The gleaming eyes of the beasts in the middle of the night sent shivers down people’s spines.

The Mercenaries were no exception. When one of the three, a bearded man, had his neck bitten, a scream rang out. Only then did they come to their senses and draw their swords.

“Fu-fuck!”

“How many of them are there!”

People shouted. They couldn’t escape in the middle of the night and their faces were pale with fear.

What if they ran away in the middle of the Forest on a night like this?

They might save their lives for the moment, but it would be difficult to get through the night. No matter how fast a person ran, they couldn’t be faster than a four-legged beast. More importantly, there were many dangerous beasts in the Forest besides Wolves.

“Don’t just talk, throw the stones in your hands! Do you all want to die!”

The Cart Driver shouted nervously.

He even snatched a stone from the person next to him and threw it. With a yelp, the Wolves in the darkness flinched. He was quite skilled at throwing stones.

“What are you doing! Everyone, throw!”

“Let’s throw everything we have in our hands!”

The Wolves in the darkness looked around cautiously. It felt like they were rolling their eyes, testing the waters. They were cunning creatures.

Such caution from the beasts was saving people’s lives. The only battle line consisted of two Mercenaries. The number of Wolves seemed at least double that.

The Protagonist also had to fight. He chanted a spell and counted the number of eyes. There was no need to worry, as Mordon would protect him.

‘Six Wolves.’

He didn’t know where these creatures had been dragged from. He looked around, but the Fortune Teller was nowhere to be seen.

When the murmuring stopped, an Ice Arrow appeared. He shot it. The Wolves in the darkness saw the Arrow and swiftly jumped aside.

‘They’re nimble.’

He only hit two of the six. It was difficult to aim in the dark.

Originally, Wolves were much more nimble than most Orcs. He chanted another spell. If they pushed in and scattered, the damage to their side would be severe.

The Mage had to be killed while chanting. However, the Wolves, perhaps realizing it wasn’t worth it after two of their comrades died, retreated and disappeared. It was a relief.

“Thank you! Master Mage!”

The Cart Driver approached and bowed his head. His gaze was burdensome.

After he drove away the Wolves that had terrified the people with a single spell, their attitude changed. If they had previously seen him as a young Noble master, now they saw him as a proper Mage.

The people’s gazes were no different. They were still disoriented from what had just happened, but when they saw him, they quickly averted their eyes. They seemed afraid of the Protagonist.

“Those ridiculously huge Wolves tucked their tails and ran! Are all Mages that strong? The one I saw before just lorded it over everyone as a Noble, but his skills were terrible. You are truly amazing!”

On one side, the Cart Driver was busy talking, spitting as he spoke. The fact that he was still talking seemed to suggest he was worried the Protagonist might demand payment for saving their lives.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, how is the injured Mercenary?”

He turned his head. The Mercenary who was bitten first had become a cold Corpse. The other two Mercenaries were seen dragging the Corpse and starting to dig a pit in front. It seemed they were going to bury him.

He didn’t expect Mercenaries to have such Loyalty. Although they were called Mercenaries, most of the people they took on requests with were strangers. If they just threw the body outside, no one would say anything.

“It’s a Mercenary custom. If someone dies, they usually bury them instead.”

“Why is that?”

“There are many ways to die. It’s more peaceful to be buried like that than to be a corpse no one cares about.”

“I thought mercenaries only moved when they were paid.”

“You could say that the belief that someone will bury them if the protagonists die is their payment.”

The cart driver let out a bitter laugh. It seemed he knew the person.

“My name is Rex. I’m learning the merchant guild’s work while being a cart driver. My father, despite appearances, is a noble. If you have any difficulties, please tell me.”

Rex said. I thought he was just any cart driver, but he had quite a background. It was rare to find a noble’s child doing such work.

“Your father is a noble, so why are you doing this kind of work?”

Being born into a noble family was a great advantage. They could do whatever they wanted in the capital city and live a wealthy life. It made no sense that he was doing such dangerous work.

“Even if you’re born into a noble family, the one who truly lives well is the eldest son who inherits everything. The others have to find their own way. In my case, my father said he might let me manage something like the Merchant Guild if I show him I can work, so I’m enduring this hardship.”

“I see.”

I nodded. It made sense that he would offer help if I had difficulties. But he wasn’t very useful to the protagonist. I considered revealing my identity but kept quiet. I couldn’t trust him yet.

Rex’s father might be a noble who was an enemy of the protagonist. Unaware of the protagonist’s thoughts, the other person shouted that he would treat him lavishly if they went to the capital city.

“Rex, Rex!”

Just then, a mercenary, covered in dirt, approached.

“The corpse?”

“That’s not important! He’s back!”

“Damn it. If you just say ‘he,’ how am I supposed to know?”

“The fortune teller! That son of a bitch fortune teller who went out to lure the wolves!”

“What?”

Rex quickly got up and ran. The protagonist followed him. In the crowd, there was a fortune teller in disarray.

“You, you bastard. Shawl died because of you! What are you going to do?”

A mercenary grabbed him by the collar and shouted. His voice was filled with rage.

The expressions of the people were also not good. They had almost all been killed by the wolves. They looked at the fortune teller, wondering what nerve he had to return. The protagonist also watched.

