"Hey, we caught these guys. I won't let you lay your hands on me."
Atar enters between the merchants and the adventurers, and still nails at the merchants who look like they want to impose sanctions on the adventurers.
"I know. It was just blurry. More than that, you seem to do quite a bit."
The interest of the man, who flaunted his shoulders with a floating attitude, had shifted from adventurers to atars and caros. It sends a lukewarm gaze to define the product. In response to that gaze, Caro was staring at the man like he was on guard.
"Thanks for that one.... So who the hell are you?
Atal is not interested in the man's words despite being praised, who is the man and why did he let the adventurers do this? That was what bothered me.
"Heh heh, that strong feeling is good too.... Fine, I'll talk to you. I'm a merchant, as you can see. It's just... they call me the backmerchant, or the dark merchant. We get an intermediate margin by finding the strong and introducing them to nobility, royalty, etc."
Atal narrowed his eyes softly when he felt the part caught by the words of the dark merchant smiling with pleasure.
I didn't seem to lie about what the Dark Merchant was saying, but there are more things to keep quiet about than that. That's what I was feeling.
"Well, so we're your glasses."
"Well, they're quite adventurous, too, but compared to the two of you who beat it lightly, it gets sumptuous"
The Dark Merchant grinned as if he had found his favorite object, looking from top to bottom with a gaze licking his atal and caro around.
"Don't turn your sickening gaze. I'm telling you, we have a purpose. I'm not going to get in your truck."
Atar said no clearly as he sheltered Caro from his nasty gaze, but still only deepened the smile of the dark merchant.
"I guess so. Because if you were the kind of person who would ride my invitation so easily, they wouldn't have lost light either...... Heh, let's decide to pull it up for this one. It would be helpful if you let them go... because you're hiring me as my escort for once, right?
Though he felt sick about the dark merchants who had slowly pulled back, Atar, who had been told so, turned his gaze to the adventurers.
Then the leader's man gave him a look like he said something for a moment, but then he nodded quietly when he shut his mouth.
He could forgive me if I told him more about Wake if it were these two, he could change the situation. That's what I thought, but it was a reply after I thought we couldn't have someone irrelevant work out the butt wipe of our own choice.
"Okay, these guys seem to be fine with that, too, so let's do that. But don't you ever try to imitate us again?
The narrative was quiet, but Atal was murderous along with his cold gaze that he would not condone anything the next time he was hostile.
"I understand, sir. I don't want to be hostile to you."
The Dark Merchant replied to Atar as he retreated, as something cold ran on his spine, regretting that he had closed his eyes.
"Look, look, I'm coming."
"Oh, guys, let's go..."
Caro untied the adventurers as we talked, and by then the four of them followed the merchants, along with their companions who had regained consciousness.
Where I can no longer see that back, Caro slowly opens his mouth with a hard expression.
"... what the hell was that?
Caro, who was silent and watching over Yuki, also didn't think that the man's words were the only truth, and had always wondered what his real purpose was.
"That man, maybe he's only sure of the eyes he sees. When I went to say hello, I felt like I was being explored for my abilities. I don't know if I have that ability, or if it's a long-standing one..."
When I heard that, I remembered that time. Caro also had something in mind.
"Yes...... I felt weird when I was looking at us as Giro"
"Maybe there's something... Anyway, let's be careful"
I had a feeling my chest would squirm against something I didn't know I could handle, but the two fell asleep for a moment as they entered the tent to shake it off.
Next morning.
When the Athals packed their bags and drove back to the front of the woods by carriage, there was no longer a merchant figure there.
"Looks like they all headed ahead..."
There were traces of fireworks and so on, and it turns out that he would have been here after that.
"Have you moved on or gone back... Considering we were camping here to find our next hand, there's a chance we're back home without a hand tag."
Atal expected so because there was nothing new in the wheel that looked around but headed into the woods.
"Well, either way, let's go for our purpose."
"That's right. But let's not be alarmed."
I nodded firmly because Atal, who had reconsidered that I couldn't help but care about them any more, was thinking the same thing as Caro.
"I didn't know there was such a thing as a dark merchant... Fine, just stand in front of us and we'll take it down."
I didn't tell anyone. When I said that, I slowly drove the carriage into the woods.
The woods where the trees grew were somehow quieter than they had been on the road so far.
There's no sign of the demon.
"It's a quiet, good forest. However, I am concerned that there are no signs of animals..."
The absence of demons on the journey was good in terms of safety, but I didn't hear any signs of wildlife or the birds that I had always heard, and Caro was uncomfortable there.
"Did they set something up?
"Is that enough to affect the whole forest...?
I wouldn't say anything that would deny Atal's words if it were usual. It was Caro, but I didn't think just people could make all this change. That makes me more alert.
"Hopefully nothing will happen by the time we get through the woods..."
"Right..."
Tightening their expressions to the woods, which were still quiet, the two were sending their gaze down the road ahead and putting their thoughts around something that might be waiting for them to go.