Chapter 53

Ardis rescued a boy from Lactor's clutches and weakly revealed the contents of the secret letter his mother had given him.

"I don't have any money..."

"Huh?"

"I don't have any money left to hire a guard."

Ardis's eyes widened at the unexpected response.

"Did some guard take your money?"

If that were the case, it would be an unforgivable situation. Not just abandoning his guard duty, but a robber posing as a mercenary. They would need to find and turn him over to the patrol as soon as possible.

"No, that's not it..."

The boy's evasive response gave Ardis a bad feeling.

"Surely you didn't pay the full fee in advance, did you?"

"Huh? Yes, I did... Isn't that normal?"

His carefree attitude made Ardis sigh.

"Listen, if you only pay a deposit, it's one thing, but if you pay the full fee in advance, there's no guarantee they'll do the job properly until the end."

Ardis frowned, realizing the boy had hired a mercenary as a guard, paid the full fee, and was then abandoned in the forest.

"But, if I didn't do that, no one would agree to guard me..."

The boy implied that he had no choice.

"So, what are you going to do? If you want to return to the capital, I can accompany you."

Ardis scowled at the boy's carelessness and returned to the original topic.

"Thank you... But I can't go back."

"Huh? Have you already forgotten that you were almost killed? This place is so dangerous that even a group of experienced mercenaries could be wiped out. Alone and inexperienced, you'll be dead in less than an hour."

"I know... But I have to go."

Despite his calm tone, Ardis sensed a strong resolve.

Curious, Ardis sat on a convenient log and encouraged the boy to continue.

According to the boy, his goal was to explore a certain ruin. The location was clear, and the purpose was to obtain a sword said to be in the ruin.

The problem was the location of the ruin. If Ardis's memory served, it was in an area controlled by Wipps. It would be too dangerous for a mediocre guard.

"How many guards did you hire, and how much did you pay?"

"I hired four mercenaries for one gold coin."

Four mercenaries for one gold coin meant each received two silver coins and five copper coins. It was barely enough for a guard in the shallow part of the forest. For a deeper area, it was a poor deal.

Initially, Ardis was angry at the mercenaries for abandoning the boy. But given the fee, they were likely inexperienced, and even a mid-level mercenary would find it too much to guard such a deep area.

Moreover, the boy was stubborn enough to claim he would continue even without a guard. Perhaps he had no choice but to leave the boy behind if he refused to retreat.

"So, you can only go as far as the shallow part of the forest. To get this far, you'd need to hire five or six experienced mercenaries, and the fee would be at least five gold coins."

"Is that so..."

The boy, likely having been turned down by many mercenaries in the capital, showed a mix of understanding and disappointment.

"Do you still intend to go deeper? Let me tell you, the monsters ahead are far stronger than the giant snake. The chances of surviving are one in ten thousand."

In other words, unless a miracle happened, the boy would end up as fertilizer for the trees.

"But... There's still a one in ten thousand chance, right?"

Was it youthful naivety, or did he have a compelling reason? The boy's resolve was unwavering.

Ardis sighed deeply and asked for the details. The boy, named Kiril, explained his background.

Kiril grew up in an orphanage in a city-state west of the Nagras Kingdom. At ten, he became an apprentice at a mid-level merchant guild and had been there for two years. Being an apprentice at a merchant guild was a fortunate position for an orphan. Kiril, being smart and resourceful, was well-liked by the guild's owner.

Six months ago, the owner made a significant mistake, incurring a large debt. Despite his efforts to secure funds, he received an offer from a prominent merchant guild.

"But the condition was to give my sister to Jules as a concubine."

The 'sister' was the owner's only daughter. Though not related by blood, she had taken care of Kiril and treated him like a brother. She was kind and well-liked by the apprentices and employees' children.

Jules, the head of a large merchant guild, had long wanted the owner's daughter as a concubine. However, she was the owner's only child and the heir to the guild. Giving her away would mean submitting to Jules's control. Emotionally, the owner could not accept her becoming a concubine.

