The Inn of the Sunlit Meadow, located in the central square of Greentown.
Wizard Obern sat in the empty restaurant, staring silently at the table.
‘……’
Age fifteen.
One, perhaps it was due to his delicate and frail appearance.
He looked a couple of years younger than his actual age.
One, but looking young was only about his appearance.
Anyone who looked into Obern's eyes would never dare to underestimate him as a child.
The light in those eyes was firm and the depth was unfathomable.
Yet, why?
“Sigh.”
A trace of sorrow crossed Obern's sunken eyes.
‘What on earth should I do?’
Obern tapped the table lightly with his slender fingers.
The 4th Base Camp, located deep within the Harem Great Forest.
It had been several days since he arrived in Greentown, following his master's orders to leave the 4th Base Camp.
The command from his revered master was simple.
- An old friend will help you. The reply hasn't come yet, but it's certain. We owe each other, after all.
So, he was to go to Greentown and wait.
- He won't come himself, but he'll send someone. You should go and welcome them.
Confidence shone in his master's eyes.
His old friend, someone who hadn't sought each other out for decades, would surely help him.
It was a trust that ordinary people couldn't easily empathize with.
Decades, after all.
Even if they were comrades who had shared life and death, peace dulled everything.
No matter how hard the debt was, the debt of the heart was the easiest to fade.
But.
‘He will definitely… come.’
He will come.
Obern never doubted his master's words.
His master had never spoken lightly.
And if such a person believed in someone, even someone he had never met, Obern had no reason not to believe.
However, there was a problem.
“Sir Wizard, what do you think?”
Obern raised his head at the sound of the voice.
A man stood before him.
He looked fierce.
His build was twice as large as Obern's, and his eyes were as sharp as a tiger's.
But, the man's gaze was filled with sorrow.
The fierce man was bowing with a sorrowful look.
“Please, save me. Going back to the Harem Great Forest? It's really… really no different from telling me to die.”
“……Hmm.”
Obern was at a loss for words.
No, in fact, he had countless things to say.
‘Wasn't the contract… only to return to the 4th Base Camp?’
That was the agreement from the beginning.
From the 4th Base Camp to Greentown and back.
The man, the mercenary Rayleigh, had the obligation to guide him.
He had already been paid a generous advance.
No, more than generous!
- Considering the risk… shouldn't you pay twice as much?
Even after giving twice the usual amount, he still demanded another doubling, which Obern accepted.
There was no better offer at the time.
- Hmm… I can understand going out, but coming back? I'm sorry.
- Grunt. How about you, Sir Wizard? I can't do it.
The guides, the Pathfinders, who were supposed to know the way, all shook their heads.
In the midst of this, the only one who stepped forward was this man.
Rayleigh.
But…
“Sir Wizard, please. How about breaking the contract? Please?”
It had been several days since they arrived in Greentown.
To ask for a contract break now?!
“Sir Rayleigh, this is….”
Obern tried to say it was difficult.
But Rayleigh's voice cut him off.
“I know. It must be difficult for you too. How can you find another Pathfinder now? I understand, really.”
“Hmm.”
It was true.
If he had spoken a few days earlier, it might have been possible.
The Desrath awakening inside the Great Forest.
The hordes of monsters being pushed out of the forest due to its aftermath.
This situation had only worsened in the past few days.
But now…
‘Sigh.’
Even those who didn't know about the Desrath were cautious about the changes in the Great Forest.
Thinking about this situation, honestly.
‘It's infuriating. Infuriating…!’
“But, Sir Wizard. I'm really, really sorry. Don't I need to live too? Please?”
Obern was in a bind.
‘What am I supposed to do…!’
Considering Rayleigh's feelings, it was right to let him go.
Contract? Sure.
The contract was for a round trip, but what was more important than a human life?
It was wrong to drag someone who feared death using a contract.
But.
‘…The Desrath must be stopped at all costs.’
Could he reach the 4th Base Camp without a Pathfinder?
It was probably impossible.
In normal times, it might have been possible, but the Harem Great Forest was now a chaotic mess.
The help of a capable Pathfinder was desperately needed!
This was, in other words…
‘For the greater good, should the individual be sacrificed? Or… should I take care of the individual in front of me?’
A true dilemma.
Amidst this complex situation, Obern pressed his temples, trying to ease his throbbing headache.
Meanwhile.
A glint of light flashed in Rayleigh's eyes as he watched Obern.
A sorrowful expression.
‘Hehe.’
An inner thought that didn't match his appearance.
‘He's almost convinced!’
Rayleigh looked down on the naive wizard in front of him.
To be honest, he had planned this from the beginning.
‘What? Round trip between the 4th Base Camp and Greentown? Am I crazy?’
Even for a normal monster wave, he would pack his bags and flee to a distant part of the forest.
With the Desrath coming, go back?
What a joke!
Still, he accepted the mission for a reason.
‘Since I have to leave anyway, might as well do it more safely. Right? He's young, but his skills are decent, right?’
Incidentally, he could make a good profit.
Of course, it was a very dangerous and selfish mindset.
But who was Rayleigh?
A Pathfinder with decades of experience.
He could tell at a glance.
What could he tell at a glance?
‘This guy is clearly a pushover. Just stir his emotions a bit, and he'll give in, right?’
Of course, if this fact were known, his reputation would hit rock bottom.
But who cared!
‘Hehe, I'll add the money I make this time and settle down in a nice countryside.’
Unlike other mercenaries who lived for quick gains, Rayleigh had saved money quite steadily.
