The Warrior’s Ballad
Chapter 89

Translator: Willia

It was a chilly night, cold enough to make the tip of one’s nose sting. Deep within the nearby mountain forest of Rubensheim, a campfire flickered.

Ricardt stood with his cloak draped around him, taking in the sight of Rubensheim, which shimmered faintly like starlight in the darkness. That city was home to the headquarters of the Rubens Guild.

Ricardt and his three friends had boldly chosen to camp in its vicinity.

"Ricky."

Marie’s voice came from behind. At the same time, the scent of agarwood incense brushed against his slightly numbed nose due to the cold.

When Ricardt turned around, he saw his friends.

Boribori and Ice were lending each other maintenance tools while tending to their weapons, and Marie was burning agarwood incense at the end of a thin, short, grooved stick.

Ricardt sat beside Marie and inhaled the incense smoke that she held up to his nose. In response, Boribori and Ice lifted their heads and stared at him.

It was because, no matter how one looked at it, the sight of him inhaling the smoke was rather unsightly, comical even, and somewhat strange.

"Mm... this is strangely addictive."

However, Ricardt did not care how his friends looked at him and simply enjoyed the incense. It was not actually addictive, but because the scent itself was so pleasant, he had begun to indulge in it morning and evening, beyond its medicinal purpose.

"It does smell nice. Feels kind of calming."

Boribori remarked.

"But isn’t that stuff expensive? How much do you have left?"

Ice asked.

"Since he needs to use it morning and evening, I think there's enough for more than a month."

Marie answered.

As Ricardt inhaled the smoke from the stick Marie held up to him without even using his own hands, he frowned slightly.

"You guys need to stay alert. We’re in the heart of enemy territory right now. You’re all too relaxed."

"But Ricky, you were the one who picked this spot."

Boribori said, looking dumbfounded.

"I know, but still, stay on guard."

"But are we really going to kill them inside the city? Isn’t fighting within the city prohibited?"

"If the enemy crosses the line first and we’re the only ones following the rules, we’re just setting ourselves up for a disadvantageous fight. I’d rather not, but for now, I’m just watching how they react."

"But will they accept the negotiations? I feel like mentioning the antidote was a mistake. Feels like we handed them a weakness."

Marie, still holding the short stick near Ricardt’s nose, asked.

"I never intended to negotiate in the first place. That was just bait to see how their guild master would react."

Ricardt had proposed three conditions: either the guild master would die alone as their representative, they would suffer near-total destruction, or they would hand over the antidote.

But in truth, none of those conditions meant anything.

"I don’t really get it. Don’t we need the antidote no matter what?"

"We do, but not the one that bastard offers. And if you get too fixated on something you need, you end up being dragged around. I appreciate that you’re thinking of me, Marie. But if they think I’m desperate for the antidote and try to stall for time? That just means we get more time to crush them at our leisure."

"Oh... Ricky may not study, but he's really smart."

Boribori said in admiration.

But from Marie’s perspective, she could not just admire him so easily.

“Oh, come on, Bori. I think he’s being too careless. What if things go wrong because he doesn’t get treated in time? What he’s saying is basically that he doesn’t care about his own life. I don’t understand why he has to go this far with his tactics."

"Well, if that’s how he wants it, what can we do? I mean, I’m not Ricky’s fiancée, so I wouldn’t know."

"...You’re starting to talk more like Ricky."

"Me? Is that supposed to be an insult or what?"

Boribori was two years older than Ricardt. He was already an adult and had learned much, so he was no longer as naïve as he used to be.

And just as Marie pointed out, after spending so much time with Ricardt, he had unconsciously picked up many of his mannerisms.

"Enough of that. You two, stop talking like that in front of me. Marie, don’t get too hung up on the antidote. We’ll find a way to cure it one way or another. Trust me. Right now, the priority is to create a favorable situation for us."

"No... but still..."

Still dissatisfied, Marie whined. Boribori and Ice looked at them with baffled expressions. In the time they had not seen each other, these two had become really annoying. They used to be pretty cool.

However, Ricardt had enough sense to clear his throat awkwardly. Then, to escape the slightly embarrassing situation, he focused on discussing their strategy.

