No great ideas came to mind, and I couldn't spend all day here, not with [Zlolim] having 20 members from what I knew. Thus, I chose the less crazy but straightforward plan. Breaking into a run, I started towards where the crossbow-wielder was, just making sure to prepare a full-sized [Shaped Mana] shield, which I activated as soon as [Danger Sense] chimed.

The first bolt, somewhere at a 250 meters distance, harmlessly bounced off the 'shield' with no issue. Another [Life Radar] to confirm my objective hadn't moved as I ran, and I continued my approach. {He's hiding behind one of the trees.} Without seeing him, even as I was about 150 meters away, there was no doubt about it.

[Danger Sense] chimed again, and I repeated the previous trick. This time though the [Shaped Mana] nearly shattered, I felt how another mana point left me to rebuild the construct. Supposedly the strength of the spell's constructs was above steel by now, but with no actual mass, even such impact could break it, huh?

I had no desire to check if the next bolt would break through my defense and hit me, so I pressed on. {There he is!} Seeing the man, who was indeed pressing himself on the trunk of one of the left-most trees, it occurred to me that I also could stop him from shooting by shooting myself.

Without dwelling on the thought, as I nearly felt the man was about to start aiming again, I summoned the light crossbow I was yet to use. {Good thing I stored it loaded after my brief run-in with Aletha during our journey.}

With a click, the mechanism of my crossbow activated, sending the palm-length bolt forwards. I didn't aim, just attempting to gain time, but I ended up with a good result anyway, the bolt penetrating the tree's trunk just some half-meter from the guy's head.

He had instinctively hidden behind the trunk when I shot. And when he poked back, his crossbow raised, I was just ten meters away.

"Surprise motherfucker!" I am unsure why I chose that line, but I did shout that while jumping forward, discarding the crossbow, and taking out my sword.

Probably the guy could have shot anyway, hoping to hit me, but he didn't. Neither did he reach for any other weapon. He turned around and started running. Like, what the fuck? If he wanted to escape, why now and not before?

I could run after him, but I felt it would end badly. Usually, in such situations, wasn't the probable result falling in a prepared trap if following after a suddenly escaping opponent?

{Throwing the crossbow away was stupid!} Chastising myself, I did the only thing that occurred to me, "Kagbi!"

But, this time, the Word didn't work. At least, so it appeared, the guy continuing to sprint away, his [Afflictions] showing no sign of the effect. {Damn, why is there no tutorial?!} Well, a stupid thought, but it was there, and I can not just skip over it when making the [Record].

Letting him escape looked like the same type of shitty decision as following him, so I acted without thinking about the results. My sword fell to the ground, and I sprinted enough to get a clear line of sight, calling one of the remaining [Molotovs] from my [Inventory].

As the burning oil splashed over the man I didn't recognize, I turned around, proving that I was still as unprepared for such things as I was stupid to open my back. But, only screaming of pain and swearing followed, no sudden attack or else. The smell of burning flesh, if there is a day when I do not get nauseous from it, should I assume that I stopped being normal? Or think that I became something else than I am?

I forced myself to turn around, looking at the loudly wailing, rolling around in an attempt to kill the fire, man. It was my doing, and I had to face it. [Status Screen] mercilessly assaulted me with the information about the burns he received and continued to receive, but I ignored them, suddenly using the Word again, Kagbi."

This time, it worked instantly. The man stopped moving and wailing, sent into a deep sleep that not even his burning now concerned him. Could I have stopped the flames, extinguished him? Probably, but I still feel that while my actions were horrible, I had no reason to do anything but that.

***

As I walked back to where I had left Grol, I shivered as I understood all I had done during this brief encounter with the mercenaries. Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I felt I shouldn't chastise myself. They attacked me, and tried to kill me, so why the fuck do I have to show pity? To give them another chance?!

Maybe not the best line of thought, but it helped me calm down and prepare for what would follow.

Storing Grol's targe, sword, and the two knives I found after patting him down, I summoned some rope, binding him as hard as I could before kicking him awake (literally).

Grol cursed, groaned, cursed again, whined, and cursed some more without responding to my simple question, "Who paid you."

Use torture? It wasn't I was keen to do, especially in my current state, yet, I knew that I had to get my answers in one way or another. I could, and I would say if asked, that I ended it with a few kicks and the unresponded questions, but it wasn't so.

