Chapter 184

The man was the one who moved first. He ran his eyes over Ethan's arms and legs, swallowed a dry breath, and gave an awkward laugh.

"Ah… haha. Looks like I… came into the wrong place…."

The man stammered as he edged backward. Then, with a look in which fear and confusion churned together, he glanced at Ethan once more and bolted out of the tent.

Tap-tap-tap.

The hurried footsteps faded in a flash.

Only stillness was left inside the tent. The soldier sitting beside Ethan drew his brows together and muttered.

"…What was that. That guy. The hell is wrong with him?"

"Sounds like he's still not doing all that well."

"Hmm. Well, fair enough."

The soldier rested his fingers on the tip of his chin and nodded, as if he agreed with what Ethan had said.

"Getting hauled off by a magical beast the size of a house and barely coming out alive — bound to leave a mark…. And from what I hear, supplies were short, so he couldn't get proper treatment for a while either."

"……"

"Well, that's all true, but…."

The tail of the sentence drew out long and low. The soldier paused his rubbing at his jaw and glanced sideways at Ethan.

"Thing is, listening to that guy talk just now. Sounded like he was saying something about you."

"……"

"What was it…. Said he saw cuts on your arms and legs knit back together in seconds? Said you were fine after getting your thigh punched through?"

The trailing words were a careful probe.

Ethan met the soldier's eyes for a moment, then quietly looked toward the spot where the man had disappeared.

Then he let out a small puff of a laugh, as if he'd just heard something absurd.

"That's nonsense, isn't it. Doesn't make sense."

The voice waving off the question carried not the smallest tremor. It was as steady as a man brushing aside a suspicion that didn't deserve a reply.

"Yeah, of course."

The soldier shrugged and chuckled, and that was the end of it — he asked Ethan nothing more.

The mood eased right away. Ethan shouldered his packed bag and stepped down from the cot.

"All right. I should be off. If anyone asks where the rest of them went, please tell them I left ahead."

"Yeah, yeah. You finish your discharge paperwork and all?"

"Yes. I spoke to them this morning, so any moment now—"

Flap.

Before Ethan could finish, the tent flap was tossed up and a middle-aged soldier with a thick beard shoved his head inside.

"Ha, I knew it. The muster order went out ages ago — what are you two doing dawdling in here! Slipping off as usual."

Ethan took a step forward and spoke to the older soldier.

"Ah, I'm supposed to be getting a discharge order, so—"

"Whaaat? Discharge order?"

The older soldier dragged the words up high and snorted, as if the idea were absurd.

"Discharge order, my foot! The people who'd handle that are all out front too! Quit your grumbling and get out here!"

Flap.

The flap shuddered with the echo. The older soldier disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared. Ethan stood there a moment, looking at the empty space where the figure had vanished, then let out a small breath.

"Ah, geez."

A sound came from beside him. Ethan turned his eyes toward the voice. The soldier who'd been sitting behind him had moved closer and was grinning as he laid a hand on Ethan's shoulder.

"Hey. Luck's really not on your side, huh."

"……"

"What can you do? Since it's come to this, you may as well take a look at the new arrivals before you go."

His head was starting to throb. Ethan let out a sigh and answered.

"Guess so."

The two of them stepped out of the tent. They moved along the bustling path crowded with people, heading toward the front, where the entrance to the camp was.

The honored guest, soon to arrive, was to be received by a line drawn up across the camp's outer edge.

"All right, anyone who got here first, fill in toward the front. Quit dragging your feet and move—!"

Ethan stopped near the entrance and looked around. Maybe because he'd arrived a beat later than the others. The only place left to stand was at the very end.

A spot where passing glances and any other notice were unlikely to reach him.

It wasn't a great spot for catching a look at the noble figure's face, but Ethan thought it was actually a stroke of luck and wedged himself into the corner.

He had no interest in noble figures or any of the rest, and as soon as the messy ceremony was over, he meant to slip away.

The edge of the line was also as good a place as any — relatively quick to get to the stables from there.

"—Hey, you know."

Right then. The soldier behind him jabbed at Ethan's shoulder and spoke up. Ethan turned his head and looked at him.

"This important person, then — who is it, exactly? You know anything?"

"Not really. I haven't heard much either…."

"—Ahem!"

Ethan and the soldier were just talking when a clearing of the throat cut in and pulled both their attention.

Ethan looked toward the sound. A young man on his right pushed his glasses up slightly and spoke.

"You don't even know that? It's a priest from the capital."

"From the capital?"

The soldier behind Ethan brightened and pressed for more. The young man answered as if he'd been waiting for the cue.

"From what I hear, no run-of-the-mill priest either — fairly high up."

"Oh ho."

The soldier's eyes went round, and he picked up the thread with growing excitement.

"So we might actually get to see the priest's hand sweep up and our wounds heal in one go, then?"

"Might. Might not, though…."

"Wait, more importantly! Why would someone that high and that noble come all the way out here?"

"Eh? Well, uh… that would be, well…."

The young man dragged the end of his sentence out and rolled his eyes about. He clearly didn't actually know that part, but he sorted hard through his words, as though he had some duty to come up with an answer.

