42. The inner voice
“Open. Right now.”
“Yo… Hero. It’s hard to come out like this…”
“Can’t you hear me? I want you to open it. Right now.”
“But…”
“Whoa… Master of the Magic Tower.”
“N… Yes…?”
Kiln’s mage lord, Carl Edgar, groaned and rolled his eyes nonstop.
After kicking in through the door of the Magic Tower, they went straight to the owner’s room on the top floor and asked to open the gate.
It would be okay to open the gate if it was a position of the level of a warrior, but it was an unwelcome attitude from his point of view to come so rudely and ask to open the gate without revealing his business. He didn’t even hear what he was doing in the first place.
The warrior looked up at the knife with cold eyes, wondering if he knew the feelings of such a knife.
“One of our party members is moving away from us right now.”
“Ummm…”
Karl couldn’t help but be frightened by the warrior’s eyes looking at him.
Those eyes. Those eyes that do not feel the warmth of a person, as if they would lightly catch and kill a person.
And of course, that ‘one person’ includes a knife as well. I won’t be nervous.
Gulp— The sound of swallowing saliva filled the quiet room as if a rat had died.
“Come to think of it, Sir Austin… No way, that person moving separately is Sir Austin…”
“Stop.”
“Yes… Yes!”
Cold tone. What the hell happened, could even the listener be so cold as to tremble.
I don’t know what happened, but it was clear that the hero wasn’t in a good mood right now.
On the other hand, from the hero’s point of view, it was worth it.
With Argyle, the fish he had caught, right under his nose, Huntly began reviving the other corps commanders.
The fact that Galan was resurrected must be proof of that.
Gallan was one of the most powerful enemies that the warriors fought. To the point where Argyle is no match.
Its madness and proportional power are real.
By the way, do I have to deal with such a Galan again? Even, the circumstances that some of the other corps commanders have been revived have been captured?
This is a disaster. It’s close to a disaster. I did all the sh*t to stop them breathing, but I have to do that sh*t again. It is enough to shake the composure of the hero Lee Yu-jeong.
There was one more thing that disturbed the hero’s heart.
“Whoa… Austin…”
From noble mtl dot com
News about Austin, who was a party member just a few days ago.
The scout of the warrior party, Austin. After a close battle against the giant rock grasshopper, he wins. He saved the Iron City. Belion’s savior.
Somewhat absurd news that Austin, who left the party on his own, is moving separately for a while due to the hero’s secret order.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
Of course, from the hero’s point of view, the news wasn’t too bad.
Maybe Austin hasn’t let go of his feelings for us yet. If that’s not the case, he doesn’t have to lie that he’s still in the hero’s party, right?
Yes. Honestly, it wasn’t our fault for being mean to Austin. It’s all because the mana core was eroded. Huh.
Austin. I knew that too…! I’m not going to miss it this time… Never… I’ll tie up my limbs in a safe place so they don’t run away…
“Hero?”
“…Ah.”
At the voice of the sword that awakened his thoughts, the warrior suddenly came to his senses.
‘What was I just thinking…?’
As expected, we must hurry up and heal the erosion of the mana core.
To do that, you must first catch Galan. Galan’s name came out of Argyle’s mouth, and if it was Galan who had conducted numerous inhumane experiments on living organisms, then it is certainly worthy of suspicion.
While the hero bit his lip and calmed himself down, Gracie, who was standing next to the hero, took out an envelope from his chest.
“This is a letter from Marquis Bordin, the lord of Bellion. Let me read it.”
“Ah…Yes!”
Information was too scarce to blindly determine Gallan’s location, but Austin left an unexpected gift for them.
Information came in that the Mark of Galan was found on the corpse of the giant rock grasshopper that Austin was said to have defeated.
‘Bellion…’
In the letter from the lord of Bellion, there was information that Austin had started moving toward Harman. She said that she sent Austin separately to block the magic beast that spread to Bellion in advance, and the words of praise for the warrior’s insight made her mouth dry.
