Sword Pilgrim-Chapter 126
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Chapter 126
A few minutes ago.
Gabor.
A small rural town whose like could be found everywhere on the outskirts of the civilization.
The residents made a living by logging, farming, and hunting.
Just like any other ordinary town.
But its location at the border between the empire and the principality, and the fact that there were huge forests and swamps nearby â
â Meant this was a gathering place for many mercenaries and vagrants.
After entering Gabor, Callius quickly went to a tavern and ordered food to satisfy his hunger.
Although the menu only comprised on salads and stews.
He wanted a lamb steak, but that kind of food couldnât be found anywhere in this small town.
Although the townspeople did raise a few sheep here and there, all you could buy was venison.
Callius was in no position to be picky, so he just made his order and sat waiting quietly.
âHey there, Bro.â
As always, annoyances who didnât even know their place came to bother him.
To be honest, he was a little nervous in case somebody recognized him as that Devil of Lust or something, but it was a bother either way.
âOrdering venison steak? You must be loaded.â
âAre you a pilgrim, Bro? Looks at this fancy white robe. Are you showing off your money?â
âHow about making a donation? Kahaha!â
Three baldies. Two shaggy-looking. Five in total.
And those who were just watching from the sidelinesâŠ
âAbout fourteen or so.â
Callius pondered.
Apparently he had no choice but to finish his meal while enduring the smell of blood.
âHey, are you ignoring me?â
A vagrant was approaching with a spear in hand.
âHaah.â
Callius wrestled away the spear and threw it away.
Crunch!
It pierced through the vagrantâs heart without even giving him a chance to scream, then broke through the tavern wall and disappeared in the distance. One baldie down.
Thud.
There was silence in the tavern as the corpse dropped to the floor.
But that only lasted a moment.
âThis bastard!â
They came all at once.
He couldnât use a sword in this place and risk discovery.
So Callius took out the mace heâd taken off a soldier from subspace.
Or rather, a morning star.
A blunt-headed weapon with pointed thorns.
He swung it in an elegant arc.
Crunch! Crack! Puff! Thud!
Blood and brains scattered everywhere.
The heads of the rest of the five whoâd jumped in â two baldies and two shaggy-looking men â burst like ripe melons in an instant.
It was an attack that went beyond cruelty.
The vagrants who were about to stand up and rush in stiffened like stone.
But Callius had no intention of letting them go. The ones whoâd shown even a speck of killing intent were struck like a thunderbolt and blown away.
The essence of fighting a crowd is momentum.
You have to take the lead and make a few examples to cow everybody else.
So, after a while â
âHereâs your food.â
ââŠâ
The tavern owner put the food down without even blinking an eye at the grisly sight of the corpses.
The man didnât seem even remotely bothered, so he probably had some skills of his own.
Callius put down the morning star and took out a knife and a fork.
He started with the soup and salads.
Then he finished the stew. Finally, he began to elegantly slice up the venison steak and eat it in neat bites.
It smelled a little fishy, but it could still be eaten.
âIâd say about three out of ten.â
It reminded him of the roasted earth dragon heâd eaten in the North. The dish had been good enough to achieve a score which shouldâve been unthinkable for someone of Calliusâ picky palate.
Itâd scored a jaw-dropping eight out of ten.
In comparison, the venison steak at this Jaw Dropping Tavern â
Usually Callius wouldnât have eaten it even if he were paid to, but he was helpless right now.
The food heâd kept in subspace had to be conserved for unexpected situations.
âThe stew is a little better, I suppose.â
About four points, if he had to grade it.
Rattle.
As he was tasting the food, the gatekeeper heâd met earlier appeared, putting down some money on the table, and tried to leave.
Callius tilted his head, but soon understood.
âGuyâs got a conscience.â
Heâd probably ripped Callius off at the city gates.
Now the man was terrified after seeing whatâd happened to the gangsters whoâd tried to hassle him. Callius didnât much care, but he didnât like the thought of simply letting him go back.
