Haroon v6c4

《Traveling with a father and his daughter》

It was his first training in a while and he benefited a lot from that training but he couldn’t do it as much as wanted. It started to rain. It began misty but it soon got heavier. The mountain was filled with precipitation fog. Haroon came back to the inn, cleaned his body covered in sweat, and went to the restaurant to get some food. It was late morning, so Avan and his group weren’t there. But the village chief was waiting for him.

“I hope you had a great rest.”

“Yes, I did. The hot spring was very good.”

“Hahaha! It is the glory of our village. It doesn’t attract people from other towns because there are not many and we are living in such a remote place, but it keeps the villagers healthy. ”

Gallon brought Haroon’s breakfast when he didn’t even order it. It seemed he had no choice for breakfast. Haroon found it odd how Gallon seemed depressed unlike how mischievous he looked with his light steps yesterday, but he decided not to think too deeply about it.

“Why don’t you have some?”

“No thank you. I am old and my age wakes me up early in the dawn and that’s when I get my breakfast. Enjoy yours. Oh, right. I have discussed the price for the selagin yesterday with others.”

Haroon took a spoon and tasted the vegetable soup. The dense vegetable scent and huge vegetable chunks tasted great.

“We herb gatherers living in such a remote area usually get daily supplies in exchange for the herbs, so we don’t have much money to give. So we talked about it and we thought it would be best to pay you with this and medicinal tea we made with our secret recipe.”

The chief handed him a sack as big as his hand.

“What is it?”

He wasn’t intending to sell them at a huge price, since they were herb gatherers like Kartz. In fact, he wasn’t very bright with the price of the herbs, so he was only going to get what they would give.

“We don’t know. It has been a thousand years since this village was formed, and we have been gathering herbs for generations. Our ancestors gathered rare herbs from of course Huk'ran mountains, the volcanoes of the west, the Silent Land of the north, and even the Loof Mountains. These stones are what they found along their journey. We have shown these to the merchants visiting this village, but they confirmed they weren’t mana stones or rare orbs despite our expectations. But these stones have electricity, warm, or cold energy so we village chiefs have been keeping them safe for generations. It is not something rare, but since they are small it is great to keep it with you and just enjoy seeing it once in a while.”

Haroon put the sack upside down and poured the contents on the table to find five pebbles. They had a mixture of colors showing an overall dull color, and they were small, so they didn’t seem to be anything rare just like the village chief said. Haroon picked up one of them.

“Hugh!” he exclaimed.

Powerful electricity flew through his body as if he was struck by lightning. He felt something unique as if it woke up every single cell of the body. But it wasn’t quite the same as electricity.

‘What are these?’

Just like the chief said, they weren’t mana stones. If they were mana stones, the mana in his body would have resonated with it in some way. But these had a different kind of power. He picked up another one. A strong wind flew into his body from the stone. Its storm-like power made him feel like his cells would blow away at any second. When he put the stone down, the wind in his body simply went away as if it never happened. After picking up each of them, Haroon could say that they at least weren’t magic stones. The third one had a fire-like warm property, the fourth one had water-like fresh property, and the fifth one had earth-like property.

‘Could these be elemental spirit stones?’

That was his best guess. If it was a power different from mana, there wasn’t anything he knew other than the elemental stones. If these were indeed elemental spirit stones, these items were worth more than Mythrils for an elementalist. Even if these weren’t what he thought they were, at least they would be better than selagin that he didn’t really care about. At least these will be decorative ornaments. Haroon wanted to get these items identified, but he held his horses as the chief was present.

“I'm not sure what these are, but they seemed to be precious.”

“Yes. That’s what I thought. So we would like to give you these as payment. Would you accept it?”

Haroon nodded energetically. He didn’t know how precious selagin is, but it wasn’t important to him. These stones, too, weren’t known how precious they are, but it would be very important for the herbalists in such a remote mountain.

“That is great, to be honest with you, we were worried that you might not accept it. I am glad we agreed on a great deal.”

“It was a great deal for me, too. But wouldn’t you regret it if these are found to be very valuable objects?”

“Hahaha! Items have true value in the needed hands. Even if they are elemental spirit stones that are worth a hundred times over the magic stones, they are merely stones to us herbalists. I would say it is more likely for you to regret getting these stones for a bag of selagins.”

“You have a point.”

Haroon agreed. Not everyone thinks rare Mythril or gold is precious. Those who are starving to death would value the same amount of grain more than those ores.

“Enjoy your food. I have some business to deal with, and I will come back and give you a cup of tea. I believe people are packing medicinal herb teas as we speak. Let us serve you with the secret tea of our village after you are done with your food.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After the chief left, Haroon carefully put the five stones in his pocket and ate his food. Rye bread was more rough and hard than white and soft wheat bread, but it tasted great with the stew. He focused on having the food he even forgot his curiosity on the stones the chief gave. It was his first time focusing on the taste and flavor of the food this badly. He never had such great food as breakfast, even in his real life, so this was a very satisfying meal for him. The chief came back to the table when he was just finished with his meal. He came from the kitchen, and he had an earthen pot in his hand that fumed an intense herbal scent. It looked like he brewed it himself. He asked Gallon for a clay cup, poured the tea in it, and offered it to Haroon.

