Chapter 27
Raucous!
It was the same when the sailors gathered for a drunken party under the moonlight.
Just as the mood was reaching its peak, a drink disappeared from her hand.
“Whew… Hand it over while I’m still being nice.”
“Stop drinking.”
“I said give it back, you jerk.”
“If you’re gonna keep being cute, go lie down in the cabin.”
“Ah, give it! Seriously!”
Erica flailed her arms in an attempt to snatch back the cup.
Despite being totally drunk, her movements were fierce and nimble, just like an S-rank mercenary should be.
Thwack, thwack—each motion was childish yet incredibly precise and quick.
The sailors, not knowing she was an S-rank mercenary, thought she was part of a circus troupe and clapped in amusement.
Was it that night?
Or maybe the next?
“Emergency docking!”
“Lowering the anchor!”
It happened one night when the ship had to dock suddenly.
The ship had hit a reef, and the crew moved quickly to make repairs.
Erica climbed up onto the ship’s railing, legs dangling toward the river.
Moonlight poured from the sky. The river gently lapped against the shore.
The navy-colored waves rippling under the moonlight looked beautiful.
But that wasn’t the only beautiful thing.
‘He plays well on his own.’
Chawood was in the water, swimming with his shirt off.
He moved fluidly under the surface, occasionally revealing his wet hair as he rose for air.
The moonlight scattered over him in glimmering fragments.
After a while, he swam over toward Erica.
He looked up and stretched his neck.
“Erica. Wanna come in?”
“Too lazy.”
“…It’s boring alone. I think I’m done swimming.”
Chawood planted his feet on the lower hull and reached up.
Erica bent down to help him. As their hands clasped tightly—
Wham!
With a yank, Chawood pulled her straight into the water.
Splash!
Sputtering, both of them surfaced at the same time, soaked from head to toe, water streaming from their hair.
Erica, deeply annoyed, blew the hair off her nose with a sharp snort.
“…What the hell are you doing.”
“Wait—can you not swim?”
This punk. He sure knew how to provoke someone’s competitive spirit.
“Hey! Do you know what they call me in the Southern Mercenary Guild? Pirate Slayer!”
“Scary.”
“Do you know how many pirates tremble at my name in the South Seas?”
“How many?”
“…I don’t actually know.”
“One?”
“You bastard!”
She hooked an arm around his neck and dunked him.
She even tried a spinning kick underwater, but Chawood dodged it easily.
The two tangled in a chaotic underwater brawl, occasionally surfacing to breathe.
Splash! Splash!
The sailors fixing the ship clucked their tongues as they passed.
“What are they doing now? Why are they always fighting?”
“I heard they’re friends.”
The water was cool enough to chill the skin. In truth, they laughed until they couldn’t breathe.
“Friends, huh?”
Moonlight poured down.
The breeze glimmered over the ripples in the water.
It was a journey to find her master.
Erica couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, but she thought maybe—around that time—she and Chawood had become friends.
* * *
Holy Knights, 8th Division.
They had come to protect the temple and were now here on special orders.
“Vice-Captain. We’ve made landfall.”
Finally, the ship docked along the river. The smell of water and forest mingled in the air.
They were now in the Lecankan Great Jungle.
The dozen or so Holy Knights disembarked at the dock and scanned the area.
“Huh? What’s that ship?”
Nearby, a huge ship was also docked.
“It came from the opposite direction of ours.”
“Must be one of those ships that travel from the South to the East. But no one should be disembarking here…”
Contrary to Hugo the knight’s guess, a man and a woman jumped down from that ship.
Judging by their appearance, they were mercenaries.
“I told you I could do it. What’ll you do if I actually find Master within two weeks?”
“Erica, let’s be reasonable. We’re just at the edge of the Lecankan forest. Even if we pass through quickly, if we don’t find any traces in the ruins—”
“Why are you such a buzzkill?”
“Wow, no one’s ever said that to me before.”
They bickered constantly, even on the dock.
“So what’s the plan? You gonna magically find your Master in two weeks?”
“Plan? Who needs a plan? We just run like hell!”
“Wow, that’s so organized. I’m shocked and awed.”
Step, step.
Even with over a dozen Holy Knights standing nearby, they didn’t so much as glance their way.
Knight Hugo gave them a side glance and whispered to the vice-captain.
“Vice-Captain, I think they’re mercenaries.”
“I saw.”
“Shouldn’t we at least warn them?”
“It’s just the two of them. They’re probably just exploring the outskirts.”
“Still…”
“If they value their lives, they won’t enter the Central Illusion Forest.”
The vice-captain turned away.
Checking armor and weapons came first.
Hugo and the rest of the knights recalled why they were there, and a sense of tension settled in.
* * *
Tap-tap-tap!
They ran through the dark forest.
Huff—huff—
The trees rushed by so fast they were just blurs.
Erica was completely absorbed.
Wind slapped her cheeks. Her hair flew wildly behind her.
Pitter, patter—the rain began to fall in thick drops.
Soon a full-on downpour raged above them, but she didn’t care.
Chawood, running alongside her at the same pace, felt the same.
Whoooosh—!
It was torrential. Rain battered her eyelashes and blurred her vision.
“We can make it to the Illusion Forest before dawn, right?”
At Erica’s question, Chawood mentally calculated the distance.
“At this pace, no.”
“Then let’s go faster.”
They instantly sped up. It was less running now—more like flying.
The forest terrain was no obstacle.
“Are we going to go around the Illusion Forest like we planned?”
“No.”
The shortest distance was a straight line to the ruin zone.
“Let’s go through the Illusion Forest.”
Erica changed the plan.
She’d only planned to go around because she was worried about draining her stamina alone.
But with Chawood beside her, she had nothing to worry about.
“Sounds good.”
Screeeeech!!
Whizz—!
Thunk!
Occasionally, wild beasts would lunge at them, and Erica would shoot them down with ease.
Even in the heavy rain, her archery was solid—more powerful and accurate than a steel sword.
Nocturnal predators roamed the Lecankan forest.
Red-eyed tigers, sharp-toothed wolves—ferocious, but not exactly monsters.
Whizz—
Thunk!
Every time her bowstring twanged, a beast fell. Erica didn’t even blink.
She could take them down with her eyes closed.
They ran for a long, long time.
Finally, after quite a while, Erica began to tense up—just a little.
“…You see that?”
“…That tree looks weird.”
They had reached the edge of the Illusion Forest.
Erica stepped up to one of the strange-looking trees.
She ran her fingers across the bark, staring blankly.
“What is it?”
Chawood approached and asked.
“Master was here.”
There were sword marks on the tree.
“When Master’s deep in thought, he does this.”
“Does what?”
“Swings his aura hundreds of times at a tree. He makes it so shallow it barely leaves a mark.”
The groove was only deep enough to fit the tip of a finger.
“…That’s some skill.”
Chawood crossed his arms and leaned on one leg.
It was hard for a swordmaster to suppress their destructive power.
To swing hundreds of times and leave only shallow marks like this required extreme control.
“Yep. My master’s very precise.”
“I wanna try.”
“…?”
Just as Chawood was about to summon his aura, Erica smacked the back of his head.
“No time for that! We’re heading into the Illusion Forest now. Focus.”
Chawood? 🥹 Why?