The Soldier Shouted Save

Chapter 20

―Ssss.

I put the strange, buzzing triangular stone into my pocket and headed back to the inn.

Before long, the words in front of my eyes changed.

[“Guild Stone” is being used.]

[Application completed.]

[…]

[…]

[You have successfully joined the “Imperial Palace” guild.]

It was an absurd message.

“…Imperial Palace Guild?”

What kind of insane mercenary group or trade association would name their guild “Imperial Palace”?

‘But how was I even registered?’

I hadn’t visited a guild to fill out an application.

All I had done was pick up the stone and put it in my pocket.

‘Is this some kind of group working behind the scenes for the Imperial Palace?’

It didn’t make sense for a covert guild to use the name “Imperial Palace” so openly, yet that seemed to be the reality.

After picking up the insignia of one of the Imperial Palace’s warriors, a guild named “Imperial Palace” appeared.

‘Well, let’s check it out first.’

Without slowing down, I read the words in front of me.

[Guild-wide Announcement]

[If you’ve received a private message, change your status message.]

[If you have something to report, relay it through Jang Jin-woo or make direct contact.]

[Unless you’re on a special mission, always keep your microphone on.]

Contact Jang Jin-woo or direct. Private message… Does that mean some kind of signal or note?’

I tried recalling the language the warriors used in the Room of Fate, but the term “private message” didn’t come to mind.

‘It seems familiar, though…’

At least, I had figured out what the triangular stone labeled as a “Guild Stone” was for.

‘Judging by the words that appear before my eyes, it’s a magical device for long-distance communication.’

But how was I supposed to use this stone to send a message?

I examined the stone from various angles, but it didn’t respond at all.

Just then, a new text appeared.

[Kim Yoo-chan to you: Lee Hyun-seok. Why haven’t you updated your status message?]

The words appeared in purple.

[Kim Yoo-chan to you: Name, identity, application route, affiliation. Write down your privileges as well, within three minutes.]

It seemed the person on the other end was asking for my personal information and a predetermined signal, but I couldn’t think of any excuse.

No matter how I touched the triangular stone, nothing happened.

‘…I better hurry.’

This mysterious organization…

It was only a matter of time before they became suspicious of me, based on the messages appearing in front of my eyes.

It wouldn’t be long before they realized that the Guild Stone didn’t belong to me.

—“Hey, number 17! What’s going on with you? Why is your health so low?”

A man’s voice came from right nearby.

Although he seemed to be speaking loudly, the sound reached my ears in a soft, whisper-like tone.

‘…Is that coming from here?’

I brought the Guild Stone closer to my ear to hear the voice more clearly.

—“What, are you dead…? What was that guy’s name again? Eindel? Einhel? What did he do again?”

The man seemed to be having a conversation with someone.

Focusing on the sound, I furrowed my brow at the familiar voice.

‘No doubt about it. It’s one of the Imperial Palace warriors.’

I pressed the Guild Stone firmly against my ear and listened closely to the man’s voice.

—“…Ah, that shady guy? He’s the one I assigned to the Saintess’s brother, right?”

Saintess’s brother. Realizing they were referring to me, I pulled the stone away from my ear and sprinted toward the inn.

—“Then, he’s the one who killed him, huh?”

It was clear that the Imperial Palace warriors had already figured out I had killed one of their comrades.

‘I have to get everyone out of the inn.’

My actions had disrupted their plans.

If that were the case, the next move they’d make would be to expedite their plan.

The warriors might lose their patience and attack Croa right away.

[You have been expelled from the guild.]

The Guild Stone in my hand crumbled into dust and slipped through my fingers.

‘Faster!’

The important thing wasn’t the Guild Stone—it was securing my siblings’ safety.

The inn building came into view at the edge of my vision.

The front door was wide open as if waiting for me.

‘That won’t do.’

What if they were inside, waiting for my return?

I circled around to the side of the building and looked up at the windows.

‘…The end of the hallway. There!’

I tensed my fingers and began climbing the outer wall.

‘Hup!’

It wasn’t as difficult as I had anticipated.

My body seemed stronger than it had been during my time as an active soldier.

Pulling myself up with my fingers gripping the wall, I hooked a foot over the railing.

I opened the window.

“Huh, h-huh, oppa?”

My two younger siblings looked terrified.

And Lee Hyerin, who was reaching toward the closed door.

I instantly understood the situation.

—Bang, bang!

“Come on, seriously. The innkeeper told me to bring you down. Just open the door!”

Someone was banging on the door as if they were about to break it down.

I gestured toward the window.

“Let’s go. One by one, come out through here.”

The only way out was the window.

