The night wind swept dry leaves between the two of them. The bonfire flared violently for a moment, sending sparks flying in all directions. Gro’s expression froze. The skewer of roasted meat in his hand stopped in mid-air as fat dripped onto the charcoal with a hiss.
“……That old man sure talks a lot.” After a long silence, Gro finally spoke. His voice was much lower than usual.
He wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve but did not meet Ileil’s eyes.
“You didn’t deny what he said.” Ileil spoke coldly. “It seems everything he told me was true.”
“True, huh… Yeah, the saint wasn’t wrong about any of it.” He casually tossed the roasted meat into the fire, sending up another burst of sparks.
“So what kind of answer do you want? If I say that your father and I did have some good times together, would that satisfy you?”
“So…… you betrayed your comrade. And then you killed him.” Ileil’s voice trembled slightly from suppressed anger.
Gro stood up. The shortsword at his waist swayed as he answered nonchalantly:
“Yeah, yeah. It’s exactly like you imagine.”
“Then you’re truly worse than a beast.” Ileil felt a rush of fury surge to her head as the words left her mouth.
“Good insult.” Upon hearing Ileil’s curse, the corners of Gro’s mouth lifted slightly, but the smile never reached his eyes.
“If scolding me like that makes you feel better, I don’t mind listening to more of your trash talk.”
“I don’t want to hear any of that from you, you bastard—” Ileil roared at Gro hysterically.
“Tell me—what exactly made you betray my father?!”
……
Gro’s smile faded from his face.
“You’re already nineteen years old, yet you’re still asking such a childish question?”
The man’s figure appeared exceptionally tall under the moonlight, his shadow completely engulfing Ileil. His voice was deep and dangerous.
“Don’t you understand yet? Relationships between people are never set in stone?”
Gro took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Ileil could smell the mixed scent of blood and leather on him.
“Your father could be my best comrade one day, and my enemy that I must kill the next.” A complex emotion that Ileil couldn’t understand flashed through Gro’s deep blue eyes. “Is that so hard for you to comprehend?”
The night wind suddenly grew fierce, swirling the fallen leaves between them. In the distance, the cry of a night owl broke the suffocating silence.
“I am the one who killed your father.” Gro’s voice rang out with unusual clarity at that moment. Each word stabbed into Ileil’s heart like a sharp dagger.
“—You just need to keep hating me.”
Ileil glared up at Gro, golden eyes burning with rage. Just as she was about to speak, Gro suddenly reached out and pressed down on her injured shoulder. Caught off guard, Ileil gasped in pain.
“That’s enough of this topic, kid.” Gro’s voice turned stern. “Now you answer me—how did you get this wound? Who could have injured you like this?”
Ileil slapped his hand away and took a step back. “You really don’t know? They didn’t tell you?” she said mockingly. “Don’t tell me you spent the whole day investigating with the saint and fried your brain?”
Gro ignored her sarcasm and pressed urgently, “They? Who are ‘they’? It wasn’t Alyssa and Kaze, was it?”
Ileil found Gro’s reaction rather strange.
“Yeah. They spent the whole day with me and the princess. This wound is from the ambush we encountered at the end.”
“Wait, wait, wait…… How did so much shit happen in Renn Town in just one day I was gone?”
Gro’s expression darkened abruptly. Seeing Gro—usually so composed—looking this flustered, Ileil vaguely sensed something was wrong. “Alyssa and Kaze didn’t tell you what happened today?”
“Those two aren’t even at the temporary camp. I assumed they were busy with something else and hadn’t asked about their whereabouts yet—I’ve only been sitting here for less than ten minutes.”
Only then did Ileil realize the seriousness of the situation.
“They said they were returning to the mercenary group’s temporary camp about three hours ago—from the duke’s mansion.”
“Fucking hell…… How could something like this happen?”
Gro spun around abruptly and strode toward the center of the camp. His leather boots thudded heavily against the ground, creating an unsettling sound. “Marcus—!” He shouted the name of the old mercenary who usually guarded the gate. His voice echoed through the quiet camp. “Old man, stop sleeping and get the hell out here!”
An old mercenary with a face full of wrinkles poked his head out from the watchtower, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “Gro? What’s going on?”
“Have Kaze and Alyssa come back tonight?” Gro asked urgently.
Marcus blinked his cloudy eyes. “No… Ever since you and the saint left this morning, the camp has been very quiet…”
“Goddammit—are you answering the wrong question?”
Before the old mercenary could finish, Gro’s fist slammed heavily into the wooden post of the watchtower, causing the entire structure to shake. Marcus shrank back in fright.
“I shouldn’t have expected a sleepyhead like you to know anything.” Gro said harshly. “Hurry up and wake everyone who’s sleeping. I need to know who saw them today!”
“No need to shout, Mr. Gro.” A hoarse voice came from the shadows. Brother Vincent slowly emerged from his tent. The old monk’s face looked especially haggard in the firelight.
“After they left with Ileil this morning, they never returned.”
Gro knew that although this eccentric monk had never gotten along well with Alyssa, he was still reliable. He continued asking:
“Did anything happen in the camp today?”
Brother Vincent shook his head, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. “It’s been very quiet since you left this morning.”
Gro’s expression grew even uglier. As if unwilling to give up, he strode quickly toward the two young mercenaries on night duty and asked roughly, “You two, did either of you see Kaze or Alyssa return today?”
Seeing the usually smiling Gro become so irritable, the young mercenaries turned pale with fear. “N-no, Mr. Gro. We haven’t seen Kaze or Miss Alyssa since this morning…”
Ileil stood to the side, watching Gro pace back and forth through the camp like an enraged lion. He questioned every remaining mercenary one by one, but the answers were all the same—no one had seen Kaze or Alyssa.
“There’s only one main road from the mansion to the camp.” Ileil analyzed calmly. “If they didn’t return…”
“Then something happened to them on the way back.” Gro interrupted her, his voice terrifyingly low. He turned to Brother Vincent. “Go get the map, and wake everyone up.”
Brother Vincent hesitated. “Mr. Gro, it’s already the middle of the night…”
“I said wake everyone up! I don’t want to repeat myself a third time!” Gro’s roar shook the entire camp. Brother Vincent sighed and obediently went to carry out his orders.
Ileil looked at Gro’s tense profile and suddenly realized just how anxious this man—who was usually all smiles and jokes—truly was right now. Under the moonlight, the veins on his forehead were clearly visible, and his scar looked even more menacing.
“Now it’s your turn to talk, kid.” Gro turned to Ileil. His voice had regained its calm, but it carried an undeniable force.
“Tell me everything you experienced today, from beginning to end. Don’t leave out any details.”