Chapter 023. Decision (2)
Anagin’s words brought color back to the face of the red-feathered helt man.
The witch’s apprentice was dead, and the mission was, in fact, a failure…….
Now there was only one way to survive.
Kill the witch.
The problem was that they couldn’t kill the witch with their own strength.
The witch who lived in the tower rising from the marsh was protected by countless traps, nurous beasts, and powerful mages; ordinary people like them could not even approach.
So the many villages under her rule dared not even think of resisting.
To be honest, even if the Gigant in front of him lent a hand, there was no guarantee they could defeat the witch…. but there was no ti to worry.
“W-we’ll guide you. O great hero! We’ll take you to where the witch is!!”
“Ah, no. I don’t need it.”
Anagin waved off the red-feathered helt man’s determined offer at once.
“…Huh? Why?”
The man asked in a stunned, bewildered voice.
It would be easier to accept their cooperation. He couldn't understand why Anagin refused.
“How can I trust you to guide ?”
“…We’re also in trouble if the witch is still alive.”
“That’s precisely why I trust you even less. You’re protected by the witch, yet now that things are bad, you offer to guide us… How can I be sure you won’t betray us again when the tide turns in your favor?”
The man opened his mouth to say sothing, but no words ca.
There was no room for rebuttal.
“I decided to take the witch down, but that has nothing to do with you. So don’t expect anything and leave.”
The red-feathered helt man could understand what Anagin ant.
He would fight the witch, but he didn’t intend to accept their help.
“Mister… are you really going to go fight the witch?”
“First, sleep first. And no, I’m not going to ‘fight’.”
“Then?”
"I'm going to go over there and give her a one-sided beating."
“…….”
“P-please, just listen a mont!”
While Anagin and the robe woman were talking, the red-feathered helt man cut in urgently. He was that desperate.
“We didn’t follow the witch because we wanted to! We, too, were just trying to survive—!"
“Hey.”
Anagin cut him off.
“I’m not here to scold you for following the witch. I don’t care about that. I’m no judge.”
There are as many ways to live as there are people.
Anagin didn’t care how others lived; he certainly didn’t want to argue right and wrong.
“What matters is this: whether you liked it or not, you were people who followed the witch’s orders. I don’t care about the reasons. Above all….”
Anagin looked at the red-feathered helt man.
His gaze was sharp as if it could see through to the inside.
“I have no desire whatsoever to hang out with those who grind their heads and make clattering noises…. If you keep staying here, I'll assu you want to try sothing, so decide for yourselves."
After the final warning, Anagin took a tent out of his Interspatial Bag.
It was an insanely heavy but magically self-deploying tent he’d taken from Deodia’s hideout.
Shwaaark!
When he dropped the tent with a ‘Thud!’ to the ground, it unfolded on its own.
Anagin went inside the tent, lay down, and glared at the red-feathered helt man.
"Wanna try sothing?"
There was no trace of compromise in his eyes.
The red-feathered helt man had no choice but to lead his n away in silence.
* * *
When the red-feathered helt man led all his subordinates away, silence returned once more.
The only sounds left were the chirping of insects and the rustling of grass.
Just as he was about to use the white noise as a lullaby and close his eyes, an annoying voice reached his ears.
“Mister.”
“Ah, damn….”
Anagin frowned in irritation at having his rest disturbed, but the robed woman didn’t seem to care and asked,
“Was that… a trap?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?”
“When you said you were going to take down the witch.”
“Explain it so I can actually understand.”
After gathering her thoughts, the robed woman spoke again.
“You know as well as I do, those people have only one way to survive now. To go report to the witch that you plan to kill her.”
She was right.
Having failed their mission and after hearing that Anagin had no intention of helping, there wasn’t much the powerless villagers could do.
Except report that Anagin was targeting the witch and beg for rcy.
Of course, if that happened, the witch would strengthen her defenses.
