MTM 52

“From here on it’s a cliff, so watch your step.”

After leaving Belnok, the four of them walked in a line along the steep cliff path. Allen, who was leading at the front, was the only one riding a horse. He carefully scanned the surroundings and kept watch for any bandits who might be lying in ambush.

“Zed….”

“Are you tired?”

“Yes…. I tried to bear it, but….”

Harto, who was walking just ahead of Zed, let out a weary breath. His shoulders drooped, and his face had turned pale.

“It’s alright.”

Zed reached out, wiped the beads of sweat forming on Harto’s round forehead, and comforted him.

“Allen, we should rest here for a bit.”

Allen turned his head from the front of the group.

“Already? The sun’s still high….”

There was still a long way to go. Because of the fire in Belnok, they had purposely taken a remote detour to avoid the soldiers sent from the Belgarde Empire. It was safest to get as far from Belnok as possible, as soon as they could.

“Shh. Soldiers are coming.”

Then Leon placed a finger on his lips and warned them quietly. The group quickly lowered their bodies. Below the cliff, lines of armored soldiers were marching in formation.

There were more soldiers carrying weapons than they expected. Seeing the city in flames, they might have assumed it was a civilian uprising and moved in to suppress it.

“I hope nothing bad happens….”

Leon softly spoke, worried about the place where they had stayed for a while.

Zed took his eyes off the soldiers and spoke to Harto.

“It looks like we can’t stop to rest. Will you be alright?”

Harto nodded, but his condition didn’t look good. When his strength dropped too much, he could revert to his monster form. It might have been better for him to move in that state from the start.

“Harto, come here.”

At Zed’s single command, Harto seemed to understand and turned into his monster form. Zed lifted the soot slime onto his back, tied the strap tightly around his waist, and covered him with his cloak to hide him.

“Thank you….”

Harto murmured and rested his head on Zed’s shoulder. His eyes couldn’t even stay open anymore, exhaustion had taken over.

“If you’re sleepy, sleep.”

“Yes….”

Harto closed his eyes. The heartbeat that pulsed through Zed’s body reached him like a lullaby, and he fell asleep.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

‘…Huh?’

At some point, Harto realized that everything around him was pitch-black.

‘Where is this place?’

He remembered falling asleep on Zed’s back, but he didn’t know why he was alone in a place like this.

In an instant, the scenery changed. A white hospital room, the smell of disinfectant, an IV line in his arm, and the marks from countless needles.

His weak body didn’t feel strange. It was all too familiar. ‘So it was a dream after all….’ He slowly turned his head and saw blue sky through the window. The bright light made him feel relieved for a moment.

Clack.

Suddenly, a nurse appeared and pulled down the blinds, blocking the light. Harto tried to speak to her, but she didn’t even look at him. She only checked the chart quickly and left the room.

‘Huh…?’

When he turned back toward the window with the blinds down, a butterfly slipped in through the small gap and landed on the back of his hand. It was a beautiful butterfly with white, shining wings. The flutter of its wings reminded him of someone.

‘…Zed.’

At that moment, the butterfly rose into the air and disappeared.

…Crackle, crackle.

When Harto slowly opened his eyes, he saw a fire burning bright and hot. It wasn’t hard to realize that what he had just seen was a dream. The cloak covering his body was permeated with Zed’s scent.

“…Zed, after we leave Belgarde, where do you plan to go?”

As he blinked drowsily, Leon spoke from across the fire. When Harto followed Leon’s gaze, he saw Zed sitting right beside him. Zed thought for a long moment and gave a short answer.

“North.”

“North? Don’t tell me it’s because of Hartiros?”

It was Allen who spoke. He took a sip of water and asked again.

“……”

Zed remained silent this time too. Anyone could tell that his silence meant yes.

“You’re not a mercenary anymore.”

He meant that since Zed no longer had to uphold the mercenary group’ honor, there was no need to kill Hartiros anymore.

