= Unnamed POV =

  Calm.

  Calm yourself…

  Failure in a mission, huh. That is something common in this life. Returning with nothing? Pft, that is normal. But this time it was a little different… my comrades died while carrying out the mission.

  I mean, it is true that tely there have been rumors about Silthroat members failing their missions, even getting killed. But that does not mean I am willing to listen to the groans of those who were dying…

  It does not mean I came here to attend their funerals, it does not mean I—

  “Whoa, calm yourself, kid. You are shaking badly… what actually just happened?” the man beside me asked.

  I almost forgot. Turns out I was not completely alone all this time. There was still one other person who stayed loyal beside me, a blessing that he did not join the attack and end up like those who were just… erased from the world.

  “Believe it or not, but listen to me. They all died after two fshes from the sky struck them.”

  Alright, I tried to say it as calmly as possible so he would not—

  “What?!”

  Forget it, it clearly did not work on him.

  “Do not ever joke with me! Especially with that calm tone of yours!”

  “Listen, young man. Based on my life experience, people who are completely unaffected after hearing about their comrades’ deaths are not worthy of pity at all!”

  Huh? I was just trying to convey the information calmly so he would not panic, that does not mean I am a cold-blooded killer!

  “You cannot tell someone that their friends are dead with that kind of tone. That is no different from those leaders up there who only care about the final results without caring who becomes the victim!”

  Those words… somehow made me more aware. Maybe I really was trying my best. But was I even worthy of matching someone who had far more life experience than me…

  I'm not angry that he reacted that way to my attitude earlier. It was just… I felt sorry for him. Why would someone as gentle as him join a filthy organization like this? I was even sure that he had never killed anyone in his life. Maybe that was why he was always pced on the back line.

  It seems my view of Silthroat changed a little today. They do not only recruit people who are willing to spill blood for money. They recruit everyone who can still do dirty things in their life…

  Thinking about this made me even more envious. No matter how big or strong his muscles were, he was still a man who had gone through many things.

  Maybe someday I will invite him to run away from this organization’s influence and live wherever the sun still shines. Forget about finding a wife for now. I do not think my life would ever be peaceful if I were happy while he was suffering out there… oh right, I forgot to ask his name.

  “Hey, you are really starting to worry me! Can you stop spacing out all of a sudden?”

  “Oh! Sorry, my mind has been busy tely.”

  “Is that so? But you have always been like that ever since we first met…”

  “Really? Maybe it has already become a habit, haha.”

  And yup, it seems he is still uncomfortable with me. It makes sense. You are talking with someone, and suddenly they start spacing out. Ah damn it, I am spacing out again. I have to ask that.

  “Oh yeah, if you do not mind, may I know your name now?”

  Woah, this is the first time I actually did something my brain told me to do without going through a long thinking process first. I have to celebrate this when I get back home!

  “Uhm, my name is Albert.”

  “Just Albert?”

  “Yes. I do not want to carry my family name in this ugly organization.”

  Wow, even words like that could come out of his mouth. I guess most people still have their common sense firmly intact, except for the one who just mercilessly unleashed a devastating attack on our comrades…

  “Alright, Albert. Before we head back, it would be better if we check our comrades’ condition first.”

  “This is what I have been waiting for! Earlier I was really worried you would just leave them behind after casually saying that our comrades were killed.”

  Deciding to check the surroundings first might not be a bad idea for the both of us. No enemy presence could be seen at all after we scouted for a while.

  We arrived at the first strike location. The dust seemed to have been carried away by the wind. Standing beside this massive crater sent chills down my spine. What if I had gone with them and ended up like this? I could not even find a single body lying here… truly erased…

  “Hey Albert, should we—”

  “Get down!”

  Without letting me process the situation first, both of his hands had already pulled me backward. We shifted positions slightly into a very dense bush. My eyes accidentally caught something floating above the forest. From its shape, it looked like an eagle. But what kind of eagle is bck?!

  “We have company,” he said, whispering into my ear. What he meant was not the eagle I saw, but a man dressed predominantly in white walking toward our previous target house.

  Who exactly is that person? His clothing did not suggest he was a resident of this pce. I could even see a luxurious horse standing and waiting behind the wooden fence.

  “Albert, should we reveal ourselves to him?” I whispered.

  “Are you crazy?! We do not even know whether he is a bad person or not!”

  “But he is wearing white clothes! He could be a noble or—”

  “Stop all that. Not everything white is associated with goodness. Take the base color of this organization’s emblem as an example. Quickly tell me, what color is it?”

  “Bck?”

  “Wrong! You are hopeless! The emblem’s base color is white, while the hearts of its people are bck, hahaha!”

  He was really tempting fate. Earlier he warned me to be careful of that man. But a second ter he was joking around in a situation like this. What if we get caught?!

  “Ah whatever, kid. It is not good to keep mocking the organization that still feeds us.”

  “Since that person has entered the house, it would be better for us to cancel this mission and return to the camp with the real news,” Albert said, his tone turning resigned again. Completely contradictory to himself just moments ago…

  Return to the camp? I could not even imagine the faces of the people there when we returned empty-handed. I would definitely be mocked endlessly, or even forbidden from joining any mission for a while.

  “Uh Albert, honestly I am embarrassed to say this. But I do not want to return to the camp…”

  “I want to stay out here longer, in this dangerous pce. Even though I cannot use magic, what is wrong with opening our eyes and starting to enjoy the rest of our own lives?”

  I managed to say it… I hope Albert does not get angry and truly understands what I mean. Damn it, he is coming closer—

  What?

  He… hugged me?

  “Words like that do not belong in the mouth of a young man who can still witness this world for a long time.”

