Chapter 194: Strong, Fleeting, and Resilient

Lutz rode on the back of a donkey to visit the lumberjack village.

The reconstruction of the village was progressing rapidly, with most of the houses rebuilt. The ones left untouched were homes of the deceased.

Although it looked reasonably clean, the scent of burnt and decaying matter seemed to have permeated the land.

In this village steeped in an air of death, people were resuming their lives.

… Describing them as resilient might be too casual.

Lutz frowned as he looked around.

The faces of the residents were by no means bright. Yes, they were not strong. They were merely enduring. To turn their struggle into a tale of human strength, go back with a face as if everything had ended, was not something he could do.

They had lived as lumberjacks all their lives. They didn’t know any other way of life, and they lacked the skills and knowledge to change professions. There was not a single person in the village who could read or write.

There was no other place for them to live. If they ran away, they would either become bandits or die in the wild. Knowing this, they endured, cursing their own fate.

“Hey, Lutz-sensei, are you ready already!?”

Kevin, the leader of the lumberjacks, spotted Lutz and ran over. For some reason, his face had a bruise, and Lutz asked with a puzzled expression.

“Hello, Kevin-san. There are various things I want to talk about, but first, what happened to your face?”

“Still looking handsome today, aren’t I?”

“Yes, indeed. The bruise adds a touch of sexiness to your face.”

“Oh, this…,” 

Kevin chuckled as he traced the bruise around his eye with his finger.

“My son. When I told him I would pass on the position of leader to him, he got angry and punched me, calling me irresponsible.”

“That’s… something.”

“No, no, don’t make that face. I’m happy.”

Kevin continued talking with a somewhat nostalgic, lonely, yet strangely cheerful expression.

“That kid who used to be scared and couldn’t say anything to me, he got angry for the sake of his friends and punched his father. He’s finally grown up; I can trust him with the position of leader.”

Kevin seemed satisfied, but Lutz sympathized more with the son who was burdened with the position of leader against his will during this challenging time.

To abandon his comrades and head to the labyrinth with a nonchalant, “I don’t know about the rest, I’ll leave it to you,” at the most challenging time is indeed irresponsible.

Noticing Lutz’s cold gaze, Kevin scratched his head, trying to divert the situation.

“Well, there are various things you might want to say, but I don’t want to neglect revenge either.”

Kevin picked up a fallen branch and snapped it. The dry branch made a loud snapping sound, but it was insufficient to express Kevin’s anger.

“When I came back here, there were dead bodies scattered everywhere. The burnt and torn bodies of comrades. We mourned while enduring tears and nausea. To be told to forget that sight, return quietly, and live — I can’t answer yes to that.”

Kevin tossed the broken branch away. Despite realizing that what he did was meaningless, frustration had to be directed somewhere.

“Revenge isn’t just for the sake of the dead. I think it’s necessary for the living to find closure. To forget that sight, I have to do it. I can’t leave it to my son alone.”

Kevin seemed determined. Lutz nodded, and he took a leather bag from the donkey’s back.

“Kevin-san, shall we go a bit deeper into the forest?”

“Why bother? Nobody is going to eavesdrop on our conversation…”

Lutz grinned and opened the leather bag. Kevin’s eyes stopped as he saw what was inside – a crossbow. Although it was Kevin’s first time seeing one, he immediately understood its special structure.

“Why do you have that forbidden item…”

“The church’s teachings apparently allow using it against non-believers. Since we haven’t heard of monsters coming for prayers, it should be fine.”

“He’s fine, but this one isn’t? What’s the logic behind differentiating between those you can and cannot kill?”

“Let’s not delve into that. It might be interpreted as criticism of the church.”

Lutz beckoned, and the two of them headed deeper into the forest. Kevin, now convinced, followed Lutz’s back with a sense of resignation. Even if they were comrades, he didn’t want to be seen plotting mischief with a crossbow. After walking for about ten minutes and confirming there was no one around, Lutz took out the crossbow from the leather bag.

First, Lutz demonstrated. Stepping on the stirrup to secure it, he used both hands to pull back the string, straightening his spine. Then, he attached an iron arrow and shot it toward a nearby tree.

The short, sharp sound of the shot and the arrow piercing the tree were almost simultaneous.

“Wow…”

Both Lutz and Kevin widened their eyes at the terrifying speed and power.

“Why are you surprised too?”

“It’s my first time shooting it. There’s no place to practice, after all.”

Lutz handed the crossbow to Kevin, who hesitantly took it.

“That’s why it’s forbidden, something like this.”

“I heard it can easily penetrate a knight’s armor.”

“In battles of the past, were things like this flying around commonly? Scary, huh?”

Kevin made light of the situation while aiming the crossbow at the tree that Lutz had shot earlier. The sharp gaze in his eyes was directed at the tree and, in his mind, at the monster.

“To kill that guy, you might need something like this.”

Muttering that, Kevin began tinkering with the crossbow.

“Do I have to step on it each time? What a hassle…”

“Well, you see, because the string is incredibly tough, you can’t pull it by hand like a bow.”

Ignoring Lutz’s explanation, Kevin firmly grasped the crossbow with his left hand and pulled the string with his right hand. His log-like arm seemed to have momentarily, and even more significantly, increased in size.

“Oh, I did it.”

The string was perfectly set. Lutz knew he was a powerful man, but ignoring common sense was unexpected. In terms of power alone, he might even surpass Gerhardt.

… Seriously?

No inconvenience whatsoever. On the contrary, the significantly reduced firing interval could contribute to strengthening their forces. It was a pleasant miscalculation, but setting aside the joy, ignoring the laws of physics, was it okay? In Lutz’s mind, the son who punched Kevin and improved his evaluation had risen a notch.

Lutz handed Kevin a short arrow for the crossbow, looking somewhat amazed.

“I’ve prepared fifty training arrows. I’ll bring another fifty on the day, so feel free to use them. Also, please don’t reuse arrows once you’ve used them. Bent arrows might fly off in unpredictable directions.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, especially crossbow arrows are short. They might even bounce off the string and end up sticking in your own face.”

“O-Okay. Got it. I’ll be careful.”

Kevin set the arrow and aimed at the tree again.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. The arrow cut through the air, making a sharp sound as it violently pierced into the head of the monster at the same height.

“I see, I like it.”

Kevin muttered with a cynical smile on his face.

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