"You bastards…."
Tarkiev glanced around cautiously, just in case. However, there were no signs of an ambush.
He gripped his sword, circled around the mercenaries sleeping with blankets wrapped around them, and soon discovered two sentries lying asleep behind the campfire and against a rock.
"Phew. That scared me to death."
Tarkiev kicked the sentries awake with his foot.
"Huh?!"
"You idiots, how can you sleep here?"
"Ah… oh, young master."
"Don't call me young master, call me sir knight. I'm still a squire knight, remember?"
Tarkiev realized something was odd about the mercenaries. They weren't simply sleeping—they had been knocked unconscious by an ambush, so they still retained their memory of the situation.
"Yes, well… that is…."
"It seems we were ambushed."
"Really? And it wasn't just a bad dream?"
"No, I swear it's true."
"Let me take a look."
Tarkiev led the soldiers to inspect the area, but there were no signs of others nearby. Azadin had already taken everything he needed and left the campsite.
"Gasp! What the—our loot!"
Tarkiev was horrified to see their chest of spoils wide open.
***
'Judging by their reaction, it doesn't belong to that guy. So, is it one of the mercenaries who has it?'
From a distance, Azadin observed the mercenaries' campsite.
'No matter how I see it, this wand… it seems like something from Kurt Clan.'
Though he couldn't use magic, he had received education in it. The sensation, scent, and faint energy visible to his eyes all indicated that this object was imbued with the magic of the Kurt Clan.
"The Book of the Divine King suddenly appeared, and now this. Emperor's Voice, do you know anything?"
[No. Investigation is the duty of humans. I am, after all, a spirit.]
"Utterly useless."
[Providing you peace of mind to sleep anywhere without worrying about sentries and keeping accurate time—that's plenty of utility!]
"That may be true."
Azadin let out a sigh.
Though he seemed superhuman in the eyes of ordinary people, even the herald of the emperor was, at the end of the day, still human. Fatigue had accumulated.
"It seems I'll have to rely on those kids. I wish I could use magic. I said I didn't need a servant, and now I'm depending on them."
Azadin backed away with regret. He wanted to observe the mercenaries further, but if any of them truly wielded the magic of the Kurt Clan, they would be formidable opponents.
'There's a risk they'll detect me at this distance. Things are getting complicated.'
***
The next day, Azadin rustled himself out of his blanket.
"Yawn. No matter how much I sleep, I'm still tired. My master used to say the same."
He folded his bedding and scanned the surroundings. Midiam and Ishmael were still asleep.
"What time is it?"
[2:04 PM.]
The Emperor's Voice answered him.
[For a civilization at this level, having such precise timekeeping is an incredible benefit. Be grateful.]
"…Yes, yes. I see. Very grateful, sure."
Azadin responded half-heartedly and lay back down.
"Judging by my body, I'm still quite fatigued, but I can't seem to sleep. No choice, then."
Azadin nudged the sleeping Midiam and Ishmael with his foot.
"Wake up, kids."
"Ugh!"
"Yes?"
The boy and girl groggily sat up.
"We agreed to assess the bone wand, didn't we?"
"Oh, right. Please hand it over."
"I'll do it. It could be cursed."
Ishmael took the bone wand from Midiam and began channeling his mana into it.
"What do you see?"
"I see visions of green and black."
"Green and black mana? If it belonged to the King of Fang, it would have traces of red mana. Is it from another member of the Kurt Divine Clan?"
"Yes. As for its function—it seems designed to search for something specific. The mana within is limited, so it will break after prolonged use. It's not a powerful item. It's mass-produced, but the maker's skill is impressive. Even with cheap materials and minimal effort, it's well-made."
"Hmm."
Azadin clicked his tongue at the explanation.
"Well, considering it's made of bone and was found in the possession of a servant of the Kurt Divine Clan, we can confirm that it's their creation."
"Yes?"
"No, never mind. I'll keep it."
Most likely, the ogres who had carried this wand were tracking the copy of the True Book of the Divine King that Azadin possessed.
If he told Midiam and Ishmael about the wand's function, they would undoubtedly want to test it. If they did, the wand would point directly to the page of the Book of the Divine King in Azadin's possession.
'There's no need for them to know that I have a page of the Book of the Divine King. But if I do… I'll keep being pursued.'
More pursuers would come. He needed to act quickly.
"We must reach Salasma as soon as possible."
"Shall we leave now?"
"No. We'll eat and prepare before setting out."
Though time was of the essence, he had already destroyed one vanguard composed of ogres and goblins, and he had retrieved the bone wand from the mercenaries. There was no need to rush without a proper meal and preparation.
Furthermore, if one of the mercenaries knows how to use this bone wand… they'll definitely take action once they realize it's gone.
