“…and then I found her.”
“And?”
“What else? I went straight for it. She was too busy picking herbs to notice. So I snuck up behind her and…”
Deep in the forest, two men were engrossed in a lewd conversation, oblivious to their surroundings.
Leo, who had been observing them from afar, stepped back.
A bandit hideout. There seemed to be fifteen of them at most, occupying a small fortress nestled against a cliff in front of him.
Two bandits were carelessly chatting at the entrance of the fortress, which was enclosed by a small wall.
Leo circled around the fortress and climbed over the wall.
- Rustle.
Damn it.
It was difficult to move quietly in the autumn forest carpeted with fallen leaves.
“Did you hear something?”
“Hear what?”
“Just now, from inside… Hold on.”
The sound of rustling leaves grew closer, reaching Leo’s ears as he hid around the corner of the fortress.
He drew his hunting dagger.
A little closer…
As soon as the bandit rounded the corner, he was met with a blade.
“Argh! Ugh!”
Blood gushed down the dagger. Another bandit came running in alarm, but it was too late.
Leo pressed down on the embedded dagger, creating a pocket of air between flesh and steel, then leisurely pulled it out. The bandit, life flickering, struggled to clutch at the gushing blood.
“Seems like everyone’s out working. How many of you are here?”
At Leo’s question, the bandit in front of him flinched.
Bandits were weaker than gangsters.
Unorganized and untrained, they preyed on helpless villagers or robbed reckless merchants and travelers.
If Families were large corporations based in cities, then bandits were small to medium-sized enterprises hiding in remote locations.
Were gangsters the equivalent of self-employed individuals?
The bandits were no match for him. He didn’t even need his two-handed sword. Leo was even more formidable in the mountains than his childhood friend.
[Achievement: Bandit Camp Takeover - You can now locate other bandit camps more easily.]
[Achievement: Ten Bandits - You have become stronger when facing bandits.]
Leo spent the next two days hunting down the bandits. Armed with the bows and swords he had taken from the first bandits he killed, he shot them from afar with arrows, killed those who chased after him, and hunted down those who hid.
In the end, he chased down a group of four who were trying to escape and finished them off. The once tranquil surroundings of the bandit camp were now drenched in blood.
Only then did Leo take the time to examine the fortress properly.
It had taken him almost a month to find this hideout. If he had been any later, he would have been in for a miserable winter.
The bandits had already completed their preparations for the cold season.
Firewood was piled high, and there was plenty of food. He shamelessly claimed the fruits of the bandits' diligent labor and settled into the fortress.
His plans had gone awry. He had intended to hunt with his father and save money, but killing Hans had made things complicated.
He couldn’t return to Demos village.
There had been a thug who witnessed the murder, so the village would be swarming with soldiers by now.
He had considered visiting his father just to explain everything before leaving, but he decided against it.
If he showed up at the mountain cabin and someone saw him, it would only raise suspicions that his father was hiding him.
It was best for everyone if he just disappeared.
He felt a pang of guilt towards his father and the villagers, who would suffer for a while because of him. The thought of Hans’ mother also made him uneasy, but it was no use crying over spilled milk.
Leo climbed the mountain, evading any potential pursuers.
Even though technology wasn’t advanced in this era, communication was incredibly fast thanks to the priests. News of the murder would have spread to the lord’s castle and surrounding villages alongside his description.
As a lone stranger, he would stand out, so traveling through the mountains was his only option. And he couldn’t risk entering any nearby villages for a long time. He had to travel as far away as possible, to a distant city.
His original plan was to visit the Conrad Kingdom to the east.
The kingdom from which the beggar siblings had been expelled; he could cross the border if he traveled east for a few weeks.
He had planned to visit the capital city there and search for any clues that might be helpful for the Beggar Siblings scenario, but that was no longer possible.
The territory where Demos village was located belonged to Viscount Gaidan and shared a border with the Conrad Kingdom. Since Leo had committed murder within the viscount’s territory, he wouldn’t be able to cross the heavily guarded border.
He had to revise his plan entirely. The eastward path was blocked, and there was no reason to go south towards the sea. That left only north and west.
To the north lay the Bellita Kingdom, and its capital, Orville, was the setting for the Beggar Siblings scenario.
‘Would they be there if I went now?’
He was curious if his younger sister Lena and Leo were there, but there seemed to be nothing to gain by going there.
