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𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 (𝟏)
“Come if you dare.”
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Johan picked up Karamaf’s longsword instead of his broken one. It was admittedly a bit uncomfortable, but better than wandering weaponless. Moreover, unlike the plate armor, Karamaf’s longsword was ordinary and unremarkable, likely to go unnoticed by most.
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‘𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.’
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However, the black wolf did not attack. It lowered its head and approached slowly. It wasn’t threatening at all.
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‘?’
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Johan was puzzled.
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A trick?
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Would a monster resort to such tricks?
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But it wasn’t a trick. The black wolf knelt before Johan and shook its head.
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“. . .Are you trying to butter me up?”
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Johan was astonished. The memory of wolves attacking mercenaries was still vivid.
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‘𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯. . .’
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Johan reached out and scratched the black wolf’s chin. He was ready to strike if it bit, but the wolf didn’t. Instead, it wagged its tail happily and even exposed its belly.
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“. . .Hungry?”
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Johan pointed to the bodies of Karamaf and the horse. The black wolf started tearing into the horse with excitement. Its large size corresponded to its appetite; it quickly exposed the bones.
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‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. . . 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥?’
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With such damage, no one would recognize the bodies. Johan quickly collected items before the wolf could consume Karamaf entirely.
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A longsword, a silk pouch containing six empire gold coins and twenty silver coins (almost forgetting his grudge against Sir Karamaf), and a ring bearing a family crest.
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It was a modest yet luxurious haul. Johan clutched the pouch tightly. It was more money than he had ever owned.
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Empire gold coins were roughly equivalent to twenty silver coins. Additionally, Empire silver and gold coins were highly trusted, usable throughout the Empire and even in other kingdoms.
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‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨?’
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The family crest ring. It would be a dead giveaway, even more so than the plate armor. Johan pondered burying it too but eventually kept it, thinking of future uses.
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‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.’
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Having finished thinking, Johan approached the plate armor. Its shattered and torn state was pitiable.
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𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐤━
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“!”
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As he tried to remove the plate armor from the body, exerting force, it moved as if alive. The fastenings whirled around and released on their own.
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“???”
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Though Johan didn’t know in detail how Earth people wore plate armor like Plate Armors, he knew this wasn’t the usual method.
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‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? 𝘋𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬? 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘺? 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.’
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Such technology would be several times more convenient than the real thing. The armor fitted itself to the body and loosened on command, even adjusting its size to fit.
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Still functioning despite being split and torn.
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‘𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.’
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Johan buried Karamaf’s armor and left markings only he could recognize.
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━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬.
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While wooden markings were temporary, stone ones were permanent. Johan finished his task and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
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‘𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴. . .’
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𝐏𝐚𝐚━
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The gaze of the black wolf was palpable. It drooled over the sight of Karamaf’s corpse.
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“. . .Want to eat this too?”
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It was evident that the black wolf understood speech. It promptly bit into Karamaf, devouring it. Its appetite was so great that only bones remained. Johan could tell that this black wolf was unusual, even if he didn’t know how well wolves generally ate.
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It was uncommon for only bones to be left so cleanly in just a few minutes.
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‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩? 𝘔𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬. . . 𝘕𝘰. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴.’
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They had already eaten the mercenaries; what difference would it make?
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Johan asked the black wolf.
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“Hmm, I hope you haven’t attacked the serfs in that town. It’s okay to attack those iron-smelling mercenaries, though.”
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𝐍𝐨𝐝━
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“. . .Do you really understand what I’m saying?”
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Instead of answering, the black wolf licked its front paw. Johan frowned and then stood up.
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‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.’