“Hugh!”

Haroon frowned for a moment when he took a sip. It was extremely bitter that he lost control of the expression on his face. But soon a mysterious expression floated in his eyes. The bitter taste was followed by sweetness, spiciness, saltiness, then sourness. The sour flavor at the end was not only refreshing, but it even cleared his head.

“Hahaha! We call it omi tea and we enjoy it on our trip to the mountains. It has a perfect ratio of herbs that represents five flavors. It relieves physical fatigue, makes your senses more sensitive, and keeps your head clear.”

“This is amazing.”

The chief showed his thumbs up to tell how great the herb tea was.

“It takes a lot of precious herbs so we cannot make them enough to sell, but we always serve it for our valuable guests.”

The chief handed him a basket of herb teas. They were packaged in small portions with paper, presumably into batches.

“I will drink this very gracefully.”

Haroon got up from the table and bowed politely. Embarrassed, but satisfied, the chief bowed back.

“We got such rare selagin with these, so it was a great deal for us. We really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it. I got this precious tea, thanks to you, so it was a great deal for me as well.”

Haroon and the chief sat down and enjoyed the tea. Just the scent made him feel refreshed, so he instinctively tended to take only a sip so he could enjoy it longer. Glancing over the window to see the view of a rainy day and enjoying his cup of tea, he realized Chief has not left yet. The chief noticed Haroon was looking at him, took a pause, and opened his mouth.

“Do you happen to know what weeping ferns are?”

“Weeping ferns?”

Haroon recalled reading about it from the herbology book he read at Kartz’s basement.

“Yes, they are good for inflammation and cancer, if I remember correctly.”

“You got it! I presumed you would be very bright with herbs.”

The chief paused there for a moment.

“In fact, we need some weeping ferns. We were quite worried about it, along with the selagin (which we now got, thanks to you). We need to get weeping ferns too for their great effect against cancer, but they too grow on moist dead trees or boulders. What concerns us is that there is a great natural colony of weeping ferns in the region of the black orcs of Alamiz mountain. There is somewhere else, but there is land that turns into swamps along the way so we cannot get there now. The only choice we have left is entering the region of the black orcs, but we herbalists cannot deal with them. We have some hunters in the village, but we are outnumbered and outpowered, and that was what we were talking about in the meeting last night, but we couldn’t come up with a great idea.”

Haroon knew what he was trying to say. Weeping fern is an herb that the entire plant is just one huge leaf with a great anticancer effect that spreads by spores. They are naturally found in various places, but they must be worried because they don’t have enough time until the contracted date. If it wasn’t raining or they had time, there won’t be any problem, but seeing how they are concerned it seemed they only had about three days.

That wasn’t a problem for him. With the messenger walking, he could sneak into their region and get the herb and rush out. Since it is raining, orcs would not roam around when they are covered with fur.

“I happened to be heading to Jorlen through Alamiz. I will get you some along the way.”

“Will you? Hahaha! I can’t thank you enough. I believe you got what it takes to do. But are you really leaving when it is raining?”

“I have to. I have a business to attend to so I need to get going even if it is raining.”

“My goodness! You should have gone with that merchant!”

Haroon got the hint from his words that Avan and her daughter departed to the Castle of Jorlen early in the morning. Did they really have to leave in such bad weather? He wondered.

“The hunters wouldn’t have had to escort them through Alamiz if they were with you.”

He was worried about the hunters of the village who went to dangerous Alamiz mountains, escorting them in such bad weather. He knew that Haroon was very bright with the mountain paths enough to get those selagins, and skilled enough to maneuver through Huk'ran Mountains, the land of terror.

‘They are the pain in the ass! Why now out of all the other days?’ Haroon thought.

They seemed to have a high social class, and everything was suspicious about them: having a beautiful lady as their attendant and coming all the way to such a remote place, trying to go through the Alamiz mountains in such bad weather. Haroon reviewed the path he had to take before breakfast, so he knew very well how dangerous Alamiz mountain was. The slope was not so bad halfway up the mountain but then it was continued with rocks with slopes over 30 to 40 degrees. To make things even worse, the path from Huk'ran Mountains to Alamiz Mountain was the region of the wyverns.

“I tried to stop them but when he offered 100 gold per person for escorting them, the youths of the village all joined him. Even Alph, the owner of the inn, agreed to join them.”

‘Fuck!’

100 Gold was huge in a remote village like this. It would take 2 orc warriors dead to earn such money. They would have taken the deal without any hesitation since it was their chance to earn what it would have taken several months of selling herbs.