He had already achieved his retirement goal with this job!
‘Good, then…’
Rayleigh waited a bit and then delivered the final blow.
“Sigh… I have no choice.”
His face clearly showed that he had no choice.
Rayleigh took out a bundle of parchment and offered it to Obern.
“This is….”
“My map of the Great Forest.”
“……!”
Obern's eyes widened in shock.
He knew what a map meant to a Pathfinder.
“I wouldn't trade it for my life… sigh. I have no choice. If you let me go, I'll give you this.”
Rayleigh's face was filled with sorrow.
It looked like a parent giving away their child.
But.
‘This thing is now just a piece of paper, nothing more, nothing less. Hehe.’
A Pathfinder's map contained all their experience, but given the changes in the Harem Great Forest, it was useless.
The ecosystem had changed so much that the knowledge on this map was meaningless.
But.
Obern, unaware of this, his pupils trembled.
No wonder.
‘I should have applied the right amount of pressure.’
The map was already useless, but he had studied it diligently on the way here.
For this very moment!
So, he had to believe there was a path on this map.
“This, this important thing… how can you….”
Rayleigh suppressed a smirk at Obern's trembling voice.
‘How can I? I'm just giving it to you.’
But the voice that came out of his mouth was solemn.
“I have to do this. I'm a coward, running away, but… Sir Wizard, you have a mission, don't you? If this can help in defeating the Desrath, I'll be happy.”
“……Ah!”
A thin exclamation.
Rayleigh was sure.
‘Got him!’
The overly naive wizard had fallen for it.
Indeed, the words that came out of Obern's mouth matched his expectations.
“Then… I'll accept it with gratitude.”
Though not explicitly stated, the game was over.
But, there was something more important left.
“No, Sir Wizard. I'm the one who's sorry. By the way, what about the penalty…?”
“Since you've given me something more precious than your life… it seems you've fulfilled your role, Sir Rayleigh.”
Obern's voice, filled with gratitude, made Rayleigh clench his fist without realizing it.
‘Good!’
Perfect.
Now, all that was left was to leave Greentown as soon as possible and find a suitable place to settle.
‘I need to enjoy myself for a few days.’
He would find a nice countryside to settle in, build a decent house, buy some land, and look into other things.
“Then, can I leave now?”
“Ah, but how do I interpret this map? I heard Pathfinder maps are written in code….”
“No need to worry. I've added annotations.”
This was a question he had anticipated, so Rayleigh answered smoothly.
In fact, the few days since they arrived in Greentown were spent adding annotations.
Still, out of conscience, he couldn't give something completely useless.
He had written down the facts he had gathered on the way here in a clear and concise manner.
‘Well… there's no guarantee it will be useful if you go back, but…’
“Then, I'll….”
“Yes, Sir Rayleigh. I won't forget this kindness.”
“No, Sir Wizard. Please, achieve your goal.”
The deceived and the deceiver.
But, it was a happy ending for everyone.
The situation was wrapping up warmly.
Suddenly.
‘…Huh?’
Rayleigh, who was about to stand up, felt something odd.
The empty first-floor restaurant of the Sunlit Meadow.
Just him and the dazed wizard.
At their table, a stranger was sitting.
“Hmm….”
Wearing a strange mask, as if he had been there all along.
Leaning his chin on his unusually white hand, looking up at him with eyes that seemed cold through the mask's slits.
“…Who, who are you?”
Rayleigh couldn't help but ask, but the masked man didn't respond.
He just turned his gaze to the dazed wizard.
“Name?”
“Eh, eh…? Who, who are you?”
“Oh, I see. What's your name?”
The abrupt question.
But, perhaps caught up in the flow, Obern stuttered a few times before revealing his name.
“I, I'm Obern.”
“Your master is Reheim, right?”
“Eh, that… yes.”
“Good, then I've found the right person. Nice, Obern. Call me senior.”
The masked stranger nodded.
Rayleigh, who had been staring blankly, snapped out of it around this time.
“Eh, that… you must be the companion he was waiting for. Well, have a good time. I'll….”
Rayleigh hurriedly took a step.
But.
A cold voice pierced his ear.
“Stop moving.”
“……!”
“Happy times, my ass. Are you a restaurant staff member?”
“N-no, but….”
“My friend. Stop being a smartass and sit here. I'll give you one second. If you don't sit in that time, you'll die by my hand.”
The sharp voice rang in his ear.
Rayleigh's mind spun.
“One second. Tick.”
As the voice rang out, stars appeared in his eyes.
Smack!
The resounding impact was a given!
“Eh, eh… why….”
Rayleigh tried to protest, feeling quite wronged, but the masked stranger didn't stop the beating.
He just said.
“One second. It's over.”
Swinging his fist while spouting nonsense.
Rayleigh teetered between life and death, struggling for his life.
“……”
Obern's mouth hung open in cognitive dissonance.
Amidst this, the resounding impacts continued without pause. Rayleigh's screams were faintly heard in between.
Obern's first impression of Aster was…
‘…Master was right.’
Before leaving, his master had said:
- Have you ever seen someone who has gone 360 degrees?
It was a hard concept to grasp.
Going 360 degrees meant completing a full circle, right? Was that considered going crazy?
It meant returning to normal.
But, that wasn't what his master meant.
- When a person goes 360 degrees crazy, they appear completely normal on the surface. And my friend is such a person. I'm worried about that.
- ……?
- I don't think the person he sends will be normal. It's unlikely, but be careful not to be influenced.