Hero’s Downfall Report

92 – Report on the Fall of Kindness (2)

The forest road was narrow, winding, and a mess. Even though I was riding a horse, it wasn’t much different from walking.

Not only did I have to change direction frequently due to tree roots, rocks, and streams, but I also had to comfort my frightened horse every time I heard the wild howling of wild animals.

If there were no wheel ruts on the dirt road, it would be hard to believe that it was a road used by people.

So, Cain thought it was a good thing she returned the mail coach and switched to horses. She probably wouldn’t have brought the mail coach anyway.

Berta village belongs to the County of Wördem, and therefore there is no post office established only in territories directly governed by the empire.

If there is no post office and there are postal carriages running around, it is certain that anyone will be suspicious.

That was good up to that point, but it was doubtful whether she had made the right decision to disguise herself as Lily and her husband and pretend not to know Maria. In fact, Maria had proposed out of the blue in the last city she had stopped by.

“Let’s do it this way. You are traveling as a couple, and I am traveling the empire alone. You do not know me and I do not know you. Understand?”

“Is there a reason for that?”

“I agree, but I’m curious about the reason.”

Maria and Cain looked at Lily at the same time. But Lily impressed them both by showing that she was not embarrassed at all.

“Why don’t we just reveal that Maria is the ‘Inquisitor’ and pretend that we are her attendants?”

“No. First of all, we are not going to a big city where an unspecified number of people are wandering around. You’re entering a completely rural village. There, everyone knows each other’s faces.

But it wasn’t enough that an outsider appeared there, so he was a ‘Heresy Inquisitor’? Wow. A big commotion breaks out. I’d tie a tough guy to a stake and stand next to him with a torch. ‘You’re here to catch this guy, right? We’ve got it all ready!'”

Maria shook her head.

“And the lords don’t like it very much either. When I tell them that the Heretic Questioner has come, they look at me uncomfortably, thinking, ‘Why did they come to find fault with me again?’ In any case, it would not be good for it to be discovered that witches, wizards, and heretics were coming from one’s own land. So, for my own safety and yours, it is right to hide it.”

It made sense.

“And no matter how much I think about it, there are no words to explain the combination of one young man and two women. So, you are a married couple, and I am just a person whose destinations coincide with each other. And I think it would be easier to move that way. “You never know what might happen in the countryside.”

“The countryside is also a place where people live.”

Cain pointed this out politely, but Mary was a pessimist.

“Hmph. You might say that because you were born in the country, but I’m a city girl. There was a time when I wandered around and wandered around the back alleys, but that was in the city and not on the orchard roads in the countryside. And I hate forests. “I really hate it.”

After saying that, Maria did not explain further.

But now, as she rides alongside Director Cho at the front of the line, she continues to exclaim in exclamation. They said it was their first time seeing such a beautiful forest. Director Cho’s wistful expression and her body that kept clinging to him were bonuses.

‘He must have his own thoughts.’

Cain turned his gaze to Lily and the guards around her.

The guards’ armor breastplates had a wild boar, the emblem of the Count Wördem family, drawn on them. And that was the only common armor. Except for the breastplate, all the weapons and armor were different. It looks like one person’s worth of armor was shared between two or three people.

Some people wore a strange combination of a chest piece and boots, while others wore only one shoulder piece. No matter how you look at it, the person carrying the large shield is armed with a wide kitchen knife that looks like something used in a butcher shop.

Attitude and discipline are arbitrary. He looks relaxed and comfortable, making small talk with the person next to him, but never taking his eyes off Cain, Lily, and Maria. Occasionally they look up at the sky to gauge time, or nod their heads while whispering among themselves.

As if he knew what was going to happen in advance.

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Suddenly, a canyon appeared. It was a place that couldn’t be seen because the view was blocked by a large tree. In a narrow place where only two horses could pass, a cart was absurdly blocking the road. Looking at the fact that even the wheels have been removed from the side, it looks like something was done.

“What is that?”

Maria’s voice pretending to be scared. The guard responded in a much more grumpy voice than before.

“Oh, don’t worry. This can be handled quickly. Are you listening! “If you don’t get rid of this right now, I’ll break it and move on!”