"Let's say the Rubens Guild has around 100 members. If they scrape together every last person from their affiliated academy, that might bring the total to about 150. But if all those people gather in one place, they’ll just end up consuming supplies. If we leave them be, they'll naturally suffer massive losses on their own. But the guild master over there isn’t an idiot, is he? If you were in his position, what would you do?"

"I don't know. Just tell us."

Ice said indifferently.

Ricardt felt a moment of doubt, maybe the question-and-answer teaching method was not the best approach. But then again, they were just friends, not a teacher and students.

"If the guild master is a coward, he’ll panic and call all available personnel to one location. If he has some guts, he’ll let the adventurers continue working in their respective places. The most reasonable response would be to form a small unit to track us down. From what I saw today, there hasn’t been a significant gathering of people in Rubensheim. That means he has some nerve and intends to handle things using only his close aides. Honestly, that’s the only choice he has if he doesn’t want his position to be shaken."

In truth, the Rubens Guild had been in bad shape for some time. It had all the characteristics of a declining organization, and its recent desperate attempts to amass money were proof of that.

When an organization was struggling, the biggest risk was the loss of cohesion, with its members abandoning ship. That was how a group eventually collapsed.

Regardless of status or social class, every leader feared that outcome the most.

And that was exactly what Ricardt was aiming for. Someone who had survived as an adventurer for a long time would not fear death. So, he intended to drive the guild master into his true fear, ruin.

Piece by piece, slowly but surely, cutting off every limb.

Whether he ended up begging with tears and snot streaming down his face or fought to the bitter end, the result would be the same, destruction.

"Tomorrow, let’s head to Hetz. If we wipe out the people there, their food supply will take a major hit. Let’s see how long they can hold out."

As the agarwood incense burned out and the smoke faded, Ricardt wrinkled his nose.

His sense of smell felt numb for a moment, but it quickly returned. The scent of burning firewood filled the air, along with the faint fragrance of Marie’s hair beside him.

Despite Ricardt telling them to stay alert, the three of them still seemed unconcerned. But it was not a matter of carelessness. By now, they had built up enough real combat experience.

Looking back, he had been through so much with Boribori, Ice, and Marie. When he thought about it, they had barely survived, scraping by in many situations.

As a result, their bond had deepened, their understanding of each other had grown, and they had reached a point where they could face most crises with nothing more than a calm demeanor.

Had they matured? Were they becoming adults? What did it even mean to be an adult? These thoughts briefly crossed Ricardt’s mind, but there was something else that weighed on him.

"Ice."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever heard of the prophetic nun?"

Ricardt recalled something he had heard from Daisy’s mother back in Nibelungen. Since it was related to the Order, he was somewhat cautious about bringing it up.

But Ice did not seem particularly bothered. Staring into the campfire, he organized his thoughts before speaking.

"The Order has been steadily researching the Codex for a long time. Among their studies, I’ve heard there are secrets related to longevity, magic, and even prophecy. What I trained for was the path to becoming a Sword Master, with a mission to steal the Empire's techniques. I’ve never seen the prophetic nuns myself, but I’ve heard they foresee the day when God will be resurrected. And when God resurrects, they're preparing to continue his sacred bloodline. They cleanse themselves daily, pray, and follow rituals for that purpose."

"So, when exactly is this resurrection supposed to happen?"

"I don’t know. Even the prophetic nuns only receive fragmented visions. That’s why they train together and cross-reference their revelations to estimate the date. The incident in Nibelungen recently was probably a ritual for offering sacrifices. The nobles and the Imperial Family suppress the Order, so the believers think that on the appointed day, their god will return and wipe them out."

"......"

To Ricardt, it seemed like they had constructed an elaborate plan based on absurd reasoning. No matter how meticulous the plan was, what use was it if the foundation was ridiculous? He simply could not understand it.

Well, they probably did not see it as absurd, they truly believed it to be real.

"But what if the resurrection actually happens?"

Boribori asked.

"We have Ice, so they’ll probably let us off the hook."

Ricardt responded jokingly, and for the first time, Ice allowed a faint smile to appear on his lips.

"Sorry, but I’m an apostate. I’ve committed a greater sin than an atheist ever could."

"That’s harsh. You’ve worked hard all this time, so you should be compensated for it. Even a god should acknowledge that."

"It doesn’t work that way, Ricky."

Hearing Ricardt’s clueless remark about religion, Ice let out a dry chuckle.