Hartiros was infamous because wherever he passed, forests and villages turned entirely into ash. Last winter, he turned an eastern kingdom into a sea of fire, and because of that, the entire empire declared a state of emergency.

Since then, Hartiros had become the root of evil and the seed of disaster that had to be destroyed. Countless warriors and mercenary groups went to Ruinbelt for the bounty, but not a single one ever came back.

“Hey, friend.”

Allen, who had come to Zed’s side, patted his shoulder.

“Since last winter, Hartiros has been holed up in Ruinbelt and hasn’t shown himself once, you know that? He might’ve frozen to death. Or starved to death?”

‘…Ah.’

Harto flinched. If he hadn’t met Zed in the mountains, he really might’ve frozen or starved to death.

“If Hartiros could die so easily, many people wouldn’t have lost their lives.”

Zed answered coldly, saying Allen’s words made no sense.

“Come on, don’t take it so seriously. You should think about Harto now too.”

“……”

At the mention of Harto, Zed lost his words for a moment.

“There’s more to life than that kind of thing. The world’s wide. If it’s not urgent, why don’t we head south this time?”

“What’s in the south?”

Leon, who had been listening quietly, interrupted with shining eyes. Allen cleared his throat and spoke.

“Of course there’s plenty. Last winter I spent my time fishing near the southern fertile coast.”

“…Fishing in the sea?”

Harto sat up with his blue eyes sparkling.

“When did you wake up? Well, I guess no one could stay asleep with all this noise.”

Since Harto had woken up, Allen looked even more pleased.

“I’d like to hear more about the southern sea.”

Leon urged him like a child asking to hear the next part of a storybook.

“The southern sea’s on a different level from ordinary seas. Even in winter, the water’s warm. In the morning I caught fish and sold them at the market. In the evening I watched the sunset at the tavern, and at night I slept listening to the sound of waves.”

“Wow….”

Harto’s expression was filled with excitement, the thought alone made him happy. Leon, on the other hand, furrowed his brows slightly.

“Wait. If it’s south, wouldn’t we have to pass through the Regnovar Empire? I heard their border crossings are heavily guarded right now.”

“There’s no need to go as far as the empire. We can just stay for a while in a border village.”

“That sounds like a fine idea….”

“Yes, yes. I think so too.”

Harto agreed with Leon.

Even though Ares Carseon was still missing, it seemed best not to go anywhere near the Regnovar Empire.

“Then….”

Allen, Leon, and Harto all slowly turned their eyes toward Zed.

Zed, who received all three gazes, nodded with a helpless look.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go! To the southern sea!”

As soon as Zed agreed, the three of them jumped up in excitement. Harto also smiled brightly, he was brimming with anticipation. Seeing Harto’s expression reflected in the firelight, Zed’s softly smiled.

It was a sudden decision, but not a bad one. From experience, a journey never went as planned. The Night Rage was gone, but now there were four of them together, so it wasn’t bad.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

When morning came, Harto woke to a savory smell coming from somewhere. Across from him, Allen was still snoring loudly. Beside him, the white horse tied to a tree snorted softly when its eyes met Harto’s.

“Harto, you’re awake?”

Leon had rekindled the campfire that had gone out overnight and was heating a small pot of soup. They had managed to find some ingredients from the pack Allen’s horse carried.

“Where’s Zed?”

“He went to fetch water from the river.”

“Alone?”

“The river isn’t far. Ah, you must not have seen it yesterday since you were asleep.”

“Yes.”

Harto sat up.

“I’ll go to Zed.”

He turned into human form and dressed. After a full night’s sleep, his body felt much lighter.

“What about the soup? It’s my special Leon-style recipe.”

Leon offered him a wooden bowl with a hopeful look. The thin potato soup exuded a rich aroma, probably from butter. After skipping a whole day’s meal, the smell made his appetite stir. It was impossible to refuse.

“…Then I’ll eat.”