Chapter 62. A Good Time, My Ass
Sun of the Pastures, the inn located in Greentown’s central plaza.
Mage Oberon sat in the empty dining hall, staring quietly at the table.
‘…….’
Fifteen years old.
And yet—was it because of his overall delicate, slender lines?
He looked two or three years younger than his actual age.
But only his looks seemed young.
Anyone who truly looked into Oberon’s eyes could never dismiss him as a child.
That was how steady the light within them was—and how unfathomably deep.
And yet, why was it—
“Hoo.”
A trace of worry passed through Oberon’s hollow eyes.
‘What in the world… should I do.’
Tap, tap—Oberon drummed the table with thin fingers.
The Fourth Base Camp, located deep in the depths of Hamelin Great Forest.
It had already been days since he left the Fourth Base Camp and arrived at Greentown, acting on his master’s orders.
What his master told Oberon to do was simple.
- An old friend will help. A reply hasn’t come yet, but I’m sure of it. We owe each other a debt, you see.
So—go to Greentown and wait.
- He won’t be able to come himself, but he’ll send someone. You go and receive them personally.
In the master’s eyes when he said that, there was certainty.
A belief that an old friend—someone he hadn’t sought out for decades—would surely help him.
It was a trust an ordinary person couldn’t easily relate to.
Decades.
Even comrades who shared life and death grow dull in peace.
No matter how heavy the debt was when it was incurred, a debt of the heart is the easiest to fade, isn’t it?
But—
‘He will come… he will.’
He would.
Oberon did not doubt his master’s words by even a hair.
His master had never spoken carelessly, not once.
And if that kind of person believed someone—then even if Oberon had never seen that person’s face, it was enough for him to believe as well.
However, there was a problem.
“Have you thought it over, Mage?”
Oberon lifted his head at the voice.
A man sat across from him.
He looked fierce.
His bulk was twice Oberon’s, and his eyes bulged like a tiger’s.
And yet, in that fierce man’s gaze was nothing but misery.
A fierce-looking man bowing with miserable eyes.
“Please… spare me. Going back into Hamelin Great Forest? Truly… truly, that’s no different from telling me to die.”
“……Mm.”
Oberon had nothing to say, and pressed his lips shut.
No—actually, he had countless things he could say.
‘Wasn’t the contract… to return to the Fourth Base Camp?’
That was the relationship they had agreed upon.
Round trip between the Fourth Base Camp and Greentown.
The man—Mercenary Raileigh—had the obligation to guide him.
He had even been paid a generous advance.
No—generous?
- Considering the danger… shouldn’t you pay double?
Even after being paid double the usual rate, he demanded double again, and Oberon accepted.
It was extortion of the highest order, but at the time, there was no viable alternative.
- Um… I can guide you out, but coming back? I’m sorry.
- Ngh. Why don’t you avoid it too, Mage? I can’t do it.
The so-called best guides—Pathfinders—were all shaking their heads no matter what.
And in that situation, the only one who raised his hand was this man.
Raileigh.
And yet……
“Mage, please, I’m begging you. Yeah? Break the contract. Please?”
It had been days since they arrived in Greentown.
And now he wanted to break the contract?!
“Raileigh, this is….”
Oberon tried to say, as gently as he could, that it was “difficult.”
But Raileigh’s voice cut him off.
“I know. It’s difficult for you too. How are you supposed to find another Pathfinder now? Yeah? I get it, I do.”
“Mm.”
He was right.
If he had said it just a few days earlier, it might have been possible.
Destrow stirring awake in the depths of the great forest.
Monster packs from the outer regions being pushed out of the great forest by the aftermath.
This crisis had only worsened in the last few days.
But now……
‘Hoo.’
Even those who didn’t know Destrow was coming were still shrinking back at the changes in the great forest.
Considering this situation—yes.
To be honest.
‘It’s infuriating. It’s infuriating, but…!’
“But, Mage. I’m really, really sorry, but… I have to live too, don’t I? Yeah?”
Oberon was stuck—unable to do this or that.
‘What am I supposed to do…!’
If he considered Raileigh’s feelings, letting him go immediately was the right thing.
A contract? Yes.