However, with a large debt and no means to repay it, the owner had no choice but to accept Jules's offer, which the daughter also agreed to.

It was a common story. The daughter would not be killed, and being a concubine of a wealthy merchant might even be a better life. The guild would lose its heir but avoid financial ruin and gain protection from a powerful merchant.

Ardis still didn't understand why this led to Kiril's current situation.

"My sister... is a 'cull.'"

"A cull? What's that?"

Ardis, unfamiliar with the term, asked for an explanation.

"A cull is the one of twins who is allowed to live."

In Kiril's city, when twins were born, the second-born was considered 'unclean' and killed. The surviving twin was believed to be purified by the other's death. This allowed the surviving twin to be raised normally.

"Some places only raise one twin."

Ardis recalled Ted's words from the past, which now seemed disturbing.

The surviving twin was called a 'cull' because the other was culled. This term revealed how the surviving twin was treated.

"Jules has a bad reputation. He's taken in orphans and poor girls as concubines, but they all died within a few years, and their bodies were rarely seen. I heard their bodies were covered in bruises and scars."

While unverified, the situation suggested Jules abused his concubines.

"If my sister, a cull, is taken to such a person, what kind of treatment will she receive?"

Kiril's dark expression brightened slightly.

"But this month, another large merchant guild offered a conditional loan."

"The condition being to bring back the sword from the ruin?"

"Yes."

Ardis finally understood why Kiril was determined to enter the forest despite the danger.

Understanding the situation didn't change the danger. If Kiril insisted on going deeper, he should hire a proper guard, or he should give up.

But—

Ardis gave a sly smile and said to Kiril,

"I understand your situation, but do you really need to do this? She's just a non-blood-related person, and twins are cursed, aren't they?"

Kiril retorted,

"My sister is not cursed! She's amazing! She reads a lot and is knowledgeable, her handwriting is beautiful, and she's the best at calculations in the guild! When I was sick, she took care of me! She treats orphans with respect, not as outcasts. She's the best person I know! Being a twin doesn't matter!"

"But twins are demons who defy the goddess. The church hates them. No one will blame you for abandoning her."

Kiril glared at Ardis with deep blue eyes.

"I can't forgive myself. If I can help, I won't stand by and let my benefactor suffer..."

He bit his lip and straightened his posture.

"I'm truly grateful for your help. But I'm going. If there's even a one in ten thousand chance, I want to save my sister."

Without waiting for a response, Kiril turned and headed deeper into the forest.

Ardis called out one last time,

"Even if it goes against the goddess's will?"

"Of course. It's wrong for someone like my sister to be unhappy just because she's a twin. If that's the goddess's teaching, then... she's not a goddess!"

Kiril, without turning back, denied the goddess with anger and disappeared from Ardis's sight.

Ardis, still seated, stared in the direction Kiril had gone, then looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.

Kiril's story about the culling of twins was heart-wrenching. The brutal practice, though cruel, might have been a result of past efforts to save at least one twin.

Suppressing his rising anger, Ardis thought about Kiril. A child, not yet an adult, walking alone in a forest full of monsters. Paying the full fee in advance to a guard showed his inexperience, but for a twelve-year-old, he was intelligent.

He had received good education at the guild, spoke confidently, and was quick-witted. His courage to risk his life for an unrelated sister, his determination to travel to distant Nagras, and his refusal to give up were admirable.

Most importantly, his willingness to challenge the stigma against twins was very appealing to Ardis, who protected Filia and Liana. It would be a waste to let such a person die needlessly.

"Twins shouldn't be unhappy just because they're twins. If that's the goddess's teaching, then... she's not a goddess!"

Ardis repeated Kiril's last words, nodded in agreement, and stood up.

"Such a goddess doesn't deserve to be a goddess."

2019/05/02 Typo correction: "accept" → "accepted"

2019/05/02 Usage correction: "return" → "returning"

*Thank you for the typo report.

2019/07/30 Typo correction: "work" → "serve"

*Thank you for the typo report.