Ten days had passed.

"Haaam..."

The escort was proceeding peacefully.

So much so that I was yawning from boredom.

I suddenly looked back and saw a long line of large freight wagons stretching far into the distance.

It was a magnificent sight, if you could call it that.

I turned my head and looked forward again.

As we headed west, the forests gradually decreased, and now plains were the main feature.

Low hills rose and fell, and the warm late autumn sunlight was gently seeping over them. The shadows cast by them were pleasing to the eye.

I chuckled, thinking that the hills that went in and out looked like the belly fat of the earth.

[...You pathetic fool.]

But even the Heavenly Demon, who said that, had a faint smile on his lips.

—But where are we going?

—You fool, we're going towards the setting sun.

—Who doesn't know that?

—I'm sleepy...

Although I was on the roof of a large freight wagon, I was not alone.

Perhaps because they were bored, some of the spirits that had been following Hud had come along.

These guys were either fighting in front of me, sleeping with their heads on my lap, or climbing on my shoulders and chattering in my ear, asking for a contract.

They were bothering me in many ways.

When the mad Linda left, this time it was the distracting spirits.

"Get away, you annoying spirits. Get away!"

—Waaaa!

—Run away!

I'm not even surprised anymore.

The spirits, who seemed to think of it as a game, giggled and ran away somewhere.

They'll play around somewhere and then come back and hang around again.

But for a while, there will be peace.

After driving away the spirits, I decided to train for a while.

Even though I'm on a mission, I'm a training addict who can't miss a single moment of training.

Naturally, as the general manager of this long carriage procession, my shoulders are heavy.

As my shoulders are heavy, I can't do energy circulation.

Instead, I decided to play with the two opposing energies.

And if a brilliant inspiration comes to me, it would be great to create one or two ultimate skills.

I created the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art and gently put the energy of the Snow Branch and the Blue Flame in my left and right hands, respectively.

Saaa— Fwoosh—

My left hand, scattering a pure white chill, and my right hand, with a blue flame flickering.

After rising to the seventh stage, its power had become even stronger.

If I bring these two close to each other...

Woooong!

They repel each other with extreme force.

If I force them together with strength, they will spin around, pushing each other like mortal enemies, and then... finally, bang! they will explode with a sound like the sky is turning upside down.

I had confirmed its power before.

The destructive power to destroy that hard city wall at once with a much weaker energy than now.

The downside was that I was almost destroyed along with it.

[That explosion, so to speak, is a side effect of immaturity. It's the result of not being able to perfectly control the two energies. I didn't expect you to create an ultimate skill with it.]

As the Heavenly Demon said, the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art was not a martial art that was intended to explode in the first place.

As the name of the martial art suggests, it is a blue flame that wraps around a white tree branch covered in snow like a snake.

In other words, it is a martial art that focuses on swordsmanship.

I just went off on a tangent and did something strange that even the Heavenly Demon didn't expect.

'A blue flame that wraps around a white tree branch covered in snow like a snake...'

Although it's a figurative expression, the Heavenly Demon's martial arts have a rather intuitive aspect.

It literally means to freeze the sword body white and then wrap it with a blue flame.

[Correct.]

The Heavenly Demon affirmed.

But how am I supposed to mix these guys, who have such a strong repulsive force, together without them exploding?

It seemed impossible to me.

Like I have to make water burn.

Like I have to make fire flow.

It seemed like an impossible task.

[You must overcome this to reach the eighth stage, and only then can you truly be called the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art.]

"Ugh."

I can't understand it at all.

But if the Heavenly Demon says so, I have no choice but to follow.

It's not impossible.

I'm just lacking.

If the Heavenly Demon says so, then it is so.

Who dares to question the words of a master like the sky?

[Who else but you?]

Come to think of it, I was the only one who could communicate with the Heavenly Demon.

Because he's stuffed in my head.

'Hmm. I have nothing to say.'

Since I had nothing to say, I focused on the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art.

So, according to the Heavenly Demon, I have to combine these two.

But I have to combine them without them exploding.

'How?'

I looked at the two energies that were still pushing each other away.

I have to somehow overcome this enormous repulsive force...

If it explodes, it will be troublesome, so I reduced the energy to the maximum and held it in my palm, and then I carefully brought the two together.

But even with a very small amount of energy, they pushed each other away and went crazy.

"Ugh...!"

I tried to somehow combine them by gently soothing them, but just before they spun around and exploded, I absorbed them back into my body.

"Huu..."

It's difficult.

It's incredibly difficult.

I can't see any way to overcome it.

But as difficult as it is, if I succeed, there will be a corresponding sense of accomplishment. And a reward, of course.

I'm excited to see how much stronger I can become.

In the world, there are easy things and damn difficult things.

If you do easy things, there's no particular sense of accomplishment.

Just like you don't feel a sense of accomplishment every time you drink water or eat a meal.

On the other hand, difficult things are as difficult to achieve as they are, and when you succeed, there is a corresponding sense of accomplishment and a satisfying result.

Then what we want is a damn difficult thing.

Isn't it?

[Stop talking nonsense and just train.]

"Yes."

After that, I tried to combine the two energies several times, and then I lay down on the roof of the carriage and thought about a new ultimate skill for a while.

And then I got on the back of one of the spirits that had come back and was hanging around, and jumped off the carriage.

The one I got on was a deer with cool horns, and when I got on its back, it was so excited that it didn't know what to do.

—Shall we run? Shall we run right now? Shall we run through that wide meadow to our heart's content?

"Just stay still."

As I was calming the guy down, Camus, who was riding a horse next to me, looked at me.

He was in charge of the first and second carriages.

"Huh... it's amazing every time I see it. Is that a spirit?"