The contract was meant to be round trip, but what mattered more than a person’s life?
Dragging someone along who feared death, using the contract as an excuse—that wasn’t right.
But—
‘……Destrow must be stopped.’
Without a Pathfinder, could he reach the Fourth Base Camp properly?
Probably not.
If it were Hamelin Great Forest in normal times, maybe he could manage somehow, but Hamelin Great Forest right now was chaos itself.
He desperately needed the help of a skilled Pathfinder.
So this was, in other words……
‘Do I sacrifice the small for the greater… or… do I protect what’s right in front of me?’
A true dilemma.
In this tangled situation, Oberon pressed his temples, throbbing with pain.
Meanwhile—
Watching him, a gleam passed through Raileigh’s eyes.
A miserable expression.
‘Heh heh.’
A thought that didn’t match it at all.
‘He’s almost completely fallen for it!’
Raileigh looked down on the naive mage in front of him.
To be honest, this had been his plan from the start.
‘What? You want me to do a round trip between the Fourth Base Camp and Greentown? Am I insane?’
Even if it were a normal Monster Wave, you’d pack your bags and flee far from the great forest.
But Destrow is coming, and you want me to go back in?
Ridiculous!
Even so, the reason he accepted the request was simple.
‘If I’m leaving anyway, I might as well leave a bit safer. Yeah? He’s young, but his skills are usable, aren’t they?’
And while he was at it, he’d make a killing.
Of course, it was a rotten mindset—one wrong move and he could get stabbed and die.
But who was Raileigh?
A Pathfinder with decades of experience.
He could tell at a glance.
Tell what at a glance?
‘That guy’s a sucker, just look at him. If I tug at his emotions a little, he’ll hand over his liver and gallbladder too—yeah?’
Well, of course, if this got out, his trust would hit rock bottom.
But who cared!
‘Heh heh. I’ll add this money to what I’ve saved up and go play landlord in some quiet countryside.’
Unlike other mercenaries who lived for one big score, Raileigh had steadily saved up.
With this job, he had fully met his retirement fund goal.
‘Good. Then around now….’
Raileigh let the tension simmer just enough, then drove in the final nail.
“Hoo……. It can’t be helped.”
A face that practically screamed how unavoidable it all was.
Raileigh pulled out a bundle of parchment and held it out toward Oberon.
“This is…….”
“It’s my map of the great forest.”
“……!”
Oberon’s eyes filled with shock.
Because he knew what a map meant to a Pathfinder.
“I wouldn’t trade it even for my life… but, hoo. It can’t be helped. If I give you this, will you let me go?”
Worry settled heavily over Raileigh’s face.
On the outside, it wasn’t much different from a parent handing over a child.
But—
‘This trash? It’s not more than a scrap of paper anymore—heh heh.’
A Pathfinder’s map contains all their experience, but thinking of Hamelin Great Forest he’d just traveled through, it was useless.
The ecosystem had changed to the point where the knowledge in that map was completely meaningless.
But—
Oberon didn’t seem to know that, and his pupils shook in tiny tremors.
Of course they did.
‘I should’ve dosed it just right.’
Even though the map was already worthless, Oberon had pored over it relentlessly on the way here.
For this exact moment.
So he couldn’t help but believe there was a path within it.
“H-how can you hand over something so important….”
At Oberon’s trembling voice, Raileigh swallowed a laugh.
‘How, my ass. I’m just throwing it away at you.’
But the voice that came out of his mouth was solemn beyond measure.
“I have to do it like this. I’m a coward with no courage, running away like this… but you, Mage, have a mission, don’t you? If this can be even a small help in destroying Destrow, I can only be glad.”
“……Ah!”
A soft gasp slipped out.
Raileigh was certain.
‘It’s done!’
That gentle, naive mage had swallowed it whole.
And indeed, the words that came out of Oberon’s mouth were exactly what Raileigh expected.
“Then… though I am ashamed, I will accept it with gratitude.”
He hadn’t said it outright, but the game was already over.
However, something even more important remained.
“No, Mage. I’m the one who should be sorry. Ah—then what about the penalty for breach…?”