So, they rushed straight into the magic tower to use the gate.
In the letter from Marquis Bordin, the lord of Belion, it was written that Austin was moving to Harman to pursue Galan.
So, this is to track down Galan. Huh. Austin is…
In the first place, if Austin had been there, she might not have missed Argyle. Austin always filled in the gaps in the party.
Before Argyle could even use the gate, he wouldn’t have left room for him to use his power.
Why didn’t such an obvious action come to mind during the battle? At Austin’s empty seat, which he continued to feel, the warrior let out a deep sigh and clenched his fists tightly.
“Um… Hero.”
“Haa… Huh?”
At the call of the sword, the warrior hardened his face and raised his head.
“I read all the letters. Certainly, the seal also perfectly matches that of the Marquis Bordin.”
“Then…”
At the face of the bravest smiler since entering the Mage Tower, Carl scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and continued talking.
“It must have been my mistake. Since you have a legitimate business, you may use the gate.”
“…!”
“Okay, follow me. Judging from the contents of the letter, the time seems urgent, so please move quickly. However… There is no gate that leads directly to Harman, so you will have to use the gate to Bellion and then take a wagon to Harman.”
“It’s okay. Let’s go.”
The hero who followed Carl let out a sigh of relief, but on the other hand, he thought that if he had entered the Mage Tower quietly, he would not have wasted his time.
…It becomes increasingly difficult to control emotions.
‘I have to hurry…’
The hero and his party hurriedly moved.
* * *
We follow the girl who guides us into the village, but somehow the villagers look at us strangely. No, to be precise, the way he looked at me and Royman was strange.
Looking at me… How can I say it, it feels like a beast preying on its prey…?
However, for some reason, the gaze he was looking at Royman was not very pleasant. Would you say that you look a little afraid?
I turned my gaze to see Royman following me with Luna.
“Uh… Well…”
“…Brother?”
A priest’s hat with droopy fabric that covers the entire back of the head, and a combat helmet that covers the entire face. Even the sacred priestly clothes in harmony with blue and white.
…Well, you’d be wary of such a grotesquely dressed big guy walking into town. Even if it were me, I would have.
I slowed down a little, moved to Royman’s side, and opened his mouth quietly.
“Royman. This town seems a little strange.”
“Sup… Haa…”
“…Royman?”
“HuuuhuuuTeure, it smells like a disturbing smell, albeit faintly.”
“Uh… Ok…”
I was shy, but somehow Royman’s Gaeko had an ominous premonition right where he went, so I didn’t bother giving him a face.
“By the way…”
Woman. Female. Female.
Looks like a woman here. Look over there, woman.
Even if you open your eyes and look around, you can only see women everywhere.
A woman with an ax slung over her shoulder put her feet up on the trunk of her tree, apparently chopping her firewood.
f*ck… It gives me goosebumps…
After shaking my body once, I began to roll the duckbill again.
In this town, there are not just one or two suspicious things.
First of all, the villagers are all women. I haven’t met all the villagers yet, but compared to the size of the village, it seems that there are only a few, if any, males.
In addition, the eyes of the residents who glance at us. I had to feel the chicken skin grow on the back of my neck at the gaze as if it was licking every nook and cranny of my body. When I was in the ranger five years ago, my eyes were similar to those of the older sisters at an entertainment establishment in Pakchon who were half-forced to follow their senior.
Of course, I didn’t do anything. In the first place, what if you carelessly teased your lower body in such a place, and then you get an STD?
As we were thinking, the girl who was guiding us stopped in front of a building and turned to face us.
“This is our village carpentry shop! Uncle Bearson hasn’t decided on a name yet, so I don’t have a name!”
…Honestly, the way they look at us is a bit strange, so I had some bad imaginations, but there are still male villagers. I felt a little reassured.
The girl who was guiding us entered the carpentry shop with a crackling sound, and soon after, a man with a slightly dwarf but solid body was led out by the girl’s hand.
