Episode 80
That’s how I parted with the wizard.
And thanks to the magic she cast on me, I was able to move almost uninterruptedly from that time on and into the forest. In a little while, the magic will come off, but it doesn’t matter. Since I wasn’t in a village, but a forest.
‘Only I passed this forest safely.’
Once I pass through the forest, I will be far away from the capital.
I grabbed the reins.
If it’s true that Ash’s ordered Dark Knights concentrated their manpower around the capital to catch me, it will be much easier to move away from here than ever before.
Yeah, once I crossed this forest.
‘It’s a shame that I couldn’t find a carriage to cross the forests, but….’
Before entering the forest, I wandered around to find a carriage in the village where I briefly went through the forest, but I was rejected because they were all busy or full.
I was reluctant to say that I needed the horseman who could drive me to the village for a long distance, expected for several days.
So I had no choice but to buy a horse instead. I couldn’t walk over a distance that I don’t know how long it would be.
‘I’ve barely even bought this one.’
Is it because it’s a small town? I expected it’s going to be hard to get a carriage, but it was harder than I thought to get a horse.
I was looking for this horse and I paid extra to get it.
‘But what I got from that was a piece of shit.’
I glanced at the sarcastic horse. A sigh came out. Was I unlucky or was I too much pushover?
I think the luggage was the problem. I heard that wherever I go, I look like a traveller or outsider.
‘But I need my luggage even though I won’t use it all.’
It wasn’t that there were so many problems that I couldn’t handle, such as walking then falling down, not because I was sick. I just get tired quickly.
I walked a little more silently, leading a horse that seemed to be weaker than me. And it was time for me to think that I could ride the horse again by now that my feet were about to hurt.
“Stop!”
“…..?”
“You really have guts to go through this forest alone.”
‘Bandit?’
I was startled and stopped walking.
Covering their faces with cloth, with a blade in one hand, and a typical line of colour that seemed to have been portrayed a lot, blocking the road.
“You must have noticed from the look on your face. Yeah, we’re forest-thieves.”
‘So they’re forest-thieves.’
“I won’t say much. Give me everything you got.”
Whether bandits or forest-thieves, it was no different than armed robbery anyway.
I frowned bewilderedly as I listened to the cliche lines that never let me down.
‘I never heard about this anyway….’
‘Just for information, I looked up some news of this forest while looking for horses. If I heard it was dangerous, I would hire two or three mercenaries to accompany me. I heard it’s safer than it looks because it’s a popular road. I heard merchants usually cross the street by themselves.’
Was it a lie?
It’s either, the person I asked was ignorant about this…… or this bandit might just start their activities in this forest recently.
But I couldn’t shake off this uncomfortable feeling.
‘So why is every single one of those forest-thieves wrapped in their face like that?’
Someone’s looking at their faces in a forest like this.
‘This is somehow…..’
“Kekekek, what are you doing? Not emptying your pockets and bags right now!”
“Hold on, but what’s wrong with that horse? Who gave him that?”
“We’re supposed to distribute it fairly when we’re done anyway, but some selfish son of a gun can’t stand it…….”
“Hey, you bastards, I can hear you all, so be a little easy.”
I’m speechless.
‘That’s true, isn’t it?’
Doubts hardened into certainty. So, no matter how much I looked at it, I thought it was not just a group of bandits, but village-level robbers.
‘They were going to shake me off from the very beginning.’
This was the reason I couldn’t get a carriage to the village.
It seemed so. From their conversation. Well, from their point of view, it would have been unnecessary and cumbersome to give a carriage to a human being who’s they’re going to peel off anyway.
‘Oh, what a beautiful world.’
It was a world worth living in.
“Even if you drag time, it’d only be useless.”
“Wait a minute.”
A few men menacingly fixed their gaze. I quickly recalled how many extra beads I had left.
Even if I didn’t calculate it out of the ordinary, what Ari gave me remained the same.
‘No, let’s save those now. Even if I break the beads and return the day, I have to go through the village and into the forest again.’
I must stop by the village. Other than that, I had to buy water and food.
‘It takes too long to go back to the last village or find another one.’
Then the magic hanging on my face will be released before I even reach the forest. I glanced at the horse standing next to me calmly. The water and groceries were all tied to the horse.
A bag of beads is in my arms, and I had some jewellery in the case.
“……I just need to hand over the luggage, right?”
“Okay, now you understand what I’m talking.”
“It’s a wise choice.”
