Chapter 9: The Small Village in the Forest (2)

Zion had thought the child would walk on her own to guide him, but she clung tightly to him, refusing to get down.

How scared must she have been to hold onto a stranger like Zion?

Understanding her feelings, Zion decided not to say anything unnecessary.

“The adults won’t welcome you, sir. They might curse at you or try to drive you away.”

From the child’s words—she introduced herself as Nate—Zion could vaguely guess the situation of the village.

They walked along the narrow path Nate pointed to.

After a while, the trees grew sparser, and the village began to come into view.

It was a small, shabby village.

The houses were crude huts that looked like they could be blown away by a strong wind or rain.

The wooden fence surrounding the village was equally flimsy.

For a village built in such a dangerous place as the forest, it was far too fragile.

‘Just as I expected.’

This was not a village properly managed by any nation.

Nate, who had fled in fear at their first encounter, and the cleverly hidden path both confirmed this.

There was more than one odd thing about this place.

Most notably, the scorched traces of land they had seen on the way were decisive.

There was no country on the continent that practiced slash-and-burn farming.

“Outsider! What business do you have here!”

Beyond the loosely built fence came a fierce voice.

A man gripping a worn farming tool like a spear glared at Zion.

Zion raised his head, and Nate clung to him even tighter, clearly terrified.

“Don’t just crawl into the village wherever you like! If you don’t want to die, get lost!”

After a moment of hesitation, Zion approached the village.

His unhesitant attitude and the sight of Nate cradled in his arms made some of the villagers hold their breath.

The man who first shouted was no exception.

“Are you the village chief?”

“The village chief… no, he’s not.”

“Call the village chief. I have urgent matters to discuss.”

“What good would that do? I told you to get lost! Give me back my child!”

The man suddenly jabbed the farming tool toward Zion.

Reacting instinctively, Zion tried to dodge.

But at that moment, Frey advised him.

[Don’t dodge; just catch it lightly. Let’s take the initiative.]

Zion stopped and reached out his hand.

The dull, rusty tool didn’t even scratch his grip.

The man’s eyes widened as if he had seen a monster.

‘Looks like I scared him for no reason.’

[That’s better. If they weren’t afraid, they wouldn’t even listen.]

Now that he thought about it, Frey’s words made sense.

“L-let go! You monster…!”

“Dad! Tsk!”

Nate, who had been clinging to Zion, suddenly cried out sharply.

Zion, who hadn’t expected the child to interfere in such a situation, froze.

The man facing Zion was even more stunned.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Nate.

“Dad, you always tell me to listen to adults from start to finish! So why can’t you do that?”

“Yes, Nate.”

“I was so scared! Suddenly, a strange-looking monster appeared, and then this sir… sniffle… sob…”

As if the feelings from that moment were revived, tears welled up in Nate’s eyes.

Zion quickly stretched out his hand; Nate wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt and looked back at the man with clear eyes.

“Huh.”

“This sir didn’t lie. The monsters really did appear. And he saved me when I was about to be eaten. Yet you still want to drive him away? Saying that all outsiders are scary monsters?”

“But… Nate, we…”

At the moment an awkward silence settled, a thick arm suddenly appeared from behind the man’s head and snatched the farming tool he was brandishing.

“What’s all this commotion? I heard an outsider had come.”

Startled, the man turned around.

An elderly man with white hair and deep wrinkles that told of a long life stood before them.

Yet his upright posture, large frame, and toned muscles were so imposing that he could have easily knocked down a young man with a single blow.

His sharp eyes scanned the area.

Those who met his gaze flinched and shrugged their shoulders.

Zion instinctively knew this man was the village chief.

‘Not exactly the kind of person you’d expect to be a chief of a slash-and-burn village.’

Zion silently agreed.

The chief’s sharp gaze then fixed on Zion.

“I overheard something on my way here. You say you have something to tell me?”

