Chapter 89

Chapter 89. Anchio (3)

In the village from which the enemy had retreated, only half-burned houses and wounded people remained.

Those people must have been suffering from their own injuries, yet they did not tend to their wounds and instead tried to treat Balun with utmost care.

They each went into their homes and brought out all sorts of things, offering them to Balun. Thanks to that, Balun found himself in quite a difficult situation.

“Hero, please drink this. It is water brewed with medicinal herbs. If you drink it, it will help your wound heal quickly.”

“Um, I do not have much, but please try some steamed potatoes. You must be hungry after fighting…….”

“If this dried-up bread is all right with you…….”

At the endless parade of bribes pouring in, Balun scratched his head awkwardly.

If these had been bribes from wealthy people, he would have accepted them without burden, but these were bribes from poor and destitute commoners. Receiving them felt extremely uncomfortable.

“I am fine. You should worry about yourselves. Most of your homes were burned down, were they not?”

“Well, is that not better than dying? If not for you, Hero, we would all have died anyway.”

“Then let us eat together instead. I cannot eat all of this by myself anyway, so you should all come and eat too. You must be hungry after all that hardship.”

“Uh, may we really?”

“Of course. It was yours to begin with.”

Soon, a modest party unfolded. On top of a collapsed stone wall lying across the ground, they spread a dirty piece of cloth and poured the food onto it. Hard bread, steamed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salted meat, and various other foods piled up like a mountain.

At first, the people hesitated, but under Balun’s continued persuasion, they approached one by one and picked up the food. Perhaps because they were sharing food, the cold atmosphere seemed to thaw.

Of course, even so, it was not exactly cheerful. The scene was half a funeral house.

Many people were lying around in tears. Some silently sobbed while clutching corpses, while others stared blankly at the ruins of collapsed homes like people who had lost their souls.

Balun stared at them quietly while eating a potato, then soon dusted off his backside and stood.

“Hero, where are you going?”

‘No, what is with this Hero nonsense…….’

No matter how many times he heard it, it only made him feel embarrassed.

“We need to clear away the corpses.”

“Pardon?”

“If they are left like this, disease will spread. We need to clear them away quickly so there will not be trouble.”

Balun began lifting and moving the corpses one by one, starting with the closest one. The corpses were bloody, with their innards spilling out and other grotesque sights. They were so gruesome that people could not even properly look at them, but Balun did not so much as blink.

As he was doing that, a voice came from somewhere.

“Oh, Hero! Please stop! Please stop, I beg you!”

When he turned his head, several people were running toward him in a hurry.

“What is it?”

“Hero! You cannot clear him away like that! That boy is my son! Kuhuhuk!”

One of the men who had rushed over seized one of the corpses Balun had been moving as if snatching it away, then pulled it into his arms.

“My son. My poor son. I cannot send him off like this. I cannot!”

Similar scenes unfolded here and there. For some, it was a wife; for others, a husband; for others, sons, daughters, or siblings…….

They said emotions were contagious. It seemed those words were true. As if following the first person’s example, the wails of those who had lost loved ones spread outward.

Balun listened silently to their sobbing for a long while before speaking in a low voice.

“That is enough. I understand how you feel, but we cannot leave them like this either. Do you want to catch a disease?”

“Hero. But…….”

“You can mourn them after giving them a proper funeral. I believe the dead would want that as well.”

Balun continued.

“Think about it. Would the dead prefer to see you like this, or would they prefer you to shake it off and live your own lives? I think it is the latter.”

“…….”

“Do not act foolishly. The war is not over. The enemies merely retreated. There is every possibility that they will invade again.”

At Balun’s cold words, the sobbing people came to their senses as if cold water had been poured over them.

“Do what you can do. Clear away the corpses together, hold funerals for them, and rebuild the broken village. That is a hundred times more productive than staying like this.”

Silence fell. In that quiet, Balun moved the corpses. His expression was blank, but in truth, he was blaming himself inside.

‘Damn it, I could not hold back and went off on them…….’

In truth, he had not intended to say such things. What need was there to pour cold water over grieving people?

But he had lost his temper. He could not help it because incidents from his tribe days had overlapped with this for no reason. Those many crises when his tribe had nearly been destroyed by invasions from hostile tribes.

