Chapter 111

After walking along that path of stars for what must have been two hours, the abandoned territory of the Border Count greeted us.

“Hoo… hss, hoo….”

I leaned against the corroded castle wall, gasping for breath.

Had we forced this march during the day under the scorching sun, rather than in the cool night air, I would have undoubtedly collapsed from dehydration.

And I would have been bedridden for a couple of days, surely.

“Haa… Couldn’t we, perhaps, acquire something like a camel?”

“Camels? What are those?”

Damn game.

Dragons and demons roam freely, but there aren’t camels in this world?

Where is there an unreasonableness such as this?

How then, is a fragile human like myself supposed to traverse a desert? Is the implication merely to bury oneself in the sand and die?

If ever I meet the creator of this world, I must ask.

Was it more vital to create parasites living within the guts of dragons than to create camels?

“Here you go again. Enough with the strange talk, drink some water.”

Lir retrieved a canteen from the multi-purpose belt at his waist and offered it to me.

“Ssip! Haa…”

With trembling hands, I barely managed to take the canteen. I didn’t have the strength to lift my torso, so I drank while hunched over, causing more water to spill down my chin than to enter my mouth.

After taking a drink, I slumped back down, leaning against the fortress wall and gasping for air. Lir, perhaps thinking I would drop the canteen, quickly took it from my grasp and returned it to his belt.

And so, we stood against the outer wall, passing the time until I regained my senses.

Lir stared blankly at the sky, while Dajin listened with an expression of rapt attention to the endless stories that Sion was spinning out.

“Huu… Let’s go!”

My breathing somewhat stabilized, I pushed myself up from the ground with trembling legs.

“It’s only been about twenty minutes? Are you sure you’re alright to get up already?”

“Twenty minutes is plenty of rest, isn’t it?”

“I figured this would take at least an hour…”

…Is this something I should be happy about, a sign that I myself have grown? Or should I be ashamed of my past self, who used to steal an hour from other people’s time?

“Alright, everyone, if you can move, let’s secure lodging first! I don’t mind sleeping under the stars or going without sleep for a day or two, but the mages aren’t like that, are they? I know the best inn around here, so follow me!”

Sion raised his hand high, like some sort of local guide, and loudly called for us to follow him.

We reached the entrance of the great fortress wall that divided the territory from the desert. How many days had it been since this area was last cleaned? Filthy rags, scrap metal, fragments of broken brick – all were scattered haphazardly about.

“Alright, if you’ll look to your left, you’ll see the most worthless humans this place has to offer! The homeless, that is!”

Sion pointed to a huddled mass of figures draped in rags. They clung together, forming a massive cluster to survive the frigid night. From any angle, they looked less like people and more like a giant clump of germs.

“These people lack the courage to accost someone for money, the will to earn it themselves! If we so much as drop something on the ground, they’ll crawl out like cockroaches, eyes peeled, just waiting to snatch it up!”

“……”

Most of them looked to be past thirty. It had only taken me two hours to cross the desert and reach the Margrave’s territory. They, too, could leave this city whenever they pleased, if they just put their minds to it.

Even though I’m emaciated and weak, could there be anyone in this world with a worse body than mine?

And yet, they’ve settled here.

Perhaps they’ve grown accustomed to this life.

I felt no pity.

They have able bodies; they could do anything if they just left this place. Become tenant farmers, butchers…

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy at first. They might get yelled at for not doing the work right, perhaps even beaten some days.

“But if you want to change, you have to get up.”

I muttered without realizing it.

They are the ones who have given up on their own lives.

Pitiful, yes, but I didn’t want to waste my time on them.

We passed the beggars and moved deeper into the territory. There were no streetlights, and collapsed buildings, neglected by repairs, dotted the landscape.

I felt cold gazes watching us from between the ruined buildings. Most belonged to the beggars, but some held a clear intent to kill.

Yet, none of them dared to act.

Probably because they couldn’t quite gauge our abilities.

“As you might have noticed on the way, not everyone here is like those beggars! There are also quite a few who make a living out of robbery!”

Following Zion’s lead, we proceeded slowly into the dark alleyways, relying solely on the light of the moon and stars. If bandits were to strike, now would likely be the opportune moment for them.

“Likely, they’re testing each other’s mettle! Hoping someone will step forward first, to gauge our capabilities.”

“Are there only creatures like that in this city?”

“Surely not? There remain a few good souls, you know? For example… observe that girl over there!”

Zion stopped, gesturing towards a pitch-black shadow.

…Was I the only one unable to see anything? Lir, too, scrutinized the darkness before finally conjuring a small spark of lightning, placing it upon the ground.

The lightning, meeting the ground, stretched out towards the direction Zion indicated, soon becoming a dim illumination that pushed back the shadows.

…There stood a child, barely more than ten years old, and a man holding a dagger to the child’s throat.

