WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈

Chapter 12: Outside the World (2)

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The next morning.

“Time’s up. Everyone, get up.”

At Beard’s call from the last watch, everyone dragged themselves awake.

The first and last watches were the easiest shifts. One of the two always belonged to the captain. That was a natural perk of being in charge, even of a small group.

Eight people was enough to keep exhaustion from building up too badly. With fewer than that, night watch quickly became a serious headache.

“Captain, I don’t see the Squire.”

“Neither do I. She was sleeping beside the knight when I took over, but she disappeared at some point.”

The men all spoke respectfully to the girl, who looked to be in her late teens.

Her position as a knight’s Squire was the first reason. The huge crossbow on her back was the second. The third was her height and the faintly wild air she gave off.

“It’s not as if she came in from outside. She left from right nearby, and you missed her? Were you even keeping watch properly?”

Owl, the mercenary band’s deputy leader and only archer, sneered.

“So what if I saw her? Should I stop the Squire and ask where she’s going? Quit talking nonsense and get ready to move.”

Owl was another man who used a nickname instead of his real name for his own reasons.

True to the name Owl, he could see well at night. As a former hunter, he often caught squirrels or mountain birds during their travels and made meat stew.

He was too valuable to replace in or out of battle, so Beard tolerated a little insolence from him.

Besides, Homi returned shortly afterward, carrying two limp rabbits in her hands.

“Wow, as expected!”

“It’s been a while since we had meat stew.”

The two novice mercenaries swallowed hungrily. Beard’s eyebrows twitched at the sight.

“You idiots. The knight hasn’t even said anything, so what are you fantasizing about? Shut up and chew your rations.”

Owl raised his fist and smacked the two airheads on the head.

Beard nodded in satisfaction. Having a bad-tempered veteran around certainly made discipline easier.

“Ah, why’d you hit us? They shared good food yesterday. Can’t we at least hope?”

“Shut it.”

The grumbling novice immediately fell silent.

Homi, meanwhile, skillfully skinned the rabbits and prepared to roast them over the fire.

The novices gave up hope. If there were only two rabbits, none would be left for them.

Owl, who had been watching with an expression that said, Of course, glared at them.

“You fools. The person we’re dealing with isn’t a commoner, fellow mercenary, or adventurer. He’s a noble knight.”

“So?”

Owl sighed. The novices, who knew nothing of the world and feared nothing, seemed unable to grasp it.

“If they insult you, fall to your knees and beg. If they praise you, flatter them like you’d give them anything they want. Even if they hand you moldy bread, eat it with tears in your eyes and thank them for it. And never ask them for anything. No, don’t even speak to them first! Don’t stare at them for no reason, either! That’s how you treat nobles. Got it?”

“D-Do we really have to go that far?”

The other novice glanced toward Eugene.

Eugene smiled warmly as he stroked Homi’s head. He looked more like a priest than anything else.

His sturdy build, charisma, and equipment made it clear at a glance that he was a knight, though.

“Do you think I’m saying this because I’m some spineless idiot?”

“No.”

“Absolutely not.”

The two novices shook their heads.

They had seen Owl fight small bands of bandits before.

The way he tortured even a single surrendered opponent was so brutal that their knees went weak despite being on the same side.

After seeing a hunter’s skinning technique used on a human being, they had been unable to eat anything for the rest of the day.

Naturally, the veterans liked that. The stricter a mercenary band’s discipline, the better its chances of survival.

“Any other questions?”

“No, sir!”

“Good.”

A moment later, Owl grew embarrassed.

Homi stood there smiling, holding a pot of stew filled with rabbit meat.

She had put the rabbits over the fire not to roast them, but to render their fat for weapon maintenance.

There was no guarantee they could always obtain maintenance supplies, so they had to make the most of whatever they could acquire locally.

“Beard.”

“Yes, Sir Knight!”

Beard sprang to his feet at Eugene’s call.

Eugene was so large that even Beard had to look up at him. He was also remarkably well armed, even for a knight. On top of that, he was the Knight of Prophecy’s successor and a guest invited by the city.

Even Beard, who liked to throw his weight around in front of his subordinates, had to stay alert.

“We’re making meat stew. Can you add some potatoes? Since we’re making it, let’s do it properly and share it with everyone. We have our own salt, so that’s fine.”

