My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose

Chapter 224 – The Story From Then On – Part 2

“Ah…?”

Zett, having started his walk from the middle of the grassland without knowing where to go, gradually noticed something resembling a building in the distance as the world around him began to brighten.

It hadn’t been visible in the darkness, but now it seemed somewhat discernible.

It was quite a distant place, barely visible to the eye, and he might be mistaking it for a tree, a hill, or some other natural feature.

However, he had no other clues to follow.

For the time being, Zett decided to head towards that structure as his goal.

“I’m getting hungry.”

He realized that he hadn’t eaten anything since the start of the hunting festival.

His journey through the air… had lasted more than a day or two.

By simple calculation, two days had passed since that day.

He hadn’t expected to be wandering for several days and didn’t bring any food, nor did it seem likely to procure any nearby.

If there were a forest or river, there might be something edible.

If only he could find a highway, he could rob… rather, extort, no, beg from the passersby—after all, he was a pitiable man, left with nothing and topless.

With an empty stomach, Zett moved through unfamiliar lands.

Oddly enough, he thought, he had uttered the same words before when he had chased the mighty Kongou Kong deeper into the forest.

He had followed it for a while, but as the day faded to night, the surroundings turned pitch black, and the distant sky blazed red.

And having completely lost sight of the great ape, Zett stopped in his tracks.

“Where the hell did that damn ape go… sigh. I’m starving.”

Disappointed and at the same time, finally noticing his own hunger, Zett had been so desperate to chase after the great ape that he hadn’t had the luxury to think about anything else.

“…………”

And then, he realized something else.

Where was he?

To Zett, who was born and raised in Krozheit, these forests were practically his backyard.

He was familiar with procuring food, making some spare change, lurking in the forest until the heat died down after causing trouble in the city—it was all second nature to him.

But that was only within the vicinity of Krozheit.

He had never ventured this deep into the forest before.

The scenery visible through the gaps in the trees was all unfamiliar.

As an experiment, he climbed a nearby tree to get a better look around, but Krozheit was nowhere in sight.

In fact, all he could see was forest as far as the eye could see.

A never-ending expanse of green carpet stretched out before him.

It reminded him of the fairy forest, said to be impossible to escape once entered due to its unbroken canopy.

But this wasn’t a fairy forest.

It was just a slightly deeper part of the forest that was like a backyard to Zett.

“…Guess I’ll head back for now.”

Having let the great ape escape and feeling his hunger gnawing at him, Zett, though very strong, wasn’t a hunter, so he wasn’t adept at tracking down monsters or animals.

His strength lay in being able to fend off monsters that came at him, and that was about it.

Just wandering aimlessly through the forest would be inefficient.

While Zett had the strength to overpower any adversary that might appear, even in the nighttime forest, his hunger was a problem he couldn’t ignore.

Deciding to return to town for a meal and then hire a skilled hunter to search for monsters would be the best course of action.

With that in mind, he transformed the metal he had implanted in his body into a knife shape and produced it in his right hand.

Using a magnet embedded in the blade, it faintly floated above his hand, spinning loosely until it stopped, pointing north.

“That way.”

Even in the unfamiliar depths of the forest, he had a rough idea of where he was.

He could at least determine the general direction he had come from.

With the compass, he could find his way back to Krozheit.

The finer details would be handled by his trusted subordinates, but Zett himself was reasonably familiar with the forest. He knew how easy it was to get lost in the woods and hadn’t ventured out into the unknown without a plan.

—However.

“Huh?”

As night fell and he walked through the darkened forest, illuminating his path with a light stone, he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his nose.

Stopping in his tracks, he sniffed the air to confirm the feeling—and then he was certain.

“…Someone’s cooking meat.”

He had smelled it countless times, been mesmerized by it, and savored it repeatedly.

The irresistible scent of fat melting on the fire, it was tantalizing to his empty stomach.

“…………”

As if drawn in, Zett began to walk towards the direction where the smell of cooking meat wafted.

—And this was his second folly.

“Oh…!”