Cain didn’t miss the guards covering their mouths and giggling. A moment later, a group of armed men walked out of the forest.

No one held a bow. Instead, they used slings, slingshots, and knives. Among them, a man with a large scar on his face walked out.

“Oh my, you are having a hard time on this hot day, yes. “What’s going on here?”

“Is business going well?”

“If it weren’t for my brother’s kindness, I would have starved to death a long time ago.”

“But I always come to chapel on Sundays. Yes. “Get rid of the cart.”

Director Cho opened the pocket on her waist. In her meaty hands she held a handful of imperial marks and handed them to her man. Her man spread her hands and took her money, savoring her scent.

“Hey. I like this smell the best in the world. “Wait a moment, grunt!”

Her man and her thugs put a cart wheel on it and set it aside. With a whistling sound, the guards departed.

‘Then yes. ‘It was a joke.’

Bulkers have probably been blocking the streets and doing business like this on a regular basis. Now that I see someone I know, I obediently get out of the way, but if I hadn’t, I might have been in a pretty rough situation.

Seeing the so-called guards and the bullies joking with each other made me even more upset. Cain guessed that the Count was behind this. The money earned through guards and thugs probably won’t even be on the books. The money collected illegally…

“Poof.”

Cain’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a whistle. A couple of the bullies were whistling at Lily and squinting their eyes.

Cain and Lily had to wait in the middle of the line as they passed through the narrow canyon one after another from the front of the line. The guard and Maria were passing in front and seemed unaware of the commotion behind them.

Lily blushed and just stared ahead of her, but it only aroused her bullies more.

“The way you ride a horse is gentle. Looking at the ring, it looks like you are married. “Do you think practicing every night is having an effect?”

The man with a large scar on one side of her head chuckled and told an unpleasant joke. Lily closed her eyes and suppressed her anger. Cain twitched her cheek.

The grumpy guys laughed as if it was fun to watch, and the guards didn’t stop them either.

“Or did you have a lot of experience before?”

“That’s harsh.”

“No. I’m talking about riding a horse, so what? And I also taught it to quite a few people. From what I’ve seen, it looks like you may need to shake your pelvis less. Just by looking at it… “

“It seems like it reminds me of my mother.”

Cain gently grabbed her by the tail. The bullies’ expressions were confused for a moment, and then she looked up at Cain with her fierce eyes.

“What did you say?”

“She said it seemed to remind her of memories from her childhood. By the way, I also talked about horseback riding.”

“You f*cking bastard, do you know my mother?”

“I don’t know.”

Cain added one word.

“But you don’t seem to know either, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

The guards clapped their hands. The bullies also looked at the grumpy guy. The man with the scar on her head spat on the ground.

“Get down.”

Before Lily could say anything, Cain got off her horse. Her scarred man snapped her neck with a crunching sound.

“I apologize.”

“That one goes first.”

“Oh, don’t apologize for being boring. Don’t make such a fuss. Just stick to it!”

The guards and bullies who were watching jeered. The scarred man raised her fist. It’s a pretty solid street fighter stance.

But Cain’s posture was clearly sloppy. His shoulders were lifted, his arms were outstretched, and his head was bowed. He was preparing for a fight, but I couldn’t tell if he was pushing the wall.

“I guess I wanted to show off in front of my wife, but I was wrong. “There are things in this world that you have to ignore even if you know them!”

The bully rushed in. He pushed Cain’s arm away with his left arm and threw a large hook with her right arm. If you hit it right, it’s strong enough to knock out a wild boar’s tusks.

But Cain had already bent her body further. She crawled between the bully’s armpits, quickly hugged him, and threw him to the ground.

“Keueuuu!”

The scar man got up and took his stance again. Cain stepped behind him, waving his arms.

“This bastard, he’s making modifications!”

Moment,

“aaah!”

A fierce scream was heard from in front.

“Oppa! “Just stop it!”

It was Maria’s scream. Bewildered, Cain was stunned for a moment, and because of that, he belatedly blocked his fist that was flying towards his chest.

“Ahhhhh!”

It was the scarred man who fell to the floor, screaming and clutching her shoulders and arms. The bullies clicked their tongues.

