SWY 65

As soon as he saw Lestel, the employee named John teared up and lowered his head, unable to hold himself upright.

“I’m John. I used to work under Lord Simon. You probably don’t remember me, my lord, but I was falsely accused at the place where I worked and got kicked out. I was getting beaten up on the streets when you saved me.”

Lestel nodded as the memory came back to him. That had indeed happened. He had rescued a man who was being badly beaten and brought him back to treat his wounds. Later, when he spoke with Simon about it, Simon had said the man seemed quite competent and recommended hiring him. But right now, past connections weren’t the priority.

“And Simon?”

“He’s alive.”

Relieved, Lestel asked,

“Where is he?”

“He’s holed up near your estate, using carriages and other barricades to defend it. Fortunately, there was a good stock of food prepared for a long-distance trading trip, so while it’s not abundant, they’re managing. A fair number of survivors have gathered there as well.”

They had stocked up on supplies at the mansion storehouse to trade in the north. That caravan was the one Lestel had hired Sharhan’s mercenary band to escort. When everything went wrong before the caravan could leave, it looked like the group had rushed to the estate where the food was stored.

‘Alum must be dead… right?’

What Lestel had been most afraid of was that Alum might have turned into one of those things and bitten Simon in a moment of carelessness, turning him into one of them too. Simon had cared deeply for Alum and would definitely have stayed by his side after Lestel left.

“Survivors?”

“At first, it was just the merchant group sticking together, but with how things are in Verden now… multiple factions have split off…”

“I heard the gist of it. Heard some lunatics are calling themselves lords.”

“Yes. Some of them are kidnapping survivors, others are fighting among themselves, and if a group grows too large, it gets attacked. Things are getting worse in Verden. We’ve also been attacked a few times and lost a good amount of food. Lord Simon said we should strengthen our own group rather than lose what we have, so he started accepting outsiders. He even sent people out to bring survivors in. My team was sent out to find and bring some back, but…”

John’s face darkened with grief at the memory of the comrades who’d been brutally killed. Tears fell onto his face, already swollen from the beatings.

“I don’t know if it’ll be any comfort, but they’re all dead now.”

“I heard. Thank you. I’m sure Lord Simon will be overjoyed to hear you returned safely. He didn’t say it directly, but it was obvious he’s been waiting for you, my lord. At daybreak, let’s go to the estate together.”

“I was planning to head there tomorrow anyway, but are you in any condition to travel?”

“I can manage.”

But anyone could see that John’s condition was serious enough that he needed rest. He looked like he couldn’t even walk without help. As he shifted positions and winced in pain, he let out a strained groan.

“S-sorry. It looks like coming along would be too much for me.”

Thankfully, he wasn’t the type to stubbornly insist on doing the impossible.

“I think so too. You should stay here for now. I’ll go to the estate tomorrow and tell Simon to send food and herbs this way.”

“Thank you.”

While Lestel was talking to John, Sharhan was catching up with Ras.

“It was a trap?”

Ras, who had gone out alone to find food, had spotted a child wandering the streets and approached them, only to be ambushed. It turned out the child was bait, used to lure in people who looked strong, like Ras. Four attackers had come at him, and he said it was too much to handle alone. So instead of fighting to the end, he chose to run.

“I collapsed right after I got back, so I didn’t get to tell the captain, but now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure they were human hunters.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Haah, it pisses me off. I used to charge into battle without hesitation, and now I had to run from some human hunters.”

Ras scowled, clearly humiliated, but Sharhan only half-responded, his full attention still fixed on Lestel.

“Yeah, must’ve been tough.”

“I thought I was gonna die, but that kid you brought in… no, that man… anyway, I survived thanks to those herbs.”

“Yeah. Derry knows how to use herbs well.”

“You picked him up in Luhas, right…? Sharhan? Are you even listening?”

Sharhan had now fully turned his head in Lestel’s direction. He was distracted by how Lestel’s tone changed every time he said the name “Simon.”

Lestel always changed the tone of his voice when speaking of someone important. Even his pronunciation became gentler. The way he said Simon’s name made it clear how significant that person was to him.

‘He did save his life… Still, does he have to say it that sweetly? I guess it makes sense if someone saved you, but… it’s too gentle, isn’t it?’

Sharhan’s mind was divided, two thoughts fighting each other.

“Yeah.”

“What did I just say?”

“Yeah.”

