“Hyung, are you okay?”

“Ugh…”

Before his eyes even fluttered open, Egru was assaulted by a skull-splitting hangover. It was a horrendous aftereffect; he hadn’t known that fruit wines, in particular, packed such a vicious punch.

“Nngghh…”

Levian had been right. There was a very good reason he’d been forbidden from even looking at alcohol. This was a new kind of agony. His head throbbed, and a wave of nausea churned in his stomach. The world, which had seemed so magical the night before, was now submerged in a dreary, ashen gray.

Gods, please…

Egru had never been a man of faith, but he found himself praying for divine intervention.

“You’re not going to drink again, are you?”

“N-Never…”

Good. D’Élysée offered a faint smile. He knew a healing potion would ease the suffering, but he held back. This was a perfect opportunity to correct a bad habit. For his brother’s own good, he had to be firm. He intended to permanently etch into his mind the lesson that curiosity, at times, could be a poison.

“Promise me, hyung. At the very least, you’ll never drink when I’m not around.”

“Okay…”

“Don’t just agree so easily, you idiot,” Gilbert chided with a click of his tongue. Having won at rock-paper-scissors earlier, he was the one currently giving Egru a piggyback ride. “Being next to him is the most dangerous place to be. You’ll fall asleep and wake up imprisoned in some tower you’ve never seen before.”

“Don’t listen to him, hyung. That’s a baseless, malicious lie.”

D’Élysée walked alongside them, gently rubbing Egru’s back. His verdant eyes remained fixed on his brother, who was groaning in misery.

“Ugh, hh…”

Cold sweat poured down his pale face. He had already thrown up several times during the night, but his stomach was clearly still in turmoil. D’Élysée gently wiped his brother’s sweat-drenched forehead, his stern resolve wavering. It was painful to keep watching him suffer.

“Hyung, are you thirsty?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Here’s some water.”

“Thank you. Both of you, really…”

In the end, D’Élysée gave in, letting him sip small amounts of water mixed with a healing potion. It was a stark reminder of the old adage: the one who loves more is the one who loses. With that, Egru’s breathing evened out, and the color began to return to his face.

Did one of the gods actually help me?

By the time the sun was high overhead, he had recovered enough to walk on his own. As he trotted along with renewed vigor, the scenery around them began to change. The wild, grassy path gave way to a well-trodden road.

Crack!

Startled by the sharp snap of a whip, Egru glanced to his side just as a carriage pulled by a sleek black horse sped past, missing them by a hair’s breadth. Carriages of all sizes now frequently traversed the dry, dusty road, a clear sign they were approaching a major town with heavy traffic.

D-Dangerous.

Egru quickly herded D’Élysée and Gilbert toward the safety of the roadside. He positioned himself on the outermost edge, shielding the two men who were both twice his size.

For a rare moment, D’Élysée and Gilbert wore the exact same expression—a mixture of joy and concern. Does he think he’s not in danger himself? It would be better if he were still dead drunk and passed out on Gilbert’s back.

“Hey, you’re the size of a bean, what are you—”

“Hyung. See that gray castle wall over there? That’s the Giel Principality.”

Before Gilbert could unleash his clumsy emotions, D’Élysée stepped forward, pointing a long finger toward a distant fortress that still looked smaller than the palm of his hand. He subtly drew his brother’s gaze and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him safely to the inside.

“The innkeeper mentioned that security at the gate has been tightened since last summer…” D’Élysée’s eyes flickered between Egru and Gilbert. Neither of them had identification papers, and he himself was a wanted man. It hadn’t mattered in the tiny, unmarked villages on the map, but entering a major city was a different story.

“Is the next relic in that direction, hyung?”

“Mhm…!”

“Then we’ll have to assess the situation when we reach the castle wall. It might take some time to find it this time.”

“There’s a dungeon nearby.” Gilbert’s nose twitched as he stared into the woods bordering the road. “A dungeon, you say?”

“Yeah. It’s probably in there anyway, right? No need to waste time in a place swarming with humans. If we go right now…”

“Aaaahhh—!”

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. Egru immediately spun toward the sound. D’Élysée and Gilbert, however, remained unfazed.

“Somebody, please help—!”

“Shut your mouth! Hand over everything you’ve got!”

Egru’s pointed ears twitched. The commotion seemed to be coming from a nearby fork in the road.

“S-Someone’s in trouble.”

“You’re hearing things. Ignore it.”

Gilbert sounded merely annoyed. He grabbed Egru’s arm and began dragging him in the opposite direction.

“But they’re asking for help.”

“So what? We’re in a hurry.”

