Chapter 14. The Hole
by Foreigner ยท 2026-08-26
The valley was deep within the forest.
There were mounds on either side, and it was perfectly concealed from the outside by trees.
The floor of the valley was covered with straw.
It was the spot where they had camped during a previous hunt.
Gihun dismounted with slumped shoulders.
As soon as he got down, Bedrun slapped his cheek.
"Smack!"
The force was so strong that Aron's head snapped around.
Gihun didn't even let out a groan but fell to the ground.
"Ugh!"
The startled Erarion let out a sound.
Greon said nothing.
Bedrun: Get up.
Gihun did not get up.
He was only looking at the ground.
Bedrun: Get a grip.
Bedrun said.
Bedrun: Do you think this is a royal palace?
Aron: ......
Bedrun: If someone is trying to kill you, you need to kill them first.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: Otherwise, you will die.
Gihun did not respond.
Bedrun: Aron.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: You hesitated for three seconds earlier.
Gihun lifted his head.
Bedrun was looking at him.
Bedrun: It was three seconds.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: Hereid died in those three seconds.
And then Bedrun turned away.
He turned and walked towards the trees.
He stood there for a while.
Gihun later realized.
The words were not directed at him.
Bedrun also couldn't see to the right.
The three seconds Bedrun mentioned could have been Gihun's three seconds or his own.
Greon returned from scouting.
Greon: It seems we lost them.
Bedrun: Are you sure?
Greon: I know this forest.
Bedrun nodded.
Bedrun: Greon.
Greon: Yes.
Bedrun: Let's go to the hill in the mountains.
Greon: Yes.
Bedrun: I need to see the castle.
Gihun stood up.
Aron: I will go too.
Bedrun: You stay here.
Aron: Brother.
Bedrun: Look at Erarion.
Bedrun interrupted.
Bedrun: That's an order.
The two went.
Gihun and Erarion remained.
Erarion was quiet.
He sat with his knees hugged.
After about an hour of that, he spoke.
Erarion: Brother.
Aron: Yes.
Erarion: Uncle Hereid.
Aron: ......
Erarion: I learned archery from that uncle.
Aron: ......
Erarion: But I didn't have talent, so I quit after three tries.
Gihun said nothing.
Erarion: At that time, the uncle said this.
Aron: ......
Erarion: You have magic, so it's fine.
Erarion buried his face in his knees.
Erarion: I can't use magic.
Gihun felt like he had to do something.
But no appropriate words came to mind.
He simply reached out.
He reached out and placed his hand on the boy's head.
And he stroked it once.
He didn't say anything.
He still couldn't think of what to say.
*** *** ***
The two returned at night.
Bedrun sat down first.
He sat and drank water.
He drank for a while.
Erarion: Captain.
Erarion asked.
Erarion: What about the castle?
Bedrun put down the water jug.
Bedrun: It seems everyone is dead.
Erarion didn't understand that.
Erarion: ......What?
Bedrun: Everyone is dead.
Erarion: Everyone? What do you mean?
Bedrun: Everyone.
Bedrun said.
Bedrun: They were gathering corpses in the square and burning them.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: I saw them all day, but I didn't recognize a single face.
Erarion stood up.
He stood up and went towards the castle.
Greon grabbed him.
Erarion: Let go.
Greon: No.
Erarion: Let go of him!
Greon: Erarion.
Erarion: My master!
Greon: Erarion.
Erarion: My master is over there!
Greon hugged the boy.
Erarion made a sound in his arms.
The sound lasted a very long time.
Gihun was sitting while listening to that sound.
'.......'
He was counting names.
There were sixty-two.
Bedrun sat next to him.
Bedrun: Aron.
Aron: Yes.
Bedrun: They came in regular army uniforms.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: Who would doubt that?
Aron: ......
Bedrun: They must have opened the castle gates for them.
Gihun imagined that scene.
The imagination was vivid.
They had been waiting for the 25th.
The castle gates must have opened and people would have come out.
Karin would have slung her bow over her back.
The lord would have come out without armor.
And they would have left the infirmary door open.
'.......'
Gihun stopped imagining.
Aron: Why are they burning them?
Gihun asked.
Bedrun: What?
Aron: The corpses.
Bedrun was silent for a moment.
Bedrun: This place was where the orcs had come not long ago.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: If there is the smell of blood, monsters will come.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: If they burn them, they won't come.
Gihun understood that answer.