Even if they were there, the Beggar Siblings scenario would have already ended last fall.
That left the northwest, the Jerom Holy Kingdom.
It was the place where Lena had gone to become a priestess and a place Leo had to visit as well. He had to find the prince there.
With his revised plan, Leo spent some time hunting near the bandit camp, gathering valuable items like horns and pelts.
But then, a hint of greed crept into his mind.
‘If I play my cards right, I might be able to buy a horse…’
Horses were expensive. So expensive that he hadn’t even considered buying one. But after raiding a bandit camp, it seemed within the realm of possibility.
The bandits in this hideout were just scraping by, so they didn’t have much money.
The most valuable assets were their weapons, the foundation of their “business.” Swords, shields, and even leather armor for some. If he sold all of this and earned some money from hunting, it might just be possible.
‘Should I just find another bandit camp?’
Even though winter was a convenient season for hunting, hunters, like animals, preferred to stay put. Hunting in unfamiliar mountains wasn’t easy either.
And simply buying a horse wouldn’t be enough.
He also needed to acquire a two-handed sword and secure travel expenses. Even if he had a successful hunting season throughout the winter, it wouldn’t be enough.
He was tempted.
With a horse, he could travel much farther. He also had the achievements that made him stronger against bandits and made it easier to find their hideouts.
Leo grappled with the question of whether it was right to kill for easy money. He had already done it once, so what difference would a second time make?
‘Besides, those bandits were out there doing bad things anyway, weren’t they?’
As the days grew colder, his resolve began to waver.
* * *
“…and it was snowing heavily when Lena arrived in Lutetia.”
She had been traveling by carriage for four months with Priestess Ophelia and Sir Corin.
Despite the accumulated fatigue from the long journey, Lena forgot her exhaustion and leaned out the window in excitement.
And there it was, the Cathedral she had been dreaming of, standing majestically before her.
Lutetia, the capital of the Holy Kingdom, was situated with mountains at its back and a river flowing in front. The Cathedral was located behind Lutetia.
After exiting the outer walls of Lutetia and traveling towards the rear mountains for a short while, one would come across another grand castle.
Pure white walls and towering spires, every nook and cranny of the castle, even the smallest details, were adorned with sculptures and paintings.
This entire small castle was a church in itself, serving as the headquarters of the Holy Cross Church, which governed all the churches on the continent.
To Lena’s eyes, all the people moving about devoutly appeared to be priests.
Priestess Ophelia gently restrained Lena, who was beside herself with excitement, and spoke.
“Lena, you will be entering the seminary with my recommendation. I wish I could visit often, but I’m not sure where I’ll be assigned yet.”
Ophelia had formed her own assessment of Lena after spending several months with her. She was intelligent, diligent, and a remarkably well-mannered young lady.
She also had a surprisingly strong foundation in theology, as if she had been studying diligently from a young age.
Initially, Ophelia had planned to simply hand Lena over to the seminary. Lena would then have gone through the admission process on her own.
But Ophelia had personally escorted Lena inside.
Thanks to Ophelia’s presence, Lena’s admission process was reduced to a simple identity verification. She was granted the right to audit ongoing classes and even assigned a small, private room, a rare privilege.
Ophelia’s recommendation carried considerable weight. She was a high-ranking clergywoman, close to the rank of High Priest.
Lena, overwhelmed with gratitude, was led to her private room. She couldn’t even bring herself to unpack, pacing back and forth in front of the door, pinching her cheeks.
“Is this a dream or reality…?”
She sat down on the bed, trying to collect her bewildered thoughts.
The monk had told her that only students in their final year were given private rooms…
Priestess Ophelia had vouched for Lena, assuring them that she would surely undergo the ritual and requested this special treatment.
Of course, the room was small.
A rough-hewn bed and a small desk barely fit inside the cramped space, filling it completely.
However, it was an incomparable luxury compared to sharing a room with several others.
Lena, deeply grateful for all the kindness she had received, knelt beside her bed and offered a prayer.
‘Leo must be doing well, right?’
It was winter, so Leo would be busy hunting.
‘Please keep Leo safe.’
Lena’s prayer continued for a long time, encompassing Priestess Ophelia who had recommended her, the villagers and Monk Lesley, her parents, and Leo.
And so her first day at the Cathedral came to a close.