His voice was heavy and intimidating, as if pressing down on them.

But Zion stood his ground and nodded calmly.

“There have been monsters appearing nearby.”

***

The village chief was a man who could communicate well.

Nate’s testimony was a great help.

He accepted the fact that goblins had appeared nearby and immediately understood the danger.

“There must be a more powerful monster somewhere in the forest. The goblins are swarming because of its influence. We don’t know its true nature yet, but…”

After Zion reported that the Border Fortress had been destroyed, the chief’s expression hardened completely.

Yet he did not voice his decision outright.

“This is a difficult problem.”

“It’s not difficult. If we don’t run away, we’ll all die.”

“Life isn’t always better than death, boy. Especially for people like us—powerless and not dignified.”

The chief spoke bitterly with a distant look in his eyes.

“As you can see, this isn’t a normal village. These peasants fled the lord’s excessive tyranny and barely settled here. I was the captain of the knights at that time, and I personally led them. Since I couldn’t stop the oppression, I thought it was my minimum responsibility to help them settle.”

Part of what he said was as expected, but some was not.

To be the lord’s direct knight captain, no doubt, was a position with great wealth and honor.

“The peasants held on to me, asking me to lead them like this. The weak and ignorant begged me to lend them strength so they wouldn’t just die off. I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.”

He sighed deeply at that point.

Then, shaking off his regrets, he continued.

“Yes. The life I carry, I must take responsibility for it until the end.”

Zion felt relieved and exhaled deeply.

“I’ll try to persuade the villagers. But evacuating immediately is impossible. It will probably take a day or two. Even if it’s a poor and insignificant village, there’s attachment.”

“A day or two… then what should I do in the meantime?”

[What? Huh?]

The chief looked at him with a somewhat incredulous expression.

“Well, what else is there? Go your own way. You seem to have your own reasons, but I doubt you can just laze around here.”

“Old man, you’re right.”

Ignoring Frey’s words, Zion shook his head.

“I can’t do that. What if the monsters attack the village while I’m gone?”

“So you want to stay here and protect the people?”

“Yes.”

Without hesitation, Zion answered.

The chief stared blankly at him, then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha! Now I see you’re a very strange fellow.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing. If you insist, I won’t stop you. There are many empty houses; you can stay in one of those. Looks like your clothes are a mess, too. I’ll prepare some changes for you.”

Zion blushed as he realized how dirty and disheveled he had become after wandering through the forest, covered in dust and monster blood.

“T-thank you.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s only fair to give back what you receive.”

After the discussion, as Zion left the chief’s house, the villagers who had gathered scattered like ants.

Zion spotted Nate, too.

When their eyes met, she bowed her head politely, then was pulled away by her parents.

It was obvious he was not welcome, but Zion thought that was enough and moved toward the outskirts of the village.

The chief had said there were some empty houses there for resting.

All that was left was to wait.

***

The evacuation preparations were not finished until late into the night.

Still, they hoped to leave by the next morning.

[How long do you think it will take for Mione to catch up to you?]

Late at night, in a small, shabby house on the village outskirts, Zion lay on a straw bed with Frey as they discussed the coming days.

“She’ll be fine for a while. It’s not easy to find one person in this vast forest, especially with monsters roaming. Without a proper army, there’s nothing they can do.”

Since her goal was assassination, Mione wouldn’t move noisily.

[What if she sends a small elite group of assassins again?]

“That would only cause more losses. After fighting monsters several times, I’m sure of this: they’re assassins meant to kill people, not soldiers meant to fight monsters. They’d have a hard time surviving even against a single pack of goblins.”

[Even if she’s a stepmother, I doubt she’ll give up easily on assassinating her own child.]

“Mione… Mione probably doesn’t even consider me her child. To her, her only child is my younger brother, Barand. But as you said, uncle, she definitely won’t give up.”

Suddenly, as if by agreement, they fell silent.

They sensed footsteps approaching.

