Chapter 233: One Step Behind
The road heading west was far from quiet.
Every village they passed through had no one left to guard it. Where the Astria Kingdom's banners once flew, colorful scraps of cloth now fluttered in the wind. Beside what had hung there yesterday, another banner bearing a different crest had been raised.
Gajit missed nothing—not even the smallest hint. He was a man who had learned how to survive through his body.
"It seems this is a region where the lord's authority doesn't reach."
Just as he said, in Astria, who held power changed by the day. Only the hands of those who plundered remained.
The people they met on the road exchanged no greetings. Not where they'd come from, nor where they were going. Instead, they scanned each other's waistlines and eyes first. They had to tell apart those who didn't bother hiding their weapons from those who had no need to hide them at all.
"Perhaps the entire eastern region is like this. It's been a long time since I left Astria myself…… I'll need to look into it a bit more."
His benefactor offered no clear answer. Instead, he looked at an overturned cart by the roadside. The wooden wheel was broken, and beside it lay empty grain sacks, scattered all around.
Gajit's judgment was right.
Not a day went by without a small skirmish breaking out.
The clang of metal rang out from below a hill. Gajit stopped walking, then changed direction to circle around through the interior of the forest. Through the trees, he caught a brief glimpse of a battle unfolding.
One side bore the crest of a noble house; the other looked like bandits. But it wasn't possible to tell which side was in the right. The knights were taking grain, taking lives, and rounding up those who fled.
"……The knights don't seem to have much leeway either."
Calix was still silent. It wasn't that he was disinterested—rather, he trusted Gajit's judgment. Finding food, guiding their path—all of it was left to him.
And above all else——
"You should keep your face covered."
He had found a robe and draped it over Calix's face. Even amidst such chaos, statues cast in his likeness were lined up throughout the kingdom. Since entering Astria, they had come across several. Avoiding unnecessary suspicion was also part of an attendant's duties.
Thanks to that, there was no occasion for Calix to take up an iron poker in his hand again.
As they traveled while avoiding conflicts, the roads grew progressively rougher. Foot traffic dwindled, and signs of burning increased in its place. There were small villages where only the foundation of buildings remained, and they occasionally found hovels bearing all the signs of a hasty departure.
And so, roughly a month passed.
As the sun tilted toward the horizon, the two stopped deep within a forest. The canopy of leaves kept out the cold wind. Gajit gathered dry branches and built a fire. He was careful to mix in damp ones so the smoke wouldn't rise too high. He, too, was a former mercenary—he knew that firelight drew in unwanted guests.
"Once we reach a stable region, I'll need to find some work."
He muttered awkwardly as he dressed the rabbit he had hunted. It was far too little to split between two people. Calix gnawed at the meat a few times, then pushed it toward him.
"Are you sure you don't want more? You eat so little every time……"
The words of concern were swallowed up by sounds coming from nearby. As the presence of multiple people became apparent, Gajit raised his rusted longsword. But the moment he checked Calix's expression, the tension eased. A composed face—in some ways, it even looked bored.
The two waited for the uninvited guests to leave of their own accord. But soon, several shadows emerged from beyond the undergrowth.
"There's someone here already."
It was the other party who spoke first. They were armed, but not professionally so. They were laden with heavy packs on their backs—they appeared to be traveling merchants.
The mutual sizing-up ended in an instant.
They showed open palms instead of blades. Their numbers were around sixty. Calix had no reason to be hostile, and the merchants felt likewise.
The merchants set down their loads near the campfire. With the thud of bundles hitting the ground, tension slowly unwound. The more seasoned ones groaned as they kneaded their knees; the young ones passed water pouches around in silence.
Naturally, the one who appeared to be among the oldest came and sat across from Calix.
"The roads have gotten much rougher."
The middle-aged man, who introduced himself as "Idopf," tore strips of dried meat and dropped them into a pot. Then, shortly after, he floated tea leaves in hot water and offered it over. It was a low-quality product—but not something easily come by these days.
A stream of laments—not quite complaints, not quite anything else—followed.
"The war against the monsters ended how long ago, and it's still like this. I've heard Kalahim is especially bad." "Kalahim, you say……" "I mean Great Chief Ranakk."
Only then did Calix's gaze land on him.
Another name buried in memory had surfaced again.
"He rose to the position of Great Chief, but I hear the other chiefs raise their flags in defiance every day. I'm told the fighting doesn't stop even as the blood flows. And because of that, the situation in the western part of Astria isn't good either." "Is that so. In the old days, Marquis Hoover would have stepped in." "Yes. I've heard Marquis Hoover is trying everything he can…… but it seems difficult all the same. The entire kingdom is too busy picking sides and fighting."
As Gajit responded appropriately, the conversation flowed freely.
Astria had effectively entered a state of civil war. Other kingdoms were no different. De Generitum had fallen—but the lives of those who had lived beneath it had not improved. If anything, more people were being driven out onto the roads.
