Nord Village
"..."
"..."
Rudell stared at the boy, speechless, as he sat by the campfire, frantically devouring the food.
Kyle wore a fierce expression, as if he were about to devour the boy himself, but he refrained from taking any action, likely due to Rudell's lack of orders.
After a while, the boy shoved the last apple into his mouth and let out a short sigh, as if relieved.
"Um... Do you understand me?"
"I do. I can speak the Common Tongue."
"That's a relief. What's your name? My name is Rudellheit Weinstein."
"Kurt. Kurt Kasha."
"Hmm..."
As he suspected...
Rudell let out a low groan, feeling his suspicions confirmed.
The warrior who acted as the tank in the protagonist's party.
The boy in front of him was definitely him.
"What were you doing here?"
"I haven't eaten in days. I had to eat to survive."
"How did you end up like this?"
"I went on a magical beast hunt. The adults were all killed by the beast. I was the only survivor."
Hunted while hunting a magical beast.
It must have been no ordinary magical beast if it could overwhelm the Nord Tribe, who were experts in magical beast hunting.
"Can you tell me about that magical beast?"
"It appeared suddenly one day. It attacked the village and killed the livestock. We call it Thundermane."
"Thundermane?"
"It can control thunder."
"Hmm..."
Rudell let out a low groan at Kurt's calm words.
If what he said was true, it must be a very dangerous magical beast.
"Any other characteristics?"
"There's always a thunderous fog where it is."
"Good, that's enough."
Knowing that much would allow him to prepare in advance.
"Can you take me to the nearest village?"
"Why? You are outsiders. We don't accept outsiders easily."
"We're from Weinstein County, beyond the Blade Ring Mountains. We came here because we want to trade with your Nord Tribe."
"Trade? Why?"
Kurt looked at him with a puzzled expression at Rudell's words.
In fact, his reaction was only natural.
According to the Nord Tribe's way of thinking, it was normal to take what you needed from others.
It was natural that they couldn't imagine anyone wanting to trade with them.
"Well... Let's just say we both have what we want, and we don't want to waste our energy unnecessarily."
In truth, if Rudell stepped in, it wouldn't be difficult to turn a Nord village or two into ashes.
Although they used a form of magic called shamanism, their skills weren't that great due to their culture of disdaining shamans.
And their only countermeasure against magic was armor made from magical beast byproducts.
Even that armor wasn't something just anyone could wear, so it was safe to say that the Nord Tribe had virtually no defense against magic.
"..."
Kurt stared at Rudell with an uncomprehending look at his words, and Rudell gave him a faint smile.
After a moment of contemplation, Kurt let out a short sigh and...
"Alright. I owe you my life. Debts must be repaid. I'll take you to the chieftain. Follow me."
"Wait a minute."
"What is it?"
Kurt, who was getting up from his seat, looked at Rudell with a puzzled expression.
"Are you planning to go right now?"
"Of course. It takes more than two days to get to the village from here. We have to leave now to get there early."
"But the snowy plains at night will be dangerous, won't they? Why don't we rest here and leave tomorrow morning?"
"If you say so, I will."
Kurt nodded and approached the campfire, settling down and lying down.
And then, as if he had fallen asleep instantly, he began to snore softly.
"Are you sure it's alright? What if it's a trap...?"
"Do you think the Nord Tribe are smart enough to set up a trap like this?"
"..."
Kyle made a troubled face, seemingly at a loss for words at Rudell's question, and Rudell let out a low chuckle as he looked at him.
"Then, I'll leave the night watch to you until tomorrow morning."
"Understood."
* * *
During the two days, nothing much happened.
Thanks to Kurt's guidance, they were able to avoid the territories of dangerous monsters.
And so, the sky began to turn orange...
"We've arrived. That's our village."
At the end of Kurt's gaze, as he stopped walking, were walls made of snow, ice, and rock, and houses emitting smoke.
