Not a barbarian warrior.

Upon encountering the Eslan patrol, Dietrich immediately ran over and requested help.

They had a lukewarm reaction even after seeing the miserable state of Dietrich’s group.

“Are you asking our patrol to escort the merchant group now? All the way until we reach Eslan?”

“We were attacked by looters. Everyone is exhausted and on the verge of collapse. Won’t you please show us mercy?”

It was the patrol’s job to maintain order near the city and help those in trouble. However, to get them to move, words alone weren’t enough.

“Your situation is pitiful, but we’re busy. We have a mountain of work to do, so we can’t waste time on something like this…”

“I beg you like this…”

Dietrich quickly took out a pouch from his bosom. Then he quietly slipped it to the patrol member. When the sound of coins clinking together rang out from inside, the patrol member cleared his throat and secretly pocketed the pouch.

“Ahem! I suppose it can’t be helped. In consideration of your sincerity, we’ll help you just this once.”

“Thank you. Thank you!”

At those words, Dietrich grabbed the patrol member’s hand and bowed his head. The fact that they could now safely go to Eslan made him happy. The dozens of silver coins that had slipped away as a gesture of sincerity weren’t a waste.

Dietrich’s group, looking haggard, got back on the carriages, and with creaking sounds, they started moving. The patrol surrounding them moved along, showing off their imposing presence.

Watching this scene from afar, the looters abandoned their thoughts of attacking the merchant group and withdrew.

After traveling for quite a while after that, Dietrich’s merchant group was able to reach Eslan.

As city walls higher and thicker than Carlisle’s greeted them, people hugged each other while sobbing. It was because they finally felt they had survived.

The carriages that entered inside the walls continued moving somewhere without delay. Eugene, who was just following along at the rear, didn’t know where they were heading.

“Here we are! Let’s get off the carriages and go inside!”

Where Dietrich’s group stopped was in front of a high stone wall.

As they opened the large iron gate in the middle of the wall and went inside, a spacious courtyard and a tall mansion came into view.

The place where Lorena had stayed in Carlisle was embarrassing to even call a mansion, but this was a truly proper mansion.

While it wasn’t extravagantly luxurious enough for nobles to stay in, it was certainly impressive enough to be called splendid.

“It looks like it could accommodate at least several dozen, no, over a hundred people?”

“Y-Yeah… Could this also be part of the inherited property…?”

“I would think so.”

Eugene looked around like a country bumpkin who had come to the city. As they entered inside the walls like that, people hurriedly came out from inside the mansion. They were the servants of this place.

Some climbed onto the driver’s seats and led the carriages towards the stables in a corner of the mansion. The rest politely ushered Dietrich’s group and guided them into the mansion.

After entering the building with the group, Eugene said to Dietrich:

“Now that we’ve arrived here, the job you requested of me is finished. We’ll receive our payment and leave right away.”

Though they had followed inside without thinking, Eugene and Lorena had no reason to stay at the mansion with these people. The two planned to receive their payment and then quickly look for suitable lodgings.

But Dietrich wasn’t such an inconsiderate person. Though looking utterly exhausted, he smiled brightly and said:

“I can give you your payment right away, but aren’t you tired from coming all this way? If you’re not in a hurry, why don’t you stay here for now? It would be better to treat your wounds, recover from the journey’s fatigue, and then leave.”

“…Would that be alright?”

“Of course! You saved my life and those of my people multiple times, so I can certainly do this much.”

“Then we’ll gratefully accept your kindness.”

Having received the host’s permission like that, Eugene and Lorena were guided by a servant into a room in the mansion.

There, they washed their bodies, changed their bandages, changed clothes, and then immediately threw themselves onto the soft bed.

As the fatigue that had built up over time rushed in all at once, the two fell asleep in an instant.

After the arduous days that had continued for nearly half a month ended, a peaceful day finally followed.

In one of the mansion’s bedrooms, Dietrich, who had gone to bed, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and opened his eyes wide.

“Huff… Huff…”

With eyes opened wide, he repeatedly took and released rough breaths, wiping the sweat flowing from his forehead.

He quietly left the bed and went to the window. Outside was still dark. It was a time before dawn had even begun to break. While everyone else was still in their dreams, he alone was awake.

A cool breeze blew in. Dietrich fell into silence for a moment with a pale face.

“…”

He recalled the nightmare he had. That nightmare was also the reality he had experienced not long ago.

The journey from escaping the Red Fox merchant group to arriving here in Eslan flashed through his mind once again.

Then Dietrich’s eyes grew hot with tears. Before long, the droplets that had formed in the corners of his eyes lost to gravity and trickled down his cheeks.