Even though it was a two-story drop, my siblings trusted me and tried to climb out, but someone grabbed their clothes.

“Not that way! Over here! Everyone, grab onto my arm!”

My siblings froze, awkwardly poised to climb out.

I saw blue particles floating around Hyerin’s body and pulled my siblings toward her.

“This way! Everyone grab onto Anna’s arm!”

All three of our hands clasped onto Hyerin’s slender arm—Rian, Croa, and my own scarred hand.

“Don’t let go, no matter what!”

Hyerin, generating enough blue particles to block my sight, shouted.

“Migratio!”

It was a spell I had heard back when I was an Imperial Palace soldier.

The blue particles surrounding Hyerin covered my entire field of vision.

* * *

The sensation of floating disappeared, replaced by nausea.

When the blue particles faded from view, the scene before us had completely changed in just a few seconds.

“Where are we?”

Hyerin had cast a multi-teleportation spell.

She nervously glanced around before replying.

“We’re probably on the outskirts of Tallin. I focused solely on getting us far away, so I can’t be sure…”

Her answer made me glance around, past the annoying trees nearby.

An open field stretched before us.

From the high hill we stood on, I could see the city of Tallin below.

“…Could you explain what’s going on now?”

Hyerin looked me in the eyes and asked.

My siblings, who had followed her out, were also listening intently.

I stopped the words on the tip of my tongue and gazed down at Tallin.

‘Have they already noticed?’

It had been about four minutes since we escaped and I recovered from the dizziness of teleportation.

Yet there, just outside Tallin’s gate, I spotted an Imperial Palace warrior, sprinting out as if he had already figured out our movements.

“We’ll talk as we move.”

How had they figured it out?

There was no way they could have predicted Hyerin would use teleportation in the inn room.

Even the Imperial Palace’s mages needed at least five minutes to prepare a teleportation spell, and only a tower master could cast it as quickly as Hyerin had.

‘Do they only know that we’ve escaped from Tallin, but not our exact location?’

The Imperial Palace warrior was pushing past merchants waiting for inspections, scanning the surroundings, but heading in the wrong direction.

I moved in the opposite direction of the warrior and began to speak.

“For some reason, the Imperial Palace warriors are targeting you and Croa.”

Hyerin frowned as if something had clicked, while Croa looked confused.

“M-Me?” Croa stammered.

Pointing to Hyerin and Croa, I continued walking and explained the situation.

I told them about the men pretending to be inn guests who were spying on Croa, how we were tailed on our way back from the church, the pink writing I had seen through the Guild Stone, and even the man’s voice I had overheard from a distance. Hearing all this, Hyerin’s face turned pale as she spoke.

“They’re trying to kill all warriors who aren’t aligned with the Imperial Palace.”

“…Why?” I asked.

“…Because they don’t know what kind of special abilities the new warriors possess. As they level up, there’s a chance they might become a threat, so they’re trying to eliminate them early…”

Hyerin’s explanation made sense.

Her insights were always valuable—even if they sometimes made things more complicated.

‘…The problem is that even her new information can be hard to process.’

As the conversation dragged on, Hyerin, realizing the looseness in her words, fell silent and stared at me with a serious expression.

Ignoring her gaze, I pointed to the side.

“Then why are they targeting Croa?”

“They said she’s a Saintess candidate, right? …I’ve never played the game, but maybe the Saintess is connected to a rebellion quest or something?”

To deal with them, we needed to understand their intentions.

I kept asking questions, and Hyerin answered earnestly each time.

“…”

The more questions I asked, the fewer casual conversations there were between us.

“Wait here. I’ll check if we can spend the night.”

We passed a small farm, and I knocked on the closed door with the back of my hand.

“What’s the matter?”

The old man who answered looked at the sword on my waist with suspicion.

“We’ve been on the road for a while and couldn’t find a place to stay. Could we rest here for the night?”

I gestured toward the barn as I spoke.

The old man, after glancing at my young companions, softened his expression and nodded.

“Ah, you’re having a hard time with the kids, huh? Rest up in the barn.”

We headed toward the barn the old man had pointed to.

The barn was filled with piles of hay.

I entered first and used the clean hay to cover up the dirty spots, making a place for my siblings to sleep.

“All right, come in.”

I waved them inside. Rian came in first, pressing down the hay to test it before looking at Croa.

“Croa, you should lie down here.”

“…Okay.”

After confirming that both of them had laid down on the hay, I turned back toward the door.

“I’ll check the surroundings.”

As soon as I stepped outside, the cold wind hit me.

Was it the unease in my heart that made it feel even colder?

‘How should I shake them off… and for how long?’