And after understanding, it got worse.
They were even calculating the cleanup.
Bedrun: Greon.
Bedrun called.
Greon: Yes.
Bedrun: What do you think?
Greon looked at the fire.
Greon: It seems there are those who must not know that my lord is alive.
Bedrun: ......
Greon: So, they eliminated everyone who knew.
Gihun raised his head.
Aron: Is it because of me?
No one answered.
Instead, Bedrun spoke up.
Bedrun: The issue was with the letter office.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: It should have arrived by the 25th. It didn't come.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: It didn't come even during the Orc period.
Bedrun added branches to the fire.
Bedrun: Someone peeked in from the side.
No one slept properly that night.
Bedrun woke up first at dawn.
Bedrun: Get up. We're leaving.
The three sat up simultaneously.
No one was deeply asleep.
Greon: Where are we going?
Greon asked.
Bedrun: We are going to the royal palace.
Gihun stopped packing his things.
Aron: We can't go like this.
The three looked at him.
Aron: We need to collect the blood price.
Bedrun immediately said.
Bedrun: No way.
Gihun looked at him.
Aron: Brother.
Bedrun: No.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: There are too many enemies. We are only four.
Bedrun said.
Bedrun: Out of those, only three can fight.
Aron: If it's three.
Bedrun: How do we handle fifty with just three?
Gihun couldn't answer.
At that moment, Greon spoke.
Greon: I was a wandering mercenary.
The three looked at him.
Greon was watching the fire.
Greon: No one trusted anyone, and there were only enemies around.
Aron: ......
Greon: It was Hereid who took me into the garrison and found me a home.
Greon bit his lip.
And then he looked at Bedrun.
Greon: I want to take revenge for Hereid.
Bedrun was silent for a long time.
He couldn't possibly not want to.
Seton Castle was where he had grown up.
The person who had trusted him, a mere commoner, and promoted him to garrison captain was the lord of that castle.
He was someone everyone in the castle knew, and something was attached to every building inside the castle.
Bedrun shook his head.
After shaking it, he spoke.
Bedrun: Alright.
Aron: ......
Bedrun: We will go in tonight.
Bedrun stood up.
Bedrun: Before that, I will check the castle and count the personnel.
And he looked around at the three.
Bedrun: The biggest problem is.
Greon: ......
Bedrun: There is no way to enter quietly.
Seton Castle was small.
Instead of being small, it was sturdy.
It was built that way because monsters frequently came.
The sturdiness was a problem this time.
Greon: There is a hole in the right lower part of the castle wall.
Greon said.
Bedrun looked at him. His eyes were wide open.
Bedrun: What?
Greon: One person can definitely pass through.
Bedrun: ......
Greon: I know.
Bedrun's face looked strange.
Bedrun: Why didn't I know that?
Greon: ......
Bedrun: I am the garrison captain of this castle.
Greon: ......
Bedrun: It has been fourteen years.
Greon cleared his throat.
Greon: Hem hem.
Bedrun: Greon.
Greon: There is no fool who reports to the superior about a hole made for sneaking in.
Bedrun shook his head.
So those bad guys were deceiving me like this.
Gihun laughed.
After laughing, he felt somehow sorry for having laughed.
He felt sorry for the dead and also for the people who were with him.
With a guilty heart, he immediately stopped laughing.
It was then.
Erarion: I will go too.
It was Erarion.
Bedrun: You can't.
Bedrun said.
Bedrun: You don't know how to fight.
Erarion: I have a scroll.
Aron: What?
Erarion: It's in the master's study.
Erarion said.
Erarion: There is one there.
Gihun raised his head.
Aron: ...One?
Erarion: Yes.
Erarion: It was made to give to my lord.
Aron: ...
Erarion: But he hasn't received it.
Gihun couldn't respond to that.
Erarion: That's a fireball.
Erarion said.
Erarion: I can come find it.
Bedrun: Do you know where the study is?
Erarion: I'm not a fool who doesn't know my own house's study.
Bedrun looked at him and chuckled.
He was still seventeen.
He didn't not understand the heart of losing a master he had served like a father.
His eyes were swollen.
The noisy chatter that had been so loud suddenly stopped.
Bedrun: ...Alright, let's go together.
Erarion: Yes!
Bedrun: Just stay behind.
Erarion: Yes!
Bedrun: Erarion.
Erarion: Yes!
Bedrun: Take a breath.