While protecting the property inherited from his father and coming here, countless people had died. Even those who were precious to him. Their faces and voices were still vivid.

“Belen… Aika… Noel… Elbert…”

He slowly recited the names of those who had departed this world one by one.

His trembling voice scattered like clouds carried on the wind.

“If I had known it would turn out like this… I should have never run away…”

Even before inheriting his father’s property, Dietrich had been planning to leave the merchant group.

He didn’t want to engage in a life-and-death struggle over property with his half-brothers. Though they had different mothers, blood was blood. To have to kill his brothers with his own hands. He couldn’t do that. So he ran away.

But looking back now, he shouldn’t have. The result of running away like a coward was tragic. How many precious people had died? He had even nearly lost his own life. If it weren’t for Eugene and Lorena, he would have died long ago.

He shouldn’t have made plans to flee to Eslan from the start. If only he had thoroughly prepared and faced his brothers… Perhaps the result would have been different…

“Sigh…”

Dietrich let out a deep sigh and continued his thoughts for a long time.

At the end of it, he realized. That all this regret and speculation was ultimately just empty imagination.

The past had already gone by and couldn’t be undone.

What existed now was only the present created at the end of regret. If so, what needed to be done was clear.

To look at the future that had not yet come and decide the direction to move forward. And then to walk forward.

To move forward, Dietrich engraved something deep in his heart.

It was a desire for revenge.

It was a determination to bring down the Red Fox merchant group and someday put Lauren on the judgment stand.

He looked down at his trembling hands.

And slowly, firmly clenched his fists.

Though a week had passed since the merchant group escort job ended, Eugene and Lorena were still staying at the mansion.

Dietrich had said they could rest as much as they wanted, and the two really took advantage of his hospitality. They spent all day eating and sleeping, holed up in their bedroom.

As they continued such a peaceful and comfortable life, a servant came to find them.

“Master Dietrich is looking for you two. He said it’s not urgent, so if you’re busy, you can come later…”

“Uh…”

“Um…”

Eugene and Lorena were lying side by side on the bed, eating cookies placed on a plate. Of course, they weren’t busy at all.

The two quietly exchanged glances, then hurriedly got out of bed.

“Let’s go.”

“…Then I’ll guide you.”

The two were guided by the servant to the mansion’s reception room.

Dietrich, who was sitting in the seat of honor looking at a pile of documents, welcomed Eugene and Lorena with a bright face.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Is there anything you find inconvenient?”

To his question, Lorena stepped forward with a shiny face and answered:

As the two sat down in the chairs placed beside them, Dietrich put down the documents he was holding and took out two small pouches from his bosom. He placed them on the small table in front of them.

“Wh-What is this…?”

“This is a reward for protecting our merchant group all the way to Eslan. Please check it.”

Eugene thought. Since he brought up the payment, Dietrich’s kindness must have finally come to an end. Well, they had stayed for a week, which was quite long. It was about time to leave, as he was starting to feel awkward.

Eugene and Lorena each picked up a pouch. They were too small and light to contain silver coins. The two opened the mouths of the pouches to check the contents with a sense of anticipation.

“Ah… Aah…!”

Seeing the coins showing off their golden brilliance inside the pouch, Lorena unconsciously let out an exclamation.

The same coins were inside Eugene’s pouch as well. He looked at Dietrich with his mouth open.

“Oh, this isn’t all.”

Dietrich smiled and handed a small box to Lorena. It was a somewhat familiar object.

“I heard you used two expensive pearls to save the two people who were attacked by the basilisk. This is compensation for that. Please accept it.”

“N-No way…”

Lorena picked up the box with trembling hands and carefully opened it.

A finely crafted gold ring revealed itself. A large ruby with a red glow was set on top of the ring.

Lorena looked back and forth between the ring and Dietrich.

Dietrich, still smiling, gave a small nod.

“Th-Thank you…!”

She quickly took the ring out of the box and put it on her finger. It was a perfect fit.

“Hehe…”

Lorena examined the ring this way and that while giggling. Her gaze couldn’t leave the ring.

Seeing this, Eugene chuckled and asked:

“Do you like it that much?”

“Of course…! Th-This is such an excellent material…”

“…Material?”

“It’s good for use as a reagent, and it’s also good for artifact creation… You’d be hard-pressed to find a better ruby than this…? Hehe…”

“Pfft…”

“To think the reason you were so pleased with the ring was for that… Haha…”

“…?”

Dietrich and Eugene let out different laughs at Lorena’s words.

Lorena didn’t understand why the two were reacting that way.