“Sir! Please go for them. I heard the village chief and the other adults saying you are a very strong man! Please go and bring my daddy back. He is… he is headed to a scary place!”

Gallon begged with tears forming in his eyes. Ifran, the co-innkeeper came out of the kitchen with swollen eyes and came near the table.

“Alamiz mountain is the place that took the most lives of the village. Black orcs are surely a threat, but the evil orcs reside on the east side of the mountain keeping rare herbs and hunts away from us. Please go and stop my husband and others, warrior. That place is the land of the devils.”

“I beg you, too. They might avoid encountering the orcs thanks to the rain, but the mountain is too steep and dangerous to travel. 100 Golds is a fortune but that’s not worth their lives; they fell for the temptation in the adventurous spirit of the youth. You have what it takes to stop them. You will catch them in time if you hurry as it has been only an hour since they left. I will send you a couple or three swift herbalists with you, so go and send them back.”

Even the chief begged. This was none of his business, Haroon thought, but he was heading there anyway, and they were begging so desperately he couldn’t just ignore them.

“I will. But I can’t guarantee you that they will listen to me. I’ll go upstairs and get my stuff first.”

Haroon rushed upstairs and packed his stuff. He bought everything he needed back at Thaust Castle so he didn’t need to spend time preparing for the travel. He put the medical herbs in his magic bag and took out the stones the chief gave and inspected them.

『Elemental stones

Class: Unknown

Elemental stones are formed over a long time due to the accumulation of mana with special properties or elemental spirit power due to geographical influences. Elemental stones are special stones that have pure mana and elemental powers unlike mana stones or elemental spirit stones which have a mixture of all properties. Learning spells with appropriate properties or elemental spirit spells while having stones grants great effect for holders and they turn into ordinary stones once the mana or elemental spirit power it holds runs out.』

‘That came out of nowhere!’

His heart raced. Elemental stones had both mana and elemental spirit power and that was the perfect item for him. He wasn’t sure how to use it, but it apparently helps training greatly so that was enough for him. He stored the stones in the subspace and returned to the lobby. The chief had a raincoat made with rye straw. The cone-shaped hat and raincoat that covered the shoulders down to the thighs were well-made so that the rain would slip down without catching any moisture.

Haroon didn’t refuse the chief’s gift. He hasn’t checked if his iron snake armor was waterproof, but raincoats were definitely helping. A couple of herbalists in raincoats entered the inn while he put on his raincoat.

“And I prepared these for you.”

Ifran handed a small bag. He opened the bag and saw a few lunch boxes made with thin wood and a sack of water made with lamb leather. He was planning to soothe his hunger with beef jerky and rain, so it couldn’t be better if he could have Ifran’s food instead.

“Thank you. I will do my best to persuade him and send him back.”

“Please. If he insists…… tell him that I am pregnant with Gallon’s little sibling.”

“I’m sorry, tell him what?!”

Haroon noticed Ifran’s belly was a bit bulged.

“Oh! And he has no idea…….”

“I never knew, too, because the inn was always busy. But I started having my morning sickness soon after he left this morning.”

What a turn of events. If he knew it, Alph wouldn’t have left so easily. Haroon set on his journey with two herbalists the chief sent him with. The sky was pouring rains so the silhouette of the three soon disappeared from the chief, Ifran, and her son’s eyes.

Walking down the path that fumes out precipitation fog due to heavy rain, Haroon recalled what he saw about Alamiz mountains from the atlas. Alamiz Mountain had three peaks over 2000m above sea level, and it was the northern end of the Huk'ran Mountains. The slope of the mountain from the beginning of the mountain to 700m above the sea level was very gentle and it rained a lot, being full of vegetation so are animals and monsters. A lot of rare herbs were found in this area as well. This place was the habitat of the black orcs except for the eastern slope. A steep rocky slope was on top of that area, which made it very difficult to climb. There wasn’t enough earth for plants to grow, so nothing other than goats, dears, and rabbits were found above that level. It was in the habitat of the wyverns of Huk'ran mountains, though.

The eastern side of the mountain was the region of lump orcs. Lump orcs were comparably safer monsters to herbalists unless their region was invaded. They were distinguished for their intelligence and strength compared to other orcs, and although they lived in caves, they were known to be advanced monsters that has the technology to mine, excavate, and refine metals. Black orcs, too, were more powerful than ordinary orcs like grey orcs or brown orcs, but the lump orcs were on another level. Black orcs feared lump orcs they would even move their entire region if they encountered a lump orc.

‘Please, please don’t take the eastern side.’

The problem was that the fastest way to the castle of Jorlen county was to take the eastern side of the mountain. It was very likely that they have taken the eastern path for lowered risks due to heavy rain, so he had to catch up with them as soon as possible. The sky was pouring down so badly it was physically painful to get hit by raindrops. They ran for about an hour and got to the bottom of the mountain but there was no trace of people he was after. The heavy rain has removed their traces.

