A dark dawn where the darkness has not yet disappeared.
Joseph entered the office earlier than usual and opened the curtain with familiar movements.
When I open the curtain, I see a familiar scene.
A city covered in white snow.
Joseph crossed his arms and stepped back to look at the scene outside the window, as the sight of Soara made him feel cold just by looking at it.
"I should already be there."
Anyone who wants to embark on a journey should leave Soara already to reach their next destination before sunset.
Although I don't know where the destination is.
"…"
I could have given Vlad, who was leaving, a mission or arbitrarily set a destination, but Joseph did not do so deliberately.
This is because I thought that a child who had lived his entire life following orders from others needed to experience moving with his own thoughts at least once.
"A banneret knight… holding his own standard. It's truly a rare sight to see after so long."
Although he will leave Soara in the form of exile, Vlad will repeat an ancient tradition of the north.
A knight embarking on a journey thinking only of his own honor.
It was one of the ancient traditions that could only be found in my grandfather's generation, not even in my father's generation.
In the distance, the gates of Soara were opening to welcome this day.
You can't see it because it's too far away, but there must be a knight out there right now with his own flag.
A knight born of Soara and raised by Bayezid.
His name was Vlad of Soara.
***
"…He's not coming."
Vlad, who had his head held high until the end, watched as the castle door opened with Noir.
In the cold winter, when neither merchants nor travelers moved, the only person waiting for the castle door to open was Vlad.
Neighing—
"Why is this guy, who used to live outside, making such a fuss because it's cold?"
Noir, who had already grown accustomed to the comfortable stable, was annoyed by the current situation of going out into the cold, but now the good times had also ended for him.
Now was the time to find our original intention and face the snowstorm with a determined attitude.
And that attitude would be one that not only Noir but also Vlad should remember.
"Let's go."
A black horse starts to move with a slight push.
The small flag hanging on the back of the saddle began to flutter slowly in the cold wind.
"…"
Vlad, who was stepping from atop Noir, thought that maybe now would be a good time to leave.
Soara, the city where I have lived my entire life.
There were dreams I dreamed here.
My goal was to wield a sword, and my dream is to become a knight.
But now that I had achieved everything I dreamed of in this city, it was time to look up and see the wider world so that I could move forward.
"Captain! Wait a second!"
Vlad, who was recalling old memories, heard a voice calling him from behind and turned his head.
"Let's go together!"
A man running through the street at dawn with the loud sound of horse hooves.
It was Goethe, the caretaker of Bayezid's stable.
"Oh my. I barely made it."
"You're late."
Vlad smiled discreetly as he looked at Goethe, who stuck out his tongue beside him.
"At this point, it's still not too late. You haven't even left Soara yet, have you?"
Although Goethe was out of breath, he didn't stop to respond.
Indeed, it was the attitude of a former swindler.
"Did you even consider following me?"
"I guess it's unfair."
Goethe puffed out his chest and spoke to Vlad confidently.
"I've invested in you for a long time, so I can't just waste it here."
Investment always involves risk.
With little at stake, Goethe had to take risks to achieve big gains that would change his life.
And Goethe knew well that people like him, who were at the bottom rung, didn't easily find even dangerous opportunities worth risking their lives for.
"Did I hear you bought a boat for a friend named Harven? Shall I look after that later too?"
"I saw you do it."
It was just the usual grumpy response, but Goethe simply nodded.
Because he already knew that Vlad was a dishonest person.
"But where are you going?"
In response to Goethe's question about the destination, Vlad took a deep breath and looked at the white field in front of him.
"…I haven't decided exactly."
The current Vlad was created through two contracts.
One is Joseph's contract to offer his faith along with his sword.
And another contract with the voice to seek his name.
"I'm thinking of going east for now."
There was a world that showed me for the last time a voice I can no longer hear.
A maple swaying in the wind that blew silently along with a vast wheat field.
And the voice said it had seen that tree.
"There's something you need to find there."
In response, Vlad raised the sheath and looked at Alicia's amber stone embedded at the end of the handle.
Now only the remnants of the voice remained, only a faint shadow could be seen, but Vlad was the only one who could recognize the last traces of the voice.
"Let's go now."
The knight, burdened by duty, left behind the object of his oath of loyalty and moved forward to fulfill another contract.
A swindler and a knight were leaving Soara.
What bid them farewell was a cup of wine held by a nobleman and a pillowcase soaked by a red-haired girl with the sadness of farewell.
***
"…He's not coming."
Vlad, who had his head held high until the end, watched as the castle door opened with Noir.
