The Warrior’s Ballad

The place Ricardt and Boribori arrived at, following the Nameless, was a small city called Magdestadt. Though it was small in scale, it was a city with a long and distinguished history.

There were many buildings that had been constructed a long time ago, and though they were historical relics, people still actively used them in their daily lives. It was truly a city that naturally exuded an old-fashioned charm.

However, contrary to the city’s display of antique beauty, the expressions on the citizens’ faces were filled with worry and concern. It seemed that the struggle to make a living was no different here.

A skinny dog was wandering around the street with its nose pressed to the ground, and it lifted its head when it seemed to catch the scent of the food in Ricardt’s bag.

It wagged its tail weakly, which was truly heartbreaking sight. But with people barely scraping by, they couldn’t afford to give food to a dog.

Yet, Ricardt and Boribori had another serious problem. The issue was that this city was the territory of the Brabant Adventurers’ Guild.

Adventurer guilds were fundamentally in a competitive relationship with one another. Among them, the competition between guilds operating in overlapping territories was particularly bloody.

Thinking back to the brutal sword fights they had experienced with the Rubens Guild, Ricardt and Boribori were aware that this was not a safe place for them.

The destination the Nameless was heading to, however, was none other than the branch of the Brabant Adventurers’ Guild. Naturally, there were many armed adventurers around the building.

Though Ricardt wasn’t particularly afraid, he felt uneasy at the thought that he needed to conceal his identity.

Well, it’s not like he was walking around with ‘Beringen Adventurers’ Guild Academy Students’ written on his foreheads, so he thought it would be fine if he kept quiet.

But as the Nameless entered the building, and as Ricardt and Boribori tried to follow, someone blocked their way.

“Who are you guys?”

The person scanned Ricardt and Boribori up and down. To him they seemed young but were carrying weapons, which made them look somewhat suspicious.

“Uh… the person who just went in is our dad. Right, hyung?”

Boribori lied without batting an eye. It was so natural that Ricardt stared at him, wide-eyed in surprise.

Boribori was actually two years older than Ricardt, so calling him “hyung” wwas odd, but from the outside, they looked about the same age, so it didn’t really matter.

The person blocking the way looked puzzled for a moment, as if something was off, but then seemed to dismiss it, thinking that the young ones were probably carrying weapons to assist their father. Without a word, he stepped aside.

In that way, Ricardt and Boribori fearlessly entered the heart of what could be considered enemy territory.

The Nameless had placed two severed heads on the table and was in the process of receiving payment. It seemed that apart from seeking revenge, he also earned his living through bounty hunting.

One of the adventurers took the heads, examined their appearance and features, then quickly got rid of the gruesome sight and handed over a receipt-like paper for the bounty.

As Ricardt and Boribori watched from the side, they saw that the Nameless’s signature was simply an X.

The adventurer, seeing this, didn’t seem to recognize that the X belonged to one of the Empire’s Nine Swords, the Nameless “X”. After all, it was hard to imagine such a figure showing up in the peaceful daily life.

This was because most people in the world were illiterate and simply marked their signatures with a dot, circle, or an X. The Nameless’s signature method wasn’t unique.

Moreover, this wasn’t a time when media outlets existed, so even if his reputation was widespread, it was easy not to recognize him when encountering him in person.

“Would you like it mixed with gold coins? Or should I mix in some silver and copper coins?”

Gold coins were high in value, so they were rarely used except in large transactions with trading companies. If exchanged for silver or copper coins, the weight would be considerable, so the adventurer was simply asking out of practicality.

However, the Nameless didn’t respond, simply staring at the adventurer through his helmet, which completely covered his head.

“……”

“Instead of money, I’d like to get some medical supplies, travel provisions, a whetstone, flint, and firewood, if possible,”

Ricardt, standing next to the Nameless, spoke. The adventurer glanced at Ricardt with a look that said, “Who’s this kid?” and alternated his gaze between Ricardt and the Nameless. Since the Nameless said nothing, the adventurer simply nodded.

“You know food’s worth its weight in gold during the winter, right?”

“You’ll give us a fair amount, I’m sure. If you want to keep doing good business in the future, that is.”

At Ricardt’s bold words, the adventurer let out a slight chuckle before wrapping quality ham, cheese, jerky, hardtack, and liquor in paper and handing it over. Since this was an adventurer’s guild, they were always well-stocked with travel supplies.

