Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Wait a second.

That last thing she said was definitely...

‘Saladin is dead,’—that’s what it sounded like...

"Hey. What did you just say?"

No answer came back. The woman who had been screaming like a lunatic just moments ago suddenly went limp, as if she were dead.

“Haah... What the hell is going on...”

She looked exactly like Bestia, but there wasn’t a single thing about her that was actually similar. She had been, without exaggeration, the smartest one in our party—there was no way she could be this stupid.

No, this wasn’t about stupidity or anything like that. She just looked mentally broken.

“What the hell do I do with this...”

It became about 99 percent certain that the woman in front of me wasn’t the real Bestia.

If—by the slightest chance—she was really Bestia, then she must’ve either been cursed so severely that her personality was reconstructed, or she had tried to use some kind of powerful magic and ended up destroyed by the aftermath.

Otherwise, there was no way the woman in front of me could be Bestia.

‘But I can’t deny that she must be related to Bestia somehow.’

She had clearly said she was looking for ‘Ran Winterbell’, not ‘Van Descartes’. And she’d said she had something to tell me, but couldn’t remember what it was.

Putting those words together, it meant she had come to deliver some kind of message to me.

And she’d said quite a few other ominous things as well.

‘So is Saladin really dead?’

Even I had never heard anything about what happened to them afterward. All I knew was that they’d taken down humanity’s arch-nemesis, ‘Van Descartes’, and successfully defeated the Demon King.

Whatever the case, I’d made up my mind—I was taking this woman with me. There were more than just one or two suspicious parts, but the fact that she wore Bestia’s face and had come looking for me made it highly likely that this was tied to my past life.

It could very well be a trap. But even if it was, this was bait I absolutely couldn’t afford to ignore.

Call it knowingly walking into danger, but I had confidence in myself.

If it really was a trap, I was confident I could turn it back on them.

After a moment of hesitation, I slung the woman over my shoulder and exited the forest. Instantly, all the mercenaries’ gazes focused on me.

"......"

"......"

No one opened their mouths easily, but it was clear they were all quite shocked. Wondering what they were so stunned about, I quickly moved to explain myself.

“Ahem... Don’t get the wrong idea, everyone. It’s not what you think. She suddenly lost consciousness while we were talking, so I just brought her back.”

From a distance, Lin Winterbell watched the scene and sneered.

“Look at that bastard. The first thing he does after getting his legs back is go skirt-chasing? Filthy beast. Was it that bad? Want your big sister to help out?”

“Goddamn it, Sister... You really see the world through a sewer, don’t you? Could you please stop saying insane crap for once?”

“What... you little shit? Get over here. I’m gonna split your damn head open, you son of a bitch.”

Letting out a sigh, Lux Winterbell stepped in to stop Lin Winterbell, while I turned and headed toward the carriage where the Caravan Leader was riding.

When I arrived at the carriage, Camille, the leader of the mercenaries, and the Caravan Leader both looked at me with startled expressions.

“...L-Lord Ran?”

“...Ahem. I assure you, I understand, no matter what you say.”

It seemed these two were seriously misunderstanding the situation, so I quickly cleared things up.

“It’s not what you think, so don’t get the wrong idea. I came to you because of this woman’s future whereabouts.”

“...Her future whereabouts, you say?”

I nodded as I replied.

“That’s right. I heard she was desperately looking for me, and after speaking with her, she said she wanted to work as an attendant at the mansion where I’m staying. So I’ve decided to take her with me. Even if she’s just a guest we happened to come across during our journey, since you're the one responsible for this caravan, I thought it only right to inform you in advance.”

The Caravan Leader bowed deeply, almost exaggeratedly, and spoke with gratitude.

“Oh, thank you ever so much for caring even about someone as lowly as me. In the first place, this woman was never officially part of our caravan, so I have no right to determine her fate. If she has a place she wants to go, it’s only natural that she should go.”

“Right. That’s the correct view.”

Of course, this woman—who had the exact same face as Bestia—had never actually said anything like that... But, in the end, she had come looking for me. So I figured it was just as well to leave it at that.

Standing off to the side, hesitating, Camille finally opened his mouth.

“Um, my lord…”

“Speak.”

He must’ve been hesitating all this time because of the question he was about to ask. The sharp-eyed Caravan Leader seemed to try and scold him with a glance, but Camille apparently prioritized his curiosity over manners.

“May I ask just one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“I heard that the youngest son of the Winterbell Ducal Family had lost almost all use of his lower body... Is that rumor false?”

The Caravan Leader jerked his head up in alarm and shouted at Camille.

“C-Captain! What sort of disgraceful behavior is this?! Apologize to the young lord at once!”

“......”

Seeing the Caravan Leader launch into an over-the-top tirade, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. With that kind of fawning talent, he really was a born merchant.

“It’s fine. I accepted the question, after all.”

The Caravan Leader bowed and shouted.

“As expected, the young lord is gracious in both word and heart!”

I looked at Camille and continued speaking.