'If I keep a reasonable distance and follow them, I might get to see something interesting.'
***
"Are you kidding me, you bastards!"
Tarkiev was furious. High-value items like silver candlesticks and silver plates had disappeared, yet the mercenaries insisted they were innocent.
"You hid them somewhere to retrieve them later, didn't you! You bastards! And you still dare to—"
"It's not true!"
"We were really ambushed. Look at this."
The mercenaries who had been standing guard last night expressed their frustration as they showed him their necks. Clear handprints were imprinted on them, but Tarkiev ignored the marks.
"Your arms and legs weren't cut off, and those marks could be easily faked! And now you're telling me some unseen thief infiltrated a heavily armed group of mercenaries, knocked out the sentries with bare hands instead of a poison-laced dagger, and made off with our loot?"
"Well, that's—"
"Y-yes, that does sound strange."
At that moment, the mercenary captain clicked his tongue.
"In addition to the silverware, we're also missing arrowheads and some grain."
"Grain?"
"Yes. And… one of my belongings is gone, too. But judging by the situation, this wasn't the work of an ordinary thief."
Tarkiev wasn't a fool. Whether the captain was telling the truth or not wasn't the issue.
The problem was the captain's emotions. If he felt insulted, the mercenaries would turn on Tarkiev in an instant.
'I guess I'll have to leave it at this.'
He didn't know who had stolen the spoils, but if he kept pushing the mercenaries, they might rebel.
"Tch, fine. Let's say it was an ambush. As punishment, I'll cut the wages of those who were on guard duty. That should be enough, right?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
The mercenaries whose salaries were cut had a look of discontent on their faces, but there wasn't much they could do against a noble's illegitimate son.
"Hmm."
However, the mercenary captain, who wasn't affected by the wage cut, seemed displeased.
"Disciplining my subordinates for failing to keep watch is fine. But the problem is the item I lost."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Hahaha. I can't tell you."
The captain let out a hearty laugh.
"Really? Then it must not be anything important."
"On the contrary, it is. I suspect the thief will head to a nearby village. Could you, Sir Tarkiev, commandeer that village for us under your authority?"
"What? Wait, the closest village is the postal village we passed earlier, isn't it? A village with a postal station is off-limits."
Farms or frontier villages could be wiped off the map and easily pillaged, but villages with strategic locations, like a postal station or a border checkpoint, couldn't be touched. Such locations were marked on the king's map and strictly managed by lords.
The eastern gate village they raided a few days ago had a gate, but it wasn't officially marked on the king's map since it wasn't a border checkpoint but rather a gate on a road leading into wasteland, making it fair game for looting.
"It doesn't matter. Even if you don't agree, I'll raid it under your name."
"What? Wait, what do you mean?"
Tarkiev looked puzzled at the strange statement from the mercenary captain.
Just then—
Thud!
The captain drew a dagger and stabbed Tarkiev in the lower abdomen.
"Ugh?!"
"Captain?!"
The mercenaries were shocked by the sudden act of insubordination. Their leader had just stabbed their employer in the gut?
"What, what are you doing?!"
"Don't worry. This is… a dagger gifted by a witch."
"Huh?"
Tarkiev was startled. He had felt the sting in his abdomen, but there was no blood, and no visible wound.
The dagger embedded in his stomach transformed into a bizarre spider and—
Click-click-click!
It scurried inside his abdomen.
"Ahh?!"
"Did you see that?"
"A spider!"
"As you can see," the captain smiled, staring at Tarkiev.
"It's harmless for now. Isn't that right?"
"You, what did you do—"
Tarkiev drew his sword in rage.
Despite being a noble's illegitimate son, Tarkiev had enough wealth to hire a large mercenary band and had received proper sword training since childhood. His skills were nothing to scoff at, even among seasoned mercenaries. But the fight never even began.
"You'd best stay still."
The captain whistled.
"Argh?!"
Suddenly, an excruciating pain tore through Tarkiev's abdomen, forcing him to collapse forward. His sword fell from his hand and rolled across the ground.
"Now, now, calm down."
"T-this…."
Sweat poured down Tarkiev's face. Despite being fine when stabbed, the pain now had him trembling and pale.
"The spider in your stomach just gave you a little bite."
"What?"
"If you don't cooperate, it will lay eggs inside you. Oh, I once saw what happened to someone who died from that—it was horrific. Even I have to drink myself to sleep to forget that sight."
"Y-you stabbed me and now you're acting like it's not your fault? And what is this? What kind of magic is this? Is it the magic of the Kurt Divine Clan, since it involves spiders?"
"I don't know. I just got it from a passing witch."
"Y-you're spewing nonsense!"
"Now, now, watch your words."
The captain whistled again.
"Arrghhh!"
Tarkiev trembled and writhed on the ground.