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“Are you okay…?” Carlton asked.
“Mm, I’m fine. I’m actually rather grateful. Because of you, I was able to properly organize my mind,” Luisen answered.
Carlton couldn’t understand how his words left a deep impression. Rather than words…the mercenary felt that the Buried Old Hag was more effective. That could be possible–Luisen was unique in various ways. Whatever worked, worked; it was good if Luisen had a little more energy in him. Inadvertently, Carlton’s lips drew into a firm line. “It’s an honor that I could be of some help.”
“Without you, I would have most likely been kidnapped by Ruger. Ruger, that son of a bitch. He eats the food I give him and stabs me in the back? Did you know? He received a huge salary. The next time we meet, I’ll make him vomit it all out.” Luisen clenched his fist and punched the empty air.
“It’s not just Ruger–I’ll find out the person behind Ruger and get revenge on him as well,” Luisen pledged.
“I agree. You must call me when you’re about to crush him.”
“You?”
“Yes. I’m suffering like this because of that bastard–you must allow me to join.”
Now that Luisen took a proper look at him, Carlton looked ridiculous. His pants were muddy, his hair messy, and his beard was growing quite scraggly. They had no idea when they’d arrive at the capital; he had been separated from his subordinates and even his cherished horse. There were plenty of reasons to hold a grudge against Ruger and Ruger’s shadow backer.
“Alright. You’ll join too.” Luisen reached out his hand, and Carlton readily grasped it. The hand was dirty, but he didn’t really care all that much. The mercenary shook so hard that it felt like his shoulder would fall off before releasing the young lord’s hand. Luisen took the remaining Buried Old Hag, divided it in half, and handed one half to Carlton. At times like this, people would often share a drink, but this was all he had. Swept up in the moment, Carlton impulsively took the root.
The mercenary had no intention of eating the Buried Old Hag. He knew that it’d be safe to eat the root, but he still didn’t feel so good about it. But, when Luisen placed the root in his hands, he couldn’t ruthlessly say no as he had done in the past.
“Let’s share this and cheer up together!” Luisen then emptied his mind of ‘what-ifs’–what if Ruger had caught him–and thoughts of whether or not Ruger was Count Dubless’ man. Before his expression could darken at the gloomy situation, he took another bite of the Buried Old Hag, brightening up once more.
While docilely watching that scene, Carlton also took a bite of his given share. When he saw Luisen eating so deliciously, he didn’t feel so repulsed anymore; the mercenary couldn’t tell if the root was as delicious as Luisen had praised, but the taste was decent.
***
After eating the Buried Old Hag, they started to walk again. Since there was no horse to ride, the pace was quite slow. They just continued to walk like that. Then, reaching his limit, Luisen asked Carlton for a break; while Luisen sat down and rested, Carlton retrieved water or things to eat.
Though Luisen’s body still felt tired, his exhaustion was slightly relieved because the mercenary held onto his hand along the way. Whenever the young lord inadvertently fell into depressive thoughts, Carlton held his hands tight and pulled him forward, stopping the young lord from spiralling further.
Then, at sunset, they stopped walking. The two found Carlton’s well-used abandoned beast cave and settled there. The cave was too narrow and they couldn’t light a fire, so Carlton and Luisen fell asleep, clinging together underneath a draped cape.
Luisen tried not to be too entangled with the mercenary, but when he woke in the morning, he must have fallen asleep while hugging the other. Perhaps winter had come early since they were in mountainous regions–the night must have been cold.
It was the dawn of the third day, their journey seeming endless.
Luisen was exhausted. No matter how well Carlton took care of the young lord, they were still on a  tight schedule. The two did not let go of each other’s hands throughout their walk. Whenever Luisen faltered, Carlton held onto Luisen firmly, respecting the young lord’s determination to not delay the mercenary–even for a moment.
‘He has more grit than what his looks would suggest.’ The young lord looked like someone who’d be extremely picky and spoiled. However the man had a firm spirit–patience and tenacity. That fact made Carlton chuckle from the corners of his lips.
After all that effort, the two finally discovered what seemed like a proper footpath. The road was narrow enough that two people, standing side by side, were enough to fill up the entire width–but it was still a path!
“If we go straight on this road, we’ll finally be free of these awful mountains.”
""
“Now that we’ve come this far, we can assume that they’re no longer chasing us.”
“Then, we’ll be able to light a fire?” Luisen’s eyes were shiny. They weren’t able to start any fires for fear of being chased down. Yesterday, Luisen was so exhausted that Carlton promised to hunt and cook for him if they had travelled far enough to light a fire.
“Then, as promised, I’ll catch some meat for you for dinner.”
“Great!” Luisen clenched both hands together and cheered quietly.