âHey.â
âYes?â
âHere, clean this place up.â
âAh⊠me?â
ââŠâ
âI, Iâll clean it up! Happy to clean it up. Haha!â
The gatekeeper began to clean up the room in a hurry, but Calliusâ attention was caught by two newcomers, both clad in robes, approaching him from the front.
âI smell iron.â
And the smell of flowers and grass.
Perhaps because his sense of smell had become very sensitive to flesh and blood, he could smell the former more clearly.
Genos from the Gradas family wouldâve been able to make a more accurate judgment here, but Callius was a Jervain and didnât have the Gradasâ nose.
So he couldnât be completely certain.
They were the ones approaching him, so he decided to sit back and watch the situation unfold.
âMay we sit?â
âAs you like.â
Thud.
The short man sat down roughly enough to make the chair creak, and the one standing next to him took a seat much more carefully.
Calliusâ doubts were solidifying into certainty.
âBoss! A beer, here! What about you two?â
âSome wine might be nice.â
âFlower wine[1] for me.â
âSome wine and flower wine too, Boss! And some food!â
Their food and drinks quickly arrived at the table.
The short-statured man with a hoarse voice quickly dug in with his big, broad hands.
The other ate the salad and stew, and drank the flower wine straight from the bottle with her slender hands.
Callius took the Holy Grail of the Defeated God from his bosom and used it as a cup for his own drink.
After they were satiated, they put down their food and drinks and started talking.
âThank you for the delicious meal! You have our gratitude. Iâm called Aldo. This is Serena.â
âI am Serena. Hello.â
â⊠Call me Callis.â
âSo the food and drinks were on me?â Callius thought, feeling quite upset.
He couldnât help but wonder if these two were beggars too, but he still had to hear their story first.
After a small silence, Aldo looked at Callius with an interested gaze and spoke.
âYou arenât from the principality, right?â
It was a sudden, sharp question.
Callius was surprised for a moment, but didnât outwardly react.
âHow ridiculous. Youâre telling a pilgrim from the principality that he isnât from there? Is this rudeness how you repay my favour to you?â
But although Callius tried to play it off by pretending to be angry, Aldoâs mouth hidden under his bushy beard curved up in a grin.
âThereâs no need to act like that. I have a lot of experience dealing with people from the principality. Your mace doesnât contain the viciousness thatâs typical of them. Callis, if you were really a pilgrim from the principality, the people who attacked you wouldnât have gotten away with just some broken ribs. Their whole bodies wouldâve been crushed to paste.â
Serena also nodded in agreement while she was gulping down wine from the bottle.
âBecause thatâs just how the principality is.â
ââŠâ
Callius didnât have any retorts.
Heâd truly overlooked this fact.
Or rather, his experience with the people of the mace had been lacking.
While Callius was silent, Aldo stroked his beard that was hanging down outside his hood in a confident manner.
âWell then, now the question is, why are you carrying a mace and pretending to be from the principality? Because youâre from the empire? No way. Why would an imperial go to all that trouble? Simply put, youâre neither from empire nor the principality.â
âHmm. Then whatâs your answer?â
âYour skills have surpassed a certain level. Be it power or speed. Both are top class and have a sense of elegance.â
The answer was already quite satisfactory.
âI do like those words: class and elegance.â
Aldo didnât mention anything about dignity, but Callius took him to mean that his attacks looked dignified.
âHow you held the knife in your hand and the way you sliced the meat were also unusual. You must be a pilgrim of the sword.â
That was a pretty incisive deduction.
Callius was inwardly startled.
Because he hadnât expected this guy to have such insight.
Aldo had merely observed some small clues and from there reached the correct answer.
Wasnât this fun?
But Callius wasnât going to just honestly admit it.
Because there were gaps in the reasoning.
âWell, who knows. Maybe I serve the axe or the scythe? Or even somebody else?â
âHaha, on the contrary, that might be even better for us. Apart from the spear and the mace, weâll welcome anybody else.â
âTch.â
It was his loss.
Aldo chuckled, while Serena called for another bottle of wine in a low voice.
His origin had been revealed, but Callius didnât feel broken up about it.