"Things have been unsettled lately, right? Because of that, rumors and the mood in a lot of places aren't great either."

The young man let the line hang and glanced to the side. Once he'd confirmed that more eyes around them had turned his way, he gave a small cough and went on.

"But didn't we wrap up the anomaly that broke out here clean? A piece of welcome news, that. So I'd guess they've come to praise the achievement. Could be they'll hand out some kind of special supplies. And also—"

"Could just be passing through."

A gravelly voice cut in. The young man scrunched his face up in displeasure at being interrupted and glared at the men chuckling nearby.

"—All hands, attention!"

That was when it happened. A command rang out from somewhere near the entrance.

The chatter cut off. Ethan stopped scanning the noisy crowd and fixed his eyes on the front.

"……"

A sense of movement rose. Ethan turned his eyes toward the entrance. In the meantime, small sounds of admiration and quiet murmuring were breaking out all around.

"Look over there. They're coming this way."

"Whoa…. It really is a priest. First time I've ever seen someone high up in the Orthodox Church in person."

The group drawing in from the distance was a procession of dozens, attendants and healers among them.

White hems fluttered across the dry earth, and the pendant hanging at the throat had eight petals fanned open, catching and glittering in the sunlight.

A great many people walked toward the tents and before long stepped inside the camp's bounds.

The commander standing at the front took a step forward at once and called out.

"It is an honor that you have traveled so far to visit us! The commander of the 17th Unit, charged with defending the kingdom's southeast, offers his greetings to the priest."

"We offer our greetings!"

The soldiers added their voices to the commander's and bowed their heads in unison. Ethan moved along with the people around him.

"Thank you for the welcome. May the protection of the Lord God, who guides the world's restoration, be with all of you who safeguard this land."

A soft voice spread over the lowered heads.

Ethan slowly raised his gaze and looked at the one at the head of the just-arrived party.

The white tunic was long enough to brush the ground. Her hair was streaked with white, and her smile was gentle.

The woman who had led the procession was speaking to the commander across from her with a serene expression.

Ah. So she's the one….

Ethan let out a small sound of recognition. From the look of it, the face he'd just seen belonged to the noble guest everyone had been talking about.

"Priest. Would you come inside first? The accommodations are humble, and I am ashamed to receive you in them, but we have prepared a place for you to rest a while."

"Please, don't say such things. How could a place that carries the will of those who would defend this land be humble?"

When the exchange ended, a brown-haired attendant standing behind the priest stepped forward and spoke.

"The priest was on a pilgrimage to look in on the safety of the kingdom when she heard news of your efforts here, nearby, and resolved to come to this place."

As the attendant spoke, a large wagon began approaching from the rear of the procession. The attendant glanced at the boxes stacked on the wagon and continued.

"She has also heard that the forces here have successfully put down the sudden anomaly. So she has come bringing supplies, both to commend your achievements and to ease your hardship. We hope you'll accept them gladly."

Ethan listened to a small squabble nearby — someone insisting they'd been right all along — and sighed.

In the meantime, the attendant kept speaking, looking out over the soldiers around them.

"The supplies brought are venison enough for one hundred and fifty servings, and sixty bottles of wild grape wine. Please eat and drink your fill. We have also brought a good supply of healing potions made by the order; we hope you will share them out and that they will help in treating injuries."

"Whooaaa!"

The moment the attendant finished, a piercing cheer went up around them and the mood lifted in a single rush.

At the same time, the soldier standing behind Ethan poked at his shoulder and leaned in.

"Aw, hell. Talk about no luck at all. Of all days for a feast to roll in. Look, since it's come to this, why not drop the idea of going anywhere else and tear into some meat for once?"

"No. I have to go."

"You'll regret it, don't say I didn't warn you. Think this kind of thing happens every day? You get to see a priest, mountains of food and wine, and on top of that a ration of seriously effective healing potions! If the order blessed them directly, you couldn't buy those with a stack of gold on top of the price."

"…You can have mine too. I don't need them."

Ethan was speaking quietly with the soldier when the priest's procession began moving again toward the tents inside.

At once, a signal for quiet went up and the murmuring around them cut off in an instant.

Ethan bowed his head toward the priest's procession just as he had a moment before.

"……"

Once the welcome was wrapped up like this, he'd be slipping out of the camp too.

The delay had eaten into his time, but if he kept the reins tight, he could still make it to his next destination without trouble. From there he had to push on to yet another battlefield, take out his targets, and pile up experience.

The slug that, unless its weak point was pierced in a single blow, would spew toxic fluid and multiply. The elk that only grew more savage with every exchange of blows. The python that wouldn't die until the real head among many was taken off. He'd cut them all down.

So that those deep blue eyes would never have to stand out front alone again. Holding off the threat and shielding others would be his and his alone—

"Oh my."

That was when it happened. A soft voice carried in from close at hand.

"…?"

Ethan flinched and lifted his eyes.

Filling his forward-fixed gaze was the priest, bent toward him as she spoke.

"Child. You seem a little young to be standing in a place like this…. What's your name? Your age?"