Territory. Although it sounds good to say that a country's territory is under its control, the reality is that it does not have complete control over its territory. This can be said for any nation ruled by any human race and within each nation's territory, there are forests and mountains where other races live and areas where ferocious monsters roam. Inevitably, travel between countries will take the safest route, avoiding such dangerous places. In places where many people come and go, customs posts are set up and tolls are collected. In addition to this, soldiers will be strict in detecting spies from other countries, criminals and merchants who deal in illegal goods.

"Good to go. Next――"

"Y, Yes"

A man replied to the soldier's call with a grim face and a nervous look on his face. This is one of the many gates on the Ream continent and since it is covered with mountains and forests on both sides, if you want to avoid this gate, you will either have to take a large detour or pass through mountains and forests where dangerous demons roam, or even through the territory of other races. Even those who are not used to traveling understand how dangerous and reckless it is.

"Hmm, are you a merchant?"

The soldier's words made the man's heart beat faster.

(How did he know I was a merchant?)

As the soldier said, the man was a merchant. However, there was no way that someone like this man, who was traveling without hiring an escort, would be dressed in a way that would make him instantly recognizable as a merchant. Traveling in such clothes would be like asking a thief to attack you. That's why the man made sure that he looked like a traveler.

"Don't be so defensive. I've been working here for over six years. If you can't see through a merchant's disguise, you'll never make it here. Or are you hiding something that is forbidden?"

"No, sir, not at all! I'm an honest merchant. I buy black pepper, white pepper and other spices, I don't buy anything suspicious that would make a soldier suspect me"

"Then quickly show me everything you're wearing in that tent"

"Yes, sir"

The man hurriedly took off his cloak as he was led into the tent. You can find several item pouches sewn into the lining of the cloak. A commoner would be middle class if he or she had one item pouch per family. Spices divided into cloth bags were crammed onto a number of long tables. An official with the 『Appraisal』 skill checked each of them in detail. Even though he wasn't doing anything wrong, the sight made the man sweat all over. When the official finished examining all the items, he nodded to the soldier.

"Yes. There seems to be no problem"

The man breathed a sigh of relief at these words. He collected the spices and valuables that he had presented, paid the toll tax to the soldier and was about to leave when he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder.

"Wh, What is it? Soldier"

With golden hair and brown skin, he was a typical Derim man. Since this was the Derim Empire's customs house, it was nothing unusual. The evidence of this is that the other soldiers all have the same features. However, the soldier who grabbed the man's shoulders was more than just good-looking. He was wearing a suit of armor that was so disheveled that even the casual observer could tell that it was a result of his daily indolence. He also reeked of alcohol.

"You seem to be a merchant"

"This......what? I've had my belongings inspected and paid the toll tax, as you can see"

"They're lax in their inspections. Look, you see?"

He smiled and lightly tapped the man's chest a few times with the back of his hand, then held out his right hand in a gesture of request. It was obvious what this soldier was asking for. The man turned his gaze to the soldiers inspecting the area around him as if to ask for help, but all of them pretended to ignore him while expressing their displeasure.

"Th......That is ridiculous"

"Hey, what are you complaining about?"

Was he impatient with the man who didn't take the attitude he wanted? When the soldier grabs the man's chest, he lifts him as it is.

"Hii. So, Soldier, please stop the violence"

"Shut up. You know who you're acting cocky towards, right? I'm a relative of Count Lanze! Huhehee, I'll tell you something that a lowly merchant like you wouldn't know anyway. Count Lanze was the one who spent time in the same school as Joseph Palm Yorm who was touted as the strongest of the Derim Empire!!"

"He, 『Holy Cursed Sword』Joseph!?"

"Yeah, so-called classmates. I'm sure you can understand what would happen if you were to misbehave with Count Lanze's relative"

The merchant looked around, but all he could see was a line of soldiers working nonchalantly and frightened commoners. The man gave up and with trembling hands, took out a gold coin from his item pouch and handed it to the soldier.

"Hmph!"

He snickers, throws the man off his feet, counts the number of gold coins and smiles lowly. The merchant crouched on the ground hurriedly stood up and left the gate without saying a word.

