Not a barbarian warrior.

After obtaining the artifact materials in the city’s back alleys, Lorena moved busily as soon as she arrived at the mansion. She immediately went to Dietrich and asked:

“Um, I want to make an artifact… Is it okay if I set up a small workshop…? I’ll make it and clean up as quickly as possible…”

“Of course. Use it as much as you like.”

With the mansion owner’s permission, she moved all sorts of odds and ends from the carriage to the bedroom. Before long, unidentified tools were densely arranged on the floor, shelves, table, and bed.

As the space neatly organized by the mansion’s servants turned into a mess, Eugene asked Lorena:

“Lorena, shouldn’t we have borrowed a warehouse or something instead of the bedroom?”

“I-I’m fine… I’ll make it and clean up quickly…”

“Hmm… Alright…”

Eugene inwardly apologized to the servants who had cleaned the room neatly.

After that day, Lorena shut herself in the makeshift magic workshop and didn’t come out. After one day, two days, three days passed like that, one day a sound of something exploding came from her workshop.

Boom-

Eugene, who was using the room right next to Lorena’s, heard the explosion sound and hurriedly opened the door. She had crawled out into the hallway and was coughing with a dirty appearance.

“Lorena, are you okay?”

“Cough…! I’m not okay…”

“What happened?”

“I mistook the capacity and all the mixed materials exploded… I was almost done… Making such a beginner’s mistake…”

“Then did that ruby ring get blown away too?”

“Ah, no… Only the materials I bought when we went out last time got blown away…”

“Then…”

“Eugene… Please…”

She took out a pouch from her bosom and placed it in Eugene’s hand. She was asking him to go out and buy the materials again.

“…”

“P-Please… My disciple… No, my housekeeper…”

Eugene was still learning magic from Lorena. The contract they had made before was still valid. He was her disciple and housekeeper. Therefore, he had the duty to take care of such errands.

“…I’ll be back.”

“Be careful, come back quickly…”

Eugene had no choice but to immediately move his steps outside the mansion.

“I wonder if I can meet him again.”

Eugene muttered as he headed towards the Alchemy Guild.

It would be good if he could find the store the boy had guided them to last time, but it was impossible alone because the path was so complicated. He would surely get lost in the middle.

In this situation, he had no choice but to either buy materials from the Alchemy Guild or luckily meet that boy again.

And Eugene was quite lucky today.

A small-bodied boy wearing a shabby black robe like last time was lingering near the Alchemy Guild.

Eugene didn’t know the boy’s name. He had never asked. So he called him like this:

“Kid.”

When Eugene called out, the boy looked at him and waved his hand.

“Ah, Mr. Eugene!”

“…?”

The boy knew Eugene’s name. How? Before he could ask, the boy answered:

“When we encountered those thugs last time, I heard the sister call your name. So I remembered it.”

“You’re smart.”

The boy who came close looked up at Eugene. His bright face was revealed as it was.

Eugene unconsciously looked at the boy’s face and felt something strange. He immediately lowered his body and examined the boy’s face closely.

“But why does your face look like this?”

“Ah… It’s nothing. Haha…”

It wasn’t nothing, as both cheeks were bruised purple. There were clear traces of being hit by someone. It wasn’t just the face. When he slightly lifted the robe, bruises were spread here and there on his thin arms. His legs were the same.

“Don’t tell me… Did you get all the silver coins from last time taken away?”

“Uh… Yes… I’m sorry…”

At the boy’s answer, Eugene gritted his teeth. His face wrinkled involuntarily.

Seeing this, the boy shrank back, and Eugene pressed his furrowed brow with his hand and said:

“What are you sorry for? The one who should be sorry is someone else.”

“It’s my fault. I should have been much more careful than usual… I got caught by another bad guy.”

The boy wasn’t depressed at all. He didn’t cry either. He just showed a faint smile.

Despite his young age, even in this miserable environment, he lived holding a bright light.

“By the way, why did you come here?”

Looking at the boy who was trying to change the subject, Eugene thought for a moment. Then he opened his mouth:

“…Can we buy the materials we got last time again?”

“Of course! Just follow me.”

