"Damn it, didn't I order a curfew? Why is it so noisy outside!?"
Hus paced back and forth inside the mansion, tugging hard at his little mustache as he cursed furiously.
"Go see what's happening outside. Tell those guards living off their pay to enforce the curfew properly!"
The village official, eager to prove his loyalty, hurried out with a stoop.
But the mansion stood beside the town square, almost at its very center.
All he had to do was open the door and take a look. He saw scattered points of fire already forming into a loose column, crossing the central square and heading west along the road.
He turned around and shouted,
"Something's wrong, Lord Hus! I saw a lot of people packing their belongings and leaving their homes. They're heading out of town!"
"What!? Tell the guards to stop them!"
More than why the people were leaving their homes, what angered Hus was that these commoners had failed to obey his strict orders.
But whatever the case, he knew they couldn't afford to waste any more time.
He turned to Melard, sitting beside him with a worried expression, and urged him in a low voice,
"Young master, stop waiting for that unreliable Catherine. Leave with Explosive Wolf now—no matter what, get back to Dragon Gold City first!"
"But—"
"I have to answer to the master. So no matter how much you try to persuade me, your safety will come first."
This was no time to hesitate. Hus cut him off without a second thought.
He grabbed Melard by the arm and led him through the mansion's back door into the courtyard.
Ever since returning to town, the mercenary captain had been resting. Now he had regained most of his strength.
Even when muttering under his breath, his