"I'll go alone from here."
"What are you talking about!? How can we let you go alone!?"
Kyle shouted in disbelief at his words, as Rudell looked at him and said, "Leave him be, Kyle."
At Rudell's words, Kyle let out a low groan and stepped back, and Rudell nodded at Kurt.
Kurt got off the carriage and approached the front gate of the village, and the Nord warrior on the wall saw him and started shouting something.
Soon, the gate opened, and several fierce-looking Nord warriors came out, followed by Kurt, who began to speak in the northern tongue.
And then, a moment later...
"Only Rudell can enter."
"What the...!? Absolutely not, Young Master!"
When Kurt returned to Rudell and said so, Kyle shouted in disbelief.
It was a natural reaction, when you think about it.
Sending Rudell alone into a place inhabited by people who would readily plunder and whose lives revolved around fighting?
From his perspective, it was something that could never happen, and should never happen.
But...
"Don't worry, Kyle. They can't do anything to me with their skills anyway."
Rudell gave him a reassuring smile as he raised his hand.
"But..."
"Then, if I don't come back in thirty minutes, you can do whatever you want. Got it?"
"If you say so, Young Master..."
Kyle reluctantly nodded, and Rudell began to walk towards the village with Kurt.
The fierce-looking Nord warriors glared at him, but Rudell entered the village without a hint of fear on his face.
"As expected of Nord warriors..."
From the entrance of the village, two drunken men were fistfighting, and other men were cheering and watching them.
Women and children were busy moving around, treating leather, or repairing armor and weapons.
Rudell looked around with a curious face at the sight that perfectly matched the image of the rough northern people.
And so, after a while of walking through the village...
"This is the chieftain's residence."
Kurt arrived in front of a large building that was clearly larger than the other buildings and began to speak to the guard standing in front of the building.
At his words, the guard narrowed his eyes and looked at Rudell, and soon stepped aside.
As the door opened, Kurt and Rudell headed inside...
'That must be the chieftain...'
Rudell couldn't help but think so as he saw the man sitting on a rock throne, looking down at him with an arrogant face.
A rough, wild appearance, and a physique half the size of others.
Next to the throne stood a giant greatsword that appeared to be his.
"I heard you wanted to see me?"
The chieftain asked Rudell in a natural tone, with almost no sense of discomfort.
"Greetings to the Greatchildren of Winter. I am Rudellheit Weinstein, the youngest son of the small Weinstein County beyond the Blade Ring Mountains."
"I am Kahran Prak, chieftain of the Winterfang Tribe. You seem to know a lot about us for an outsider."
Greatchildren of Winter.
That was what the Nord Tribe called themselves.
Of course, most people in the Kingdom called them barbarians or northerners, but Rudell was here to trade with them.
He needed to be as polite as possible until the deal fell through.
"It's just trivial knowledge."
"So, you want to trade with us?"
"That's right. We've brought some food, necessities, and alcohol."
"I refuse."
Kahran replied without a moment's hesitation.
Rudell flinched momentarily at his words, but soon remembered the reason and asked with a faint smile.
"May I ask why?"
"Trade is established on equal footing. You are weak and we are strong, so we can just take it from you. Why should we trade with you?"
"..."
He knew they would react this way...
Rudell let out a short sigh at Kahran's very Nord-like way of thinking.
If they were going to act like this, he would just have to respond in their way.
"Because we want to resolve this peacefully, of course."
"That sounds like you're saying you're stronger than us."
Kahran said in a low voice, as if annoyed, and tightened his grip.
-Crack!
His throne began to crack with a chilling sound, and Rudell, without losing his composure at the sight, said,
"That's right."
"...I see. Then you can prove it yourself."
"I'd be happy to."
People who preferred fists over words.
Rudell got up from his seat as Kahran easily took the bait.
Kahran also rose from his seat, and then shouted in a booming voice towards the outside.
"Prepare for a duel!!"
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