Crockta found the sound of footsteps behind him unpleasant.0

He stopped and turned around to ask, “Why are you following me?”0

However, the person that Crockta confronted wasn’t discouraged at all.0

The person replied, “We just happen to be heading in the same direction. Don’t flatter yourself. Are you renting this whole road? How much did you pay?”2

“…”0

It was Jeremy, Derek’s subordinate. He’d caught up to Crockta while the latter was heading toward Chesswood, which was to the northeast of Arnin.0

“It must be nice, renting the whole road. Rent, rent, rent, rent…” continued Jeremy.0

Crockta glared at him, bringing him to a stop.0

“How scary. Calm down,” said Jeremy.0

“…”0

Crockta decided to ignore Jeremy and continue onward, while Jeremy whistled behind him. The whistling was very crisp and high in pitch. Crockta had thought it was the sound of a flute at first and had been impressed by it, but he no longer enjoyed the sound of Jeremy’s whistling now that Jeremy was blatantly following him. Jeremy’s whistling rang throughout the plains as they trudged along together. They were an awkward pair of travelers.0

Chesswood, where they were headed, was a place where small human villages were scattered throughout like pieces on a chessboard. It wasn’t a bustling city like Arnin, but the small villages had gathered and formed their own system.0

What...0