“So, what did that man say?”
“I think he said he couldn’t wait to enjoy me. It’s a rare chance, so I plan to enjoy him properly too.”
Solution showed an even brighter smile.
That smile contained a childlike innocence; like a kid looking forward to the next big event.
Part 2
A miserable life.
Zach walked quickly, thinking about how miserable his life had been.
Life in the Kingdom as a farmer couldn’t be called fortunate or easy.
Though he labored very hard in the fields every day, most of the harvest was taken by the landlord. If the yield of a full harvest had a hundred shares, it was still bearable if only sixty shares were taken away. It was still possible to survive on forty shares, even if it meant a life of poverty.
However, there would be a serious problem if eighty shares were collected. If one could barely make a living with forty shares, there was no doubt life would become hellish and unbearable with only twenty shares.
During one of the years with only twenty shares to live with, he returned home worn out after a hard day of farm work, only to discover that his little sister had disappeared without a trace.
Zach was still young when it had happened. His adored little sister went missing, but his parents wouldn’t go looking for her. He didn’t know what was going on back then, but now he clearly knew the reason: She had been sold. In this day and age, slave trade had finally been stopped due to the efforts of the “Golden” princess, but slavery had been quite common within the Kingdom back then.
For that reason, whenever he visited brothels and passed by prostitutes, he would subconsciously stare at their faces. Of course, he didn’t believe he could find his little sister like this. Even If he did find his little sister this way, he wouldn’t know what to say to her. Nonetheless, he just couldn’t stop himself from looking.
Living in such a harsh and poor environment, one also had the heavy obligation to be drafted into the army.
The Kingdom of Re-Estize periodically went to war with the Baharuth Empire, and often drafted soldiers from farming villages such as his. To lose an able worker for even a month was quite a big deal for a small village and it significantly affected the yield of a harvest. However, there were also those who felt lucky to be drafted into the army.
Since there were less people that needed to be fed, a family’s food expenditure was reduced. For those who were drafted, they’re provided with rations given by the Kingdom. For some, that was the first time they experienced how it feels like to be full.
Sadly, these were just about all the upsides.. Even if you risked your life, without achieving a major accomplishment receiving any kind of reward would be impossible. Some didn’t even get rewarded for completing great achievements, only those who were truly blessed with luck could find success within the army.
After the end of the war the soldiers went back to their villages, but they only found despair because the village’s harvest had lower than expected yield due to lack of workers.
This had happened to Zach after his first two drafts. But during his third draft, a way to change his fate occurred.
The war that time was like the others, it ended with only a small scale battle. Luckily, Zach survived the battle. As he was about to head back to his village, he stopped. He looked at the weapon in his hand and an idea popped into his head.
…Perhaps it would be better to try another kind of life than to go back to that village.
But he was just a farmer and he barely received any training for war. He didn’t have many choices for his new life.
His body was mediocre and there was no way he could compare himself to those few that were born with innate talent. All he had learned in his life is to sow seeds and farm, and when to spread which seeds. That was just about all he knew.
Zach took initiative with his one and only trump card, and that was to run away with the weapon issued to him by the Kingdom. The thought of troubling his parents never came into his mind because they had sold his little sister — even if they did it so the rest of the family could survive — and he no longer held any love for them.
He had no background and didn’t know anyone, so how was he able to escape the army easily. Luckily, he met with some people who could help him with his escape, perhaps his luck wasn’t that bad after all.
It was a mercenary group that had helped him escape.
Of course, to the mercenary group, Zach was only a farmer and wasn’t much of a use to them. But they had lost many members due to the war, and wished to quickly return to their former size.
Because of this, the mercenary group easily let Zach join. But this wasn’t really a legitimate mercenary group. During a war, they were mercenaries. During times of peace, they became bandits.
It is no wonder what sort of life he led after that point.
To have something is better than nothing. To take is better than to be taken from. Instead of crying, it is better to let the others cry.
He was living that kind of life.
He felt no wrong, and had no regrets.
Every time he heard the victims’ begging and whimpers, he further confirmed on his beliefs to be so.
Now he broke into a run in the lower city. He runs in the world that’s in even deeper shade of red than the current setting twilight.
He had been pushing himself ever since he had left the inn, so he’s already breathless with beads of sweat on his forehead. He felt exhausted and wanted to rest, wondering if he should actually do so. But since he didn’t have much time, he endured the fatigue and kept on running.
As Zach was about to make a sharp turn at the corner of the street—
“So dangerous~”
A complaint and a clattering of metal sounded as the figure quickly turned their body to avoid a collision.
The near impact startled Zach, and he looked towards the shadow that had jumped back.
In front of him was a woman with a well proportioned face. The black cape she was wearing was blending her with the shadows, but her bright purple eyes were looking at him with great curiosity.
Due to his exhaustion, Zach had lost all of his patience and barked:
“That’s my line! That was dangerous! Keep your eyes in front of you!”
The woman didn’t seem to be afraid of his threatening snarl and showed him a cold smile.
That smile made Zach want to step back and he couldn’t muster the courage to take out the knife hidden under his shirt. He was like a mouse being stared down by a lion.
The clattering sound of metals that he heard from the moment she jumped back, it’s probably from her armor.
An armor-wearing woman, perhaps she was an adventurer.
…Wrong target to pick a fight with.
Zach’s subconscious was sending out danger signals, and he realized the situation he is in.
He wouldn’t look down on this woman because of the naive thinking that females were of the weaker sex. Zach knew there was a really strong group of female only adventurers. He remembered this being casually mentioned by the strongest member of his mercenary group.