âWould you like to work with us?â
âMeaning?â
âAs you can see, weâre pilgrims too. Just like you. Since youâre passing through here, you must be heading to the Holy Land, right?â
âYeah.â
âHaving the company of an expert like you must be a blessing from God. Why not travel together? Weâre all in the same boat anyway, and I think youâve also figured out our identities by now.â
That was true.
Aldo used a hammer, and Serena a bow.
Although it was a rare combination, having these two work together.
One was a dwarf, and the other an elf.
Except for the spear and mace served by the empire and the principality, an alliance of two nations which currently had the greatest influence on the continent, there was no great hostility between the pilgrims of the other powers.
Even now, it was a common sight on the continent for pilgrims of different armaments to accompany each other for a while on the path of pilgrimage.
But â
âDo I need to do that?â
Why had he left behind all his knights and followers back in Carpe in the first place?
Because Callius was now on a pilgrimage alone to carry out his own faith and his own justice.
If that sounded a bit pretentious, letâs say he felt more comfortable travelling alone because he was thinking of touring the whole continent.
His maniac trait had also disappeared, so there was no issue travelling alone.
âIf youâre asking me just because you want company along the way to the Holy Land, I must refuse.â
âHmm⊠The reason being?â
âBecause a bigger party brings more harm than good.â
Of course, that was a superficial reason.
Callius actually knew them.
So he wanted to draw out the core truth behind why they were trying to rope him into joining them.
âIf I remember correctly, theyâll one day be called the Heroes of the Continent.â
Of course, that was six more years from now.
To be honest, there was nothing wrong with making friends with them.
They might be mere pilgrims now, but their potential was that high.
So he was curious.
Why would these two, both top-class among pilgrims in power, ask him to accompany them?
Why did they need more power?
Since many routes had already changed compared to the game, heâd better watch his step[2].
âHmmâŠâ
Aldo gulped and looked at Serena, but she only kept silently drinking her flower wine.
He looked perplexed, as if he hadnât thought that Callius would refuse so firmly.
While Callius was pondering over a way to pry open their mouths, Aldo once again started talking.
âActually, we have another colleague.â
âOh? And?â
âHeâs why we want your help. Heâs in trouble.â
At Aldoâs words, Calliusâ face darkened.
A deep and dark forest.
Those gathered there pitifully looked at the sky, relying only on the moonlight.
Their bodies were covered with scales, and horns sprouted from their heads.
Their eyes were like those of a reptile, and each held a spear in their hand.
âWe are descendants of the dragons.
âBut we are lost.
âOur believers, our holy books. Even the lands of our forefathers!â
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The audience thumped the ground with the shafts their spears as if in sympathy.
âHow long must we hide under the moonlight?
âHow long must our spears only aim at the distant heavens and the earth beneath our feet! f(r)eenovelkiss
âWeâŠ!â
Why!
âWhy canât we stand proud!!â
Boom! Boom! Boom!
âWe have the right to take back what was stolen from us!â
âWhy should the descendants of dragons have to live in such a shabby place!â
âLetâs just take up our spears and attack!â
âThe decision will be made in a week!â
âBrothers, letâs take back what was stolen from us!â
Boom! Boom! Boom!
âLetâs get our lives back!!â
Boom! Boom! Boom!
âLetâs show the power of the dragonkin to the unscrupulous empire!!â
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the midst of a tribe of dragonkin who were desperate to throw away their lives, one looked at the goings-on with pitiful eyes.
He was a companion of Aldo and Serena, and a pilgrim of Lactus whoâd been appointed as the new chieftain of the dragonkin tribe.
A tribe of fugitives, despite the fact that they were born with the power of the strongest of creatures, the dragons.
âThe old codgers are making a fuss because they all want to die. I want to live⊠But how do I escape?â
His name was Philomatour.
Also called, Philo âCut Tail[3]â.
Editorâs Notes:
[1] ?? (hwaju), flower wine. Rice wine infused with hydrangea and chrysanthemum flowers.
[2] ???? ???? ??? (lit. knock on the stone bridge before crossing). To watch your step.
[3] ?? ??? (lit. cutting the tail). Very similar to the English phrase âcut your tail and runâ i.e. remove yourself from a messy situation and escape.
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