Chapter 86

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Hans paced restlessly in the small back room he had been renting at a village tavern near the forest on the border. One by one, the faces of the people who had come to the tavern a few days ago flashed through his mind.

〈 Does anyone here know anything about this man? 〉

A knight in uniform held up a portrait of a man and asked the people inside the tavern.

Hans, who had been tugging at his hair in frustration after what looked like another losing hand, happened to look up and saw the portrait.

〈 Jen? 〉

The name slipped out before he could stop himself. He quickly clamped his mouth shut, but the knights had already turned their attention toward him.

A man with a threatening appearance stepped toward Hans.

〈 Jen? Is that this man’s name? 〉

〈 Uh, I-I’m not really sure what you’re talking about. 〉

“…Damn it!”

Hans, who had been nervously biting his nails, finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He grabbed the bag he had stashed under the bed.

I never should’ve said I knew Jen that day. When did they start catching on? When?

〈 You’re saying you don’t know this man? 〉

〈 W-When I looked closely, he seemed different from the person I was thinking of. E-Even his eyes seem kind of different. 〉

‘Was it then?’

From what he remembered, the knights still seemed convinced by what he’d said back then. They nodded at each other as if they had bought his story.

〈 Well… that could be the case. 〉

〈 B-but… why are you looking for the man in the portrait…? 〉

At his question, the knights exchanged another glance.

〈 We found something in the forest that seems to belong to this man. We’re trying to identify him so we can return it. 〉

The only thing Jen could’ve lost was that bag he always carried around.

And if it was something from that bag, then it could only be…

‘Philoia!’

Hans’s eyes lit up, gleaming with greed.

It had been a while since he last saw Jen. If Jen had been harvesting Philoia during that time, he was bound to have collected a good haul.

〈 O-On second thought, I do know him! The shape of his mouth, and the mole under his eyebrow… it’s just like I remember! 〉

〈 Are you sure? 〉

〈 Y-Yeah, absolutely! His name’s Jen, Jen! He’s a merchant from the Principality of Efren, just like me! 〉

The problem was that he had gotten carried away with the idea that he might be able to keep all the Philoia Jen had collected for himself.

He had been too on edge to notice it back then, but that was definitely the moment.

That was when the knights started suspecting something.

Hans, cramming his things into the old cloth bag in frustration, suddenly snapped and hurled it across the room.

“Goddamn it!”

Biting his nails, his leg bouncing with nerves, Hans noticed the sun still high overhead and grabbed his bag again.

‘I need to get out of Arbonis first. The date His Highness set has already passed, and since Jen and I haven’t returned, he’ll be sending someone soon.’

“…Which means I’m dead no matter what.”

With his thoughts settled, he slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the room. He crept down the creaky old staircase, trying not to make a sound. Below, he caught snippets of a conversation between the tavern madam and what sounded like a customer.

“Hey, Madam, don’t you think there’ve been a lot more knights around lately?”

“You’re right. Hardly anyone comes through this town as it is, and now with all these knights hanging around, how are we supposed to do business…”

“There’s probably some reason for it. You haven’t heard anything?”

“Not much, but from what I’ve seen, all the knights wandering around lately look like they’re from the capital.”

Once Hans saw the madam shrug and say she didn’t know anything either, he wasted no time slipping out the back door of the tavern.

‘Could one of them be someone sent by His Highness the Duke?’

Just the thought of Allen’s emerald eyes fixed on him sent a shiver down Hans’s spine. He swallowed dryly, gripping the bag slung over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the area.

‘If it’s His Highness we’re talking about… then it’s definitely possible. In that case…’

As Hans tried to figure out the best way to leave unnoticed, he spotted a group of knights approaching the tavern and quickly ducked into the bushes.

The knights walked past, speaking softly among themselves.

“So, are we bringing him in today?”

“It looks like we should. He seemed like he was hiding something, and I’m pretty sure he was lying too.”

‘So, they do suspect me after all.’

Seeing the knights heading upstairs into the tavern, Hans didn’t hesitate. He turned on his heel and sprinted away.