When the owner of the caravan returned to his wagon after finishing his business, he immediately sensed a strange and tense atmosphere surrounding it.

"What in the world..."

Phil, a middle-aged merchant, looked towards the driver's seat. There, an adventurer was gripping the reins of the horses so tightly that his knuckles had turned white, completely frozen in place. It was strange and unnerving for Phil to see an adventurer, who would usually pay no mind to anything, in such a state of fear.

"What’s going on?"

At Phil's question, the trembling adventurer merely gestured towards the back seat with his eyes. The inside of the caravan was packed with boxes, making it difficult to see clearly.

"Is something wrong with the cargo in our wagon?"

Muttering to himself, Phil leaned in to take a closer look inside the caravan. A large, bald adventurer occupying most of the space turned his head towards Phil.

"Whoa!"

Phil fell back onto the driver's seat in shock. His flailing arms knocked over the carefully stacked boxes in the caravan, causing them to collapse in a loud crash.

"Are you all right?"

Phil scrambled backward, his hands pressing against the ground, only to relax as Pierre, the man who had startled him, leaned in to help. As the light revealed Pierre’s face, Phil let out a sigh of relief.

"No, no, you just scared me. It feels like I just lost ten years of my life! Aren’t you the one in charge of overseeing the adventurers for this transport?"

"Yes. I’m Pierre Fabien."

Phil took Pierre's outstretched hand and got to his feet. Awkwardly dusting off his backside, Phil noticed another adventurer sitting across from Pierre, a hat pulled down low over their face.

"And that person is...?"

"An adventurer, just like me."

Phil frowned at this, puzzled. "Are you saying you're all traveling together in this wagon?"

Pierre nodded. Phil furrowed his brows, muttering as if the situation didn’t make sense.

"Why would you need three adventurers in one wagon...?"

"What was that?"

"No, no, nothing."

Why was he overthinking it? Phil dismissed his concerns, deciding he should just be happy that a capable adventurer like Pierre was guarding his caravan.

With that thought, Phil set about restacking the boxes he'd knocked over. Meanwhile, Pierre returned to his seat, sitting across from the hooded adventurer once again. Phil did his best to ignore the uncomfortable tension that hung between the two as they sat in silence.

"Hah!" "Move it!"

The drivers shouted as the wagons began to roll forward. The convoy slowly, creakingly started its journey, like a waterwheel turning for the first time in ages.

"Hey, make sure nothing falls off, will ya?" "Don’t worry. I’ve secured everything tightly."

The merchants and adventurers exchanged lighthearted banter as they went.

Amid the ordinary sounds of conversation and faint tension in the air, Maxim's caravan finally started moving with a clatter. Leaning comfortably against a pile of boxes, he shared the cramped space with the hulking bald adventurer, making it difficult to breathe.

"...." "...."

Neither man spoke. Pierre stared intently at Maxim, while Maxim pretended to be oblivious, staring off into space. This silent standoff had continued for the entire hour since they’d left.

"Who are you...?"

Pierre finally broke the silence.

Maxim didn’t respond. All he could do was hope that the former instructor would eventually tire of his own questioning and leave him alone. After all, Pierre knew him from before, and if Maxim let down his guard, it could raise suspicion.

"What are you doing here, tagging along?"

But Pierre, once his instructor, was far more persistent than Maxim had anticipated. It seemed he had no intention of giving up until Maxim spoke.

When it came time for night watch, Maxim volunteered for the middle shift and went to sleep earlier than the others.

"Hey, excuse me?"

Maxim woke to the sound of rustling near the caravan and pulled his hood lower over his face as he got up. It seemed it was his turn to keep watch.

"Your... watch."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Maxim stood up and shook off the remnants of sleep. His senses sharpened as he approached the caravan, having noticed movement nearby. The adventurer who had woken him sighed in relief before quickly retreating from the caravan.

It’s been a while since I’ve kept watch.

Maxim stretched, testing his body’s movements. He checked his muscles, from his shoulders to his fingertips, and from his waist down to his toes.

"Good."

Prepared for any possible confrontation, Maxim began walking slowly, using the dim red glow of the campfire as his guide. The forest was filled with the chirping of late autumn insects and the occasional hoot of owls, making the night air noisy. A noisy forest at night was a good sign.

Maxim thought back to the quiet, predator-filled forest near the no-man's land, where silence meant death was looming.

"You’re awake."

Maxim was in a relatively good mood as he walked to take up his watch. However, upon seeing the familiar face waiting by the fire, his mood soured, and a curse escaped his lips.

"You volunteered for the middle shift. You really must not want to talk to anyone, huh?"

Knowing full well how Maxim felt, Pierre, ever so persistent, continued speaking. Maxim couldn’t show his displeasure openly, as it would only encourage Pierre to keep bothering him, so he kept quiet.

I really should have expected this from someone with such a meddlesome personality.

Maxim decided to remain silent and sat down.

"Sorry for pestering you like this."

