Episode 107

“Weren’t there thieves here before? How did the villagers not realize that among the thieves, there were undead?”

In the chaos between life and death, swords struck indiscriminately at friend and foe alike. Most of the bodies littering the ground were soaked in blood and covered in dirt. Even with daylight, how could anyone tell if these remains belonged to neighbors or rotting corpses?

Moreover, the elderly innkeeper claimed he’d only ever seen a mage once in his life. If he didn’t know about beings who couldn’t die, he wouldn’t even suspect their existence.

“If not, then maybe this is the first time the thieves have brought undead along. I’ll have to check on that later.”

Clatter, clatter!

“Run if you want!!”

Beyond the wooden fence, Beric’s booming battle cry echoed.

“I’ll kill you all!!”

“Arrgh! Damn it!”

“Stay down if you want to live!”

Slash!

The sharp sound of a clean cut blended with screams. Though half-hidden behind the fence, the scene was clear. Like an eagle soaring freely across the sky, Beric was tearing through the streets with fierce speed.

Then—

Bang!

A thief burst out of the inn and into the stable, battered and with his teeth smashed in from a beating by Beric.

Romandro’s subordinate drew his sword in surprise but hesitated at the thief’s fierce presence. After all, he was originally a clerk, not a fighter.

“Ugh!”

“Get lost, damn it! Move aside!”

“You! You bastard! Do you know where you are?”

Thud!

An undead chasing after the thief lost its footing and slammed its head against the wall. The subordinate dropped his sword tip to the ground, stunned. The opponent’s condition in the darkness was far from ordinary.

“W-what is that…?”

“You’ve heard of undead, haven’t you?”

“Undead? Gah!”

The subordinate gasped, covering his mouth in shock, and the thief lunged forward with a triumphant grin, instantly aiming his sword at the man’s neck.

Slash!

In truth, this was only Ian’s second time seeing undead.

Necromancy was more commonly practiced in the East than by Bariel. It was especially advanced in war-torn regions, where the abundance of corpses made necromantic techniques more effective.

“Arrgh!”

Before the thief’s blade could pierce the subordinate’s neck, Ian reached out, condensed his magic, and detonated it.

Boom! Bang!

The explosion snapped the man’s head sharply to the side. The undead that followed staggered toward Ian like a broken machine.

Boom!

One last blast. Ian completely obliterated the creature’s skull, then covered his nose with his sleeve. The stench of rotting brain matter filled the air.

“I-Ian, are you alright?”

“That’s what I should be asking you.”

“I’m fine. Th-thank you!”

“Hurry and find Romandro.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Ian crouched down, watching Romandro’s subordinate rush off. Reluctantly, he hoped the thief might be carrying some clue.

First, the thief.

Swish.

The thief passed out with his mouth agape, unable even to groan. Ian searched every pocket—front, back, everywhere.

“Hmm?”

Something caught at his fingertips. Just the texture alone was unpleasant…

“Oh, no.”

It was human hair. Black and curly, tightly wrapped around a flat wooden tag. Ian frowned as he stared at the strange object.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that the undead with the exploded brain also had black, curly hair.

---

“Damn it, we got totally ripped off.”

Beric muttered, arms resting on his hips, blood soaking his clothes. The thieves had completely ransacked the inn’s storage, leaving no food behind.

“They’ve got no sense of honor whatsoever.”

“Beric, staring at empty shelves won’t bring anything back. Let’s hurry and go. The subordinate sent to find Romandro hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Yeah, got it.”

Beric sheathed his sword about two hours later. Armed guards had flooded the streets, driving out the thieves, and Beric had quietly helped steady the situation and lead the cleanup.

“This chaos isn’t normal. They probably couldn’t move easily.”

“What if Romandro’s dead?”

“Try saying that in front of him.”

“Ah, okay, okay. Cancel that. Don’t want him sulking forever.”

Guards busied themselves extinguishing fires and clearing bodies in the cold winter night, their breath visible in the biting wind.

“Waaah!”

“Hey, don’t cry. It’s okay.”

“Over here! Injured people, come this way!”

“I can’t move on my own. Please help!”

“Damn vermin. What the hell is this, attacking in the middle of a winter night? Trying to get us all killed?”

“Check if any embers are still burning!”

Beric, having finally found a piece of bread, followed Ian out, chewing on it as he looked around, tilting his head.

“Where to now?”

“Let’s head to the market district first.”

“Hey! You two!”

Just then, a voice called from behind.

“You’re outsiders, right? Travelers?”

“That’s right. And you must be the captain of the guard.”

The guard captain’s lips tightened at Ian’s blunt tone. Fresh-faced and inexperienced, how dare he speak so casually?

But seeing the red-haired man standing behind Ian, the captain held his tongue. He had witnessed firsthand how the pair had slaughtered the thieves earlier.

“Definitely skilled fighters.”