The Nameless watched as Ricardt received goods instead of money, then walked over to the building’s wall with his steady steps, examining the randomly posted bounty notices. He casually tore one down.

“Hey! You can’t just tear—”

“You can keep the change.”

Ricardt spoke as if he had paid the price and hurriedly followed the Nameless, who was already heading out of the building.

Although the Nameless had come to a city, he didn’t even consider stopping by an inn for a hot bath or a comfortable rest. Instead, he immediately left the city, as if he couldn’t afford to waste any time—or as if he didn’t have much time left to live.

With his uncomfortable and injured body, without ever showing any weakness to anyone, the tiger walked on solely for the sake of revenge.

Ricardt and Boribori followed, and the distance between them and the Nameless had shortened compared to before.

“By the way, didn’t the old man not eat anything since yesterday, right?”

Boribori asked Ricardt, who nodded in response. Boribori then took out the food they had just received from his bag and brought it to the Nameless.

“Uh… I noticed you haven’t eaten anything since yesterday…”

At this, the Nameless reached out, grabbed the chunk of meat, and shoved it under the cloth that covered his lower face, devouring it in large bites. It must’ve been incredibly salty.

But the saltiness was quickly neutralized as he gulped down strong liquor in big swigs. After drinking it all in one go, he nonchalantly tossed the empty bottle away.

“…You could take your time eating…”

The Nameless ate so much and so quickly that it seemed worrying, almost as if his health might take a hit.

Seeing that he didn’t refuse the food, Ricardt approached and struck up a conversation.

“So, who’s the next target? Is it someone on that bounty notice?”

The Nameless gave Ricardt a brief glance before turning his head away, ignoring him. Was it because he didn’t trust them, or was it simply more convenient for him to handle things alone? Since he couldn’t speak, there was no way to know.

However, not long after they left the city, some people started following Ricardt’s group.

They maintained a barely noticeable distance, so it was unclear whether they were simply heading in the same direction or had some other motive.

But Ricardt quickly figured it out. He recognized that those people had been following them ever since they left the guild after collecting the bounty. He remembered their fleeting appearances as they passed by. This was why it was better to spend at least one night in the city after visiting the guild.

Leaving the city immediately after visiting an adventurer’s guild branch was practically announcing to the world that you had just made a lot of money.

The people following them were like starving wolves, watching for an opportunity. The longer they walked, the more obvious their intentions became. They were after money or food.

Then, the Nameless suddenly nudged Ricardt aside and pointed in a certain direction, gesturing for him to go that way.

Only then did Ricardt realize, ‘Ah, he’s worried about us.’

Ricardt smiled faintly and tapped the sword hanging over his shoulder, saying

“We’re not that naive about the ways of the world. It’s not like we’re wandering out here, blindly relying on our weapons. Like I said before, we’re on our way to kill the Experimenter Reto and the Skin Collector Erze.”

“……”

The Nameless simply looked down at Ricardt silently. And at that moment, the people who had been following them came walking from the front, having apparently taken a different route.

There were more than ten of them. None of them were as heavily armed as the Nameless, but they were carrying things like simple spears, hooked spears, swords, and clubs.

They weren’t adventurers. Their weapons and armor were too crude for that. They seemed to be more than mere thugs, but not quite organized bandits either.

They appeared to be a group that occasionally robbed people—though not living as full-time bandits, they had clearly done this kind of thing before.

In other words, they weren’t professional robbers or thieves, but they had the air of people who had done this kind of thing from time to time.

Keeping some distance, one of them shouted toward Ricardt and his companions.

“Hey! Drop your weapons and we’ll let you live! You can count, right? There are three of you! And fifteen of us!”

There’s probably no more absurd phrase in the world than a robber saying, “Drop your weapons and we’ll let you live.”

The Nameless looked quietly at Ricardt and Boribori, then shifted his gaze back to the group. As he did so, he pulled out a throwing axe that was attached to the belt across his chest.

And then, without any warning, he just threw it.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The heavy axe cut through the air with a terrifying sound. It was fast and accurate. The Nameless wasn’t one for flashy techniques—he fought with raw power and precision.

However, because the distance was still a bit far, the first target flinched in surprise, fell backward on his butt, and narrowly avoided the axe by sheer luck.

