The Exiled Knight Takes Up Life as an Adventurer — A Former Captain's Secret Power and His Carefree Days in a Distant Land - Chapter 28

I lit a signal flare to notify the guild that the hunt was complete.

Even deep in the forest, our campsite had clear visibility overhead.

After a short while, Alisha and Ramitwa arrived, riding on the supply wagon.

Alisha quickly and skillfully began breaking down Azpreshius’s massive corpse, while Ramitwa efficiently handled the preservation process, loading the parts into the wagon.

I helped with the transport.

“Alright, let’s head home.”

With Ramitwa at the reins, the wagon rolled slowly down the forest trail, eventually reaching the main road.

Though we had successfully completed the hunt, no one said a word during the ride back.

Velnika sat beside me, silently gazing out at the passing scenery. That image of her stayed with me.

“We’re back.”

We returned to the guild just past noon.

After unloading the materials harvested from Azpreshius, we reported the quest completion at the front desk.

Once all the paperwork was handled, Velnika stood in front of us.

“Thank you… all of you.”

She gave us a small, soft smile and bowed deeply.

“Three days to bring it down—not bad.”

“It really was an excellent hunt. Velnika did amazingly well.”

“It was all thanks to my guiding skills!” Ramitwa declared proudly.

That made all of us burst into laughter.

“Hey, everyone—the materials brought in three gold coins. Let’s split them.”

Velnika handed one gold coin each to me, Alisha, and Ramitwa.

I ended up receiving a total of three gold coins from this quest.

“Are you sure you don’t want your share?”

“Yes. Avenging him was enough for me.”

“…I see.”

I stared down at the coin I’d received from her.

That night, the guild gathered together.

Velnika had officially decided to retire from adventuring, and so we held a retirement ceremony for her.

When a party member retires, it’s celebrated grandly—that’s tradition at this town’s guild.

It was my first time attending something like this.

“A retirement ceremony, huh…”

As someone who had been exiled from his own country, I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.

Velnika returned her adventurer’s card.

Everyone moved down to the tavern on the first floor.

“A toast to Velnika’s future!”

“Cheers!”

“Alright, let’s drink!”

The celebration began.

True to its nature as a port town, the tables were covered in all kinds of seafood.

There were also dishes made from the Black Forest Pork Bakusha that Velnika had hunted yesterday, and of course, the meat of the Azure Spout Dragon, Azpreshius.

The dragon meat was especially popular—lean but flavorful, with a satisfying texture that grew richer with every bite. The more rugged adventurers were tearing into it like wolves.

I sat at the bar counter, sipping wine while watching Velnika in the center of the room.

She was surrounded by friends.

“Velnika really is beloved.”

Sometimes she laughed loudly, other times she shouted in excitement, throwing her arms around friends who were reluctant to see her go.

“Of course she is. She’s strong, beautiful, and kind,” came a voice beside me.

It was Felrit.

She refilled my empty glass with wine.

“You done helping with the food?”

“Yeah. Things settled down now.”

Her usual sweet smile had faded slightly.

There was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“Velnika’s leaving… It’s kinda lonely, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. But this isn’t goodbye forever. We should see her off with smiles.”

“Mhm…”

A shimmer of tears formed in Felrit’s eyes.

“Hey, Mardin—you’re not retiring too, are you?”

“Of course not. I love this town. I plan to keep adventuring here. Besides, I’ve still gotta earn a living, right? Hahaha.”

“Hehe. Good.”

I glanced over at Velnika again.

Laughing, talking, enjoying her time with so many friends—she was clearly respected and loved.

“Mardin… do you like women like Velnika?”

“…Huh? Where did that come from?”

“You’ve been watching her this whole time.”

“I mean… well…”

“Well?”

“Guys like me—old and unpopular—we don’t really get to talk about that kind of thing. Hahaha.”

“What kind of answer is that?!”

As I burst out laughing, Velnika caught my eye.

She gave a small, shy smile and clasped her hands together nervously.

I took my wine and walked over to her.

“Velnika—when are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Whoa, that soon?”

“I’ve been preparing. Besides… this place is too comfortable.”

“Ahh, yeah. I get that. If you don’t leave fast, you’ll never be able to.”

This town is welcoming.

Even someone like me, from a foreign land, ended up settling here.

For Velnika, who was born and raised here, leaving must’ve taken real courage—and a strong heart.

“Velnika, travel takes money, you know?”

“I’ve saved up enough. I’ll be fine.”

“But this is your first journey, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then take this.”

I pulled out a small leather pouch and handed it to her.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a charm.”

“A charm?”

In this region, it’s common to carry something important in a small leather pouch—like a personal talisman.

“I had it blessed at the temple for your journey’s safety. If you’re ever in trouble, open it.”

“Thank you… really.”

Inside the leather pouch, I had added seven gold coins to the three I received as payment—ten gold coins in total.

You never know what can happen on a journey.

It’s best if she never has to use it, but if something does happen, this should keep her alive for a while.

Having once had my wealth confiscated overnight, I understood better than most just how precious money could be.

“Hey, Mardin. You really are skilled, aren’t you? Just like Lacru said. That way you controlled the Thread Fil—honestly, it was amazing.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

“Oh, stop it. From the start, you were guiding things so I would be the one to finish off Azpreshius, weren’t you? Now that I think about it, you knew I’d want to avenge him using Lacru’s sword… you made it all happen.”

“There’s no way I planned all that.”

“Liar. And don’t think I forgot about how you took down that Shadow-Winged Rat, Lamus, in a single strike. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Wha—!?”

That night, I’d run into Lamus—the shadow-winged rat—before it attacked our camp and took it down myself.

I left the corpse behind as food for the predators in the area.

I didn’t think Velnika had seen it.

“…You saw that?”

“Yep, I saw it. You could’ve reported it and gotten paid, but instead you left it as bait for wild animals. You’re… surprisingly kind.”

“You’re really making this tough…”

I scratched the back of my head and leaned in slightly toward Velnika.

“Alright, fine. Velnika.”

“Wh-What?”

“That whole thing… do me a favor and just forget it. Hahaha.”

“Oh, honestly! You’re unbelievable… Is that really okay with you?”

“Yeah. C-rank suits me just fine. Besides… I kinda like living a quiet life in this town.”

I topped off her wine glass with mine.

“Come on, let’s drink.”

“Hehe. You really are a good guy, you know.”

“You think so? I’m just a single old guy who never gets any attention.”

“Hmm… I think you do get attention. You just don’t notice.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. Now drink!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

We raised our glasses once more and toasted again.

“Hey, Mardin… if I ever come back—would you welcome me home?”

“Of course I would.”

“Hehe. Thank you. Home really is something special.”

“Yeah… it really is.”

For just a moment, my thoughts drifted to a snow-covered landscape I would never see again—
my homeland, forever lost to me.

“Velnika… take care of your home, okay?”

“I will. I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting right here when you come back.”

“…Wait—is that a proposal?”

“Oh come on, getting proposed to by a guy like me would be a nightmare! Hahaha!”

“Haha, yeah… maybe so.”

At the center of the tavern, the rowdier adventurers were hoisting barrels of ale above their heads.

“Hey! Velnika! Mardin! What are you two doing over there? Come drink with us!”

“Coming!”

Velnika slapped me on the back.

“Come on, Mardin! Tonight, we drink!”

“Hell yeah! We’re drinking till morning! Hahaha!”

With Velnika at my back, I let myself be pushed into the wild, joyful circle of celebration.