If being a Saintess candidate meant that Croa had to be killed at all costs, they might chase us to the ends of the Gerard continent.

It would be impossible to run forever, dragging my younger siblings along.

‘If I could turn things around from here…’

My chest felt tight.

Absent-mindedly, I started fiddling with the dagger near my heart when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Is the bed uncomfortable?” I asked, not turning around, recognizing the narrow footsteps.

Hyerin responded from behind me.

“Before I leave, ask me anything you want. I’ll answer whatever you need.”

She was telling me she planned to leave.

With a deep sigh, as if I’d been expecting this, I turned to face her.

“When did you figure it out?”

“You always avoided talking about Korea. That’s when I first thought something was off. You didn’t know anything about the guild or how whisper messages worked, and then you said the messages were pink…”

Hyerin gave me a small smile, looking at me as I lowered my head with a sigh.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person. You were probably desperate, too, to the point of pretending to be a fellow Korean. I can tell you care about your siblings a lot.”

She didn’t seem as angry as I expected her to be for the lies.

“But…”

Just as I was about to say something, Hyerin spoke firmly.

“I don’t trust people from this world. They acted all kind and helpful, but in the end, they all sold me out.”

She smiled bitterly as she continued.

“You could do the same—betray me for the sake of your siblings.”

I had no words to offer.

It was obvious how the people of Gerard must have exploited an otherworldly warrior like Hyerin, who didn’t understand this world.

They likely sent her to exterminate monsters, only to inform the local lords of her presence when it was time to pay her reward.

If the Imperial Palace took her away, they wouldn’t need to pay her at all.

‘No matter how well I lie, it’ll be exposed sooner or later.’

It had been foolish to think I could pretend to be from a world I knew nothing about.

I realized I couldn’t hold her back, and for the first time, I looked Hyerin directly in the eyes.

“The part about them targeting you, not just Croa—that’s true.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“…If you leave by yourself, how do you plan to survive?”

In our first days in Tallin, Hyerin had tearfully confessed that she was terrified of living on the streets, thinking I was a fellow Korean.

“I’ve been sleeping rough until now. I’ll try renting barns like you did from now on. It doesn’t seem too bad.”

She was around the same age as Croa.

Watching her try to act mature and hide her vulnerability, I let out a deep sigh and pulled a gold coin from my pouch.

“One gold coin is worth 100 silver coins. When you get to the next town, exchange it for silver at a shop. If anyone realizes you have a lot of money, they’ll target you. Leave town immediately or stay at an inn with good security. And also…”

I handed the coin to Hyerin, who looked at it with wide eyes, and continued speaking without pause.

Hyerin listened quietly, then let out a small laugh as if she couldn’t believe it.

“If you’re so worried, why didn’t you just give me silver?”

“You said you’ve been taken advantage of until now. If you’re going to survive alone, you need to start learning how to live like Gerard.”

Seemingly convinced, Hyerin nodded without realizing it, staring at the gold coin I had given her.

“…Anything else you want to tell me?”

I replied firmly to her question.

“Never exchange gold coins with street vendors. If they think you’re inexperienced, they’ll give you counterfeit silver or shortchange you.”

Hyerin chuckled at my words, a hint of bitterness in her smile.

“I wish I had met you first when I arrived in this world… Anyway, thanks.”

Her words briefly gave me a glimmer of hope, but the result didn’t change.

She resumed walking, turned her back on me, and left.

* * *

Two days had passed since we left Tallin.

After spending the night in the barn with Hyerin, we had been sleeping outdoors.

On the second day of camping, we came across another farmhouse.

“Croa, what’s wrong? Are you really hungry?”

“N-No… I just noticed something.”

At the end of Croa’s gaze was a monsterberry tree, its branches hung with fist-sized fruits.

I approached the tree and checked the stems of the fruits.

“I’ll ask if they’ve already harvested these.”

The green stems were a sign that it wasn’t the right season.

I knocked on the door of the farmhouse.

“Yes, what is it?”

The man who answered looked me up and down with suspicion.

I glanced at his well-maintained, clean nails and spoke.

“We’re hungry. Could we pick some monsterberries from the tree outside?”

I handed him a silver coin and pointed to the neatly lined monsterberry trees.

The man grinned and nodded.

“Do you think eating just those will fill you up? Go ahead and eat some while I prepare something proper for you.”

I thanked him and approached my siblings, who were eyeing the monsterberries eagerly.

“Get ready to leave. We need to get out of here quickly.”

Monsterberries out of season were poisonous and caused severe diarrhea.

You had to pick them and wait for hours before they were safe to eat.

There was no way the man who grew them wouldn’t know that.

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