V1 C5 (1/2)

According to the Deserter’s Village, the White Wolves had gone to Coholloon Even if that was a lie, it was too late to go back Cassel continued to go south with the horse Falcon had given hiold coins in his pocket so he had sufficient funds for travelling

‘Thanks for this Jaenie Hoill I ever repay you?’

Coholloon was a very large city, so finding it wasn’t too difficult

Cassel was scared of running into bandits or beasts so he e to another The after-effects of the ere clearly visible in all villages and they all seemed to live in a similar fashi+on

‘Even if you are a great knight, it is dangerous to travel alone’ Cassel reminded himself

The Red Rose Arht after they left Falcon’s town Cassel knew about the danger, but felt uneasy with the Red Rose Army so he declined their offer He was in a position where, if he met a rabbit he would have to wonder if it was a murderous rabbit first

Luckily nothing happened on his way to Coholloon Along the way he thought to abandon the sword and walk away, but he couldn’t The guilt, responsibility, and feelings he received while inside Falcon’s Village were pushi+ng Cassel to his goal

Coholloon was not a target of the war, so it looked rather different from the other towns he had been to

‘Since it is a war between nobles, I guess they don’t touch towns that are under a third-party noble’s protection? Or is it that the Lord of the town is underneaththe protection of either the Count of the Rose or Lion’s army?’

The city is surrounded by a fortress and had an entry fee of 2 silver The high price surprised Cassel, but no one else seemed perturbed by it Cassel acted like it wasn’t ate, but all he had left noas 8 silver coins

‘What to do now…?’

The city was too expansive to search randomly There was a busy market with many people about Cassel was from the countryside, naturally he felt overwhelest city in Car population

‘I need to find 3 people in a place this big??’

Cassel just laughed

The large roads were different, but the back alleys were as dirty as the Deserter’s Village In fact, there were evenin the filth In thearound, but no one batted an eye

After riding around the whole day, Cassel went to an inn to rest Cassel paid an extra silver so they would feed his horse, but fro

As any inn would do in a busy city, they sold alcohol As soon as he opened the door a strong odor greeted hi that this was the cleanest inn he could find

All the people in the lobby were shady and dirty A feere at a table eating so you would feed to pigs It was too late to leave though, as he already left the horse in the stable

‘Would it be any different anywhere else? Screw it’

Cassel walked across the lobby into the bar

“Welcome”

A young owner greeted him

“Give me a room”

“How long?”

“Hm about 4 days or so?”

“A single day is 4 silver coins If you want to pay at once, it is just one gold coin”

“I will pay by day”

Cassel paid like it was nothing, but he had barely any money left

“Room three on the 2nd floor”

All the guests in the hall looked at Cassel as he ascended the stairs One person who seeh his teeth

“Hey that’s a fine sword you have there~”

Cassel ignored him and continued to climb the stairs

“You should be careful carrying soet”

Cassel stopped All the store’s guests ere looking at him quickly averted their eyes from his

‘You becoood sword??’

It was unheard of A knight having to worry about having his sword robbed

Cassel spoke to the

“What did you say?”

“I a you advice Try to hide it, you know If you flash it around like that, you are begging for people to steal it from you”

Come to think about it Cassel had no idea howby on his horse

‘It would be wise to give a warning’

Cassel leaned on the handrail of the stairs and slightly showed off his sword But of course he didn’t unsheathe it The drugged or drunk hed

“Hey, I was just warning you You should be thankingat a sword Plus if you did do anything funny, the guards here will just drag you into prison”

“Thanks for the lesson I will also give you some information in return How does this sword look? Does it see onto it? Do you knoon to this sword after all this time? Don’t provoke me”

Cassel spoke in an al voice as he unsheathed the sword a bit

The h and stepped back

“I a you I have no interest in swords”

“And I was just returning the favour I have no interest in you I just want to rest but, I had to warn you in case things get bothersome”

Those words were not really for the , despite pretending not to

‘That was unnecessary’

Cassel sheathed the sword and climbed the stairs

‘Did that make me look weak?’

Cassel went to the roohts stopped After leaving Falcon’s village, he had not donea horse, but that itself was very tiring

Cassel revisited his plan while laying down The city was too big to cohts from Alantia had come, there would be ruo to Normount, every little bit of information was vital

The probleh to pay for his roo ahead when he was in trouble now

‘What if I sell the horse?’

He felt guilty for having to sell the horse that was a present frory he could eat that same horse

‘How much is the horse worth? I don’t even know its value Is it like selling wheat? Ah, I should’ve followedto sell wheat in Coholloon that time’

Cassel thought it would be a good idea to wash up, but before he knew it, he had fallen asleep It was already sunset when he finally awoke

‘I blew the best ti!’

Cassel quickly washed his face and got ready to head out He grabbed the sword on his waist, but only weapon made him uncomfortable

'He's right A sith jewels engraved in it is too eye-catching But, I can't just leave this here'

Cassel wore the worn out cape to hide the sword The cape smelt very old, but it was bearable

Nothing of concern happened as he left the bar The drunk man and the others in the bar were nowhere to be found In the ed outfit was a perfect fit to blend in with the crowd

It was already getting dark so number of people on the streets were very small As the sun set Cassel entered a pub

'In stories, there are no better places to get information than pubs'

Cassel was hoping for some luck and sat quietly for two hours in two bars, but there was no news about knights from Alantia

Most of the conversations were about the war As Cassel was about to ht his ears

”It seems when that Captain raised his sword the whole red rose army stopped in their tracks”

”Wow he ed to stop 30 soldiers by himself?”

”No, no I heard it washis sword once In ”

Cassel was surprised

'Are they talking about me?'