Grabbing him by the rope, I bound his legs with - I pulled Grol through the grasslands. If acting morally and humanly, I would pick him up, but I continued pulling him by the legs, not caring about the stones or other stuff in our way. Hell! I actually chose to get a couple of extra ones by slightly going out of my way.

By the moment we reached my goal, the calcinated remains of his companion, Grol, had felt every rock and bump I could find. Only when standing near the burned-up body I spoke again, hiding my inner unrest the best I could, "Either you talk, or I will burn you. Alive as I did to him!" Well, it was more a growl than my normal voice. This change being one of my meager attempts to disguise my own feelings.

I can not say what it was, the smell of burnt flesh, the image he saw, or my actions and threats, but Grol spoke up. Regretfully, he didn't know much, as the one who accepted the job was another member of [Zlolim]. Someone that I very much knew, Wern.

I can not say that the thought of releasing him didn't cross my mind, and I was close to settling on that, but Grol had to speak up about how their group will hunt me and how they never failed a job. Being on edge didn't help, and my ideas of being a decent person disappeared, supplanted by the thought of, {I can not allow anyone to know.}

With one light shove of my leg, Grol sprawled on the ground. From there, not wanting to see but having to do it, I stepped on his neck, my eyes closed, and didn't lift my foot until he stopped moving. For good measure, I continued for a bit more before opening my eyes, confirming he was dead, and immediately stored Grol's and the burned man's bodies into [Inventory].

{One more.} I felt like puking but forced myself to back to where the heavily injured and asleep man was. I am unsure if I could have killed him as well, but when I approached, I found him dead, probably a mix of shock and bloodloss, so I merely stored his body as well, deciding to dispose of them somewhere else or, while dreadful, use them if needed.

***

I returned to the road. I had to reach Chubu, and I would, even if the situation did affect me more than expected, as otherwise, I wouldn't have acted as I did. And would do it again shortly.

From the point I got sidetracked by Grol, it was about eight kilometers, so at most, two hours.

There were hardly many people on the road, but I still preferred to be cautious and examine. I don't know what threat I expected from an elderly couple on a small ox-driven cart or from the lone farmer I saw, but even so, I slowed down and never allowed myself to drop vigilance. I couldn't get rid of a strange feeling that there were more problems to meet.

A sudden shout from one of the sideroads, one leading towards one of the small towns and farmsteads, I noticed a figure approach and prepared to examine and, if needed, avoid.

"Maester Rador!" Leather clothes, an iron chest protector, a head of shortly-trimmed hay-like hair, a member of [Zlolim], and the person I both wanted and didn't want to meet - Wern.

I concentrated on [Deceit] and met Wern with a smile, asking what he was doing around here.

"Oh, we accepted a job, and it's so good I found you, Maester!" Wern's smile and words did feel acted, although maybe it was because I was already aware of the truth. In any case, he used the same story as Grol to explain everything in the same manner.

With explanations out of the way, Wern started goading me towards the camp of theirs, but probably because of distance, he decided to add some more bait, "The one who hired us is a young woman, and the guys in the camp are guarding her as the others search. So it's just walking there, so we get our reward, and then we will escort you two back."

"Really? I didn't get to make any acquaintances in Chubu, so I wonder who's she..?" I made a show of thinking as I feigned biting the so damn cliche bait.

"She described your looks and called you by name, so don't ask me." Wern attempted to joke, but seeing I was yet to start walking, he started adding details, "About your age, well-dressed, rich. I can't say she's the most stunning woman I have seen, but she's pretty and, most importantly, generous. Black hair and blue eyes. She didn't give us her name, at least when I was present, but I think she's not from Chubu."

I have to note that if I had a feeling about Wern lying before, I didn't feel anything like that from the woman's details. {Can it be he's describing the one who contracted them? Or just someone he knows?}

"I may have an idea, but until I see her, I can't say." There was no way to do anything on the road, and he wouldn't allow me to leave either, so there was only one thing to do, "Let's go then. You say we have to backtrack from where I came?"

