Chapter 009

Alex smiled and waited, giving Leo plenty of time to look at the knights.

Even in the ‘future,’ knights and soldiers had come to the village after Alex died.

‘But they couldn’t find the wolves and just went back.’

This time, they would return empty-handed as well. The wolves had already been killed by Ibaek’s magic.

Still, perhaps thanks to the knights and soldiers coming, there had been no more wolf attacks afterward. So the village should be safe.

‘Well, I was just unlucky.’

He had happened to go into the mountains that day.

Alex smiled bitterly.

After the knights and soldiers passed by, Alex guided the cart back onto the road.

“Uncle! I think knights are really cool! Their armor looks so strong and shiny! And their capes are so cool, too!”

Leo, sitting beside Alex, chattered excitedly. Seeing a real knight in person, instead of just in a fairy tale, seemed to have made him incredibly excited.

Alex smiled and listened to Leo’s stories.

Then Leo noticed some unfamiliar people walking along the road. His sky-blue eyes widened into circles.

“There are people, Uncle!”

“They’re people from other villages. If we go a little farther, we’ll reach the lord’s castle.”

“Are they all going to the lord’s castle?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“To sell the things they have or buy things at the market. Or maybe they’re going there to look for work.”

“Are they going to buy snacks, too?”

When Leo’s eyes sparkled, Alex smiled and nodded.

“Some people probably are.”

“Wow!”

Leo was only six years old and had never visited the lord’s castle before. He looked around excitedly, his face full of anticipation.

Lookslikethisistherightroad.Looks like this is the right road.

Theknightsandsoldierscamefromthatdirection,andthepeopleareheadingthatway,too.The knights and soldiers came from that direction, and the people are heading that way, too.

That was true.

Alex agreed with Ibaek. Even so, something was bothering him.

He couldn’t figure out what it was, so he thought for a moment before suddenly exclaiming.

‘Ah.’

‘We took a different road in the future.’

Ten years later.

In the ‘future,’ when demons invaded the continent, refugees poured in from everywhere. Refugee camps appeared here and there, and roads disappeared or new ones were created.

‘Besides, there was a dungeon in front of the southern gate of the lord’s castle.’

He couldn’t remember exactly when it had appeared.

Because a dungeon had appeared at the southern gate, Lord Caldis had been forced to close it and build a new gate to the southwest.

So it was only natural that the current road felt unfamiliar.

‘We went that way.’

Alex turned his head to the left and looked toward the road he had walked with ‘sixteen-year-old Leo’ in the ‘future.’

A road that had not yet been built.

His eyes held both longing and bitterness.

Just then, six-year-old Leo asked in an excited voice,

“Uncle, there are people with swords over there! Are they mercenaries?”

Alex quickly smiled and answered.

“That’s right. That’s a merchant caravan. Mercenaries are protecting it so nobody steals anything along the way.”

That future was already gone.

Now was the time to make the Leo of the present happy.

“I see!”

Arethereanymages?Iwanttoseethisotherworld’smagic!Are there any mages? I want to see this otherworld’s magic!

Listening to the excited voices of Leo and Ibaek, Alex continued driving the cart.

More and more people, carriages, and carts appeared on the main and side roads leading to the lord’s castle.

And finally—

The southern gate of the Lord’s Castle of Caldis came into view.

“Wooooow!”

Ooooooh!!Anotherworldlylord’scastle!!Ooooooh!! An otherworldly lord’s castle!!

A sturdy-looking stone wall and a massive wooden gate stood before them. Above it, flags embroidered with the lord’s symbol fluttered in the wind from two watchtowers.

“Wow! It’s so tall!”

The closer they got to the stone walls surrounding the lord’s castle, the farther Leo tilted his head back to look up.

Alex couldn’t help laughing.

He was looking forward to seeing how amazed Leo would be when they visited the kingdom’s capital and the enormous cities they would travel to in the future.

“Uncle, can we go up there?”

Ooh!Let’sgoupandtakealook!Ooh! Let’s go up and take a look!

Alex smiled bitterly at Leo and Ibaek, both of whom were asking with sparkling eyes.

“Unfortunately, only soldiers can go up there. It’s an important place, so we can’t.”

“I see…”

“But when we go to a bigger city, I’ll take you somewhere even higher, Leo.”

“Really?!”

Leo, who had been disappointed, immediately brightened at Alex’s words.

“Of course.”

“Wow! You’re the best, Uncle!”

Alex patted Leo’s head as he happily explained the lord’s castle.

“This is Caldis Territory. It’s ruled by Viscount Caldis.”

Originally, the ghost Alex had called nobles things like ‘that damned duke’ and ‘that bastard count’ without bothering with honorifics.

But now that he had returned to the past, he couldn’t do that anymore.

‘There’s a crime called insulting a noble.’

And besides—

“Lord Viscount!”

