Chapter 81 : The Age of Barbarism (2)

The era worships barbarism.

It was so in the past, and it is so now.

Perhaps it will continue to be so in the future.

Then must I too believe in barbarism?

Can I act selfishly without any guilt?

Is it right to consider morality and altruism as mere insignificant illusions?

Just because the era is so, and others do the same—

Can I blame myself for my actions?

Is that truly just?

… This is a question I cannot answer.

At least, not now.

***

“Captain, it’s the knights. Judging by the carriage, it seems they’re escorting nobles.”

Damn it.

Huckle Brew, captain of the Bronze Shield Mercenary Company, frowned deeply. The scowl on his face grew darker.

“What? Nobles? No way…”

“Is something wrong?”

The refugees were starting to stir. To both mercenaries and refugees, nobles were a source of fear, or at least suspicion.

“… Can we turn back?”

The deputy commander shook his head firmly.

“Given the hunger and exhaustion, stragglers are already falling behind. If we turn back now, over half will lag behind. Besides—”

“Looks like the Grand Bandit Knights are here too, huh? Hmph.”

The Grand Bandit Knights.

A notoriously infamous band of thieves rampant across the Riberton territory recently. They called themselves a knight order, though their sanity was questionable, and they were formidable foes.

Huckle Brew and the refugees feared their pursuit. They had fled from a village under the bandits’ control.

In other words, they had to keep moving as fast as possible. They must pray to the goddess to not arouse the temper of those noble bastards.

“We have to ask them to let us pass quietly.”

“Are you sure about that?”

There was no need to say how capricious and self-centered nobles were.

They would kill one or two commoners over a trivial dislike, without a second thought.

“We can’t just pass by. I’ll go and talk to them.”

He spoke firmly and started walking, though his eyes betrayed his fear.

***

“Greetings, honored guests. I am—of the Bronze Shield Mercenary Company—.”

“Stop right there. Don’t come any closer.”

Huckle Brew approached with a friendly demeanor, but the tall man leading the nobles remained completely guarded.

“Yes, yes… I am Huckle Brew, lieutenant and leader of the mercenaries.”

“What do you want?”

“Well, we’re just passing through. Will that be a problem?”

“No, it won’t be if you pass quietly. And you’d better do just that. If you don’t want to die.”

The man’s voice was like a growl from a wild beast.

Facing the sharp gaze, Huckle Brew felt a chill run down his spine and unconsciously swallowed hard.

“Of course. Then may we pass first?”

The man nodded slightly. Huckle Brew quickly bowed his head and retreated to his group.

That was a type of person you must never provoke. He thought of the man from the carriage and was certain of it.

***

“Everyone, listen! Those nobles have agreed to clear the path until we pass. So don’t worry and move quickly!”

“Thank goodness, thank goodness.”

“See? Nobles, huh? I was so scared just now.”

Huckle Brew and the Bronze Shield Mercenary Company rushed about encouraging the refugees.

“A little further and we’ll reach Rovben Village. Everyone, hang in there.”

Rovben Village was Huckle Brew’s hometown.

Of course, going there wouldn’t solve all their problems. Still, it would be better than here.

“Uncle… I’m hungry.”

A thin girl approached, visibly malnourished and weak.

Huckle Brew bit his lip in frustration.

“Clara, I’m sorry. I have nothing to give you. At least drink some water.”

He himself was barely holding on.

Mercenaries could endure a day or two of hardship—that was common enough. But it was painful just to hear such a young girl complain of hunger without being able to help.

“I’m hungry… sniffle…”

“Oh no, sorry. Captain, our girl is being stubborn… Clara, come here.”

Her grandfather took her aside.

Huckle Brew knew Clara’s story. The Grand Bandit Knights had slaughtered her parents and dozens of villagers.

Because they hadn’t paid the demanded taxes.

She had barely survived with her brother and grandfather and was now fleeing for her life.

“Damn it… damn it…”

Huckle Brew found it harder to bear that such children were starving than his own hunger. And the helpless reality was agonizing.

***

“There’s a weird smell from Kyle.”

Sophia, inside the carriage, said while pinching her nose.

Tessa also shot Kyle a sharp look.

“Sir Kyle, please refrain from smoking in front of the children.”