“Mister! Say hello! He said he was in trouble because his wagon wheel was broken, so I brought him!”
At the girl’s words, the man’s eyes looking at us are a bit… Is it because of his mood?
The man stared at us, and before long, he held out his hard arm, which was slightly smeared with sawdust, and asked for her handshake.
“Nice to meet you. Bearson, who runs a carpentry shop here in Saffron Village.”
“Ah… This is Austin. I look forward to.”
“I heard the story. The wagon wheel is broken.”
“Yes. Here…”
I couldn’t leave the broken wagon as it was, so I tied a horse to the wagon with only three wheels and somehow managed to pull it. Of course, if we get on it, we’ll just sit down.
Old Bearson walked towards the wagon, crouched down on the floor, and began examining the broken wagon’s wheels. Unlike us who, rather than fixing it, rather broke it, it definitely exudes the energy of an expert.
“…At this rate, I’d better replace the wheels…”
“Then… Could you make me a wheel… Oh, don’t worry about the money. We will match the price as best we can.”
“…Wait a minute.”
About five minutes after Mr. Beerson entered the carpentry shop, he came out rolling a pair of wagon wheels.
“One gold coin. I won’t take it any lower.”
For some reason, it seemed a little more expensive than the average market price, but… What can I do?
“Here you are.”
After handing over a piece of gold, Mr. Bison smiled weakly and started rolling the wheel to fit the wagon.
While we were watching the scene, a girl who had come up to me before I knew it, put her arms around my arm and started talking to her.
“Brother. How are you?”
“Uh… Huh?”
“How about me? You are pretty?”
I suddenly said something stupid, but this is not deceiving.
“No, well… pretty. Huh.”
I felt a bit strange, but it was an undeniable fact that the girl in front of me was pretty. To be honest, she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.
“Hee hee… Churup…”
“……”
f*ck, why are you like this?
The girl licked her lips with her tongue and licked her lips again, then she hugged my arm tighter.
Honestly, I wasn’t in a bad mood. I liked the soft touch of her arm… No, more than that…
“But how old are you? Name is?”
“Ah… It’s Ray! Nineteen years old!”
From noble mtl dot com
Nineteen. Same age as Maya.
I was worried because her face looked a bit young, but fortunately Ray was an adult.
Lay, who continued to hold my arms, approached Luna and Princess Alexis with a confused look on their faces.
Princess Alexis, with her stiff face, immediately dug in between me and Ray, and tore her arms from hers.
“…I’m nineteen too, Austin.”
“…Yes?”
“Why is that? Didn’t Austin like little girls?”
“No, princess. We’re only two years apart…”
While I hesitated in embarrassment, Robin and Luna also joined Princess Alexis and started looking at me with cold eyes.
I could bear the contemptuous eyes of Luna and Robin looking at me, but the empty eyes of Princess Alexis staring at my face aroused primal fear, as if revealing the dark side of human beings.
“Austin.”
“N… Yes.”
“Don’t be too shy to approach other people. Especially especially women. Do you understand?”
“Princess. I don’t really mean anything…”
“Answer.”
“…Yes.”
While I was arguing with Princess Alexis, Bearson, who had replaced her wheels before I knew it, approached me, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
“Huh… It’s done. It’ll have to roll, but if you have to travel long distances, you’d better go to a big city and retouch it just in case.”
“Oops. Thank you for your effort.”
Okay. It’s more like a makeshift, but the carriage has been fixed, and there’s a village to lie down tonight.
For some reason, the atmosphere in the town is suspicious, so I want to leave right away, but…
“Huh? Elegy…”
Damn it, even the rain started to fall.
Feeling the touch of raindrops on her palms, Ray smiled at us and opened her mouth.
“It’s raining and it’s getting late, so let’s go to my house!”
“Can I?”
“Yes! It’s just me and my sister living anyway, and the house is unnecessarily big… There’s a spare room, so come quickly!”
…Tonight, I’ll lock the door and go to sleep.