‘I’m going to miss them at this pace.’

He had to use Messenger Walking. Even if he didn't, the two herbalists were too slow for him. They were already out of their breaths just to keep up with Haroon. He persuaded them that he would go ahead alone, and they agreed. The herbalists were already impressed that a mercenary could climb the mountain better than those who climbed the mountains for their whole lives.

‘There is only one path to the midpoint so I might be able to catch them in time.’

The path through the region of the lump orcs on the eastern side of the mountain begins in the middle of the mountain so he had to hurry up. It won’t take long for hunters and herbalists to climb up to 700m with a gentle slope. So, he hoped for Avan and her daughter to be dragging down the group.

With Messenger Walking Level 2 activated, Haroon’s body flung up the slope like a bird piercing through the air. He was against the slope so he wasn’t as fast as he could run on the field, but it was twice or even thrice faster than just walking. Swiftly moving by trees and rocks, he continued his way up the slope without taking any break. The raindrops made their way between the straws due to the speed and wet his body.

“RUN!”

“AAAH!”

His body soared up to the sky against the rain when he heard voices in the distance. He climbed up to the highest tree nearby and saw a group of people being chased by black orcs.

“Seriously?!”

What could have they done to make them so screwed up to be chased by the orcs in heavy rain? He thought. Haroon jumped between branches to branches to make his way to the group. He made it to a point he could clearly see the people being chased by the black orcs. Alph and another hunter as wielding their greatsword, and Avan’s attendant swordswoman called Myo were wielding her sword to stop the orcs from chasing. Avan and Shany were running away at the head of the group, and four people were bleeding running away relying on each other. Only 4 other people were in a good shape. Alph and another man were stopping the orcs, and the other two were helping injured people to run away.

“You dare!”

Alph hopped off a small boulder to strike a black orc’s shoulder with his greatsword. The orc shed some blood from his shoulder, but that only angered him. The injury didn’t stop it from throwing its ignorantly massive ax. The orcs looked even scarier with their long black furs wet only to have their eyes glowing with anger.

“Gah!”

Alph swung his greatsword to hit the ax away only for his suppressed moan to burst out from his mouth. The shock of the impact made his body tremble. He retreated a few steps back, revealing the ground with deep footsteps of his.

“No!”

The hunter fighting by Alph saw another ax being thrown at Alph so he threw his sword at the ax. Fortunately, he was able to change the ax’s trajectory away from Alph, but now he had no means to block the rusty greatsword striking down to his neck. If the sky was clear, he could have swiftly moved away and helped himself escape somehow, but he was wearing a soaked wet raincoat and the ground was wet too, making his body very heavy. Myo was next to him and she just barely managed to block the attacks of three orcs but there was not enough time for her to help the hunter. The hunter shut his eyes. He wanted to trace his opponent’s weapon until his last moment, but he couldn’t help it because he wasn’t a swordsman.

“Dah!”

They heard someone shouting. Then he heard a scream of pain. The hunter, confused, opened his eyes. He realized his neck was still intact. He heard another painful scream. It was of the orc which was swinging a wooden club at Alph, who was coughing out blood. The orc held its neck with its hand after dropping its club, took a few steps back then collapsed to the wet ground.

It was only the beginning. There was a chain of the orcs’ screams. What Alph and his friends saw after were a few visible lines that cut through the rain. The lines flashed, hit the orcs, and their necks held with their hands were squeezing out the screams, collapsing to the ground.

“Sniff! Retreat! Powerful foe! Spread, wide, run!”

An orc ordered the whole group and the black orcs stopped chasing and started running away in different directions. They ran away with haste, even abandoning their weapons. The three just paused and dumbfoundedly looked at orcs running away. They noticed Haroon gliding down from the sky. The way Haroon descended to the ground from the tree like a god from the divine realm taking a human form; seeing it Alph shook his head. There were definitely no wings, but the way Haroon descended through the rain and fog from the top of a huge tree left a strong image in his brain. Haroon looked like a god, like a physical form of those beings known to be in the divine realm. Meanwhile, Haroon was confused by what he just experienced.

‘That’s odd. Why can I understand them?’

So far he could only hear unpleasant nasal noises from the orcs, but he could precisely understand what they just said. He couldn’t spend a long time thinking about it, though. He realized people were looking at him.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The townsfolks welcomed him, and Alph finally realized it was Haroon, and he nodded, still dumbfounded. He wasn’t really sure he was feeling alright himself, but he thought he should let Haroon know that he was doing alright. As the noises – the black orcs bumping into the trees, the leaves falling, and the screams of fear – fade away, the people who ran away returned to where the hunters were holding the chase. They didn’t witness what the three fighters just experienced, but they could see that there was a huge turn in the events.

