Chapter 101

Bremen’s party was startled and frightened when Ricard and Marie suddenly came after them.

They knew he was a decent person, but there was no helping their fear of someone who could cut off a man’s head with a staff.

Why was he following them? Had they done something wrong? Had he decided he wanted their cattle after all? All sorts of thoughts ran through their heads.

Everyone looked to Bremen, wondering what to do. If they were going to run, they needed to do it quickly.

Bremen came back from the head of the column and called out. His voice trembled a little, too.

“W-what is it?”

From a distance, Ricard raised his staff reassuringly. Marie waved in greeting.

Their intention to do no harm came across clearly, but the travelers were still afraid. Ricard was carrying a sword they had not seen before.

At last, he drew near and addressed Bremen. In his left hand was a sword wrapped in cloth.

“I’m heading to the eastern expeditionary front—no, the frontier, too. Would you mind if we came along?”

“... Hmm? Why? No, no, we’d be glad to have you, but why go out of your way...?”

Having someone as strong as Ricard join them was more than they could have hoped for. Still, they could not help wondering why.

The others were heading there because they had no choice. For Ricard, it was the opposite. He could easily live in peace, yet he wanted to venture into a harsh and dangerous world.

“I want to see for myself whether there really is something there worth staking your last hope on. I won’t find out by staying here tending sheep, will I?”

“...”

There was nothing to argue with if that was what he wanted, but it made no sense to them. Then again, cutting a man’s head off with a wooden stick made even less sense in the first place.

In any case, whether they understood or not, if Ricard wanted to accompany them, they had neither the right nor the strength to refuse. Not that he had threatened them, of course.

Everyone was too bewildered and frightened to say anything. They neither welcomed him nor turned him away.

No, there was at least one person who welcomed him: Roy. The boy came up to Ricard with a delighted smile.

“Big brother.”

Ricard smiled and pointed to the flower wreath on his head. Roy’s smile grew even wider.

“Th-then shall we get moving again? Or perhaps we should introduce ourselves?”

Bremen looked around at the others as he asked, but everyone still seemed unable to speak.

Only Hartmann stepped forward confidently.

“I’m Hartmann. I wanted to repay your kindness someday, and I’m glad it seems I’ll have the chance.”

Ricard looked at him. He seemed a steady, upright man with a gentle disposition.

Taking the hand Hartmann offered, he shook it.

“I’m Riki. You don’t owe me anything. It wasn’t even my land. I look forward to traveling with you.”

Seeing the two young men exchange peaceful greetings rather than snarl at each other put the onlookers at ease.

“This is my wife, Elia.”

“I’m Becca.”

“And you’re Roy, aren’t you?”

Ricard already knew Roy, so he ruffled the boy’s hair as he spoke. Roy giggled.

“I’m Marie, Riki’s wife.”

Marie stepped forward and introduced herself as Ricard’s wife as well, but the others seemed a little awkward around her.

Unlike Ricard, whose clothes were a jumble of things that did not belong together, Marie plainly looked like a swordswoman.

A dark blue gambeson, close-fitting trousers, tall boots, a cloak, and, above all, the sword at her waist...

Whatever this young couple’s past might be, they were clearly no ordinary people.

The party consisted of their guide, Bremen; Hartmann’s family; four siblings who had lost their father yesterday and were now orphans; an unmarried mother who had once been a prostitute and her baby; and their newest additions, Ricard and his wife, Marie.

“Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, let’s get moving. We’re heading for Wertheim. I’d appreciate it if you two brought up the rear.”

“Of course.”

Ricard nodded.

The rear of the column was its most vulnerable and dangerous position. Since Ricard and Marie had no children and were in their prime, they were the best choice to guard it. It was much like the way wolves traveled.

The cattle, the four siblings, and Dahlia were in the middle, with Hartmann’s family at the front.

Naturally, their guide, Bremen, took the position akin to a scout, what the military called a point man.

