Whizzzzzzzz! Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!
Arrows rained down from the sky.
And alongside them were the bristling spears in the hands of knight rising on horseback.
Itd been a week since the Voitra Forest was burned down.
The Imperial Army was still targeting their group.
At the front, a pilgrim clad in pure white
Callius
Snikt! Clang!
Deflected a flying arrow with a slash of his sword, and pulled the reins of his horse.
Snikt!
An arrow embedded itself on the earth just in front of him, and the spears of the knights werent letting up either.
Whiiiiiisshhhh!!
An arm with bulging muscles threw a spear.
It shot forward like an arrow, aimed straight at Callius chest.
The timing was perfect, and the strength and skill behind the throw were also sufficient.
The moment the spear left his hand, the knight was certain
That his spear wouldnt miss its mark.
Hmph!
But this world wasnt so accommodating.
Another, short-statured, pilgrim suddenly jumped up and swung a huge hammer to deflect the spear!
What!
Not only that
Twang! Snikt!
U-ugh!
Kgh!
With the twangs of a bowstring, arrows sought out the hearts of several soldiers and knights.
Some of them were even turned aflame on impact.
A magical beast suddenly appeared from the rear, wreathed in lightning, and attacked the troops.
The lizards in front whod been running away counterattacked, and their spears stabbed out.
Re-, retreat! Ugh!
Just when the captain was about to give the order to retreat
Suddenly, the pure white-clad pilgrim jumped over the troops and swung his sword.
As soon as the sword came out of its scabbard
Snikt.
A beam of light shone, and the knights head rolled down.
Sizzle!
The blood thatd spattered like a fountain quickly dried up, and the scattered pieces of flesh withered away.
Ahhhhhhhhh!
Again, the imperial forces retreated.
Fifty soldiers and eight knights had come, but they were no match for the four pilgrims and one demonic beast.
Creak.
The pilgrim in white put his sword back into its sheath. Callius, whistled.
Then, as if itd been waiting for his signal, his horse came a-trotting, and Callius hauled himself up on its back.
Is it alright to ride a horse during pilgrimage?
The lizard thumping the ground with his tail who asked this
Was the chieftain of the dragonkin tribe, Philomatour.
Hed escaped from the tribe and come to accompany Callius and the others.
Apparently he didnt hold much affection for the tribe, and so instead had followed them, saying he preferred the wandering life.
No one else knew that the biggest reason behind his decision had been Callius.
Theres no law that says you have to walk on your own two feet just because youre on a pilgrimage. After all, the meaning of pilgrimage is to find yourself.
Lord Lactus doesnt say that. Aldo, isnt your God a little strange?
Hed adopted quite a stern demeanour while serving as the clan chief, but since hed thrown down that heavy burden, hed completely changed.
Philo Cut-Tail.
Like his somewhat frivolous nickname, his usual tone was also quite lighthearted.
Philo, do not slander other Gods. The sons of the tundra would smash your skull with their hammers if they heard you.
Aldo spoke harshly but caringly, as if he were admonishing a youngster for his cheekiness. It was as if he saw Philo like a son.
Lord Arbeto never said anything about pilgrimage.
The elf, Serena, was still behaving as usual.
Except her face flushed whenever she peeked at Callius.
The God of the Sword, thats Lord Valtherus, isnt it?
Thats right.
He is generous.
Callius, with his lips curved up, responded to Philos nonsensical words.
One would have to be pretty narrow-minded to take exception to horse-riding.
Umm!
Callius, leaving Philo stuttering, looked at the town in the distance.
That must be Reikmann. Right?
It should be. If you look at the mark on this foxglove tree, it says Reikmann.
Wasnt it a rural town?
That was thirty years ago Looks like its prospered!
Reikmann.
Originally, it was just a small town where tourists would occasionally visit for a while.
Most of its income depended on that small number of travelers, but that seemed to have changed over time.
Its a fairly large town now.
Still, the town itself looked nothing special.
There were a few moderately large buildings, and the economy still seemed mainly agricultural. But what was a little unusual, was a different with a slightly building style standing at the centre.
After walking for a while, Callius realized that the building was the Smiling Rose.
This place has prospered because of the brothel.
There was nothing very surprising or shameful about it.
It wasnt unusual in the context of the times.
Everyone had their own way of living.
Then you can relax for now and join up with us later. Will you lodge separately?
I just have something I need to hand over, so arrange a room for me.
Callis? Theres no need to hide it. Theres no shame in needing the comfort of a woman.
Seeing Philo pat his shoulder, Serena caught him in a chokehold.