When the young lord laughed, Carlton could help but casually laugh along. Honestly–who’s so happy about wild animals for dinner? “However, we’ll have to eat Buried Old Hags for now.”
“Still, at least we have that!” Luisen took out the precious roots that were carefully wrapped in their coats. They had dug some up in advance so he wouldn’t become depressed; they took care to store them well so that the roots wouldn’t see the sunlight.
Once again, he divided the Buried Old Hag in half and gave Carlton his share before eating his half immediately. Used to this by now, Carlton received the root from the lord and ate it. Honestly, he still didn’t feel too good about eating the root, but eating together with Luisen–watching the young lord eat–made it better. “Since there’s a road, it’s bound to lead to a village. Shall we go looking for it?”
“I don’t know if it’ll be okay–we’ll stand out. You can see that I’m not ordinary with just one glance. My face isn’t one that can be forgotten easily.” This might sound self-congratulatory and despicable, but it was the truth. He may have walked all day, sweated, and slept on the dirt without washing properly, but Luisen’s face was still delicate and pale. His blonde hair was still sparkling. No matter what, he looked like a nobleman; rather, he would stand out even more from the strange circumstances of his travel.
“That’s true. It would have been nice if we could cover your face,” Carlton gently admitted. “I have nothing for that purpose.”
Luisen and Carlton’s clothes did not have hoods to cover their faces. Furthermore, it wasn’t practical to cover him with the cape.
“Still, I think it’s best to stop by the village.” Even if it was a little risky, Carlton thought it would be best to rest while eating warm food in a building with a roof and walls. He could see  Luisen becoming more and more tired. Even if one rested within the forest, they wouldn’t be able to rest properly. Though they needed to push forward due to their circumstances, the mercenary was worried for his companion.
‘He won’t even listen to me when I offered to give him a piggy-back ride. I wish I at least had my horse.’
It couldn’t be helped in their situation, but he felt quite heartbroken to lose his warhorse, which could easily carry two adult men. If his horse were here, they would have been able to travel twice as fast.
‘Should I go to the village and steal a pony or something while Luisen is sleeping?’
The road was quiet; the wind blew softly. The sunlight shining through the tree canopies was beautiful; the sound of Luisen crunching on the Buried Old Hags harmonized with the sound of crickets. It felt too peaceful for their situation–destitute and running away from the pursuit of unknown forces–and felt more like a picnic walk.
Suddenly though, Carlton felt some dissonance in this calm atmosphere. Someone was approaching. As soon as he felt that, Carlton pulled on the young lord’s hand and hid Luisen behind him; without delay, the mercenary pulled out his sword.
“?” Luisen was puzzled.
One beat later, five men jumped out from behind a large tree.
For how impressively they jumped out, they looked a mess. Perhaps they hadn’t been able to eat well. The men looked starved; like ill patients, their complexions shadowed, and their lips were chapped. Blood veins spiderwebbed in both eyes, creating a hideous effect. The men used things like axes, pickaxes, and shovels as weapons as they blocked Carlton and Luisen’s path.
“S-Stop!”
“If you want to pass through this path alive, you’ll have to give us everything you have!”
“S-Starting from what you’re eating right now, give it all up!” The men shouted.
Luisen stared at them blankly; Carlton smirked and laughed.
“I was wondering who they were, but they’re just thieves. Let’s just move on.” As if he were looking at something ridiculous, Carlton placed his sword back in its sheath. A weapon was unnecessary against these opponents.
The thieves were greatly shaken. They exchanged glances and whispered–Luisen could hear their quiet voices well.
“They said they’ll just pass through…what should we do?”
“We’ll have to block them!”
“But that guy looks super strong…”
“We’re five people, and they’re two! Furthermore, they have things to eat!”
Honestly, everyone could hear them–what were they doing?
These people were better suited to be farmers than highway robbers, looking at those clothes and the agricultural equipment they were using as weapons. Honestly, farmers should have been preparing for the winter–what were they doing thieving in the mountains? Besides, this road was probably one that didn’t see many travellers due to the difficulty of its path.
“They’re so clumsy.” The men were so foolhardy that even Luisen chuckled.
“My words exactly. They must be newbies.” 1 Carlton looked at the robbers and pointed out one of them. The man had a similar physique to Luisen. “What do you think of his shoes?”
“Huh? They look comfortable,” Luisen replied absentmindedly. Why was the mercenary suddenly talking about shoes?
“Then, let’s go with that,” Carlton said.
“What do you mean?”
Carlton grinned and approached the highway robbers.
Footnotes
초짜 is slang for rookies, newbies, anyone new to a field. It doesn’t sound quite old-timey…but what can you do lmao.