Leaving the inn, without alerting the innkeeper, they began walking toward the entrance, where, according to Ayla, the merchant had set up shop.
Marius intentionally tried not to attract attention by choosing the smaller paths between buildings, knowing that the villagers were already awake and busy with their farming and other tasks.
In spite of that, it proved to be difficult since Ayla, who stood just behind him, was exceptionally beautiful, drawing the attention of every man who caught a glimpse of her, while he himself stood out in his attire reserved for the nobility.
Keeping his eyes on his map, following the red-line, Marius sighed. "Almost there." He hated how much walking he had to do in this world. He even started considering whether he should invest his stat points in vitality. It would increase his health and stamina.
It was a win-win. While he already possessed a decent amount of mana, he wished to have a significantly greater amount.
As they rounded the corner, Marius and Ayla came across three men wearing black robes that concealed their entire person, except for their partially covered faces adorned with skull-masks—all of which differed from one another.
Their backs against the walls, they casually twirled their lengthy blades and engaged in chatter, but fell silent as soon as they laid eyes on them.
"Oh~ so it was true? A noble, wandering all alone without his guards? And the fine-looking lady, too?"
One of the three men, who was a tall and thin person with a scarred eye, stepped away from the wall and fixed his red eyes on Ayla, licking his lips.
The idea seemed unbelievable to him at first, but he heard that there was a noble in this village who didn't have any guards. Initially, he was skeptical, but he felt the need to verify it.
'Good thing I checked myself.' He thought to himself.
Having had no targets recently, he craved both blood and profit.
His bloodlust was over the moon.
Today turned out to be fortunate for him.
Not only did he have a perfect target to get some coins out of, but also the opportunity to enjoy some time with a beauty before selling her to the highest bidder in the Nightfall Market.
"Hey, father! Why don't we take our time and skin the man!? We could sell his hide for a pretty coin!" the short one yelled.
In a sudden, uncontrollable twitch of his body, he raised the blade to his tongue, which hanged out from his mouth, and proceeded to lick its sharp tip—drawing some blood.
"I want more blood! I want more blood! I want more blood! I want more blood! I want more blood! I want more bloooooooddddd!!!"
Behind the mask, he was madly blushing, and kept panting. He even began drooling.
He was beyond excited about skinning a noble. It was something he had never done before. All he had skinned before were peasants and some low-ranking adventurers.
This would be a completely different experience for him. He badly wanted this to happen.
"UH! PLEASE, FATHER!!! I'M BEGGING YOU, GIVE ME THE ORDER!!!" His twitches intensified as he became fully absorbed in his distorted thoughts, his red-blood eyes glancing between his father and Marius, all in rapid succession.
Finally, the last one, a man who was exceptionally tall, well-built, and had a strong appearance, resembling a giant, stepped up and positioned himself behind. He then pointed to himself—slowly.
"Father… Give... Order... To... Rune?" He asked at a slow pace, his red eyes glowing.
"Calm down, the both of you." Their father barked. He was well aware of how bloodthirsty and deranged his sons were. Considering everything, he had raised them. "Allow me to release some built-up bloodlust first."
"NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!!! I WANT TO GO FIRST!" The short one yelled in rage, but before he could utter another word, he felt a sudden, piercing pain in his leg.
Glancing downward, he noticed his father's blade embedded in his leg, but instead of showing pain, he grinned madly and started licking the blood off his wound—like a rabid animal.
Marius, who had been struggling to decide what to do, hoped that someone would hear the screams of these maniacs. However, it appeared that nobody had heard them for some unknown reason.
He didn't even notice the sudden piercing of the short one's leg by the man's blade—it was as if it happened in a split second, appearing out of nowhere.
Despite not knowing their class, level, or skills, Marius was certain of his own weakness compared to these individuals.
Realizing they were not paying attention, he briefly scanned his surroundings and found themselves enclosed by walls.
Marius was conscious of the fact that he and the goddess could turn around and make a run for it, but were they quick enough?
Suddenly, he thought of something. "That's it." He muttered to himself.
Marius glanced to his right and whispered, "Ayla, when I say "run", I want you to flash these fuckers. The moment you do so, we're bolting out of here."
"Smart idea, hero," Ayla whispered back. "It's likely that they won't chase us once we escape the sound barrier."
'Sound barrier?' For a moment, Marius felt perplexed, but he had no time to linger on it.
Noticing that the three individuals remained unfocused, he urgently shouted, "Run!" while the thin man extracted the blade from his son's leg.
In an instant, Ayla called forth her staff from her storage ring, extending it in front of her and quietly uttering, "Flash."
At that very moment, the three men turned their heads and were completely caught off guard by the sudden full flash.
Without hesitation, Marius took hold of Ayla's hand and led her back in the direction they had come from.
Dashing at full speed as they emerged from the narrow path, they found themselves under the eyes of numerous villagers who were strolling along the wider paths.
Paying no mind to the onlookers, Marius briefly stopped to check his map before quickly finding the entrance, marking it, and then running towards it, goddess in hand.