74 episodes
‘It was that bastard.’
Ethan glared at Blake in the back of the head.
In broad daylight the sun was shining.
Ethan was leaving Velium and heading to the northern part of the Empire.
The road leading directly from the capital to the north was well maintained.
So Ethan was driving the horse without any inconvenience.
In front of such Ethan, Blake was riding a leisurely horse.
It was Blake who made Ethan move.
On the surface, Olivia Allen made a donation to the denomination and commissioned it.
But Blake, who met at the departure point, said as if surprised to see Ethan.
-I’m sure I’ll accompany you!
That meant that Blake knew Allen was going to make a request to the Order.
‘If you see that the reason Blake came to Velium in the first place was the therapist’s request, then my story must have come out while receiving the request.’
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
‘There’s nothing wrong with going to the Black Mountains anyway. The problem is that there are things I don’t want to encounter.’
Blake scratched the back of the head as if feeling Ethan’s gaze.
And I looked back.
“Well?”
When Ethan’s eyes met, Blake slowed his horse to match Ethan’s.
Then he laughed out loud, without speed.
“Haha, don’t stare at me like that. I’ve left the patients behind, so I understand you don’t go away. But isn’t solving this case also saving people?”
Apparently, Blake was making an absurd misunderstanding.
It means that Ethan has left the patients behind and will not leave his footsteps.
“And I heard that you broke your own money to run the treatment business. However, if you solve this quest, your pockets will be quite thick. Save people and save money. Isn’t it like slaughtering two birds with one arrow?”
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
By processing this quest, Ethan was able to get a portion of the donation Allen had donated to the church.
It was too large an amount to refuse.
But when I saw the comfortable Blake, my stomach twisted.
Ethan’s eyebrows trembled.
‘This time, I will definitely protect my money.’
Ethan gritted his teeth and decided.
After preparing for a banquet once, I could not return to a life of poverty.
Then, Blake said, ‘Ah,’ and suddenly stopped talking.
“Ethan, stop for a second.”
Then he pulled something out of the pocket he had hung on the saddle.
It was a horse snack.
Blake fed my horse a snack.
And threw it at Ethan.
widely!
After receiving the snack, Ethan stopped talking.
It was a fairly good magic that was invisible to a priest.
“What is this?”
“It’s a snack that replenishes the energy of the horse.”
At Blake’s explanation, Ethan fed it to the horse.
The horse, who had been running for a long time, ate the snack deliciously.
‘I thought I would be stingy because I was a mercenary, but it was surprising.’
But then, something extraordinary happened.
Blake held out his chin to Ethan, who was moving his horse again.
“what?”
“Hahaha, you have to pay for the snacks I gave you. No matter how close you are, nothing is free.”
Blake had a casual face, as if it was quite normal.
Even though it looked stupid, the mercenary seemed to be a mercenary.
Well, even 100 years ago, the people from the Merkul Kingdom, the country of mercenaries, were rumored to be poor.
‘Is this bastard?’
Ethan smirked out of embarrassment.
* * *
Black Mountains.
This place is located in the northern part of the Empire, and it was the most famous of the traces of the Anti-Magic War.
Traces of it were still there.
In the Black Mountains, monsters running rampant with magical powers were spread all over the place.
Because of this, more than a hundred years have passed since the end of the Anti-Magic War, but this place still remained a trouble for the empire.
However, the real reason the Black Mountains became famous was different.
“I told you this is where that dirty wizard did his experiments.”
“right. The experiment was also very cruel.”
The adventurers gathered in the bar of the fortress located near the Black Mountains.
The Black Mountains where the demon king’s henchmen are known to have conducted various experiments.
It was right in front of you.
Therefore, adventurers gathered here in search of a place where the Demon King’s henchmen had conducted an experiment.
“It means that there must be some precious magic ingredient hidden here.”
“Heh heh, it would be a huge amount to take just one magic ingredient and sell it?”
“The magic ingredients that have become rare now must also be there.”
Numerous adventurers have been searching the Black Mountains for decades.
However.
“Then what do you do? I’ve been looking everywhere and I can’t find anything!”
widely!
One of the adventurers put down the beer mug roughly.
“Anyway, he’s a bad guy. Where the hell did you hide your lab? Did you hide it in the ground? Or in the sky?”
“I found out that he was the devil’s henchman, but didn’t he have any horns?”
“Ah, that’s not it! He’s the guy who escaped without his tail during the final battle. Could it be that the magic ingredients here have been moved to a safe place? He was meticulous and deliberate.”
The adventurers who came after coming for the jackpot could not contain their divergence.
They began to slander the servants of the demon king, the culprit.
“That is not the problem now. The monsters have happened to you, so you can’t even enter the Black Mountains.”
“How much money are you sitting here and forgetting? Soon we will be bankrupt.”
“There was a rumor that the abnormality was caused by an experiment conducted by the Demon King’s henchmen.”
“Isn’t this supposed to happen because someone discovered the lab?”
“Well, then, shouldn’t we run away from here?”
That was then.
People in the bar became noisy.
“yes? what?”
“It was noisy outside. Who fights?”
The adventurers ran out of the bar.
Watching a fight while bored, it was fun not to be missed.