Since her enemy had declared he would co to her directly, she’d have no need to send anyone to pursue him.
“But if we just leave here like this, the witch will look like a fool. The ones who gave her the wrong report will end up suffering horribly, though. Don’t tell … that’s what you planned?”
“No, I really am going to go beat her.”
“Seriously? Why?”
The robed woman asked again, sounding genuinely puzzled.
When she thought about it, it was strange. He’d said he’d go beat her just because it was troubleso, but wasn’t going back the way they ca even more troubleso?
“The world’s full of things that don’t make sense. Just accept it as it is.”
“Well, you know , mister. I ca out here because I hate that kind of thinking. I want to know things properly.”
“Did I ask for your opinion? Just bear with it. I’ve got power, and I still put up with a tag-along like you hanging off , don’t I? So you just put up with it too.”
The robed woman flinched—especially around her hips, where she gave a noticeable twitch.
“Heh… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m good at talking nonsense. Filter it however you like.”
“…You’re kinder than I thought.”
“If you’re gonna keep babbling, I’m sleeping. If you’re that restless, talk to your shadow instead.”
“I’m serious though…. If you’re not just leaving, doesn’t that an you actually helped those people? If you’d gone with them, the witch wouldn’t have let it slide.”
In the witch’s domain were birds that acted as her eyes.
Having once served under her, the robed woman knew this well.
Of course, the villagers likely knew too, but in their desperation, they’d probably forgotten.
If they had taken Anagin with them, the witch would have realized their betrayal and retaliated against their village.
In other words, by refusing their plea for help, Anagin had actually helped them.
When the robed woman explained this, Anagin chuckled faintly.
“Guess that’s what they an by ‘dreams sound better when soone else interprets them.’ How the hell would I know that when I said it?”
“Hmm… true, you’re not exactly the kind type. Your tone’s awful, and you’ve got not a shred of consideration in you.”
“Why don’t you just go ahead and insult properly?”
“Now that I think about it, it’s like a cow stepping backward and catching a rat by accident. Still, what matters is the result—you caught the rat. …So I’ll just think of you as kind.”
“Think whatever you want.”
“Alright. Then, speaking of that… can I go inside the tent and sleep too? You’re not really going to make a delicate girl like sleep out here alone, are you?”
She asked in an earnest tone.
Anagin answered by shutting the tent flap.
It was still a chilly spring night.
* * *
“What should we do now, Village Chief?”
In the dark night, a group holding torches here and there gathered.
A man asked the red-feathered helt leader with a voice full of worry.
He was the head of a household with a wife, a son, and a daughter, but at that mont his face looked as if he might cry like a child.
It wasn’t an ugly sight or sothing to scorn.
If anything, it was because he had a wife and children that he could not help but be near tears.
The witch had grown harsher than before; she might even punish their families.
“What should we do?”
The red-feathered helt man was troubled, too.
He felt like crying as well. Only his position as village chief did not allow it.
He had to find a way to survive, no matter what. Even if soone had to die, he would try to steer things so fewer would die.
That was the job of the village chief.
‘Ugh…. Should I report it after all?’
The red-feathered helt man hesitated over whether to report to the witch about what had happened earlier, and that a Gigant intended to kill her.
It was true that she had grown more capricious than in the past, but there remained a semblance of reason, like in the days of their grandfathers and fathers.
If they reported that a Gigant—a brute of magic and raw strength—was coming, perhaps she would not punish them. It would be beyond their power.
Maybe, as a reward for warning her, she might lessen their forced labor and tribute.
In the past, the witch had that degree of discernnt. Perhaps….
“Village Chief! Village Chief!”
While he was deep in thought, soone beside him shook the red-feathered helt man’s shoulder and called.
Annoyed by the interruption, the village chief snapped back.
“What on earth is it?!”
“T-there’s a person over there.”
“A person?”
The red-feathered helt man peered forward warily.
It was rare for soone to be alone in the forest at midnight.