Leo was there, too.

If Alex said something carelessly, Leo might learn to say it as well.

He would have to be careful about what he said from now on.

Oh,aviscount.Oh, a viscount.

Well, Ibaek could only be heard by Alex, so there was no problem with him.

“The southern part of the territory, where our village is, is farmland. But there’s a dungeon in the north, so mercenaries come and go there quite often.”

“A dungeon! I know what that is! It’s where monsters come out, right, Uncle?”

Adungeon?!Adungeon,yousay?!A dungeon?! A dungeon, you say?!

Therearedungeonshere,too?!There are dungeons here, too?!

“That’s right. That’s why there are so many mercenaries. They go there to defeat monsters.”

“My mom and dad are mercenaries, too!”

Alex gave a small laugh at Leo’s proud expression.

Wow,sotherearedungeonsinthisotherworld,too.Iwonderifthey’resimilartothedungeonsinmyworld.Wow, so there are dungeons in this otherworld, too. I wonder if they’re similar to the dungeons in my world.

Let’svisitonelater,Alex!Itwouldbeperfectforpracticingmagicandearningmoney!Let’s visit one later, Alex! It would be perfect for practicing magic and earning money!

Alex decided to answer Ibaek later and joined the line of people entering the lord’s castle.

Leo seemed excited by all the unfamiliar people around him. He kept wiggling in his seat and looking around.

“Next!”

Soldiers holding spears were managing the people entering and leaving through the southern gate.

“Uncle, what are the soldiers doing?”

“They’re checking to make sure there aren’t any bad people.”

“I see!”

Thesoldiersseemwell−organized,too.The soldiers seem well-organized, too.

After waiting a little while, it was Alex and Leo’s turn.

“Next!”

This was Leo’s first time seeing a soldier from so close. He looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

The iron helmet, the armor, and even the spear in his hand all looked incredibly cool.

“Ahem!”

The soldier, who had a fierce-looking face, was a little taken aback by the child staring at him without crying.

But he soon cleared his throat and inspected the cart.

Since Alex had a cart and a child with him, the soldier seemed to think he was a traveling merchant.

“Do you have any cargo?”

“No. We came from Bello Village in the south. I’m planning to become a mercenary.”

“A mercenary?”

The soldier’s eyes narrowed slightly.

There were people who ran away from their villages to become mercenaries as soon as they became adults. Of course, some even left before reaching adulthood.

However, there were very few people who tried to become mercenaries while bringing along such a young child.

The soldier, who had a daughter about Leo’s age, looked back and forth between Leo and Alex with a slightly worried expression.

They seemed like a family with some sort of difficult circumstances.

“Do you know where the Mercenary Guild is?”

It wasn’t really his business, but the soldier was a little concerned, so he asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“What about an inn to stay at?”

“I haven’t decided on that yet…”

Alex had visited the lord’s castle before, following adults who came to pay taxes or go to the market. But he had always returned to the village immediately and had never stayed at an inn.

So he didn’t know any places.

‘There is one place, though.’

The inn where ‘Hero Leo’ had stayed in the ‘future.’

But Alex couldn’t remember exactly where it was. It had been the first day of their journey, and both Leo and Alex had been rather flustered.

“There’s an inn called the House of the Lake if you go to the eastern street.”

The soldier spoke.

“It’s clean, so it should be fine for staying with a child. If you tell them Kane sent you, you might be able to get a slightly cheaper rate.”

Alex blinked for a moment at the kindness of the soldier, Kane, before smiling.

“Thank you.”

“You should avoid taking on overly dangerous requests, at least for the child’s sake.”

“Yes. I will.”

Leo watched Alex, the soldier, and Kane, moving his eyes back and forth.

For some reason, the unfamiliar soldier reminded him of one of the village men.

He didn’t really understand what was happening, but it seemed the soldier had helped them.

So Leo smiled brightly and shouted,

“Thank you!”

At that adorable greeting, Kane, the soldiers around him, Alex, and Ibaek all burst into laughter.

After receiving the inn recommendation, Alex bowed in thanks and thought for a moment.

Would the place Soldier Kane had recommended really be good?

‘If it’s not good, we can just leave.’

Alex drove the cart toward the eastern street.

“Wooooow!”

Perhaps because the sun had not yet set, the town inside the lord’s castle was bustling with activity.

Horses and carriages, which were rarely seen in the village, were moving around everywhere, and there were lots of people.

“One, two! Wow! Uncle, look over there! It’s a two-story house!”

Unlike the village, where most houses were built with only one floor, there were two-story houses scattered throughout the town.

“Wait a moment, Leo. We need to go to the inn first.”

“Okay! I understand!”

Even while obediently sitting in the driver’s seat beside Alex, Leo kept turning his head quickly from side to side.

He didn’t even seem to notice that his little mouth had fallen open.