“H-How can you say that? It sounds like they’re being robbed…”

“Let them handle it. People should take care of their own problems.”

“You insolent fools! Do you have any idea who I am?! Aigo, no, sir! Please, just spare my life!” a man’s frantic shriek cut through the air.

Before it was too late, Egru wrenched his arm from Gilbert’s grasp. “I-I’ll go help, even if I have to go alone. You can wait here, Gilbert.”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.” Gilbert seized his arm again, his grip firm. “Do you really think you can do anything if you go?”

“Huh?”

“Sometimes you just have bad luck on the road, and you die. It happens. But them dying is a thousand times better than a weakling like you trying to ‘help’.”

Egru, hurt, couldn’t find the words to respond.

“Wh-Why would you say something like that…?”

“Stop playing hero when you’re nothing but a bag of bones.”

Egru squeezed his trembling eyelids shut, then once again pulled free from Gilbert’s hold.

“I’m not playing hero.”

“Don’t lie. Then why are you so desperate to meddle in other people’s business?”

“Does there have to be a reason to save someone…?!”

Gilbert faltered at Egru’s retort, but soon let out a low growl.

“You know what? It’s the ones like you, all heart and no sense, who die first. You want to die that young?”

“Even so, the good I do will remain.”

“Where?”

“In m-my heart!”

“Hah!”

Ignoring Gilbert’s scoff, Egru ran. D’Élysée silently turned and followed him. Gilbert, fuming, eventually spun around and stalked after them.

“You can’t do this! Those documents are to be presented to His Grace the Duke!”

“Grab anything that looks valuable! Take off their rings and necklaces, too!”

“Please, don’t! This is the only one in my family’s… No!”

Just as he’d expected, a carriage attacked by bandits was stopped at the fork in the road. Several men, presumably guards, already lay dead. The only saving grace was that the commotion and the smell of blood had attracted monsters, which were making it difficult for the bandits to collect their loot.

Egru immediately drew Barbal and charged. But just as he reached the back of a bandit, he froze.

I-If I strike him down… will he die?

He had never fought a human before. He didn’t know that in a battle against an intelligent being, a moment’s hesitation is a death sentence.

In that split second of pause, the bandit whirled around with a vicious grin. He raised a crude club over his head. A man accustomed to killing, he showed no hesitation. Egru couldn’t even close his eyes. He stood frozen, staring up at the club, when the bandit suddenly stopped.

“Well, look what we have here. A demon, isn’t it? He’ll fetch a pretty penny at the slave market…!”

It was over in a flash. The bandit’s hand, reaching out to grab Egru, flew through the air. Before the man could even register his severed wrist, a sword plunged into the center of his face. It was D’Élysée. With a brutal twist of the blade, the bandit’s arm dropped to the ground with a sickening thud.

The moment the sword was withdrawn, a fountain of blood erupted from the bandit’s face. D’Élysée flicked the sticky gore from his blade and swiftly annihilated the remaining enemies. Gilbert, who had finally followed out of concern, joined the fray, and the skirmish ended in the blink of an eye.

“See? I told you you’d be no help,” Gilbert said.

Egru focused all his energy on keeping his knees from buckling. He had to prove Gilbert wrong, to show that he could be useful, even just a little. He approached a writhing monster, its eyes rolled back in its head. It was already finished, but he stabbed it repeatedly, making sure it was truly dead. He couldn’t bring himself to go near the bandits.

After the last of their screams had faded, chunks of dismembered flesh littered the dirt road.

“You saved us! All hail the righteous heroes!”

The nobleman, who had been cowering with his driver, finally ran out, his face beaming. “I shudder to think what would have become of us had we not met you! This is truly a blessing from the heavens!”

The aristocrat’s shining eyes scanned over Gilbert and D’Élysée, but he seemed to look right through the tiny Egru, as if he weren’t even there. Not even a sliver of that admiring gaze fell upon him.

“I am Marquis Virmaux Chelsea, Chancellor of the Giel Principality. It is an immense honor to meet such formidable individuals.” Marquis Chelsea bowed gracefully. “Might I be so bold as to inquire about your destination? I insist on rewarding you. Ah! On that note, why not stay in our principality for a while? His Grace the Duke will surely bestow a great reward upon you!”

“You want something else,” D’Élysée stated flatly. A man of Marquis Chelsea’s rank and status would never humble himself like this without a compelling reason. He was desperate to bring them with him. “State your purpose.”

“So, you’ve discerned it…” the marquis replied, his voice tinged with resignation, as if he had expected to be found out. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and let out a soft sigh.