“Relax, Seran. Fear will never bring you any help at all.”
The man in the white robe held a lantern in one hand and pressed his other hand against Serandic's shoulder.
With that press, Serandic's body miraculously calmed down.
“Teacher, I just...” Serandic finally found his words after a moment of silence.
“No need to explain. Don't let there be a next time.” The white-robed man carried his lantern and walked ahead of Serandic.
“Keep up,” the white-robed man said in a calm, unhurried voice.
Serandic opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing, merely giving a somewhat fearful response: “Yes...”
...
Compared to the noisy, filthy streets, the area near the bell tower was noticeably cleaner and quieter.
But at this moment, Ogre had no state of mind for observation. His head was filled with thoughts about Serandic's abnormality.
“That scent...”
After the awakening of Ogre's innate talent, Ogre's Lunchbox, the only aspect of his body that had been directly enhanced was his foraging instinct.
This not only intensified Ogre's appetite but also increased his sensitivity to food.
After Ogre carefully recalled and compared everything, he discovered to his horror that the scent he had smelled on Serandic actually triggered an urge to feed!
‘No... That's not right! How could this be?’
Ogre instinctively wanted to deny his conjecture, but an answer inevitably formed in the depths of his mind.
There was only one person who could have caused Serandic to change in such a short period of time, and whom he had been in contact with.
Yade!
‘What on earth... did Teacher do to Seran?!’
In an instant, the moment he connected it to Yade, Ogre immediately thought of that beating piece of ‘living flesh’—the Taisui.
‘That thing... there's definitely... definitely something wrong with it!’
Although Ogre did not want to suspect Yade, once all other possibilities were ruled out, no matter how much he did not want to believe it, it could only be the truth.
‘And what about the bell tower?! Is there something wrong with it too?’
Ogre pulled out the silver badge.
Right then, Ogre made a decision. He would enter that bell tower ahead of schedule!
However, before that, he had to take care of the tailing pests.
To act immediately upon a thought—this had always been Ogre's code of conduct.
Feeling the long spear on his back, Ogre quickly disappeared into the deserted streets.
“Damn it... I lost him. How did he end up here?” a ruffian-looking hunchbacked man spat, staring into the empty alley.
The moment Ogre killed Will in public, people had targeted him, seeking to trade his information for profit.
He was just such a scavenger, tailing Ogre all this time simply to get information on his movements to sell for a decent price.
Whether selling it to Viscount Border or his illegitimate son, both were excellent options.
Once Ogre tried to sneak out of the city to hide, he would immediately make a fortune, perhaps using it to change his allegiance and even rid himself of his status as a family servant.
Indeed, he had planned to betray his “master” from the very beginning.
He felt this was a rare opportunity.
But to his surprise, Ogre kept wandering around in circles without ever leaving.
And as he followed, he actually lost him.
‘I have to report this news to...’ Seeing that he had lost Ogre, the hunchbacked man immediately prepared to convey the current information to his master.
His dream of changing allegiances had seemingly gone down the drain.
“Tell your master, or Border, is that it?” a voice appeared behind him.
The hunchbacked man looked back and instantly collapsed to the ground. “Y-You!”
“Following me is quite fun, isn't it?”
Ogre's voice echoed in the cold alley, sounding exceptionally eerie.
“Y-You... if you dare to kill me, you'll be defying the City Guard, you'll be...”
Although the hunchback was an apprentice himself, when facing a guy like Ogre who dared to kill nobles, he was undoubtedly terrified inside.
But he was only halfway through his sentence when the tip of a spear pressed into his mouth, cutting off his words completely.
As long as Ogre wished, he could take the man's life with a single thrust at any moment.
“When you bully commoners on ordinary days, why don't you think about imperial law?” Ogre kicked him to the ground.
Ogre then reversed his spear, removing it from the man's mouth and placing it against his neck. “Tell me, who ordered you to follow me?”
The hunchbacked servant was almost wetting himself with fear. He did not doubt for a second that Ogre would kill him—after all, the guy had dared to stab a noble's son to death in public, not to mention there was no one in this dark alley.
“It's Pr—”
But just as the servant was about to reveal his master's identity, an arrow arrived in a flash, piercing straight into his neck and ending his life.
“Who is it?!”
Although Ogre had guessed there were other tailing watchmen, he hadn't expected their strike to come so swiftly and decisively.
“Killing a noble's servant within the city violates imperial law. You... deserve to die!” A person stood atop a nearby building holding a bow, looking down on Ogre from a commanding height.
The archer immediately pinned a few accusations on Ogre, then drew his bow once more.
‘Not good... That guy was just bait. He's from the Border side... No, this could even be the work of Border's rivals. These nobles move incredibly fast!’
Ogre swept a glance at the servant who was as dead as could be, realizing what was happening in an instant.
‘These bastards have absolutely no shame!’
Sacrificing a human life just to gain an excuse to strike.
Even Ogre hadn't anticipated that these frontier dwellers would use such shameless, underhanded methods and excuses, nor that they would act so quickly.
They hadn't even fully left the jurisdiction of the Church of Truth yet.
But no matter how unexpected it was, Ogre had no intention of defending his innocence—there was no point in doing so.
Ogre would never willingly play into their hands.
After dodging several arrows in succession, Ogre aimed for the nearest sewer opening. He dashed forward, quickly pried open the entrance with his spear, and leaped inside.
Before he even arrived in this city, Ogre had investigated the urban sewers; it had been one of the crutches his father relied upon to travel safely through human society.
Ogre did all this simply to ensure he could escape at any moment.
Always leaving himself an escape route was one of the rules of survival Ogre had deduced.
After all, even the mana rabbits and goblins in the Forest of Monsters knew to leave several escape routes in their burrows.
“This guy...” Watching the fleeing Ogre, the archer narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected Ogre to be so slippery.
He had escaped without even bothering to fight back.
This level of proficiency did not look like it was his first time at all.
He thought that Ogre, who had dared to slaughter a noble's descendant on the spot, would have some hot blood in him and would at least try to retaliate.
“Do we still need to issue a wanted poster, Captain?” A fully armored Knight stepped out from beside the archer.
“No need. This kid is extremely cautious; I worry it might backfire...” The archer waved his hand.
At this distance, it was also inconvenient for him to pursue Ogre.
“Keep a close eye on various parts of the city. Report to me immediately if there is any news of him. Also... return that servant's corpse to Viscount Pleisner. If I can't use someone, they shouldn't dream of using them either.”
The archer slung the bow over his back and then walked back into the room.
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