[The next day: at Old Bal House]
"Old Bal, we are here~," said the three teenagers simultaneously
"Come help me carry these stakes" yelled Old Bal from the back of his house
The teenagers hurriedly ran to the sound of Old Bal's voices
"Are we finally going to hunt vampires?" asks Zera while chuckling
*Bang* [Old Bal hit the top of Zera's head]
"Ouch! Why always me?!" shouted Zera fumingly
"Stop joking around, let`s go," said Old Bal
.
Four of them venture deep into the forest
.
"O-Old Bal a-are we allowed to venture this deep into the forest? isn`t there supposed to be a lot of monsters such as goblins, slime, and big wild boars that have caused even the knight trouble before?" asks Salazar while stuttering
.
Mc's inner thought "Did I mention that I had been reincarnated in a medieval fantasy world? Yes, monsters do exist in this world, same goes for magic, and different races, such as orcs, lizardmen, elves, dwarfs, goblins, and more"
.
Old Bal still remains silent
.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, they saw light coming from the end of the forest
It was the great plain where monsters are usually spotted.
Merchants and those who move from one city to another usually hire mercenaries or adventurers to guard them from monsters, especially when one ventures through the great plain where the monsters roam freely from big to small.
Many small villages hire a mercenary or adventurer to protect their village, while medium-sized villages are usually protected by knights from their respective ducal.
Lumberton however somehow rarely hires a mercenary or adventurer despite living near the great plain. The amount of casualty caused by the monster to villages are devastating, for a small town that barely has one hundred people living in it to not be attacked after all this while is nothing more than a miracle. Strangely this all happens since Old Bal moves into the forest.
.
"All right we are here. Unload the stakes" said Old Bal
"Stick close to me or you will be the monster snack." Old Bal smirk
Salazar *gulp*
Old Bal started installing the stake into the ground
"A stake will not do anything to those monsters Old man," said Zera
Old Bal smiled and replied "A mere stake might not do much but-"
Old Bal places a piece of paper with a rune written on it to the stake
The stake shines before disappearing
"Is that a rune?!" asked Zera shocked
"Rune?! isn`t that expensive?! I hear the price of one rune is equal to 50 silver because of how convenient it is to carry around and how scarce the supply is." said Salazar in awe
"Old Bal, a-are you perhaps a nobleman dressed up as a crazy lumberman living in the forest?!" said Zera while stuttering
*Bang* [Old Bal hit the top of Zera's head]
"Tch, this girl! I have a friend who sent me the supply of protection runes" said Old Bal
.
Mc's inner thought "So Old Bal is the reason why there isn`t any monster that attacks Lumberton. But most importantly he just mentioned a friend of his supplied him with a protection rune. Who exactly are old Bal and his friend that they would casually get their hands on protection runes for this small remote village? I have many questions but for now, I have to be careful."
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"Hurry up, we need to finish before noon or your parents will chase me out of this village if they hear I bring you kids here," said Old Bal
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[Noon: at MC`s house]
"Agatha~! I`m home" said MC
"Welcome home Regulus-sama," answered Agatha welcoming her young prince home
"Do you have fun Regulus-sama?" asked Agatha
"Yes! Old Bal showed us something interesting" answered MC
"Something interesting?" Agatha asked
"Oh it is nothing" MC smile
.
A while ago Old Bal asked the teens to promise not to tell anyone about what they had seen today as it would only cause trouble.
.
"Agatha, do you know anything about runes?" asked MC to his maid
"Runes? Unfortunately not your majesty. The number of rune casters in Oglinda alone is only five including the tower master." replied Agatha
.
MC`s inner thought "As I expected, Old Bal must be some significant character in this world. The true question is whether he is an enemy or an ally. If he is an ally then it is good, but if he is someone who will cause trouble for me in the future, I have to ensure that the weed is cut from the root."