Chapter 31

Chapter Three Arkand I attached the Prophet’s phantom to Leonard’s shadow and began observing his movements. After burying Carmine, Leonard’s party headed for a town called Arkand. All sorts of people gravitated toward there. Although it had not originally been a particularly large town, it was close to the battlefront between the Demon Lord’s army and the human nations’ allied forces. This had turned Arkand into a stopover point in the supply chain. I knew this information secondhand, but I hardly had any opportunity to actually go there myself. Even in phantom form, it was my first time staying there. In any case, the town was bustling and full of people: knights and soldiers on a break from the battlefield, mercenaries and adventurers looking to earn money by participating in the war, and escaped refugees from the countries invaded by the Demon Lord’s army. Because of the sudden influx of people, the governor struggled to maintain order, and the town was in a rather lawless state. Chaos—that described it well. “There’s a lot happening here. Pity it’s a shithole,” Leonard said, his voice ringing clearly through the main street. “The town’s a mess. There’s no order, which I’m guessing ain’t helped by that stream of refugees. You agree, Evsei?” “They don’t have anywhere else to go. Seems the place grew too quickly to accommodate everyone. There’s not enough to go around.” In contrast to Leonard’s cheery tone, Evsei’s voice was inflectionless, as if he felt nothing at all from the town’s state. “Look, people are camping on the road. Bunch of nuisances.” Leonard was pointing at a family that had clearly fled for their lives from another country. They were huddled under a single large blanket, not moving a muscle. A tiny child cast Leonard’s party an imploring look, but Leonard snorted and pointedly ignored it. “It happens all the time these days. Nearly every country is using its resources on the war effort, leaving the citizens in the dust. It’s sad,” said Nina, who was walking a slight distance behind Leonard. She gazed at the refugees with pity. “You’re gonna wind up like this if you’ve got no power or money. That’s the rule. Malika was no different. Don’t waste your pity, okay, Nina? A bit of half-assed help isn’t gonna go far. It’s like throwing water into a desert. Your money’s got better uses,” Leonard cautioned. “It’s not a waste. Helping the people in front of me eases my soul.” Nina walked over to the small child who had been staring at Leonard and gingerly placed a silver coin into their hand. “Make sure not to tell anyone else about this, okay?” Nina said as the child’s face lit up. She was afraid of the other refugees swarming her, which I assumed she had learned from experience. Leonard clicked his tongue at the sight. “You’re just feeding your own ego. You’re not solving the problem by only helping the people in front of you. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re being a nice person.” Evidently, Leonard did not approve when his companions helped others. It was a waste of their hard-earned money, he claimed. He also made sure to glower at the other refugees to scare them off from approaching. What a profoundly ungenerous man. “Their lives aren’t even worth the silver coin. No one with any cash to spare would buy them, not even at a discount. They’re not worth the trouble. Oh, sure, paying up would be easy-peasy, but the transaction? The paperwork? Nobody’s got time for that. Look away for one second, and those guys’ll kick the bucket. I bet you the governor of Arkand’s got more of ’em than he can shake a stick at. He’s thinking of a way to kick them out of town as we speak, I guarantee it.” At Leonard’s harsh words, I stopped praying and returned my consciousness to my own body. He had a point. It was fundamentally my duty to save the refugees. But it hurt to hear that from an irresponsible adventurer. What did he know about the pain I had endured? I sank heavily into my chair and cast my eyes at the floor. Everywhere you looked, crowds. Our party had to wade our way through all that human clutter to get where we wanted. Arkand hadn’t been much of a big deal when it started out, but the town had turned into a hub for transporting goods after the Demon Lord’s army attacked. One man’s loss is another man’s gain, as they say. You see it all the time. Unlike us humans, the demons knew what they were doing. Now that Arkand was an area of strategic importance, a demon had turned his sights on it. Hurting Arkand would give their side an advantage in the war. Fortunately for the humans, the governor of Arkand had his head screwed on straight. He’d used the town’s profits to hire adventurers for its protection, which let