As the man had said, a human silhouette was visible.
Only an outline, but it was unusual.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with a straight posture, a shield, a spear, and a sword—he did not look like an ordinary person.
“W-who is it?!” the village chief shouted, stepping forward.
He tried to look confident, but he was scared.
Though they still numbered fifty-four after being struck by a tree—mostly farrs—if this was a proper warrior or a Gigant, they were as good as dead.
It was absurd, but the world itself was inherently absurd.
Thud. Thud….
The man standing off in the distance approached.
He was tall, and his straight posture made him seem even larger. From his trained body ca a sense of solid strength.
Whoosh….
He gathered Energy in his hand and produced a light that outshone the torches, illuminating the area.
He was a Gigant.
“Greetings, elders. I am Spanich Dolos, a practitioner visiting this place on a pilgrimage.”
“…A practitioner?”
The red-feathered helt man echoed.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know what a practitioner was.
He knew of those who, under the blessing of the gods, endure trials to beco higher beings like heroes or kings.
He only asked because such people were rare in this remote village.
Moreover, that na behind the man—a surna—was one given only to practitioners permitted by kings, nobles, and the gods to establish a lineage.
The village chief felt a new hope stirring.
"I heard that there is soone oppressing people in this vicinity..."
* * *
When the sun rose, Anagin opened his eyes.
He unzipped the tent and stepped out to be greeted by the robed woman eating breakfast.
“You woke up early. Was it nice, sleeping warm and comfortable in your own tent?”
She was eating the dried rations Anagin had given her for dinner the previous night. She had saved them and was eating them now.
“I thought you’d run off, but you’re still here.”
After washing his face at a nearby stream, Anagin took out dried rations from his Interspatial Bag and spoke.
He hadn’t only taken food for himself; he’d grabbed an extra portion for the robed woman as well.
“Why would I run away?”
The robed woman tucked the rations Anagin had given her into her robe.
“Because I said I was going after the witch. I thought you might sneak off in the night.”
"Ah... Actually, I did feel like sothing was wrong, but then I thought about it, and it felt unfair. I did all that laundry for you; if I just leave, it's a loss for , isn't it? That's why I didn't run away. I don't want to do anything that only benefits you."
The robed woman flashed her golden eyes and stared at Anagin.
She looked feral, like a predator eyeing prey.
He’d thought she liked doing laundry because she sang while washing, but apparently not.
“Who actually likes doing laundry?”
“Well, nobody does it because they like it. You do it because you have to—because it’s your job.”
“?”
“Anyway, since you didn’t run off and stayed, you owe a favor.”
“What? I’m a delicate girl. I can’t fight.”
“You can guide the way, can’t you? You were the witch’s apprentice, so you should know where she lives.”
The robed woman hesitated for a mont.
“Technically, I’m a forr apprentice…. Well, I can do it. But are you sure? Maybe because she's old, there are lots of ferocious beasts roaming around and traps where the witch lives. If I were you, I’d just leave.”
"It’s fine. Just guide on the way. I'll take care of the rest."
* * *
“You said there were many beasts roaming here? But there aren’t any.”
Anagin, guided by the robed woman into the witch’s domain, asked.
He was sure she had said nurous ferocious beasts guarded the witch’s territory, but none were present.
They had already been killed by soone.
“Looks like a pilgrim has co?”
“You seem to have an idea who it is?”
“Uh, one… there’s a practitioner family nearby.”
“A practitioner family?”
“Yes. Their territory has been gradually overlapping with the witch’s—it was only a matter of ti before they clashed—”
“Who’s there?!”
A voice rang from afar while the robed woman was explaining.
A burly man ard with a shield, spear, and sword stood there.
At a glance, Anagin could tell he was from a practitioner family.
“I am Spanich Dolos. A practitioner who has co to bring down the witch. It would be best for you to leave imdiately, as this place is dangerous."
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