"Pannolino, that bastard. He's doing whatever he wants again"

One of the young soldiers working at the gate complained.

"Don't say anything extra"

"Kee, look at that. The captain's not talking"

"Don't get involved. What will happen to you? It's true that Pannolino is a relative of Count Lanze"

"Aaah. This is the Derim Imperial Army that I longed for when I was a kid. It's like shit――no, it's less than shit"

The young soldier couldn't stop swearing and he wondered if his colleague working next to him felt the same way. He didn't say anything else and went about his work in silence.

"Kyaaa!!"

The high-pitched cry of a woman stopped the hands of the soldiers at the checkpoint. The source of the voice was a dispute between a father and daughter and Pannolino.

"Please stop"

"What did you do to my daughter!"

"I said I'm going to personally examine her"

Licking his tongue, Pannolino grabbed the woman's arm. It's not the tent that the merchant was brought to, but a private room that only Pannolino is allowed to use.

"S, Someone! Please help my daughter――uaa!?"

"Shut up and get out of my way!"

Pannolino mercilessly kicks the father away clinging to his hips.

"Father!"

"Give up and follow me. Well, if you cooperate, I'll be done soon. Huhihii"

"Pl, Please let me go. Somebody help me!!"

The woman called out for help to the soldiers around her, just like the man before her, but no one paid any attention. Even when she made eye contact with some of them, they looked away.

"No one wants to help you. Now, that's enough――aah?. What the hell are you doing!?"

Pannolino felt a presence and when he turned around, there was a big man standing there that Pannolino, who was over 190 centimeters, could look up at.

"You Bastard! I can't take it anymore!"

"Wait"

"Captain, I'm sick of his attitude! Look at that! A commoner is doing what we should be doing!!"

The young soldier finally tried to move with his spear, but the captain stopped him.

"I, I can't believe it......"

"Tell me something you don't understand why――"

"Joseph-sama......it's definitely Joseph-sama over there"

"――What? Th, That's......the hero of the Derim Empire!

With silver hair, a height of over 2 meters and a muscular body that can be seen through armor――no matter how many times the captain reviewed it, it was definitely Joseph. In the first place, this man was once in the army led by Joseph. There was no way he could mistake him for someone else. The reason why he still couldn't believe it was, because that Joseph was holding a spear in his hand. Pannolino pushed the woman away from him and glared at Joseph right in front of his eyes.

"Youu!! You know who you're messing with, don't you!!"

"'Shut up. I thought the line was slow, but it's your fault. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting"

It was a lie. It hadn't even been five minutes since Joseph had gotten to the end of the line. It was a lie.

"Aaah!? Th, This! That's why you idiots! You know what? I'm――"

Pannolino was furious, but then he noticed the spear in Joseph's hand.

(This is not a cheap spear you can buy anywhere. It's a terrible business. That's for sure!!)

Instead of reflecting, Pannolino, who was ordered to be transferred to a gate along the border due to his bad behavior, began to work harder than ever before. However, he is still a nobleman. He had been educated as a nobleman since he was a child. He saw at a glance that the spear in Joseph's possession was valuable.

"Hey, that spear"

"What's wrong with this spear?"

A blue streak appeared on Pannolino's temple at Joseph's words.

"You've been so rude to me. If I were you, I'd have you hanged. But I'm gentle like that. Give me that spear and I'll spare your life"

"You want the spear?"

"Tsk. Quickly you bastard!"

Pannolino extends his left hand as if begging for the spear and Joseph slowly moves the spear in his right hand to match it.

"Huhii. You're really obedient"

It's not like Pannolino is satisfied with taking the spear. Just thinking about what happened after that wouldn't stop him.

(Good grief. I'm not sure what kind of upbringing he's had to give it to me with the tip pointing up. I'm going to skewer you with this spear!)

It was Pannolino who grabbed the handle of the spear――but Joseph pushed his spear as it was without stopping.

"Oh, Oh? Ooh!? Id, Idiot! Idiot Idiot!!! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

The spear owned by Stefan, the pride of the Holy Country of Jardalk, pierced Pannolino's leather armor with ease and then pierced the thick subcutaneous fat of his abdomen. Of course, Pannolino also tried to stop it with his hands, but lost to Joseph´s strength.