“Haroon…… It’s you.”

“Alph. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine-- Agh!”

Alph answered without thinking, then he clenched on his left ribs and fell to the ground. He felt blazing pain from where he got hit by the club. Everyone went silent for a while. They were trying to catch their breath and gather their senses.

“Thank you for coming. That was a really close call. Shany’s stubbornness almost got us all killed, and you have saved us.”

“Hmph! Why would you say that……?”

Avan and Shany approached. Their clothes were covered in mud, supposedly from rolling on the ground, but it seemed they were not injured.

“Thank you. You saved us.”

It was Myo. Her raincoat was nowhere to be seen, but she was wearing armor that perfectly fit her body shape. She was soaked wet and that made her look very attractive. It was as if she’s a realized form of a female warrior in video games. Her golden ratio body, full breasts and butt, and her beautiful but cold face covered in rain couldn’t be more fascinating even in this kind of situation.

Haroon nodded as a reply before he went to the injured people. Two broke their legs, and the other two had cut wounds from the attacks. Broken legs are easier to treat as all he needed to do was realign the bones, but cut wounds were very dangerous. Weapons that the monsters used were made with bad quality irons or were weapons they got from the human; most of them were not well-maintained but very rusty. They were very likely to cause tetanus. To make things even worse, rain must have got into the wounds, too. With the help of the two that finally came back to their senses, Haroon moved the injured people under the shade of a few trees that grew close to each other. Haroon pitched a tent to connect the trees to block the rain. He let the others treat the broken legs and inspected the cut wounds. One had a deep wound at the shoulder, and the other had a cut in the belly and it was very close to failing to hold the organs.

He sprinkled antiseptic powder he got from Kartz over the wounds. Foams bubbled up from the wounds and they clenched their teeth in pain. But they managed to hold the scream in, as they were familiar with such treatments for being herbalists or hunters in mountains. He then took out an advanced treatment potion and poured it over the wound. Again, with foam, the wound started to heal up.

One of the biggest differences between the real world and this world was the potion. Injuries that would need surgical treatments in the real world could be treated with a potion as it could regenerate the cells. Apparently using potions consumes life, but there was nothing certain about it. There might be some penalty to NPCs, but there was no downside to using potions for the outlanders. After treating the two and applying a clean bandage over the wound, Haroon started making splints. Meanwhile, the others helped to realign broken legs. They could easily treat broken legs since they learned it through generations. Their bodies twitched in pain, but they suppressed the pain well. After applying splints on their legs, Haroon went to see Alph.

Alph’s face was pale. He was clenching his teeth, and the hunter that fought alongside him wasn’t sure what he could do to treat him.

“His ribs are broken. And one of them seems to be poking at organs. We can’t treat injuries like this.”

He, too, had a few injuries but he couldn’t leave Alph moaning in pain. Alph saved him a few times in the last fight. But more than that, he was agonized to see his life-long friend suffering from pain. Haroon held Alph’s hand that was pushing down on the chest. Alph’s trembling eyes opened and saw that it was Haroon. Saying ‘thank you’ with his eyes, Alph moved his hand away.

“Get a piece of wood so he can bite onto it.”

“Okay!”

This wasn’t going to be pretty. Haroon, too, just barely learned about surgical treatments by reading a book. Haroon took out a dagger, put mana into it, and carefully cut his chest. The hunter brought a small piece of wood and made Alph bite it. He stayed by his side, without being able to take his eyes off of him. Haroon spread the cut and put his fingers in. He carefully moved them and felt the broken bones. Just like he read in the books, he focused on feeling the bones and carefully realigned the ribs.

“Hgh, Gnnnngh!”

The sound of bones brushing against each other, realigning, and Alph’s suppressed moan made the people around so nervous that they even forgot to breathe. After realigning the broken bones, he poured the potion over the wound.

“Nnnngh, Ngh. Gnngh!”

Alph's body trembled in pain. Extreme pain made turned up the whites of his eyes. But he managed to hold on to his consciousness. The potion finally healed the bones and the cut. Haroon realized his face was wet with sweat so he wiped it off with his hand. He was nervous about his first surgical treatment, but it was done successfully. With the help of a potion, the broken ribs were well healed.

“You’ve done us good.”

“Thank you so much. You first saved our lives and now you treated our wounds. I don’t know how to repay your grace.”

People with injuries or not, they thanked Haroon. People were bound to get injured for working in the mountains, but they have never treated the wounds so fast like him. And Haroon even spent potions for them, which was too expensive for them to even imagine getting one.

“I’m just glad it’s not any worse. The village chief and Ifran asked me to rush to you, and it seems I was late.”

“I’m so sorry for the trouble. The girl over there asked us to get the Basran flower because it looked so beautiful. So we stepped into their region and encountered a group of them, and now you know the rest.”