This knight always seemed to give you something when you stayed near him.

“Oh, I don’t know what to do with myself in the face of your generosity, Sir Knight! Even my mother never treated me as kindly as you have. It seems blessings have finally come to me in my twilight years as a mercenary.”

The bearded middle-aged man rubbed his hands together and beamed.

Owl pointed at him.

“See that? That’s how you treat a knight.”

“Wow.”

“C-Captain Beard acts like that?”

A vein bulged on Beard’s forehead at those words. Did they think he enjoyed this?

* * *

The group, now eleven strong, resumed its march.

Eugene and Solin rode at the center and chatted. Homi and Owl, whose senses were sharp, scouted ahead.

Sway, sway.

“Hm.”

“Mmm.”

The mercenaries didn’t show it, but Homi’s tail brought them joy.

After being surrounded by nothing but sweaty men, having a beautiful woman join them made it feel as though a floral fragrance wafted around them.

Her thick, long white tail swayed enticingly, making the sight even more pleasing.

They had encountered beastkin many times in their lives as mercenaries, but they had never seen a tail like Homi’s. It looked far softer and fluffier than the fox fur worn by a noblewoman they had once seen in some lord’s domain.

Sway, sway.

“Ahem.”

They couldn’t stare openly, so they kept looking around and pretending to keep watch. Eugene, unaware of their real motives, was impressed.

“They’re remarkably disciplined. Marching must be boring, yet they’re all quiet and keeping a thorough watch in every direction. You have a fine eye for finding a mercenary band like this.”

“Hahaha. I’m pleased to hear you say so, Sir Knight. The Beard Mercenary Band is fairly well known in Bonyard City.”

Solin also assumed the mercenaries were tense because of the knight. He never imagined it was because of a tail.

Only the guilty mercenaries became even more vigilant.

Beautiful forests stretched around the narrow dirt path. They were nothing like the gloomy woods west of Kingdom’s End.

“But do we really need an escort this large? At most, there should be a few wild dogs around here, or perhaps one or two wandering wolves if we’re unlucky.”

This had been a peaceful village for decades. Even the merchants who visited from time to time traveled in small groups.

“We need at least this much of an escort to accompany Sir Gopri. Originally, a knight contracted to the city was supposed to join us, but they’ve been dispatched elsewhere.”

It was probably because of what Solin had said yesterday. The threat from the nobles of Gord had made the area around the city unstable.

“Dispatched? Did they go hunt down bandits somewhere?”

If the knight worked for Bonyard City, they were surely a free knight without a lord. Since Eugene had accepted the invitation, he was curious because that might be his own future one day.

“No. As far as I know, they went to escort an envoy to the Roman Kingdom. I’m only a low-ranking official, so I don’t know the details.”

“If they’re sending a knight with the envoys, they must be discussing something important.”

The Roman Kingdom was a great power in the center of the continent. Every nation claimed to be descended from the Ancient Kingdom, but Roman insisted that it alone was the true successor.

Its national strength was one reason, but it also still possessed the Ancient Kingdom’s old capital.

It was not a topic worth discussing at length, so Solin changed the subject.

“Sir Eugene, even the Squire you keep is exceptional. She supports you while possessing both the virtues of silence and diligence.”

Was he curious about Homi, who had not spoken a single word? His attempt to disguise the question as praise was obvious.

Still, Eugene pretended to be a simple knight pleased by the compliment.

“Thank you for thinking so highly of her. But Homi was born unable to speak.”

“Oh! I said something so thoughtless.”

“It’s all right. A silent Squire must seem strange.”

A Squire was not simply a servant. They maintained their knight’s equipment, but they were also comrades who fought alongside the knight.

They also served as heralds, praising their knight’s accomplishments and displaying them to those around them.

Naturally, being unable to speak created a great deal of inconvenience.

“Even so, I guarantee there is no finer Squire than Homi. I don’t know how long my life as a knight will last, but she is someone I hope will remain with me until its end.”

Homi’s white tail sprang up as though it might burst with a pop, then slowly lowered again. Naturally, everyone in the group pretended not to notice.

At that moment, Homi, walking at the front, suddenly drew and aimed her crossbow. Owl also nocked an arrow to his shortbow.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure either...”