They grabbed passersby and asked.
“Did something happen here? Why is everyone so noisy?”
“tt, you guys are slow. Aren’t there priests coming to this fortress now?”
“A priest?!”
The adventurers’ eyes widened.
It was surprising.
In a dangerous place like the Black Mountains, there is always a risk of injury.
Because of this, priests, wizards, and healers were very rare.
All the adventurers staying in the fortress were excited about the news.
“Hey, steal all your money!”
“If you put all the money together, it wouldn’t be much. You must have come for other business, could you treat me?”
“Still, I’ll have to give it a shot.”
“Damn, I said I shouldn’t have ordered snacks earlier.”
The adventurers robbed their pockets of their colleagues who were staying at the treatment center.
It’s better than nothing, but a healer with poor herbal knowledge or a wizard with low circle magic was nothing compared to a priest.
Even if the priests were not that great, their ability to heal was very good.
Because of this, adventurers tended to put aside everything and treat the priest first.
That was when the fortress was at its peak.
“Wow, here it is!”
“He’s a real pars church priest.”
A muscular mercenary and a priest in pure white entered the fortress.
It was Blake and Ethan.
* * *
After a long journey, Ethan entered the fortress of the Black Mountains.
Compared to the safe city he had been through, the appearance of the fortress was very unattractive.
The fortress consisted of a solid stone wall, but that was not enough, so the exterior was once again surrounded by several layers of logs.
It was a ghastly and uncanny sight.
furthermore.
‘The atmosphere is cluttered.’
Ethan frowned.
All the people had gathered in front of the front door.
“Pars-sama!”
“Priest, please pray for us!”
Those who saw Ethan’s white robe began to kneel or pray.
Blake sighed at the sight.
“There are a lot of people in trouble here too.”
“It will be difficult to receive proper treatment in such a wallpaper. Let’s find a place to stay first.”
But Ethan was cool.
If you gave free treatment because people rushed to you wherever you went, there would be no body left.
It was then that Ethan turned his head.
“Priest!”
A child jumped out of the crowd and jumped in front of Ethan.
The horse’s front paws seemed to kick the child at any moment.
“Ahhh!”
“no!”
Screams have already erupted among the people.
‘damn!’
Ethan quickly pulled the reins.
The horse barely turned and steered the child away.
But he was so startled that the horse did not stop and continued to run wild.
Ethan kicked his tongue inwardly and soared into the sky as if jumping.
To a person with normal eyesight, it looked as if it had been thrown out of the horse.
“Priest!”
“Ahh!”
Some turned their heads as if they could no longer see them, others screamed.
widely!
But Ethan landed right on the floor.
He quickly stroked the horse’s neck to calm it down.
The horse, which had been running wild with excitement, finally regained its composure.
The child was banged on the buttocks and sprinted backwards.
I was so surprised that I opened my eyes and stiffened.
At that moment, Blake calmed down his astonished words and approached him.
And thumbs up.
“I believed you, my friend! It was a great fall!”
Ethan hands the reins to Blake and raises the child upright.
At the sight, people opened their mouths and applauded.
“Dude, that’s great!”
“The priests thought it was just a desk bite.”
“Aren’t you a paladin by any chance?”
Blake was more proud of the people’s reaction.
He seemed to think that Gugukdo appealed to people.
Ethan sighed and asked the boy.
“Why did you jump on a horse? Do you want to die?”
Then the child hesitated and answered.
“I, I just wanted to ask the priest for treatment… I’m sorry, Priest. My brother is ill and he is not getting better.”
“What?”
Ethan’s expression wrinkled.
Seeing this, the child held out the pocket he was holding in his hand to Ethan.
“I prepared a donation here too! please.”
It was a money bag.
It looked pretty thick for what a child brought.
“… … ?!”
Ethan looked at the bulging pockets as if possessed.
It was like putting food in front of a hungry person.
Ethan, hungry for money, unknowingly reached into his pocket.
Meanwhile, people were looking at Ethan with anticipation.
“I think it will be a short time at most, can you do it?”
“but. I heard that you have to donate quite a bit to ask the priest to heal you.”
“But he looks pretty good. He jumped on the horse, but he didn’t even scold me.”
“right. If you are like the other nobles, you are no stranger to it.”
People agreed with that.
Just by not beating the child who jumped into the horse, you could see the priest’s wonderful personality.
If it were another noble, his hand would have gone up first.
It was then that Ethan’s hand was about to touch his pocket.
widely!
Blake stopped in front of Ethan and scolded the boy.
“How can you insult my friend?”
“yes? that, what… … .”
When Blake, who was muscular, had a terrifying face, there was no other monster.
The child was frightened, not knowing what Blake was talking about.
Then Blake let go of his expression and put on a friendly smile.
“My friend is not one who turns away from the wounded. He was not corrupt enough to receive money for treating a needy child.”
For a moment, Ethan’s hand stopped in mid-air became uncomfortable.
“really?”
The child looked at Ethan with twinkling eyes.
Ethan’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Am I right?
As if to say that, Blake looked at Ethan triumphantly.
‘… This bastard.’
Ethan said with patience that he wanted to grind Blake’s face one by one.
“Where is your brother?”