Chapter 7

In the Gadalitta region, in the city of Lunii.

Five years have passed since the tragedy in the Beasts’ Country of Bluuz, where the village of Sadori was engulfed in war, and its residents were completely annihilated.

The city of Lunii is home to mercenaries, drifters, ex-convicts, and even active thieves…

This is a city inhabited by those living on the fringes of society.

Prohibited goods from other countries circulate here, murders occur almost daily, and the bodies of the weak are discarded by the roadside—it’s a small, utterly corrupted outpost.

Outside, as twilight deepens into evening, in a tavern lit by filthy lights, rough thieves are drinking obnoxiously.

“Hey, keep bringing more! Hahaha!”

A trio occupying one of the tables is particularly boisterous.

They are mercenaries, sometimes dabbling in brutal crimes, fitting right into the atmosphere of this city.

In this world, the distinction between mercenaries and thieves is blurred—if there’s money to be made, they will use violence to achieve it.

The leader of the trio, Darido, rubbed a scar on his forehead and spoke while sipping mixed liquor.

“This time, we’ve struck it rich. The pay from the battlefield and the spoils, and the ‘income’ from that village we stopped by was pretty good too.”

A one-eyed man, his companion Jette, laughed and nodded.

“We should be able to live it up for a while.”

The last member, Abalaz, looked somewhat regretful.

“If only there were more women. Just snatching a few country girls and selling them to a slave trader feels like a waste.”

“Well, that’s greedy. The jewels from the murdered village chief fetched a pretty penny.”

“Even if we drink ourselves silly here, we still have plenty left. Gahhaha!”

In this city, there’s no one to reprimand such base talk. Everyone here is a similar sort of scum, gathering in Lunii for drinks, women, and lodging.

Then Abalaz suddenly remembered something.

“By the way… there were those beastkin kids at some fortress back in the day. That was a waste. Especially the sisters—good-looking for kids. If we hadn’t killed them all and sold them to a slave trader instead, we could’ve made a good profit.”

“Here we go again. I told you, back then we had just suffered a major defeat in battle; we couldn’t think about that,” Jette replied.

“Back then, we didn’t even have connections to sell slave women. And besides…”

Darido scratched his forehead and continued.

“…Even recalling it, that was a creepy guy. Were they twins? The one we killed showed up looking just like the other one, and I was spooked.”

“Damn it. This is why I hate thinking about it,” Jette grumbled, touching his lost eye with irritation.

“Talking about the money we missed out on and this eye is pointless. There was never a chance to profit. End of discussion.”

“Yeah… well, today we made money that doesn’t even compare to that. It’s been a while since we hit the jackpot, so let’s celebrate.”

The men clinked their cups together.

At that moment, another rogue nearby spoke up, addressing Darido and his companions.

He was a short man with a large growth on one eye.

“Hehehe, things are lively today, Darido. How about pouring me a drink?”

“Eh?”

Darido tried to recall the ugly little man in front of him.

He knew him from being a fellow mercenary but couldn’t remember his name… well, that was about the extent of their relationship. However,

“Wasn’t it you who pulled us out of the mud on the battlefield last time? You owe me at least one drink,” the man said.

“Oh, right. I suppose so.”

“Sorry about that. Hehehe.”

Ale poured into a wooden cup was handed to the little man, who then sat down without reservation and started to drink and munch on snacks.

“By the way, what happened to Benny? Did he finally kick the bucket?”

Darido’s group was always a quartet. When the little man asked about the missing member, Abalaz answered.

“Benny is out on his own. He’s collecting payment from a slave trader and apparently has leads on the next money-making scheme. He went to seal the deal.”

“Still looking to earn more, huh? You guys are hoarding it all.”

“Hey, they say it’s a big score. If it goes well, we might finally be rid of this crappy mercenary life.”

Jette’s optimistic words made the little man scowl.

“That’s unfair! You’re just going to blow it all on drinks and end up back where you started… Anyway, have you heard the recent rumors?”

The little man raised a finger, putting on a serious expression. Abalaz asked.

“What is it? Something happened?”

“The Crossroads. Apparently, the Man of the Crossroads has been spotted around here again.”

“““Huh…?”””

All three voiced their surprise at this new information.

