Judging by his muscular body and the look of his military boots, he seemed to be a soldier of Parsard, and he seemed quite proficient in what had to be done in the mountains, probably having quite some field experience.

With that physique and ability, if it were not for his sick wife, he would have easily camped alone in the mountains for a few months.

“Sir, it’s best to stay in the room today.”

The man who was slowly raising his head as he was boiling soup for his wife to eat in the inn’s outer yard was trembling so much that it seemed scary to be boiling soup.

Perhaps it was because of those red eyes and the cold, emotionless expression.

“Is there a special reason?”

“Come to think of it, today is the day those guys come!”

Kallan’s father shouted. The man didn’t ask who “those guys” were, but the father explained in detail what he knew about a band of mountain robbers who wandered the mountains to collect money.

The man was somewhat convinced and then went upstairs with the soup.

“A man must surely take care of his wife, eh. Kallan, you must also meet such a man in the future. Then you can entrust the inn with peace of mind.”

“Where do I meet such a man? Father, you don’t even know who he is.”

The conversation between the old man and Kallan ended there. It was because the mountain robbers who seemed to have waited for their moment appeared and started to enter the inn, shouting loudly.

“Hey[Dash]! Long time no see!”

The robbers threw a wild boar into the inn’s yard, laughing boisterously.

They occasionally brought hunting prey for cooking, and the only advantage of a visit by the robber gang was that they could get a piece or two of meat.

The old man butchered and cleaned the wild boar as if it was a familiar task.

He stayed together with them on the days they visited, fearing that they might notice that Kallan was a girl and behave rudely or tease her.

“Look here, no guests again today? This job is getting tough lately. Just a few more pennies would be perfect.”

“None. As you know, there’s not much to catch in the winter mountains, so hunters don’t come, and foresters have less work, don’t they?”

“Really?”

The suddenly appeared leader of the robber gang looked at the remaining embers in the fireplace with an unbelieving expression.

“Is that the skill of the old innkeeper?”

“Ah, hem, hem. That’s a makeshift stove that a guest made last time. It’s still usable.”

“Really? I’ll know if I look behind.”

Although the robbers had not searched the rooms when they were told there were no guests before, they were unusually greedy this time.

Still, the old man held his ground, thinking that they would change their minds after eating the meat.

“Even if there were, how much money would a guest staying in the mountains have? If rumors spread that you guys are tampering with the rooms, the footsteps will be cut off, and our income will decrease in the future, so you’ll lose too, won’t you?”

The robbers tilted their heads, thinking that the old man’s words sounded logical.

However, the failure of these people was that the youngest, Vin, who had not been with the gang for long, was overly ambitious.

“Seeing the old man talk like that, there must be a guest, right? I will check and come back, leader!”

(This is a time separator.)

“Aaargh!!!”
As always, Geonan, who was huddled in the corner of the garrison, screamed and fell backward at the sudden sight of a large black dog running at him like a disaster, puffing on his pipe.

The blood flowing from the shoulder bitten by the large dog soaked the floor through his sleeve.

Fortunately, Lugard had followed Nix, who had just appeared at the garrison, otherwise, Geonan, who had almost gone into shock from excessive bleeding, would have died screaming on the spot.

Though Nix had been locked in a cage after biting a person, it gave a sliver of hope to the garrison. Like Nix returned, the two people who fell into the river seemed likely to return alive.

On the other hand, it became a restriction for Geonan, where he couldn’t move freely. Even if he dealt with the Emperor first, if the admiral came back safely, wouldn’t his life be in danger!

Therefore, dealing with the Emperor should be done after the news that Admiral Blahnath has become a corpse. Only then would it be right.

Geonan lit a cigarette against the outer wall of the sick bay, wrapping a bandage around the shoulder bitten by Nix.

He hurriedly went into the sick bay, shivering with cold, after stuffing the halfsmoked pipe into a crack in the wall.

Soon, a black shadow jumped out nearby, carefully pulled out the pipe from the wall, and scanned it with his eyes.

Inyoung, who had confirmed the brief message left by Geonan, lit the remaining half of the pipe and burned the writing.

Saib kept his mouth tightly shut all the time.

The soldiers retreating to Eben Baho were more shocked by the fact that the admiral threw himself into the river than the fact that Geonan kicked the black dog into the water, and they seemed deeply depressed.