ll come back as usual with a lot of leaves attached to his body..”
Adrien, Gracie, and Isabel, who read the text left on the piece of leather, Austin left the party. He struggled to deny the reality and made noise.
“Austin… The instructor…! I’ll use it as a bow practice target when I get back!”
“Hmm. I should also consider using it as a swordsman training partner.”
Beside Gracie and Adrien discussing what kind of punishment Austin will do when he returns, Maya was staring at the piece of leather with a devastated expression.
“…..Austin…Austin.. Went out to a party..?”
However, her muttered voice did not reach the ears of the other party members.
Everyone knew that Austin, who usually goes on scouting after telling the party members beforehand, couldn’t have gone on scouting without saying anything, but they tried hard to deny it.
“Yeah. He must have gone scouting again on his own. Let’s wait a little bit.”
In the moment of turmoil, the warrior stepped forward and opened her mouth, and the warrior and her party sat down at the table where they had dinner yesterday and began to wait for Austin.
An hour passed, two hours passed.
I waited until the sun rose in the middle of the sky, but Austin didn’t come back.
“…..Austin….You dumped us..?”
The girls, who couldn’t even eat breakfast or lunch, became as sensitive as they would already be.
“…I tried to get over it, but I can’t.”
“This is… An act of injustice.”
Only then did the party members accept the reality, gripping their weapons tightly and glaring at the ground.
He must have been angry at the fact that the party member, whom he regarded as a laggard who had nothing to do, had abandoned them.
“…Okay. How are you going to make a living if you leave the party like that?”
For warrior Lee Yu-jeong, who ate three full meals a day, skipping meals was outrageous.
Unintentionally skipping breakfast and lunch, she gritted her teeth at her growing irritation.
“Let’s go together like this. That’s great. The bugs that only ate food at the party went out. Isn’t that a good thing? We don’t need Austin or anything like that, we’re good enough.”
They shook their heads one by one at the warrior’s words, ate hard bread and salty beef jerky and got up from their seats.
The bread hardened like a stone was really tasteless.
“Austin… Will make us pay for abandoning us.”
* * *
“Wow, that’s f*cking creepy.”
I suddenly felt a chill run through my whole body, and I swept my goosebumps down my arms and trembled as I made my way through the thicket.
My desire to get even a little farther away from the hero and other party members was like a chimney, so I made my way through the forest without stopping until the morning sun rose.
Based on the map I had in my arms, and using the ranger watch I had as a guide, I looked back on the road, and before I knew it, I was able to reach the edge of the forest where the Demon King’s army was stationed.
“There’s a city nearby… It’s a long way away. It’s going to be a disaster.”
I took out a portable triangular ruler and calculated the scale. If I were to walk to the nearest city, Cologne, I would have to walk for at least five days. There is a mage tower in Cologne, so if you just walk to Cologne and use the gate, you should be able to get to the capital easily.
I walked nonstop and sat down with my back leaning against a tree, stretching out my bare legs on the floor.
“…..What are you doing now?”
Considering how he treated me badly, I don’t think he would be saddened by the fact that I left.
I probably would have liked the fact that I disappeared, but I don’t think I would have any feelings of sadness or regret.
Still, maybe… I wonder if he’s showing an attitude of being sad or reflecting on the fact that I’m gone?
“…Annoying.”
I had just gotten out of the party, but I narrowed my eyebrows and pressed my eyes tight as I was annoyed at the way I thought of them even the moment I got away from them.
It would be a lie to say that I don’t have a heart to worry that I might be in trouble because I’m gone.
During the three years we went together, I took care of all the meals, repairing the damaged equipment, and other chores, but are they doing well on their own?
…Well, why don’t you recruit a scout from another ranger later?
“…From my point of view, it looks like you need a cooking bottle more than a ranger.”
I opened the small bag on my back to see how many supplies were left.
Preserved rations… 3 Days’ worth, as a rule of thumb.
In a forest teeming with monsters, it is better to dismiss the idea that there will be game left to hunt. If you save it, you’ll do anything.
There is still plenty of water in the canteen, so if you walk hard holding on to your hungry stomach, you should be able to reach Cologne within five days.
– ….*?##?@ ..!
– *#@@##!!
Assuming, of course, that it arrives safely.
At the sound of distant shouts, I slowly pulled the crossbow’s strings, hooked the bolt through the hole, and glared in the direction of the sound.
Somewhere familiar sound… I heard it somewhere…
It’s like metal colliding with metal… Uh…
“…What the f*ck again.”
What is certain is that there is a battle going on over there.
To dismiss it as a common situation in which forest thieves plunder, it is unlikely that there will be thieves in the forest where the Demon King’s army is encamped right in front of his nose.
I walked slowly in the direction of the sound, holding the loaded crossbow in my left hand and holding the handle of the sword with my right hand so that I could pull it out at any time.
– Just a little more… No!!
– Cookies… Today’s high quality goods…
The closer you get, the thicker the smell of blood, and the desperate voices of humans.
On the contrary, I ran through the grass as quietly as possible at the sound of the monsters shouting out loud as they felt the joy of killing.
The sound of the battle that had been heard in front of my nose gradually died down before I knew it, and soon all I could hear was the laughter of monsters.
As I took a breather and pushed aside the grass blocking my view, I saw several orcs with large wooden clubs slung over their shoulders, licking their lips in front of knights in heavy armor and kneeling soldiers.
“Quik!! She looks delicious!”
“Damn…..If only I hadn’t lost my way…”
“Young lady… I’m sorry… It’s because we weren’t enough…”
I was trying to concentrate on their conversation, but I had to watch it.
Supply wagons loaded with supplies can be seen behind them as they kneel.
…If you do this well, you won’t have to starve all the way to Cologne.
Okay. To save them right now…
“Quik! You! If you become my companion, I will save you!”
“Kuh… Kill it!”
..As I was about to leave, I froze at the ‘those words’ that jumped out of me.
…….Let’s wait a little longer.