"But is the temple, or headquarters, really in the Heiden Fields?"

"Yes. The Order members there are different from those outside. The temple is guarded by the 'Blind' Holy Knights, who protect the Sacred Sword for the promised day."

"Sacred Sword?"

"Yeah. The sword that the God of Judgement used to execute sinners. To the sinners, it would probably be considered a demon sword."

"......"

It sounded like the very sword Ricky had wielded in his past life. Was it really still around?

"The 'Blind' Holy Knights are all Sword Masters. That was my ultimate goal as well. Not that it matters anymore. A Sword Master, huh... meaningless now."

"How many Holy Knights are there?"

"At least thirty."

"Thirty!?"

"How does that even make sense!?"

Boribori and Marie’s eyes widened in shock.

"For every one of them, hundreds, maybe thousands, of children must have died. I almost became one of them myself."

The world was far from perfect. It was riddled with problems. But the Order of Judgement was by no means normal either.

It seemed as if the monsters created by the world were trying to exact revenge in an even crueler way, just like Ricky in his past life.

As they thought about the countless children who had perished in the pursuit of creating Sword Masters, the atmosphere grew heavy.

"Can’t people just live with a little respect for each other?"

Boribori muttered. It seemed like such a simple thing. Not difficult at all. And yet, was it hard precisely because it should have been easy? Because something so simple never seemed to work out?

Everyone silently agreed with Boribori’s sentiment.

"How about you? Are you okay?"

Ricardt asked Ice.

"Me? Well… to be honest, there’s still some lingering anxiety. The only difference now is that I don’t let it control me. But I guess I can’t get rid of it completely. I got this far thanks to you and Armand. So… thanks."

"What are you anxious about?"

Boribori asked. When Ricardt was not around, the two of them were surprisingly close. Their personalities seemed to mesh well.

"The thought that maybe what they say is true. If the god really does resurrect, what do I do? What about my little brother? That kind of fear."

"How about dating someone? Love changes everything, Ice."

Marie said, suddenly wrapping herself around Ricardt. Ice shook his head with a disgruntled expression.

"I can’t really trust women. I’ve never done anything, but they all seem to like me for no reason."

"Wow..."

Hearing something that an average guy could never say, Boribori let out an incredulous sigh of admiration.

Ice gave an awkward smile and explained,

"I’m not trying to brag. It’s just the truth. I don’t even think I’m good-looking."

"Wow..."

This time, Ricardt, Boribori, and Marie all simultaneously let out the same stunned reaction. Ice just shook his head as if words had failed him.

They had no idea how the world would turn out, but for now, the four of them focused on the task at hand.

As planned, they went to Hetz and slaughtered every Rubens Guild adventurer there.

After that, they targeted the guild’s most vulnerable points, hunting down every adventurer they encountered.

The enemy was no match for them, so Ricardt’s group roamed about openly and at their leisure. Sometimes Marie took the lead, sometimes Ice, and sometimes they worked together.

The only one who had it easy was Ricardt. His supposed lung condition was starting to sound like nothing more than an excuse.

From the perspective of the Rubens Guild, sitting back and doing nothing only led to accumulating losses, but gathering their forces to fight against just four people seemed questionable.

Since this was not a war between guilds, Ricardt and his group could simply flee to Beringen if things got tough. The initiative was entirely in Ricardt’s hands. He could do this, or he could do that, it did not matter.

It felt like they were stabbing the Rubens Guild over and over with a spear, taunting them: Are you really just going to sit there? What are you going to do about it?

The guild master of Rubens Guild had no solution. Even in a direct confrontation, victory seemed unlikely. It was as if an inescapable death loomed over him. These were even more relentless foes than the infamous Ernburg Five.

As time passed, the guild lost credibility, and adventurers began to leave. Their communication network was paralyzed, and they could no longer even assess their own strength.

But even he had a final resort.

It was when Ricardt and his friends were lingering near Kogtzran Village, a small village with a stream flowing through it and a watermill.

Brown frogs were hopping around the grass near the stream. It was about time for them to hibernate.

Ricardt was moving his head from side to side, scanning the village as if searching for something, when someone walked along the path by the stream.

"Huh? Isn’t that Dunkel?"

Boribori spotted him first and spoke. Ricardt turned his head to look at the approaching figure in the distance.