“Huh? I only smoked one cigarette an hour ago. What smell?”

Kyle looked a bit offended as he patted himself.

… Maybe it hasn’t worn off yet?

“Ugh… Tessa, I feel strange.”

“… Hm? Princess, are you okay? Do you feel unwell?”

Tessa asked, then gestured toward the carriage exit, meaning for Kyle to step outside.

“I’m going outside for a bit to air out the smell.”

creak.

The carriage door opened, and outside scenery entered Sophia’s eyes.

The refugees filled her gaze.

Their faces full of suffering, exhaustion, and despair—seeing it all worsened Sophia’s mood.

Much worse than the smell from Kyle.

Why, she didn’t know, but it made her feel inexplicably sad.

“Ugh…”

“Princess, are you alright?”

Sophia felt tears threatening to fall, though she couldn’t explain why.

***

Suddenly, the carriage door opened, and Glenn reacted instinctively.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“… Princess Sophia seems to be struggling with the smell of smoke.”

Kyle answered smoothly, but the irritation in the carriage only grew.

“Did she smoke inside?”

“No. It seems the smell from earlier hasn’t fully faded. Ahem…”

“Tch.”

The magic carriage takes time to open and close its doors due to magical mechanisms, so normally it wasn’t an issue.

But now was different.

The door of the expensive carriage drew the attention of the refugees passing by. The road was narrow, so they were quite close.

Glenn disliked this.

“Did those bastards lose their minds?! Can’t you keep your eyes off us?”

In response, the squad leaders and deputies intimidated the refugees.

Whether because of this or not, those who had met Glenn’s gaze quickly looked away and hurried on.

But at that moment—

“Please! My granddaughter has been starving for three days. By the grace of the kind-hearted, please spare just one piece of bread!”

An old man broke away from the line and bowed his head to the ground, his voice trembling and eyes full of desperation. He lowered his body as if a beast of burden, unable to straighten his back, pleading earnestly.

For something more precious, pride had long since vanished.

“Old man, get up at once!”

The Bronze Shield Mercenary Company members quickly tried to stop him, but to no avail.

“My granddaughter Clara is only seven years old. Please show mercy and help us—.”

“Old man!”

“My son has been starving for three days too, sob!”

“Please help us!”

Perhaps inspired by the old man’s actions, a couple of refugees broke away from the line and knelt on the ground. Their desperate gazes were fixed on Sophia inside the carriage.

They chose the weakest target to plead with.

“What’s going on?”

“Captain, stop these people!”

Huckle Brew and the mercenaries tried to disperse the refugees, but they wouldn’t be controlled easily.

Because they were desperate.

But Glenn didn’t care about that.

A killing intent began to seep slowly from his gaze.

“Get lost immediately! Or I’ll cut your throats.”

Shh.

Glenn half-drew his sword and threatened them.

“Get up! Leave now!”

“Go back if you don’t want to die!”

The Lion Squad members roughly pushed the refugees away.

“Wait! Don’t touch them! We’ll control the situation—”

One by one, the Bronze Shield Mercenary Company drew their weapons. They believed the knights were about to slaughter the refugees.

“What? You wanna fight us? Do you want to die here?”

Krork growled at the scene.

At the same time, he felt something amiss.

Why were these thieves so confident?

They should have attacked long ago; this isn’t normal.

The tension between the two groups stretched to the breaking point.

Then—

Something happened no one—not even Glenn—could have expected.

“A piece of bread is all I need! Say something, you damn woman!”

A boy suddenly appeared and threw a stone.

“Princess!”

Everyone was stunned.

The girl inside the carriage—Sophia.

***

“Oppa… I’m hungry…”

“Clara, hold on just a little longer.”

Simon, Clara’s older brother, felt like his heart was breaking. His five-year-old sister was always frail.

Making it this far from the village was a miracle. Still, he couldn’t give up. After all, he was her older brother.

But the reality that he couldn’t do anything for her hunger was unbearably frustrating.

“My granddaughter Clara is only seven. Please show mercy and help us—.”

“Old man!”

He saw his grandfather bowing his head desperately to the girl in the carriage. The target was a little noble-looking girl.

Her skin was so pure it showed blue veins beneath, and her golden hair looked healthy.

She looked like she stepped out of a fairy tale and was roughly the same age as his own sister.

