They sat around the campfire, no one speaking.
In the silent camp, aside from the chirping of insects and birds in the woods, the only sound was the occasional groan from the short-haired man beneath Aldric's backside.
After quietly finishing his bowl of pea soup and feeling his stomach was mostly full, Aldric looked up, his gaze sweeping across the girls' faces. "What are your plans now?" he asked.
The girls stopped their spoons, looking at each other, lost and helpless.
After a moment, a slightly older, red-haired girl spoke up. "I have an uncle in Stoneyard Village. I want to go to him..."
Aldric nodded and looked at the others. "And you?"
Two more girls responded. "My sister married into Stoneyard Village a few years ago."
"I know a boy from Stoneyard Village too."
"Is this Stoneyard Village far?"
"Not far," said Claire. "If we leave at dawn, we can get there before noon."
"Then we'll go to Stoneyard Village! Everyone rest here for one more night. We'll set out first thing in the morning."
After dinner, the girls huddled together and fell asleep. It was perhaps the most peaceful night's sleep they'd had in days.
Aldric and Kevin agreed on a watch schedule, and Aldric leaned against a large tree to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Aldric woke up to find Kevin sitting alone by the fire, already nodding off.
"Go to sleep," Aldric said, shaking him awake.
"Ah, Ser, ah..." Kevin let out a long yawn, his eyes feeling like they were glued shut, unable to open no matter how hard he tried.
Aldric shook his head. This was far too lax. If the pirates who had left decided to circle back, with Kevin in this state, they'd all be goners.
But he couldn't be too harsh. By Aldric's standards, Kevin was still just a teenager.
"Go on, get some rest. We have the last leg of our journey tomorrow."
"Yes, Ser. I'll go to sleep then, ah..."
Yawning, Kevin pulled a blanket left by the bandits over himself, curled up by the fire, and was soon snoring softly.
Aldric's phone hadn't come with him when he transmigrated, so he had no idea what time it was.
He could only stare blankly at the fire, passing the time by replaying memories that had become vivid again thanks to his "Enhanced Memory" skill.
Fortunately, he had read enough books in his past life. After some thought, Aldric picked out Don Quixote from his memory and began to read it again in his mind.
Heh, aren't my recent experiences the very grand adventures that Señor Quixote dreamed of?.
But this grand adventure was far too cruel.
Thinking of the devastation in the village, and seeing the three bodies two men and one woman lying nearby, Aldric felt a lump in his throat that he couldn't swallow. All he could do was silently pray that the next stage of his journey wouldn't be so bloody.
The night slowly faded, and as dawn broke, Aldric chose a flat spot near the large tree and started digging with his mining pick.
The sound of Aldric's pick striking the ground gradually woke everyone up.
Kevin walked over, rubbing his eyes, and looked down at the half-man-deep pit. "Ser, are you digging a grave?"
"You figured it out. Aren't you going to help?" Aldric tossed the pick. "The rest is up to you."
Kevin immediately jumped into the pit, rubbed his hands together, picked up the pick, and replied, "Yes, leave it to me!"
He was certainly enthusiastic.
Next, Aldric walked over to Claire, who was already washing up at the nearby stream. "Claire," he said, "we probably can't take your Aunt Aimee with us. I've dug a grave for her, let's just let her rest here. What do you think?"
Claire's eyes widened, and she didn't answer for a moment.
"Is that not okay?" Aldric felt a bit awkward. "But I've already dug it... I should have asked you first..."
"No, no, my lord!" Claire shook her head frantically, her voice choking. "I just... I just didn't expect... I think Aunt Aimee would be very grateful to you for not leaving her to be ravaged in the wilderness..."
"I've buried dozens of people from your village. One more is no trouble. She deserves a dignified end."
Then, he had the girls prepare breakfast while he and Claire moved Aunt Aimee's body to the pit. Finally, he called Kevin over, and the three of them filled the grave back in.
