Chapter 9 – The Intruder’s Story (2)

Chapter 9: The Intruder’s Story (2)

“It’s cold.”

Breathing on her hands, Delfin gazed toward the northern land.

This had already been the third time. She had come to this desolate land three times now. The first time was to track the Demon Dragon. The next had been after hearing rumors of The Red Bird. And now, she had come to see The Red Bird again.

Following her heart. Following where her instincts led her. She had felt absolutely no regret about that decision. But one problem had caught hold of Delfin’s ankle.

‘I did come here. But what should I do from now on?’

She had come north recklessly. She had even disobeyed the imperial command to wait. She had moved trusting her intuition, but there had been no next step. She had wanted to see The Red Bird, but it wouldn’t appear just because she wanted to see it.

Delfin, who had been blaming her own rashness, had come to her senses. What has been the point of regret now? It had been far too late for that. Rather than that, she should have decided what to do.

First, she had decided to travel around the entire northern region. To do that, what she had needed most had been a guide. She had needed someone who knew the terrain and geography of this place well.

“A village!”

Delfin, who had been riding her horse in search of a guide, had reached a village.

It had been a place where old buildings mixed with recently constructed ones. There had also been scattered burn marks, as if there had been a fire. The people had welcomed her warmly while also showing slight wariness.

She had been a bit curious about what had happened. But she hadn’t pried. She had been an outsider. She had deliberately not revealed her identity, worried it might have been burdensome.

“Welcome. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a visitor in the village.”

A middle-aged woman had approached as Delfin entered the village. She had seemed to have a good nature and had appeared to be kind to everyone.

“Nice to meet you. I’m someone from the Empire, and I’m here to investigate the northern region.”

Though it had been a sudden decision, she hadn’t come empty-handed. She had brought the minimum preparations needed to avoid suspicion. The imperial credentials she had been holding had been one of those items.

She had worried about what to do if this remote place didn’t recognize them. But the middle-aged woman had been greatly surprised and had welcomed Delfin warmly.

“You must have had a hard journey. Since you’ve taken on such a difficult mission, please at least warm yourself up before you go.”

“Thank you.”

Delfin had followed the middle-aged woman while observing the village more closely.

Certainly, something had happened recently. There had been too few men compared to the size of the village. Combined with the burn marks she had seen earlier…

“The village atmosphere is a bit unsettled, isn’t it?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes. A little…”

“Actually, we were attacked by bandits recently. We’ve restored the village, but the atmosphere is still chaotic.”

“Is that so? That’s truly regrettable. I’ll do my best to ensure that soldiers are dispatched for security as soon as I return to the Empire.”

“Just your words are enough, thank you.”

At the woman’s house, Delfin had been provided with a meal and water. It hadn’t been much, but she had been grateful just for what had been prepared.

“Um. Ma’am? There’s something I’d like to ask.”

After finishing her meal and warming up, Delfin had spoken up.

“Is there anyone in this village who knows this area well? I’m not familiar with northern geography, so I need a guide. Ah, don’t worry about compensation—I’ll make sure to pay properly.”

“A guide. Hmm… Then would you like to try the house next door? They know the surrounding geography better than most adult men in the village.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

After parting with the middle-aged woman, Delfin had headed to the place she had indicated. It had been a small house, but she could have sensed people inside.

“Is anyone home?”

“…Who is it?”

The door had opened, and the first thing she had seen had been a girl in her early teens. She had been looking at Delfin, a stranger, with somewhat suspicious eyes.

It had been natural for a northerner to be wary of outsiders. They had even been harmed by bandits recently. Before arousing more suspicion, Delfin had offered a greeting.

“Hello. I’m someone from the Empire on a mission to investigate the northern region, and I need a guide who knows the local geography well. The lady next door told me to come here.”

“Ah… the lady? Wait just a moment. Sister! Anne!”

It had seemed that Anne had been the person recommended as a guide. After waiting a bit, the door had opened and another girl had appeared.

“Hello. I’m Anne.”

“Del… Ahem. I’m Del. As you heard from your sister, I’d like to propose that you work as a guide. Is that okay? For payment, I’ll give half as an advance, and the other half after the work is done.”

When Delfin had held out silver coins, Anne’s eyes had widened. The amount alone had been very generous, and the conditions had been excellent too. She would have given an advance payment. This would have generated enthusiasm even where there had been none.

Anne had readily agreed to come along as a guide. After telling her sister to take good care of the house, she had immediately stood next to Delfin.

“Let’s go, Sir Del.”

“Please take care of me, Anne.”

The one who had received a new life from The Red Bird. The one who had developed a burning curiosity about The Red Bird. It had been the beginning of a strange partnership that neither had known about.

***

As the middle-aged woman had said, Anne had been well-versed in the surrounding geography.