Dunkel was rarely seen wearing work clothes, but today he was. In this context, "work clothes" meant attire for assassination or combat.

It was a snug, dark brown leather vest with numerous pockets. Who knew what kind of concealed weapons were hidden inside?

A machete was strapped to his waist, and in his hands, he carried a large bundle wrapped in cloth.

As he approached Ricardt, Dunkel gave a subtle smile and spoke.

"It’s been a while. What are you doing here?"

"What about you, Dunkel? This is Rubens Guild territory. Is the Beringen Guild master allowed to be here?"

"Wait, didn’t Sally say she killed Dunkel?"

"Hey, you actually believed that?"

Sally had a habit of speaking aggressively, and it seemed Boribori had taken her words at face value.

"Ricky."

Dunkel took a deep breath, exhaled, and called out to Ricardt.

"What?"

"It’s time to stop. The Rubens Guild has surrendered."

"To who?"

"A guild should surrender to another guild. That’s the proper way."

"Uh... but this was a personal grudge."

"You’ve killed at least forty adventurers. Isn’t that enough for revenge?"

"Well, isn’t that for me to decide? Shouldn’t they at least apologize to me? I nearly died, you know."

Had he consumed just a bit more of the poison, it would have undoubtedly been fatal.

"There’s no antidote. They said they bought it from a Wasteland Sorcerer."

The Wasteland Sorcerers were Salaman mages. They had no particular grudge against Ricardt; they had simply sold their product, nothing more.

"So you’re saying I should just let this go?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I’m ordering you to."

"Mm... but I belong to the Ernburg branch. Isn't there a proper chain of command? Can a guild master issue direct orders to a regular clan-affiliated adventurer?"

"Ricky."

Dunkel had been smiling up until now, but suddenly his expression turned serious as he called Ricardt’s name once again.

"What?"

"I’ve kept your handsome friend’s secret. I’d prefer to keep it that way."

Dunkel had known for a long time that Ice was connected to the Order of Judgement. He was also the one who had warned Ricardt to keep his distance from Ice.

"Hey, say it to me."

Ice, who had been listening quietly, furrowed his brows and stepped forward. But Ricardt stretched out his arm to stop him.

"That was a threat, wasn’t it?"

"Ricky, are you going to act recklessly like the Ernburg Five? Do you really want to keep pushing in times like these? Was forty not enough?"

"But why do you get to decide that, Dunkel? I’m the one who almost died."

It might have seemed like he was being stubborn, but Ricardt was right. Why was a personal grudge something the guild had the authority to dictate?

Dunkel turned his head, gazing at the quiet village, and let out a deep sigh. Then, he looked back at Ricardt and spoke.

"The Imperial Family doesn’t have the resources to mobilize troops right now. By next spring at the earliest, adventurers will be deployed in the campaign to subjugate the Order of Judgement. What you’re doing here, slaughtering adventurers, is just depleting our forces needlessly. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

"If the Imperial Family gives an order, do I have to obey?"

"Why do you think the Adventurers’ Guild was created? The one who established it, nurtured it, it was all part of the elders’ plan. A long time ago. To cultivate the ultimate swordsmen. In the end, if the Imperial Family severs its ties with us, adventurers will be nothing more than hired blades. I don’t mean that as an insult. I mean literally, just a group of mercenary killers. Is that what you want?"

"......"

Dunkel even revealed classified information to convince Ricardt. Ricardt remained silent for a moment, lost in thought, before finally nodding.

"Alright."

"Go back to Ernburg. I’ll guarantee the identity and safety of your handsome friend. And I’ll also give you the treasure that Rubens surrendered when they capitulated to us. You’ve done more than enough, and Rubens has paid a steep price as well."

Dunkel set the cloth bundle on the ground and left. He entered the village, circled around the temple, and disappeared from sight.

At that moment, Ricardt suddenly recalled something Volka had once said - You won’t last long under someone else’s command.

"Whether it's the Order's believers or us, we're all just puppets in the end."

Boribori muttered. It was an undeniable truth.

Ultimately, the reason Ricardt accepted Dunkel’s order was that he believed everything had to be settled at Heiden Fields.

The only way to find answers was to return to the place where it had all begun.

Chapter 18 - Where Fate Points. End.