After a moment of silent mourning before the grave, the group packed their things and left the bandit camp. Soon, they were back on the muddy path Aldric had traveled before.
According to the red-haired girl, this path was the main road the villagers used to travel to other settlements.
Kevin walked at the front of the group, the girls in the middle, and Aldric at the rear, leading the captive.
Before they set out, Aldric had given the short-haired man a stern warning. "I'll take you to the nearest village and hand you over to their castellan. If you're smart, you'll tell them everything you know, and maybe you can save your own life. But if you try to escape on the way, I'll give you three chances. The first chance will cost you your left arm. The second will cost you your right arm. The third will cost you your life. Understood?"
The short-haired bandit bowed his back and gave a fawning smile. "My lord, you've tied me up so tightly, how would I dare to escape? I'd like to keep these arms for future use."
"Good. Your brain wasn't damaged by my blows. That's a good sign." Aldric patted his shoulder and tugged the rope, leading him forward.
Leaving the bandit camp, they passed through a dense forest and over several low hills before a patchwork of farmland appeared before Aldric's eyes.
As they got closer, he saw that the wheat in the fields was already as high as his thigh, growing lush and green.
Several farmers were in the fields pulling weeds. Seeing the group of men and women emerge from the forest, they straightened up and looked over.
"Uncle Eonet!"
The red-haired girl, whose name was Jenny, saw a tall, thin middle-aged man among them. She broke from the group, ran to him, and embraced him, crying.
The tall, thin man hastily wiped the dirt from his hands on his clothes, put an arm around Jenny's shoulder, and asked, "Jenny, my dear girl, what are you doing here? Who are these people?"
"Uncle, Mom and Dad... Mom and Dad were all killed by pirates! There are only a few of us left from the village! It was this lord warrior who saved us from the pirates! Everyone else is gone! Hans, Dan, Uller, they're all dead,呜呜呜..."
Seeing a real relative, the girl, not much older than Kevin, could no longer hold back her grief and burst into tears.
The sight made the other girls break down in tears again as well.
What made it even sadder was that, except for one other girl whose sister had married here, the remaining three, including Claire, had no relatives to embrace.
Uncle Eonet comforted his niece, then walked out of the field, took off his hat, and bowed to Aldric. "Lord Knight, thank you so much for saving my niece. May I, may I ask where you are from?"
Aldric had already planned for this encounter back at the beach camp. He delivered his prepared backstory:
"My name is Aldric. I am a knight from the Fingers. My apprentice and I were taking a ship from White Harbor to Braavos, but after a conflict with some people on board, we were thrown off."
"In our search for a village, we accidentally came upon the seaside village that had been massacred by pirates. Then, on our way inland, we happened to find Claire being chased by pirates and saved them. You can ask them for the details later."
Uncle Eonet looked at the girls. Though he didn't speak, everyone could see his question. They all chimed in.
"Uncle Eonet, what Jenny said is true."
"Uncle Eonet, is my sister home? My sister is Jane from Benert's family."
"Those pirates were all killed by... the Lord Knight. Their bodies are in the forest by the river."
Everyone was talking at once, and Eonet couldn't hear clearly. But with the girls' endorsement, he was sure this passing knight was not in league with the pirates.
If it were an elaborate trick, killing several of his own companions would be too high a price to pay.
So he bowed to Aldric again. "Kind Lord Knight, may the ever-present Old Gods keep you safe. And thank you for avenging my brother and his wife."
"Avenging? Heh, it's too soon for that. I only took care of a few stragglers left to guard the prisoners. This wave of pirates has ninety men in total. Not counting the few I killed, there are still over eighty."
Aldric yanked the rope in his hand, and the short-haired bandit stumbled and fell before them. "I deliberately left this one alive. He's a minor leader, but he knows a lot. I haven't questioned him in detail. Do you have a castellan here?"
Eonet's eyes narrowed as he looked at the short-haired man. He said in a deep voice, "We don't have a castellan in our village, but we have a few veterans of wars. You can safely hand him over to us."