The boy smiled brightly again and took the lead. Eugene grabbed the boy’s shoulder and said:

“Kid.”

“Yes?”

“Guide me through places where many people pass by, not deserted paths like last time.”

“Hmm… That would be troublesome for you. All sorts of guys will rush at us…”

“Among those various guys, there’s probably the one who took your money, right?”

“Eh…?”

“You said you got the money I gave you taken away. I guess we should get it back. So guide me that way.”

Eugene put his hand on the iron club hidden inside his robe. The heavy mace that he had used well in Carlisle last time was hanging at his waist.

A vagrant and a barbarian slowly walked through the back alleys of Eslan.

The thugs, ruffians, and gangsters who had been hanging around the back alleys looked at the two as if they were looking at delicious prey.

“Hey, brother. Did you come to do charity work? Very admirable. First, take out everything you have.”

Guys who were barely human approached Eugene while snickering. Guys with poor skills were showing off, relying only on their numbers.

Eugene obediently complied with their request. A solid mace revealed itself from inside his robe. At that moment, the guys flinched.

“Wh-What…?”

Eugene looked at the guys who were trying to surround him. Their eyes, which had been filled with greed, were now all colored with bewilderment and fear.

Conversation was unnecessary with these barely human guys. Eugene immediately swung the mace he was holding in his right hand.

Thwack! Thud! Crack!

The sounds of skin bursting, muscles being crushed, and bones being shattered filled the back alleys of Eslan. Ah, screams mixed with pain were included too.

“Urgh…”

Before long, the air surrounding them became quiet. The only sounds were small groans coming from the guys sprawled on the ground.

The boy, who had been watching from afar, ran to Eugene when the situation ended and said:

“Wow…! Mr. Eugene, you’re amazing…”

“Just call me brother.”

“Yes, big brother.”

“Not big brother, just brother… Never mind. So, is the guy who took your money among these?”

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s a shame.”

“You don’t have to do this because of me…”

Eugene shook his head. He shook off the blood on the mace, then put it back inside his robe and said:

“I’m not doing this because of you. I’m doing it all for my own sake.”

“Huh…?”

“It’s just something like that. Let’s go.”

Eugene continued moving, guided by the boy. Every time they turned a corner of an alley, groups of thugs often jumped out.

Each time, Eugene swung his heavy and cold mace without hesitation. With dull sounds, something broke or burst.

What he was doing was, in some aspects, charity work. It was no different from cleaning the dirty back alleys of Eslan.

The guys who fell after being hit by the mace were all in tatters. With broken bones, they wouldn’t be able to move for at least a few months. If they were unlucky, they might be left with lifelong disabilities. If that happened, they would never even think of hunting the weak in these alleys again. Eugene prayed for their luck to be terribly bad.

“What about these guys?”

“Ah! That person! He’s the bad guy who took my money!”

“Is that so?”

Eugene wasn’t just quite lucky today. He was very lucky.

He found a pouch from the guy the boy pointed out. Inside it, almost all the money the boy had been robbed of remained.

“Wow…!”

The boy who got his silver coins back looked at the coins with shining eyes and then carefully put them inside his clothes.

Seeing this, Eugene couldn’t help but smile contentedly.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes! Thank you, brother!”

The boy who had achieved his small goal and Eugene moved forward, humming happily.

After visiting two shabby stores like that, Eugene bought orpiment, quartz, mercury, and lead again and returned.

“I’ll guide you back through the path we took last time.”

“No. Let’s go through the path where many people pass by, like earlier.”

“Hmm… Even though we’ve recovered all the stolen money?”

“If we’ve started cleaning, we should finish it to the end.”

“Cleaning…?”

“That’s right.”

The two moved through a different path than when they came. Eugene took out his mace and started cleaning again.

Thwack! Crack!

As red blood dirtied the mace each time, the back alleys of Eslan became cleaner and cleaner.

“Phew…”

His breathing became ragged from continuously swinging the mace. Eugene put away his weapon and caught his breath for a moment. Just as the boy who had been hiding behind was about to approach Eugene.

It was then.

Someone appeared from far away on the opposite side. It was a man wearing a black robe.

