Chapter 48
We followed the moving caravan slowly along the forest road.
Before long, we spotted a wagon pulled over at the edge of the road.
The main group passed by it without slowing down.
“Be more careful! What are you going to do if the spices spill?”
A shrill, nervous voice pierced the forest’s silence.
The slender merchant fussed over the hem of a luxurious cloak now caked with road dust, watching the two men helping with the work intently.
The two men were unloading the cargo to replace the axle.
The merchant watched their work nervously.
The men carried a large wooden barrel and leather sacks wrapped in layer after layer of waxed cloth out of the wagon. Each time they set one down, a powerful fragrance rose up, overwhelming the smell of the damp earth around them.
The sharp, pungent smell of pepper and the aroma of dried ginger filled the air. Mixed in was the scent of cloves—sweet, yet as sharp as herbs—evoking some distant foreign land.
The merchant brought their nose close to each sack, checking with trembling fingertips whether the damp had caused the contents to clump or a tear in a sack had spilled them out.
“Hey, you.”
Lyle stepped forward and called out.
“Don’t get in my way! What do you want, kid?”
The reply came in a voice that made no effort to hide its irritation.
The merchant glanced at us for just a moment, then returned their gaze to the cargo as if they’d already lost interest.
“We’re your escort.”
At Lyle’s curt reply, the merchant froze.
The merchant slowly turned around, their face twisted with surprise and distrust.
“I was told they’d leave guards behind, but I didn’t know they’d be brats like you!”
The merchant spat out the words.
While we spoke, the main group continued on without slowing down, and soon vanished from sight.
“Anyway, let’s hurry with the repairs and catch up to them.”
I said, then crawled underneath the wagon.
The axle had snapped cleanly in the middle.
It hadn’t broken naturally. There was clearly a cut partway through it.
—It had been deliberately cut so it would break here.
Just then, I sensed a group approaching at the edge of the mana I’d spread out.
I crawled out from under the wagon and warned the merchant, who was still grumbling.
“Something’s coming. Be on your guard.”
At my warning, the two men unloading the cargo immediately took cover behind the wagon.
Kai stepped forward in the direction I was looking and raised a shield.
Lyle moved alongside Kai, while Elena and I took up positions half a step behind, one on either side.
The merchant quickly hid behind us and held their breath.
What emerged from the forest wasn’t wolves—but knights.
The first to appear were two lightly armored horsemen. They rode around to block the wagon’s path from both front and rear.
Then a knight in full armor appeared, slowly advancing with five foot soldiers in tow.
“The right to travel this road belongs to my domain. As payment for your unpaid toll and a fine for obstructing the road with your broken wagon, I hereby seize your cargo!”
The heavily armored knight proclaimed from atop their horse.
“...Your domain? Don’t make me laugh! A disgraced knight like you has no right to collect taxes! I won’t pay a single copper!”
The merchant drew the sword at their waist with a trembling hand.
“This cargo holds my home, my shop, and my family’s future... everything. Hey, you! Drive these bandit knights off!”
I quietly cast ‘Enhance’ on Lyle and Kai.
“Fool. You still resist? ...Men, attack.”
The knight gave the order in a cold voice.
At the knight’s signal, the horsemen blocking the road leveled their spears and charged fiercely from both sides.
“—Ice Wall!”
Elena swiftly chanted her spell.
Cold mana filled the area, and a wall of ice formed in an instant.
One of the horsemen slammed into the wall, hurling the rider from the saddle.
Kai charged the other horseman with a shield raised.
Rather than merely stopping the charge, Kai sent horse and rider flying.
“Wha—”
While the infantrymen in front stood dumbfounded, Lyle and I charged in.
Lyle’s sword cut across the throat of an infantryman who hadn’t even managed to take a stance.
There was no hesitation left in the way Lyle wielded the sword.
I took out the infantrymen from the opposite end.
Having lost their men in no time, the knight hurriedly spoke.
“Wait...! I’m the younger brother of Baron Ravenstein! If you kill me, neither you nor that merchant will get away with it!”
“Wouldn’t that full suit of armor be worth far more than the ransom the Baron would pay?”
I said, then looked over at Elena.
Elena nodded.
She touched the scales brooch with her left hand and raised her right toward the knight without hesitation.
“—Ice Bullet.”
At her words, an ice shard shot forth and pierced the forehead of the knight, whose visor was still raised.
The knight fell limply from the horse, their face frozen in shock.
After checking for survivors, I held out a hand to the merchant, whose legs had given out.
“Are you all right?”
The merchant snapped out of it at my voice, took my hand, and got back up.
“I’m sorry about before. I had no idea you were so strong...”
The merchant gripped my hand firmly and looked me in the eye.
“Thank you for protecting my precious cargo. You’ve saved my life.”
“Yes. It’s our job.”
I replied with a faint, wry smile, then turned my gaze to the wagon.
“More importantly, let’s repair the wagon. From what I saw, I should be able to make a temporary repair. Kai, give me a hand.”
I had Kai lift one side of the wagon and crawled beneath the wagon bed.
I straightened the broken axle and cast ‘Heal’ on it.
—The evidence of the cut would disappear, but that wasn’t a problem.
Even if we exposed the insider and their deposit was confiscated, it wouldn’t increase our share.
In that case, it was wiser not to reduce our own strength unnecessarily.
A stern warning to the insider would be enough.
“This should hold until we reach the monastery. Once we’ve loaded everything, let’s leave at once.”
At my words, everyone immediately got moving.
While they worked, I went over to the fallen knight. I removed the knight’s blood- and dirt-stained armor and pulled the signet ring from their finger.
Before long, the cargo had been loaded.
I strapped the full suit of armor onto one of the horses we’d acquired and took hold of the reins.
“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
We hurried away, heading for the monastery.