Cassel sat back down and continued to listen in on their conversation

”Well, I guess it's possible Have you heard? Apparently you need to be able to beat a bear bare handed, as well as climb the walls of the fortress just to qualify to take the entrance exam”

”What I heard was even more extreme Apparently you need to be able to withstand the attack of the Wolves Captain and Queen’s Royal guard Quayon's attack, which is capable of breaking any shi+eld or armour A pass or die exam”

”Well I guess that is appropriate, seeing as how he had enough guts to stop the whole Red Rose army by himself”

”But why did he co call him?”

”I heard it was on account of the Black Lion Count I guess they plan on taking the whole country by joining forces”

”Is Alantia planning an invasion? Aren't they a country of peace?”

”Well there's nothing stopping them, is there? I mean, while we are on the topic, if they just cadom would have no choice but surrender”

”Hey Shush, don't speak of such things so casually”

Their conversation soon moved on to the previous war, due to the nobles Cassel sat waiting for thenore the waiter ondering if he had ordered anything

There was also aback at him, he did not avoid eye contact, but instead the man stared even aze His dark eyebrows and large eyes gave off a strong impression

'I know I have met him somewhere Where have I seen him?'

The e spear by his side and his broad shoulders along with his tanned bulky ar and his curly hair came down to his shoulders

'I know that face But who is that? There is no way I would forget a face like that'

Cassel tried desperately to remember the man

'Was he in the same platoon as me?'

Theat hi at hi there without ordering anything

Near the backdoor of the pub, a group of men nodded at Cassel with their heads to point hiroup

”Hey if you are not going to order anything”

Cassel stood up as the worker complained

”I'm sorry I will leave”

Cassel left the pub and the h the back door as well

'Maybe I' paranoid'

When Cassel looked back just in case, the nore the large spear in the air

'Wah, that's not even stalking They are co at me head on'

Thehis eyes off hi past people Those ere pushed turned to co the man's size

Large men were not new for Cassel, who had been in the ariant, the size of a house, following him

Cassel ran So did theafter his to freeze in their tracks

'He's trying to stealtabs on me since'

Cassel seriously considered the possibility of abandoning the sword and whether his chance of survival would rise

As he was turning a corner in an alley sorabbed hied in without being able to resist

”Hey where are you going rich boy? It was tough chasing after you”

Cassel found it funny hoas relieved to see a man point a knife to his neck in this situation

'What? Is this guy with the giant guy chasing after me?'

Cassel ed sort out the confusion in his head Six people surrounded hi near the back door of the pub one was the drunk2 he had never seen before However, judging froiant chasing after him

”You kno nervous ere getting when you weren't leaving the inn? But we still thank you for co into an uninhabited alley way by yourself”

As the usting rotten breath hit Cassel's nose His eyes were giving off a vibe of a killer's

'It's different It's not like Tiger nor the homeless nor that of the army!'

The manto listen to reason nor negotiate with hi the man had on his possession Cassel was troubled as he couldn't threaten them like he did the Red Roses with a face full of terror like it is now

Cassel merely spoke,

”If you killit”

Theat Cassel's neck paused

”What kind of bullshi+t is that?”

The hed and looked back at his friends

”What do you think?”

”HAHA, seeret it”

”We don't have time, just quickly kill him and leave

The man looked back at Cassel

”Ok friend tell ret it?”

The ainst Cassel's neck Cassel put his back to the wall and spoke without pausing

”I have (a) bodyguard”

”What?”

Cassel tightly closed one eye It seemed the bluff had worked the man did not stop him

'What now'

Cassel quickly hatched a plan

”What body guard? We know you've been by yourself this whole time”

The man said with a frown

”Of course you didn't He is very skilled at hiding hi him! If you don't release me noill come and take your heads”

Cassel faced the man he met at the inn

”Hey, you reme this sword despiteto take it from me is proof of how many I would have had to kill?”

The man with the sword looked back at the drunk man

”Do you remember?”

”Can't remember”

The ed

Cassel continued to speak

”It doesn't matter if you do or not! Listen well All those ere after my sword are now covered in dirt and woruard takes care of theo it's over for you”

”Don't lie to us you bastard How 'bout this, try calling him here in 3 seconds”

The man continued to push Cassel into the wall

”One! Two!”

Cassel couldn't think of more words to distract the man He merely closed his eyes

'daht as well count to five'

Theto three and eventually he let his grip go As Cassel opened his eyes he saw theat the entrance of the alley He tilted his head in confusion

Cassel spoke as if the man was his friend

”The sword is safe for now but these guys are trying to take it”

Cassel doesn't really expect a reply, his plan is to put the 2 groups of people ant the sword to battle each other

”Who are these guys?”

For some reason the man spoke to Cassel as if they had already been acquainted

Cassel replied in a calm tone

”Can't you tell? They are bandits after the sword”

Theof bandits then spoke in a deep voice

”Move aside That sill only bring ruin in the hands of people like you”

The gang of bandits were paralyzed by the ained composure

”Yeah right Who on earth are you?”

Rationally thethe spear was by himself

”The only thing we can't touch is what belongs to Count Gordiuard?!”

”This is the final warning”

The iant spear The 6 men readied their swords

”Same here”

One of the men just rushed in

”Enough talk, just kill him”

All theon to Cassel rushed towards the giant round

The gianthis weapon He then slowly stepped back out of the alley

”He's trying to get away! Kill him!”

Even to Cassel it was clear that theout of the narrow alley and into a wider space so that he could use his spear However, the men had lost composure and chased after him as they picked up their weapons

Cassel quickly s onto him

”Argh!”