In the cold winter, when neither merchants nor travelers moved, the only person waiting for the castle door to open was Vlad.
Neighing—
"Why is this guy, who used to live outside, making such a fuss because it's cold?"
Noir, who had already grown accustomed to the comfortable stable, was annoyed by the current situation of going out into the cold, but now the good times had also ended for him.
Now was the time to find our original intention and face the snowstorm with a determined attitude.
And that attitude would be one that not only Noir but also Vlad should remember.
"Let's go."
A black horse starts to move with a slight push.
The small flag hanging on the back of the saddle began to flutter slowly in the cold wind.
"…"
Vlad, who was stepping from atop Noir, thought that maybe now would be a good time to leave.
Soara, the city where I have lived my entire life.
There were dreams I dreamed here.
My goal was to wield a sword, and my dream is to become a knight.
But now that I had achieved everything I dreamed of in this city, it was time to look up and see the wider world so that I could move forward.
"Captain! Wait a second!"
Vlad, who was recalling old memories, heard a voice calling him from behind and turned his head.
"Let's go together!"
A man running through the street at dawn with the loud sound of horse hooves.
It was Goethe, the caretaker of Bayezid's stable.
"Oh my. I barely made it."
"You're late."
Vlad smiled discreetly as he looked at Goethe, who stuck out his tongue beside him.
"At this point, it's still not too late. You haven't even left Soara yet, have you?"
Although Goethe was out of breath, he didn't stop to respond.
Indeed, it was the attitude of a former swindler.
"Did you even consider following me?"
"I guess it's unfair."
Goethe puffed out his chest and spoke to Vlad confidently.
"I've invested in you for a long time, so I can't just waste it here."
Investment always involves risk.
With little at stake, Goethe had to take risks to achieve big gains that would change his life.
And Goethe knew well that people like him, who were at the bottom rung, didn't easily find even dangerous opportunities worth risking their lives for.
"Did I hear you bought a boat for a friend named Harven? Shall I look after that later too?"
"I saw you do it."
It was just the usual grumpy response, but Goethe simply nodded.
Because he already knew that Vlad was a dishonest person.
"But where are you going?"
In response to Goethe's question about the destination, Vlad took a deep breath and looked at the white field in front of him.
"…I haven't decided exactly."
The current Vlad was created through two contracts.
One is Joseph's contract to offer his faith along with his sword.
And another contract with the voice to seek his name.
"I'm thinking of going east for now."
There was a world that showed me for the last time a voice I can no longer hear.
A maple swaying in the wind that blew silently along with a vast wheat field.
And the voice said it had seen that tree.
"There's something you need to find there."
In response, Vlad raised the sheath and looked at Alicia's amber stone embedded at the end of the handle.
Now only the remnants of the voice remained, only a faint shadow could be seen, but Vlad was the only one who could recognize the last traces of the voice.
"Let's go now."
The knight, burdened by duty, left behind the object of his oath of loyalty and moved forward to fulfill another contract.
A swindler and a knight were leaving Soara.
What bid them farewell was a cup of wine held by a nobleman and a pillowcase soaked by a red-haired girl with the sadness of farewell.
***
Dobrechi
This area, located in the northern part of the central region, was ruled by the Dalmatia family and was a territory mainly dedicated to barley cultivation and forestry, taking advantage of the cold climate.
"Again and again! Are you saying four months have passed again?"
And what does it mean that they are mainly dedicated to barley cultivation and forestry?
"What are these people doing waiting for barley seeds to be planted?"
It meant that it was a poor territory without any significant industry.
And, as befitting its circumstances, Dobrechi was also a poor territory without a city worthy of its name.
"Although I stationed soldiers and protected them all night, when morning comes…"
"Stop making excuses in front of me!"
The knight commander speaks extensively about the failure.
Baron Dalmatia, who was watching this, seemed to have a fever and kept fanning his hands to relieve his anger.
"…Don't they know? If we can't even sow seeds this season, we'll all starve next spring."
"That's right. My lord."
"They're the ones who know!"
Poor land and cold weather.
Dobrechi, whose only support was the dense trees and barley cultivation, could not simply ignore the current issues.
"But soldiers alone…"
"If you don't have enough troops, at least the residents of the territory can chain you up! It seems I'm going to starve right now, so what's the problem?"
Baron Dalmatia, whose chubby cheeks were trembling, threw everything he could find around him and began to scold the knight commander who had come to report.
Any lord would have no choice but to be angry if they saw a knight who could not react flexibly to an incident.
"Oh, my head…"
But what can you do?
