“Is everything more or less settled?”
Glen asked as he shook the blood from his sword.
“Most of them fled after the initial clash. Shall we pursue the rest?”
“Pursue them for a while, but do not go too far.”
At his answer, Nedain signaled to several knights with his eyes.
The chosen knights immediately mounted their horses and began the pursuit.
“Ah, who is the Village Chief here?”
Glen turned toward the people who had been watching him from one side and asked.
Once again, however, no one answered.
…Why are they all making those faces?
“What is wrong with everyone? We are not bandits, so you may rest easy.”
When he said that with a slight smile, their faces became even paler.
Hic.
The woman who had nearly been assaulted earlier was so frightened that she even began hiccupping.
“Young Master… I believe you should wash yourself first.”
Unable to endure the sight any longer, Nedain approached and whispered to him.
“Hm? Ah… Ptooey.”
Glen looked down at himself and found his body covered in bloodstains and fragments of flesh.
Judging by the blood trickling down his cheek, his face was likely no different.
Only then did he understand why everyone was staring at him that way.
However, what else could he do?
After going two days without proper rest or a bath, a few bloodstains hardly registered anymore.
Nedain asked the trembling Village Chief where the well was located.
…I am not going to eat him. Why is he so frightened?
Glen nodded with a slightly displeased expression.
“…Very well. I suppose I should visit the well first.”
Clicking his tongue quietly, Glen left the area.
He was doing all this to shed his image as a Good-for-Nothing Son, yet he wondered whether he was only making matters worse.
Damn it.
***
Glen roughly removed the armor and clothing covering his upper body before pouring a bucket of water over himself.
Cold water ran down between his sharply defined muscles.
“Haa….”
Every drop falling from him was red.
Before arriving at this village, they had also crushed a group of bandits attacking a merchant caravan, so perhaps that was only natural.
As Glen lowered the well bucket again, he fell into thought.
‘Public order is a complete disaster in both the duchy and the kingdom.’
A week had passed since they left House Northshine.
They had already dealt with the Red Hood there, but now it seemed as though the entire North was overrun with bandits.
He suddenly wondered whether it had also been like this in his Previous Life, but he could not remember.
‘Around this time, I was probably doing nothing but drinking.’
This had been the period when he was expelled from the Lion Knights and spent his days behaving pathetically.
There was no possibility that he had paid attention to the affairs of the world.
Thinking about alcohol made him desperately crave a drink even now—preferably chilled wine from the North.
Fortunately, they still had some of the wine the merchants had given them.
“E-Excuse me….”
“Hm?”
Just as he was about to pour more water over himself, an unfamiliar figure entered his sight.
When he turned his head, he saw two women watching him.
The blonde woman who had been hiccupping earlier stood slightly ahead of the other and addressed him.
“We thought you might n-need someone to attend to you….”
Her face reddened as she spoke cautiously.
She was holding what appeared to be dry clothes and a towel.
Looking more closely, both women appeared young.
They were perhaps one or two years older than Glen.
Neither was unattractive. They were fairly pretty.
The Village Chief had probably sent them after deciding that Glen and his companions were important nobles.
Glen did not find the offer particularly unpleasant, but neither did it please him.
He simply supposed that this was how people here survived.
Glen poured another bucket of water over himself.
The water running from his body was still red, but considerably clearer than before.
He smiled as gently as possible to avoid appearing threatening.
“Phew…. I see. Did the Village Chief send you?”
“Y-Yes… Ah! N-No. We came here because we wanted to….”
She had been too frightened to meet his eyes properly from the beginning.
The sight of her fumbling with a bright red face was somewhat pitiful.
Glen suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Damn it. I certainly ruined that first impression.
“Thank you for your consideration. However, I can handle this much myself, so there is no need to force yourselves.”
“N-No, we….”
How did they intend to attend to him when they could not even look him in the eye?
Still wearing a faint smile, Glen gestured with his chin.
He was telling them to leave the items and go.
“….”
The two women placed down what they had brought and began retreating hesitantly.
Even as they left, they repeatedly looked back and sighed quietly.
For some reason, they appeared disappointed.
Glen ignored them and poured more water over himself.
He also used a small razor to trim the rough stubble along his jaw.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, blonde hair….
I wonder how she is doing.
The face of a certain stubborn woman appeared in his mind before fading away.
She is probably doing better than I am. Who am I to worry about her?
Glen suddenly realized that he was hungry.
Fortunately, he would not have to chew that damned dried meat today.
***
Including Glen, the group he led now numbered twenty-one.
They had originally numbered thirty.
However, while at House Northshine, Glen had sent seven men back—including Brunel—along with two knights.
Their injuries from the Abandoned Mine had made it difficult for them to continue the journey.
Fortunately, no one had suffered a serious injury on the way here.
Then again, it would have been absurd for mounted knights to be badly injured while fighting a few groups of bandits.
The twenty or so men were now devouring food inside a somewhat shabby inn.
Glen and Nedain were no exception.
Both of them had grown thoroughly sick of Dry Rations and dried meat.
“Haa… I finally feel alive again. Ah, did we pay them generously for the food?”
“Yes. I gave them more than enough.”
