A five-day journey.
Maybe it was because we bought a wagon. The speed was a bit slower, but the trip was pleasant enough to make that a light burden.
We didn’t even encounter a single thief!
Considering how untamed luck has been lately, I was bracing myself for trouble this time, too.
Where did all those thieves go?
Could they all have gone on a business trip to Pinwood Forest, thinking they would have a big haul? It doesn’t make sense for it to be this peaceful otherwise…
‘Oh well, who cares.’
Whatever the reason, it was a good thing. Because of that, we arrived at our destination in five days as planned.
“We’re almost there, Friede. Wake up.”
I slowed the wagon and woke up Friede, who was sleeping in the cargo area.
“Uuung… Is it morning already…?”
She draped her fur cloak over herself like a blanket and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
I turned my head back to gaze at the view in front of me.
A snow-covered coniferous forest.
Dense thickets of thorny bushes blocked the sunlight like an umbrella, casting a dim shadow over the entire forest. Because of that, the snowy ground looked more green than white.
If I’d visited in summer, would the path have been clearly visible?
But it wasn’t summer now, so the only sight I had was the tree stumps popping up between the snow piles… In other words, the remains of the fences that used to stand on either side of the trail.
This place was referred to as Pirne Forest by the local villagers.
This was the rendezvous point mentioned in Argantir’s letter.
◆◆
There was a small tent set up next to the entrance of the trail leading into the forest.
A camping tent commonly used by adventurers or soldiers. Judging by the little snow piled up on the roof, it seemed that the tent had been set up for just a day or two.
A small campfire was lit in front of the tent, and a pair of men and women wrapped in fur cloaks were sitting there resting.
Could they be the members of the organization we were supposed to meet here?
“…the wagon… maybe…?”
“…looks like it, but just to be sure, let’s check…”
They seemed to have spotted us too, as the man got up from his seat, grabbed the bow placed beside him, and turned towards us.
“Hey, you in the wagon! Stop right there! Don’t come any closer!”
The man, with an arrow nocked, shouted at us.
After completely stopping the wagon and raising my hands to show I meant no harm, the man hurriedly walked towards us.
Friede, sitting in the cargo area, quietly glared at him with her hand resting on the hilt of her temporary sword.
If he stepped out of line, she looked ready to pounce and split his head in half. Like a little wolf showing its teeth.
“Hey, hey. Don’t be too tense. We’re not some band of thieves, you know? See this emblem? We’re here for a commission, a commission.”
The man, having approached within seven steps, pointed to an emblem hanging around his neck and joked around.
An emblem of a silver-tier adventurer. The directive clearly stated that we were to make contact with those disguised as such. They seemed to fit the description.
Then there was no need to indulge in this pointless charade any longer.
“Shadow of the Eagle, Krimhilde here. I’ve come as per the order from above.”
I let my arms drop and straightforwardly revealed my identity. It meant that the reinforcement they were waiting for had finally arrived.
“Oh.”
The man, who had been smirking, suddenly hardened his expression and chuckled awkwardly, putting his arrow back into its quiver.
“That… that wasn’t a password or anything, you shouldn’t just blurt it out like that…”
So, he was the real contact. His tone reminded me of those guards encountering a higher-up who barges in without following protocol.
“Why bother with that childish act?”
It was pointless to mumble some silly password when they could verify my identity just by producing my name and mark. A waste of time.
“Ahem, ahem! Anyway, thank you for coming, Krimhilde. My name is… oh, you probably already know, right?”
The man asked while glancing at me, as though gauging my reaction.
If I was indeed sent by the organization’s directive, was he asking me to guess his name? His demeanor felt more suspicious than cautious.
“Reed, the silver-tier archer… and… Arine, the silver-tier priestess, right? You must be Reed, I doubt you are the priestess in that appearance.”
“Haha, stop joking…”
The silver-tier archer, Reed, awkwardly smiled and shrugged his shoulders before slinging his bow over his back and leading us toward the campfire.
“Nice to meet you. I serve Lady Elianel, and I am Arine. Please take care of me, Krimhilde. Sig.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The girl sitting by the campfire, Arine, was a late-teen with sky-blue hair and brown eyes.
A full-fledged priestess of the goddess as well as a silver-tier adventurer.
Additionally, she was a member of the Shadow of the Eagle under a secret guise. She had three different identity badges!
Being a priest devoted to adventurer work, she wore chainmail under her priest’s robe, had a round shield on her back, and even a hatchet at her waist.
…An axe? Why an axe?
