The Banished Black Swordsman Wants a Peaceful Life with the White Saint in the Frontier ~Huh? You Want Him to Come Back with the Saint? It’s Already Too Late~ - 60

Chapter 60: Extra: Elena & Fran at Gluteridge’s Public Bath

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Passing through the wooden gate set into the cut of the hill, the reddish-brown stone walls stacked like terraced fields came into view.

The roofs of houses clinging to the slopes glinted dull in the sunlight, and from the depths of the alleys came the jingling of pack donkeys and the tug-of-war-like shouts of bargaining voices. In the central square, a verdigris-covered bronze fountain splashed water, while heaps of fruit, rolls of fabric, and studded leather shoes hammered on the spot were crammed into every available space. Shoulders of mercenaries reddened from drinking bumped into one another, while the scent of medicinal herbs rose from the dyer’s tubs, and children jumped around, drawing marks on the ground with white lime.

The precarious heat and the smell of commerce mingled together, letting the air itself convey that this was both the frontier’s gateway and a place where money gathered. That was the town called Gluteridge.

“We finally made it.”

“That took quite some time, didn’t it?”

Elena and Fran slumped onto a bench in the square, stretching their legs in exhaustion. From the rural villages to Gluteridge, they hadn’t found a cart to ride in and had walked almost the entire way.

Though it was only a few hundred steps from the gate to the square, fatigue made each step feel unusually heavy. Travel dust clung stubbornly to their shoes, and sweat had dried and stiffened at their cuffs. They had been walking continuously since the recent orc hunt. They had rationed their water, but their throats still felt scratchy.

“Hey, hey, there’s a bath! Let’s go!?”

Fran pointed excitedly at a newly discovered notice, hopping in place. A round mark resembling steam and the words “Travelers Welcome – Large Bathhouse” were printed on it.

“Yes… It’s probably better than going out to gather information in this state. Let’s take a bath first.” 

Elena said. She looked at her wrist. Dust traced lines, and her fingers were gray with grime. Her hair and skin felt gritty like candied sugar, and each turn in her sleep seemed like sand might spill from her. There was no hesitation in nodding at Fran’s suggestion.

The bathhouse was behind the square. Sliding open the door, a bright fragrance like dried citrus peels tickled their noses. After paying in advance, they placed their clothes in a basket and stepped into the steam-filled room.

“Yay! A bath!”

Fran frolicked like a child. Her figure was slightly youthful, so it wasn’t entirely inaccurate to see her as childlike. But Elena shared the same feeling of wanting to frolic. The surface of the water moved gently, and light reflected off the stone walls, dancing in tiny patterns. This white world alone soothed her heart.

“Come on, wash properly before getting in the tub.” 

“I know already, I’m not a kid!”

With that exchange, they moved to the washing area. Drawing water into a wooden bucket, they poured it over their shoulders. The heat felt like it peeled away layers of tension from her back, one by one. Running water through her hair, sand and sweat flowed in a single stream. She closed her eyes. The only sound in her ears was the water. Somewhere, a small laugh rang out. Voices of women and the splashing of water overlapped and disentangled, without order.

“Wow, Elena, you’re so big… I’m jealous.” 

Fran said quietly beside her.

“Hey. Don’t stare at me like that.”

Elena pulled her towel up to her chest. During the journey, she hadn’t worried about her body, but in a place like this, it couldn’t help but catch her eye. She had always been told she resembled her mother, and her figure inevitably drew male attention. Perhaps because of that, even in magic academy, she had often been approached by people. 

Though classmates had envied her back then, she hadn’t really benefited personally. If anything, it had often been a disadvantage. Recently, she had almost been mistreated by an utterly useless “sperm-brained” man accompanying the hero, who had left his reason behind in his mother’s uterus.

“I won’t stare at it, but can I touch them?”

“No.”

“Come on, it’s not like it’ll decrease anything.”

“Why are you talking like a drunk old man!?”

“Then… Let’s wash each other?”

“Geez… Fine.”

Elena gave up resisting, and they ended up washing each other’s backs. Fran’s shoulder blades were small, and touching them felt like the base of a bird’s wings—light. Not bony, but still retaining the softness of growth.

“Ah, these boobs… It’s a shame to give them to Lloyd.”

“Why would you say that!? I’m not giving them away.”

With that light teasing, they rinsed off the foam and tied up their hair again. Finally, it was time for the long-awaited bath. Submerging into the tub and resting her elbows on the edge, a natural sigh escaped. Their body heat and the water blended, erasing boundaries. Heartbeats quieted, and the noise in their minds settled layer by layer.

“A handyman, huh… I wonder where we can meet them.”

Fran splashed her feet in the water, sending ripples across the surface, drawing gold lines along the columns opposite them.

“Well, we’ll just have to ask around for a while.” 

Elena said. Speaking it aloud gave her the faint sense of a path appearing. But at the same time, a slight weight pressed on her chest.

『A black-haired swordsman running a handyman business with a woman…』

The fragment they had picked up in the village formed a vague shape beyond the steam. Black-haired swordsman. That matched what they knew. But the part “with a woman” stuck oddly. The man they knew wasn’t the type to travel with a woman.

“Oh? You two are looking for the handyman?”

A woman’s voice came from across the tub. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, with lightly tanned, healthy skin. Her hair was tied high, and a dimpled smile appeared on her steam-moistened cheeks.

“You know them!?”

Fran leaned forward. The water rippled, small waves running along the edge.

“Well, I don’t really know them, but they’re practically the town’s savior.”

The woman said proudly. There was no falsehood in her tone. It reflected genuine admiration as a townsperson.

“Savior? What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, there was a bit of an incident.”