“The rumor is true. I’ve lived my life as a half-cripple, unable to move my lower body. Without a wheelchair, I couldn’t even move on my own—a complete invalid.”

“......”

“But things are different now. What do you think? Do I still look like a cripple to you?”

Camille stared at me with a serious expression before slowly shaking his head.

“No. In my eyes…”

“In your eyes?”

“You look like a white wolf that hasn’t finished growing.”

It was a rather striking answer.

A white wolf.

This creature was the emblem and symbolic beast of the Winterbell Ducal Family—known as the Kings of the North.

The tale of the First Patriarch, Aslan Winterbell, being a white-furred Divine Beast in the form of a wolf was quite well-known among the people.

It was said that the reason the Winterbell Ducal Family revered white wolves as sacred was precisely because of this. But the truth? I didn’t know either.

Maybe the Patriarch knew.

Ah, no—there was one more who might know.

‘Leviathan. Was the First Patriarch really a wolf?’

【I don’t know. Every time I saw that guy, he appeared in human form. But considering the power he possessed, it’d be more believable to call him a Divine Beast than a human.】

He sure didn’t know much for a supposed Magical Beast from the Mythical Age.

“A white wolf, huh... Most social animals tend to choose the biggest and strongest individual as their leader. But did you know that among wolves, it’s the wisest one who becomes the alpha?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“But the wolves of the North are different. They must be wise and intelligent, yes—but above all, they have to be strong enough to command all the other wolves into submission. So, what do you think? Do you believe I could become the alpha?”

“Would you mind if I asked one more question before answering that?”

“Of course not.”

“Do you, my lord, actually intend to become the alpha?”

‘Well, well...’

He turned out to be a far more interesting character than I expected.

I slightly curled up the corner of my lips and answered.

“Yes. I will become the King of the North.”

Camille, who had been watching me intently, opened his mouth.

“May I speak frankly?”

“I’d prefer it.”

“If I had to stake my life on who would be the next Patriarch of the Winterbell Ducal Family, I would choose you without hesitation, Lord Ran.”

That was unexpected.

Why me?

There was the eldest son, Ryan Winterbell, and the second son, Lux Winterbell. The rest of my brothers had already made names for themselves across the continent...

So why would he choose me?

“What’s your reason?”

“...Aren’t you proving it right now, before my very eyes?”

“You’re saying you’d risk your life just because a former cripple like me is now walking just fine?”

“My older brother also lived as a mercenary and lost the use of his lower body. Fortunately, he met a renowned artisan who managed to craft prosthetic legs suitable for him. But even so, my brother lost the will to live. Probably because he knew—even with those prosthetics—he could never go back to how he used to be.”

“......”

“He wasted away, doing nothing, and ended up taking his own life last year. It was a truly pathetic end. But truthfully, I understood. I knew he could never be the same again.”

“That’s tragic.”

“Chasing invisible hope, fumbling in the dark—it’s never easy. If that’s what life demands, then maybe death really is the closer path to freedom. But you, my lord, overcame it. You made yourself into someone who can walk proudly through a land teeming with monsters and swing your sword. I don’t believe for a second that something like that could happen by coincidence.”

They said she was the captain of a Gold-ranked mercenary group, and it turned out she was far more capable than I’d expected.

‘I want her.’

“How did you know that my body had recovered enough for me to wield a sword?”

“I could tell from the muscles in your upper body—and the scent of blood.”

Wanting to test her a little further, I tossed out another question. For some reason, I had a feeling this woman might just get it right.

“When I first asked about the Red Dragon, my brother vaguely said he had dealt with it. Then where do you think the body of that Red Dragon is?”

“……”

Camille paused for a moment in thought, then slowly opened her mouth.

“It doesn’t exist.”

“Why?”

“Because it was never killed in the first place.”

I grinned as I asked the next question.

“Then where did the Red Dragon disappear to?”

“...I can’t be certain, but... the red-haired girl who was beside you, Lord Ran. Could she perhaps be the Red Dragon?”

“Your reasoning?”

“...A hunch.”

Good.

“…You pass.”

“Excuse me?”

“Camille. Once this caravan trip is over, are you heading straight back to wherever you were before?”

“I... I suppose we’ll rest for a few days before returning…”

A few days, huh.

I had originally thought to take my time persuading her if their stay was going to be long, but I changed my mind.

“You’ve been a mercenary for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Eh? Y-Yes, I suppose so…”

“How long did you plan to keep doing it? Ten years? Twenty?”

“...I’ve never really thought about it. Probably until the day I die? To be honest, it’s not the kind of work you can do forever, what with the constant risk to your life... but the truth is, my brothers and I don’t know how to do anything else besides swinging swords.”

“Perfect. Then retire. Right now.”

“W-What? What are you suddenly—?”

“You said it yourself. That you’d be willing to risk your life on me becoming the alpha.”

“Y-Yes, I did…”

“Then you should take responsibility for those words. Stay by my side and help me become the King of Wolves.”

She blinked in shock, clearly caught off guard. I struck the final blow.

“Become my knight, Camille.”