Chapter 72: Chapter 72

From early morning, everyone in the center of the settlement had gathered.

"?? If you all agree, I will lead this safe zone."

Terrence's speech continued. He reflected on his past mistakes. It was true that, as Huven's closest confidant and advisor, he had contributed to Huven's tyranny.

The people of the safe zone live lives far off the ordinary path. Such people truly need someone to be their support.

Terrence, along with his atonement, promised to dedicate himself to everyone as someone who had become a father in this safe zone.

"We have been swept here by the tide of the times, and, even so, god has always watched over us. However, the choice was always ours to make. Now again, we stand at a crossroads. As always, it is time to gather our wisdom."

Terrence proposed that they all migrate together to Northland.

The empire was vast. It had not been long since the Northlanders revealed themselves to full civilization and came to be called barbarians.

Northland was only known in the northern regions geographically close to it; to most of the empire's people, it was simply a distant world.

"We're... we're going to take refuge in Northland?"

"We can't stay here; who knows when the imperial guards will show up again."

"But I heard it's incredibly cold there. That it snows all year? Can we even live in a place like that?"

"That's where the savages live."

"I've heard there are cannibals too. That if you're from the empire, they'll eat you up."

A mysterious world one would never reach in a lifetime. Humans always have a vague fear of the unknown.

Adding to this, the Liberation Army had fought barbarians from the emperor's army. Wild rumors were everywhere.

"Hmph, talking as if you know anything. Cannibalism is the worst taboo in any tribe. Don't blabber on without knowing. Before I rip your mouths apart."

Tascar, arms folded and listening at the back, snapped. Some people shut their mouths as if they'd swallowed honey.

"? Damn it. Shouldn't we be thankful instead?"

Muttering in his own language, tascar sat back down, with Ran beside him.

"What were you thinking, saying you'd take all these people? Never thought you had that kind of responsibility."

"Responsibility? Don't make me laugh. Who takes responsibility for whom? I'm just showing a minimum of consideration. Sigurd is carrying Terrence's child, and Terrence is their chief."

Ran's eyes shot upward, rolling the answer around in his mind.

A lively question and answer discussion ensued between Terrence and the people of the safe zone. Meanwhile, Ran's thoughts were wandering elsewhere.

Unable to hold back any longer, he spoke out.

"But what about Ragna? Doesn't he need to get ready to accept Terrence as his new father?"

"? Regardless of age or gender, all Northlanders are warriors. A warrior's virtue is to not be bound by personal emotions for the prosperity of the tribe."

"Tsk, since you bring it up... When and how did Terrence and Sigurd even...?"

Tascar stared at Ran with half-opened eyes. The Sword Demon was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a somewhat dim-witted young man blushed and scratched his head. It was so pathetic, tascar couldn't help but scoff.

"Do grown men and women need to explain why they sleep together?"

"Sl-sleep together?! Ahem. Anyway, what's going on with the two?"

"I'm too annoyed to listen any further."

There was much debate over the move to Northland. With the rest of their lives on the line, voices were raised and convictions clashed passionately. To the Northlanders, the words exchanged were blatantly insulting.

Ran watched Tascar's departing back with a short sigh.

"In the end, everyone agreed unanimously to move to Northland. There's nothing wrong with our plan, right? It's not like anything will hold us back."

Having regained some strength, Iel went out, gathered tidbits of news, and chattered away. She simply didn't want to be a burden. Even while bedridden, all she wanted was to get back up and be of any help.

Iel looked at him with wide eyes and tilted her head.

Ran was sitting in a corner, hugging his knees. His hunched back looked pitiful.

"Is something wrong?"

"? I-I'm really okay now! Terrence told me that the younger you are, the harder it is for your body to adjust to sudden changes in environment. But once you overcome it, your immunity gets stronger, so you're healthier in the end."

She'd been closely observing Ran. He didn't even make jokes—he never rambled about himself at all. He was a man so emotionless he hadn't even flinched before a cannibal. Check latest chapters at novel⟡fire.net

Yet now, seeing him openly showing signs of hardship tore at her heart.

She couldn't even imagine the weight shouldered by those broad shoulders.

'He's a person who suffers for my sake.'

But she herself was helpless. Worse, all she did was increase his burden.

Iel clenched her fists tightly. Whatever happened, she would not allow herself to cry like a fool.

"I'll go get a little fresh air."

Ran passed by Iel and went outside.

'I'm dying of curiosity, but there's no one to ask.'

The safe zone was busy. Everyone was packed, getting ready to leave.

A woman briskly walking by happened to see Ran and started in surprise with a little gasp.

Ran had a stiff, hard look from being absorbed in unsolved questions. He looked almost angry.

'They say everything's written in books. What nonsense.'

It wasn't Iscarang. One priest from Quersa had told young Cyrano those words.

That if you read books, you can learn everything about the world.

'The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.'

He spent his childhood inside Quersa, a brief youth with the Zima family, then the Special Unit.

Ran was always within fences. Whenever the fence changed, he studied the world in his own way. Growing pains and a sense of achievement matched each other exactly.

'I've stepped into a wider world now.'

Now, no fence confined him. He had to move on his own will, colliding with the world.