If they were wandering mercenaries, it would be best to offer a small reward and ask for their help.

“Ahem. I’m Ulan, captain of Karenna’s guard. Thank you for your assistance, but I need to verify your identities for protocol.”

Ian pulled out his identification from his pocket.

“We’re on our way to the capital for the New Year’s gathering. I’m Ian, this is Beric, and the person we’re looking for is Romandro—the royal court’s advisor.”

The captain’s face went pale at the unexpected news.

New Year’s gathering? Royal advisor?

They must be nobility, or at least high-ranking officials. He had assumed they were just wandering mercenaries… He immediately took off his hat and bowed deeply.

“I-I apologize. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Why didn’t the guards take any action while those bastards were getting this far? I heard there was already one attack.”

“Sorry. This is a small town, part of a tri-city alliance. Unfortunately, they had to send some of our guards elsewhere due to problems in another city.”

“Thanks to that, I lost my carriage. It had important items meant for the royal palace. This is a licensed inn, right? That should guarantee safety for travelers.”

As Ian calmly explained the damage, the captain felt his world spin. Forget Karenna’s losses—the royal palace’s goods were gone!

“Where’s the mayor?”

Without a lord, the town was run by a mayor dispatched from the capital. Though treated like minor nobility, they were still salaried officials. The mayor’s absence in this crisis suggested negligence.

“The mayor, well…”

“Iaaan!”

Romandro’s voice cut through the captain’s words as he appeared, turning the corner looking like a complete wreck. His hair was matted with hay and dust, and his clothes were torn and ragged.

“Romandro! Are you alright?”

“Good heavens. What on earth happened? I thought I was dead and gone. I’ve been through all sorts of trouble after drinking, but this… this is something else.”

“You sound fine to me.”

Romandro clutched his pounding chest, babbling incoherently. Ian faintly smiled in agreement with Beric’s assessment. Though he looked terrible, he was unharmed.

“Fine? I thought I was a goner!”

“You’re not dead. Seriously, stop yelling.”

“Hey, are you the royal advisor?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Ulan, captain of the guard!”

The embarrassed captain bowed again, but Romandro waved him off, clearly uninterested, and headed into the inn.

“Go change your clothes first, then we’ll talk.”

“Romandro, your carriage was stolen.”

“Huh?”

Romandro blinked, clearly confused. Beric was standing right there—how could it have disappeared?

“They raided the inn and took it at the same time. Looks like they spotted us in the forest and targeted us. When we came back, it was already gone.”

“No, that can’t be!”

His mouth dropped open.

There were piles of documents inside, and most importantly, high-grade mana crystals. Beric casually propped up Romandro’s chin and muttered,

“If you don’t have clothes to change into, I can lend you some.”

“Clothes are the problem!?”

“Ah, this time it was my left ear.”

“Ian! Ian! What do we do? This is driving me crazy! Do you think they knew what was inside the carriage?”

Romanthro’s frantic fuss made even the watching captain of the guard break out in a cold sweat. This was for real. Whatever was inside had to be something incredibly valuable.

“That can’t be right. If they knew what was inside, that would mean they also knew who we are—and yet they had the nerve to just open the door and walk right in.”

“Ugh. Damn it.”

It was just a matter of bad luck that they’d been robbed. Romanthro sank down onto a nearby bench, and his men struggled to support him.

“Is everyone else okay?”

“Our kids are fine. The coachmen were off drinking somewhere, so I don’t know what happened to them.”

Ian nodded, relieved at least that the children were safe. Then, he gestured toward the inn’s interior and gave orders to the captain.

“First, gather the thieves and the bodies inside. I have some business to attend to. I also want to check in with the market for a moment.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

“Ian, where are you planning to go?”

Romanthro asked, watching as Ian fumbled with his compass. He muttered to himself, recalling the route he’d taken earlier that day.

“I’m going to Danil.”

“Danil?”

“That abandoned village we saw this afternoon. They called it Danil. Contrary to what I expected, it doesn’t seem to be a hideout for the bandits. Beric! Bring out two horses from the stables.”

Romanthro’s face twisted in confusion. If it wasn’t a bandit base, what was the point of going there? Ian answered calmly.

“I’m going to look for the dog.”

“Alright. This time, it’s my turn to fetch water. Heh heh.”

Beric grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

No matter how he thought about it, the key to unraveling this tangled mess—the bandits, the necromancy, the talking dog, the wiped-out village, and even the magic department—had to be that dog.

“To find the carriage, we first need to understand the whole situation.”

Wheeeeee!

“Iaaaan! Let’s go!”

“Romanthro, I’m off. Please take care of things here.”

Without hesitation, Ian and Beric mounted their horses and cracked the reins. The two of them galloped down the chaotic road. Romanthro shouted after their retreating figures at the top of his lungs.

“Pleease!! Bring back the carriage!!”