Kgh!
Dont be rude, Philo!
Okay, okay! Got it!
Well be waiting for you.
Alright.
Verse of Grace had a pretty strange setting.
It wasnt explicitly expressed as a quest.
That was due to how Verse of Grace worked.
It was an act of mercy to soothe the sorrow of the dead.
To relieve their deep-seated resentment, you had to settle their grudge.
It could be very light, or very heavy.
By granting mercy and dispelling the grievance of the deceased, you received appropriate rewards.
Thats how Corpse Grace works.
But it could be quite difficult to resolve the crux of a resentment, since you only got to indirectly experience some vague recollections from the dead mans lifetime.
As a result, although hed indeed had several successes in this field, Callius had also encountered many failures.
Sometimes the grudge simply could not be resolved, and in many cases it was difficult to discern what the hell the grudge was even about.
And this case was also similar.
I dont know if I just need to hand it over, or do something else.
Judging from past experience
Possibly some little more effort would be needed.
Hed seen a woman and a place, but Callius knew it wasnt only that.
Because the feelings hed felt
They werent that straightforward.
Are you a guest?
Even pilgrims have to take off their pants once in a while. Kaha!
A pair of guards were standing at the brothels gates.
Callius asked, ignoring the silly joke.
Where can I find Veronica?
Veronica? Ooh, bro! Youve heard the rumours, huh? Looking for the biggest draw of the Smiling Rose But too bad. Shes off today.
I mean when shes off-duty.
Callius sighed.
Why wasnt it going easy right from the start?
Whyre you looking for her?
Hey, kid. Dont interfere.
A girl slipped out from between the guards and asked with her arms crossed.
How about me instead of her? Im the one wholl become the brightest rose in the future.
The girls bold words made Callius brows furrow.
I have something to hand over to Veronica.
Ah, we cant let you through. You arent the only guy itching to chat her up. She might be just a whore, but we cant just let some random stranger meet her. Besides, Veronica is the brightest flower of Reikmann. Forget it.
Yeah, bro. Therere many other flowers, so if you want to pick one of them
The moment a guard tried to push his shoulder
Calliuss hand caught his wrist and knocked him down in an instant.
Crack!
Huh?
Even though he fell with his wrist broken, the guards eyes were blank, as if didnt understand what had happened.
Bastard, we were playing nice!
Already at close range, the other guard drew a sword from his waist and aimed at Callius shoulder.
The guards were armed with spears in their hands and swords at their waists.
Callius effortlessly caught the sword between his fingers.
Wh-, what!
While the guard was busy being terrified by his sword being caught mid-swing, Callius knocked him down too.
Thud.
Callius looked down at the guard whod fallen on his ass in surprise, and asked.
Where is Veronica?
F-, follow me! Ill take you to her!
While the guards were struck dumb
The girl from before exclaimed.
Guide me.
Yeah!
Pit-a-pat.
Veronica! Its Chris! A guest is here! Open the door!!
The girls name turned out to be Chris.
The rather shabby house outside the brothel was apparently Veronicas, but no matter how many times the girl knocked on the door, no reply came.
Veronica! Phillips here!
The girl said some nonsense.
Then, finally, they heard sounds from inside the house.
Creeeak.
A woman met them at the door, light brown hair flowing over her shoulders like a waterfall.
She had a tobacco stick in one hand, and once she saw the two of them, she lit it and nodded to make them come in.
Im off duty today, Chris. Why did you bring him here?
Hes like an actual guest. Trust me! He didnt come here for work.
After making introductions, the girl quickly went outside.
She was an excitable little kid.
Callius looked at the woman and took a sword out from his bosom, handing it over.
It was a rather short, broad sword.
An ordinary sword without any impressive adornments.
This is Phillip.
The swords name was Phillip.
It was the name of the dead man who needed mercy.
Hey, its that bastard again. How much?
What do you mean?
Didnt that bastard borrow money again in my name? Fucking son-of-a-bitch. Lets hear it. How much is it?
It was hard to tell from her annoyed and arrogant countenance whether this woman really was a prostitute.
A prostitute who pays you.
It was amazing in many ways.
So? How much?
This is Phillip.
?
Veronica finally saw the sword in her hands clearly.
She tilted her head as if she couldnt understand, but then her expression changed.
So Callius told her again.
That is Phillip.
Is he ?
Dead.
Veronica was silent for a while.
Then she ran a hand through her hair.
Anything else?
No.
I see. Understood. You can go.
Callius had thought they mightve been lovers, but apparently not?
