Chapter 7.

"Of course, Captain will become the next... No way!"

Mac’s complexion rapidly deteriorated.

"Yes, it’s exactly what you think."

"You’re saying that Youngest Master will be the next boss?!"

Gawain nodded his small head.

Originally, this was not supposed to be announced until Denburg was at least thirty. However, Hestia said that since he had already run away once, there was a chance that he would try running away again. She was therefore planning on letting everyone in the village know. Since this was the case, Gawain decided that it would be okay to tell them.

Mac looked back and shouted to the warriors, "You bastards! You heard Captain right!"

"Yes!"

The warriors appeared solemn as if they were about to go hunt dragons.

"We are bringing back Youngest Master with all our might!"

"Yes!"

The warriors did not question or ask why it was Denburg and not their captain or Gallahad who was succeeding Doomstone. It was the village head’s sole authority and duty to choose his successor. It was impossible to argue with the boss’s decision.

Gawain quietly urged.

"Let’s go!"

To capture our future leader.

-o-

"Achoo!"

I felt a sudden chill all over my body. Perhaps due to sleeping in the cold night without a campfire, my body was stiff and trembling.

What am I going to do tonight? I should have brought more blankets.

I considered going on a quick hunt to obtain some leather, but I was worried about the time that would be wasted as well as the stench that would stick to me from sleeping in raw leather.

Time or smell could become fatal during a pursuit. My blanket, however, was too thin to withstand the falling temperature at night.

It had been a critical mistake to underestimate nature.

Perhaps I should sleep in a cave tonight even if it means taking a little detour.

I glanced at the map and located the nearest cave. I revised my plan by taking into consideration Gawain’s speed as well as Hestia’s current thought process. I was planning on bypassing the rift with my original plan, but assuming that I was sleeping in a cave tonight, I zeroed in on three caves that seemed like potential candidates.

The nearest cave was too close. Selecting this would render me with no choice but to drastically reduce the time spent running away today. This would also give the pursuers precious time and decrease the distance between us.

The second cave was the most suitable considering its distance from my current location and the pursuit squad behind me. Though, it was at the end of the rift, meaning it was close to the sixth campsite on the map.

Hestia would most likely form an encirclement between the rift and the sixth campsite. Considering the timing, it was possible to break through before a complete encirclement formed.

That said, sleeping in the cave would mean that I would get caught before lunch tomorrow. If it happened and I was brought back to the village, I would definitely be a watchman for the next few years.

Hestia would announce to the villagers that I would succeed my father as the village head, thereby ensuring every villager watches over me. It would be the beginning of a life where I would roll around with monsters and demons while being under constant surveillance.

Dammit! Had I waited another month or so and then run away while pretending to go hunting, wouldn’t I have been able to get out of the forest before my escape was even noticed?

No no. Although she never expressed it, Hestia’s ghostly senses were already aware of my intentions to leave the village.

If I had said I was going hunting, she would have told Gawain and he would have assigned some warriors to me. If not, she would have found some reason to put me into the guard division or warrior force. These two places always performed frequent personnel checks and operated in basic units of three, so there would be no opportunity to run away.

Before becoming an adult, you had a guardian because you were not an adult. After you were an adult, you always had a comrade side by side due to work. Without the coming of age ceremony, which required the person to hunt alone, it would not have been possible to leave the village alone without raising suspicion.

There was only one option remaining if I wanted to sleep in a cave tonight...

Staying in the third cave would take the encirclement and pursuers chasing me out of the equation.

It’s just... will my magic power be able to withstand it?

-o-

A messenger hawk circled in the sky, then flew and perched right next to Hestia. Based on its collar, it seemed to be a message from Gawain.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for liaison immediately took out the letter from an object attached to the hawk’s leg and handed it to Hestia.

Periodic report – Denburg appears to have diverged from his original route at a location 20kms, 3 o’clock from Toad Rock, and is now heading directly towards the rift. In the case of a ploy, some units were left to look for other tracks and the rest is pursuing.

Hestia read the letter and looked at the map scribbled with lines following Denburg’s tracks.

Toad Rock was about 900 kilometers away from the village. Even while ignoring the distance covered on the paved route, traces of Denburg sent by Gawain showed that he had covered a considerable amount of distance in the last two days.

If it had been her, she would have, by now, barely managed to reach the second campsite where Denburg had veered off from.

Yesterday, Hestia had told Doomstone to expect the pursuit to last a while, but she had said so because she was unsure of how deviously Denburg would move.

In reality, she had expected to receive a message that her youngest brother had been caught by lunch today. Although the warrior force led by Gawain was smaller than Gallahad’s guards, these were people who lived in the forest as if it were more comfortable than the village. Hence, it was reasonable to assume that they would have caught him already. To think that the warriors were still after Denburg without even encountering him once.