Rather than bunching together and blindly following the road, they traveled in a formation of sorts.

Ricard followed at the very rear, carrying his sword in his left hand and walking with his staff in his right.

When they left the fields and joined a road used by other travelers, a fresh wave of emotion washed over him. He truly was back in the world.

Around then, Marie climbed onto his back without warning.

“My legs hurt.”

Every so often, she would get it into her head to whine to Ricard like a child. This was one of those times. Without a word, he simply carried her as he walked.

An ordinary person would have struggled, but Ricard could now carry her all day—no, for days without rest—even without summoning the ‘wind.’

Marie teased him by blowing on the back of his neck and giving him little nips. Ricard merely chuckled.

Perhaps she acted this way sometimes because she had grown up without love. Perhaps letting him indulge her was how she filled that emptiness.

Ricard never found it tiresome. He accepted all of it. If anything, he was grateful. Usually she wore an armor of composure and independence, but now and then, she let that armor fall away for him alone.

At some point, the grass disappeared from the road, giving way to gravel. It seemed to be a riverbed that had dried up long ago. Following it brought them into a gorge.

Mountains rose on either side, though they were not especially high. The trouble was the people watching them from up on the right.

Were they ordinary people or bandits? It was impossible to tell by looking, and the distinction was meaningless anyway. On the road, anyone might turn robber if a target looked easy and the opportunity presented itself.

The travelers kept glancing anxiously up the mountainside. Ricard simply gazed up at it. Even from this distance, he could tell those people had their eyes fixed on the cattle.

Rather than charging in blindly, they were carefully assessing the party’s strength: how many men there were, and how well they were armed.

“Marie, a moment.”

Ricard set her down and picked out a suitable pebble from the countless stones littering the road. Then he hurled it at one of the people looking down at them.

The pebble shot straight across the great distance and struck a man wearing an incongruous helmet squarely in the head.

CLANG!

A clear metallic ring echoed through the gorge. The blow did not kill the man, but its force snapped his head sideways and sent him sprawling. He had been knocked unconscious for the moment.

The others flinched and turned toward Ricard. He picked up another stone and hurled it. It flew with unbelievable speed, this time shattering someone’s jaw.

The man could have dodged, but in the brief instant he spent wondering what was happening, it hit him.

CRUNCH!

Broken teeth scattered through the air. Only then did their eyes widen in shock.

Unconcerned, Ricard picked up another stone and made to throw it. The people above the gorge hurriedly dragged their companions away and vanished over the ridge like startled monkeys.

Ricard dropped the stone and dusted off his hands. Then he addressed Lena, the eldest of the four siblings. She looked about fourteen or fifteen.

“If you’re traveling a long way, you should probably sell all the cattle except the one carrying your things. The calves in particular won’t last long.”

Livestock were strong, but their endurance was surprisingly poor compared with a human’s. They also had trouble adapting to changes in their surroundings.

Moreover, they ate and drank a great deal, making them ill-suited to long journeys. Cattle were best used to haul heavy loads within a village, or between neighboring villages.

Perhaps because she had just witnessed Ricard’s almost miraculous stone-throwing, Lena merely blinked.

“Oh, th-that’s, um...”

One would have expected her to take his advice, but something seemed to be holding her back.

“Is there a reason?”

“W-well, the cattle were compensation for our mother’s life... Father told us never to sell them...”

Compensation for her life? There must have been a terribly painful story behind that. But Ricard did not pry.

“Your mother will be sad if those cattle send you to join her. She’ll be happy if you reach the eastern frontier safe and alive. It’s your choice. But if you keep taking the cattle with you, even I can’t guarantee your safety.”

His words were rather cold. But what could he do? That was the reality.

However strong he might be, he could not drive off every last fly and mosquito that kept swarming around them.

One or two people might die in the chaos, and the younger children would be the most likely victims. He could not control every variable.

“...”