One of the hunters coldly stared at Shany. He was furious about how a thoughtless lady almost got all of them killed by the black orcs.

“You mean the Basran flower that eats insects or small animals like flies?”

“That’s the one. It does look pretty, but we call it the devil’s flower that tempts insects or animals with rotten smell, but she insisted us to get her one and…….”

Dumbfounded, Haroon looked at Shany. She now fully realized her mistake so she dropped her head, but she turned up again with taunting eyes.

“Hmph! So what? You are bound with us under a contract, so why are you making such a big deal with something I asked you?”

“We promised to guide you to safely go past Alamiz mountain, not everything you would ask risking our lives on what we cannot expect.”

“Come on, did you seriously think 100 Golds per person was merely for the escort? You said you would ‘provide convenience’ as much as possible on our journey to the Castle of Jorlen County. What else could it mean but that you would do everything I say?”

“Oh, so you are perfectly innocent for dragging us into a life or death situation, huh? We warned you, SO many times, and it was you who insisted!”

“What?! How dare you peasants- do you even know who I am?!”

“ENOUGH!”

They stopped arguing thanks to Avan. They still had a lot to say, but Avan's voice possessed a certain dignity it simply suppressed them down.

“I admit that my Shany asked you something undue, and also that it led to an unintentional but dangerous situation. You all have my apologies on her behalf. I am terribly sorry. Much to my regret, you are hurt because of us.”

Avan politely bowed down to apologize to the townsfolks. They never thought he would go to such an extent to apologize, and that perplexed them.

‘Her personality is so screwed up, but her father seems to be fine on the other hand.’

As Haroon made his opinion on them, Avan made another offer.

“Now that this happened, it seems it would be impossible for you to guide us through the mountain. It must be difficult for you to carry on with the job with small or serious injuries you got. If this mercenary fella over here is willing to escort us to the Castle of Jorlen County, I will consider the contract between us has been well fulfilled.”

Sly old Avan dragged Haroon into the situation. If Haroon is willing to take the job, now the townsfolks could go back to the town without returning the money Avan paid in advance. Since they were paid 50 Golds each as down payment, that was still some fortune they got and they wouldn’t have to take the suicidal mission with injured bodies.

‘You old snake!’

Haroon felt something boiling up inside his mind, but he didn’t let it be shown as the expression on his face. Instead, he asked the hunter that argued with Shany in a whisper.

“Is there a set date?”

The hunter thought about it for a moment, then he shook his head.

“No. The contract was to escort them safely to the castle of Jorlen County,” He whispered back.

Haroon looked back at Avan.

“Fine. I will take the job.”

“Hahaha! Good, very good! You are making me so relieved.”

Avan laughed out loud, enjoying that Haroon agreed on escorting him. Shany seemed relieved as well. Myo stared at Haroon with passion but an expressionless face. Unfortunately, that passion was not for any good but jealousy.

“However, these people’s are injuries are too serious. We can’t depart now. It is very dangerous to go over the mountain in such heavy rain.”

His words completely changed the expressions on their faces.

“You can’t do that. We are running out of time. You are taking their contract so be responsible with that,” Shany whined.

“I understand what you are saying, but we don’t have any time to spare. I’m sorry, but I must ask you again to keep the contract,” Avan firmly added.

They were unyielding but Haroon didn’t even pretend he heard what they just said. Haroon took out more tents from the bags of the injured and set them up. That only made Avan and Shanny more frustrated. Shany tailed Haroon and persuaded him to get moving at once, but Haroon pretended not to hear her. There were a lot of things to take care of. Not a single person was unharmed. They had small and big injuries. When Haroon approached the townsfolks after digging up the waterway to keep the ground dry, Shany blew up.

“You peasant! How dare you low-life mercenary ignore my words?! Hey! Are you deaf or something?”

The phrase ‘low-life’ drove him mad. He always hated being disdained as a borderer in real life, and when he was called low-life even in a video game, he was overwhelmed with anger. Haroon stared back with murderous eyes. It was at that moment when a warlike atmosphere like that of an enraged beast fumed out from his body. Terrified, Shany trembled and took a step back.

“What? What did you just say?”

“W-What do you mean--”

“My ears must be tricking me because I heard ‘low-life mercenary,’ or was that you?”

“I- I--…….”

Frightened, her face went pale. Shrinking with fear she took a few steps back until something blocked her back. She looked back. When she saw her father and his angered face, big drops of tears sprung from her eyes.

She was upset and scared. It felt like there was nothing in the world but her and Haroon. No other being was more fearful and scary like him, and it felt like that being was revealing its fang, growling, ready to bite her thin neck right off at any moment.

“D-Daddy! That fucking bastard just--!”

“It’s alright. Let daddy handle this!”

Avan hugged Shany and pat her back a few times. He handed her to Myo behind him and came forward.

