I lifted my head and gazed at the sky.
Sunlight filtered through branches and leaves, scattering across my eyes like shards of gold.
It was only the first day of our journey, yet things were flowing far more smoothly than I’d expected.
We didn’t bother taking hidden paths or skulking in shadows.
We simply walked along the road, bold and unafraid.
With a black strip of cloth tied across my eyes, tapping the ground with my sheathed sword like a blind man, and with my frail younger sister holding my arm to guide me, no one could possibly suspect who we were.
Of course, the Thieves’ Guild’s false trails were helping as well.
Truly, this was the lantern’s base being darkest.
“Haha! Good day to you! Fine weather, isn’t it?”
“Ah, greetings. Are you two traveling together?”
“That we are.”
“My, how hard it must be. Here—just a little something for the road.”
“Oh, no need for this…”
“There’s a rough patch of road ahead. Do take care.”
“Much obliged! Safe travels!”
Perhaps our appearance inspired sympathy, for every passerby we met pressed some small gift into our hands before moving on.
The Kingdom of Blake seemed a kinder land than Maia.
Back home, we would’ve been marked as targets immediately.
As another kindly stranger disappeared down the road, Shushruta jabbed my side with her elbow.
“Stop greeting every single person! What if you’re exposed?”
I lifted my blindfold slightly and grinned.
“Why so uptight? Walking past with your mouth shut tight is far more suspicious.”
“As if I didn’t know that. I said moderately. Moderately!”
“This one gave us biscuits. Want some?”
“…Give me.”
I watched her nibble away at the biscuit like a squirrel, then a thought struck me.
“Shushruta.”
“What?”
“Aren’t there any magical beasts here? Haven’t seen a single one since we arrived.”
“There are.”
Chewing her biscuit, she continued.
“But compared to Maia, it’s as if they don’t exist.”
“Really?”
“Few appear at all, and even when they do, they’re rarely dangerous. C or D rank at most. And they’re quickly hunted down by mercenaries and knights. Magical beasts are rare, so they fetch a high price.”
“…Strange.”
Compared to this, Maia was practically a playground for monsters.
The Heavenly Demon seemed intrigued, his voice curling through my thoughts.
[Magical beasts? Do you mean wild animals?]
‘No. Bigger, stronger, cleverer. Wild animals fight for food or survival. Magical beasts? They kill anything they see. No reason needed.’
I replayed images of beasts I’d seen before.
The Heavenly Demon gave a low chuckle.
[Oh ho… hideous monsters indeed. Watching them fight would be a delight.]
‘Of course you’d think so.’
We walked on, greeting the occasional passerby and collecting whatever they offered.
By the time the sun dipped low, we reached a small village.
From a distance, I asked Shushruta,
“Think it’s safe to go in? Wouldn’t it be… troublesome?”
She pointed at the village with a nod.
“Do you know what kind of place that is?”
“No. What?”
“That is called the Village of Hermits—or sometimes, the Village of Runaways.”
“Village of Hermits?”
“They are people who fled the world to spend their lives in peace. Those who abandoned worldly concerns and hid themselves away. Even if you take off your blindfold here, none will recognize you.”
“Oh? A place like that exists?”
“Still, don’t take it off.”
“Confirmed.”
I let the blindfold fall back into place and walked on.
Truth be told, I never intended to flaunt my identity openly. But I also wasn’t the type to bury myself completely in the shadows.
Why else had I claimed the dagger as my own?
At first, to save Hans’s family. That was done.
Now, there was only one goal.
To grow stronger by crushing the fools who threw themselves at me for the dagger.
“Hmm. People who abandoned the world and ran away, huh.”
That meant at least a few among them might have tragic pasts… and hidden strength.
‘Master, what do you think?’
[Nothing wrong with it. In my time, there were also recluses and eccentrics living apart from the world.]
‘Recluses? Eccentrics?’
[Yes. Strange men who shut themselves away deep in the mountains, sharpening their martial arts alone.]
‘Ohh.’
[They often developed unique martial styles. Some of them were quite formidable. I used to seek them out and fight them.]
‘Why?’
[Because it was fun.]
‘…I should’ve guessed.’
[It was entertaining to see their odd techniques. More so to steal them. Not hard—just understand the principle and reproduce it. Simple.]
‘Steal them?’
[And the best part was using their own techniques against them. You should’ve seen their faces, eyes bulging in disbelief as they fell to their own martial art…]
The Heavenly Demon chuckled darkly at the memory.
I couldn’t help but smile myself. The thought alone was satisfying. Perhaps I should try it someday…
“Heh. Nice.”
“What’s nice?”
Shushruta eyed me suspiciously.
