From the moment the travelers stepped into town, Jamun felt that something was wrong, but by the time he hesitated to figure out what was wrong, Roze, the impulsive and reckless half-breed, had jumped out and called out the lines he had taught him—to his credit, word for word.

But after saying that, he would only fold his hands on his hips, happily watching the excitement there, waiting for his next instruction.

Jamun stared at the strangers who seemed too calm. They don't look like necromancers, but they could be powerful mages - he's heard of their abilities, those fireballs, or lightning, or even an ice storm...... Mages don't usually carry any weapons because they don't need them, so the big man, the tall man, and the dark-haired woman won't be ......

"Woman. He muttered to himself, finally remembering what was wrong.

"There must be two women!" he cried out, he was too old to even forget what his spies had told him not long ago.

"Of course. A sweet voice responded, "You're only now finding out? It's really sad, didn't your people tell you? I'm obviously the most eye-catching one!"

He stiffened and tried to turn his head, the back of his head close to his neck, but the softest and most fragile place was gently poked by something sharp and cold.

"Don't move. The voice warned him, "including your hands, and don't move anywhere, and don't speak loudly, for I can make a little hole in your head before that guy jumps down and get away with ease." I know your little tricks, no matter what city or corner of the world you are, there's nothing new. ”

The old man's hand under the table stopped.

"Don't think about your guards, who are not as big as Akan and Ed. Tess said with some smugness. She touched the Southerner's tranquilizer arrow in the Silvertooth Dwarf's pit before she kicked the southerner who had plotted against her into the vent, and it didn't come in handy until now.

It was the Elves' plan - whoever was following them in the forest could catch him and force him to tell him what was going on in the town, so that he could take them in and find the head of the town directly. But Tess knows these people, and they don't have much truth in their mouths, and they are more likely to lead them into some kind of trap. She changed her plans and followed the person who would be sure to turn back to report when they were about to enter the town, went straight to the leader, and with Ed's vehement objections, got Norway to agree to her for the fun little task.

Leaving her alone to do something dangerous usually required all sorts of coercion and stalking in her Novi's ear, and spending enough time to make their spies suspicious. But Norway is well aware that Tess hates ...... Or she was afraid of the dangers she couldn't control, but she couldn't know the vile and murderous creatures who lived in the dark and mud.

He always lets go when he's sure she's capable enough to deal with the dangers she faces—so red-haired Tess never lets go of her elves.

To her surprise, the person who controlled the town behind the scenes was a shriveled and thin old man with sparse white hair and cloudy gray eyes. He's not even a barbarian!

Of course, she won't let her guard down because of this.

"Look, it's just the two of us now. Tess consulted with the old man in a gentle tone, "I guess there won't be anyone to accompany us for a while." But if you can keep the people out there away from my friends, they'll be willing to come and talk to an old man. ”

"You must be mistaken about something. "I'm just a poor old fellow who occasionally comes up with a little idea to keep myself under the protection of Roze, the big savage on the roof, and the people outside don't care if I live or die!"

"I'm not blind," said Tess with a grin, "I'm not deaf." ”

Jamun kept his mouth shut, he had no idea when this woman had gotten in—he wasn't hiding there when he was teaching Rozer those few words, and he was impatiently calling him a fool, right?

The tip of the knife in the back of his head poked again, and he seemed to be a little impatient: "I have to tell you, I haven't even eaten dinner yet, maybe I'm so hungry that my hands will tremble for a while......

"I mean really," Jamun's voice tinged with desperation in his earnestness, "even if you put a knife to my neck and drag me up the roof for everyone to see, those people will only start to bet on how far my blood can go." ”

"They may not really care, but the barbarian cares, and the people down there, they are afraid of the barbarian. Isn't it?" Tess choked him back, "let your barbarians tell those guys to roll as far as they want!"

“...... You're not going to kill me. "You probably haven't killed anyone at all, little girl...... and he could tell from Tess's voice that it was a very young woman.

“...... Oh,, really? You're going to do this? I've not only killed people, I've killed dead people. "Little girl" said disdainfully and impatiently, "Look, my friends aren't easy guys to deal with, they just don't want to get into trouble. Even if those people do it now, they have a half chance of making it out, and as long as they get hurt a little bit, you don't even have the slightest chance of surviving. ”

Jammoon fell silent. It's not that he doesn't have a way to escape, it's just that he may be a little embarrassed, and his old bones are getting worse and worse, and he doesn't want to use that method until he has to.

It was getting late, and he could dimly see the woman's shadow in the window in front of him, and something at her waist shimmered with metal—it seemed to be a knife, but the hilt had the familiar shape that he had imprinted in the depths of his memory.

“...... Do you know a dwarf?" he asked suddenly.

"I know a lot of dwarves. The woman replied without hesitation.

"Mock, his name is Mock. ”

The woman hesitated. That moment of hesitation was enough for Jamun to confirm his suspicions—besides, he had nothing to choose from right now.

"Roze!" he yelled, "get those people out of the way!" ...... Let our guests come to me!"

"Not here. Tess said immediately, who knows what the hell is going on here, "They can go anywhere they want!"

"Listen, little girl, this is the only place where you can be safe. If you're friends with Mork, I won't hurt you. Besides, isn't your knife still behind my neck, and if you like, you can keep it there until your friends leave here in peace—but you don't come all the way here to see the scenery, and whatever you want to do, I'll be the only one here to help you. ”

The barbarian's roar had been heard from the rooftops: "Get out of here, get out of here, Jemoen wants to see his guests!"

“...... All right. Tess reluctantly agreed, "Let that big guy stay away from us, but not out of my sight!".

Hearing that roar when the battle was about to start, Norway breathed a sigh of relief, with him and Akhan, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to rush out, but they don't want to find a guide or anything here.

But it wasn't until he stepped into Jemoun's crooked, but unusually sturdy little building, and stepped over a few men who were sleeping soundly on the ground or on the stairs, and saw Tess smiling beside the old man, with one hand still affectionately resting on his neck, holding a dagger in his hand, completely ignoring the vicious gaze of the savage standing farther away, a head taller than Akan beside him.

"Welcome!" the old man didn't seem to care much about the little dagger around his neck, and stretched out his arms to them with a smile on his face, "My name is Jemoun, and the ...... here Well, in your words, Mayor Mare. ”

"Hello, Mayor Mare, I'm Ed, Ed Singhal, from Visa, and these are my friends, the elves Novi, Naria, and Akan...... And Tess who you should already know. Even in this situation, Ed was able to laugh as easily as he usually did, which somewhat eased the tension but made it all the stranger.

"Welcome! Ed Singh, it's been years since anyone has said your real name in front of me, and you look like a good boy. Jamun said, seemingly with some emotion.

Ed, who was praised inexplicably, was slightly stunned.

"Because we don't have anything to hide. "Norway said," Tess ...... You can put the knife away. ”

Tess put away the knife at an extremely slow pace, muttered something in the old man's ear, and then happily returned to Norvi, looking up like a child seeking praise with a smug smile.

Jamun stopped him by waving at Roze, who seemed to be about to rush in the corner.

"Look at the elf, he can shoot an arrow faster than I can with a knife. The woman's words were still ringing in his ears, he didn't want to take any chances, and he had more to know.

"Norway is right, we have nothing to hide, and we have no hostility. We were just trying to find a suitable guide here to take us into the ice field. Ed said. There's no need for them to waste time here.

“...... Are you kidding?" Jamun's expression of disbelief grew, "At this season, at a time like this, are you going to go to the Ice Field?"

"We have a friend...... He disappeared on the ice sheet. Ed said, "We have to find him." ”