How to Live as a Wandering Knight

“Aren’t you worried that listening to a few words might put you at a disadvantage?”

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵. . .’

Jyanina grumbled to herself. There were times when the mercy duke displayed was hard to understand. Of course, that mercy was the whole reason Jyanina’s head was still attached to her shoulders. . .

As far as Jyanina could see, beggars were nothing more than common swindlers. From the westernmost reaches to the easternmost corners, every city had its fair share of beggars. They’d band together, sometimes pilfering, sometimes robbing, sometimes begging for change.

Now, regular commoners wouldn’t dare spout lies in front of the duke, but beggars were a different story. Once they received their silver coins and scurried away into their hideouts, it would be a pain in the neck to track them all down and hang them.

So it was no surprise that they’d spout all sorts of nonsense.

“Even sailors have never seen mermaids in the sea, you know.”

“That’s true.”

Capable captains didn’t intentionally steer their ships towards treacherous waters where mermaids were rumored to lurk. It was only natural. Jyanina had no desire to meet a mermaid, either.

Mermaids, with their beautiful voices that could captivate sailors, were sometimes more fearsome than storms. Once ensnared by a mermaid’s song, even seasoned captains would lose their minds and leap into the sea.

‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’

“A-hem. A-hem.”

Despite standing before the duke, the beggar rubbed his filthy hands together, straightened his clothes as best he could, and opened his mouth to speak.

“To tell you the truth, here’s what happened. . .”

The beggar’s tale was vivid and gripping. Given that his line of work was begging, he must have had a way with words, but even taking that into account, his story was incredibly captivating.

One night, as the beggar was walking near the canal, he saw a group of mercenaries walking with dazed expressions on their faces. Curious to see if there was any money to be made, he quietly followed them. To his surprise, the mercenaries headed straight for the riverbank and threw themselves into the water.

Startled, the beggar hid and watched. Thanks to that, he was able to clearly see the mermaid’s back as it surfaced from the river.

“The mercenaries who disappeared later turned into monsters. It must have been the mermaids’ doing!”

“There are so many things wrong with your story,”

Jyanina said coolly.

“First off, the mercenaries were bewitched, but why were you safe?”

“Uh. . .”

The beggar’s expression turned blank. It was a look she’d never seen before. Jyanina sighed. If he was going to tell a lie, he should at least make it believable.

“And what did the mermaid look like?”

“Excuse me?”

“What did the mermaid look like?”

“W-Well. . . she had long hair. . . and she was dazzlingly beautiful!”

“In the middle of the night?”

“The moon, the moonlight. . .”

“It wasn’t even a full moon, so it wouldn’t have been that bright.”

Johan, who had been listening to their conversation, couldn’t help but feel impressed.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘑𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵?’

Jyanina refuting the beggar’s claims made her seem as wise as Suetlg. Then again, Jyanina wasn’t stupid. It was just the people around her who were so knowledgeable that she seemed like the odd one out.

In Johan’s eyes, the beggar didn’t seem to be lying. The way he struggled to answer yet persisted until the end made him seem all the more credible.

Of course, the part about the mermaid’s appearance seemed a bit forced. . .

“If they really were mermaids, is there a way to deal with them?”

“. . .You actually believe that?!”

Jyanina was shocked. She couldn’t believe that someone like Johan would listen to a beggar’s nonsense. Johan scratched his cheek as he replied.

“When I ask a question, I expect you to answer it properly.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina’s face suddenly turned pale. Johan realized from her expression that his joke had fallen flat.

‘𝘏𝘮. 𝘊𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵.’

“. . .You’re right!”

The snakekin wizard nodded vigorously. Her movements were filled with a desperate desire not to die. Feeling apologetic, Johan spoke in a gentler tone.

“I won’t say another word, so please speak freely.”

“If you give me a chance, I’ll go out there myself and try to lure the mermaids away.”

“No. . . there’s no need for you to do that. We have plenty of soldiers.”

“Please let me go!”

“. . .Fine, so be it. Is there anything you’ll need?”

“We should plug our ears first.”

Johan summoned the city’s candlemaker and had him seal the soldiers’ ears with beeswax. It was a necessary precaution to prevent them from falling under the mermaids’ spell.

“No matter what happens, remember not to remove the beeswax from your ears.”

“Got it. I’ll make sure to tell them. What’s next?”

“If they really are mermaids, we won’t have anything to fear as long as we don’t listen to their song. Without their songs, mermaids aren’t particularly dangerous monsters.”