‘I can’t do anything. I just have to hand over my luggage and get out.’
The little things I need can be bought back or saved after crossing the forest. At the moment, avoiding this situation was my priority.
“By the way, that guy, unlike how he looks, his voice is so beautiful.”
“I know. He’s just a tough, plain-looking guy.”
“That’s kind of disgusting.”
‘The magic is still being maintained.’
No matter what they said, I didn’t care. I reached out to the luggage bag that was placed silently on the saddle.
What’s in my bag? First of all, maid uniform, and how much money, the enchanted cloth… oh, this is a little dangerous, and extra clothes, fake IDs…….’
I hesitated to pick up my luggage bag.
‘……. the shawl.’
There was the shawl in the luggage.
The very shawl that Ash had surrounded me when we talked in the garden of the mansion before he left for the South.
“What are you doing? Why are you suddenly stopping?”
“If you’ve got your bag, hand it over quickly!”
The forest-thieves urged. I turned away.
“Excuse me.”
“What? “
“I have a favour to ask.”
“What is it? You want me to save you? Don’t worry. We’re not murderers. If you hand over your bag, you’ll be okay.….”
“Please let me take one thing out of my luggage.”
“What?”
The air-cooled down at once. As if they had made a promise, the forest-thieves hardened their faces in unison.
“What nonsense is that? You think we’re funny because we’re so kind?”
“I’m not trying to steal money or valuables. I just need one piece of clothing.”
“Hey, then do you think we’ll say, ‘Oh, yes, yes, please.’ Did you think we’d say that?”
“Don’t nag too much. Hey you, give me the stuff in the bag, don’t touch the tip with your hand.”
It was an expected reaction. Well, if it’s a robber, it’s worth it. But I checked last.
“Can’t you really? It’s not jewellery, it’s not gold thread, it’s just plain clothes.”
“He really thinks we’re funny, let’s break his one ankle and start over.”
“Well, that means you can’t right?”
I bit my lips. I tightened my grip on the bag.
Soon I opened my mouth.
“You bastard robbers.”
“…….?”
“It’s not like I won’t give you the bag, I’ll only just take one cloth, is it that hard to do? That’s why you live like that.”
“What? “
“What are you saying now….”
“And what, forest-thieves? What’s with the names. Are you guys forest-thieves because you are active in the forest. So if you were active in the desert does that mean you’re called desert-thieves, and village-thieves if you were active in a village? Who the hell gives the idea for that name? Please tell him to take off his head from his neck, since it looks too heavy and cumbersome for just a decoration.”
“…..!”
“Hey, hey!”
“What!? Give you my luggage? Just you know, I can’t give it to you. So go home and clean up your horse and suck your fingers!”
I immediately got on the horse and kicked it as hard as I could. The horse cried and began to run vigorously.
“Get, get him!”
“Go after him right now!”
Out of the way, I ran recklessly through the trees and the bushes. The twigs grazed my face sorely.
As I heard earlier, it seems that the reason I was able to ask for a horse was not an agreement between them, but it was a good thing for me.
Whoever it is, I really appreciate you selling me a horse out of your personal greed to fill your pockets.
May everything is well and luck be with you.
“Neighhhhhh!”
“…..!”
‘I erase what I just said!’
I fell off the horse and rolled down splendidly. It was because the horse, which seemed to be running well, suddenly fell down with its feet bent.
‘You crazy, are you still tired?’
The way the horse fell and sank me was amazing. No, how can a horse have such bad stamina!
I clenched my teeth and managed to pull myself up right away. But I had to reel, swallowing a scream.
A sharp pain coming up from my right ankle, perhaps as I fell, it seemed to have been misfolded.
“That’s him!”
God, those bastards were fast.
I tried to endure the pain and run, but there was a limit. I was soon caught up by the forest-thieves who showed up.
“Huck, huck. How dare you talk to us like that and run away, are you prepared?”
‘I’m screwed.’
I can’t help it. I wish I had escaped safely, but now that it’s all I’m going to believe was the time bead.
I put my hand into my arms without delay.
‘When I go back to the village, I take a shawl from my bag…… Huh?’
My hand stopped moving.
‘Huh?’
I looked around hurriedly. But I didn’t see anything rolling on the ground.
“What are you looking for?”
The forest-thieves narrowed the gap with leisurely steps as if they thought I might not be able to run any further.
I stopped poking around and then backed away.
‘Why nothing?’
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