“I truly didn’t know!”

The fortune teller shouted. He looked like he genuinely hadn’t expected this to happen.

“If you didn’t know, do dead people come back? We almost all died because you said it would be easy! So what are you going to do?”

“Th-that…”

The fortune teller couldn’t continue his sentence and fell silent. At that moment, someone among the people suggested leaving him behind. At those words, the fortune teller turned pale. If he were abandoned in this forest, it would be as good as dead.

“I want to offer you money as an apology.”

“What? You think you can just get away with almost killing us for a few coins?”

Someone said, crossing their arms. But the fortune teller didn’t back down.

“It’s already happened, hasn’t it? Blaming me now won’t change anything.”

At the fortune teller’s words, the people’s anger subsided. Thinking about it, no one was injured, and they were just surprised when the wolves suddenly attacked. Although one mercenary died, the people didn’t really care. He was a complete stranger anyway.

The people wanted to crush the fortune teller, but they were tempted by the compensation he would give. Money was what smoothed human relationships. But what he offered was not money.

The fortune teller said he would give them each a fortune reading on the way. Disappointment flickered across the people’s faces. This was because more people had given him money and had their fortunes told than had ignored him.

“What I’m telling you now isn’t just a simple fortune. I’m telling you about various kinds of luck. It’s more accurate to say I’m telling you in more detail. Usually, I wouldn’t go this far, but I feel bad, so I’m doing it for all of you.”

The Fortune Teller spoke. The people, surprisingly, seemed to agree readily. The money they had taken from the other party and divided up wasn’t much anyway. It seemed they thought it was much more beneficial to at least see into their future.

“Mage, your skill is incredible. You saved us.”

The Fortune Teller, who had calmed the people, approached me this time.

“All I did was chase away the Wolves, though?”

“That’s why I’m saying it. If many people had died, it wouldn’t have been overlooked so easily.”

I nodded. There was a point to his words. Although the looks from Rex, the Cart Driver, and the other two Mercenaries weren’t great, they weren’t blood relatives of the deceased Mercenary.

Many families were riding in the Carriage. If any of them had died, the Fortune Teller would have been in a lot of trouble.

“I want to offer you a small bit of help.”

The Fortune Teller said. I didn’t know what kind of help he meant. When I made a confused expression, the other person spoke with a grave face.

“I didn’t want to say this, but it seems you will face a very great crisis.”

“A crisis?”

“You might die in the Capital City.”

At those words, someone stepped forward. It was Mordon, who was behind me.

“You scoundrel! How dare you spout such nonsense? Do you wish to die?”

“No! I didn’t mean it that way, please don’t misunderstand. It’s truly dangerous, that’s why.”

The Fortune Teller bowed low. Curiosity sparked at his words. The Protagonist didn’t know why, but the more he looked, the more this Middle-aged man seemed friendly. It seemed to be because of the mana flowing from his body.

“Mordon. It’s fine, put your sword away.”

“…Understood.”

Mordon stood behind again. But the glare in his eyes showed that he wouldn’t tolerate any more strange nonsense.

“I said I could see the future, didn’t I? I usually see deaths. What kind of end a person will meet. And at whose hands they will die. In your case, you are always surrounded by countless Soldiers. Clearly, your skill is exceptional, so you wouldn’t die unless it was a crisis of that magnitude.”

“So? Does that mean it’s going to happen soon?”

I asked, slightly impatient. The Protagonist was heading to the Capital City to receive the reward for the battle he had just fought. If it was a crisis, it was bound to happen there.

“It could be in half a year in the Capital City. Perhaps two years, or it could happen after five years have passed.”

“…”

“Now, now, calm down. If I am with you, you can avoid that misfortune. When we go to the Capital City, I will stay by your side, sir.”

“Can’t you just tell me the future?”

“The moment I speak it aloud, the future changes. It’s only by speaking before the crisis strikes that there’s a chance to twist it.”

The Fortune Teller leaned in close and spoke softly. It was as if he was revealing a great secret. It was absurd. Didn’t that mean there was no point in hearing about the future from him?

“Then why do you tell fortunes?”

“I have to make a living too, don’t I? And I try to speak in a roundabout way so as not to twist it as much as possible. Then there are cases where it can be avoided.”

I rubbed my chin, thinking. I wondered if I should ignore the words of the Middle-aged man who could see the future.

“Don’t listen to that man. Most of them are swindlers who only say sweet words.”

Mordon whispered lowly. But the Protagonist’s thought was wrong.

“I have nothing to lose, do I?”

“You’ll see Capital City later.”

Mordon seemed to dislike the person. He suddenly remembered Mordon saying he would beat him up a few times.

“Could you just beat him up a few times first?”

“That man?”

“You’re good at that kind of thing.”

Mordon stroked his chin, seemingly thinking, then nodded. Then he dragged the Fortune Teller away.

“W-wait. My lord! What is this all of a sudden!”

“Stop talking and follow me. Nothing will happen.”

“Why is your expression like that! Aaaah! Help me!”

The sound of someone being beaten could be heard from afar. Mordon was excellent at handling people. He thought he could leave it to him.