The wolves were much more relaxed on the return journey compared to when they first came to Medderland.
Thanks to them taking care of me, I was allowed to leave the cage from time to time, enjoy the fresh air, and bask in the sunlight like a 1st-class assassin.
They probably felt confident that even if I tried to escape, they would catch me in an instant.
“It’s time to head back now. This clever little assassin lady.”
“As much as I’m disappointed, I understand, Vice-Captain Redit.”
Having spent quite a bit of time with them, I’d become somewhat familiar with these rough wolves.
The wolf with the scar on his face, Redit, was in charge of the Emperor’s direct unit.
He had a daughter around my age, which made him treat me with some care.
After returning to the suffocating cage, I poked my head out through the ropes that were still tangled.
“Vice-Captain Redit.”
He, who had been riding on horseback, casually responded.
“What is it?”
“Tell me more about Hamilton. You were talking about it earlier, but then you stopped.”
According to Redit, Hamilton was a place where various beastmen lived together.
They also maintained steady exchanges through an international academy, where they could continue learning and connecting with other races.
In contrast, what about Medderland?
It was a closed-off country, inhabited only by sheep beastmen.
Occasionally, when there was a shortage of goods or food, the clan leaders would go down to the rabbit beastmen’s burrows at the base of the mountain to gather what was needed.
But even then, they had to hide their true identities and travel in secret.
‘How can we be so different?’
At that moment, Sir Veratri interjected into the conversation.
“Anyway, you’ll find out about Hamilton once we get there. What’s so interesting about that? My hero stories are way more exciting, don’t you think?”
His personality was rather bold, and if he found something he thought was interesting, he would dive headfirst into it without hesitation.
“Sir Veratri, all you ever talk about are fighting stories.”
“Isn’t that what real fun is?”
At first, I had kept my distance from him because I was scared of his personality.
He would pick fights with other wolves constantly, always itching for a fight.
It made him seem strange.
But once I explained to him how I had been mistaken for an assassin trying to kill the Emperor, his attitude toward me changed.
“What? Elephant mating potion? Hahaha! Argon actually fell for something like that? I should have seen it with my own eyes!”
Maybe because I had gotten one over on the Emperor, Argon, he seemed to view me favorably.
‘Shouldn’t it be the other way around?’
Even though we were on friendly terms and called each other by name, shouldn’t someone who served the Emperor be at least a bit worried?
The people in the Emperor’s direct unit were all strange.
If I had to pick, I’d say that Redit was the only person here who made sense to me.
“If you don’t like the topic, Sir Veratri, why don’t you tell us one of your interesting stories, but not about fights!”
“Then there’s nothing fun to talk about. In that case, let’s pass the turn to Walton. He has a younger sister, so he might tell some interesting stories.”
Walton, the one who had almost met his end tied to a tree after a failed bet, was the person in question.
Still, by some stroke of luck, he had survived and was now returning to Hamilton with us.
He was generally quiet, always listening attentively with a smiling face whenever others spoke.
“Sir Veratri always passes the blame onto others when things get difficult. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told him to fix that habit.”
Although his words were harsh, he still wore a smiling face.
In contrast, Sir Veratri was simple and straightforward, making it easy to figure out what he was thinking, but Walton was hard to read, which made him difficult to deal with.
He seemed to think for a moment, a look of contemplation on his face, before speaking in a quiet voice.
“Oh, come to think of it, Hamilton must be having a festival right about now.”
Sir Veratri, who was next to him, tilted his head in confusion.
“A festival? Is it the festival period in Hamilton now?”
“We caught the assassin who tried to kill the Emperor, didn’t we? By now, the citizens of the Empire must be celebrating.”
With those words from Walton, the atmosphere around us suddenly became tense.
That assassin was, of course, me.
With a sulking expression, Sir Veratri yelled at Walton.
“You crazy bastard. Are you saying that’s supposed to be funny?”
“Wasn’t it funny? Just making a joke.”
This time, Vice-Captain Redit also stiffened his face.
He quietly gave orders to those around him.
“No need to explain, right? Take him away. Teach him not to say such ignorant things again!”
At that moment, a man who had been riding with a nonchalant expression suddenly brightened his eyes and raised his hand.
“Vice-Captain Redit! Can I tie Walton to a tree and shoot arrows at him?”
“That’s a no-go, Kris. Tying someone to a tree and shooting arrows at them—does that even make sense?”
It had been Kris who had been shooting arrows at Walton before we left Medderland.
His disappointment was obvious, and Vice-Captain Redit scratched his chin.
“Hmm, well, maybe shooting arrows at him while he’s not tied to a tree would be fine. He can dodge them if he’s skilled enough.”
