The mercenary, suddenly attacked in the throat, groaned and collapsed to the floor. Hersis quickly stood up, grabbed the missed stiletto, and the remaining two mercenaries took a few steps back with tense faces.

But soon, their expressions loosened. It was because they discovered a still somewhat immature aspect in their opponent.

Well, Hersis noticed that before them.

When he stood up, he could finally see the distinct difference in physique between himself and them.

No matter how mature his appearance might be, it didn’t mean he was as large as adult-sized beasts. Even though he had a mature appearance, it only made him look about twelve to seventeen years old, not on par with the adult-sized brutes.
Hersis knew that accurately assessing his own abilities was more important than anything else to survive.

Facing two large human weapons at once was currently unreasonable. Moreover, the space was too cramped.

Hersis moved slowly with his back against the wall.

And to avoid revealing that he thought the situation was highly unfavorable, he maintained a calm expression as much as possible. He tightly held the heavy stiletto, not letting it waver.

Perhaps because of this, the two mercenaries did not hurry and maintained a certain distance from Hersis.

The tension increased sharply. It felt as precarious as a stretched thin rubber band that could snap at any moment.

Something had to be figured out quickly.

“……!”

At that moment, one of the mercenaries, hidden in the darkness, staggered after getting entangled in Hersis’s sling bag.

Hersis noticed from that sight that their night vision wasn’t particularly good.

It was a favorable condition for him.

Hersis slowly led them to a corner where the torchlight didn’t reach. When half of his body was finally submerged in the darkness, one of the mercenaries finally broke the tense atmosphere.

He rushed forward, swinging his sword down.

However, Hersis, who had already anticipated the trajectory, easily dodged it. The mercenary’s stiletto ended up deeply embedded in a wooden post hidden in the darkness.

While the mercenary was struggling to pull out the sword, Hersis moved agilely through the darkness and tripped the next mercenary’s thigh.

However, due to the weight of the stiletto, he couldn’t control it well.

“Ugh…….”

It seemed that the tip of the sword he swung circled around and pricked his shoulder. It felt like being pricked with a needle, but he quickly adjusted his posture and swung the torch against the wall.

Then, the room was engulfed in complete darkness.

While the two mercenaries were fumbling in the dark, Hersis quickly picked up a dagger from the side of another moaning mercenary and hurriedly escaped.

Hersis sneaked into the nearby village from the traveler’s lodge.

There were farms and forests, and scattered barns. It was a fairly suitable place to hide. As long as he didn’t shed blood.

He looked at his shirt, which was now stained red on one sleeve.

‘This is a bit troublesome.’

It wasn’t just a prick from a needle.

Hersis remembered a large dog waiting for scraps under the table where the mercenaries sat. It was a hunting dog trained to be sensitive to the smell of blood.

And the open space would have been an excellent environment for the hunting dog to track him.

Hersis tore off a piece of his bloodied shirt. Then, he picked up a pebble from the ground, wrapped the torn shirt around it, and threw it far into the forest.

The sound of the pebble landing on the dry dirt was faintly audible. If he could hear it vaguely, it was enough to indicate that he had thrown it far enough.
He immediately moved to what seemed like the emptiest house to hide. However…

“Wh… Who’s there?”

It wasn’t an empty house.

In the faint grayish darkness, there was a woman who seemed to be his mother and a child who looked a couple of years younger than Hersis. They seemed to have just woken up.

Hersis looked at them for a moment… then drew a dagger from his scabbard.

It was unclear whose blood was dripping down the blade.

He just wanted to scare them.

And as intended, the woman and the child got scared.

But whether it was because of Hersis’s boyish face or the wounds he bore, the woman was not as frightened as one might expect.

The problem was the child.

From the beginning, he seemed uneasy, and now, holding the woman, he convulsed to the point where the woman’s body shook. Sobs also started intermittently.

That wasn’t what Hersis had in mind.

Suddenly, he felt a sign from outside. Following that, voices became audible.

“Which way did he go? Is it this way?”

It was the voices of the mercenaries.

The murmuring voices suddenly became clear, indicating that after wandering around this and that house, they had finally turned toward this direction.

“Kk… Hik…”

It was just at that moment that the child’s sobbing intensified. It was on the verge of bursting into tears.

‘Damn.’

He had to do something.

Hersis took a step forward. Then, suddenly, the woman rose from her seat.

It seemed like she thought about what Hersis would do to her son. Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong, as he had planned to make her call out loudly for help from the men outside.

Surprisingly, the woman just took out a handkerchief from a drawer and carefully wrapped Hersis’s wounds.

Even though her fingertips were trembling, her hands tying the knot were filled with sincere care.

In that touch, Hersis felt both sympathy and affection for her son.

In the meantime, the boy’s sobbing also subsided. The mother’s calm actions seemed to soothe him.

Not twisting his face with sobs made him look less pitiful. No, in fact, he had a quite handsome face, Hersis thought for a moment.

‘Looks like him. Like my uncle.’

But that thought didn’t last long.

Creak.

In the distance, the sound of a dog barking was heard, and then, after confirming that the mercenaries were shouting, ‘There he is!’ and rushing, Hersis promptly left the house.