Nedain answered Glen’s question while wiping his mouth with a dry cloth.
The table before them was covered with empty plates.
Fortunately, the cook was reasonably skilled….
In truth, anything better than dried meat would have been acceptable.
“How many times does this make?”
“Five since we left House Northshine.”
Twice in the duchy, and three times in the kingdom, including today.
That was only the number of attacks they had encountered while the raids were already in progress.
They had even tried to avoid straying too far from their intended route.
There were probably far more bandits roaming the region than they had seen.
“The entire region is crawling with outlaws. I am sick of them. These bastards are certainly enjoying themselves.”
Glen frowned deeply, clearly displeased by the situation.
“I expected matters to be bad to some extent, but I never imagined it would be this severe.”
“Thanks to them, we have been forced to march without rest.”
Whenever they dealt with one group, another place was attacked.
Once they resolved that incident, another group appeared elsewhere.
That was how the past several days had passed.
Even the hardy Lion Knights could not help growing exhausted.
“Your popularity should be increasing by an equal measure, Young Master.”
“Pfft. Are you serious? From where I stand, it seems that my infamy is the only thing increasing.”
“That is because you charge into the enemy ranks and rampage like a madman every single time.”
“Is it not irritating to see a pack of criminals arrogantly gathering together?”
Even as Glen spoke, he felt a slight pang of discomfort.
Come to think of it, he had also been an infamous criminal in his Previous Life.
…Is this what they call hating one’s own kind?
“Even so… this kind of Good-for-Nothing Son is better than the one you used to be.”
Nedain spoke with a slight smile.
Look at him. He is openly joking with me now.
“Why are all my choices variations of being a Good-for-Nothing Son?”
“Is that not the result of the deeds you sowed yourself? You should accept it.”
“Damn it.”
The two chuckled and drank their wine.
After considering something for a moment, Nedain spoke again.
“At least the Orcs have remained quiet, have they not?”
“Ha. The Orcs?”
Glen scoffed at his words.
The Orcs were quiet?
Far from it.
They were probably fighting among themselves even now.
Judging by the events of his Previous Life, the timing was unmistakable.
There had also been a period when the Orcs appeared strangely quiet in his Previous Life.
Even Glen, who had done nothing but drink at the time, had heard people discussing it everywhere.
Some claimed that a plague was spreading among the Orcs.
Others said that they had left for lands beyond the North.
Countless theories circulated, but the truth was entirely different.
The Orcs were embroiled in a Civil War.
The tribes were fighting a vast war to decide who would become their king.
That was why the Orcs appeared so quiet now.
Once that war ended, they would unite beneath a single banner and invade the North.
And they would come in numbers greater than any human on the continent could possibly imagine.
“Why are you reacting like that?”
At Nedain’s question, Glen assumed an indifferent expression.
It was not something Nedain would easily believe even if Glen told him now.
“Have you ever seen the sea before a Tidal Wave strikes?”
Nedain tilted his head at the abrupt question.
“…Pardon?”
“The larger the approaching wave, the farther the sea withdraws beforehand. The Orcs are the same. They are probably gathering into an enormous Tidal Wave even now.”
“How do you know that?”
“…Let us call it intuition.”
“What kind of…? You sound like a Fortune Teller.”
“That is an amusing comparison. Shall I read your fortune?”
“No, thank you. I do not have any small change today.”
“I will make a special exception and do it free of charge.”
“I make it a point not to trust free fortunes.”
“You are surprisingly particular.”
Glen attempted to raise his cup again, only to find it empty.
Just as he was about to call for a server—
“…Here you are.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Although he had not called anyone, a server had already approached and quickly refilled his cup.
She then blushed and hurried away.
“Why are only the female servers coming to our table? Did you arrange that separately?”
Five people were currently carrying food and drinks around the inn.
Three of them were men, yet the same two women had been attending their table from the beginning.
It was hardly important, but Glen had become curious.
Nedain shook his head and answered awkwardly.
“No. I believe they are probably… trying to gain your favor, Young Master.”
Is that so? How pointless.
Glen dismissed the matter and drank from his cup.
“Ahh….”
This was exactly what he had wanted.
Wine from the North was best served cold.
In truth, it was a rather precious drink to find in a place like this.
It was normally enjoyed by nobles.
Glen was glad that they had rescued the merchants before arriving at the village.
The wine he was drinking had been given to them as a reward.
“Young Master Glen.”
“Hm?”
As he savored the taste, a knight approached him.
“The Herbalist you were searching for has arrived. He said his name is Herbert. Shall I bring him here?”
“No. I have finished eating anyway, so I will go myself. There is something I wish to ask him.”
When Nedain began rising as well, Glen stopped him.
“I am not going far. Remain seated.”
“But….”
“What could possibly happen in such a small village? Tell the others to rest properly as well. Naturally, they should not drink so much that it affects tomorrow’s journey.”
“…Understood.”
Nedain reluctantly agreed in response to Glen’s firm tone.
However, the slight lift at the corners of his mouth revealed that he was pleased as well.
Then again, it had been a long time since they had enjoyed a proper rest.
Glen chuckled and rose from his seat.
Not long afterward, he arrived at the home of Herbert the Herbalist.