"Yes, I will lead you. We should get there by meal, can share some before moving back." Wern nodded before moving out. As I agreed and started following him, I couldn't miss how he inwardly relaxed, {Want to kill me so badly, huh?}

***

"What the fuck?!" Wern shouted out as he found himself flying forwards, a good kick from me giving him impulse.

We had only walked for a couple of minutes, but it had been enough for me to confirm there was not a single person in range, and I chose to act right away, not backtrack the friggin two kilometers.

Before he asked something else, or he actually got up, I already closed up, kicking him in the stomach while explaining in the sweetest voice I could muster, "You see, I already met Grol and the boys at your so-called camp. And now, so you don't tire so much walking, I decided that here is good enough to ask, who paid you for my head?"

Such conduct is so unlike me that I can't even understand how I ended up acting like that. The only explanation that comes to mind is that my stress, anger, and everything went over limits.

"Gah!" He groaned as I landed yet another kick, this one rolling him on his back, and he groaned again when I stepped on his chest.

"Speak, or I will end you here, now." Fed up with everything going on, I felt I would kill him without any care in the world if he didn't speak.

And a minute later, I indeed ended up killing him. Wern didn't speak, but that wasn't the reason for it. The reason was a mix of two things. His sudden shout for help and a reaction to my [Danger Sense], the latter reacting to Wern's attempt to stab my leg with a dagger he had in his sleeve, and I hadn't even noticed.

"Damn." I hadn't even thought at the moment, only responded to the stimulus, and now, I was standing over a bleeding, dead body that would not answer anything.

"And, I had to use a [Shaped Mana] spear, aiming at the heart..? In place of doing something that wouldn't end up killing him?!" I stored his body right away, worried that someone would come while I was busy berating myself, but as a [Life Radar] would confirm, there was no real reason to worry.

{Fuck. And now, who do I ask about my new friend? How do I find someone that can and did pay for my head?}

***

The rest of the journey until Chubu brought me neither surprises nor dangers. The outer gate guards had no idea about me. At least, that was what I understood from their lack of emotion and words as I passed by them. They only asked for the toll, which I ended up paying, even if I did not need to.

{A couple of coppers is better than explaining, yes.} Somehow, this thought made me return to reality, as from Wern's foolish death, I had been in a daze and practically didn't notice how I walked these few kilometers.

Now, the inner city gates were a different story. The Baron's soldiers had searched for me, as I learned in the [Lakeroad Inn], and as soon as they checked my badge, they took me to a small room in the nearest watchtower.

Being offered an old, scratched wooden chair, the only thing present in the narrow, low-ceiling room, one of the soldiers asked me to wait, and I was left alone.

{Well, they didn't close the door, so at least I am not imprisoned, am I?} The room was a cell, definitively. As for the pretty heavy iron-inlaid door, while open, it was still flanked by a pair of soldiers, so maybe my thought was off.

Honestly, I don't understand how I managed to keep so relaxed during my sudden detention, even if inwardly, I wasn't even close to being calm. But thankfully, the situation wasn't as bad as it could appear at first glance.

"Maester Rador, I am sorry for these louts. They only knew we were looking for you but never cared to learn the reasons." The middle-aged, cleanly shaved, low-tier commander we met on our first time crossing the gates bowed to me as he entered.

"I see. The next time, maybe someone should check that the soldiers get a full explanation." Slightly more biting than I would have liked to be, but not my problem. I was still under the influence of what happened, and my sudden calm was more a facade than reality.

"Agreed, and I will make sure it is so." The man nearly saluted as he spoke up, his cloak brushing the floor as he bent and gestured for me to walk out first.

"Didn't intend that for you, just the hardships of the last days." I decided to brush the matter off, as, in reality, I had nothing against the guys, at least for now.

"Thank you, Maester. Please wait here while the Guild's people arrive. I assume you need to report what happened, but if you allow me to ask, what happened?" The commander of the watch, whose name I would find a bit later, Uton, asked as he escorted me to another room, this one a decent cabinet-like one, just next to the cell.

"Regretfully, there were several things that I have to consult first before revealing." Sitting down on a decent, even comfy arm-rest chair, I could only smile and basically say nothing. Indeed, until I met with Gudea, I shouldn't speak about any details. And it will be up to him to reveal what he wants to. As for me, I only wanted to repay a couple of people for the favors and care they showed to me...