Dust was rising in the distance.
Leading that dust cloud was a large cargo carriage, and given that it was pulled by horses rather than magic like a typical magical carriage, it didn’t seem to have anyone of great importance aboard. However, seeing those riding alongside the carriage made Kaiyak’s face stiffen.
All were clad in completely black armor.
A black veil fluttered above the helmets they wore.
Kaiyak had seen those figures before.
They were the same ones he encountered when Yona raided the headquarters to rescue Alex.
He didn’t know what they were up to, but judging by their attire, they certainly didn’t look like the good guys.
As soon as he spotted them, Kaiyak raised a hand signal.
He held his palm up and quickly snapped it down.
Upon seeing the signal, Alex and Yona flattened themselves to the ground. Rubina, startled by their sudden movements, was almost forcefully pulled down to the ground by Yona.
Kaiyak also crouched low to the ground.
Given his large build, even if he was far from the carriage’s path, standing stiffly would make him an easy target.
Fortunately, thanks to the dense foliage, he figured he wouldn’t be seen if he stayed crouched like this.
With that, Kaiyak peeked out from behind the bushes to observe the carriage.
There were six people dressed in black armor.
They galloped around a carriage, covered with a soiled white tarp, like a protective escort.
As the carriage raced onward, its rear view started to reveal itself.
The cargo inside the carriage began to slowly come into view, and as Kaiyak laid eyes on it, his eyes widened in astonishment.
Inside the carriage were women packed tightly.
Although their expressions weren’t clearly visible, he could still recognize their physical traits.
They were all dressed in white.
Even if they couldn’t completely shake off their ragged appearance, one distinct feature stood out.
All the women in the carriage had white hair.
From pure white to a milky, cloudy hue like Yona’s.
The shades may have varied, but the fact that they all had white hair was the same.
‘…This is insane. The Church of the Celestial God has completely lost it.’
Thanks to his long life as a seasoned adventurer, Kaiyak easily understood what all of this meant.
The Church of the Celestial God was going berserk after being attacked at their headquarters.
In their madness to find Yona, the supposed apostate, they were likely capturing all women with white hair resembling hers.
It was a situation that could only be described as madness.
‘Should I tell Yona about this?’
His contemplation didn’t linger for long.
Kaiyak decided against informing Yona.
She was already on shaky ground as it was.
If she found out that such chaos was happening, when the trials she faced showed no signs of ending, it would surely cause her to lose her mind—
Such a thing must not happen.
It won’t work.
Judging so, Kaiyak slowly stood up.
As he stood, Yona and Alex, who had been lying behind him, also got up.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
Yona brushed off the dirt from her clothes and asked Kaiyak while shaking off Rubina’s clothing too.
“A carriage is passing by.”
“A carriage isn’t that big of a deal, right? It’s still quite far away.”
Yona seemed quite puzzled. She thought that it was a bit too sensitive over just a carriage. Caution is good, but it didn’t seem like the Church of the Celestial God’s carriage, anyway.
“Well, it’s not far from James’s village now, so it’s better to be careful. They might stop by.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Since Kaiyak’s words were correct, Yona nodded silently.
In fact, Kaiyak’s intuition wasn’t wrong. Amid the unprecedented situation of the Church of the Celestial God being attacked, an enormous bounty had been placed on the neck of the apostate, Yona.
Of course, it wasn’t just that; for insider members, capturing the apostate’s neck was also an opportunity to achieve merit.
However, the land of the Duchy of Kapatia is vast, and there are only three apostates. Not only the inquisitors chasing the apostates but also countless members of the church were busy demanding results from their subordinates regarding the pursuit.
Thus, a desperate measure finally came forth: to arrest any women who resembled them without question.
There were plenty of excuses. Their hair color was the same, their hair color matched, and they looked similar in age, so they were arrested. Moreover, there was even a chance to brush off the situation with excuses like, “their hair color is similar to that of the apostate, so who knows?”
In that manner, the Church of the Celestial God, which had been attacked, was going crazy.
*
As Kaiyak said, it wasn’t far from where they were to James’s village.
After about a day of travel and crossing a ridge, they could finally overlook the village where they had met James.
The sunset, about to dip below the western hills, cast a deep red glow, and the village, quietly nestled in that sunlight, presented a picturesque scene.
“Well, at least we got here quickly.”
“Well, we walked non-stop.”
As Kaiyak said, they had walked tirelessly, minimizing sleep time with the goal of reaching Evian as soon as possible.
Still, it had already been almost a month since they parted ways with Ceres near Kapatia Port.
“So how do we get James out now? That’s the real issue, right?”
