The Traveling Hero Won’t Let the Innkeeper’s Son Escape

They headed towards the village plaza while pushing the heavy wagon.

Along the way, adults that were passing by yelled out praises towards Bard for helping Ruth out. At the same time, they jeered at Ruth by saying things like “he really has the nerve to have a child help him because he can’t do it by himself.” But since they also praised Bard, he didn’t pay them any mind.

“Bard, we’re almost there. Can you hang on for a little longer?”

“M-Mhm…”

Even though it was mostly Ruth doing the work, because it was a long way back, Bard let out a worn-out reply. Just as Ruth thought it was about time to take a break, that happened.

“Uwaa--”

“Bard!”

The wagon wavered and slanted to the side with a jolt, sending Bard midair because of the recoil. In a panic, Ruth quickly reached towards Bard and caught him before he hit the ground.

“Bard, are you okay?”

“Ah...Ruth.”

After Ruth helped Bard up from the ground, Bard looked visibly shocked but Ruth felt relieved seeing that there were no injuries. However, Bard’s gaze was on the wagon behind Ruth and began to tear up.

“I’m sorry...I...didn’t notice there was a hole.”

Behind them was the consorré and mushrooms, along with other lightweight items from the wagon, scattered on the ground. It looks like the wagon lost its balance because the tire fell into a hole on the ground.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I was the one who had you help out. I’m just glad you’re not hurt--”

“Pfft--hahaha! That sucks--!”

The moment Ruth was going to console the disheartened Bard, they turned their heads to the laughter coming from nearby. Sitting on a log and laughing as they pointed at Ruth were three loud young men, including the son of the butcher’s shop, Daniel.

“Ruth, that b*stard. He just had to let the bag of consorré fall from the wagon.”

“That guy really is an absolute weakling!”

“It’s because he was always hiding behind Alec and leeching off him. Serves him right.”

Ruth immediately knew from their mocking laughter and ridicule that they wanted to jeer at him just for the sake of it. However, just because he held his composure while he had those thoughts did not mean he wasn’t angry. He thought to himself in exasperation, “Enough slacking and mind your own business,” but it was Bard who reacted first.

“T-This is super heavy! Don’t laugh!”

“Ahh, it might be heavy for you Bard.”

“Well, there’s the consorré."

“And mushrooms too.”

“N-Not just that! It’s heavy because it was loaded up with a lot of ingredients! And, Ruth is super strong! He lifted a lot of heavy bags and even though he looks weak, he’s amazing! He was really cool!”

“Aah sure, sure, Bard.”

“Man, for making someone believe he’s cool for just carrying a bag of wood chips, Ruth really is cool. I’m so impressed.”

“As expected of a natural womanizer. Not just Alec, but he also even won over a kid.”

No matter what they said, the three of them were only focusing on making fun of Ruth and Bard’s words just went into one ear and out the other. Furthermore, they refused to stop with their smirks and ridicule. Ruth’s face was completely calm and as he stood up, he thought to himself, “You guys don’t have any work to do?” Just as he was about to pick up the bag of consorré, someone else lifted it before him.

“Even though a fellow villager is troubled, should you guys really be sitting there and laughing?”

“...Maxim.”

The one who picked up the bag of consorré was Maxim. Since Maxim doesn’t wear his armor when he’s walking around the village, he doesn’t seem as imposing, but he still has the intimidating aura of the captain of the Royal Knights. Thanks to that, the three guys who were loudly laughing immediately shut their mouths.

“Gathering up to do things like laughing at a fellow villager for helping a child and mocking a child’s words, is that something you learn in this village?”

While Maxim picked up the bag of consorré, the words he uttered were not loud, but somehow it reverberated throughout the area. The weight it had was like he was speaking directly into their mind.

“Should you really take pride in that behavior as adults? Shouldn't you reflect upon your actions?”

Maxim sharply stared at them and all three of them flinched and began trembling. They half jumped up with pale faces and immediately headed back to work as if running away.

Maxim watched them with a bitter expression as he placed the fallen bag of consorré onto the wagon.

“Thank you very much, Maxim.”

Ruth, who let out a small sigh at the three figures that just disappeared, turned around to say his thanks to Maxim but Maxim still had a stiff expression on his face for some strange reason. However, he let out a long exhale of air and he returned to his usual gentle appearance.

“...In any case, let’s move the wagon to your destination.”

“Yes. Well, Bard, should we pick up the ingredients together?”

“...O-Okay.”

The three of them picked up the ingredients that were scattered about. When Ruth was about to pick up the jar that rolled to some distance away, yet again, someone picked it up before him.

“Huh...wait, Daniel?”

“...Nngh.”