According to legend, mermaids would flee or disappear if their songs were avoided. That was because they lacked the combat prowess to climb onto ships and attack.

“There’s one more thing I’m curious about. Do mermaids usually take living people and turn them into monsters?”

“Uh. . . I’ve never heard of that.”

The soldiers preparing for the mermaid hunt paused and looked at Jyanina. Even though she was saying the same thing as them, it just felt different coming from her. The soldiers’ lukewarm reactions proved it.

Johan thought that asking any further would only make things awkward, so he simply nodded.

“I see. I’ll trust you and give it a shot.”

“Thank you?”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

At the location mentioned by the beggar, Jyanina sprinkled an unknown vision powder and incense and waited. It was hard for humans to smell, but monsters would definitely be drawn to this scent.

In fact, Karamaf seemed to have been stimulated by it, as he began to scratch the ground with his claws and growl ferociously. Johan patted Karamaf on the back. At that, Karamaf lowered his stance, his expression darkening.

“. . .?”

While waiting impatiently, Johan realized something was amiss. The expressions of several soldiers had become vacant.

“Hey! Snap out of it.”

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However, his voice didn’t reach the soldiers’ ears, which were plugged with beeswax. The other soldiers seemed oblivious to what was happening.

Johan strode forward. The soldiers, who had been moving with vacant expressions, were blocked by Johan.

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐤!

Johan roused the soldier’s senses in the most primal way possible. With a sharp sound, the soldier’s head snapped back. The soldier came to his senses, clutching his stinging cheek.

“????”

“Snap out of it!”

“W-What’s. . . going on. . .?”

Johan went around slapping the cheeks of the soldiers who seemed to be entranced. It was said that blocking one’s ears would be enough to resist the mermaid’s song, but seeing the current situation, it seemed that blocking one’s ears was useless.

‘𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦?’

There was a limit to how many people he could slap by himself. Johan pushed the soldiers aside and headed towards the riverbank. Jyanina, who was at the forefront, was already there.

Johan grabbed Jyanina by the shoulder and asked.

“It seems like the soldiers are under a spell now, but have you found the mermaids?”

Instead of answering, Jyanina simply stared at him with a blank expression. Johan was momentarily speechless. He never thought that even Jyanina, a wizard, would fall victim to this.

“You there. Even if your mouth swells up and bleeds, you have to endure it.”

Johan’s attempt to slap her was surprisingly blocked by the mermaids in the river. The mermaids spoke to Johan in a bubbling voice.

━𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬?

The voices sounded in his head, not his ears. It was as if spirits were speaking to him. Johan frowned and replied.

“I’ll ask the questions here. Are you the ones spreading disease throughout the city?”

━𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬.

With those words, the mermaids began to sing again. The song resonating in his head grew louder and louder. Johan could feel the spirits within him roaring and screaming in protest.

“Be quiet!”

Johan shouted loudly. His forceful shout caused the mermaids’ singing to pause momentarily. Johan could sense the mermaids becoming flustered. It seemed they had realized that their song was ineffective.

“Even spirits far more cunning and violent than you have failed to bewitch me. You’d best give up on trying to lure me in with your singing. Now. Tell me. Are you the ones spreading disease throughout the city?”

━𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬!

Along with the mermaids’ words, something began to crawl out of the river with a squelching sound.

It was a giant salamander that looked like a cross between a fish and a lizard. The beast, which seemed to be the mermaids’ servant, glared at Johan, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth.

━𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨. 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. . .

A dull thud rang out. It was the sound of Johan’s fist connecting with the salamander’s jaw. With a ‘thud’, the salamander collapsed to the side like a broken doll. Johan growled, Giant Slayer in hand.

“Don’t even think about moving or running away. I can skewer at least three of you with my spear.”

━. . .𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧?

The mermaids seemed to have realized the situation and suddenly became cooperative.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

━𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞! 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

However, the mermaids adamantly denied responsibility for the disease. Instead, they placed the blame on the people of the city.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬?

Johan had a good idea of what the mermaids were talking about. Ever since the pagan army entered the Holy Land, the city had been bustling with activity. The newly arrived army didn’t care about the city’s sanitation, so all sorts of filth were being dumped into the river and canals.

It was these actions that had spread the disease and angered the river spirits.

“So you drowned and killed armed men in the river? To drive them away?”

━𝐘𝐞𝐬.

