Chapter 98

#098

Askel and Urd's heads turned to Ian at the same time.

"Are you truly serious? The Holy One would never—"

"I can assure you, Karl doesn't give a damn about that. He'd be fine with us leaving it behind."

"……"

Urd's mouth twitched, speechless. The new Grand Paladin was too bold, even for boldness.

Ian, moving indifferently, added as he stepped out the door.

"I'm stepping back now, so you'll have to handle the rest yourselves."

"…Understood."

Urd nodded without further protest.

***

"Not bad."

Ian muttered as he climbed into the carriage.

The villagers, watching him, exchanged glances and nodded.

Urd smiled.

"I'm glad you like it."

The carriage made for Ian and his party was a masterpiece crafted by the few skilled artisans in the village.

They had even added small windows to the walls and ceiling to block the wind, and placed wide seats inside, lined with animal hides.

A sturdy carriage fit for a Grand Paladin.

Moreover, they had attached two of the healthiest and strongest horses, small in stature but with thick legs and abundant manes, of northern bloodline.

"You're heading to Travella, right?"

Askel, standing beside Urd, asked. Ian nodded.

"Yes. I think the commander I know will be there around now. I'll inform him about your relocation to make it smoother when you pass through the gate."

Turning to Urd, he added,

"I'll also let them know when you pass through the barbarian settlement."

"Much appreciated."

"Consider it a token of gratitude for the carriage and horses. I won't be involved any further, so you'll have to manage on your own."

"We'll prepare as quickly as possible and move out. A blizzard seems to be coming."

At Urd's words, Ian's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"A blizzard?"

"The warriors who went hunting told me. The clouds beyond the mountains are ominous. Usually, they would dissipate beyond the mountains or only affect the nearby areas, but last year, dark clouds even reached the village. So, this year, it might be worse."

"Hmm…"

Ian nodded with a peculiar expression and turned to Urd.

"You should hurry. Who knows what might happen while you're trapped here."

Feeling the ominousness in his eyes, Urd nodded.

"Understood."

Ian looked at Charlotte as if he had said all he needed to. Charlotte, as if waiting for this, flicked the reins.

"We'll see you in Travella, Grand Paladin."

As Tesia waved to the villagers, Askel spoke.

Ian, without turning his head, smirked.

"Sure. If I'm still there by then."

The carriage moved away.

Askel, who had been watching the carriage, suddenly spoke.

"Do you believe it, old man? That these foreigners saved the entire village in just a few days."

Urd placed his only hand on his grandson's head.

"That's why he's a Grand Paladin. Grand Paladins accomplish what ordinary people consider impossible."

They fight against fate, an enemy that can never be defeated.

Swallowing his words, Urd turned around to prepare and start the relocation as soon as possible.

The last look from the new Grand Paladin lingered in his mind.

But his steps soon halted.

"……"

His eyes met those of a large man standing behind the villagers.

A gaunt mouth with missing teeth and eyes that had lost their pride.

Valeri, the former Grand Paladin of the village.

"Old man… I… just…."

Valeri mumbled incoherently. Urd, approaching him, placed his wristless arm on his shoulder.

"Ambition is a warrior's privilege. Don't make excuses for the past. A young warrior like you should look forward, not backward."

"……!"

Valeri turned to Urd.

The old warrior added gruffly,

"You seem to have recovered. Stop daydreaming and put in some effort. We need to build a carriage to carry the Holy One."

***

The carriage, having navigated the winding forest path, finally reached the main road.

Ian, leaning back in his seat, was lost in thought.

Two main thoughts were floating in his mind.

The barbarian village and high-level magic.

Since leveling up, he hadn't invested a single skill point.

He hadn't decided which attribute of high-level magic to learn first. In fact, there were no high-level magic spells he could learn immediately.

To learn high-level magic, he needed to invest all the skill points in the upper-level magic on the path of the corresponding skill tree.

In the game, Ian Hope had been a failed character who, despite being at a level where he could learn upper-level magic, only learned mid-level magic.

After reality set in, he had learned a few upper-level magic spells with the additional skill points he gained, but he was still far from reaching high-level magic.

'To learn one, I might have to use all my skill points…'

Just as Ian clicked his tongue, Tesia, fiddling with a wide leather strap, suddenly said,

"Interesting things happen wherever we go."

…Which means everything is a mess.

While Ian snorted indifferently, Charlotte's taunt continued.

"You would say that. You just watched."

"I said interesting things happened, not that I found them interesting. Idiot."

Tlesia added, frowning.

"I also want to move around more freely. Honestly, you were the one who had the most fun in this village."

"I won't deny it. In the end, being with the warriors was the most comfortable."

"Next time, I'll be able to join in. Because of this."

Tlesia held up the strap she had been fiddling with.

Charlotte, looking back, narrowed her eyes.

"I saw Askel give it to you. What are you planning to do now?"

"Oh, you don't remember what you said, beast?"

Tlesia, teasing, covered her eyes with the strap.

Her ash-gray hair moved like it was alive, covering her face.

Tlesia, showing Ian her face, said,

"Like this, no one will know I'm a vampire."

"…Are you serious? You really plan to cover your eyes?"

Charlotte asked.

Ian, frowning slightly, looked down at Tesia with the blindfold.

Tlesia shrugged.

"Of course. I can identify my surroundings even if I can't see. Especially at night, it's even clearer."