“Eek!”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh! Thunk!

But the second axe didn’t miss. It struck another man in the head, and his neck snapped back violently as the axe buried itself deep.

The Nameless grabbed a rope from his waist, spinning it as he approached the group. The end of the rope had a hook attached. It was only then that the men raised their weapons.

“Tony!”

“You fucking bastard! You want to fight?! Let’s go!”

The Nameless swung the rope at the man who had shouted. The man, holding a spear, tried to block it awkwardly, but it wasn’t a weapon that could be blocked. He should have dodged it.

The rope wrapped around the shaft of the spear, but instead of stopping, it became a pivot that swung around the man’s neck. The hook lodged itself into his collarbone.

“Aaargh!”

The Nameless had incredible strength, dragging the fully grown man across the ground. Only then did the others with weapons charge in.

“Fuck! Get him!”

“Bastards!”

They might have been called bastards, but in the heat of a life-or-death struggle, there was no need to get hung up on insults.

The Nameless drew his battle axe and split the skull of the man he had just dragged toward him. Then, as the others rushed at him, someone shouted:

“Go for the kids!”

It was only then that Ricardt unsheathed the sword hanging over his shoulder. The blade, with a subtle wave pattern, gleamed under the cold winter sun.

Ricardt walked forward calmly. As he approached, he dodged to the right, easily avoiding one of the attackers who failed to measure the distance properly, slicing deep into his side with a quick slash.

Immediately afterward, Ricardt dodged left, swinging his sword in the opposite direction to cut down the next man. He didn’t take a single step backward, continuing to advance. As warm blood splattered onto the cold snow, a hole formed, just the size of the splash.

The next attacker thrust a spear at him, but Ricardt smoothly twisted his body to evade it, using his sword to push the spear shaft aside. Then, he rammed into the man’s chest with his shoulder, and as the man fell backward, Ricardt brought his sword down in a swift arc, splitting his head.

Thunk!

In the brief opening, another opponent lunged at Ricardt from the left, thrusting a sword at him. Ricardt dodged the tip of the blade by turning his body, but they still collided slightly.

However, Ricardt had already drawn a dagger at some point. He slashed upward diagonally with the dagger held in his left hand, slicing open the man’s abdomen. His intestines spilled out. Ricardt quickly stepped back, as if afraid the blood might stain his clothes.

While Ricardt swiftly dispatched four men, another attacker rushed at Boribori.

Boribori drew his side sword with one hand, standing in a natural stance with his head lowered, muttering to himself.

Then, just as the enemy’s hand axe reached right in front of him, he raised his head and swung his sword.

Swish swish! Swoosh!

Thud. Plop.

The sound of two objects hitting the snow could be heard. The enemy was certain he had struck Boribori properly, but he hadn’t. That was because his two wrists were now gone. Blood droplets from the severed stumps splattered onto Boribori.

The two severed hands had already fallen to the snow, and the dark outline of their remnants flickered before the enemy’s eyes.

“Huh…?”

Before the opponent could even process the pain, before he could comprehend the fatal outcome, he seemed to have no idea what had just happened. After all, in the blink of an eye, both of his hands had disappeared.

However, Boribori’s swift sword didn’t stop and continued to draw arcs. At the last, he slashed precisely horizontally with a swish! and the enemy’s head toppled off.

The man’s body, now in pieces, lay scattered across the snow in at least five parts, including the limbs. It was a truly gruesome sight.

By now, Ricardt had finished dispatching his own enemies and casually approached. He glanced at the dismembered body in front of Boribori and remarked:

“That seems a bit excessive.”

Ricardt, who preferred short, concise strikes that finished the job in a single blow, found Boribori’s actions to be somewhat over the top.

“But I needed to write something…”

“That’s true. Anyway, you did well for your first time.”

“Hehehe”

As Boribori laughed shyly, the Nameless approached with steady steps. He glanced over the bodies that Ricardt had dealt with as he walked.

Finally reaching the two boys, he stood silently, looking down at the excessively dismembered body that Boribori had cut apart.

Ricardt spoke up to him.

“So, what do you think? We’re more useful than you thought, right?”

The Nameless seemed to ponder for a moment, and then, for the first time, he expressed something vocally.

“Hmm.”