“You are overreacting to a child! She was indeed very unpleasant with her words, but there is nothing better with you since you ignored our request to fulfill the contract!”

Confidently facing Haroon’s murderous eyes, he spoke with dignity.

“Fulfill the contract’? Did somebody tell you I won’t be escorting you to the castle of Jorlen County? Let me remind you for you: I will take the job.”

“Then why won’t you go?”

“I was told that there is no date set for ‘the contract.’ Am I wrong?”

That brought a sudden change to the expression on Avan’s face. But he was experienced, and he was yet to lose his confidence.

“T-That is true, but the contractee is an urgent situation, so can’t the contractor shed some effort to fulfill the needs?”

“You told me you are a merchant, Mr. Avan. The key to the trade is to adhere to the terms of the contract. If there are no terms we have agreed upon, they are decided with further discussions. Moreover, these people here cannot return to the village right away. That means they are dead if the black orcs return. Why should I accept such a one-sided arrangement when we have nothing agreed upon? Aren’t contracts re-made for unexpected events?”

This made Avan shut his eyes. He, too, has made countless contracts in real life and in Beyond, and he was the one who exploited contracts thoroughly.

“Besides, I don’t want to keep the contract with a party insulting the other in the contract with words like ‘low-life’ or ‘peasant.’ Since we don’t have anything set for the breach of the contract, I will follow the general rule and pay the penalty by three times the contracted money.”

Haroon took out the pocket of money. His eyes trembled.

‘I didn’t think this through!’

He was short on money. Avan contracted with eight people and for 100 gold per person, summing up to 2,400 Golds for the penalty. All he had was 600 Golds. Well, he had more, but he couldn’t make it to 2,400.

The townsfolks talked with each other and took out their pockets of money.

“Please, take our money too.”

The hunter that fought alongside Alph collected 400 Gold and handed it to Haroon. Avan and Shany’s faces went pale. They never saw this coming. Now that they have antagonized the townsfolks, it wasn’t easy for them to return to the village.

“N-No. This isn’t right. I’m defying the trade ethics if I take this money. It is only right for me to pay you more for further contracts.”

Perplexed, Avan held Haroon’s hands.

“I don’t want any more arguments. I’m not trading with disrespectful people.”

Haroon took out more money from his pockets.

“I apologize. It troubles us if you break a contract like this. You can’t do this.”

His cunning face was long gone and a bewildered look filled his face.

“Haha! Why can’t I? Why are you acting like we’ve betrayed you, like if we are getting anything from breaking the contract? We are breaking the contract for the girl, Shany’s strong and disrespectful words and actions, and you, Mr. Avan, for ignoring the contract terms. Even if it wasn’t for the contract, you only took your stories into an account, willing to leave them to die to the monsters in the middle of a mountain. We are willing to take the loss to save lives. I can’t believe you are still seeing this as a matter of trade ethics--”

The longer Haroon talked, the tighter Avan shut his eyes. Haroon was right to with every bit of his words.

“It’s all my fault. I’m terribly sorry. I will do anything as you say but please do not break the contract. If you break the contract, we need to go back to Thaust Castle to go to the Castle of Jorlen County, and that will take over a month. We are in such a desperate situation, and that’s how we ended up making such a fault. Shany! You haven’t apologized yet!”

“I-I’m sorry. I was so wrong.”

The townsfolks couldn’t be more satisfied seeing Avan revealing his desperate side even willing to kneel down if he had to and Shany whose face went pale and apologized with the tiniest voice she could make. Myo found this very interesting, and a mysterious expression flashed on her face. Avan she knew never went back on his words, and Shany she knew was never so submissive.

“This shall be the end of the contract with the townspeople. I shall consider the money I paid in advance as the fee for escorting us this far. But please make a contract with me. If you escort us to the castle of Jorlen County, I will pay you 1,000 Golds.”

Avan was fast with decision-making as a sly and experienced merchant. He knew with experience that it was better to forget about small losses for greater profits. It was only that he was wrong again. Haroon was not impressed.

“I assume 1,000 Golds isn’t pleasing enough? I had the impression that it takes 5~6 good quests for that money.”

Avan couldn’t understand it and he found this very uncomfortable. To him, it seemed like Haroon was trying to exploit the situation and extort a fortune from him. But Haroon’s standard was heightened due to the Seryu’s job.

“Huhu! It’s just that we the Gusts of Wind don’t tend to take the job under 10,000 Golds.

”

“The G-Gusts of Wind? You are in the Gusts of Wind?”

“You mean the Gusts of Wind that escorted the outlanders to the Huk'ran gemstone mine?”

Surprised, the father and his daughter asked back. They were outlanders. There was no way they could have missed the biggest talk of the town.

“I am certain that I have told you I was on my way from the Huk'ran Mountains.”

“Yes. Yes, you did. You definitely did. So you really were from the Gusts of Wind?”

