Chapter 137 : Chapter 137

Chapter 137: World of Recurrence (3)

Whatever we did next, we first had to get out of the barracks.

No, we had to leave the lord's camp entirely.

Not only did we have to find Bea, but we also couldn't solve the problem by siding with these people.

Now that I had joined up with Keldric and Everchen, there was nothing more to do here.

As I opened the barracks door to leave, Everchen, who was now much shorter, blocked my way.

“Let's go out the back.”

“Why?”

“Because if they see us leaving, the humans' morale will drop significantly.”

I heard that Everchen had kept his eyes closed for over a month, but it seemed he had been observing many things in the meantime.

“That's a state of the war I hadn't considered. Thank you.”

“Not at all. I just saw it naturally since I was here for a long time.”

“Please continue to help me a lot in the future. Your meticulous observation of the war's state and people's hearts will be a great help in forming an expedition team later on.”

“I will continue to do my best.”

Hike was probably curious about how I would solve this past incident.

Therefore, I intended to show her just how well I could solve this problem.

To do that, no single group could have the upper hand.

“Then how do we get out?”

“If we slip out the back of the barracks, we'll see a wall right away, so let's go over that.”

Everchen said so and pulled his robe down low.

‘Looking at him again, it seems like he just doesn't want to meet people….’

But what Everchen said wasn't wrong, and I could understand how he felt, so we slipped out the back of the barracks and jumped over the wall.

We had entered with dignity, but we left no different from petty thieves.

I was ruining all of Adjak's reputation.

***

Everchen, Keldric and I headed for Mervis.

Keldric took off his armor and left it by the wall we had jumped over.

This was because people would be scared if he entered Mervis village wearing the lord's knight uniform.

“You've returned!”

“The Saintess is with you as well. You've been through a lot, Lord Adjak.”

“The other gentleman is also well-built and very handsome!”

When I, who had left alone, returned as a group of three, the faces of the villagers brightened.

Everchen pulled his robe tighter, and Keldric looked awkward, not knowing how to respond.

This was because I had told them that, contrary to appearances, the people of Mervis village weren't necessarily weak and oppressed.

“Shall we prepare a meal?”

“Please bring it up to the door on the second floor.”

I didn't give much of an opening to the villagers who approached us amicably.

The village chief came and stopped us as we were about to go up to the second floor.

Unlike his stooped body, I could see greed glistening in his eyes.

“By any chance, what are your plans for the future….”

“Enough people have already died. Don't you think so?”

I retorted coldly.

His bent back straightened a little.

He must have understood what my words meant.

“Come to the forest in three days.”

“B-but that forest is full of ghosts….”

“It's fine for us to enter a den of ghosts, but not for you?”

The atmosphere inside the hall froze.

But I had no intention of lightening the mood with a pointless smile.

Adjak had lost a companion here and Keldric was in the body of that dead companion.

There was no guarantee that we would have multiple lives in this trial.

‘Countless people die while undergoing the Dragon's Trial, so I have to be careful.’

No matter how much favor Hike showed me and my companions, the Dragon's Trial was a different matter.

The Dragon's Trial was a gift that dragons bestowed upon the world.

It wasn't something where she could make exceptions based on personal acquaintance.

If anything, Hike had given me and my companions a trial with a high degree of difficulty.

I was going to break through this trial given by Hike head-on.

The chief had, at some point, erased the servile attitude from his body.

He even replied with a faint smile.

“I will see you in the forest in three days. Please take care of yourselves.”

***

“Phew….”

After going up to the second floor and finishing our meal, Keldric let out a deep sigh.

With his naturally people-loving disposition, it seemed it wasn't easy for him to act harshly.

“So to summarize… the people of this village were the ones who spread the rumor that an ancient artifact was hidden in the forest, right?”

I nodded.

“It's true that there's an ancient artifact in that forest, but to open it, you have to offer a lot of life force? It's similar to the Necklace of the Void that the demon we fought in Myeolji had.”

Everchen lightly slapped Keldric's knee.

When the Necklace of the Void was mentioned, it was natural to think of Tayon, so he seemed to be worried about me.

Keldric also realized he had misspoken and looked at me with worried eyes.

“It's okay. For now, let's just focus on clearing the trial quickly.”

Both Keldric and Everchen nodded.

Everyone understood the background of how the fight had started.

An ancient artifact was dormant in the forest, and that artifact would only awaken after absorbing the life force of many.

The people of Mervis village, who had lived near the forest for generations and knew the conditions for the artifact's awakening, induced a battle between the two camps of Lizardfolk and humans to accelerate the artifact's awakening.

“Those who seemed so kind are truly….”

“Probably not all of them know. There are likely some in the hall who are genuinely afraid of the war.”

Everchen spoke as if agreeing with my words.

“Just because they're poor and weak doesn't mean they're all good, and just because they're strong and powerful doesn't mean they're evil. At least, the chief seemed to have an agenda.”