Aldric raised an eyebrow at his words. Us?
It seemed this honest-looking, balding old farmer was not as simple as he appeared. Perhaps the calluses on his hands weren't all from a shovel handle.
"Alright, let me see your handiwork." Aldric handed the rope to the old farmer. "By the way, is there a place to rest in your village? I've been on the road for several days and would like to rest."
After taking the rope, Uncle Eonet immediately put on a warm, hospitable smile. "There's a small tavern in the village. The ale is home-brewed, fragrant and mellow. There are two rooms upstairs. They're not large, but they're clean. You'll surely get a good night's sleep."
With that, he waved over a watching child. "Alvin, go, find your brother. Tell him the seaside village next door was massacred by pirates, and only a few girls survived, saved by this lord. Tell him to prepare some food quickly." Then he patted the boy on the back of the head. "Go on!"
The boy, named Alvin, stumbled forward from the pat and ran toward the nearby village.
The other farmers working nearby were also drawn by the crying and gradually gathered around.
The ones who had been closer and arrived first were already vividly recounting what they had heard to their neighbors.
Hearing what had happened to the neighboring village, the villagers were full of sympathy. Several older women, with red eyes, took off their outer garments and wrapped them around the girls, helping them to the side.
"This way, my lord."
Led by Eonet, Aldric's group walked toward the village, and the crowd of villagers, having dropped their work, followed behind.
Just as they were about to reach the village entrance, a dozen or so able-bodied men in leather armor, armed with warhammers, longswords, and even pitchforks, rushed out from behind the village's earthen wall, shouting, "Pirates! Where are the pirates?"
Aldric's eyes narrowed, and he instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, thinking, These idiots aren't going to mistake me for a pirate, are they?
Sure enough, one of them, wearing a horned helmet and a leather vest, didn't ask any questions and charged at Aldric at the front of the group, raising his hammer.
But to Aldric's eyes, the man had enough strength, but his movements were too slow.
Just as the hammer was about to land on his head, Aldric took a half-step back, raised his hand, and pushed the man's shoulder. The man immediately lost his balance and stumbled to the ground.
"Ebie, are you an idiot?"
Eonet, who had been following behind Aldric, finally reacted. He rushed to Ebie's side and kicked the hammer away. "This is the man who saved Jenny and the others! He's not a pirate!"
Just then, a tall, yellow-haired man with a thick beard, who had been warily watching from a short distance away, asked, "Eonet, what's going on? Alvin told me pirates were attacking."
Eonet shouted angrily, "Alvin, you little fool, get out here."
The boy he had slapped back to the village earlier timidly stepped forward. "Uncle Eonet..."
"What did I tell you?!"
"You told me to tell my brother that pirates were coming, so he should get ready..."
Hearing this, Eonet was exasperated. "I said, the next village was raided, a few girls survived and were rescued, and to have your brother prepare some food."
After Eonet finished, the tense atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Ebie, who had fallen, didn't even pick up his hammer and scurried behind his comrades, so embarrassed he could have dug a basement for himself with his toes.
"I'm sorry, Lord Knight," the leader of the group said, taking off his helmet and apologizing to Aldric. "We were too rash. It's a good thing you're unharmed, otherwise, even sending us to the Wall wouldn't be enough to atone for our crime."
Aldric was also exasperated. What could he say? Beat the man over the head?
In that case, it was better to appear magnanimous.
He shook his head. "It's no big deal. I'm not hurt. I hear you have a tavern here? A drink would be enough for me. I'd really like to get some rest."
The yellow-haired man who had spoken earlier came forward. "Ah, the tavern you speak of, that's mine. I'm Alvin's brother, Gabry. It's an honor to serve you."
In a few words, the misunderstanding was cleared up. Aldric and Kevin followed Gabry to a small, two-story tavern at the east end of the village.
Seeing the knight from a foreign land enter the tavern, the others dispersed, each going home, eager to share the news with their families.