“You guys don’t know about the Crossroads? …Ah, now I want another drink.”

“Quit being so cryptic. Come on.”

The little man beamed at his second cup and began to tell his tale.

“Hehehe. There’s a creepy and highly skilled assassin hunting us outlaws. Once you’re targeted, it’s over; you’ll definitely be killed. He’s a seriously dangerous guy.

They call him the Man of the Crossroads.

Especially big-time criminals seem to be his targets. No one knows who he really is—he’s said to be a black-haired man and one of us mercenaries, but… the thing is, no one who survived to tell the tale is left.”

“I’m hearing this for the first time. It sounds like a lame, made-up rumor.”

“You guys have been away in other regions for a while. Everyone living in this city knows about it. There’s a group of five from Shizuru, right? They were all killed by him six months ago. All wiped out before anyone knew.”

“Shizuru? That’s a well-known skilled group.”

The group from Shizuru is rumored to be a band of elite mercenaries from the east.

Darido and the others have heard tales of their courage, never fearing death on the battlefield.

“Those guys went down without anyone noticing? Is there really someone who can do that? And I heard the duo of Marite and Kanbara got killed too. Even that invincible killing couple. Hehehe.”

“No way… Why the Crossroads?”

Abalaz asked the obvious question.

The name “Man of the Crossroads” sounded rather peculiar.

“Oh, that’s because he appears at the crossroads at night. Like a ghost. Whether by the roadside or inside a house, he shows up wherever there are four paths.

There’s always a warning before he arrives. He stands at the doorstep. Once you see his shadow, it’s over… No matter how far you run, he’ll catch up with you and appear at some crossroads.

And he has the face of a pitch-black grim reaper, whispering to the poor soul, ‘Choose a path.’ But if you pick the wrong one, your life is…!”

The small man grinned stickily, like a pest.

The three men grimaced at the eerie ghost story.

“Shut up, you idiot! It’s ruining the taste of the drink!”

Only the despicable small man laughed at Jette’s angry shout.

Suddenly, the tavern door swung open.

Startled by the ghost story, the men jumped in unison. Looking towards the entrance, they saw other mercenaries entering the tavern.

The newcomers were mercenaries somewhat familiar to Darido and the others, and they seemed unremarkable.

“Hee-hee-hee. Scary, scary. We better pray we’re not targeted too. Speaking of despicable people, you and I are both famous around here…”

“Shut up with your pointless talk, you damn shrimp.”

The men let out a sigh of relief.

However, the group of mercenaries that entered the tavern approached Darido and said, “Hey, Darido? You guys made it out okay?”

“Huh? Who the hell are you?”

“…Not yet, huh? Benny’s dead.”

The men gathered around the table froze. The familiar mercenary spoke to them.

“They found his corpse in the slave trader’s town. It was a terrible sight… His severed head was impaled on a pole.”

“Benny? Why?”

“Why, you ask? Well, you know…”

The mercenaries exchanged glances. The small man asked in a trembling voice, “W-where was the body? Don’t tell me…”

“Y-yeah. It was left at the ‘crossroads.’ Just like always.”

“…The ‘Crossroads’…!!”

The small man’s ugly face went pale. He moved away from the table as if to escape, muttering with a blue face, “I have nothing to do with this. I’m different.”

“That bastard…! No, is it really true about Benny?! He couldn’t have gone down so easily!”

“The five from Shizuru were killed without being able to do anything. If you haven’t met them yet, you’d better run away fast. They say you can’t escape from the Grim Reaper.”

“There’s no way there’s a Grim Reaper! Hey, you guys, confirm Benny and go kill the bastard who did it…”

When Darido turned around, Jette was staring blankly at the tavern door.

His face was pale. He was trembling.

“…Just now, at the doorway, there was a ‘shadow.’ It disappeared right away.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Th-That’s impossible…! Damn it, it can’t be true!!”

“Hey!?”

Jette kicked his seat, drew his sword, and rushed out of the tavern.

“Abalaz! We’re chasing him!”

The two hurriedly followed, but when they got outside, Jette was nowhere to be seen.

The night’s darkness lay deep and quiet, watching the men.

Without a sound of wind.

“Find him quickly! You go that way!”

They split up and ran into the town.