She recounted what had happened: recently, packs of Shadow Wolves had appeared, targeting transport teams and isolated farms. Wagons were attacked, cargo torn apart, and many people were injured. If things continued, commerce would stop, affecting daily meals. But the handyman took the request and, with just two people, defeated the pack overnight.

“Just two people against a pack of Shadow Wolves? At night, no less!?”

Her voice unintentionally rose. The steam seemed hotter for a moment. Fran’s eyes widened.

“…Aren’t they insanely strong?”

“Yes, way too strong. Unbelievably strong. I wish some hero would take notes.”

She spoke with a hint of sarcasm, fingers on her chin. The edge of the tub felt cool, grounding her fingers back in reality.

Shadow Wolves were monsters that hid within the shadows. The darker it became, the stronger they grew. At night, they were even more uncontrollable. A single one could be handled, but a pack was on an entirely different level of danger.

Their speed, moving from shadow to shadow, required coordinated teamwork: the frontlines had to halt them, and the backlines had to strike in a single move. If they, without a frontline, had encountered them, the only option would have been to flee. No… There was no way to escape. Certain death would have been the only outcome.

How could two of them defeat them? Did they have an exceptionally strong resonance skill? But Lloyd didn’t have a resonance skill…

As she thought that far, a red shadow flickered through her mind. It wasn’t fire. It was a blood-like light. The moment the black-haired man had sliced through the air in a single swing. The Red Dragon had fled that night, and the madness of that heat… There was no way she could ever forget it.

“Ah.”

Her own voice was followed a moment later by Fran’s.

“Could it be…?” 

Their eyes met.

“If Lloyd’s power were to be unleashed…”

“…Yes. Even a Shadow Wolf would vanish without a trace.”

Lloyd’s hidden power, the 〈Malice Glyph〉. The uncontrollable force etched into his skin. It was also the brand of a heretic, one who rejected resonance. Yet it was a fact that they had seen that power. The ultimate trump card. A sword that might render him unable to return once used. Even so, against a pack, that madness had made sense.

“Oh, you know him, don’t you? That Lloyd, the handyman?”

The woman said, blinking. Her gaze through the steam seemed to find their quick reaction amusing.

“I knew it!”

Fran clapped her hands in the water. The splash bounced, leaving a droplet dangling from her bangs. Something struck strongly in their chest. His name, his potential. It sounded like hope. Yet it was equally a sound of unease.

“I heard the handyman is a duo…”

Even she could hear the hardness in her own voice. The warmth of her body in the bath and the sudden chill in her chest had come out in her words.

“Yes, that’s right. Swordsman Lloyd and a nun. Occasionally, people see them in town. The girl always hides her face under a hood, but those who saw her said she was an extremely cute young lady.”

The information matched almost exactly what they had heard in the village. Elena and Fran naturally exchanged glances.

“An extremely cute nun, huh…?”

“Hm…A girl, huh.”

Their facial muscles froze in an uncertain position. Neither smiling nor frowning. Their expressions hung in limbo, unable to process the emotion. Would that Lloyd really team up with a woman?

Her thoughts leaned toward denial. He didn’t flock with anyone. He kept his distance. At least, the Lloyd she knew had been like that. Yet at the same time, how many swordsmen named Lloyd could take down a pack of Shadow Wolves? The world was vast, but coincidences didn’t happen repeatedly.

“Hey, hey, where can we meet this handyman?”

Fran leaned forward to ask. Her straightforwardness often moved events. That was one of the things Elena admired about her.

“Who knows…? You can see them in town, but I don’t know where they live.”

“Wait? Don’t they accept requests individually?”

“No, that’s not it. The townspeople consult the ‘boy merchant’ for troubles, and through that ‘boy merchant,’ the handyman accepts the requests.”

The two of them tilted their heads in confusion. Boy merchant? What was that? Did such a playful-sounding job actually exist in this town?

Fran asked again.

“Boy merchant? Does that mean a child is doing business?”

“Oh, sorry. Not a real child. Just a merchant with a childlike face. He’s a well-known, sharp businessperson in this town.”

Boy merchant—the term sounded like a joke, but from the way she had been introduced, it was clear it wasn’t an actual child. That word “sharp” showed the boy’s influence in the town. Exchanging glances, they both nodded. If they went there, they could get closer to the handyman. A detour, yet actually the shortest path.

“Where can we meet this ‘boy merchant’?”

“If you go to the Barmasty Trading Company, you can meet him. He has an office in town, so you should go there.”

“Thank you, miss!”

Fran smiled brightly, and Elena nodded politely after her. The woman waved and rested her chin on the tub’s edge.

After leaving the bath, the tension in their muscles had eased. They dried their hair and applied a light oil to the tips. In the mirror, they looked more tired than expected. Dark circles under the eyes had faded slightly, but the shadow in their gaze remained.

Stepping outside the changing room, the cool air brushed against their skin. Evening approached. The sound of the fountain was lower, and the vendors’ calls were deeper than at midday. Fires were being prepared, and the smell of grilled skewers filled the street. Before securing a room, they wanted to at least confirm the trading company’s location. Fran lagged a step behind, fanning her post-bath cheeks with her hand.

“Let’s just get a room first and then head over?”

“Yes, that’s probably best. At least, we need to secure a place to sleep first.”

“Oh, but we should eat too! I’m hungry!”

“Alright, alright, fine.” 

Elena said with a wry smile. Fran’s innocence was such that Elena sometimes wondered if they were really the same age. Yet because of her, Elena had been able to remain cheerful in the hero’s party and even after leaving it. She was the perfect partner for Elena.

Well… Let’s see how things turn out.

Whether that handyman Lloyd was really Lloyd Valt… Elena and Fran’s future depended on that single point.

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