them ward off the first attack. A lot of those adventurers had died, but at least the town survived. So then they’d started recruiting some new blood. The pay was decent, which I’m guessing was because they had funds left over when people dropped like flies in the last battle. They tacked on the extra as hazard pay given the assumption was that half of us would die. If you had the skills to fight the Demon Lord’s army, you could expect the money to come rolling your way. I smelled an opportunity. “We’ll take care of that demon, so how about you give us ten times the pay?” was what I said as soon as we met the client at our destination. Well, sort of. Since the client was the governor himself, he wasn’t about to meet random people off the street. He’d sent one of his underlings—a knight—to us instead. We were in a room at the guard station. It was a simple, no-frills affair with only a chair and table. Basically, the governor was telling us this was pretty much all we adventurers deserved. “Ten times? That’s too much. Besides, we can’t treat you differently from the other adventurers,” said the knight. He was at the cusp of old age with white flecks in his hair and had a world-weary look about him. “But you’re getting ten times the results,” I told him. “We’re seasoned warriors, survivors of the fierce battle at Malika. It’d be unfair to treat us the same as the other adventurers, don’t you think? We’re happy to go right back where we came—if you think you can survive another attack, that is.” “You’re survivors of Malika?” The knight paused. “I’ve heard of you. Skilled adventurers, but you make unreasonable demands. Looks like the stories were right. You volunteered for that hellhole back then, but now you fight for money?” He frowned. Nina looked hurt by the knight’s words, while Sophia shot him a glare. Evsei gazed out the window in boredom. “That was an entire lifetime of charity work right there. Used up every last drop of goodwill. I reckon God won’t mind if I use the rest of my lifespan on earning that sweet coin,” I said, making it clear I wasn’t up for a discount. “But you know about our skills, so that saves us time. You know we’ve never flubbed a single request, right? Our record’s flawless. Leave it to us, and you can kiss that demon commander good-bye. You guys can rest easy, too. And isn’t that what you want? Peace? A good night’s sleep? You might not understand their value during peacetime, but those are the most important things in life. And you know what? It’s not very often you can buy that with money.” I wasn’t bullshitting there. Peace really was important—and it was a pesky thing, slipping out of your grasp just when you thought you had it. Humans are geniuses at landing themselves into trouble. “Miss this business opportunity, and there might not be a next time, you know?” I made a cutting motion across my neck with my right pointer finger. The knight looked like he was swallowing a lemon. He probably wasn’t confident they had the manpower to fend off another attack. “I’ll consult with the governor,” he replied with a heavy frown. “We’re leaving here tomorrow. If the monsters attack before then, we’re skipping right out of town. We ain’t getting involved in a battle for free,” I said, standing up. My party members followed. Nina gave a little apologetic bow, while Sophia had on her smug face. Evsei was as expressionless as ever. I was pretty sure that’d done the trick. Now to have a drink at the tavern and wait for the good news when I woke up. I didn’t even have to wait for the next day. That night, I got the word: “You can have ten times the regular fee.” “The deal went through. Let’s nab that commander,” I told my party members at a table in the tavern. This was our usual routine. “I picked up some intel, too,” Sophia added. “There were a lot of monsters in the squad behind the first attack. Last time, they retreated before the going got rough for them, so they’ve got plenty of numbers on their side still. Do you really think we can pull this off, Leonard?” Sophia eyed me with mild condescension. Her noble upbringing was obvious in the way she acted so full of herself. Behind the attitude, though, there was hesitance. In war, everything came down to strength in numbers—not exactly an adventurer’s forte. “Sure I do. We’re getting paid handsomely—enough to bet our lives on. And isn’t that what adventurers do?” “It’s not just about the money. The request itself is important,” Nina told me. Nina didn’t place much weight on money. She picked jobs based on whether she felt they were worth doing. Pretty priestlike of her. “You see the worth in it?” I asked. “Yes, I do. This town has many people. I think we should fight to help them. Certainly