Eugene gestured to the boy. It was a signal to step back.

As the boy quickly hid his body again, the black robe gradually approached Eugene.

Thump. Thump.

Eugene involuntarily tightened his grip on the mace. The leather wrapped around the handle creaked, screaming.

He looked at the black robe, ready to swing his weapon at any moment.

It was the moment when the other person came right in front of Eugene.

“I’m just passing by.”

A low voice flowed from the black robe. The voice, which sounded as if it had lost all vitality, contained no emotion.

Despite people lying around bleeding profusely, the man in the black robe indifferently took his steps.

He passed by Eugene’s side like the wind and disappeared behind him suddenly.

Eugene felt a strange sensation from the unidentifiable man in the black robe. The back of his neck felt chilly. His instincts clearly felt like fighting him would be natural.

“What was that…?”

Eugene muttered, looking at the place where the black robe had disappeared. But there was nothing there.

After the black robe passed by, the boy who had been hiding approached Eugene again and said:

“That person just now… What on earth was he…?”

“I don’t know.”

“While I was hiding and watching, I got goosebumps all over my body… Was it just me?”

“I felt similar.”

“I’ve seen all sorts of people here, but it’s the first time I’ve seen someone giving off that kind of atmosphere. It was like seeing a ghost.”

“A ghost… That’s a fitting description.”

“Shall we get out of here quickly?”

“Yes.”

The two people who had encountered a man giving off a strange atmosphere moved their steps again.

After escaping the back alleys like that, they stood facing each other in the space connecting the side street to the main road.

Eugene took out a few silver coins from his pocket and held them out to the boy like last time. But the boy waved his hands, declining:

“No, I can’t accept it…! It’s enough that you helped me recover the money I lost today.”

“Never mind that, just take it. My arm’s getting tired.”

Eugene grabbed the wrist of the boy who was waving his hand and forcibly put the silver coins in his hand.

“…Thank you.”

The boy bowed his head and said he would be going now, turning his back.

“…”

Eugene quietly watched the boy who was about to walk back into the back alleys.

Then suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

That he shouldn’t let the boy go like this. That he should do something more for him.

The moment that conclusion was reached, he reflexively grabbed the boy’s shoulder.

“…?”

“…This won’t do. Kid. Come with me somewhere.”

Eugene finally grabbed the boy and headed towards the mansion where Dietrich was.

After passing through the high walls and entering the mansion, he borrowed some ointment that was good for bruises.

He took off the shabby robe the boy was wearing and generously applied the borrowed ointment.

“You didn’t have to do this much… Thank you.”

“Kid. You…”

Eugene had impulsively brought the boy and treated him, but this was the end. He couldn’t do anything more beyond this.

Giving him some money, clearing out the thugs wandering in the back alleys, applying medicine to his wounds. This was all.

It was difficult to go one step further from here. If he did, he would probably become responsible for the boy’s life.

That was too burdensome for Eugene, who could barely take care of himself.

He felt like he had done his best in his own way, but still, a corner of his heart felt uncomfortable.

In a situation where he could neither do this nor that, the surrounding air grew heavier and heavier.

When Eugene couldn’t bring himself to say what came next, the boy forced a smile and said:

“I should go back now. I won’t forget the kindness you’ve shown me…!”

The boy put on his shabby and worn-out robe again. Then, he hesitated for a moment. As if he had something more he wanted to say,

But in the end, the boy said nothing. And he turned around with his head bowed low.

Seeing this, Eugene unknowingly tried to open his mouth. But no words came out.

Eugene realized then that he had done something terrible to the boy.

He had given the boy vain hope and then taken it away again.

“Ah…”

Eugene went outside the mansion and could only quietly watch the child’s figure grow distant.

It was as if he felt that if he kept watching that retreating figure, the child might turn back someday.

But the boy didn’t stop.

The boy, who had been getting smaller and smaller, became a dot and at some point completely disappeared from view.

He stared into empty space and suddenly realized.

That he had never once asked the boy’s name.

That he hadn’t even said that simple word.

“You fucking idiot…”

Eugene crouched down weakly in his spot.

He covered his face with his hands.

He couldn’t bring himself to lift his face.