There was no change in her facial expression.
Why did Phillip think of this woman when he died? Was he just a simp?
Callius had hoped that the Verse of Grace would be completed once he handed the sword over, but no such luck.
Maybe he needed to do a little research.
What, are you finished so soon? Didnt you do it?
This was obscene behaviour for a kid.
Callius frowned.
I did not.
Then what did you come here for?
I know Phillip.
Chris had been talking about Phillip to wake Veronica up.
Phillip? That idiot Phillip?
An idiot, was he?
A real idiot. That guy always chattered about snatching away the brightest flower of Reikmann.
Were they lovers?
How can somebody be lovers with a flower? Maybe hed just hit his head somewhere?
Perhaps there was something Callius was missing.
I came all the way here, after all.
Callius looked down. Since he couldnt know Verse of Graces reward in advance, he had no idea how itd end.
Still, it was worth a little anticipation. Verse of Grace was rare enough to simply throw once away.
He had to look around Reikmann a little more and search for clues about Phillip.
But I heard something.
What?
They said Phillip was going to buy Veronica. But how could a penniless farmer buy the brightest flower? I think its nonsense.
A farmer?
How did a farmer become an imperial soldier?
Chris answered his question.
And then he got suddenly recruited into the Imperial Army. I dont know how. Maybe he had some connections? Though I wouldnt have thought so.
Chris puzzled words made Callius eyes turn cold.
Things here smelled fishy.
Phillip is dead.
Clad a thin cardigan, Veronica said to the man sitting in the office.
The mans name was Rupard.
He was the manager of the Smiling Rose.
Wearing a monocle, Rupart kept perusing the account books, and answered without even looking up at Veronica.
So it happened. What a shame. Are you happy?
If you hadnt said anything strange, he wouldnt have been so reckless.
Rupard finally closed the ledger and looked at Veronica.
I just made him an offer. The empire needed a soldier, and I introduced him to a good job. I dont want to hear any complaints from you.
Dont bullshit me. You did this because you didnt want to lose the biggest draw of the Smiling Rose to a strange peasant.
Me? Why would I have to worry about a small-time farmer?
It happened right after Phillip left. Somebody scoured through his rice field. I know it was you!
Do you have any evidence?
I saw you.
Rupard smirked.
He leaned back on the chair.
Whats it to you? Isnt Phillip dead anyway? Yes, there were rumours of a treasure in Phillips land. His field always had bountiful harvests, even when other places had a poor crop. Naturally people gossiped about some kind of treasure hidden there, so I just dug through it once.
And then?
I only found a small box.
What?
There was a ring inside.
A ring?
Toss.
Clatter.
Maybe he was trying to propose to you. I thought of throwing it away, but I was going to give it back to him as a congratulation gift if he managed to come back alive. Now I suppose I cant give it to him anymore. Take it.
Veronicas eyelids trembled as she caressed the box.
Phillip was an idiot.
Indeed. After all, the very idea of marrying a prostitute is stupid.
Still, he wasnt trash. He wasnt a bastard like you.
Swish!
She pulled out a sword from under her cardigan and ran towards Rupard.
But as she thrust the blade at his head
Whish!
Rupard managed to dodge it.
You crazy bitch!
Puff!
Ugh!
Puff!
Aah!
Why the fuck are you mad at me, huh?!
Rupard, who smashed Veronicas forehead with a headbutt and kicked her down with his foot, caught her hair as if hed been enduring the impulse for ten years.
Veronica, whod lost her weapon and collapsed, roared as if spewing out all her anger.
If it werent for you, Phillip wouldnt have died!!
That stupid bastard volunteered to the army so he could live with a whore, why is it my problem? This is why idiot bitches like you
Shut up, you son of a bitch!
Puff!! Thud!
But what came back was more violence.
Veronica groaned in pain as Rupard stepped on her.
Know your place, whore.
Catch.
Uugh!
Rupard pulled her up by the hair and whispered in her ear.
You just have to take guests and pay them back in full with your body. Understand? What, did you have a little hope that Phillip would save you from this merry-go-round? The biggest idiot here is you, Veronica. The viscount has deigned to personally visit us after hearing of your fame. Do you think hell be as lenient as Ive been?
Toss!
Im going to take real good care of you, dont you worry. Hey! Somebody take away this bitch!
After fixing his tie, Rupard called to the guards.
?
Yet, time passed, but they didnt show up.
Editors Notes:
None for this chapter.
Dont forget to like, comment and rate/review on ! Were quite a way into the middle of the story, so hopefully youve formed enough of an opinion.