I Realized What Was Wrong
“Well then, here is the money.”
“Thank you. Take it.”
They had finished talking, and Mr. Hannes gave the money to the merchant.
The merchant then passed it to the other man for inspection.
“…Yes, that’s the right amount.”
“I see… So the payment is received then.”
“Yes. Now, if you would unload the grapes..”
“Of course, we’ll do it immediately.”
As I was closer, I could see the merchant clearly now.
The merchant was very stout.
But compared to the merchants I had seen in Ractos, including Mr. Kalis, his clothes looked quite expensive… They did not seem like the kind of clothes that a merchant would wear during a long trip… Perhaps there was a reason that I just wasn’t aware of.
Now that negotiations were finished, the man was smiling happily… However, there was something fake about his expression.
As if he was plotting something…
It was also possible that this herb not only sharpened your senses, but made you see things you wouldn’t normally see…like subtle changes in an expression.
“Hey, take it out. All of it. I don’t know why, but that thing had no effect… So just release all of them.”
“Are you sure? I thought we were going to release them to the wild later…?”
“We have no choice. Or do you want to deal with things yourself?”
The merchant gave orders to the other man.
Even though he was talking quietly so that Mr. Hannes wouldn’t notice, I could hear everything.
However…what was he referring to…?
The wagons were filled with what I assumed was orcs.
That was when I realized the danger we were in.
“The merchant with the glass sphere…orcs… Could it be?”
I prayed that I was wrong as I started to move away from the fence.
Just as the man jogged over the wagons.
“Mr. Hannes. Please run away!”
The merchant raised his voice, but I ignored him and rushed to the wagons.
Mr. Hannes was stunned by my actions…but this was no time to explain things in detail.
“This place is dangerous! Just run away!”
I shouted, and then moved towards the man near the wagons, who was shocked at the sudden intrusion.
Then I unsheathed my sword and thrust it at him.
But I wasn’t used to pointing a weapon at people, and hesitated a moment.
The man pulled out a knife and blocked my sword.
“Amatateur… Do you want to die?”
He had been able to block my attack so easily, which made him assume that I was an amateur.
“Oh, what is this now…? A bandit has been hiding in the village? What is the meaning of this, chief?”
The merchant called me a bandit and began to make accusations towards Mr. Hannes.
“What are you doing? Ignore that bandit and do as I say.”
The merchant moved in between us and shouted at the man.
And so the man immediately headed to the wagons.
“Oh? Do not point your sword at me. It’s dangerous… I see you haven’t been a bandit for long…”
When I tried to chase after the man, the merchant stepped in front of me and smiled.
While I had some experience with monsters and have been training hard, I had never been in a serious fight with a human, where I meant to hurt them.
…And being raised in a peaceful country caused me to hesitate…
“Well, it doesn’t matter who or what you are. Because there will be no one here once we are finished…”
“Hehehe. Now…it is your turn.”
I shouted for him to stop, but there was no way that they would listen to me now.
The man continued to the wagons and unlocked the chains from the outside.
At the same time, the cry of orcs rang from inside and I could hear the clanging of metal.
…He had released the chains that held them all at once.
“Now, it’s not safe for us either…so we will take our leave.”
The merchant said with a chuckle. And then he climbed onto his horse and took off.
The other man then followed after him on a different horse.
Mr. Hannes shouted, but I ignored him.
I should chase after the merchants…but now, dozens of orcs had come out of the wagons, and they were glaring at me.
“Tsk! I have no choice then… Elemental Shine!”
I immediately used the light magic that Sebastian had taught to me.
Unlike Leo, I was not able to fight so many orcs at once.
And so I decided to blind them temporarily and escape.
Thankfully, the sun had set completely, and so the light was so bright that it blinded the orcs… I was very grateful to Sebastian and his teachings then.
“Mr. Takumi. The orcs!”
As the orcs stood there, stunned, I dashed over to where Mr. Hannes stood near the entrance.
“Apparently, the wagons had orcs in them instead of grapes. They will attack if we don’t escape!”
“…I see. Then I will call the other villagers! Hey!”
Mr. Hannes nodded at my words and then shouted to Rai’s parents. Then those two bounded off into the village.
It was good that they acted immediately.
“And what will you do, Mr. Takumi!?”
“I will…try to buy some time so everyone can escape… Mr. Hannes, take the others and run!”
There were dozens of orcs… I didn’t know the exact number…or if I could even buy enough time.
However, by running in a different direction and luring them away…I might be able to help the others… That’s what I thought.
If only Leo was here with me… She would have been able to defeat the orcs in seconds…