“It’s crazy, really. “What are you doing?”

“Jeffrey!” The guard warden came running, hissing. “What’s the fuss, this!”

“Ah, guard chief. It’s no big deal. “Jeffrey, that bastard started the fight and she fell asleep on her own.”

“That’s not the problem! Don’t you know where these people are going? “They are people going to Berta Village!”

At the guard’s shout, the expressions of the bullies suddenly changed. Even Geoffrey, who was rolling around holding onto her broken arm, was startled and stopped screaming.

“Uh… Berta Village? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“No… “

The guards and the thugs were embarrassed and started talking among themselves. Jeffrey, who endured her pain and stood up, glanced at Cain.

“You’re going to Berta Village?”

“That’s right.”

“I am sorry.”

Geoffrey seemed to want to hit Cain’s arm, but she couldn’t do it with her bent right arm. Before he was thrown to the floor, he had already torn his shoulder joint and two of his ribs were broken upon impact, so he will have to suffer for a while longer.

So Cain also apologized politely.

“I’m sorry. “Your fists are strong.”

“On the subject of a guy who slips away like a loach… “Jeffrey turned away with difficulty. After a while, as if someone was patting me on the back, I said, “Ahh!” Although I screamed.

“Oppa!”

Maria suddenly came running and tried to hug the guard. The warden looked at Maria running around with her arms around him, her face gaping.

“I thought you would stop it! “Go quickly, I’m scared!”

Cain saw. She saw Maria pull out the pouch of her warden’s belt and drop the poor pigskin pouch she had bought at the market on her floor.

When a clang sound was heard, the guard quickly grabbed his bag and tied it. Then she went back to the front of the line, soothing Maria with various words.

Cain shook her head and climbed back onto her horse.

* * * * *

After about an hour, Director Cho stopped her.

“You just have to follow that trail and pass by. “That’s the entrance to the village.”

“Aren’t you going with me?”

“This is the entrance to the village, so there is no need to go together.”

Seeing that she was avoiding her gaze, it seemed like she was reluctant to go inside. The guard and guards turned their horses around.

“Thank you, brother! “I’ll contact you when I get out of here!”

Maria waved her hand at the warden, whose mouth was glued to his ear. As soon as she turned around she said, “You idiot,” Though she whispered softly.

“Cain. What are you doing.”

“What are you doing?”

“Recovery of damages.” Maria jingled her purse of coins that she had stolen from her post warden.

“This sister knew this would happen and prepared everything. If you go back and open it, it’ll be worth a look. “Because it will only contain fairy tales.”

The guard’s pocket was full of silver coins. There were not as many gold coins as I thought. This is likely because it is obvious that the travelers passing through this place are in dire straits.

The three people walked along the trail. No matter how much I walked, I couldn’t feel any signs of popularity.

“I’m really reluctant. “I hate the forest.”

“When I told them I was going to Berta Village, the attitude of the bullies changed.”

“Didn’t Roberta say that she defeated all the bandits in this area?”

“That’s right.”

At Cain’s answer, Maria’s expression became serious.

“Then isn’t it Roberta who actually controls this region?”

It may be so. But is there any reason for the hero who defeated the Demon King to gather together bandits and play the role of leader of the bandits?

After passing a little further, we came across a small log cabin. An old man with a long white beard was basking in the sun when he saw Cain and his group and greeted them politely.

“Are you tourists?”

“Yes. Are you by any chance Brother Henry?”

The old man smiled slightly at Maria’s question.

“That’s right. I am Henry Oman… “

“Nice to meet you. My name is Maria, and I am a religious from the Diocese of Magdeburg. I’m here because I have something to ask… “

The monk tilted his head.

“Where are you going?”

“I told you she was from the Diocese of Magdeburg.”

“hehehe, I guess I’m getting older so I can’t hear very well.”

The investigation is approaching. Cain saw Henry’s eyes shaking uneasily. While her body was lightly touching, the monk quickly whispered.

“Get back from here immediately.”

Before I could answer anything,

“A guest has arrived.”

A gentle male voice was heard from behind. It was a man with a logging ax slung over his shoulder.

“Welcome to Berta Village.”