The one in front of Ruth was none other than the one who supposedly ran off with the others, Daniel. For some reason, he came back by himself without any of his usual friends hanging around him.

Moreover, Daniel, who frowned with discontent, was somehow holding onto the ingredients that had fallen on the ground and forcibly shoved them towards Ruth. For the time being, Ruth took them off his hands.

“Eh...ah, thanks?”

“......”

Daniel opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but he just ended up silently moving his lips without saying anything. He stared at Ruth before immediately heading back to work.

(...He was trying to help me, right?)

Ruth was thinking about the meaning behind Daniel’s inconceivable behavior and felt a slight tug coming from the cuff of his shirt. It was then that a worried Bard anxiously asked, “Did Daniel say something?”

While Ruth was happy with Bard’s change of behavior towards him, he replied with an “I’m okay,” and resumed with work. They pushed the wagon to the small food shed near the village plaza. Along the way, Maxim praised Bard for standing up against all three of them back then and they completely became friends by the time they arrived.

“Oh my, Ruth! I did say to ask any man for help, but I never would have thought you would ask the captain of the Royal Knights... Sir Maxim, truly thank you so much for helping my brother-in-law!”

“Not at all, I just happened to be free at the time. In fact, I am thankful for letting us use your supplies.”

This time, Maxim didn’t have the intimidating aura of a captain of the Royal Knights but instead showed a bright and sweet smile towards the strangely flustered Sara. Sara blushed at the sight of his smile and Ruth decided to pretend he saw nothing for the sake of Clark’s happiness. Maxim was quite a frightening existence for making Sara, who fell head over heels in love with Clark, blush like that.

After that, they accompanied Bard back to the church. Ruth was overjoyed about how Bard said, “See ya,” just as he was leaving and then noticed the stiff expression Maxim had on his face.

“What is wrong?”

“...Sir Ruth, I did not say anything earlier because Bard was there, but you should stand up for yourself a bit more.”

“Huh?”

“Why did you not talk back to them back there? Were you afraid it would become a fight?”

“No, I...even if I do talk back, Daniel and his friends wouldn’t stop anyway.”

Ruth awkwardly laughed and Maxim let out a long sigh. It seemed as if he was forcibly letting out the anger that has been rising in his heart.

“Even so, the villagers here are underestimating you far too much. Why must you, who have enough strength to drive off a baal, have to endure that sort of treatment? If Sir Alec became essential for village work at such a young age, then it should not be odd for you to be at the center of battle operations along with your Father, and yet…!”

“It’s not like I can do absolutely anything just like Alec did.”

“You cannot compare a hero to an ordinary person! Ah…”

Maxim turned slightly pale when he realized that he said something he shouldn’t have while being caught up in the momentum of the conversation. The fact that Alec is a hero was supposed to be a secret.

“It’s all right. I knew that Alec had to go on a journey as the hero.”

“Is...that so...my apologies.”

Maxim seemed to be relieved that Ruth already knew about it. He repeatedly wiped off his sweat. He must be extremely shaken up. If it was the usual Maxim, he would definitely not have made a mistake like that. He was acting strangely earlier as well, perhaps he’s on edge before the battle strategies meeting.

“...In any case, it would be better if you would show off your strength a little more to the villagers. As someone who knows of your strength, you are a very powerful person in this village. It is unacceptable that you are treated with this level of disdain.”

Maxim regained some of his composure and stared straight into Ruth’s eyes. Those eyes didn’t have any other emotion other than the simple anger on the unreasonable injustice Ruth faced. It was a reaction in character with the always earnest Maxim.

(I didn’t think it was disdain, but to think that Maxim would be worried about me to that extent…)

Ruth felt embarrassed because of Maxim’s kindness. There aren't many people in the village who would stand by him, making this all the more significant.

On top of that, Maxim, who was capable enough to score a win against Alec, calling him “powerful” made Ruth feel like he was over the moon for being recognized as a man. He even felt like he could care less about his status in the village now.

“Thank you, Maxim. I am so happy just hearing those words from you.”

“Kuh…”

However, when Ruth honestly replied, Maxim’s face turned bright red and began trembling. He immediately took a few steps backward and put his hand on the church wall as he grabbed his chest area while shaking his head. It looked as if he was trying to shoo away something.

“M-Maxim, are you okay?”

“I-I’m all right...hah, my apologies, I have an urgent business to do immediately so please excuse me!”

“Huh, o-okay…”

Maxim frantically said that and without looking at Ruth in the eyes, he went off in the opposite direction.

As Ruth tilted his neck at Maxim’s unusual attitude, he returned to the village plaza in search of work.

MARY: Hello again! It's still Sunday here for me, so here's another chapter for the week. Please support the author by buying the novels here and let me know if you see any mistakes!