She hadn’t been just familiar with the visible roads. Invisible roads. Roads that had looked impassable but had been actually passable. Anne had known information about all such things.

“That’s amazing, Anne. To know in such detail.”

“I was all my sister had. I had to find even a little food and look for anything that could earn money, so I ended up like this.”

“If it’s not rude to ask, your other family members…”

“Both father and mother have passed away.”

At such a matter-of-fact answer, Delfin had been the one who had stiffened. She had stared blankly at Anne, then had bowed her head toward the girl.

“I’m sorry, Anne. For asking such a question…”

“No. It’s okay.”

It used to be very hard. She had resented it too. But now she is really okay. Because she had been living with all her strength with her sister.

“I’m sure your parents are watching from somewhere too. And… um. That person will keep watching over you as well.”

“That person?”

“The person who saved me. I can’t tell you the details, but they’re someone who truly showed me great kindness.”

It had seemed there had been one more person who had helped the unfortunate sisters. Though the world had been chaotic, there had still been righteous people. Delfin had felt secretly relieved at this fact.

“This is as far as we can go by horse. From here on, it’s all rocky terrain, so it’ll be difficult for horses to travel.”

“I see. Then what comes after we pass here?”

“There is a lake, would you like to see it?”

At Anne’s question, Delfin hesitated for a moment. A lake in the north. She had wanted to see it once. But if horses couldn’t go there, it would have been a bit awkward.

Most importantly, Anne’s voice sounded slightly strange. How should she have put it? It had been as if she had hoped they wouldn’t go. She could have sensed a wish that they wouldn’t go near the lake.

“Let’s stop in this direction here and head toward that mountain range.”

Where would The Red Bird have made its dwelling? She had expected it would have been a place like that mountain. It had been hard for people to reach and easy to find a nesting place.

With that size, building a nest in trees would have been impossible. Then it would have definitely used a cave.

“Anne. Is there a way to get near that mountain range?”

“It’s not completely impossible, but the road will be a bit rough. Is that okay?”

“Yes. Let’s hurry and go before the sun sets.”

Crossing the plain and reaching near the mountain, some bushes had come into view. There had been no green leaves, but instead, tough stems had filled the area. Anne had skillfully cut through them and had moved forward.

“That’s amazing, Anne.”

“It’s nothing special. Everyone in the north lives like this.”

At Anne’s answer, Delfin had slowly shaken her head. Just because everyone had lived the same way didn’t make the special become ordinary. What had distinguished it had been the person. The person had been what was special.

“But Anne. There’s something I’ve wanted to ask since we first met.”

“What is it?”

“Have we met somewhere before?”

“Huh? Oh, no? This is my first time meeting you today, Sir Del.”

“That’s what I thought, right?”

No matter how much she had searched her memory, there had been no girl named Anne. That had been why Delfin had found it even stranger.

‘Why do I keep feeling a strangely familiar aura from that Anne?’

It was truly peculiar. It had felt like she had definitely encountered her before. But Anne had said she had lived her whole life in the village. There had been no way she and Delfin could have met.

—RUSTLE

Delfin’s head had whipped to the side. At the same time, she had thrown a dagger beyond the bushes.

“ARGH!”

When a scream came from the other side, Anne startled. Of course she would have been, since Delfin had thrown a dagger without even checking the situation.

“D-Del sir? Why did you suddenly…”

“It’s not a monster. But there was a somewhat organized aura.”

Dismounting from her horse, Delfin had pushed through the bushes and had moved forward. Going a bit further, she had found a man lying down. The dagger Delfin had thrown earlier had been stuck in his thigh.

“You. Who are you?”

“Grrr…”

“Not a bandit. And you’re not wearing an Empire military uniform either.”

The man hadn’t seemed inclined to speak. So Delfin had decided to help this man a little.

“AAAAHHH!!”

When she pressed the dagger with her foot, the man screamed. Applying a bit more pressure, the words she had wanted had soon flowed out.

“I, I am!”

“I am?”

“I am! I’m a Lind Kingdom soldier! Recently, I secretly invaded Nosland and tried to launch a surprise attack on the Empire’s northern border!”

The name Lind Kingdom had burst from the man’s mouth. There had also been parts about secret invasion and border surprise attacks.

“Then what are you? Some kind of scout?”

“N-no. I am… I am a deserter.”

“What are you talking about? You came in for a surprise attack, so why did you desert?”

“Our entire unit was scattered. After encountering a terrifying monster…”

A terrifying monster? Had there been such a threatening monster in this area? But neither Anne nor Delfin herself had really sensed anything.

“Red Wyvern. Who would have thought that terrible and vicious monster had made its lair in this area…! That red and massive body! Ugh! AAAAHHH!!”

He had even grabbed his own head as if he had never wanted to remember it again. Watching him, Delfin had thought: ‘That look, I feel like I’ve seen it before.’