“Ah, someone was making a living here, it seems! Judging by the beer foam on the girl’s clothes and the pattern of her calluses, she appears to be serving drinks at a nearby tavern.”

“W-What the hell, you b*stards! Mind your own business and scram, she’s my prey! I’ve been following her, just waiting for the chance, for a week!”

The man, startled by the appearance of a lightning mage, widened his eyes and shouted erratically.

“Taverns are the only legitimate business in this city. Be they beggars or notorious criminals, the people of this domain can’t endure a single day without their liquor. Usually…”

“Lir.”

“Yes.”

*Shhkk*—!

The lightning illuminating the alley transformed in an instant into a sharp spear, flying straight towards the man’s wrist.

The lightning spear pierced a large hole in the man’s wrist, then continued on to make a similar-sized hole in his chest.

The man emitted a small moan, losing all vitality and collapsing to the ground.

A fitting end for trash.

“…As befits those who have returned from the battlefields, there is no hesitation! Those with weaker hearts will sometimes ask me to handle things for them, instead.”

“Hesitating?”

“Against *these* things?”

Rire and I turned our heads in unison, directing the question at Sion.

“…Isn’t it like, nine out of ten people who ask me to handle this kind of thing for them?”

Sion seemed momentarily flustered, taking a step back before regaining his bright smile and continuing.

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s scary~”

“Spare me the dramatics.”

I cut Sion off curtly, slowly stepping into the shadowed alley.

Soon, I stood before a young girl, her cheeks sunken from lack of nourishment.

The child showed no surprise at the sight of the corpse.

“How old are you?”

“…Twelve.”

“Why haven’t you left the city?”

“I don’t have the strength to carry my mother across the desert.”

“Is there something wrong with your mother?”

“Her legs are rotting. She can’t walk on her own.”

There was strength in the girl’s voice. In her eyes, a yearning for life burned, unquenchable even by the darkness, and in her calloused hands, the patience to endure any storm seemed to reside.

“Do you have a dream?”

“…Huh?”

“I asked if you have a dream.”

“…….”

Probably, most people living in this city couldn’t answer that question properly.

For them, life is just something they continue because they can’t die, something that flows by without any meaning.

“Cooking…….”

But the girl uttered an answer. Small, and lacking in confidence, but it didn’t matter.

“……I just, want to make delicious food. The chef at our place makes really good bacon toast, and I want to make something as good as that.”

The content was truly simple, nothing special.

“It would be even better if Mom ate it.”

It wasn’t an answer someone who lived in this environment could easily give.

I bent my knees to meet the girl’s eyes.

In her eyes were wariness directed at me, and a little bit of embarrassment.

Yes, she would be embarrassed.

Those who live in a place like this tend to mock those with dreams.

As if it were some great sin.

They don’t have the confidence to climb up, so they choose to drag others down to where they feel secure.

Because that’s much easier.

“Tell me straight. What is your dream?”

“Cooking.”

The girl, as if she didn’t know why she had to answer me, stiffened her expression, but answered calmly.

It was dark, and I couldn’t see her face properly. But the shame held in those eyes, the way it writhed with anger, that much I could definitely see.

“…If I were to give you a gold coin, could you protect it?”

If something like opportunity exists in this world.

Shouldn’t it be given to someone like this?

“There are many eyes watching us. If I gave you 1 gold, those many thugs would likely kill you and try to snatch the money.”

Whether it’s modern society or a medieval fantasy world.

The world is unfair.

“The odds of you surviving and escaping this city with this money are probably less than 10 percent. And even if you manage to get out of this city alive, you’ll have a mountain of problems to solve. If a kid like you carries around that much money, people will definitely suspect you stole it.”

Sometimes, talent is dropped into the lap of someone in the wrong environment.

“Even in cities that are relatively livable, thugs are everywhere. You can see them pretty often even in the capital, which supposedly has good security. Protecting the money won’t be easy, and figuring out how to use that much money will be even harder.”

Sometimes, people are born without any talent or a decent environment.

The world really is, disgustingly unfair.

That’s why so many people point fingers at those who have more than they do, and focus on pitying themselves.

Because it’s much easier that way.

But sometimes.

Very rarely.

“Even so, if you want to change your life, take it. Protect this money at all costs, figure out how to use it, and hire mercenaries.”

There are those who simply grit their teeth and focus solely on moving forward.

“And return to this city with mercenaries, and run away with your mother.”

Change is never given freely.

“So, will you risk your life? For one small gold coin.”

An opportunity arrives in a breath.

“Naturally.”

Seizing that opportunity is always for those who are prepared.

“Run.”

From within my robes, I drew a gold coin and tossed it onto the ground.

The girl, with a movement no different from a wild beast, snatched the coin and disappeared into the dark alleyway.

From now on, it was entirely her burden.