Chapter 52

"Ah, you saved me from a dangerous situation. I am grateful. I have never seen a swordsman as skilled as you..."

"It's nothing. I came running when I sensed the presence of a battle."

After Robin Hood fled, Fand bowed to Lamber as the representative of the "Dancing Sword" guild. The others were tending to the wounded. They also had to carry the two bodies killed by the "Murder Circus" back to town.

"It was going well until then, but I never expected a War God to appear..."

"A War God...?"

At the mention of this name, Lamber's shoulders trembled slightly. A faint aura of miasma leaked from his body. Sensing the ominous presence, Fand swallowed hard. Though he was intimidated and frightened by the aura, Fand was grateful to Lamber for saving his and his companions' lives. He took a deep breath to calm himself and spoke to Lamber.

"You may not know the details, but you must have heard the rumors. The man with orange hair is named Robin Hood. He was originally an adventurer in the city of Baraila. He was too free-spirited, but his skills made up for it, so he was overlooked. In the end, that led to his downfall. He became more and more self-centered, and one day, his whims led to the death of a relative of the lord, and all the adventurers in his guild were executed. Robin Hood escaped, but since then, his bad habits have worsened, and now he acts like a madman."

After saying this, Fand glared resentfully at the trees where Robin Hood had disappeared.

"From his actions just now... it seems the rumors were true. He must have come here out of resentment towards the lord."

"..."

Lamber did not respond, but Fand felt the oppressive aura from his armor lessen and let out a sigh of relief.

(He seemed surprised to hear about the War God. He didn't recognize Robin Hood's face, but... there might be some connection.)

Fand stared at Lamber's armor and helmet, but Lamber did not know Robin Hood at all. He had just recently awakened from a two-hundred-year slumber. It would be unreasonable to expect him to know. To Lamber, who had been a general leading the Regius Kingdom to the brink of unifying the eight nations during a time of war, Robin Hood was not a formidable opponent. Among the enemies he had fought in this era, Robin Hood was relatively better, but Lamber believed that the swordsman Hector, who served Count Aubock, was superior in terms of raw skill and experience.

In fact, when Lamber heard "War God," he thought of a completely different person.

(...So, it's not the Great General of the Belfis Kingdom, the War God Ardelights.)

The War God Ardelights was the greatest obstacle in the war against the Belfis Kingdom during the Eight Nations Unification War. He was a giant of a man, wielding a massive magic metal axe. Lamber had once crossed weapons with him, but the battle was interrupted by the overall unfavorable situation on the battlefield, and they did not reach a conclusion. Lamber had to retreat.

Later, in another battle, they clashed again, but this time, the Regius Kingdom's strategist had devised a plan to target Ardelights alone and aimed to take his head. Despite multiple layers of precautions, they underestimated Ardelights' strength, and the plan was thwarted. In the end, Lamber had to forcefully push through to complete the plan and take Ardelights' head. However, Ardelights was already injured before Lamber finished him, so it was difficult to say that Lamber had won by skill alone.

Lamber did not want to kill an injured old enemy, but the injuries to Ardelights were obtained at the cost of many allies' lives. He could not indulge his pride. Still, he often wondered if Ardelights was actually the stronger one, which is why he reacted so strongly to the name "War God." If Ardelights had also been resurrected, Lamber would have considered challenging him to a rematch without any lingering ties.

To sum up, Robin Hood had nothing to do with Lamber's reaction to the term "War God." Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lamber felt uncomfortable under Fand's intense gaze and cleared his throat to cover it up. Lamber had a somewhat innocent side.

"Still, to so easily drive away that War God Robin Hood... Who exactly are you...?"

"More importantly, who are you? And these roughnecks?"

Lamber looked at the fallen masked figures around them.

"We are adventurers from the guild 'Dancing Sword.' We came to this forest to recover a unicorn's horn. We were attacked by those who followed us, and you saved us. It was really dangerous... I must thank you again."

"I see, so these guys were after the horn?"

"I'm not sure... Their goal might have been to prevent us from obtaining the unicorn's horn. But one thing is clear: they were just hired hands. They wouldn't have known much even if we interrogated them."

"Hmm... Can you tell me why they wanted the unicorn's horn in the first place?"

If there was a conflict, Lamber would not hesitate to lend his strength if the positions of both sides were clear.

"You don't know...? I thought everyone in the city's adventurer community knew. It will take some time to explain properly. We are heading back to the city of Baraila now. Would you like to come with us? We can talk on the way, and I can offer you a reward there."

"..."

Lamber grumbled unhappily. Hearing this, not only Fand but also the other members of the "Dancing Sword" froze. It was clear that Lamber possessed godlike sword skills, having instantly killed the masked figures and driven away Robin Hood. If he was in a bad mood, he might have killed everyone on the spot.

"...Sorry, but I still have business in this forest. If it's such a famous story, I'll look it up later."

He still had the headless horse to return to Alvana. It had been docile since showing submission to Lamber, but it might become unruly again. He needed to train it to avoid attacking people and to stay out of sight. It wouldn't do for the "Dancing Sword" members to see him leading it around.

"O-Oh, I see... That's a shame. When you return to the city of Baraila, please visit the 'Dancing Sword.'"

Lamber parted ways with the "Dancing Sword" members and headed back to Alvana and the headless horse. When Lamber found them, Alvana was stroking the cut end of the horse's neck, exclaiming in amazement.

"You've returned, Sir Swordsman."

Alvana turned around, and the headless horse shrank back, hiding behind her to avoid Lamber.

"You seem to have won the horse's affection."

"I've always been good with animals and plants. I played a tune for it earlier, which might have helped. But, Sir Swordsman, you seem to be quite feared."

"I don't think they're afraid. I also find it easy to bond with animals. I've never had trouble capturing wild animals, even the fierce ones that tried to escape."

"Are you sure they're not afraid...?"

Alvana closed her eyes tightly, crossed her arms, and bent her head.