Chapter 14

"Unbelievable! Mom, what does this mean?"

"We've been had."

"Teacher, who could have done this?"

After struggling through the cliff's crevice again, we returned to the place with the waterfall. What we saw were our belongings scattered and ransacked.

It seemed the person who ransacked them was hungry. All the food was gone.

"I can't believe it. Even the candy I carefully kept is gone."

"Oh, Nonna, you had candy?"

"Yes, Bersa gave me honey-flavored candy and said, 'Please enjoy this on your journey.' I was eating one a day, and now... I won't forgive this!"

Nonna, in her anger, started doing a series of roundhouse kicks. You should stop that.

"Jeff, what do we do? Should we track them?"

"If it was just you and me, I would. But leaving these kids here and going away isn't right."

"I'm going! Mom, Dad, I'm going too. I want to get the honey candy back!"

Lead won't be here until tomorrow. Without food, we'd have to return to the stone house. Without food and without horses, that would be quite a challenge. I want to get some of the food back, even if it's just half.

We might be able to catch up if we go now.

The problem is Lord Clark. He can't protect himself. Depending on the number of people, Lord Clark might be in danger.

As if reading my mind, Lord Clark spoke up.

"Uncle, Teacher, I don't know how to use a sword, but I can speak Subartian. Since we're near the border with the Subartian Kingdom, the person who ransacked our belongings might be Subartian. If that's the case, to avoid a fight, I can serve as an interpreter. Please take me along; I can be useful."

"Can you really speak Subartian?"

"Yes, Uncle. After you and Nonna disappeared, I worked hard to learn foreign languages to impress you and surprise Teacher. I can speak all the languages of the countries adjacent to Ashbury."

How earnest he is.

(If I consider Lord Clark's feelings, I should take him along) I was thinking, but Jeffrey quickly gave his permission.

"Alright, Clark can come too. They might be in such a dire situation that they had to steal food. If you can speak Subartian, it will be a big help. Don't worry; Victoria and I will protect you."

"Thank you!"

That's right. Nonna can protect herself, so I'll focus on protecting Lord Clark. I've done plenty of protection and escorting. With such a well-behaved target, it should be easy.

So, I'm in the lead. The children are in the middle, and Jeffrey is at the rear. We proceed carefully, observing the state of the grass in the forest and staying alert to our surroundings. I'm good at tracking.

After walking for more than thirty minutes, we found the culprit's home. If you can call it a home, that is.

The dilapidated shack was more of a campsite, with vines stretched between the surrounding trees and a roof made of branches and leaves. The ground was barely visible, and the forest plants were just out of reach.

It seemed the food had been devoured, and the oil paper that wrapped it was scattered everywhere. If you throw things away like this, animals will be attracted by the smell.

"I'll go."

"I'll go."

"You might scare her. Given her poor living conditions, she probably doesn't have much strength. I'll go."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you. We'll stay here and watch. If anything happens, we'll jump in."

"Understood."

I made sure my dagger was easily accessible and approached the shack. There was no sound coming from inside. I quietly approached and peeked in, and a foul odor hit me. Inside, a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old was sleeping. Various foods were scattered around her, and it seemed she had eaten her fill and fallen asleep.

I turned and nodded to the others to show that everything was fine. When everyone was in place, I called out.

"Wake up."

The girl jolted awake. When she saw us, she tried to run away with all her might. But Jeffrey quickly caught her by the arm.

The girl tried to bite Jeffrey's arm, making it difficult for him.

Each time she moved, the foul odor spread. Why does she smell so bad? It's like the smell of animal excrement.

While the girl was struggling, Lord Clark spoke to her. She stopped moving and, with a desperate look, started pleading to Lord Clark.

I don't know Subartian, so I left the conversation to Lord Clark and waited for it to end. After a long conversation, Lord Clark explained to us with a sad expression.

"She says she was forced to marry her employer in Subartia. She was terrified of the man and ran away. In Subartia, they are forcibly integrating the local ethnic groups by forcing marriages. She has no parents to protect her, so she ran away and has been living here."

"Clark, how long has she been living like this?"

"Three weeks. She says the foul odor is from bear feces mixed with water and applied to her body to keep other animals away."

"Oh, that's why."

There is almost no interaction between the Subartian Kingdom and Ashbury at the civilian level.

I didn't know such unreasonable things were happening, and neither did Jeffrey or Lord Clark. Both of them looked as if they had eaten something bitter.

"Jeffrey, I have a favor to ask."

"Coincidentally, I have a favor to ask you too."

"Mom, Dad, let's take this girl back with us. She's pitiful. It's okay, right?"

"Right. Protecting a living person is far more important than searching for a crown."

Lord Clark translated again, and the girl, though scared, agreed. She probably had no choice, though. Her name is Ory. She is sixteen years old.

"First, we need to do something about this foul odor."

"Right. Let's go back to the waterfall and wash her. I already smell like her."

We decided to return to the waterfall with the untouched food Ory had stolen and the rest of our belongings. Ory seemed to trust Lord Clark and felt more at ease when he was nearby. So, Lord Clark and Ory were in the middle, with Jeffrey and me on either side, and Nonna followed behind them.

When we reached the waterfall, the two men stood guard while Nonna and I thoroughly washed Ory. Even though it was early summer, the waterfall water was cold. Ory's lips quickly turned purple, but she had to endure it. She was incredibly smelly.

While washing Ory, Jeffrey made a large fire and let Ory warm herself after she finished shivering.

I made soup with the recovered food. Ory ate it with great enthusiasm.

After a thorough wash, Ory, with her long blonde hair and reddish-brown eyes, turned out to be a rather beautiful girl.

"I'm glad my spare clothes fit her. Since Lead will be here tomorrow, let's go down the mountain without waiting. We can come back here when we're settled."

"Right. Subartian people might come looking for Ory."

On our way back to the stone house, Lord Clark asked me worriedly during a break.

"Teacher, won't there be any problems if we bring a Subartian to Ashbury without saying anything? I'm worried you might get in trouble."

"Oh, Lord Clark. Jeffrey and I just protected a lost girl in our country's forest. I don't know where she's from. After all, we can't understand her language. And you couldn't understand her accent very well, could you?"

I said this with a theatrical expression and tone, and Lord Clark said "Ah" and looked down, chuckling.

"That's right, that's right. I was careless."

And he laughed.