'I tried to avoid the city to get to the border. But she asked me to take her there,' replied Agares.
"I am Erika Thorn, the daughter of the noble family of Berdiver City, the Thorn Family. If you are willing to take me there, I will guarantee you the reward you want,'' replied Erika, a brown-haired girl with a pale complexion and shabby clothes.
Seeing her appearance, Agares suspected that Erika had been kidnapped and held captive by bandits for a long time. It was not impossible that they had also used her body to satisfy their lust.
'Taking her home will have a bad impact on me. They might find out that I am a saber,' explained Agares.
"I have something important to do rather than take you home," explained Agares coldly.
"What? You don't want to take me home?" asked Erika, shocked.
"I am a member of the noble family. With my family's power, I can make you and your family into respected people in the city," explained the woman, trying to persuade him again.
Agares stood up and drew his sword. He wiped the blood off the blade before sheathing it again. Agares had no duty to take Erika home. Erika was not his master, and Agares was not her servant.
But then he remembered Nadia and her family. Their kindness in helping him out of the river made Agares halt as he was about to leave the hut.
'How could they help someone without expecting anything in return?' asked Agares.
'Damn! Their kindness really bothers me. Should I help her? Will something happen to me if I take her there?' asked Agares.
"Please help me... Sir. I'll even be your servant if you help me get out of here," replied Erika.
Agares turned back and looked at the pattern on her right hand. It was the pattern that someone got when they received a hero job.
"What is your job?" Agares asked briefly.
"Lancer."
"A Lancer defeated by five useless bandits? Are you sure?" Agares asked.
"They poisoned me every day, making my body weak and difficult to move. How could I fight them in this condition?" Erika asked firmly.
Agares drew his sword again and pointed the sharp tip of the blade at Erika's neck. His move was so fast that Erika had difficulty dodging, her face looking shocked with her legs and hands trembling in terror.
"I don't like the way you talk to me!" Agares said firmly.
"I'm sorry. Please, don't kill me, sir."
The man knelt down in front of Erika. Surprisingly, Agares slapped Erika once with a hard slap, leaving a red mark on her cheek. The slap also cut Erika's lip, causing it to bleed. Agares didn't care.
"Why did you slap me?!" Erika shouted.
"Don't make any noise during the ride. If you try to annoy me, I'll leave you in the middle of the woods with a bunch of wild animals!" Agares snapped.
Agares' attitude seemed interesting to Erika. He was rude to her, ignored her noble status, and then agreed to take her home. There were two things Erika saw in Agares.
Agares refused to help Erika, but because he was driven by something, he was forced to do so. Or Agares really wanted to help Erika, but he wanted to leave a strong impression and not be easily bossed around by a noble like her.
Erika didn't know which was true. One thing was certain, Agares was going to take her back to the city.
The man sheathed his sword again and lifted Erika's body, carrying her with both hands. Erika gasped, her face flushing with embarrassment as Agares did so.
Erika's eyes continued to stare upward, directly at Agares' handsome face, which was to her type. She could also see a small scratch on Agares' cheek, surely the impact of his fight against the five bandits.
Up ahead, Erika saw a large black horse on the forest road. She was shocked again to see four other bandit corpses lying on the road in gruesome condition.
"Did you kill them?" Erika asked. Agares remained silent.
Agares placed Erika's body on the horse, face down, as if she were the prey from the forest. The woman continued to protest, refusing to be treated like that.
"Do you want to stay in the woods alone with the wild animals?" asked Agares. Erika remained silent.
The man still didn't trust Erika. His best option was to keep her hands and feet bound. That way, she couldn't deceive him or turn around and threaten Agares.
Once everything was ready, Agares climbed onto his horse and spurred it to leave the forest quickly. Again, Agares asked Nyz to guide him to the city of Berdiver.
[I will do it, Master!]
[Navigating]
[Destination: Berdiver City]
[1%] [100%]
[Route found]
A navigation map appeared in front of Agares, showing only one route connected from the forest where he was currently located. Based on the estimated time, they would arrive at the city in 2 hours on horses.
During the trip, Erika and Agares didn't talk much. Erika occasionally looked ahead, Berdiver City was behind this dense forest, a sign that she would be home after being kidnapped for a month.
Agares managed to find his way out of the dense forest, what appeared in front of him was a large city wall similar to a fortress.
There was a checkpoint at the gate, but Agares would not enter the city.
Not far from the city gate, Agares stopped and got off his horse. Roughly, he threw the woman down and cut the iron chains that bound Erika's hands and feet, freeing her.
"You're not going into the city?" asked Erika.
Agares shook his head. There was a reason why he didn't want to enter the city. It was much better for Agares to continue his trip to the eastern border than to have to talk to the city's rulers and nobles.
"I've taken you home. I hope we won't meet again," explained Agares.
"Wait! I must give you a gift because—"
Quickly and forcefully, Agares spurred his horse away from the area and back into the woods. Agares changed his route, from Berdiver City to the Morgor Mountains.
Erika smiled, this was the first time she had been interested in someone like Agares, who was so different from other men who were always nice to the noble family.
Agares was different. He did not consider the noble family to be so special. In fact, he acted as if the nobles were inferior to him.
"I don't know your name. But I'm sure I'll see you again someday."
Elsewhere, Agares continued to ride his horse quickly away from that place. The trip to the eastern border was still long, so Agares was in no hurry to arrive.
While traveling, he would practice his sword skills. The fight against the bandits had opened Agares' eyes to the fact that he had to practice his sword techniques a lot to perfect it.
"Damn nobles! I hate those who have social hierarchy!"