#010
“… “You’ll have to wash with me.”
He soon adjusted his expression and spoke.
Maeve looked away and answered.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t see it.”
I can’t believe I’m using this again like this.
“I was saying I wasn’t confident about that.”
Maeve laughed briefly, as if she thought it was a joke.
It was the first smile Ian had ever seen.
After the battle and the war of words, he seemed to have become more at ease.
“I’m tired too. Save time. “There’s still a long way to go tomorrow.”
Meb added, calmly starting to take off the other elbow armor.
“Yeah… “I guess so.”
After appeasing his appetite, Ian finally untied the straps of his gaiters.
There was no further conversation.
The only sound that followed was the sound of armor being taken off one by one.
“Ah, do you want to wash up too?”
Eventually, Philip returned.
He washed his hands and arms thoroughly and even held a cloth soaked in water.
He quickly reached over and took the breastplate that Meve had removed.
“Thank you as always, Philip.”
“Of course it’s my job, Nari.”
Philip put down his breastplate.
Then he looked back at Ian with eager eyes.
Ian shook his head.
Philip came up to the leather armor and added, looking intently at the bundle next to him.
“Once I’m done wiping it all down, shall I apply some oil?”
“Sure.”
I don’t really have any henchmen.
Ian snorted and stood up.
Meb, dressed in a red quilt, also stood up following him.
Without her armor, she was about half a head shorter than Ian.
“The waterway seemed a little wider up there. “It will be easier for you to wash, Nari.”
Philip added as he lifted his armor.
He, too, looked just as nonchalant as Maeve.
“I get it. Don’t go. “Go ahead, Ian.”
Maeve nodded and walked away with long strides.
“… … .”
Really, everything is like this here.
I thought I had adapted to this world.
Feeling the embarrassment of a modern man for the first time in a long time, Ian took a step forward.
As Philip said, as we went a little further upstream, the width of the stream widened.
A glimpse of moonlight peeked through the dark clouds and crumbled finely onto the surface of the waves.
It was a quiet yet peaceful scene that is rare in this world.
“I think it would be best for you to go in first.”
Meb, who was walking quietly, suddenly spoke.
Ian scratched the bridge of his nose and stopped.
“I understand.”
“I’ll go a little further upstream.”
Maeve just walked away.
… I feel like a barbarian.
Ian licked his lips and took off his clothes. Then she strode towards the middle of the stream.
The water was surprisingly cold, but it made me feel more alert.
The center was deep enough to submerge up to his thighs, so Ian got down on his knees and submerged himself.
The stickiness and discomfort from my entire body was washed away little by little.
Chambang.
Another sound of water soon followed.
Meb must have come in.
The distance was not as far as I thought.
… What should I do if I am conscious of this?
Ian splashed cold water on his face and washed his body in silence.
With only the sound of water continuing.
“There’s something I didn’t ask you earlier.”
Suddenly, Maeve opened her mouth.
It was about time Ian wiped the blood from his shoulders, chest, and waist.
“Please speak.”
“Are there any injuries?”
You’re asking so quickly.
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Ian smiled and answered.
“No. Kyeong-eun?”
“I don’t have either. That’s amazing. “I can’t believe I fought a werewolf and didn’t have a single wound.”
“I was lucky.”
“No way. I saw you fighting. What can I say… .”
Maeve paused for a moment and added,
“It’s unique. Should I say that there is no set format? “He was more practical than me as a driver.”
“You make it difficult to say that there is no basis.”
To the indifferent answer, Meb quickly added,
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I didn’t really mean that. It is also true that there is no root. “I never learned it properly.”
A short breathing sound passed behind my back.
“That joke is funny. “From earlier.”
It’s not a joke.
“The same goes for your attitude toward Philip. You are definitely no ordinary mercenary, Ian. … but. These days, free people from noble families are not uncommon.”
Ian’s hand that was wiping his back stopped.
“Of noble origin… ?”
“Even if you pretend to be a mercenary, you can’t hide the wisdom you harbor or the insight you convey in your words.”
What kind of nonsense is this again?
“I come from the streets.”
Ian’s answer was followed by a faint breathing sound once again.
Ian realized that it was the sound Maeve made when she laughed.