Ras sighed and patted Sharhan on the shoulder. Only then did Sharhan snap out of it and sit up straight, awkwardly asking,

“What were you saying? Ah, the part about the kid you saw being bait from the hunters, right?”

“That was ages ago.”

“Oh… was it?”

“They say the stunning silver-haired guy is the merchant lord, right? I didn’t think I’d see someone as handsome as you again, my whole field of vision feels brighter. Ah, though, you’re not exactly handsome, more like pretty…”

“What did you just say, Ras?”

Sharhan’s eyes grew cold, and Ras flinched, waving his hand to correct himself.

“G-good looking! I meant to say you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.”

“You have no idea how close you were to death just now. Anyway, you heard about the captain, right? The western gate is unguarded.”

“Yeah, I heard. He said he’ll leave as soon as his injuries heal a bit. Apparently, he was planning to go right away, so being stuck here must be driving him nuts.”

“What about you, Ras?”

“I’ll go too, once I recover. I have to at least check whether my parents and brothers are alive. Kamil and Renel said they’re leaving at first light tomorrow… Haa, I don’t know how the world ended up like this. People eating other people, what the hell is that? Fuck, I didn’t think there was anything worse than war, but this is hell itself.”

His voice was a mix of unease and frustration. Sharhan exhaled and gave his shoulder a pat.

“Yeah. The world’s gone to shit. But what can we do? We have to keep living. For our families, if nothing else.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But…”

“You’re worried about the people staying behind?”

“Yeah.”

“But there’s nothing we can do. You can’t abandon your family to stay behind with strangers.”

“I know… but it’s just… the hunters seem to be getting nastier. While I was hiding before I made it back here, I overheard something from the ones chasing me. It’s been bothering me.”

“What did they say?”

Ras glanced toward the door, then motioned Sharhan closer. It seemed like something he couldn’t say out loud. Sharhan leaned in, and Ras whispered into his ear.

“They said it’s getting harder to find survivors out in the streets, so supply is running low. Apparently, some of their competitors have started infiltrating survivor groups. They wait for the right moment, then break up the group and capture everyone. And apparently, it pays pretty damn well.”

Sharhan recoiled, grimacing as Ras’s breath brushed against his ear, then froze.

“They infiltrate survivor groups and dismantle them?”

“Yeah. That’s what I heard. At first, they gain the group’s trust by sharing food and acting friendly. They even bring in apothecaries and have them make medicine, which makes it easier to lure people in. They were talking about changing their supply tactics. Fuckers even said it’s a waste to use food on people who are just going to die soon anyway. Fucking bastards, what do they think people are?”

Ras exploded in rage. Sharhan, deeply unsettled, turned to look at the door just as Ras had earlier. He suddenly remembered something the middle-aged man had said earlier.

‘He said suddenly, the corpses had come flooding in…’

As he was considering this seriously, Lestel – who had been glancing their way just like Sharhan earlier, clearly unable to ignore them – finally approached.

“What kind of secret are you two whispering about? You mercs are awfully affectionate with each other… Someone might get the wrong idea.”

Lestel slung his arm over Sharhan’s shoulder and whispered in his ear just like Ras had, his tone icy. But Sharhan, lost in thought, didn’t notice.

“Shan, honey?”

Sharhan suddenly stood up and stepped outside. Downstairs, the survivors had gathered in small groups. Since all the tables and chairs had been pulled outside to fortify the barricade, the first floor looked quite empty even with all the people. Scanning the room, Sharhan headed for the middle-aged man.

“There was a young couple earlier, weren’t they? I don’t see them.”

“You mean Lily and Sam? Now that you mention it, they’re not around. I think they stepped out together a while ago.”

Even the man sounded unsure.

“You all seem to have been living together here. Were they part of this group too?”

“Sam and Lily joined us three days ago. Said their original group got overrun by corpses, and they came with a bit of food.”

A terrible suspicion swelled in Sharhan’s chest. He felt an urgent need to find out where they were. As he rushed outside the inn, his face twisted with fury. The makeshift barricade, crude but meant to serve as a minimum line of defense, had been breached.

“Fuck, don’t tell me…”

He turned to run back inside and warn the others, but at that moment, the world spun, and his legs gave out. As he stumbled, a man walked toward him, laughing.

“Eight hours. Right on time.”

It was the man who had shouted “Lily!” when they untied him, calling out for his wife.