Lena and her siblings looked downcast and worried, their minds full of troubling thoughts. She was only fourteen or fifteen, yet she had three younger siblings to support. The future looked bleak.

In any case, without Ricard, this gorge might have been the end of them all. And it would probably have been because of the cattle.

In a sense, this was not merely the four siblings’ problem. They might be putting the entire party at risk.

Robbery was dangerous and difficult work, when it came down to it. There had to be something worth stealing. Unless they were truly starving, bandits did not attack just anyone.

Cattle, however, were certainly a rich prize. To put it simply, it was like walking naked among hungry wolves, asking to be eaten.

In times like these, the more you wanted to own, the stronger you had to be. No one would protect your property rights for you.

Thanks to Ricard, the party continued without stopping. As they emerged from the gorge, Wertheim came into view in the distance. The sunset was blazing red in the west.

For some reason, so many outsiders had gathered here that those unable to enter the city outnumbered its residents several times over.

They crowded together like ants outside the walls, living in tents.

Where there were people, there were needs. Some made a living selling to the newcomers. Those with skilled hands crafted goods to sell, while others built houses and simply settled down.

Half the people looked like beggars. The other half were only somewhat better off, while a select few had amassed wealth. Most of the wealthy belonged to criminal groups.

Of course, under these circumstances, it was hard to tell where crime ended and maintaining order began.

In the end, Ricard’s party could not get into the city. It was late, too.

Where should they make camp? In places like this, people invariably had their own patches of ground. Trespassing on one, even by accident, could lead to serious trouble.

Fortunately, Bremen seemed to have a few connections. He was a guide for a reason.

After seeking someone out and speaking with them, he found the party a place to settle. They unpacked and lit a fire. When they finally sat or lay down to rest, their weary bodies seemed to melt. The place almost felt like home already.

Travelers did not speak of making the sky their roof for nothing. When you were exhausted, simply sitting down anywhere felt blissful.

Ricard hung the flower wreath on his sword hilt and rested by the campfire. But the four siblings were nowhere to be seen. More precisely, Lena and the sister immediately below her were missing.

The third child and the youngest were hauling various heavy things about with their tiny hands, preparing a meal for their older sisters.

After the sun had fully set, Lena and the second sister returned. Hartmann, who had just finished eating, looked at them for a moment and asked,

“Did you sell them?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes. I thought the shepherd—I mean, our hero—was right. We offered half the money to God. We’re thinking about how to use the rest.”

The money they had offered to God was probably the price of soothing their guilt. Ricard therefore said nothing. Marie, however, did not remain silent.

“How much did you get?”

“Pardon?”

“How many cattle and calves did you sell, and how much did they pay you?”

“Well, um... We got two silver coins for one cow and six copper coins for three calves.”

They had sold all but the one cow they needed to carry their belongings. The trouble was, the price seemed far too low.

Marie turned to Ricard.

“That doesn’t sound right, does it?”

“Hmm... That’s pretty bad.”

Deciding to sell the cattle was all well and good, but they seemed to have been paid far too little.

The cow should have fetched at least ten silver coins. The calves had looked healthy, too, so each should have brought in a couple of silver coins.

Prices varied by region, season, and the animal’s condition, but two silver coins for a cow? That was outright fraud.

If they had told him, he would have gone with them. It was a shame, but he needed to set things right even now.

“Who did you sell them to? Show me.”

“Pardon?”

Leaving his sword behind, Ricard rose with only his staff.

“Before I became a shepherd, I used to specialize in collecting unpaid debts. Two silver coins and six copper coins is going too far. Lead the way. Let’s go. Marie, look after things here.”

“All right.”

Ricard set off straight toward the throng of people.

From a distance, the campfires and bonfires burning here and there looked like stars.

Lena stood at a loss for what to do, but as Ricard kept walking farther away, she hurriedly plunged into those stars. More precisely, she ran toward the brightest star of all.