“I get it if you don’t want to talk. “I think so.”
Now I want to ask if I’m joking.
Ian eventually burst out laughing.
Of course, I understood why Maeve had such a misunderstanding.
It was a world where most people could not read, let alone use difficult words.
As a modern man, Ian is bound to appear relatively knowledgeable.
And here, that alone could be evidence of noble lineage.
Because knowledge and culture were the exclusive preserve of nobles.
Maeve’s calm voice continued.
“Everyone has at least one story they don’t want to tell.”
“Do you also have a story like that?”
Ian asked suddenly.
Rather than being genuinely curious, I asked this question because I thought there would be no end to misunderstandings if this continued.
As expected, Maeve’s words were cut off.
It’s a little quiet now.
Just as Ian was about to wash up.
“… “I can’t say it doesn’t exist.”
Maeve said in a calm voice.
“I am not a woman of the Lyurel family, but I have decided to live as an apostle of Tyr En and the sword of the kingdom.”
I didn’t expect to hear an answer.
Ian licked his lips hesitantly.
It seemed like I was able to speak properly.
However, I had no intention of listening to a story that I was not curious about.
“I also have something I couldn’t ask you.”
Ian caught the end of his sentence again.
“What kind of god is Tyr En?”
Now that the water is open, I wanted to solve any questions I had.
Because Meb was an apostle of Tyr En.
An apostle refers to a person who receives God’s blessing and wields a piece of power.
Of course, the greatest power she has is that authority.
I wanted to know properly because I might become an enemy someday.
It would be better if you could find an easy way to deal with them.
Just because I didn’t think I would lose, there was no need to choose only the straight attack method.
“Are you seriously asking?”
Maeve asked back.
Ian shrugged.
“Because I’m not friendly with the gods. “I’ve heard the name, but that’s it.”
There were many gods in Aquilonia’s worldview.
So, unless the player looked for it themselves, the name and meaning of God were not explained.
So did Tyr En.
Although there were knights who often chanted its name or recited prayers.
It had little to do with Ian, the wizard, and was not an important name mentioned in the quest or story.
“… but. okay. He is not someone I can treat comfortably. Tyr En is the god of condemnation. She is the second daughter of the shining Lu Solar and the sword that punishes sin.”
Maeve’s voice became solemn.
“So, as His apostle, I cannot tell lies even if I keep my mouth shut, and I cannot turn a blind eye to sin. “If you lose God’s favor, your blessings will also disappear.”
“It must be really difficult. “In times like these.”
Ian shook his head and added vaguely.
“Besides, if the first name is good, the other name must be even greater.”
“You mean tinnitus? Of course.”
Maeve’s voice was mixed with laughter.
As betrayal and corruption were one of the main motifs, there were no absolutes in the world of Aquilonia.
The gods were no exception.
Just as another name for Lu Solar, the God of Light, is the God of Meng.
Ian asked.
“What is it?”
A calm answer followed.
“plural.”
“… … !”
“Cutting off a sin ultimately replaces someone’s revenge, and sometimes it can become the object of revenge itself. Another name for condemnation is revenge. Righteous vengeance is protected by Tyr En.”
“Right… .”
Ian’s eyes twinkled as he recited.
This is because I finally learned the secret of the bleeding avenger in the game.
‘The apostle of condemnation became the apostle of revenge.’
It meant that if the Apostle’s power was weakened, it would be much easier to deal with her.
Paladins had deceptive combat power, but they had many limitations.
He had even just revealed that weakness himself.
‘then… .’
But Ian didn’t decide right away.
‘Was the revenge of the Avengers that appeared after that also the power of Tyr En?’
This is because the Bleeding Avenger was not a one-time mid-boss.
Afterwards, he reappeared as a ghost named Avenger’s Spite, and even dealt an unexpected blow to the final boss of Chapter 1.
The ghost disappeared immediately, but the boss’ health and all abilities fell to less than half.
Of course, even in that state, it was quite difficult to deal with.
‘It would be more difficult to fight without a ghost.’
Ian clicked his tongue quietly.
The idea of having to give up the other if you choose one was not something he really liked.
‘… ‘I guess I’ll have to wait and see.’
Maybe there is a way to not have to give up anything.