Alex smiled softly and looked around as he drove the cart. He felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Ooooh!Fantasy!TheMiddleAges!!Ooooh! Fantasy! The Middle Ages!!

Ibaek, who was looking through Alex’s eyes, also seemed excited by the new scenery of this otherworld.

“Leo, do you know what an inn is?”

At Alex’s question, Leo quickly nodded.

“I do! It’s in fairy tales. It’s where heroes sleep. And they eat with their friends, too.”

Andsomeonepicksafight,andabrawlbreaksout!And someone picks a fight, and a brawl breaks out!

That had happened from time to time in the ‘future,’ too.

The world had been on the verge of destruction, but the bad people had continued doing bad things without caring.

‘No, maybe they did it even more because the world was about to end.’

It had been a world where order and rules no longer worked properly.

That was why the good people had shone even brighter.

‘…Although most of them ended up dying.’

Alex smiled bitterly to himself and continued.

“We’re going to sleep at an inn tonight, too.”

“Wow! Then is the hero there, too, Uncle?”

He is.

The hero of the future.

Right here.

Looking at Leo, Alex smiled and said,

“Maybe the hero is sleeping at a different inn?”

Leo looked disappointed at that, but he quickly recovered and excitedly looked around the town again.

“The House of the Lake. There it is.”

Just as Soldier Kane had said, the inn called the House of the Lake looked clean from the outside, and there were quite a few customers.

A young employee who looked about fifteen was cleaning outside. When he noticed Alex and the cart approaching the inn, he hurried over.

“Welcome! This is the House of the Lake! Our inn has a backyard where you can park your cart, and we also have a stable where your horse can rest comfortably!”

“We came on the recommendation of Soldier Kane.”

“Oh! Soldier Kane!”

The employee, Matthew, looked even brighter.

“Please come this way!”

Alex followed Matthew and left the horse and cart in the inn’s backyard. Then he took Leo’s hand and went inside.

Just as Kane had said, the inn was clean. There were mercenaries staying there, but it wasn’t particularly noisy.

“Food’s ready!”

Perhaps it was thanks to the owner, who looked so fierce.

But for some reason, Alex felt as though he had seen the man somewhere before.

“Sir! They said they came on Soldier Kane’s recommendation!”

“That fellow?”

“And they have a child with them!”

The innkeeper, Hallon, who had been frowning, quickly relaxed his expression and took something wrapped in paper out of his pocket.

It was a sweet cookie.

When Leo saw it, he looked at Alex. After Alex smiled and nodded, Leo accepted the cookie with a bright smile.

“Thank you!”

Matthew was startled.

“An actual child who doesn’t cry when he sees the innkeeper! This is the first time, except for your granddaughter!”

“You little rascal!”

Hallon lightly smacked Matthew on the back, as if this was a familiar scene.

The customers burst into laughter.

Thisseemslikeadecentplace.This seems like a decent place.

Alex smiled and agreed with Ibaek.

“One room should be enough, right? How long are you planning to stay?”

“About five days.”

Alex figured it would take about that long to buy the things they needed for their journey, register at the Mercenary Guild, and visit the northern dungeon.

“Then just pay me this much.”

The price was even cheaper than what Alex remembered from the ‘future’ and what his sister and brother-in-law had told him.

He realized that Soldier Kane had indeed recommended a good inn.

That impression only grew stronger after he saw the room.

“It’s on the second floor! Uncle!”

Leo’s steps were light as he climbed the stairs.

It was his first time staying in a two-story building.

“It’s not particularly spacious, but there’s a window, and the bed sheets are clean and freshly washed, so it should be comfortable!”

Sothisiswhattheinsideofaninnlookslike.So this is what the inside of an inn looks like.

Just as the employee had said, the room was clean and nice.

Leo looked around curiously.

“Uncle! I really like this place!”

“Me too.”

Alex also examined the room carefully.

He even knocked on various parts of the walls from time to time.

What,areyoulookingforahiddenroomorsomething?What, are you looking for a hidden room or something?

Something like that.

‘There are no traps.’

His body had moved instinctively because people had occasionally ambushed the ‘Hero’s Party.’

“Wow!”

Six-year-old Leo looked outside through the wide-open window.

Since they were on the second floor, they could see quite a bit of the town.

There were still many people walking around because the sun hadn’t set yet.

“We have some time before dinner. Should we go look around, Leo?”

“Okay! Let’s go!”

Soundsgood!Sounds good!

Alex came downstairs with an excited Leo, and Hallon kindly asked,

“Where are you planning to go?”

Of course, his fierce-looking face was still frightening.

“We were thinking of visiting the market and the blacksmith.”

“Is that so? As for blacksmiths, Royman in the north is the best.”

“Thank you for telling us.”

When Alex thanked him, Leo raised his voice as well.

“Thank you!”

At the sight of his adorable appearance, laughter broke out all around them.