It was clear Pierre was trying a softer approach now, having realized being forceful didn’t work. Maxim grudgingly admired his persistence.

"I’ve got a lot to worry about, leading this group of adventurers and all."

Pierre complained while twisting his neck to ease his stiff joints. Maxim found himself wondering how this man, who had once been a strict and fearsome instructor, had ended up an adventurer.

The memories of Pierre as an overwhelming instructor, training recruits with his sheer brute force, contrasted sharply with the older, more worn-out man sitting before him now.

Maxim dropped onto the ground a safe distance from the fire, making sure it wouldn’t illuminate his face. The sword at his waist clattered softly as it hit the ground.

"At the very least, I’ve got to make sure the adventurers who came along to earn their pay return with their limbs intact."

That same sense of responsibility Pierre had always shown was still there, it seemed.

"You don’t trust me?"

Maxim spoke for the first time, his voice surprising Pierre enough that the man looked as though he’d been struck in the back of the head.

"You... you can talk?"

Pierre’s response was so foolish that even he realized it, quickly clearing his throat and trying to cover it up.

"Right. I don’t even know your name or your face. How could I trust you without at least that much?"

"You don’t need to trust me."

Pierre frowned deeply at Maxim’s cold reply.

"You’ve got a real mouth on you, don’t you? Rude bastard."

Despite the grumbling, it didn’t feel like Pierre was trying to start a fight.

"Doesn’t matter. Whatever your intentions are, at least I know you’re not here to ruin this mission. The branch chief put you on it, after all."

Maxim neither confirmed nor denied it, still puzzled by why Pierre continued to hover around him despite knowing this.

"I figured I’d annoy you a bit and see if you had any hidden motives, but you’ve hardly moved. Maybe it’s because I’ve been sticking close, but I expected you to at least try sneaking off once or twice."

What was the branch chief thinking? Pierre spat into the fire.

"Maybe you’ve got something important waiting for you at the destination. Either way, that’s none of my concern."

Maxim remained silent.

"...You were a knight once, right?"

Pierre scoffed at Maxim’s question.

"Who told you that? The branch chief, running his mouth again?"

Pierre didn’t go into detail about how he’d ended up in this situation as an adventurer.

"Everyone’s got something they can’t avoid. In my case, I was just dismissed."

That was all Maxim could get out of him before Pierre clammed up again, daring Maxim to remove his hood if he wanted to hear more.

Dismissed.

That word told Maxim everything. Pierre hadn’t left his post willingly. Could it be that the Bening family had played a part in his forced resignation?

Maxim’s thoughts were interrupted as Pierre continued speaking.

"Yeah. I know you’re not my main concern right now. I’ve got to focus on this mission and..."

Pierre’s voice dropped to a near whisper.

"And catching the rats that have snuck in."

Rats?

Maxim lowered his head in response.

"...This mission. The branch chief may not have noticed, but there are some odd characters mixed in. Since you were placed on this mission by the branch chief, I figured you could help."

If he knew about this, why hadn’t he stopped harassing me sooner?

Maxim suppressed the urge to snap at him.

"What do you mean by 'odd characters'?"

"I’m not sure if you’re playing dumb or genuinely asking for my opinion."

Pierre’s brow furrowed as he spoke.

"Besides the spy sent by the Bening family, there can’t be any other reason."

==

"Are the 'nameless adventurer’s' movements certain?"

Leon Bening was deep in conversation with his servant, who was reading a letter from the adventurer.

"Yes. He has joined the supply convoy heading to the no-man’s land."

"And the ones we planted?"

"Five of them made it in, but the other five failed to join. As per your instructions, they’ve begun monitoring the mission’s scale and the adventurers involved."

"Good. We need to weed out the weak ones anyway. Have they been keeping an eye on the nameless adventurer?"

The servant’s expression darkened. Leon Bening was increasingly frustrated by how things were veering off course. Everything was going well, but the constant minor setbacks were beginning to grate on his nerves.

"Apologies, sir. The commander of the adventurers has been staying close to the nameless one, making it difficult to observe him. It’s fine if he notices our surveillance, but if the other adventurers catch wind of it, it could ruin everything."

Leon took a long, deep breath, his eyes briefly flickering with rare irritation.

"I see."

Sitting opposite him was Emil Bordin, who looked as though he was sitting on a bed of nails.

"Tsk. They’ve placed him in the convoy so openly that I can’t make a move."

Not only had they failed to confirm if the nameless adventurer was truly Maxim Apart, but they also hadn’t been able to see his face.

"So, Emil. What do you think of this situation?"

Leon was taking a not-so-subtle jab at Emil for sending Marion Bordin. The veiled pressure from Leon had Emil trembling, his face pale as he struggled to answer.

"...It’ll be fine. We’ll just bring someone else next time."

Leon’s eyes darkened.

"And we need to keep an eye on those outside the frontier as well."

In his mind’s eye, the faces of Count Argon and the frontier lord were clearly painted.