That was when he came to a conclusion.
“What god do you serve?”
Maeve suddenly added.
Ian stood up and spat out.
“no one.”
“Are you saying there is no god to worship?”
“exactly. “There won’t be any more.”
Maybe, no maybe. Because they were probably the ones that dragged me into this world.
It is unclear how things that were once just pieces of data came to exist.
Anyway, since he was the one most likely to be the culprit of all these misfortunes, I had no intention of taking him as my master.
“… “It seems like he also has a story.”
Ian went out to the water without answering.
As he wiped away the moisture from his body, Maeve’s calm voice penetrated his ear.
“But surely, even at this moment, there is a God watching over you. Ian. “Maybe you are already coveting it.”
Ian looked up at the night sky.
The moon and stars twinkled between the scattered dark clouds.
Like watching him.
Ian said, raising his middle finger toward the center.
“You’re hungry. “Let’s go eat.”
***
When morning came, dark clouds covered the sky like a lie.
Philip fell asleep as soon as he finished eating, and even the next day, he continued to shout that he was a werewolf.
There was nothing else to do while passing through the forest, so as the battle continued for several hours, Ian pretended not to win and opened his mouth.
Well, it was a simple story about a werewolf attacking him and chopping him up with a knife.
“Nari, you never exaggerate your major. “I definitely realized this.”
It seemed to have struck Philip differently.
“The fact that you conquered the kobold tribe was probably just a rumor that was much reduced than the reality.”
“It was not a tribe, but a single living vegetable. “It was a battle, not a conquest.”
Ian corrected, but Philip, who was walking ahead, didn’t even seem to listen.
“A werewolf. This is my first time seeing a monster of that size in real life. Oh, of course it’s just the head.”
What a great monster.
Ian responded harshly.
“There must be a lot of monsters in the south as well.”
“no. There are very few in the borderlands. The southern fortress garrison periodically swept them out to stop them. Those who used to do piracy are attacking us whenever they get the chance to establish a country, so we can’t fight with even the monsters on our backs.”
Philip added, shrugging his shoulders.
“I went to the South almost six or seven years ago. It was quite peaceful back then. So even though I heard that monsters were running rampant in the kingdom, it didn’t really affect me.”
“I guess it makes sense now.”
“To be honest, not yet. “We barely encountered any during our entire journey.”
Ian’s brows narrowed.
“Almost nothing… ?”
“yes. It was quite peaceful even after entering the county. The people looked like they were having a hard time, but it was the same in the South as they prepared for war. “That werewolf is the first time I’ve seen a truly monster-like monster.”
“… … .”
No way.
Ian’s eyebrows narrowed further.
This is because the number of monsters he encountered after setting foot in Agellan should have been enough to show his spirit.
No matter how the game was set, I was surprised several times that the country was maintained even though there were so many monsters.
“It’s true.”
Maeve, who had been listening silently, spoke.
“That is why Philip did not believe in the existence of warlocks. Even after entering Rumon County, the only monsters we encountered were goblins and a few kobolds.”
How lucky do you have to be to do that?
Ian, who had been blinking, suddenly realized something and looked back at Philip.
“If you came up to the county territory from the south, did you continue to move along the Guando route?”
Philip nodded quickly.
“yes. “From Balk Castle, we moved through large and small villages.”
“under.”
Finally, Ian let out a laugh.
This is because the city he arrived at after coming out of the swamp was Balk City.
It was from there that he began acting as a mercenary in earnest.
Like other lords in this world, Count Rumon was only interested in money and power.
Thanks to this, even though there was a lord, the city’s security was a mess.
Ian received money to solve the city’s problems and moved along the route to the next village.
Afterwards, the monsters in the villages and roads they passed through were killed and eliminated, and the journey of Meb and Philip, who coincidentally took the same route, became peaceful.
“I laid the flower path… .”
Ian mumbled and looked away.
In the distance, the edge of the forest was visible.
Philip asked.
“A flower road?”
“Your good days are over. “Philip.”
Ian, who responded without even looking away, went ahead and added.
“Because the kingdom is a lot messier than you think.”
“… … ?”
It wasn’t even half a day later that Philip realized what those words meant.
fantasy,