As Yona pointed out, they couldn’t just walk into the village. There was no guarantee that the bounty notice from the Church of the Celestial God hadn’t reached James’s village. Just barging in would be too risky.
“I’ll be back.”
“You really shouldn’t.”
Kaiyak flashed a crooked smile at Yona’s worried gaze.
His alligator-like mouth twisted bizarrely, yet Yona knew it was a smile.
“Humans wouldn’t be able to recognize my face. Would you, Yona?”
“Um…”
Nope.
She couldn’t tell the difference when she went to Lizardden either.
They all looked like lizards, so who could tell them apart?
“So I’m off. Just hide around here and wait.”
“What if James isn’t here?”
“Then just come if you want. Worrying too much is a sickness, Yona.”
Is that how it works?
With that, Kaiyak headed to the village while being sent off by Yona and Alex.
*
He shouted boldly, but privately, Kaiyak was nervous.
He knew that humans had a hard time distinguishing the appearances of different species,
but there’s always an exception, isn’t there?
The village felt a lot livelier than last time.
James must have made a ton of money and invested in the village’s development.
Thinking this, Kaiyak cautiously stepped forward.
It had been a long time since the incident with the divine tree behind the village was resolved.
Thanks to that, the village was buzzing with energy,
and even though Kaiyak’s shadow stretched long against the sunlight, people seemed oblivious.
As he entered the village, people stole glances at him.
However, they didn’t seem too bothered, and Kaiyak breathed a sigh of relief.
Still, he couldn’t shake off the worry.
There was no guarantee that the bounty had not reached this village, but he felt confident he could easily escape if anything happened in a village like this.
He already knew where James’s house was.
Thanks to that, he strode forward without hesitation, and as he walked, something caught his eye.
‘…A wanted poster? Church of the Celestial God records…?’
On a large wooden board, almost as big as a cathedral door, words were written in bold red.
A demon who attacked the Church of the Celestial God and the wicked apostate—Yona.
And those who follow and conceal such apostates—Alex and Kaiyak.
The wanted poster with the faces of these three was plastered all over the signboard.
‘…Did I really look like that?’
Though Kaiyak was a Lizardman, the depiction of him on the poster looked more like an ogre than a Lizardman.
‘If you’re going to draw me, at least make it look right.’
Thinking that, Kaiyak strode purposefully towards James’s house.
The wooden door was firmly shut.
However, the window was open, so it was easy to tell someone was inside.
Knock, knock.
After a few knocks from Kaiyak, a thick voice flowed from inside.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me, James.”
“Eh…? Wait a moment, will you?”
As Kaiyak waited at the door for a moment, the door swung open, revealing a flustered James.
“Long time no see, my friend.”
“C-Kai… uh, never mind, just come in.”
James gestured frantically for him to enter, but Kaiyak didn’t step inside.
Knowing that the bounty notice had reached this town, it was better to leave quickly.
“Actually, I think it’s best if I leave this town fast. Yona and Alex are already outside. Let’s meet at the sacred tree place tonight.”
“…Sounds like a plan. I agree that it’s best to get out quickly.”
James nodded with a tense expression.
Kaiyak swiftly turned around at those words.
He hadn’t anticipated that the bounty notice would spread this widely.
Maybe it would have been better not to stop by James’s village after all.
In fact, it might have been for the best.
Regretting that he had said unnecessary things to Yona, Kaiyak hurriedly made his way out.
He had an unsettling feeling.
*
“Let’s move. We’ll head to the sacred tree.”
“What about James?”
At Yona’s question, Kaiyak hesitated for a moment.
He wondered if he should tell the truth, but considering Yona already knew the situation better than the earlier carriage situation, he decided to speak.
“There was a bounty notice posted inside the village. It had the three of us—Yona, Alex, and me. In that situation, I seriously couldn’t take James with me.”
“Ah… right, that happened. Those Church of the Celestial God guys are fast to act only at times like this.”
Yona, showing an expression of disbelief, quickly chuckled.
It wasn’t surprising, as it was something she already knew.
Though it was something they had anticipated, the fact that a bounty notice had spread to such a small town was quite astonishing.
They really were quick to react only in times like this.
If only they could be this proactive at other times too.
It was ridiculous that they only sprang into action after getting hit hard.
“…So we agreed to meet at the sacred tree?”
“Yep.”
“Got it.”
Yona stood up in response, then reached into her sling bag.
Her fingertips brushed against a glass bead, the texture of the broken glass bead.
She had forgotten about it for a while, yet the glass bead still resided in her sling bag.
It was also where she had gotten that glass bead—the sacred tree.
She never expected she would return there, yet here she was.
“Let’s go.”
As she craved the satisfying feel of Alex’s now smooth bald head, Yona urged onward.
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