[One person. The footsteps are light, fast, and narrow.]

“There was only one child in the village—Nate.”

[Don’t let your guard down. Someone might have ordered her to do something bad.]

Frey’s words were tinged with caution.

Zion didn’t want to suspect the villagers, but preparing for danger was another matter.

Zion gripped his sword hilt and waited for the person to appear.

The footsteps stopped just in front of the door.

Zion held his breath and tensed every muscle.

After a moment, there was a cautious knock.

“Sir? Are you asleep?”

“I’m fine. Come in.”

“S-sorry for disturbing you.”

The child who opened the door glanced around quickly and then entered swiftly.

The house was dark and empty of candles, but the moonlight from outside was enough to recognize each other.

Nate neither hid any dangerous weapons nor acted suspiciously.

Zion relaxed and loosened his shoulders.

He even put the sword hilt far away.

‘Uncle is too suspicious.’

[That’s something to admit, you fool. This isn’t suspicion—it’s natural caution.]

Zion’s grumble was met with Frey’s indifferent shrug.

“I wanted to greet you.”

“You could have done that during the day.”

“My parents definitely wouldn’t have let me then… I thought if not now, there’d be no chance.”

Nate stepped up to Zion and bowed awkwardly.

It was rough and lacked proper etiquette, but her sincerity was clear.

“During the day… I was really scared. Suddenly, this outsider appeared and talked to me. I ran away because I was scared, and then the monsters showed up. I thought I was going to die, just like my little brother who died of illness. I thought I would become cold and hard like that.”

Startled by her unexpected words, Zion swallowed hard.

Nate was not even ten years old yet, but she was no mere innocent child.

Living in a slash-and-burn village, she had endured harsh conditions and understood what death meant.

“So… when you fought off the monsters and saved me, I couldn’t help but cry. I was so scared and so grateful. That’s why I couldn’t say anything. Actually, a single word like this can never repay the huge debt I owe you. I’m sorry, and thank you for saving me.”

Nate finished firmly and straightened up.

Then she looked at Zion’s face and was surprised.

“S-sir? Are you crying?”

“Huh?” Zion, dazed, touched his face. He felt a wet sensation.

Ah, he breathed softly.

Nate had been right.

Tears flowed freely as if something had broken.

“W-why all of a sudden… Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No. Sorry. No, it’s not that I’m sorry… I just…”

He found it hard to breathe and speak for long.

Zion lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Then, with great effort, he managed to say one word.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Nate stepped forward boldly and carefully petted Zion’s head.

“Let all your pain, all your hurt, fly away.”

“Haha.”

He laughed through his tears.

For the first time, the reality truly settled in.

That he had been able to save this young life with his own hands.

That his actions were not meaningless.

That his beliefs had not been wrong.

“Thank you. Now it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Wiping his tears, Zion lifted his head and smiled brightly, holding Nate’s hand.

Nate, who had looked at him with worried eyes, soon smiled in relief.

“No way, right? I hate people who lie. The village adults and even my mom who lies… My dad… I didn’t like him much today, either.”

“Really. Nate, thanks to you, I’m all better now.”

“Okay. I’ll trust you. But if you lie, I’ll scold you later. Promise.”

They laughed and linked fingers.

Only then did Nate nod in satisfaction.

“I have to go back now. Actually, I snuck out secretly without my parents knowing.”

“It’s dangerous at night. I’ll see you safely back.”

“It’s okay. I’m good at finding my way. Sir, good night.”

Nate spoke firmly and left the house, walking briskly away.

Zion closed the door and watched her figure for a long time before going back inside.

Lying on the rough straw bed, he closed his eyes softly.

“Uncle.”

[…What?]

Frey, quietly watching without disturbing Zion, answered calmly.

Zion smiled.

“I don’t think I’ll have any nightmares tonight.”

As he said, Zion slept deeply for the first time in a long while—without dreams.