Chapter 18: War, war never changes

Having not killed the bandits but only incapacitated them, we both left the site of the battle and moved elsewhere.

Staying there would risk the bandits’ reinforcements arriving, or something else happening.

After putting some distance between us and the site, she let out a rough breath as if finally relieved.

Even someone with that level of skill seems to get tired if they move around like that after a fight.

But why don’t I feel tired yet?

She must have put in a lot of effort to handle those swords, so the period of training must have been considerable… Ah, is it perhaps due to the difference in species?

If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.

No matter how hard you try, you can’t overcome the difference in species.

…No, maybe not.

This place is different from the world I used to live in, so perhaps things that couldn’t happen there might be possible here.

Well, such things aren’t really important now, so let’s look into them later.

Having composed herself, she approached me.

Is she planning to ask about what I said I’d tell her after the fight?

I made a promise, so I have no choice.

However, what she said when she opened her mouth was different from what I expected.

“Thank you for your help. I am Zan Irelia.”

To reveal her name first to me, who suddenly jumped in and did something that could be considered meddling, this girl has a very generous heart.

In my heart, I wanted to do the ‘Geuranjeol’ (possible), which my friend told me was the most polite greeting, but since I was carrying Set, I decided to just give a simple greeting.

“No, you’re very welcome. Rather, I wonder if I interfered unnecessarily. You can just call me Set’s mom. If you don’t like that, you can call me something else.”

“Then I’ll just call you ‘you’. I don’t really know what else to call you.”

As she said that, Irelia gathered the swords floating around her and put them one by one into what looked like a scabbard.

Having weapons like that seems inconvenient.

I was glad that I didn’t need a separate weapon, so I didn’t have to carry around supplies to manage such items.

But why did the bandits attack her when they saw that equipment?

There’s no way an ordinary girl would have such weapons.

Thinking that there might be another reason why she was attacked, I asked her a question.

“Excuse me, but if you don’t mind, could you tell me why they attacked you? I don’t think they would have attacked you without any reason.”

She was silent for a moment after hearing my words.

Just when I thought I had made a mistake, she opened her mouth and answered my question.

“They asked me to take charge of Navori. When I refused, they surrounded me and tried to harm me. That’s when you jumped in.”

“Is there a reason why you didn’t accept their offer? Is it because they’re bandits?”

If they came to ask her to lead them, that means there’s something they agree on, but the fact that she still refused means there must be another reason, so I asked.

She was lost in thought for a moment before saying.

“Of course, if they moved according to my words, there would be many things I could do. But at the same time, I would be tied to that place. Separately from that, one of the reasons is that I can no longer tarnish my family’s honor.”

There was sadness in her eyes as she said those words.

Surely she too must have lost many things due to the war.

Family, home, things like tradition or honor.

War has always been like that.

In the past, and in the present, it erases and creates many things.

After saying that, she approached Set, who was behind me.

I was wary, but realizing that she had no ill intentions, I let her be.

Approaching Set, she looked at him and gently stroked his head with one hand.

It seemed that Set was to her liking.

After taking her hand away from Set, she left, leaving only the words that she wished Set a bright future.

She seemed to have something to do after this, as she hurried away.

Ah, come to think of it, I was in the middle of a delivery.

I hope the goods weren’t damaged during the battle?

Thinking that I should move quickly before it’s too late, I hurriedly ran down the remaining mountain path.

When I arrived at the theater, thankfully I wasn’t late, and the recipient greeted me with a smile.

I was glad that she wouldn’t cut the delivery fee because I was late.

The recipient (who appeared to be a woman who had just become an adult) received the item I handed over and said with gratitude.

“Thank you so much for bringing this! It was a really important item for today’s performance! I would have been in a situation where I couldn’t do anything.”

“That’s really fortunate. But what is that item that you said was so important? Could you tell me?”

Seeing that she emphasized that it was an important item, I thought it must be a prop related to the protagonist, so I became curious about what the item looked like and asked.

Then, she unwrapped the item I handed over and showed me what it was.

The item was two masks – one in the form of a lamb and one in the form of a wolf.

Lamb and wolf, I’ve heard of them.

Surely they were the ones who hunt to take the dead to the world of souls.

The appearances passed down in each region are different, but they all call the two of them by one name.

The lamb who sends those who accept death quickly and painlessly with an arrow, the wolf who bites and savagely hunts those who run away.

Kindred, the Eternal Hunters, that was the name they were called.