Priest, hound, inquisitor—Ran, now a mercenary of his own making, looked up at the sky.

Which direction was Quersa?

The messenger bird that used to show him had long vanished.

The sense of duty to purge heresy and set doctrine right had shifted into a vow to face the truth; the ambition to become a bishop and discover all the world's secrets in the Forbidden Archive, including his own birth records, had turned into a resolve to go to Igraine on his own and witness the Apocalypse with his own eyes.

Ran wasn't just being lived—he was living his life.

"Ran? What are you doing? Just standing there like that."

Rev, recognizing him from afar, approached, a large armful of paper scrolls cradled in his single arm. As he walked carefully, one bundle slipped out and fell to the ground.

"Oops, could you pick that up?"

"Well... the tragic product of a writer who caved to authority and abandoned his convictions?"

"Huven made me write his biography. It's more my fantasy than fact. But since it's writing I brought into the world with my own hand, it's like a sore finger to me."

"Hm, you sure have a lot of fingers."

"? Hahaha, is that a joke? Apparently, there are no perfect people in this world. If you were good at jokes with that face, it would be unfair."

"Nevermind. Ran, if you're not busy, come with me."

The two climbed the hill on the edge of the safe zone. Below their feet, the vast sea of trees spread out.

Standing at the edge, Rev set down the bundle of scrolls at his feet. He let out a long sigh, and for a moment, his eyes sparkled.

Rev swept his arm wide through the air. The bundles of scrolls broke free and scattered in the wind, each sheet fluttering away.

Ran watched silently from behind. It was like birds, once caged, suddenly all taking flight together.

Ran called to him in a trance-like voice.

Looking suddenly relieved, Rev turned back with a refreshed face.

Ran felt he might understand.

"What on earth happened between Terrence and Sigurd?"

"There were always too many prying eyes, so they couldn't even have touched, let alone talked."

Rev furrowed his brow. Ran, with a similarly puzzled expression, pressed on.

"What I mean is, terrence is a smart man. For someone so clever to do something so reckless—it's strange, isn't it? Plus, it's not like he was particularly courageous or resolved. He even planned to pretend his own child was Huven's. I just can't understand. No matter how beautiful Sigurd is, to act that rashly—?"

"That's why it's fate, Ran."

Ran's rambling cut off mid-sentence. His eyes widened.

"There are a few things in this world you can't explain in words. One of them is fate."

With that, Rev turned away and went back to what he was doing.

The one-armed writer, haloed by the sun, looked like a wise sage.

The next day, the great migration from the safe zone finally began.

Some people wiped away tears. It was never easy to leave a shelter they had settled in after so many twists and turns. The meaning of the safe zone, engraved in each person's heart, was different for everyone.

"We all knew this day would come. It was never a place that could last forever."

When they accepted a stranger just because Rev called him benefactor, none of them imagined it would lead to this.

Still, nobody blamed Ran. This day had just arrived a bit sooner than expected.

'In a way, thanks to him, we were able to drive Huven out.'

They might desperately need his strength to secure their new home. Expectant gazes full of similar hope settled on the figure of Ran leading the way.

"I don't know if this is the right thing to do."

Tascar muttered as he walked alongside Ran. It wasn't because he regretted the decision to take these people back to his homeland.

The party would pass through the bear beast's den. It was Ran who insisted on this route.

'It's like humans are defying divine authority.'

His mind and body were disconnected. Even as he worried, his feet continued to follow Ran. Even Tascar couldn't understand himself.

'What am I expecting from this guy now?'

Tascar shook his head with a self-mocking smile.

Ran stared at him blankly.

"Why are you smiling?"

"It's nothing. But let me warn you again, this is outright blasphemy. I don't know what kind of trick you plan to pull, but you will pay for it."

"I thought you only had a long tongue, but you're a coward too, huh?"

The mercenary, whose face had been blank and vacant all day yesterday, was back to normal after a single night.

"And what kind of responsibility are you taking on to bear this danger?"

"For me, this isn't about responsibility or anything. I just figure you might be useful once we get to Northland, so I'm trying to help."

"You're not heading to Northland for some hidden purpose, are you?"

"Enough useless talk—take care of your nephew instead."

Ran gave a subtle chin-jut forward.

Ragna was walking beside Iel.

"My name, ragna. Ragna Hon Ortega. I, warrior."

"We, same age. Friends."

Even though Iel was playing hard to get, ragna was persistent, awkwardly squeezing out imperial words in a thick accent to catch the girl's attention.

It was a common scene among children. Even knowing that, Ran felt oddly irritated.

He almost found Iel's indifference towards Ragna praiseworthy.

'I usually like kids, but that one gets on my nerves for some reason.'

The journey was smooth.

Fortunately, the wind wasn't cold. There were no attacks from beasts or monsters as feared, nor did any distortion shift the road out of the blue.

The people of the safe zone, each carrying their own anxieties and hopes, finally arrived at the bear beast's den.

Just like that day, the cawing of crows echoed hollowly.

But instead of a single crow, whole flocks were now blotting out the sky.

"Ahh, tarok... You've been waiting for us."

**New names, locations, skills and techniques introduced:**