In the mermaids’ eyes, the culprits were the foreign invaders clad in armor and wielding weapons. It was only natural that the remnants of Suhekhar’s men would suffer such a fate.

“I’ve driven away the outsiders who came from afar and defiled the city. The plague that spread throughout the city is currently being quarantined and treated, so it will subside in time.”

━. . . . . .

The mermaids grew silent at Johan’s words.

They had good reason to be speechless. They had been causing a commotion in an attempt to resolve the problem, only to find out that the problem was already being resolved. If they had any conscience, they couldn’t help but feel foolish.

━𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬.

When one of the mermaids spoke up, Johan responded coolly.

“Fine. I’ll make you believe me.”

━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?

“You’ll know whether to believe me or not after you take a hit like that beast. Who was it? The one who said they didn’t believe me.”

Though their bodies were mostly hidden, Johan could sense the mermaids flinching. It seemed that threats were effective even when they were hiding in the river’s waves.

The leader of the mermaids spoke up cautiously.

━𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.

“Wait.”

━??

The mermaids paused at Johan’s call, ready to leave. They had thought the conversation was over now that they had established trust with each other.

“Several of my men have been killed or injured. You just lured them into the river with your song without even trying to figure out who they were.”

Technically speaking, they weren’t Johan’s men. They were Suhekhar’s men. Johan’s men had suffered no casualties, aside from getting their cheeks slapped a few times.

“On top of that, the city has been thrown into chaos because they came back as monsters.”

This was also a bit of an exaggeration. The city was in chaos primarily because the dead had risen as undead, not because those who had fallen into the river had become monsters. Compared to the former, the latter was a drop in the bucket.

“You’re going to compensate us properly for what you’ve done!”

━. . .𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥.

One of the mermaids waddled closer to the riverbank. Johan could tell that the beggar had been lying. Somehow, he had felt a sense of falsehood when the beggar talked about the mermaids’ beauty, and it turned out that it wasn’t for nothing. The mermaids’ pale, ghastly faces reminded him of spirits.

━𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞.

“. . .???”

Johan blinked and looked at what had been placed on the riverbank. They were seashells, no matter how he looked at them.

━𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?

“. . . . . .”

Johan lunged forward like lightning and grabbed the mermaid by the scruff of the neck. The mermaid seemed taken aback and didn’t react properly.,

“Aren’t you worried that listening to a few words might put you at a disadvantage?”

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵. . .’

Jyanina grumbled to herself. There were times when the mercy duke displayed was hard to understand. Of course, that mercy was the whole reason Jyanina’s head was still attached to her shoulders. . .

As far as Jyanina could see, beggars were nothing more than common swindlers. From the westernmost reaches to the easternmost corners, every city had its fair share of beggars. They’d band together, sometimes pilfering, sometimes robbing, sometimes begging for change.

Now, regular commoners wouldn’t dare spout lies in front of the duke, but beggars were a different story. Once they received their silver coins and scurried away into their hideouts, it would be a pain in the neck to track them all down and hang them.

So it was no surprise that they’d spout all sorts of nonsense.

“Even sailors have never seen mermaids in the sea, you know.”

“That’s true.”

Capable captains didn’t intentionally steer their ships towards treacherous waters where mermaids were rumored to lurk. It was only natural. Jyanina had no desire to meet a mermaid, either.

Mermaids, with their beautiful voices that could captivate sailors, were sometimes more fearsome than storms. Once ensnared by a mermaid’s song, even seasoned captains would lose their minds and leap into the sea.

‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’

“A-hem. A-hem.”

Despite standing before the duke, the beggar rubbed his filthy hands together, straightened his clothes as best he could, and opened his mouth to speak.

“To tell you the truth, here’s what happened. . .”

The beggar’s tale was vivid and gripping. Given that his line of work was begging, he must have had a way with words, but even taking that into account, his story was incredibly captivating.

One night, as the beggar was walking near the canal, he saw a group of mercenaries walking with dazed expressions on their faces. Curious to see if there was any money to be made, he quietly followed them. To his surprise, the mercenaries headed straight for the riverbank and threw themselves into the water.

Startled, the beggar hid and watched. Thanks to that, he was able to clearly see the mermaid’s back as it surfaced from the river.

“The mercenaries who disappeared later turned into monsters. It must have been the mermaids’ doing!”

“There are so many things wrong with your story,”

Jyanina said coolly.

“First off, the mercenaries were bewitched, but why were you safe?”

“Uh. . .”