My thoughts must’ve slipped out.
I replied shamelessly, “That we found the village before sundown.”
“…I didn’t know you were such a positive person.”
“Better late than never.”
“….”
She gave a long sigh.
“In Scarab, you nearly had your identity exposed. Please, restrain yourself here.”
“Mm.”
“Understood?”
“Mm.”
My answer was vague at best. Then I strode toward the village.
She followed, sighing again.
It was a small village.
Outwardly no different from any other, but a quiet stillness lingered.
Contrary to my expectation of gloom, the atmosphere was calm, almost serene.
And the people—surprisingly kind.
I had assumed those who abandoned the world would all wear dark, brooding faces.
But reality was far from that.
The villagers welcomed us kindly—an unfortunate blind man and his plucky younger sister guiding him along.
But there was a problem. There was no inn. How could a village not have an inn?
When we asked, an old man sitting on a bench by the roadside, watching the sunset, chuckled and explained, “Who would ever come to such a dull little village? Just as we turned our backs on the world, the world has turned its back on us.”
He studied us for a moment, then asked, “Travelers, are you?”
“That we are.”
“Hmm. Not many reasons to pass through here.”
Hiding our destination would only look suspicious, so Shushruta answered smoothly.
“We’re heading for Mount Parbat.”
“Mount Parbat? What for?”
“We have family nearby.”
“Ahh. That explains it.”
The old man nodded knowingly, “There is a small village up that way. A long journey yet.”
Then I felt his eyes lingering on me.
“What is it?”
“Curious, is all. How do you know your way, blind as you are?”
“There are… feelings. With my sight gone, other senses have grown sharper.”
The old man looked impressed, “Ho… Is that so? You do move quite naturally, for one who cannot see.”
I answered without blinking, “Three years as a knight’s squire, they say even a fool learns to swing a blade. I just adapted, is all.”
The old man roared with laughter.
“And where will you sleep tonight?”
“What choice do we have? The roadside, perhaps.”
He shook his head, “Nonsense. We cannot treat guests so poorly.”
Then he beckoned two middle-aged men who were passing by, “You there! Reaper Brothers!”
“…Reaper Brothers?”
The name alone reeked of strength.
The two men frowned and came over, “Old man. Don’t call us that.”
The elder only grinned, “These travelers need a place to stay. You’ve spare rooms, don’t you? Let them use one.”
The two men cast us a slow, measuring look.
Shushruta clutched my arm tightly, her wide, innocent eyes glistening with practiced helplessness.
I leaned on my “cane,” rubbing my back and groaning, “Oh, my poor back…”
One of them clicked his tongue, “Follow us.”
We thanked the old man, who waved cheerfully, “Make yourselves at home!” Then we followed the brothers.
To my surprise, their house was a solid two-story building. A little worn, but more than enough.
“Take the upstairs. It was a storage room, so it may be messy,” one said.
“It’s fine. Better than the cold ground a hundred times over.”
“Have you eaten?”
We shook our heads.
“What, wandering so late without supper?”
“Wait here.”
Grumbling, they prepared a meal for us.
The table was richer than expected—warm soup, bread, boiled eggs and bacon, even a jug of wine.
“It isn’t much, but this is all we have.”
“It’s more than enough. Thank you.”
We sat together to eat, exchanging names.
We used the false names from our guild tokens. The two men were Heven and Regarde.
It was hard to tell them apart—their faces, their voices, everything was nearly identical.
I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.
“Forgive me, but… are you twins?”
“That’s right.”
“I thought so. Your voices are nearly the same.”
They both scowled.
“You’re saying I look like him?”
“Look who’s talking.”
Definitely twins.
The brothers weren’t talkative.
They didn’t ask who we were, what our story was, or where we came from.
Just one question: where were we going?
Beyond that, they answered only briefly, keeping to their meal.
It felt like they were saying: we won’t pry, so you don’t either.
Hmm.
But I was certain of one thing.
These men were experts.
From their presence alone, from the way their mana was carefully suppressed—I could tell.
At the very least… mana users.
I chewed my bread, then asked casually,
“By the way, earlier the old man called you by a rather… peculiar name.”
The brothers froze.
Even Shushruta choked on her bread, coughing.
“…”
The silence was suffocating.
Only Shushruta’s coughing filled the room. She jabbed her fingers into my thigh under the table.
But I—blind as I was—couldn’t possibly notice such things, could I?
I brushed her hand aside and pressed on shamelessly.
“What did he mean by that?”
“…”
“Haha, forgive me. I’ve an illness—an incurable curiosity.”
“…”
The air went cold in an instant.
(End of Chapter)