Death Can’t Sleep - Chapter 97
The Mercenary King had many achievements, but the greatest was that he created oases all over the wasteland. He dug basins and drilled waterways, an achievement that was hard to believe possible by a human. However, the mercenary king did it, so mercenaries were able to travel to and from the wasteland without worrying about water.
Amarion splashed water on her face as she recalled the story she had heard from Mirage. The cold water cooled her burnt skin. When she was in Morte, she took baths in cool, fragrant water every day. Once again, she realized how luxurious it was.
Still, here she could see things she couldn’t see before.
She glanced at her husband washing beside her. Victor asked while wiping his face with the back of his hand.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.”
His skin was visible through the half-wet shirt. It was a solid and warm body that made her feel good just looking at it.
‘Thinking of this in broad daylight!’
Amarion hurriedly turned away. A mischievous smile appeared on Victor’s face.
“Are you, by any chance…”
“No, I’m not.”
“What do you mean you’re not?”
He giggled. Enchanting golden eyes stared at her as if he knew what she was thinking.
Suddenly, her ears became hot.
Amarion splashed water on Victor.
“Don’t make fun of me.”
Victor laughed and splashed water on her, too.
Amarion burst into laughter. As she was about to splash him again, someone suddenly came up from behind.
“You look happy, you two.”
It was Sir Jane.
Recognizing his opponent, Victor frowned.
“Go away.”
“Victor!”
‘How can you treat your knight like this?’
When Amarion scolded him, Victor pursed his lips in displeasure.
Jane grinned.
“I can see why they thought you were a couple on the run.”
“Did they say that?”
Amarion glared at the mercenaries with resentment.
Jane made friends with the mercenaries really quickly. It was only natural since he knew the rules of the mercenary corps and smiled with that handsome face. So Jane, before they could do anything, found out what everyone thought of Dog and Wildcat, and how Victor was being treated like a picky little boy.
Maybe that was why Victor became even more sullen.
“Don’t worry. I won’t interfere. I just came to tell you about the night watch schedule.”
“…”
“Half of us will be on watch today. They told us to sleep for tonight.”
“Half?”
Amarion frowned.
Why did so many people need to keep guard?
The purpose of a night watch was to stand and guard, so it required a third of the group at most. But what was the point of half of the group staying up?
Seeing her expression, Jane tilted his head with a smile.
“Are you two new to the wasteland?”
“Yes.”
“Then you will find out soon. There are more troublesome things than monsters here.”
Jane murmured, looking back at the wilderness of rocks and dry thorns.
“Seeing that no monsters have appeared, it must be soon. See you in the evening.”
Jane smiled at them again and walked away.
‘What?’
Amarion and Victor looked at each other, frowning, and followed him to the campsite.
＊ ＊ ＊
The camp was set up in ruins next to the oasis.
As soon as the sun went down, the temperature dropped rapidly, and the mercenaries gathered around the campfire. The meal attendants were baking bread, blocking the blowing sand with cloths. Amarion sat by the fire and watched the thin bread being baked.
Actually, the trip to the wasteland wasn’t as difficult as she had expected. In fact, it felt the same as previous trips. Her trip to the Empire was more difficult for the mind than the body. The journey to Morte caused her to worry about Victor’s illness, and the subjugation army about fighting monsters every day. Compared to that, this journey was almost like playing house. There were some fights, but her identity was not revealed, and the heat and cold were somehow bearable.
Of course, there were many days when she couldn’t sleep because she was worried about Amari’s situation, but she was able to endure it because Victor was by her side.
What was Sir Jane worried about?
“Wildcat, take this.”
Mirage handed Amarion bread.
“Thank you.”
Amarion nodded and took a small bite.
The bread, which was not cooked with yeast so it did not go bad for a long time, was hard to eat by itself, but it was quite edible when served with soup and cheese.
But Victor probably wouldn’t agree.
Across from Amarion, Mirage and Jane were sitting side by side, eating.
Mirage was still glancing at Jane with a very uneasy face. Victor, who was more terrifying, seemed to put him at ease.
Wouldn’t Mirage faint if he knew who Victor was?
Amarion secretly laughed, but suddenly the sound of wind whipping came from afar.
It wasn’t just the sound of the wind.
‘An arrow?!’
“Duck!”
Amarion screamed and lowered her head.
She saw Jane rolling away, holding onto Mirage, who was next to him. The mercenaries abandoned their bowls and raised their shields or ducked behind rocks.
Amarion immediately drew her sword and slashed all the arrows flying over them.
Looking up, Victor had already pulled out his sword and was deflecting the arrows flying in the opposite direction.
The sound of swords being drawn and shouting surrounded them.
Mirage, still held by Jane, roared.
“Ah, why are they making a fuss at dinner?”
“This, what is this?”
“Don’t you see? It’s a robbery!”
‘A robbery?’
Amarion was so surprised that she couldn’t do anything but blink.
Jane explained.
“They stay in the wilderness and live off travelers. They are usually kicked out of the mercenary corps for committing crimes, so they make a living by attacking other mercenaries.”
“Since we are directly under the Mercenary King, they hate us even more. D*mn it!”
Mirage rolled and raised his body. Jane also drew his sword and ran out.
But Amarion couldn’t move.
Even though she risked her life fighting monsters every day, this was the first time that people had attacked her.
‘Are you telling me to attack them?’
‘With the intent to kill?’
Victor hurriedly grabbed her hand.
“Here you are.”
He whispered and ran away, leaving her behind.
Something flashed in the firelight.
It had been a long time since she had seen Victor’s sword properly. He hid his skills to not stand out among the mercenaries, but his skill was still of a different level. In particular, Morte’s swordsmanship, which specialized in man-to-man combat, easily dispatched the robbers. It wouldn’t kill, but it was definitely fatal.
Jane, next to her, was similar. His skill was similar to Leonard’s, but his excitedly jumping sword was only aiming for vital points.
Amarion stared at the scene, pale and tired.
Her heart kept beating.
Enemies rushed at her.
“Wildcat, what are you doing?! Wake up!!”
Mirage reached out from beside her. The robbers noticeably slowed down under his magic. Amarion quickly came to her senses and knocked them out with the back of her dagger. Seeing the unconscious robbers, he got annoyed.
“Just cut them down. Why did you keep them alive?”
“…I’m not used to hurting people.”
“What?”
The wizard turned away without pressing further. The sound of swords clashing stopped only when the moon came out from behind the clouds.
The mercenaries shouted to each other.
“Hey! Are you okay? Did anyone get hurt?”
“Ugh! I spilled my soup.”
“Why did you spill it? Do you want to starve?”
It was a carefree tone, as if they were used to it.
Amarion stood in a daze, unable to collect her thoughts.
Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. Their vigilance was thorough, and the number of people who attacked were few.
But, that was not the problem…
Victor came running.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes, how about you?”
“I’m fine. What I’m worried about is…”
Victor bit his lip.
There was no way he didn’t know that she believed in never pointing a sword at a person religiously.
All of this was just so exhausting.
Amarion smiled at him.
“It’s all right.”
“Marion.”
“Is Sir Jane all right?”
“Yes.”
Jane, who had been with Victor, sheathed his sword. He seemed unconcerned.
“There are more of these people than monsters in the wasteland. And their tenacity is greater than that of a monster. The last time I came, I chased them around and had to kill them in the end.”
“…”
“You will get used to it.”
The knight assured.
Amarion shut her mouth and went back to the tent.
She couldn’t sleep at all that night.
***