The beggar’s expression turned blank. It was a look she’d never seen before. Jyanina sighed. If he was going to tell a lie, he should at least make it believable.

“And what did the mermaid look like?”

“Excuse me?”

“What did the mermaid look like?”

“W-Well. . . she had long hair. . . and she was dazzlingly beautiful!”

“In the middle of the night?”

“The moon, the moonlight. . .”

“It wasn’t even a full moon, so it wouldn’t have been that bright.”

Johan, who had been listening to their conversation, couldn’t help but feel impressed.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘑𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵?’

Jyanina refuting the beggar’s claims made her seem as wise as Suetlg. Then again, Jyanina wasn’t stupid. It was just the people around her who were so knowledgeable that she seemed like the odd one out.

In Johan’s eyes, the beggar didn’t seem to be lying. The way he struggled to answer yet persisted until the end made him seem all the more credible.

Of course, the part about the mermaid’s appearance seemed a bit forced. . .

“If they really were mermaids, is there a way to deal with them?”

“. . .You actually believe that?!”

Jyanina was shocked. She couldn’t believe that someone like Johan would listen to a beggar’s nonsense. Johan scratched his cheek as he replied.

“When I ask a question, I expect you to answer it properly.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina’s face suddenly turned pale. Johan realized from her expression that his joke had fallen flat.

‘𝘏𝘮. 𝘊𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵.’

“. . .You’re right!”

The snakekin wizard nodded vigorously. Her movements were filled with a desperate desire not to die. Feeling apologetic, Johan spoke in a gentler tone.

“I won’t say another word, so please speak freely.”

“If you give me a chance, I’ll go out there myself and try to lure the mermaids away.”

“No. . . there’s no need for you to do that. We have plenty of soldiers.”

“Please let me go!”

“. . .Fine, so be it. Is there anything you’ll need?”

“We should plug our ears first.”

Johan summoned the city’s candlemaker and had him seal the soldiers’ ears with beeswax. It was a necessary precaution to prevent them from falling under the mermaids’ spell.

“No matter what happens, remember not to remove the beeswax from your ears.”

“Got it. I’ll make sure to tell them. What’s next?”

“If they really are mermaids, we won’t have anything to fear as long as we don’t listen to their song. Without their songs, mermaids aren’t particularly dangerous monsters.”

According to legend, mermaids would flee or disappear if their songs were avoided. That was because they lacked the combat prowess to climb onto ships and attack.

“There’s one more thing I’m curious about. Do mermaids usually take living people and turn them into monsters?”

“Uh. . . I’ve never heard of that.”

The soldiers preparing for the mermaid hunt paused and looked at Jyanina. Even though she was saying the same thing as them, it just felt different coming from her. The soldiers’ lukewarm reactions proved it.

Johan thought that asking any further would only make things awkward, so he simply nodded.

“I see. I’ll trust you and give it a shot.”

“Thank you?”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

At the location mentioned by the beggar, Jyanina sprinkled an unknown vision powder and incense and waited. It was hard for humans to smell, but monsters would definitely be drawn to this scent.

In fact, Karamaf seemed to have been stimulated by it, as he began to scratch the ground with his claws and growl ferociously. Johan patted Karamaf on the back. At that, Karamaf lowered his stance, his expression darkening.

“. . .?”

While waiting impatiently, Johan realized something was amiss. The expressions of several soldiers had become vacant.

“Hey! Snap out of it.”

However, his voice didn’t reach the soldiers’ ears, which were plugged with beeswax. The other soldiers seemed oblivious to what was happening.

Johan strode forward. The soldiers, who had been moving with vacant expressions, were blocked by Johan.

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐤!

Johan roused the soldier’s senses in the most primal way possible. With a sharp sound, the soldier’s head snapped back. The soldier came to his senses, clutching his stinging cheek.

“????”

“Snap out of it!”

“W-What’s. . . going on. . .?”

Johan went around slapping the cheeks of the soldiers who seemed to be entranced. It was said that blocking one’s ears would be enough to resist the mermaid’s song, but seeing the current situation, it seemed that blocking one’s ears was useless.

‘𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦?’

There was a limit to how many people he could slap by himself. Johan pushed the soldiers aside and headed towards the riverbank. Jyanina, who was at the forefront, was already there.

Johan grabbed Jyanina by the shoulder and asked.

“It seems like the soldiers are under a spell now, but have you found the mermaids?”

Instead of answering, Jyanina simply stared at him with a blank expression. Johan was momentarily speechless. He never thought that even Jyanina, a wizard, would fall victim to this.