The Dalmatia family was a poor family that could only have knights like this.
"Gather all the troops you have and protect the barley fields! I'm sure that's what the forest monsters are doing!"
"Understood. My lord."
Winter is not the season when only humans starve.
Winter was the season when monsters also had nothing to eat, when fruits disappeared from trees and grass to chew on.
I don't know why they only eat the seeds they sow in the field, but the important thing is to prevent this situation.
"Should I at least hire mercenaries for this?"
In the empty office, Baron Dalmatia sighed.
There was a scene visible to Baron Dalmatia's eyes as he approached the frustrated window.
The forest of Dobrechi densely surrounds the territory.
Although it had been greatly expanded to clear the land after the Dalmatia family became lords, the forest that had been there before the Dalmatia family was established still seemed dark even though it was noon.
***
"Pepper, salt, jerky, what's this?"
"Pilgrim Certificate."
In a dark forest as the sun begins to set.
Vlad, crouching in the forest rubbing against a tree branch, looked at the paper Goethe had taken out and responded seriously.
"Just go to any church and register. Priest Andreas wrote it."
"Why not do it in Soara?"
Vlad's hand, which had been rubbing the tree branch, suddenly stopped at Goethe's question.
"Ahhh. He did. I'm sorry."
If the church in Soara had presented this certificate, it wouldn't have been necessary to bring it here, but the issue was that Vlad had been so offended that he couldn't even dare to speak to the church.
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Goethe rummaged through his luggage again, avoiding Vlad's stern gaze, but gritted his teeth when he still couldn't find the item he was looking for.
"But how can you bring all these precious and expensive things without even bringing a flint? I don't understand that."
"…"
Vlad's hands, which had momentarily stopped at Goethe's angry words, began to move quickly again.
"I was busy in various ways last night."
Of course, you were busy.
Because popular people are usually busier at night.
"But you only brought one flint."
"At least I brought mine!"
Goethe, irritated, pointed to the debris around Vlad.
Remnants of flints rolling in pieces.
All of them were brought by Goethe.
"Power is good too. You destroyed everything and ate it."
A man named Vlad was not so inexperienced as to not be able to even start a fire.
Rather, one could say he was more accustomed to this kind of thing because he had lived a hard life.
"There's no such thing as bad luck. Are they all defective?"
However, as a result, Goethe broke all the flints he brought and ate them, and he himself couldn't even bring a flint, which was essential for camping, so there was no way he could have anything to say.
The mistake was clear to anyone who could see it, so in this case, there would be no choice but to sit silently and fan the flames.
"Hey."
"Why are you stopping? Aren't you going to light the fire?"
Goethe opened his eyes when he saw Vlad suddenly throwing away the branch he was rubbing, but Vlad had already picked up the sheath of his sword instead of the branch.
"Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
No matter how deep the relationship was, Vlad was a knight.
Vlad holding the sword would surely be completely different from when he was rubbing the tree branch before.
Goethe's slightly trembling voice was evidence.
"I'll rub it. Captain."
"Alright."
Vlad spat harshly on the snowy ground, silently lifted the sheath of his sword, and stood up.
"Captain, I'm sorry…"
"I'll borrow some embers."
At Vlad's sudden words, Goethe began to look around unknowingly.
A winter forest where darkness begins to fall.
Among the forest came a crunching and the giggles of men.
"Wow, looks like you have sharp ears."
"If you had noticed, you should have fled. What were you stretching for?"
A group of men who seemed to be around twenty years old.
Traveling in winter wasn't just about being careful with the cold and the monsters.
"If you sell something that looks good anywhere, you'll get the right price."
"Where are you from, young master? If you tell us about your parents, we can hand you over for a reasonable price."
A group of just two moving.
One of them was a young chicken that looked freshly molted, and to the eyes of the bandits, there was no prey as easy as this.
"Brothers. Let's borrow some fire."
"Eh?"
However, instead of feeling intimidated, the blond youth who greeted the bandits simply smiled cheerfully as if everything had gone well.
"What's this crazy guy saying now…?"
They were bandits with absurd and fierce expressions and high weapons, but they fell silent at the sight of the object reflected in Vlad's cloak.
Shiny plate armor.
There were items there that were difficult to use for a simple child.
"Give me everything you have. You guys."
A wild smile began to form on Vlad's face.
Old Vlad was a hungry and always longing man.
And now the young blond, who had finally ventured into the world, was as hungry as when he was a child.
"I'll take care of everything."
One thing I decided to do after leaving Soara.
It was a decision to return to my roots.
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