"Of course. It's not a ghost."

It seems that to other people, it looks like I'm floating in the air.

"I'll go and take a look around. Just keep going like this."

Camus nodded.

"Don't worry about the leader, just go on patrol."

I gently soothed the excited deer and then headed back.

"You brat. Just calm down and let's go back."

—Alright!

While everyone was moving forward, I was heading back alone.

The procession of twenty carriages was continuing to advance.

Even if I just stood still, I would naturally fall behind, so there was no need to hurry.

It was one of my routines.

As the general manager, I would go all the way to the back to check if there were any problems.

And if there were no problems, I would go on patrol around the area.

Come to think of it, it was like I was looking for trouble.

It's probably not a big mistake.

What can I do if I'm bored?

So far, all that had happened was a few stupid D-rank magical beasts ramming into us.

Of course, it was handled by the other mercenaries without Sherwood having to step in.

There was also a C-rank magical beast that I found while on patrol, but it was cut down by my hand.

I slowly went back, riding on the back of the prancing deer.

Surprisingly, the deer's ride was not bad.

I slowly headed back... and then I approached the man in charge of the third and fourth carriages and asked him to accompany me.

"Arthur."

"Leader, did you call?"

A blunt man with a wide-brimmed hat looked at me with a blunt face.

I pointed to the back and said.

"I'm going to take a look around, let's go together."

"Alright."

Arthur immediately turned his horse and began to go back with me.

Naturally, the carriages that Arthur had been in charge of were taken over by the mercenaries in front and behind, filling the empty space.

The man named Arthur was a companion of Camus, and as befits his deep voice, he was a man of few words.

So he was the opposite of Camus.

A man who tells stories well and a man who listens well.

Is that why they became companions?

I quite liked him because he was a man of heavy words and actions.

His voice was extremely serious, and his well-groomed beard reminded me of Fluffy.

Is that why I felt a sense of familiarity? I couldn't figure out the reason because I didn't know my own heart clearly.

I often called Arthur out and went on patrol with him like this.

Although he wasn't very talkative, for some reason, I felt reassured and comfortable when he was next to me.

He was a man with a strange charm.

I talked with Arthur as we slowly headed back, receiving reports from the mercenaries in charge of each carriage.

The reporting system was simple.

As I slowly went back and made eye contact with the guys, they would be walking next to the carriage on their horses and would send a look or a nod, or acknowledge me in their own way.

That meant 'no problem', and if there was a problem, they would open their mouths and say something else.

For the most part, the reports were a series of 'no problems'.

As I was receiving the reports from the mercenaries and heading back, I had a chat with Arthur.

"How far have we come?"

"I think we've come about half way."

"Is that so."

It feels like a lot of time has passed.

Have we only come half way, or have we come half way already?

Since I'm a positive man, I decided to focus on the fact that we had come half way.

"We've already come half way."

"That's right."

"By the way, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"How did you end up in Milestone?"

Arthur answered in a dry tone.

"It's nothing special. I just drifted here in search of work."

At that moment, as we had gone back about half of the procession, I heard Linda's cheerful voice.

"Devil!"

I waved my hand at Linda, who was waving her hands from the roof, and then I passed by.

Arthur said.

"I also have a question, may I ask?"

It was the first time Arthur had asked a question first, so I was a little surprised.

So far, all he had done was answer questions concisely.

But I didn't show my surprise and answered solemnly. Because I am the leader.

"I permit it."

"I heard that the leader came from a foreign country, is that right?"

"Did you hear that from Camus?"

"That's right."

"That's right."

Arthur asked in a slightly cautious tone.

"Are you perhaps looking for the old members of Sherwood?"

"That's right. Do you have anything to report?"

Arthur reported in a low voice.

"I heard that the two-faced magic swordsman is beating up magical beasts in the north."

A sigh escaped me automatically.

"...Everyone knows about that guy."

"Ah, you knew?"

"That's right. That guy gets reports from all over even if he just stays still."

"Ah..."

"I'm planning on going to get that crazy guy when he calms down a bit."

"...I see."

Arthur cleared his throat, as if he were a little embarrassed.

"Anything else to ask?"

"...No."

His voice was lower than ever.

I looked at Arthur's blunt side profile for a moment and then turned my gaze forward.

And then, when we had reached the back of the procession.

"Father!!"

Suddenly, a piercing scream pierced my ears.

I immediately raised one hand.

"Halt for a moment!"

After stopping the procession, I hurried the horse—no, the deer to the place where the scream had come from.

Schmitt, who had been in charge of the rear, was already on the driver's seat, checking the condition of a man.

He was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his late 50s, and he had his eyes rolled back and was lying on his side, foaming at the mouth.

I immediately shouted at the front with a voice full of internal energy.

"Linda!!"

The next moment, Linda arrived, jumping on the carriages.

"You called?"

I pointed at the fallen man.

"We have a patient."

Linda immediately jumped down to the driver's seat.

Linda, who had received the patient from Schmitt, immediately took out a sharp needle and stuck it in the back of the man's neck, and then she checked the patient's condition by opening his eyes up and down.

In the meantime, Schmitt got off the driver's seat and shook his head slightly at me.

It meant he was already dead.

"...Hmm."

I swallowed a groan.

'Linda can't not know that.'

Then is she pretending to treat him to comfort the woman who was left alone?

Has our Linda, who doesn't give a damn about others' feelings, finally learned some manners after being among people?

"Oh, what. He's already dead."

No.

Linda took out the needle she had stuck in the back of his neck and said to me.

"Devil! He's already dead!"

The face of the woman who had lost her father was distorted with grief.

I secretly sighed.

...I didn't expect the first death to be like this.

(End of Chapter)