While Mary was packing her things to leave, Kieran pulled over two war horses. He used the bedding inside the high tower where Galeart was resting and made a simple stretcher, placing the patient on top.
Kieran wished Galeart would recover and wake up soon because the information that he could gather was too little.
Most of it were of his own guesses, and there was almost nothing that he could really confirm, except for one point. That one point that Kieran was extremely certain about was, there was something fishy about that imperial envoy!
Swusters Castle was not far from t.i.ta Town, only a day"s journey on horseback.
If it was a secret meeting, there was no need to make a big detour to t.i.ta Town.
A small town with a population of around 200 hundred was very sensitive against strangers. The guards at the town entrance might not be able to fight a real battle, but recognizing strangers was easy for them.
With the secret order on him, the imperial envoy should move in secret, but he picked such a place that might risk exposing himself. The fact was baffling Kieran"s thoughts.
Unless…
"There were some matters that forced him to do so! Being chased by a.s.sa.s.sin so he needed to request help from Swusters Castle owner, or…"
Kieran"s heart bloomed a malicious thought. Everything began with the a.s.sa.s.sination of Swusters Castle"s owner. Under the circ.u.mstances that she might be a.s.sa.s.sinated by someone familiar, Kieran couldn"t help but think more. However, it was just a guess and couldn"t be verified yet.
"What kind of incident could cause multiple parties to strike relentlessly?"
Kieran grinded his brain in a puzzled manner.
He was sure that the Duke Sergourney that he killed before was not the same side as the a.s.sa.s.sin in the high tower. Apparently, if Duke Sergourney had a qualified a.s.sa.s.sin in line, he wouldn"t have gone to Swusters Castle himself and tried to storm the tower by force.
The a.s.sa.s.sin who killed the Swusters Castle owner belonged to another faction as well.
This faction should be the most hidden and with the quickest response because they might very well be the faction that was chasing to kill that imperial envoy.
Though there was a possibility that they were independent as well.
"Three to four factions at once? Who do they represent?" Kieran thought of it while rubbing his chin. By the time Mary moved her necessities onto the war horse, Kieran could only figure one question out.
The faction with the fastest response to matters should be the ones closest to the king. Only such a position could observe the king"s every move.
"There are others who are hiding beside the king… What is this king doing?"
Kieran shook his head, refusing to comment on the king.
Before completely knowing a person, Kieran would not make further comments. Same went for the natives as well because it would only cause prejudiced perception towards a matter.
If such a comment was wrong to begin with and Kieran had a prejudiced perception towards the matter, it would not be a good news for him. It would only cause him to misjudge things or even create lethal threats to himself.
"Can we depart now?"
Mary asked Kieran after sealing the tower"s door shut.
"Sure!"
Kieran nodded and he rode in front, followed by Mary.
Kieran was not at all surprised when Mary displayed an outstanding riding skill. With her mother"s abilities and strength, under her instruction and influence, it would be normal for Mary to possess riding skills or sword skills.
Behind Mary was the unconscious Galeart and some of the things Mary wanted to bring with her, which utilized three war horses to carry her load.
Kieran glanced over the load that Mary had brought. Most of them were miscellaneous, but among them was a long rapier, compared to Mary"s stature. When the specially made rapier appeared, it verified Kieran"s guess about Mary.
Dak Dak Dak.
The war horses moved over the hang bridge with a constant speed. When they reached the end of the bridge, Duke Sergourney and the other dead bodies appeared before them.
Kieran could see the hatred and contempt towards them on Mary"s face.
"Need me to take care of the bodies?" Kieran asked.
"I"ll do it myself!" Mary said before jumping off the horse.
The little girl"s way to deal with the bodies was also quite simple, pus.h.i.+ng every one of them down the mountain streams.
Though repeatedly dragging nearly 20 grown men"s dead bodies was quite the burden towards a thirteen year old girl. She was already panting heavily after dragging half of them, but when Kieran offered to lend a hand, she still refused.
After spending half an hour pus.h.i.+ng the bodies down the mountain streams, Kieran and co. continued their journey.
The moon of the night sky was bright and clear, shedding faint light on the narrow jungle path. Stars could be easily seen with a raise of the head through the seams of the jungle crown on top. The songs of the insects were lingering in their ears; the quiet feeling was quite satisfying as well.
If it was not for the wrong mood, it might be a decent night walk.
Mary lowered her head and kept quiet when they resumed their journey.
Other than the exhaustion from before, there were changes in her mental state as well.
Kieran was quite familiar with such a change.
When he first entered the game, he"d been through the process as well, being familiar with dead bodies and learning to calm his mind. It was not a decent experience, but in order to survive, Kieran clenched his teeth and took the hands-on experience.
Most importantly, no one else could lend their hand while one faced such a process; all that was available was himself.
So Kieran watched her quietly without saying anything. It might seem a little harsh and cruel, but being cruel on herself was kinder than others being cruel on her.
While keeping quiet in their journey forward, all that was left was the horse gallops.
Until the unconscious Galeart moaned.
"Galeart!"
Mary who was quiet and had her head down quickly jumped off the horse happily and went over to the makes.h.i.+ft stretcher.
"Ma...Mary?"
Galeart who had just awoken couldn"t tell what was going on, but when he saw the little girl, his mind was refreshed. But when he saw Kieran, a vigilant expression appeared on his face. Even after Mary introduced Kieran, the vigilance remained.
"h.e.l.lo, Galeart." Kieran greeted him with a smile.
Other than the fact that he could get more information after Galeart awakened, it was also because when Galeart woke up, Kieran"s sub-mission, [Rescue!] was tagged as completed.
Though Galeart"s greeting presented a cold and estranged feeling.
"Um, Nice to meet you, Sir 2567! Grat.i.tude for saving my life!"
Although Galeart was saying thank you, but Kieran couldn"t feel a bit of grat.i.tude.
"Is he taking precautions against me?"
Kieran was not at all mad about the action. Quite the opposite, he was looking at the elderly man with interest in his eyes. Galeart"s att.i.tude and manner reminded him that he had neglected some things before, some very important things.