It looked like a weapon too far removed from a priest’s role. It was so eye-catching that I momentarily lost focus.
“Oh, this axe is just for self-defense. My father was a carpenter, so I learned to chop wood a bit over his shoulder.”
As I gazed at the axe fixedly, Arine shyly pointed at it with the hem of her cloak, blushing.
‘…So, she’s been splitting monster skulls with that axe instead of firewood, huh.’
Just like the spear-wielding priest I met before, I couldn’t fathom why the priests I encounter always show up with weapons more suited for paladins. A mystery indeed.
◆◆
After a brief introduction, we drove the wagon further into Pirne Forest, following Reed’s guidance.
“We should arrive in about 20 minutes. We’ll be heading straight in, so if you have anything to prepare, do it now.”
The man who had volunteered to be the driver, Reed, said while looking back at us.
He was a man in his early thirties with dirty blond hair cut short, but originally, he wasn’t part of the shadows, just an ordinary adventurer archer.
Apparently, he ended up in the Shadow of the Eagle due to personal issues and racked up various debts with the organization.
“…It’s because of gambling debts.”
Arine quietly whispered to me, slightly bending over.
“They say he blew off his sister’s medical expenses. He was almost about to lose a finger, but the organization saved him and paid for the treatment.”
What a magnificent lowlife.
My evaluation of Reed dropped by five levels. In terms of likability, it went from 30 to -20!
“Oh, really. Spread the word, spread the word. Since that day, I quit gambling altogether!”
Reed, driving the wagon, muttered bitterly. He admitted to having been obsessed with gambling before, but claimed to have turned over a new leaf.
“What about that dice game you played with Cain the other day?”
“Uh, well… that dice game isn’t gambling! It’s just a game, a game!”
“You lost forty silver on a single game?”
“Ugh…!”
Reed was left speechless, his shoulders drooping as he hung his head. His evaluation in my eyes dipped another notch.
It’s common for male adventurers to be absorbed in one of three things: drink, women, or gambling, or even all three.
But…
“Forty silver for a single game? That crossed the line.”
That’s quite a hefty sum, almost equivalent to half a gold coin! One might even think he was working as an organization member just to fund his gambling habit.
◆◆
My impression of Reed instantly transformed into that of a gambling addict without parents, but oddly, it was Arine who truly lacked parents.
After her carpenter father became nourishment for a dryad, she had ended up in an orphanage, which was said to be sponsored by Argantir.
Though she lacked the talent to become an assassin, she instead became a full-fledged priestess for the goddess and served as a spy, leaking information to the organization.
“Uh… Can a priest really cooperate with an assassin group? Wouldn’t the goddess punish them or something…?”
“Krimhilde seems to be the same.”
Arine smiled widely as she replied.
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone seems to ask that question at least once. They wonder if they’d lose the blessings of a divine miracle by cooperating with the organization’s work.”
“Well, it seems not.”
“Yes. That’s not the case. Lady Elianel loves everyone, be they sinners seeking atonement or those who are innocent.”
Arine answered, clasping her hands together as if in prayer.
Unless Argantir’s organization was a collection of the lowest scum on the planet, the Shadow of the Eagle was not that kind of organization, and thus, it seemed the goddess didn’t withdraw her strength.
“Well… that, uh, um…”
Gingerly speaking from the corner of the wagon, Friede cautiously engaged with her.
“What is it, miss? Is there something you’re curious about?”
Arine looked at Friede and asked. After hesitating momentarily, Friede opened her mouth again.
“Isn’t it wrong to raise children in orphanages to become assassins?”
“Hmm, that’s…”
I was curious to see how she would respond, but surprisingly, it was a valid point. From an outsider’s view, it was essentially raising child soldiers.
“It’s a bit ambiguous. It might be seen as an injustice from the outside. But I don’t see that action as evil.”
However, Arine shook her head and denied that it was wrongdoing.
“At least we have a choice. Refusing to join doesn’t cut off support, and as long as we vow to stay silent, we won’t face any consequences.”
Her explanation indicated that there would be no repercussions for speaking out, even if one declined to become part of the organization.
That was Arine’s reasoning for not considering Argantir’s orphan training program as an evil act.
To her, it must have felt like the most natural conclusion.
The orphanages sponsored by Argantir were notably among the worst around, so without that sponsorship, the orphans would struggle to survive as actual people in any case.
“Is that so…?”
Friede nodded, contemplating whether she was convinced or just deciding to let it go.
Perhaps she figured it would be meaningless for an outsider like her to deliberate, as it would merely cause emotional distress. It was a commendable disposition.
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