“Yes, I am. I’m Haroon, Captain of the Gusts of Wind”

Haroon took off his bracelet and let Avan check it. That confirmed him that Haroon was speaking the truth, and the joy appeared on his face as if his dead parents came back alive.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I met you here.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Haroon. I mean, Captain Haroon.”

The two were so pleased to meet him. The sudden change of their behavior couldn’t be odder to Haroon. He wasn’t sure for what, but he realized they were considering that he could be a great help to them.

“This Alamiz Mountain is the habitat of black orcs, wyverns, and even the devil orcs. It wouldn’t be a big deal if I was only escorting that warrior, Myo, but moving in such weather with two of you is simply suicidal.”

“I see. Will you take it for 5,000 Golds? Wait, I need to talk to you, in private, if you would give me a chance.”

“You’ve got it.”

Haroon and Avan avoided the rain and moved to a tree with wide leaves.

“Are you heading to the Silent Land?” Avan asked.

Astonished, Haroon opened his eyes wide

“How do you know about the Silent Land……?”

“It’s a long story. I will tell you on the way. Anyways, if you can get us to the Silent Land as fast and safely as you can, I will pay you 10,000 Golds.”

“Hmm.”

Perplexed with the unexpected, Haroon’s mind went blank. He had no idea how this user knew about him and exactly where he was heading to. Avan took Haroon’s pause wrong and added with an urgent voice.

“20,000. As long as you can guarantee us the safety. I don’t mind if you have anyone else along the journey. Get us safely to the entrance of the Silent Land, and that’s the only condition.”

Haroon was done thinking there. They will have enough time to learn about his story along the way. Being strong was his top reason for playing the game, but he didn’t need to say no to the profits. He was heading to the Silent Land anyways.

“Deal. I suppose I will be hearing that long story this evening.”

“Hahaha! I knew you would take the deal. You are so broad-minded just like the rumors say. You will hear my long story today. But you will need to wait until we get to the Castle of Jorlen County for the down payment”

Haroon nodded when he was told Avan had no cash on him at the moment.

“Fine with me.”

Avan and Haroon shook their hands and returned to the tents. The two herbalists made it to the group when Avan and Haroon were making the deal. The middle-aged herbalists were experienced and skilled with medical treatments, so they were taking care of the injured. They couldn’t make a fire so they shared lunchboxes and bread before they took some rest. Meanwhile, Haroon went to the places to gather weeping ferns. Although they were in the region of the black orcs, the orcs weren’t around thanks to the heavy rain. Haroon handed weeping ferns he gathered to the herbalists and saw that the injured were doing fine. Especially Alph got so much better he could take a few steps.

“Thank you. I thought you were just a wandering mercenary, so I know how disrespectful I might have seemed. I can’t thank you enough for saving my life.”

“Hahaha! You weren’t disrespectful at all. Ifran packed me some lunchboxes and that’s enough hospitality for me.”

“But you even spared valuable potion for humble people like us. I have no idea how I can repay you.”

Alph bowed again and again to thank him. The other townsfolk were doing the same. Their eyes were full of admiration and respect, which made Haroon uncomfortable.

“Return to your home where your family awaits. It’s still raining a lot, but your wounds are healed a bit so you should get a good rest at a comfortable place.”

“N-No we won’t. We are going with you. We will be a help for our savior. We townsfolks know very well about this land. We can guide you, do the muscle works, or even become the baits for the evil orcs if we have to.”

“You don’t need to do that any of that. I know the ways. Do you know that your wife has your second child, though?”

“What? Second child? Are you serious?”

“That’s what she told me to tell you. She.”

“Haa, Haaha, HAHAHA! Ow!”

Alph laughed like a crazy person, then he frowned his face and screamed. Laughing brought pain to the injury. Haroon saw the townfolks making a noise for the news.

“Go back to your town. Your job is done here. It’s still raining a lot, but you will be waiting for a few days if you are waiting it out. Even if you have to get rained on, it would be better for you to return to your home and get some help from your families and get washed in those hot springs.”

“We will. That’s what we have been discussing. It would be better for us to return to the village rather than staying in such a dangerous place in such a rain.”

One of the middle-aged herbalists that followed Haroon added. The youth of the village were greatly discouraged for taking Avan’s offer for their vigor and greed only to experience a life-or-death situation in just a few hours. They learned that they still need to travel with the experienced to stay safe. They adjusted their raincoat and departed to the town.

“Please pay a visit to our village again. That will be when we will pay back your grace.”

Alph looked back and back and back, as much as he could, walking away with the help of his friends.

“Thank you. I’m so glad we can return without any loss. We will never forget the name the Gusts of Wind, and your name, Captain Haroon. Please visit us again, whenever you would. We are humble herbalists without nothing but we will repay your grace.”

The herbalists that followed later even showed some tears letting go of Haroon’s hands.