In the end, that night, he didn’t even get meat… no, he couldn’t even get food.

With his growling stomach, Zett became increasingly certain that there was undoubtedly a structure—perhaps even a castle—standing nearby as he approached.

But more than that, he exclaimed in joy at successfully reaching the highway.

The imprints of hooves, land dragons, and wagon tracks left on the ground, likely hardened by the passage of horses and carriages, proved that it was frequently used.

In other words, there was human traffic.

And the structure resembling a castle at the end of the road was surely not a ruin.

At least now, the issue of food… no, the problem of hunger seemed to be on its way to resolution.

If he continued along this highway and encountered travelers, he could extort… receive assistance.

Even if not, he would likely arrive at the castle by noon if he hurried.

Either way, he would soon have a meal.

—And indeed, he did.

Just as Zett was about to start running towards the castle, he spotted a carriage behind him.

Not just one, but several carriages in a row.

Most likely a caravan. A quite sizable one at that.

“At last, luck’s come my way.”

A smirk of malicious intent crept onto his face.

It would be a bit awkward to accept from impoverished travelers, even for Zett.

But with that, he could manage one or two meals, and they wouldn’t complain about that level of generosity either.

Extortion… yes, it would be perfect for extortion, with such lucrative prey coming their way. It would surely bring laughter.

But right now, Zett was alone.

He had no local knowledge.

And he didn’t even have a means to turn stolen goods into money.

Although the caravan seemed promising for a good haul, he couldn’t just plunder them.

Depending on their response, he might resort to attacking, but for now, he just needed food and information.

Money… wouldn’t hurt, but it might be better to try to ingratiate himself with them rather than risk being treated as a criminal and hunted down.

He didn’t know how far Krozheit was, but he would surely need a foothold.

—Well, negotiation wasn’t Zett’s strong suit, so it might just end up in an attack anyway.

Standing in the middle of the highway, he waited for the caravan to arrive.

There were five carriages in total.

Four armed individuals on horseback were likely the guards.

Considering the number of carriages, the escort was surprisingly sparse.

This must be a peaceful area.

All the more reason to avoid plundering. If there were any incidents, idle soldiers and knights would likely come rushing in.

—And then.

The guards must have spotted Zett from the caravan, as they gathered together and exchanged words.

Then, two of them spurred their horses and came galloping towards Zett.

“…Hmm, I see.”

Strong.

Both of them were women, but both of them were quite strong.

Perhaps this was the reason for the sparse escort. They had opted for quality over quantity.

“I apologize for the intrusion from horseback,” said the middle-aged woman with a leather eye patch over her left eye, addressing Zett. —She had slim swords hanging from both hips. She was a dual wielder. And judging by the rank of her weapons, she was top-notch.

“I have a question: What are you doing standing here? Are you a thief? A highwayman?”

Her gaze down at Zett showed no signs of complacency.

In fact, it was all caution.

“Well, that’s quite rude of you, isn’t it? Who’s to complain about where someone stands? But… ah.”

Oops.

He had responded with his usual combative tone.

This was akin to the retorts he often made before raids.

The eyepatch woman looked puzzled, but she hadn’t shown any signs of hostility yet.

Clearing his throat and gathering his thoughts, he spoke again.

“…Ah, sorry, but I’m in need of some food. Could you spare some?”

“Food? Just food? Or do you also want money?”

“If you’re offering, sure, why not?”

“No. If you’re asking for food alone, that’s fine, but if you want money too, I’ll cut you down.”

—It was quite an enticing proposition, but he held back. Now wasn’t the time to pick a fight.

“Well, I don’t need money then. Just the food. Haven’t eaten for a few days.”

Though he couldn’t guess her intentions, the woman with the eye patch turned to the woman beside her.

“Horun. Give this man some jerky.”

“What? No way…”

“I’ll make sure you’re well fed once we reach the capital.”

“Really? Can I have some booze too?”

“Drink and eat as much as you want. Until your stomach feels like bursting.”

—And thus was the meeting of Rascal Zett and the Black Swan of Dawn.