“That's right. The chief seemed to have a grasp of the whole situation.”

I spoke firmly to my companions.

“There are surely some among them who don't know the situation. But now is not the time to argue right and wrong. We need to solve the trial quickly and get out.”

“I do want to end this trial quickly.”

Everchen said, clenching his fists.

While I had only just entered the trial, Keldric had been experiencing it for a week, and Everchen for over a month now.

“If we're done eating, let's sleep early. We have to go get Lady Bea tomorrow.”

“Sleep well.”

“See you tomorrow.”

***

The next morning.

We were waiting at the village entrance.

One of the promised three days had passed just like that.

But there was no need to feel rushed.

This was because I intended to enter the forest right after securing Bea.

The Lizardfolk army marched and then came to a halt.

Every day, the humans and Lizardfolk fought a battle near Mervis village.

But today, for some reason, they seemed bewildered that the humans were nowhere to be seen.

‘The commander kept his promise. Now it's my turn to keep mine.’

Just then, someone appeared as the Lizardfolk ranks parted.

“Where did the cowardly humans go! Come out at once and prepare to be pierced by my arrow!”

The one provoking with a booming voice was Bea.

“Who would come out if she said it like that….”

Everchen shook his head.

But Keldric, who had faced Bea for a week, shivered as if he had goosebumps.

“I even tried to reveal my identity to Bea, you know? But she didn't believe me. Her eyes have completely flipped. She's scary, I'm telling you.”

“We need to rescue her quickly.”

The three of us advanced toward the Lizardfolk army.

Bea, who was mounted on Nihel, looked down as if we were pathetic and said.

“Only three of you today? The fake Adjak and his companions, I see.”

“Lady Bea, it's me. It's Polarin.”

“These fakes are trying to delude me again!”

Unlike the agitated Bea, Nihel seemed to recognize us.

No, it must be that it recognized Adjak, Pieto, and Ishulinus.

I glanced at Everchen and Keldric once each.

We nodded and decided to proceed as planned.

There was something we had decided to do if Bea didn't recognize us after we tried talking to her first.

I took a rope out of Adjak's subspace and threw it at Bea.

I had never used a rope in this way, but it didn't matter.

The rope, enhanced by one of Adjak's traits, ‘Weapon Master’, flew quickly and wrapped around Bea's body.

I quickly tied a knot and bound Bea.

Seeing Bea captured, Keldric immediately mounted Nihel.

Other than Gawen and Bea, the only one who could ride Nihel was Pieto.

When Keldric patted Nihel's back, Nihel began to run swiftly.

“What are you doing! Nihel! Stop!”

But Nihel didn't stop.

Could it be that it also realized that Bea's, no, Gawen's, state was not normal?

It ignored the words of Gawen, who was closest to it, to stop, and kept running.

Everchen and I ran swiftly after them.

The Lizardfolk, who belatedly grasped the situation, let out roars and followed, but they couldn't catch up to us who had already picked up speed.

“Gasp, gasp….”

Everchen was breathing heavily.

It seemed there was bound to be a difference between the body of a trained paladin and the body of a Saintess.

But he didn't give up.

I was running alongside him, but thanks to Adjak's excellent physical abilities, I wasn't out of breath.

Rather, the one having the hardest time was Keldric, who had to ride on Nihel with Bea.

“Let go, you bastards! I have to go back!”

This was because Bea, who was thrashing about even with both arms tied, was making it difficult for Keldric.

“If you can't, just knock her out!”

“No, if we're to solve this trial even a moment sooner, Bea needs to be awake! None of us are in our right minds!”

Keldric even emitted aura to subdue the struggling Bea.

Despite that, Bea continued to thrash about, but somehow, we managed to arrive in front of the forest.

When Keldric slapped Nihel's rear one more time, Nihel came to a stop.

I, who had caught up soon after, helped Keldric lower Bea to the ground.

“You filthy humans!”

“Do you think Lady Bea originally thought of us like this?”

“Do not speak while mimicking my companions!”

Bea resisted, screaming curses as if she were truly furious.

I crouched down in front of the fallen Bea.

“Lady Bea, it's Polarin.”

“Do you think I'll be fooled? I have to end this war quickly and go back!”

Bea shouted viciously, but I could fully guess why she had changed like this.

“You've truly been through a lot. Let's pass the trial quickly and go back to the world we were in.”

The thrashing of Bea's body stopped cold upon hearing my words.

She looked up at me and asked.

“What is the name of the Kipaso Elf Prince?”

“Raldetun. His nickname was Evil Spirit.”

“What is my current rank?”

“Elf Commander, Lady Bea Hellinger.”

“…….”

“And also, a friend of mine, Polarin Adjak.”

Bea slammed her head into the ground.

I helped her up and brushed the dirt off her face.

Bea no longer resisted even when my hand touched her face.

I untied the rope that bound her and spoke to her.

“We're finally all together. Let's finish the trial quickly and go home, all of us.”

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