“Wow, great!”
Kris, now excited, took Walton, who was riding a horse, somewhere.
Though I couldn’t see it, I could imagine his unfortunate fate from the occasional sharp screams that reached my ears.
“Ugh, ack! Vice-Captain! No, Sir Veratri…! Someone, please…! This crazy fox!”
I didn’t say much since I wasn’t feeling great either.
As I was caught up in the chaos, I noticed the distant sight of Hamilton’s city walls.
It had been a long journey, but not too short either.
Now, I wondered what awaited me there.
As we entered the gates of Hamilton, soldiers standing guard saluted the Emperor’s direct unit.
“For the glory of Hamilton.”
“For the glory.”
After exchanging what sounded like a coded phrase, the closed gates opened.
From beyond the ropes that bound me, I looked at the city of Hamilton.
Just as Vice-Captain Redit had said, there were indeed many different beastmen in Hamilton.
Among them, I saw individuals with large deer antlers growing from their foreheads, some with towering heights like ancient trees, and others whose bodies were swollen with enormous muscles like living boulders.
They seemed to find me curious, eyeing me with interest before whispering among themselves.
“Is that the infamous assassin? I was curious about how a sheep beastman would look, but they don’t seem like much.”
“Don’t be deceived by appearances. People like that can do frightening things, despite their harmless looks.”
“That’s right. After all, why would the sheep beastmen hide their true forms? They must be hiding something.”
The accusatory glares toward me continued, and gradually, the intensity of their words grew stronger.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Vice-Captain Redit furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Why don’t you hide inside the cage? If they can’t see you, it’ll be harder for them to talk behind your back.”
“I don’t mind what they say. Maybe this is the last moment I’ll get to see the world. So, I want to take in as much as I can right now.”
Upon hearing that, Vice-Captain Redit didn’t say anything. Instead, he loosened the ropes binding the cage, allowing me to look outside freely.
It was his way of showing consideration, letting me see the world beyond as comfortably as possible.
Hamilton really is a beautiful place.
It was different from the vast and open Medderland.
I could see busy merchants hustling on the streets, and the neatly constructed buildings all had their own beauty.
Just watching it made my heart swell.
That’s right.
I wanted to see the world, not just stay in the comfortable walls of Medderland.
Though I had left Medderland during my mission, this was the first time I was able to look at the world in broad daylight. It was an incredibly strange and amazing experience.
As I was lost in my thoughts, I eventually came upon a building that looked unusually dark compared to the bustling streets.
It was in stark contrast to the bright energy of the town.
We stopped there, and Vice-Captain Redit opened the cage.
By then, many of the knights had disappeared.
“Unfortunately, it’s time to say goodbye.”
I had expected to meet the Emperor right away, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
In a place as grim and dreary as this, I didn’t think the Emperor would set foot.
I tried to hide my fear as much as possible and asked calmly.
“Where is this place?”
“It’s a ground-level prison for criminals.”
“What will happen to me?”
“That, I don’t know either.”
Honestly, I hadn’t felt too sad during the journey to Hamilton.
Perhaps part of me had been excited, as it felt like sightseeing.
But now, it was time to wake up from the dream and face the cold reality.
“Will I have a chance to meet the Emperor and clear up the misunderstanding?”
“I can’t promise that. But I’ll try my best.”
At least meeting him was an opportunity for me.
I knew the situation was one that would inevitably be misunderstood, but I was determined to try everything I could to clear things up.
If I show the request letter I brought, I might be able to explain myself.
After a short farewell to those I had grown somewhat attached to, I followed the grim-faced men who came to take me to the cold prison.
***
The prison was smaller and more damp than I expected.
The only relief was that I wasn’t sharing a cell with violent criminals, and there was a small window at the top that gave me a view of the outside.
That little window somehow brought me some comfort.
“But what is this? I left the small cage, only to be locked in a much bigger one.”
What I had wanted to be was a cloud floating in the sky.
But all I could see beyond that small window was the blue sky, and I couldn’t touch it.
A quiet sigh escaped me.
As time passed, night eventually fell.
It wasn’t easy trying to sleep in an unfamiliar place.
I tried to curl up and close my eyes, but from somewhere, I heard faint voices whispering.
“Stupid cat. Because of you, the wolves I barely managed to get to sleep are waking up. Can’t you walk any faster?”
“This is all because Hamilton’s ground-level prison is like a maze. Don’t pick a fight with me! Tsk!”
The people who might come to see me were probably Vice-Captain Redit, Sir Veratri, or maybe Sir Walton.
But no matter how I thought about it, their voices didn’t sound like them.
Then, who could it be in the middle of the night…?