"More than anything else, the shortage of food is the problem. Chivalry is long gone. Things have gotten so bad that people are talking about needing to reduce the number of mouths to feed."
At that moment, a young merchant laughed and cut in.
"That's exactly why we travel like this. A merchant company of this size isn't common. These days, if you travel in just a pair, you'd be hard-pressed to make it past a few days."
At those words, a brief silence fell.
The seasoned merchant shot him a sidelong glare. That look carried a cold reprimand. The young man realized too late that he'd made a mistake.
"I'm deeply sorry for the rudeness. This one is still immature, and I have yet to teach him well…… It's entirely my own failing." "Hmm……"
The merchants were quick to read the room.
Being alone outside in a pair of two was a significant weakness—but the middle-aged man, Idopf, turned that around and looked at it from the other side. A composed expression, an unguarded manner. What Gajit had shown was explanation enough on its own.
It already proved, without words, a certain kind of strength.
Could be a noble traveling incognito…… or perhaps someone even more dangerous.
The merchants instinctively looked toward Calix. Though the robe was pulled up over his head, the way Gajit treated him made it possible to infer the nature of their relationship.
The most dangerous person at this gathering was the one who said nothing.
* * *
Calix continued traveling alongside the merchants. Rather than them having requested it first, it was simply that their roads overlapped.
And what they had feared grew into reality the deeper they moved inland. As the shapes of cities and walls came into view, so too did the threats of those wandering the surroundings.
As few as several dozen bandits, and at times as many as several hundred cavalry, roamed the plains. Even without direct encounters, a menacing air could be felt.
They were plunderers.
"Vermin wearing the mask of knights." "I heard there's fierce infighting among the nobles over Shelion Fortress?" "It's a natural fortress beyond compare. Whoever seizes it controls the entire eastern region."
Just as the merchants said, occasionally quite large forces clashed. Armies burned wheat fields, and over the ash-covered ground, blood was layered on top.
Calix took in every single scene with his eyes.
Peace was nowhere to be found.
Had it never been something that could be had from the start? Or was it that people had decided they would not have it? A small question brushed through his mind.
And yet the world flows on.
Pain and hardship, even screams and cries of despair—all of it was buried within the cycle. At some point, he had begun to watch from one step back.
And soon, yet another question was thrown at him.
It was late in the afternoon.
The moment the procession, which had been crossing the plains, turned onto a narrow road, dust billowed up thickly behind them. At first it seemed to be passing in a different direction. But soon a pattern emerged. At regular intervals, moving toward the same direction, it was closing in.
"……They're coming this way!"
At Gajit's warning, the group quickened their pace. The cargo carts jolted, and the donkeys exhaled anxious huffs. The forest was at quite a distance, so even some goods were abandoned on the ground. It was a desperate bid to buy time.
"If they can kick up that much dust, we can't fight them. Pick up the pace!" "Send one cart in another direction!"
Shouts flew back and forth—but it was already too late. A group mixed with cavalry quickly came into view. Their armor was mismatched, their crests uncoordinated. Disheveled appearances, faces soaked in exhaustion. At a glance, they were no different from a band of bandits.
Muffled groans of despair leaked out among the merchants.
Yet as the distance closed, something was different. Unified commands, concise hand signals, coordinated movements—all of this caught the eye.
Calix could tell at a single glance that these were no bandits.
They didn't rush in recklessly; instead, they slowly herded everyone in one direction. Rather than leaving an escape route, they guided them toward the option they wanted. At the end of it, the merchants stopped before a shallow riverbank. Cartwheels sank into the mud, breath rose all the way to their chins. There was nowhere left to retreat.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Before them, a single rider approached. The man clad in a well-maintained full suit of armor had even his face enclosed within a helmet.
A young merchant called out in a trembling voice.
"W-wait! We'll pay the toll, good sir! We'll give you as much as you need! We're just merchants passing through!"
The knight looked down at him for a moment. Then gave a light shake of his head.
"There's no need for that. We already know why we came." "What do you mean by that……" "You lot are spies sent by Viscount Goral."
The merchants shook their heads all at once.
"We're not!" "We have absolutely nothing to do with people like——"
The words never reached their end. Eyes heavy with killing intent swept over the entire company. The knight raised one hand. With that single motion, the cavalry behind him moved.
He didn't listen. Didn't verify.
What mattered was not the "truth."
Calix watched the entire process in silence. There had been no room for truth to work from the beginning. The knight had come with his decision already made.
What he needed was the food the merchants carried.
But Calix did not step forward.
A mass of light tangled within his field of vision. Behind the riverbank, dozens of Neural Accelerators flickered as if ready to detonate at any moment.
Different rhythms—but a familiar feeling.
Calix knew it was not yet his time to step in.
At least, not yet.