“You have handed over something more precious than your life… it seems you have fulfilled your role, Raileigh.”
At Oberon’s moved voice, Raileigh clenched his fist without thinking.
‘Yes!’
Perfect.
Now all that remained was to leave Greentown as soon as possible and settle somewhere suitable.
‘I’ll have to unwind for a few days.’
Eat, drink, have some fun—then find a good countryside to settle in. Build a decent house, buy some land. He’d look into this and that.
“Then… may I take my leave now?”
“Ah, but how do I interpret this map? I heard Pathfinder maps are written in code….”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ve added notes.”
It was a question he’d anticipated, and Raileigh answered without hesitation.
In truth, those days after arriving in Greentown were the time he needed to add those notes.
Even so—out of basic conscience, yeah? He couldn’t give total nonsense.
He’d organized the facts he’d learned while traveling here as neatly as he could.
‘Though I can’t promise it’ll be useful going back, of course.’
“Then… I will now….”
“Yes, Raileigh. I won’t forget this kindness.”
“No, Mage. Please—may you achieve what you seek.”
The deceiver and the deceived.
But it was a happy ending for everyone.
The situation was wrapping up in a heartwarming way—
And then, suddenly.
‘……Huh?’
The moment Raileigh stood up, he sensed something off.
The empty first-floor dining hall of Sun of the Pastures.
Just him and the empty-headed mage.
A table with only the two of them.
And yet, at that table, a stranger was sitting.
“Hmm…….”
Wearing a bizarre mask, as though he’d been there from the beginning.
Resting his chin on an unusually pale hand, he looked up at Raileigh—his eyes visible through the mask slit were chilling in some way.
“……W-who… who are you?”
Raileigh asked without meaning to, but the masked man didn’t respond.
He only turned his gaze to look at the empty-headed mage.
“Your name?”
“Uh, uhh…? W-who are you?”
“Ah, for god’s sake. What’s your name.”
A pushy question.
And maybe he got swept up by the flow—
Oberon’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and then he obediently gave his name.
“I—I’m… someone named Oberon.”
“Your master is Riheim, right?”
“Uh, th-that… yes, that’s right.”
“Yeah, then I came to the right place. Good, Oberon. Call me senior—comfortable.”
The masked stranger nodded, satisfied.
Raileigh had been frozen, staring blankly, but around then he regained his senses.
“Ah, um… you must be the party you were waiting for. Then, I hope you have a pleasant time. I’ll be going now—”
Raileigh hurriedly tried to step away.
But—
The stranger’s cold voice drilled into his ears.
“Stop right there.”
“……!”
“A pleasant time, my ass. You work here?”
“Th-that’s not it, but….”
“Our friend. Cut the bullshit and come sit here. I’ll give you one second. If you can’t sit down in that second, you die by my hand.”
A brutal voice stabbing into his ears.
Raileigh’s mind spun—
“One second. Tick-tock.”
The moment the words were spoken, stars flashed in the corner of his vision.
Thwack!
Needless to say, a solid impact rang out!
“U-ugh… w-why….”
In this deeply unfair situation, Raileigh tried to protest, but the masked stranger didn’t stop beating him.
He only—
“One second. It passed, didn’t it?”
Spouting absurd nonsense as he threw his fists.
In that sudden rampage, Raileigh teetered between life and death, stumbling on the edge—
“…….”
Stunned—
Oberon gaped, caught in sheer cognitive dissonance.
And in the meantime, that heavy impact sound kept echoing without pause. Between them, Raileigh’s screams fell in a low, steady cadence.
Oberon’s first impression of Aster was……
‘……Master was right.’
Before Oberon left, his master had said:
- Have you ever seen someone who’s gone a full 360 degrees?
It was hard to understand.
If you turned 360 degrees, you’d made a full circle. How was that “gone crazy”?
You’d come back to normal.
But his master didn’t mean it like that.
- When someone goes 360 degrees insane, on the outside they look perfectly normal. And my friend is exactly that kind of man. That’s what worries me.
- ……?
- Someone that twisted won’t send someone normal. It probably won’t happen, but… be careful not to get stained by it.
Only now did Oberon understand, deep in his heart, what his master truly meant.