“You there. Even if your mouth swells up and bleeds, you have to endure it.”

Johan’s attempt to slap her was surprisingly blocked by the mermaids in the river. The mermaids spoke to Johan in a bubbling voice.

━𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬?

The voices sounded in his head, not his ears. It was as if spirits were speaking to him. Johan frowned and replied.

“I’ll ask the questions here. Are you the ones spreading disease throughout the city?”

━𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬.

With those words, the mermaids began to sing again. The song resonating in his head grew louder and louder. Johan could feel the spirits within him roaring and screaming in protest.

“Be quiet!”

Johan shouted loudly. His forceful shout caused the mermaids’ singing to pause momentarily. Johan could sense the mermaids becoming flustered. It seemed they had realized that their song was ineffective.

“Even spirits far more cunning and violent than you have failed to bewitch me. You’d best give up on trying to lure me in with your singing. Now. Tell me. Are you the ones spreading disease throughout the city?”

━𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬!

Along with the mermaids’ words, something began to crawl out of the river with a squelching sound.

It was a giant salamander that looked like a cross between a fish and a lizard. The beast, which seemed to be the mermaids’ servant, glared at Johan, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth.

━𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨. 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. . .

A dull thud rang out. It was the sound of Johan’s fist connecting with the salamander’s jaw. With a ‘thud’, the salamander collapsed to the side like a broken doll. Johan growled, Giant Slayer in hand.

“Don’t even think about moving or running away. I can skewer at least three of you with my spear.”

━. . .𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧?

The mermaids seemed to have realized the situation and suddenly became cooperative.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

━𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞! 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

However, the mermaids adamantly denied responsibility for the disease. Instead, they placed the blame on the people of the city.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬?

Johan had a good idea of what the mermaids were talking about. Ever since the pagan army entered the Holy Land, the city had been bustling with activity. The newly arrived army didn’t care about the city’s sanitation, so all sorts of filth were being dumped into the river and canals.

It was these actions that had spread the disease and angered the river spirits.

“So you drowned and killed armed men in the river? To drive them away?”

━𝐘𝐞𝐬.

In the mermaids’ eyes, the culprits were the foreign invaders clad in armor and wielding weapons. It was only natural that the remnants of Suhekhar’s men would suffer such a fate.

“I’ve driven away the outsiders who came from afar and defiled the city. The plague that spread throughout the city is currently being quarantined and treated, so it will subside in time.”

━. . . . . .

The mermaids grew silent at Johan’s words.

They had good reason to be speechless. They had been causing a commotion in an attempt to resolve the problem, only to find out that the problem was already being resolved. If they had any conscience, they couldn’t help but feel foolish.

━𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬.

When one of the mermaids spoke up, Johan responded coolly.

“Fine. I’ll make you believe me.”

━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?

“You’ll know whether to believe me or not after you take a hit like that beast. Who was it? The one who said they didn’t believe me.”

Though their bodies were mostly hidden, Johan could sense the mermaids flinching. It seemed that threats were effective even when they were hiding in the river’s waves.

The leader of the mermaids spoke up cautiously.

━𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.

“Wait.”

━??

The mermaids paused at Johan’s call, ready to leave. They had thought the conversation was over now that they had established trust with each other.

“Several of my men have been killed or injured. You just lured them into the river with your song without even trying to figure out who they were.”

Technically speaking, they weren’t Johan’s men. They were Suhekhar’s men. Johan’s men had suffered no casualties, aside from getting their cheeks slapped a few times.

“On top of that, the city has been thrown into chaos because they came back as monsters.”

This was also a bit of an exaggeration. The city was in chaos primarily because the dead had risen as undead, not because those who had fallen into the river had become monsters. Compared to the former, the latter was a drop in the bucket.

“You’re going to compensate us properly for what you’ve done!”

━. . .𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥.

One of the mermaids waddled closer to the riverbank. Johan could tell that the beggar had been lying. Somehow, he had felt a sense of falsehood when the beggar talked about the mermaids’ beauty, and it turned out that it wasn’t for nothing. The mermaids’ pale, ghastly faces reminded him of spirits.

━𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞.

“. . .???”

Johan blinked and looked at what had been placed on the riverbank. They were seashells, no matter how he looked at them.

━𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?

“. . . . . .”

Johan lunged forward like lightning and grabbed the mermaid by the scruff of the neck. The mermaid seemed taken aback and didn’t react properly.