"How?"

Ian asked bluntly.

Tlesia lifted her hair, revealing her pointed ears.

"By sound and smell."

"……"

Given her confident attitude, it didn't seem like a lie.

Is this a characteristic of elves, or of vampires?

After a moment's thought, Ian shrugged.

It didn't really matter.

"Travella, right? Will there be interesting things there too, Ian?"

Tlesia added.

Ian, resting his chin, said,

"Who knows until we get there. Maybe…."

He glanced at Tesia.

"We might not stay long and head down to Lusad."

"……!"

Tlesia froze.

A look of being suddenly dropped into reality from a sweet dream.

"Lusad…?"

She managed to ask.

Ian nodded.

"Yes. If things go as I predict."

"What's your prediction?"

"……"

Instead of answering, Ian turned his gaze to the scenery outside the carriage.

In the game, the north suffered significant damage from the wave of undead that poured out of the mountains.

During the process of recovering from the damage, the Black Wall had a seizure, leading to the collapse of the border area.

But now that Ian had killed the queen sleeping in the underground palace,

Perhaps the invasion from the mountains might not happen.

Though the future was unknown, as he had always made the worst choices in the game,

From the perspective of someone who had changed several tragic stories in the game, it didn't seem impossible.

Even the barbarian village, which in the game had been wiped out by the specters' attack,

'Should things go that way… there might be nothing much to see in the north for a while.'

"Do we have to go to Lusad right away?"

Tlesia suddenly said.

She, too, seemed to have had many thoughts in the brief moment.

Though her eyes were still covered, her expression was unreadable.

"The Inquisitors will keep chasing me, so it might be easier to deal with them one by one. That's where the vampires' lair is."

"Yes, that might be the case for now."

Ian, nodding, added,

"But they won't send Inquisitors forever. It's too costly."

Ian recalled the thought he had missed when dealing with Ascolde.

It wasn't difficult to infer that it was to inform the vampire clan of what happened to Ascolde.

Though it was likely damaged by the fireball Ian threw,

It was unknown what information, if any, survived.

"They might already know that Charlotte and I are with you. They might have prepared accordingly."

"What kind of preparation?"

"Who knows…."

Ian only wiggled his finger, a few thoughts crossing his mind, but he didn't intend to share them.

Tlesia bit her lip.

Well, the enemies knew a lot about her, but she knew very little about them.

"I don't know what you're hesitating about."

Charlotte said disdainfully.

"It's your request and your revenge, coward. If what you say is true, we will eventually have to go to Lusad. It's just a matter of whether it's delayed or advanced."

"…Right. A rare correct statement, kitty."

Tlesia, finally speaking, raised her head.

"It's really hard not to run, Ian. But I'll try. Since I asked you, I shouldn't have said anything unnecessary."

"You understand."

Ian, smirking, added,

"What I said is just a hypothesis. Nothing is certain yet."

"One more thing is certain."

"……?"

"I'll never know what Ian is thinking."

Of course. You'll never know that this world was originally a game.

Or that I was the main character of that game.

Swallowing a bitter smile, Ian finally said,

"I was wondering if you could fight even with that."

"……!"

"I'll start checking tonight. You've been lying around while Ian and I have been working, so you need to earn your keep."

"……"

***

Tlesia really could fight well even with her eyes covered.

During their journey south, the attacks by monsters resumed every night.

Especially fierce, starving monsters.

Of course, dealing with them was the job of Tlesia and Charlotte.

Since the monsters wouldn't give any experience points, Ian didn't even join the fights.

Charlotte, of course, had no complaints.

"Good, no chance for my body to rust."

Surprisingly, Tlesia felt the same.

Because Ian didn't stop her from drinking the monsters' blood.

She, who had been suffering from chronic thirst, could finally indulge and quench her thirst.

"Still, none of them have a special taste. They're all nothing special. Just unnecessarily fierce."

"Considering they're starving, it's not surprising they're fierce."

On the fourth day, after finishing the fight, Charlotte sat by the campfire and said,

"I can't tell the difference between the ones that charge at us and the ones that pass by."

"The ones that pass by…?"

Ian, chewing on jerky, asked.

Charlotte nodded.

"Some of them don't even acknowledge us and just pass by. I only realized it today."

"I've noticed that too. They just walk by."

Tlesia added.

Ian looked into the darkness.

"Can you still sense those kinds of creatures now?"

"I could sense them earlier, but not now. They couldn't have gone far. Do you need them?"

Charlotte asked, her eyes gleaming.

'There were always some that didn't approach before…'

After a moment's thought, Ian shook his head.

"No. If what you say is true, there will be some tomorrow, so I'll ask then."

But the next night brought a different situation.

"Don't fall behind the carriage!"

"Maintain the distance! They're coming!"

Because there was another group on the other side of the road.

The attack by the monsters had begun.

Flickering torches and carriages.

And the gray-skinned monsters that surrounded and surged like a wave.

Charlotte, seeing this, frowned.

"A caravan. I didn't expect anyone to be bold enough to come this far beyond the wall."

"Still, it's good for us."

Ian, moving to the driver's seat, said.

"We'll have company to the gate."

Ian, telling Tlesia to stay in the carriage, looked at the fighting caravan group and said,

"Speed up, Charlotte."

Charlotte, as if waiting for this, flicked the reins.