Hestia felt that she now knew why Doomstone would name Denburg his successor.

She focused on the map again.

But why did Denburg suddenly change his route?

Did he find out that she had created an encirclement on the path he was taking?

She immediately rejected her speculation. She surmised Denburg would have already predicted this. Judging by his speed, it looked like he was trying to break through the encirclement before it fully formed. Even if he didn’t manage to break through, he would try to penetrate the weakest point in the encirclement before it became too tight.

That was what she had been thinking, but based on Denburg’s current route, he was heading straight towards the cliff. Unlike his previous routes that had disrupted his pursuers, this one was clearly a straight line.

If she could predict his route this far ahead, the pursuit squad could just head straight for the cliff and catch up to Denburg in a short period of time without wasting time looking for his traces.

But what was it? What did she miss?

There must be a reason why he suddenly changed his plan. He was not one to change plans for no reason.

As she mulled over and over, Hestia suddenly came up with a possibility.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs!"

"Yes, Miss."

"Was there a blanket among the materials Denburg stole?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs considered for a moment then nodded. "Yes, there was."

"Was the blanket thick? Thick enough to weather the cold without a campfire outside the campgrounds?"

"No. The blanket shouldn’t be that thick because we’ve allocated enough small huts and firewood to stop the rain and wind at the campgrounds."

This was it! This was exactly it!

Hestia immediately circled the caves which were close to Denburg’s location.

There were two caves he could stay in during the night. The first one couldn’t be it since it was too close to Toad Rock. The second one was too close to the sixth campsite.

If the encirclement failed to catch him right away, the pursuit squad forming the encirclement would have no choice but to return to the sixth campsite.

Denburg was not an idiot that would risk it all by taking a chance to sleep right in front of people who were looking to catch him. He was headed straight to the canyon.

A blanket too thin to weather the night...Yes, I see.

"Please prepare a messenger hawk immediately!" Hestia cried with her eyes shining.

-o-

"Found him! It’s Youngest Master!"

I could hear the voices of the pursuers in the distance. I didn’t know if they were guards or warriors, but it was more likely that they were warriors.

Dammit! They caught up to me faster than I thought!

It was currently 7 p.m., and according to my predictions, there should still have been around an hour’s worth of distance remaining. Unexpectedly, I encountered them early.

"Youngest Master! Please stop!"

A familiar voice came from behind me. It was evident that the person was Vice-Commander Mac, Gawain’s friend and right-hand man.

"What kind of person stands still because he’s told to!"

I ran away with all my might. I had not left the forest yet. To be exact, I still had not reached the rift.

Should a scuffle ensue, it was advantageous to fight with the rift shielding my back to thwart all chances of an ambush from the rear. It was a tactic called “beating the drum with the water behind", and it was the only way to fight against the warriors who were moving as a group and basically gliding through the trees. If I fought the warriors in the forest, I was simply asking them to capture me.

I had to run as quickly as possible. Eventually, I arrived at the rift.

Welcome to the summoner’s rift!

"Denburg!"

Upon Gawain’s cry, I turned around and pulled out my sword. I had no intention of wielding it, but it should suffice as a threat.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The pursuers all gathered behind Gawain and pulled out their swords.

Oh no, should I have not provoked them?

"Wow, are you here to catch me or kill me?"

At my playful question, the swordsmen looked strained. Hurting me was not permitted. Even if they were to hurt me, it could not go beyond some minor injuries. Of course, I couldn’t hurt them either. Even if they were here to capture me, we were still from the same village.

In the worst-case scenario, if I were brought back to the village, I would have to live with the knowledge that I had inflicted scars on their bodies.

"Youngest Brother, it’s over now. Let’s go back to the village," Second Brother said, and then pulled out his sword.

‘Hello, can’t we resolve this through peaceful words?’

Trying to beat Gawain in a sword fight was equivalent to trying to beat Usain Bolt in a race. Well, I think I should be able to win if I used some cheap methods. This was, however, not the correct solution for this situation.

I shouldn’t fight a battle that would just drain my strength.

"Brother, do you know why It*chi is strong?”

"Who is It*chi? Is he stronger than me?" Gawain asked, fire burning in his eyes.

However, I ignored my brother’s question and continued. "Because he escaped immediately."

"What?!"

Gawain didn’t understand. He would probably never understand.

I crouched down slightly and took a big leap backwards.

“This is my escape route! Jo**!"

Jumping off with the cliff behind me, I was seized by a momentary sense of fear as I felt the intense drop and the endless darkness of the rift.

At that moment, my second eldest brother yelled at me from behind.

"Who the hell is Jo**?[1] Is he stronger than me!"

Hey, brother, your little brother just jumped off a cliff. Isn’t it too much that you’re getting fired up about a cartoon character rather than worrying about your brother?

1. First reference is Itachi from Naruto, and second reference is JoJo from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures.