Cardboard Houses Do Not Tear

37 – How to win a verbal fight

In a forest full of fire, all I could hear was the burning of the trees.

Breaking the silence where no one spoke, Mark opened his mouth.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Caustic.”

I opened my mouth. He asked.

“Caustic?”

I pointed to his left sleeve and showed him the iron ring he was holding.

“At least if you were going to use caustic, you should have taken off your gloves.”

He pretended not to know even as he looked at the red rust.

“That’s something.”

“What is it, the caustic you used the other day when you rubbed the wagon with a cloth soaked in oil is left on the gauntlet.”

“Corrosive. I don’t have it.”

“Don’t worry, I picked it up.”

“What?”

His expression slightly distorted.

I took out a bottle I picked up before going to the village chief’s house.

And pointed to the words written on it.

“I’m calling you out because I’m afraid you’re illiterate, but it says caustic. And the name is also written on it. Shall we see each other?”

Lil-Lee.

“Not the name you walk three times on the roof of your mouth and hit your front teeth.”

After making such a joke, he opened his mouth.

“And there is someone in your party named Lily who can use the caustic.”

I shook the bottle. The inside was empty.

“There, Mr. Betty said, you guys received a nomination request from the central region with no connections. Is there any reason to use caustic to melt something for simple top escort? At least not until now.”

“Did I destroy the wagon so that I could use it for something? Stop guessing.”

“I don’t know, but one thing is certain.”

I have come up with somewhat drastic results, but what I think is certain.

“They tried to murder Lorna Prianian the night the carriage was broken.”

There was silence again, and Mark asked in a puzzled way.

“…Do you know what you’re talking about?”

“Then let me ask you something. Why did you know that the leader of the Prianian squad was coming to the Stone Forest?”

Mark was pretty tough.

“I was escorting the upper lord. Is it a problem for the guards you are talking about to serve the Lord of the upper ranks in case of emergency?”

“The lord of the upper ranks, whom you mention so much, said, ‘As you said, the leader of the Prianian squad came this way’. That is, the reason the Upper Lord came to the Stone Forest that day, he came by your will.”

Even Mr. Toh was not perfect, but he recited words with roughly similar nuances.

“……”

“That means you already knew we were coming that way. Could I be mistaken?”

“…If I had tried to kill Captain Prianian, I would have come alone.”

I shook my head at Mark’s argument.

“That person was trying to come alone, but met the lord of the upper section in the middle.”

“Why? It could be that I went there after attending the Lord of the upper ranks.”

I thanked Sangsanju for stopping by our bonfire in my mind, then refuted his words.

“No. Before the monster attack, he was alone. Because after dinner they went back and forth to our campfire. And that alone.”

His poker face was blurred for a moment.

I continued to recite my guesses.

“He must have encountered the monster on his way back to his tent, and you, who were about to move to kill the leader of the Prianian squad, must have saved him. But you couldn’t have dropped him, since you were hired by this caravan. So I must have convinced you.”

And we know very well what that persuasion is about. Because the owner of the upper house recited it himself.

“Did I know how Captain Prianian would move?”

“As I said earlier, the lord of the upper house let us know what you said, ‘of course.’ That said, you at least knew the Prianian Squad Leader’s pattern. If you’re not an assassin, would you be a stalker?”

Then Mark’s face began to fill with anger.

“Don’t play with words-“

“Yes. Then stop our puns and roll up your left sleeve to show me the gauntlet. Because I know the traces of the corrosive solution, I can tell the difference between what is rusted and what is not.”

“……”

Mark didn’t answer. He didn’t even roll up his sleeves.

Only the sound of trees cracking and falling down somewhere in the distance seemed to convey his feelings.

“If the chain gauntlet on your sleeve is not corroded, I will gladly apologize for the rudeness and compensate you financially.”

I respectfully smiled at him.

“So roll up your sleeves and tell me the truth.”

My throat cracked from the heat began to complain of thirst. Sweat could be seen running down his face.

“…That’s interesting.”

He lowered his head for a moment and then spat out.

“It is a method of using caustic agent on an oily cloth. It wasn’t bad.”

“Then aren’t you the culprits? This is the first time I’ve been to the North.”

“I never said northern way. Mark.”

His hands were motionless.

The prianian squad leader has already moved behind me.

And Betty stayed still.

Kwakdeuk.

He gripped Selendian tightly.

“And if you roll up the sleeves of that stupidly stretched robe, it’s a problem that can be solved, so why is your tongue hanging out so much?”

“What about my robe?”

He lowered his head and said, shaking his body.

-Never point out his attire.

Remembering Sten’s advice and provoking it was more effective than expected.

“It’s like wearing women’s clothes. Who’s clothes lover?”

“…Daughter.”

“What?”

Mark raised his head.

Resentment flowed from his face full of passion.

“The sorceress that the woman behind you shot to death in the middle. She is my daughter.”

I’m speechless.

“Yes. That’s right. I came to the North to kill Prianian.”

Having said that, Mark began to talk about why he had come this far.

The story of raising a daughter alone without a mother while working as a heavy infantryman.

The story of a clever daughter who entered the count family’s wizard after being shot and killed in the Battle of the Territory, with only a robe she used to wear and a few pennies in compensation.

The story of how I met Sten’s party and moved together after wandering around the world in despair.

Then, after hearing that a crossbow shooter named [Spell Sniper] Had appeared in the north, he prepared for revenge.

A story about meeting a slave trader who was on the verge of bankruptcy at a bar and asking them to hire them and go up north.

