"Hey! I was worried about you."
Hunter Geric greeted him warmly. Compared to before, the temperature difference was considerable. Since the claw wounds on both arms were significant, he could tell Rowan was brave, and thanks to that, he thought he could return alive too.
Above all, Rowan got hurt worse than himself, so he felt guilty too.
"How's the wound?"
"I have to change it several times a day. Because of the smell."
"You reek of alcohol though? You shouldn't drink when injured."
"I used it to disinfect the wound."
"Really? Who changes your bandages so often? Must be hard to wash them."
Since there were only men at the ranch, it didn't seem like anyone would step up for laundry. Rowan shrugged.
"Solved it with money. The lady next door was so happy."
After chatting and entering inside, hunter Geric brought out fish jerky and alcohol, placing the bottle in front of himself while serving Rowan a cup of water.
"Boiled water, right?"
"Yeah. Everyone knows you're picky about water, don't they?"
One reason Rowan was especially treated as a greenhorn was precisely that he was very picky. He drank boiled water, tried excessively hard to maintain cleanliness, cleaned terribly thoroughly, and intensely hated bugs.
In a word, an oddball.
Thanks to that, while other teenagers had a smooth path, he had to walk a harder road than others. Because everyone tried to shove their own ideas into fixing that oddball behavior.
The mercenaries were the same. After one drinking session, stories about Rowan would naturally flow in Black Mountain Village.
Since there were few interesting stories, naturally, tales about Rowan made for good entertainment over drinks.
"Yes. Thank you."
Rowan briefly expressed thanks and drank the boiled water. Of course, he could tell it wasn't boiled water.
"Hey. You didn't boil it."
"Hahaha! Of course not. How would I know when you'd come to boil water?"
Rowan pushed away the water cup. Instead, he reached for the fish jerky. At a glance, pepper was sprinkled on it, making his mouth water.
"How badly did you want to receive money to come right away like this? Should've recovered a bit first."
"Money burns a hole in your pocket once you've got it."
A small laugh echoed in the living room. Hunter Geric threw alcohol into his mouth and chewed the jerky.
"There's been a line of people wanting to buy the black wolf for a while, so I'm letting it sit now."
At those words, Rowan had doubts.
"Wouldn't we get the most money selling to Rakson?"
Geric shook his head.
"That guy has lots of goods. Not lots of cash. He spends a lot of money in proportion to his influence in the village, so he holds little."
"Like a noble."
It meant he held lots of territory and criminal serfs but didn't hold much currency right now. Still, inwardly, he probably had quite a few valuables.
"Anyway, thanks to that, I gotta let it sit. It doesn't sell for cheap. What matters is holding onto it. So."
"You'll give me the money later?"
"Right. Of course, I'll add more according to what you receive."
At sincere Geric's words, Rowan gave a hollow laugh. Noticing he didn't believe it, Geric didn't laugh at all.
"What's the minimum you're thinking?"
"At least I'll get 10 silver coins."
"Wow."
Ten silver coins were enough to summon a mercenary band and commission them. Though it might be a bit short, ten silver coins was the value a family of four could live on for 10 months or even a year.
"Would anyone have that kind of money?"
It seemed like he was asking too much.
"Word will spread. The black wolf's cunning. And brave. It attacked because it knew that even though there were many people back then, everyone was fearful and scared. The two of us were brave. But we were only two. That's why it charged."
"Normally it's hard to catch, I guess?"
"Of course. If you see a mercenary band's fierce eyes, even its shadow is hard to step on, they say. Rakson told me, so it's certain. This is money."
Rowan's head naturally nodded. Since he knew nothing, there was nothing to refute.
"Then at least 4 silver coins come to me?"
"Right. If you want to receive it now, 3 silver coins are fine too."
"I'll receive it later."
Hunter Geric was a trustworthy comrade. He wouldn't play around with money. Of course, Rowan planned to visit weekly and say something. It was essential to let him know he was sensitive about money matters. If not, he could waste more time later.
"Then there's nothing more to say, right?"
"There is. Sit down."
Geric caught Rowan, who was already lifting his butt.
"Rakson's gonna call you."
Rowan's eyes narrowed. He'd already heard it from his father, Haldanak.
"How did you know?"
"Looks like he already called you."
He sighed. While Rowan was suffering from a high fever and passed out, something must have happened.
"What is it?"
Since it was about him too, Rowan showed great interest.
"It's because of Alec's children and Kiten's deaths."
"Rakson didn't do anything wrong. We tried hard enough too. It was just an unfortunate accident..."
Hunter Geric waved his hands.
"It's not that kind of talk."
"Then?"
"Alec's become a cripple, and his wife too. They're barely living, just eating porridge."
"..."
Rowan chewed the jerky. It was heartbreaking, but there was nothing he could do for them, and nothing he wanted to do came to mind. It was literally someone else's business. Thinking about what he had to do going forward, he didn't want to get tied up in such things.
"There's a lot of talk about it..."
Geric cut his words short and gulped down alcohol.
Anyone would think of alcohol hearing such talk. Rowan finally reached for the alcohol. Geric didn't stop him.
It was the ruin of one household that couldn't help but bring to mind bitter alcohol.
After getting some outside air, moving around, and even having a drink, Rowan, in poor condition, had to return home immediately to rest.
What a mountain village it was.
As soon as Rowan opened his eyes, he had to greet people coming to visit. Even people whose faces were unfamiliar came, naturally, because he'd avenged them.
They were the two who succeeded in killing the black wolf, and one had even collapsed in the village. The aftermath exceeded imagination.