"Ouch!! Ouuuccchhhhh!!! Somebody help me! Don't you guys look at me――gyaaaaaaa!!! Don't mug me!!!"

It was a scene they had often seen so far. However, this time Pannolino is the victim.

"Wahahaa. What's the matter? You wanted this spear, didn't you? You should be more happy"

"Y, You, aaguu......you want to be killed! O......I´m, a Derim Empire, gigi, noble, igigi......"

"Don't be shy"

"Wait――"

When Joseph puts his strength on his right arm, Pannolino's foot, which weighs more than 180 kilograms, gently separates from the ground. Joseph's ridiculous power makes no voice from the surroundings. He continued to lift the spear and Pannolino was raised high into the sky. The weight of Pannolino was pushing the spear deeper into the ground. But when Joseph shook the spear from side to side, the spear went through to his back at once and slid down to Joseph's hand.

"Y, You......bastard. Buu......I´ll kill you"

Pannolino stretches his bloody hand towards Joseph, but the moment he sees Joseph's face, his hand stops.

"You said something interesting earlier, didn't you? That I'm classmates with that asshole Lanze?"

Pannolino was flabbergasted by these words. Pannolino looked at Joseph's appearance and understood. The person he is facing is Joseph.

"Th, That!? W......Wait......hii, aya......apologize! N, Noo!! Apology――bubeee!?"

Joseph slaps the side of Pannolino, who tries to apologize with a bloody face. First, the loosened Pannolino's neck makes a full turn and at the same time, a dry sound is heard. The cervical vertebrae were broken. But the momentum didn't slow down and the neck twisted two or three more times. He was pierced by the spear and flailed about for a while, but then, perhaps because of the difficulty in breathing caused by the neck injury or because the flow of blood had stopped, Pannolino expired.

"Shut up and die"

Joseph swung his right arm sideways and Pannolino's body, freed from the spear, bounced and rolled on the ground. Even in this situation, the people around him were still solidーーno, only some soldiers were quivering and staring at Joseph. After all, Joseph, whom they knew only from rumors, was a man just like the rumors said. If the opponent was evil, he would kill it without hesitation, no matter if it was a nobleman or not. It was no wonder that he was still immensely popular among the commoners of the Derim Empire, which boasted a vast territory. It was no wonder that the soldiers who saw Joseph for the first time were excited.

"You, you there. Come here"

It was the captain of the guard station who was called out by Joseph. 「Y, Yes!!」, as soon as he answered, he ran up to Joseph.

"Is it my misunderstanding that you are wearing the armor of the Derim Empire?"

"Noo!! It is definitely the armor of the Derim Empire!!"

"I see. So I'm not mistaken. Then what is it? Aaah? Since when do you allow this kind of shit to happen?"

"Ah, since you left the Derim Empire and gradually became a noble――bubee"

"Don't blame others. I will hit you"

The people around him inwardly tsked, 「You hit him」, but no one said a word about it. They were afraid of Joseph, who had killed Pannolino without mercy.

"It's okay. I'm sure this is the Derim Empire, right?"

"Guhaaa....... Ye, no!! This destination will be the Set Republic!!"

"What......?"

Joseph's slap swells his cheeks and the staggering captain replies. Joseph smiled with a dry smile while looking in the direction of the day after tomorrow.

"I'll do it"

No one is doing anything. It's just that Joseph took a wrong turn. This man has a genuine lack of direction. He thought that if he went straight south from the Udon Kingdom, he would reach the Derim Empire and he did not bypass the mountains, the forests, or even the so-called dangerous areas. So far, so good. As long as he kept going straight, he would eventually reach the territory of the Derim Empire, but because he took a reckless path instead of the regular route, he didn't even realize that he had entered the territory of the Derim Empire without realizing it. Somehow, he veered off to the east and northeast from there and ended up at the border between the Set Republic and the Derim Empire.

"Jo, Joseph-sama?"

Ignoring the captain's question, Joseph walked back the way he came.

"Eh? He's going back"

"Are you sure he didn't take a wrong turn?"

"No, I don't think so"

"If that's true, it's not cool"

After Joseph had left, the commoners in the line began to talk as if time had begun to move again.