Balun had been the same back then. He had been lucky enough not to lose his family, but he had lost several precious friends. If not for the tribal elders who had awakened him from despair, perhaps the Balun of today might not exist.

“Ahem. Do not take it to heart. I am not scolding you.”

“Yes. We know. You are trying to care for us, Hero.”

I am not caring for you. I just did not want to watch it……

“You are right, Hero. We cannot stay like this.”

Soon, determination settled in the people’s eyes. As if making a vow, they helped with what Balun was doing, wearing firm expressions. Thanks to that, they were able to clear the corpses away quickly.

But that was not the end. There was much to do.

Balun knew well that war did not make people busier when it was fought, but when it ended.

“All of you, wash yourselves. Start with your hands. Those who can afford to should wash their bodies too.”

“Pardon?”

“You must always wash after touching corpses. Moreover, you are injured too. If you are careless, you will fall ill. Hurry.”

Balun made the people wash. There was a small stream beside the village, so there was no problem. The people hesitated, but when Balun took the lead and showed them first, everyone joined in.

‘By the way, where did those bandits I caught go?’

After washing himself, he walked around a bit and found them lying around as corpses on the back mountain.

They had all died in that short time.

Judging by the fact that the ropes he had tied them with were nowhere to be seen, it seemed they had somehow freed themselves and tried to run away, but unfortunately, they clearly had not been able to avoid the enemy’s pursuit.

‘Tsk. My pocket money…….’

Balun swallowed his disappointment.

Still, at least Blackie was safe.

As he was washing and maintaining his leather armor, which had been dirtied with blood, he saw a group of people running hurriedly from the inner part of the village. Among them, the person at the very front was dressed in clothes that looked quite luxurious. At a glance, he was clearly a noble.

However, those luxurious clothes were torn here and there, and his face was covered in dust, so it seemed he had gone through considerable hardship.

“Oh my! Sir Knight! Thank you! Truly, thank you! How could I ever repay this grace?”

The noble bowed and scraped before Balun. Balun asked,

“Who are you?”

“Ah, I am Renato Anchio! I rule this territory!”

“Ah, you are the lord here.”

“That is right!”

“That is fortunate. You were alive.”

“Yes! I truly nearly died! If not for you, Sir Knight, I probably would have died. Heh heh.”

Rubbing his palms together like a fly, Baron Anchio asked,

“Um, may I ask where you came from as support? I am so grateful that I feel I must repay you somehow…….”

“I did come from Mirehal.”

“Oh! So you were a knight of Mirehal!”

“Though I am not a knight.”

“Pardon?”

“I am a mercenary.”

“Uh, I-Is that so?”

Baron Anchio looked visibly flustered.

His eyes darted around incredibly quickly, and then he swiftly continued.

“Ahaha……. Whether you are a knight or a mercenary, what does that matter? What matters is that you are the hero who defeated those atrocious Croa bastards. Is that not right?”

“Yes, that is right!”

“It seems my subordinates think so as well. Ha ha.”

Balun was inwardly impressed. This man adapted extremely quickly.

To think he did not change his attitude after hearing the word mercenary.

And not just any mercenary, but a Barbarian mercenary at that.

“Please come inside. I will escort you.”

“Understood. But there is no need to speak so respectfully.”

“Oh, what are you saying? Of course I must speak respectfully. Now, now, what are all of you doing? Escort the hero!”

“Yes, my lord!”

‘He is quick to read the situation too.’

He knew that he could be in real trouble if he insisted on his pride.

He knew that in a situation where his entire territory had been plundered, if he acted prideful, he might be beaten to death by a stray fist.

Balun read that from Baron Anchio’s expression as his eyes rolled around busily.

***

Inside the castle was relatively intact. Of course, it was true that the mansions were in a mess overall, but the situation was still better than the private homes outside. At the very least, the houses had not burned down or collapsed completely.

Even so, the situation was indeed bad. Soldiers, male servants, and maidservants lay dead here and there.

In a reception room with broken windows, where that sight could be seen at a glance,

Balun was served refreshments and heard various explanations in a place where misery and luxury coexisted.