As everyone made a fuss, even the indifferent ones came to visit.
"Yes. Yes. Well..."
Since Rowan had nothing much to say while facing them, various small and large snacks piled up in an instant. Most were preserved foods. Mostly dried fish jerky, and some flowers and berries too.
"How are you feeling?"
Only late in the afternoon did Rakson appear with his hands behind his back. Rowan swallowed and greeted him.
"What are you bringing so much of?"
"Oh, this? Herbs. Herbs. And I brought some fish jerky too..."
Rakson rummaged and stacked what he took out like a tower on the table. At a glance, it was for show, an act of naturally making a production of it.
"Thank you."
Rowan expressed thanks while lying down. Rakson also took an interest in both arms. The arms that had been clawed by Mavros Lyko and swung around had many small wounds. Who knew how many more days it would take to heal?
"Disinfecting and changing them frequently. You're diligent."
'Gotta do it to live.'
Complications. Secondary infection was what Rowan feared most.
"But didn't you bring too much?"
"Ah. Haha. Too much? Actually, Rowan, I came because I have a favor to ask you."
Rowan nodded and spoke.
"The village atmosphere still isn't good, right? I heard from my father."
"Mm. Right. Haldanak?"
Rakson gauged his reaction, curious how much he knew. But Rowan wasn't one to comply with that. When he kept his mouth shut and stared at him, Rakson had no choice but to bring up the story first.
"You know the village atmosphere isn't good regarding Alec, right?"
"Yes. It's a pitiful family just hearing about it."
Rakson fidgeted with his hands because Rowan greatly pitied them.
'Can't be helped. I need to use Rowan, but he's this shrewd.'
It meant to give accordingly if you want to move him. Rowan solved the problem Rakson currently faced while simultaneously not costing big money.
He was more interested in knowledge than money, and Rakson was a retired veteran, old enough with lots of experience and knowledge from officially retiring. He'd diligently pursued knowledge while climbing the ladder from soldier to management position.
"Before, you asked me to teach you letters, right? Do you still really want to learn?"
Rowan was shocked. Through Haldanak and Geric, he knew Rakson had a favor to ask, so what he was offering was too big to refuse.
Letters! Writing! That was very powerful. Though a retired veteran, Rakson, who'd managed soldiers, knew writing. In this village, most just drew sticks or communicated through pictures. Signboards were typical.
"You said you were overwhelmed teaching swordsmanship. Why suddenly?"
Seeing the surprised Rowan, Rakson smiled.
"Instead, just do one thing."
"What kind?"
Rowan showed he wanted to do it right away. Rakson's expression brightened compared to before. Writing was certainly considered a great power, but actually, there were few uses for it. Because many people lived without writing.
Also, writing was something you could easily learn if you wanted to. It just took a small amount of money, but not knowing this, Rowan was truly a greenhorn.
A guy who'd never left the mountain village.
"It came up in the Youth Association. Shouldn't we provide humanitarian support to Alec?"
"Well... he's living completely like a cripple."
At Rowan's words, Rakson clicked his tongue.
"That's just for appearances. Even immersed in sadness, it's not to that extent. A man should shake it off briskly."
Rowan didn't agree with Rakson's words but outwardly nodded.
"Considering the village situation, I ultimately have to provide, but I'm in a tough situation this month too. So I want you to say you went to catch the black wolf under my orders. No need to visit all the Youth Association people. Just slip a word to blacksmith Malrux."
"You're telling me to lie?"
Rowan grimaced greatly. Getting caught lying in such a closed society didn't end simply.
"As long as you and I keep our word. Hunter Geric won't even care. He's that kind of person. I know well."
"Still, my family could be in danger."
Rowan didn't trust others. Social life in modernity had made him realize you can't know people's hearts, and even if you know, they change like the weather.
Violence disappeared, but that much politicking started, and to survive there, he'd learned to hide himself and not do things people would dislike.
Naturally, it wasn't strange for bad feelings to suddenly pop up about secrets shared with others.
He knew well that the best way not to get caught in a lie was to tell a lie only you know.
Sharing secrets granted great camaraderie, but Rowan knew well from his early working days that it often ended badly. In the end, secrets served as someone's gossip and entertainment.
"If you want to learn writing, isn't it better to bear that much risk?"
"I don't know. I drink often, so I don't know if I can keep it."
Rowan brought up words of refusal by using himself as an excuse.
"You're not even a drunk, what alcohol!"
Rakson tried to persuade Rowan several times because with just one word, he could save quite a bit of money. But Rowan was immovable. Since it wasn't a lie for himself, he had no desire to do it at all.
He thought that even if he couldn't learn writing, even if it cost big money later, he could still learn it.
After receiving independence funds from Haldanak and Sernhac, Rowan was even thinking about returning to Black Mountain Village. So he had no choice but to care about his reputation here.
"Fine. Then I'll let you transcribe my secret technique collection."
"Secret technique collection?"
"Swordsmanship secrets. You don't know how many battlefields I've been to, right? Some secret sword techniques work on monsters too."
Rowan's eyes sparkled.
Secret sword techniques that counter monsters!
'If there's something I realized painfully from fighting the black wolf, it's that humans can't easily handle monsters no matter what.'
Though he'd fought once, he could tell well that even being told to catch the black wolf again, he'd have to risk his life. The power the black wolf had shown was tremendous enough that if told to go fight again, Rowan wouldn't go.
"Alright."
Rowan accepted.
At that moment, Rakson's eyes turned cold like a snake's.