Owl hesitated at Beard’s question. He had not drawn his bow because he spotted something, but because he had simply followed Homi’s lead.

Shing.

Once Eugene drew his sword, everyone else prepared for battle on their own.

Soon, the bushes to their right shook violently, and a large gray-furred beast burst out.

“A wolf!”

“Just our luck.”

The mercenaries smoothly formed up. Wolves were something they encountered as often as wild dogs during their lives as mercenaries.

Still, wolves knew armed humans were dangerous, so they usually only watched from afar. Yet the two wolves that appeared charged straight at the group.

While Owl waited for them to enter the range of his shortbow, Homi had already pulled the trigger.

Yelp!

The wolf with a bolt deeply buried in the top of its skull collapsed, foaming blood from its mouth.

‘Excellent skill.’

Even if it was charging directly at her, striking an animal’s vital point so precisely was not easy. The crossbow’s destructive power was as absurd as its size.

The remaining wolf flinched for a moment, then continued charging.

‘Come on, you bastard.’

Owl fixed his hand on the bowstring and glared at the wolf.

No matter how esteemed the Squire might be, Owl had his pride as a hunter and mercenary. He intended to take this one himself.

The instant it entered range, Owl released the string.

Bark!

Perhaps it had seen its companion die and prepared itself. It swiftly leaped aside, and the arrow narrowly missed, grazing the tip of its fur.

“Damn it!”

Whoosh!

Owl’s curse was drowned out by the sound of a second bolt flying through the air.

Awooo!

The bolt pierced diagonally through the wolf’s left shoulder, and it fell.

It tried to rise and flee for a few seconds, but then coughed up a bowlful of blood and collapsed. The bolt’s tip had pierced its heart.

‘How long had it been since she fired the first shot?’

Owl had definitely not seen Homi bend over to reload.

“That’s impossible.”

Beside him, Homi was standing still, pulling back the crossbow string with finger strength alone as she loaded a third bolt.

Then a huge cry rang out. It sounded like a wolf’s howl lowered into a bass register, with a phlegmy rasp mixed in.

“Damn it! It’s a Warg!”

Beard shouted.

“A Warg? What’s that?”

“I knew those wolves were too fearless.”

“Everyone, stay sharp!”

The novices looked confused while the veterans clenched their teeth.

‘A Warg.’

Eugene had heard the name from Gopri before.

“Wild wolves are large, but they’re surprisingly cowardly. Even mercenaries don’t fear them much. Wolves are sensitive to the smell of iron.”

“So they’re afraid of getting stabbed.”

“That’s right. You won’t see them in daylight, and even at night, they’ll only test you from a distance before running away. But if they charge in like mad dogs, be careful. That means there’s a Warg behind them.”

While a werewolf is weaker but intelligent enough to be regarded as a demi-human, a Warg is a monster that has abandoned intelligence in exchange for greater strength.

They resembled wolves, but were more than twice as large. They could switch between two-legged and four-legged movement, using a variety of attacks.

“A Warg wanders alone until mating season comes, then finds a nearby wolf pack and attacks it. It kills and eats the leader, then claims every female wolf. After spreading its seed, it leaves without a care.”

“That’s a disgustingly bestial creature. So does that mean a lot of Warg pups are born?”

“Of course not! If that were possible, several kingdoms would have been thrown into chaos. Wargs and wolves can’t reproduce together. It only does it to satisfy its urge to kill and its lust.”

“Is there anything else I should know about them?”

“Sometimes, even after spreading its seed, one will settle down in the area. That’s to use the wolves when there is tasty prey nearby. They’re far more dangerous than an ordinary bandit gang, so be careful.”

Eugene faithfully followed his master’s teachings. He sheathed his sword, took out his long-handled flail, and stepped forward.

Clank.

One mercenary flinched in surprise. A metal cudgel as thick as his own forearm swung past his face on a chain.

His expression soon changed to relief.

A knight advancing with such a fearsome weapon in one hand! There could be no more reassuring presence before a Warg.

The bushes shook noisily, and well over ten wolves burst out. This Warg appeared to have united two packs or so.

“It’s do or die! Trust the knight and fight!”

As though answering Beard’s roar, the mercenaries raised a battle cry.

Footnotes:

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