  “Sorry for suddenly hugging you. You really reminded me of my only child… whom I willingly left behind for this dirty job.”

  Wait, so he is a father?! And he willingly left his family to join Silthroat? How cruel…

  “Please do not misunderstand first…”

  Eh? He… is crying? Albert, with his burly body, crying while hugging my skinny frame?

  “Things have been difficult ever since the Azure Kingdom won the war five years ago… we had to keep moving because our leader could no longer protect his people. The situation worsened when a series of terrors were unched by the Silthroat organization…”

  So he chose to join the organization that attacked his family? What kind of reason is that. But if I asked him now, it would probably worsen his mood.

  And… the Azure Kingdom? I just learned its name. Turns out there are still many mysteries in this world that I need to know while I am still alive.

  “If I die today—”

  “Hey hey! Do not say that! A burly man like you will definitely live longer than me, believe me.”

  He really was crying… I could see his reddened eyes, and it was shocking that someone like him could say things like that.

  “You are right… I will live longer until I meet my family again.”

  That is better than waiting for fate to come and take our lives. What a relief—

  “That man is back…”

  So much for relief. I did not even have time to breathe freely, but what I saw now was something my sanity could not process at all…

  A girl… bound by chains with a luxurious shimmer, floating in the air. Meanwhile, the man who had just arrived seemed to be holding the ends of those chains. It was probably his magic… because I had never seen a beautiful girl float while her limbs were bound like that.

  Oh wait, what am I thinking?! That person needs help, and I am praising her beauty… this is completely messed up!

  “Albert, are you thinking what I am thinking?”

  “Running away from here?”

  “No! You are hopeless! I am thinking about saving that person!”

  “You are the hopeless one! Kid! Do you not see that the man in white is using some kind of strange chains to bind that helpless girl?!”

  “That is exactly the problem!”

  “Stop acting like a hero. You might die instantly if you show yourself with that skinny body of yours!”

  That was rude, bringing up my body like that! But he was not entirely wrong. I do not want to die now, and I do not even know what kind of attack that man might unleash.

  Wait a moment, my ears just caught what that man said earlier… it was unclear, but I got a bit of information from it. Eh, what was that? Gandalf? Is that the name of the man in white?

  “Hey, what is our next pn? I am sure after spacing out that long, an idea popped into your head.”

  “We will check the condition of that house first.”

  “Wow, I thought you would still act like a reckless kid and decide to save that girl.”

  “That is our pn afterward. Let us check the house first.”

  Enough of this. I chose to just run toward the house on the hill. Albert’s belittling words were starting to get on my nerves too.

  Turns out what I saw inside the house was just as shocking. There were three unconscious people inside… judging from what that man did earlier, this must have been his doing as well. I do not know how he did all this, but there were no signs of violence. Very strange…

  “Hey kid! Why did you suddenly leave me and run like that?”

  Focus. I need to focus on what my own mind wants. I do not need to answer every question he asks. Better to check the other rooms first.

  This house had many dispys of swords and shields hanging on the walls. Was the unconscious man a knight? Of course, I did not know.

  It seemed that those who were unconscious were a family living in this house. Wait… I just remembered something. Was I not standing inside the very house that was the target of today’s Silthroat mission?!

  Ugh, I need to calm myself first. So much happened today that I forgot this house was the reason Silthroat was sent here in the first pce.

  After circling the second floor, I decided to return downstairs. Albert was sitting beside a woman, lying on a cloth patterned with bloodstains.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Does it make sense to you that this woman is the cause of our comrades’ deaths?”

  “No?…”

  “Good. I think so too. There is no way a woman could unch such a terrifying attack and kill all of our comrades.”

  What is wrong with him? I thought he would have a different opinion and refute me completely. If this woman were the culprit, it would be impossible for her hands to be so clean without a single wound or scratch.

  “Well, whoever it was, maybe the culprit already left,” I said.

  “One more thing. Do you think the unconscious man is… Valoric?”

  Valoric, huh… I still remember that Silthroat members hated him. In the previous briefing, they even mentioned that Valoric might appear in this mission, even though the chances were small.

  But if Albert’s guess was correct, should we do something about him? I did not even know which one was our target. There were two women in this house.

  “Uh, I do not think that is Valoric. I mean… the Valoric described by Silthroat is a valiant knight, right? There is no way someone wearing such simple clothes is Valoric.”

  “You are right. A Valoric would always be alert to his surroundings. Seeing this man unconscious makes it hard for me to believe he is the real Valoric…”

  Turns out he could belittle someone other than me too. Good. My next pn was—

  “Alright, I have decided to go with you.”

  “What?”

  “Yes! You heard me right, kid. I choose to see this world further. Of course, someday I will return to my family. But first, we have to clear our names from that trash organization called Silthroat!”

  Unbelievable! He actually chose to join me on this journey. Clear our names, huh? Maybe it is possible, but the sins I have committed cannot be easily erased after all the people I have killed…

  “Before that, Albert. Help me move these unconscious people upstairs. We do not know when they will wake up.”

  In the end, we secured all of them in the upstairs rooms first. I know it is rude to inspect someone’s house without permission, but what else could we do?

  Before we left, I caught Albert with his hands full of gold coins. It was obvious he stole them when I was not looking.

  “Albert?”

  “What? I only took a little. Consider this our payment after securing them. At least think about how we are going to survive from now on.”

  Alright, I could not say anything anymore. He was completely right. Consider it payment. Besides, I had no idea where that girl had been taken. What I knew for sure was that I am now in the south of Aurathis City, and my goal was to chase someone named Gandalf.