It was an explanation of how the situation had become like this, and to summarize it, it was as follows.

“So, you were preparing because war was about to break out with Valtrien, but then the Croa bastards suddenly invaded?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

In other words, this could be summed up as a bolt from the blue.

After all, while they had been preparing to fight the eastern bastards, the north had invaded out of nowhere.

Since Anchio was a territory located toward the north of the Kingdom of Corint, it had inevitably taken a direct hit.

“Then the territories near here must all be in a similar situation.”

“They probably are.”

Balun ran his large palm over his face. A heavy feeling filled him.

‘The situation really is damned awful.’

He had been trying to go to a safe country, but instead, he had ended up choosing a battlefield. How could things be this troublesome?

Thanks to that, Balun was placed in an ambiguous position. It meant that even if he went to the Kingdom of Croa now, he would not be able to avoid the war.

Leaving that aside, there was a high chance he could not cross north in the first place. The Croa army would likely be encamped there.

Would they really leave him alone? Reports about him must have gone up by now, right?

‘Ha, should I have just chased them all down and killed them?’

Balun had that thought, but he himself knew that the thought was absurd.

The situation was not the same as during the Bandit Subjugation. There were many enemies, and he was alone. No matter how strong he was, it was impossible to kill that many people by himself.

“Do you not know the situation nearby?”

“I have already sent people. We had been cooperating with the surrounding lords anyway…… News will probably arrive within a day.”

Balun nodded. In that case, it seemed he could watch the situation for about one more day before judging what to do.

“Why did the Kingdom of Croa invade?”

Balun asked. Baron Anchio silently shook his head. It meant he did not know.

Then he thought carefully and said,

“Could Croa and Valtrien perhaps have secretly formed an alliance with each other?”

“An alliance?”

“Yes. They secretly colluded and attacked us.”

Balun groaned softly and rubbed his chin. It made some sense, but Balun’s thoughts were different.

In Balun’s opinion, the two nations did not seem to be allies. If they were allies, he felt they would have invaded more cleverly.

If the two truly were on the same team, they would have coordinated and chosen to strike at a vital point at a fatal moment.

However, this was not a fatal moment. Corint and Valtrien had each moved troops to their borders, but the war had not yet begun. In other words, the Kingdom of Corint’s forces were still intact.

Even if they launched a surprise war in this situation, it would be difficult to obtain the optimal result. The Kingdom of Corint would respond immediately.

Preventing a beating that was coming right away, or preserving troops for a future beating while continuing to get beaten now.

It was far too obvious which of the two was better.

‘No matter how I think about it, this seems more like an impulsive invasion. After all, hyenas always gather around a battlefield.’

In Balun’s opinion, that hyena was the Kingdom of Croa.

‘Then this war will be a three-way conflict at minimum. It is going to become a mess.’

However, he did not bother expressing those thoughts. He did not want to get involved for no reason.

Why would he step forward needlessly? It was not as if he were a general establishing a strategy.

‘Then what should I do? Since I cannot go to the Kingdom of Croa anymore, should I go in another direction? But it would be far too late to head down now. I am obviously going to get swept up in the war anyway.’

His mind was complicated. Balun cleared away his thoughts. For now, he would watch the situation. Since the war had already broken out, it was right to observe the situation and make a judgment.

“Well, that may be possible. We will only know after seeing more.”

“That is true. For now, please rest well for today. My subordinate will probably arrive tomorrow, so I think we can listen to the report and then join up.”

“Join up?”

“Yes. With Count Monteki.”

No, who is that?

Perhaps realizing that Balun did not know, Baron Anchio quickly added an explanation.

“Count Monteki is the head of the Monteki Family, which is responsible for the northern region of Corint. If we must oppose Croa, naturally, we must gather around him.”

“I see.”

Balun assumed he occupied a position roughly similar to Count Rotenfeld.

“After hearing the report tomorrow, join up with him together with me.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Count Monteki will likely make good use of you, Sir Balun.”

‘No, who said you could drag me into this however you like?’

Balun let out a hollow laugh. Have I gone mad? He had absolutely no intention of doing that. The best course was simply to receive appropriate hospitality, watch the situation, and slip away when the timing was right.