A story about arriving in the Hebrides and telling them to hire a new mercenary who doubled as a mercenary ‘for safety’.

On the day before going up, I gave the person in charge of the safety of the wagon a drink so that he would fall asleep, picked a wagon and used the ‘how to use caustic agent’ I had heard from the mercenaries in the past, and then used all the caustic agent left in the cloth distributed to everyone. A story that was sprinkled.

In that part, I shared my impressions.

“I don’t know who that mercenary was, but he didn’t tell me anything to keep in mind. He never said he should wear the gauntlet.”

“Damn it. He didn’t know it would corrode even though he covered it with the sleeve of his robe in his left hand, which didn’t hold the mace just in case.”

“You should have thought about permeating.”

With a dejected expression on his face, he spoke again instead of answering.

As planned, the wagon stopped at a mountain road, and that evening, carrying a sharp stone to disguise the actions of the goblins, they headed for the prianian squad leader.

However, an unexpected monster wave struck, and while moving, he met and saved a frightened merchant.

“Lepian was very timid. He said he was going to find Priian, so I said, ‘Do you know where he is, then let me go too. Wouldn’t he be a little safer.’ He followed me like this.”

“Then you met me.”

Mark nodded his head and added another word.

“If it wasn’t for that side, Priyanian would have had his head crushed that day.”

“Stop talking sh*t, just ask one thing. Are there any accomplices?”

Mark nodded his head calmly.

“Yes. I am alone. I told you the whole story over and over, it was just because I wanted to tell you.”

He replied, gripping his mace tightly.

But.

“No. I am also an accomplice.”

Standing beside us, still motionless, Betty raised her shortbow and said.

Mark screamed in surprise.

“Betty!”

“Why, right? I’m sorry I ruined your plans, but I am your accomplice.”

With that shot, she opened her mouth to me.

“You are lucky. What you fed the goblins at the campfire was monster bait disguised as bread.”

f*ck?

I replied with a bewildered expression.

“What?”

“At least the bread I gave you for dinner is fine, so don’t worry.”

She answered quite kindly.

“It is used to lure intelligent monsters in the dungeon, and it is usually fine, but the moment it is burned, it attracts them and sprinkles an incense that makes them mistaken for delicious food there.”

Somehow, the f*cking bread was seared.

It’s also something that many guides carry around. After saying that, Betty walked towards Mark.

“Then the goblins ate the bastard with bread or bait stuck in his mouth…”

She didn’t say anything, just nodded her head.

I momentarily imagined the future I would have experienced.

Creepy.

With a chill running down her spine, Betty continued her words.

“Two more things, the stealing of Lily’s corrosive liquid and giving it to Mark, and the coming of monsters towards the fence. I did it. Lily, Sten, and the top lord. Others know nothing.”

I asked with a slightly relaxed expression after hearing the absurd fact.

“If you don’t mind, I will ask you one question.”

“Yes.”

“Did you make the sound of the bowstrings snapping around the wooden fence just before the monsters arrived?”

She nodded her head obediently.

She said, “She stuck a singed bait into her arrow and fired it. Exactly two feet are enough.”

“Even if Mark was like that, why did you do that?”

“Because I love Mark.”

The look on Betty’s face as she looked at Mark while saying that was quite sad.

Oh my God.

“Betty.”

Betty ignored Mark’s words and continued.

“He supports me. He always takes care of everyone with a cold face, but he’s a fool who can’t fill his own hole.”

Betty looked at the prianian squad leader this time.

“Before we came up here, there was a time when we had a drink together. At that time, he only talked to me. And I comforted him. But Mark’s heart wasn’t filled.”

Resentment overflowed from his face as he spoke calmly.

“So I decided to fill it up. By killing the man who hurt this foolish man.”

Her arms began to tighten slightly.

“And the reason I’m telling you all this, it must be pretty straightforward.”

Peeing!

Suddenly, she fired an arrow into the air.

And then, after a while, I heard a thud from somewhere.

“This is the bait I mentioned earlier. Monsters will soon flock to this direction.”

‘Our’ plan is simple. Betty said softly.

“We will shoot you dead, return to our ignorant comrades, and we will retire when the mission is over. That’s why I taught Lily the guidance technique.”

In those eyes, only inorganic coolness could be seen.

“Betty, did you know that she betrayed her comrades and threatened the slash-and-burn villagers? Everyone was in danger because of your love game. There have already been deaths!”

“Yes. But thanks to your ingenious imagination, that’s not the case, is it?”

“Damn it.”

I didn’t expect that praise for being good at messing around would make me feel so dirty.

Sure.

She took another arrow from her waistband.

“I will do anything to win Mark’s love. So, I am proud.”

Having said that, Betty raised her bow again.

Now, in her eyes, there was nothing but life.

“Love is something you win for yourself. Mr. Ghouse and Prianian. This is my final advice.”

No more words were needed.

In the burning forest, more burning emotions began to confront each other.

But before that, I had something to say.

Sure.

I raised her sword and aimed it at her.

I opened my mouth.

“There are things people should do only after there are things they should not do. Betty.”

Selendian shone again with the light.

Soon, it will be dyed black and dark again.

“And all advice is bullsh*t if the listener is not willing to take it.”

Just as you and I think so.

After saying that, I took a stance.

My field of vision began to narrow.

The faces of the two people blurred.

“So let’s compete to see whose bullsh*t is louder. We.”

Originally, in an argument, the one with the loudest voice wins.