“Damn it.”

Somewhere out there, there was a girl about to die of hunger, while that one lived without such worries. She always ate well, slept warm, and wore fine clothes.

Simon felt an undefined hatred welling inside him.

He wanted to bury his head in shame in front of her, but she gave no response—just a confused, helpless expression.

“Stone!”

A fire burned in Simon’s heart.

Without realizing it, he picked up a stone rolling on the ground.

***

“A piece of bread is all I need! Say something, you damn woman!”

The stone flew straight at Sophia.

“Princess!”

Tessa hurriedly shielded Sophia.

Thud!

But the stone missed its mark.

Kyle, standing in front of the carriage, had used his body to block it.

He scowled and drew a dagger from his waist reflexively, sensing a larger assault was imminent.

“S-Simon, what the hell—”

“ugh”

The boy who threw the stone finally seemed to regain his senses.

At the same time, a terrifying sound of teeth grinding rang out.

Thunk.

“How dare you!”

“Ughhh!”

A brutal hand grabbed the boy and lifted him. The stern-looking man in the carriage glared daggers at him.

“I’ll rip your limbs off alive.”

Sophia was now recognized by Glenn as someone to protect.

Like his own family.

In other words, this situation was like seeing his family threatened right before his eyes. It stirred deep-rooted trauma within him.

Glenn saw a brief hallucination.

His family torn apart, the people he couldn’t protect, the burning homeland.

Regret, pain, and rage burst forth.

Rebellion.

The boy—Simon—had just provoked the Dragon’s rebellion.

“Let go of Simon!”

Huckle Brew drew his weapon and shouted.

Glenn growled in response.

“Fine, I’ll slaughter you all. Knight Order combat squad—”

Clack.

Just as his eyes began to lose control, a strange sensation came from one side.

“P-please don’t!”

“Sophia?”

Sophia pounded on Glenn’s thigh.

“Let him go!”

Silence.

In this sudden situation, everyone’s attention fixed on Sophia.

The rage that had enveloped Glenn’s eyes gradually changed to confusion.

Why was Sophia here?

More importantly, what was she trying to do?

He unwittingly released the boy he had grabbed by the arm.

Cough!

The boy fell to the ground. Sophia said something to him.

“I, I want to give this to you.”

She was crying.

She didn’t understand why either.

But seeing the suffering and sorrow before her, tears came to her eyes.

And the fact that this was all she could do made her cry even more.

“Huh?”

Chocolate.

Sophia’s favorite treat.

She loved it so much that Princess Isabelle had warned her multiple times to stop eating so much of it.

She gave this precious chocolate to the boy she’d never seen before. Even though he had just thrown a stone at her.

“I saved this to eat later… This is all I have left. sniff”

Tears welled in her large eyes.

What could be so sad?

“I’m sorry. This is all I have.”

“Th-thank you.”

Simon accepted a few chocolates in a daze, bowing his head.

He immediately ran over to his sister.

“Th-thank you. You are so kind! Thank you, Princess!”

Simon’s grandfather bowed his head to the ground again.

Tears streamed down the old man’s face, deeply moved by her pure-hearted gesture.

“Glenn… I’m sorry. sniff…”

She looked up at Glenn with big watery eyes.

… What could she possibly be sorry for?

Glenn quietly embraced her.

“Are you angry?”

“No. Princess, this place is dangerous. Please stay inside for now.”

While talking to Tessa, Sophia kept apologizing through her tears.

Glenn couldn’t bear to look directly at Sophia.

“… Lieutenant, Tristan who went to the police station has returned. There was no ambush.”

Nedian quickly approached to report. The reason he said this was clear.

“Maybe… they really are just refugees. Krork said something similar. If they were thieves, they’d have attacked by now.”

“Damn.”

Whether it was bad or good, the commotion ended, and the refugees resumed their march.

Glenn glanced once more at the carriage where Sophia was.

Unlike before, the door was firmly closed.

Hoo.

Glenn thought of Sophia and felt a pang of guilt toward himself.

After a brief moment of reflection, he addressed Nedian.

“Is there any extra food?”

“I’ll check.”

The loyal deputy nodded.

Yes, the era worships barbarism.

But not everyone in the world would.

Just like that small, pure princess.