not for the money…” She didn’t seem to have any qualms about the job itself, but she did seem to think it was wrong to ask for too much money. Evsei did his usual thing. “Your call,” was all he said. It was nice how he didn’t question stuff. “Hey, it’s not complicated,” I said. “Just think about it from the enemy’s POV. The first attack was a bust, but you definitely left a mark. All you need is one more push and the town is yours. You’re not gonna bring any risky tricks or gimmicks to a fight like that. They’re gonna come at us head-on while the leader sits at the back looking pretty. That’s how this war business works. So all we need to do is target the back. No need to fight every single monster. Simple, right?” “If it were that simple, war wouldn’t suck for anybody,” Sophia said with a roll of her eyes. “You know how you make it simple? Be good at your job.” I tapped my arm lightly. “But yeah, you don’t have to sweat it too hard. If things get rough, we can just run. Let’s take it nice and easy.” After that, we hashed out the specifics of our plan. Once I was done chatting with my party members, the only thing left was to drink my booze and sleep. But then I got a strange visitor. “So, what, does this inn come with free ghosts? This their idea of room service?” I returned to my room at the inn to find someone in an antique robe. A heavy hood covered their face. They probably weren’t human. Their outline was indistinct, like I was looking at smoke. I was guessing this was either a ghost or a spirit. Either way, it was bad news. I drew my sword on reflex. My weapon of choice had cost me a pretty penny—it was a magic sword that let me strike enemies even when they had no physical form. I was just about to land the first hit when… “I am the Prophet.” I couldn’t tell whether the voice belonged to a man or woman. Whether it was young or old. The face beneath the hood was completely shrouded in darkness. “The Prophet? The thing that picks the Hero?” I asked. “That I am.” I’d heard about the Prophet. They heralded the Hero who defeated the Demon Lord, according to legend. I had no idea whether that was true. These days, there were chumps who jumped up and down about how they were “chosen by the Prophet” or some crap. Apparently, Carmine, the young guy who’d been killed by a demon a few days ago, had been one such chosen person. The demons weren’t fools, so they went around killing all those self-styled Heroes. But I couldn’t care less about who the Hero was. It didn’t mean squat to me. “So what’s your business with me, O Prophet?” “I acknowledge you, Leonard the adventurer, as the Hero,” declared the Prophet, as if they were saying something very important. “Don’t lump that on me. Sounds like a pain in my ass,” I replied without missing a beat. I thrust my thumb toward the door at the back of the room. “Exit’s that way. Could you try taking that Hero search of yours more seriously? Did you live for so long that you felt like trying something different, or what? I ain’t gonna play along with your crazy game. By the way, I recommend Leon the Sword Saint for your Hero. I heard he’s a straitlaced kid, son of a noble, good with a sword, the works. I bet he’d happily strut that Hero stuff.” “Why do you refuse?” “There’s nothing in it for me. I’m an adventurer. I don’t work for free.” I shrugged, making a show of the sword in my hand. “Should you defeat the Demon Lord…” For some reason, I sensed some hesitation in the Prophet’s words. “…you are guaranteed to become king. I believe that is a sufficient reward.” “Why the hell would I want to be king? That’s my most hated occupation. You sit there all hoity-toity, doing jack shit. Besides, I don’t wanna marry some princess I’ve never even met. I bet you anything she’s a selfish bitch with a massive ego. Who’d pick a chick like that out of love?” For some reason, this overwhelming aura of hostility came oozing out of the Prophet right after I said that. The heck? “But the world will end unless the Demon Lord is defeated. Can you live with that?” “You think that’s my problem? Leave the thinking to the king and the nobility and all those bigwigs. It’s not up to a random adventurer like me.” “Leonard, the world will end if nothing is done. But you have the power to change the world. I will not say you should do it for humanity. Defeat the Demon Lord for your own sake.” “My sake? What the hell would I get out of it?” I could feel the blood rushing to my head. “That right there, Prophet, is the crap a dumbass would spew. Twisting people’s arms by saying, ‘It’s for your own sake,’ when it’s actually for your own selfish gain—you’re a real lowlife, you know that? Get the hell out. Never show yourself in front of me again.”