ALL NOVEL Chapter 165
165. In Dangerous Places, There Are Dangerous Men, Isn’t It?
“This makes it the third ruin.”
We were walking through a deserted city-state where no one remained. Including the first ruin we found, this made three confirmed destroyed city-states. Camille and Jitaro, who had been scouting the surroundings, returned.
“The timing of their destruction is gradually becoming more recent.”
“The first town probably fell about three months ago, and this one about two months back.”
Even the ever-cheerful Jitaro spoke with a somber tone. It was hard not to, given how every place we visited ended up like this. Kyle, who had been staring intently at human bones, suddenly brightened up as if to change the mood.
“Our ultimate destination is the Mizuho Divine Nation. Let’s stay focused and keep moving forward!”
“Yeah!!!”
We did not stop walking. Fortunately, there was a path—primitive as it was—connecting the city-states, so our pace from the first city-state had been quick. Though the route was winding, bypassing mountains and valleys, it was far better than missing any towns. Thanks to Jitaro’s navigation, we followed even faint trails without losing our way and soon sighted the next city-state.
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“Something seems off here.”
“No monsters…?”
Camille squinted cautiously at the city walls.
“So there are still people living here!”
I cried out with hope, but Camille shook her head.
“Probably not… I can’t say for sure from here… But I don’t sense any significant human presence.”
“I see.”
Even from afar, the crumbling walls were evident.
“Hey… look at that!”
“Smoke.”
Jitaro and Camille pointed to the same spot simultaneously. Using farsight magic, I saw a thin column of white smoke rising feebly toward the sky. It hadn’t been there earlier. Someone was likely making a fire.
“All right, Raidoc. Let’s send someone ahead to assess the sit—”
“No!”
The voice that interrupted me was Mina’s. Ignoring our surprised expressions, she pleaded with a pained look.
“There could be people being attacked by monsters. We… have to help them.”
Her gaze was resolute. Perhaps memories of fleeing from the Hydra lingered within her.
“But…”
Raidoc hesitated, but Kyle made up his mind.
“No, Mina is right. Besides, if there are survivors, we can learn more. Waiting too long could mean those people get attacked. Raidoc.”
Raidoc furrowed his brow deeply but then steeled his expression.
“Understood. Camille and I will scout ahead! The rest of you, keep your guard up and follow from a slight distance, keeping Kyle and Mina at the center!”
“Got it!!!”
Once a decision was made, we acted immediately. Our coordination was seamless. Like a blue lightning bolt, Raidoc sprinted ahead, with Camille trailing him like a shadow.
We followed closely, surrounding Kyle and Mina. Though I expected at least a few monsters, not even a single goblin appeared. Only rubble stood in our way as we quickly reached the source of the smoke.
As anticipated, it was a campfire. Beside it, a man was roasting meat. He stared wide-eyed at us as we rushed toward him. Raidoc, leading the charge, came to a sudden stop and scanned the area cautiously.
“Hey, you! Are you all right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
As we caught up, we too kept an eye out, but there was no sign of anyone else. The man appeared to be around my age, wearing what seemed to be high-quality light armor. He had a gloved left hand, much like a noble, though whether it bore a crest was unclear. And he was handsome.
The young man spoke, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Who are you people? You’re not Mizuho samurai, are you?”
“Samurai?”
“Don’t you know? The soldiers of the Mizuho Divine Nation.”
Realizing we could communicate, the man’s tone relaxed, accompanied by a casual shrug. Something about him was irritatingly polished.
Raidoc shot me a look, clearly signaling it was my turn to handle things. Typical, leaving me to do all the talking! As party leader, he really should step up, but I walked up to the man regardless.
“We’re an envoy from the Maugarian Kingdom heading to the Mizuho Divine Nation. I’m Craft Walken, the envoy’s… negotiator, I guess.”
It wouldn’t do to present Kyle right away, so negotiations like these usually fell to me.
“I see. I’m Lucas Lindblum, an imperial adventurer. But more importantly…”
“What is it?”
“Would you mind if I had a chat with those lovely ladies over there?”
“…Huh?”
“Come on! To find such beauties gathered here must be fate! Young lady! May I have your name?”
Lucas, the handsome man, knelt before Marilyn, his gaze firmly fixed on her ample bosom. What a dangerous man! Though, I understood the feeling.
“Craft?”
For some reason, Eva glared at me with icy eyes. Wait, what?! I’m not the one to blame here!
“Ah, Lucas, would you mind stopping the jokes?”
“Joking? I wasn’t.”
“That makes it worse!”
Thus, we met the adventurer Lucas. Though, what a troublesome guy he turned out to be.
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Later, we sat and listened to Lucas’s story. Introductions were already done, and the look on his face when he learned Kyle was the lord was priceless. Served him right. Now, Lucas was eating heartily at a table we’d set up.
“Seriously, this food is amazing! Ryuuko, make me soup every morning!”
“That privilege belongs exclusively to my master, unless commanded otherwise.”
After a polite bow, she turned to me.
“Wait… Master? I thought you were Kyle’s maid.”
“Ryuuko’s my maid. She’s exceptionally skilled at everything, so I brought her along this time.”
“You bastard! How much sinning does it take to get a maid this beautiful?!”
No one seemed to notice or care about Ryuuko’s slit-pupiled eyes, like a cat’s. Well, maybe they didn’t care.
“Ah, stop derailing everything! To summarize, Lucas is a ranger from the Empire, who came here as a migrant adventurer. Unfortunately, every city he visited was destroyed by stampedes, making him a bit of an unlucky guy.”
Apparently, Lucas had traveled slightly ahead of us, through the same cities we visited. The faint trails between the cities likely remained due to a few people escaping.
“Exactly! I came to raise my banner here, but every place I visited got overrun by monster hordes! Marilyn, comfort me!”
“Nope!”
“Ah, that icy demeanor is charming too!”
I considered bashing his skull in.
“And now, the country we’re in fell about a week ago. You said you returned here for a reason, right?”
“Yeah, I was running low on travel funds.”
“A looter, seriously?”
“Haha! I prefer ‘enterprising opportunist’!”
“Not a compliment!”
Clearly, he was a shrewd operator.