Kazuma and William were slowly getting closer to the capital. They had a few run ins with monsters, but for the most part the ride has been peaceful.

The capital became more visible in the distance. Once they got to a certain distance from it, Kazuma made William stop the cart.

"You leaving here already? Why not come with me into the capital and you get a good day of relaxing before leaving." William asked.

Kazuma shook his head. "Sorry man, but this is where I leave. There shouldn't be any monsters this close to the capital so you'll be fine." He said as he hopped off the cart.

"Alright, but here, can't let you leave unrewarded." He said before taking out a bag and tossing it to him.

Kazuma opened the bag to see a hundred thousand eris in it.

"Thank you." Kazuma said.

"No problem kid, take care of yourself alright? And don't forget what I told you about the blood eyed bandits."

"Of course. I'll be careful."

"See ya later kid, next time I see ya let me buy you a drink."

Kazuma chuckled a bit at that. "I'll hold you to that then." He said before he started walking away.

Kazuma was slowly approaching the border of Belzerg, the white walls that represented the borders coming into view. He used his foresight skill to see where the he could exit.

He spotted a large exit but the gate was closed, so he couldn't make an easy pass through. The exit was also heavily guarded, many guards present, possibly to deter any bandits within the "No man's land".

He didn't press on any further, trying to exit during the day would be an easy way of getting caught.

Instead, he turned his direction to a nearby forest, and entered it. He sat by a tree, eating some of the rations he bought from Lux.

'I've made it this far... tonight is where things get serious...' Kazuma thought to himself as he ate.


William made it to the entrance of the capital where a long line up to enter was present.

"Jeez, what's the hold up?" He complained.

As he waited, a guard stopped at his cart.

"Good evening, I must inspect your cart before permitting entry." The guard said.

"Alright, mind me asking why?" William inquired.

"A criminal is at large, he may be a potential terrorist. We are inspecting every incoming cart in case he's hiding in one."

"Ah, I see."

"Well, you're clear sir. Just in case, take this wanted poster of the criminal, in case you see him." The guard said, handing William the rolled up poster.

"I will, thank you." He said to the guard.

The guard nodded then walked off to the next cart to inspect.

William took the rolled up poster and opened it up. He paled at the sight of who was on the wanted poster.

WANTED

SATOU KAZUMA

ACCUSED TERRORIST

RESISTED ARREST, ASSAULTED AN IMPERIAL KNIGHT AND FLED

"Oh kid... be careful will ya?" He said quietly, looking to the direction where Kazuma walked off.


Back in Lux village, the villagers were surprised to see some royal guards on horses approach the town.

They stopped at the center of the town, where the request board was.

"Attention all citizens! There is a criminal on the loose! He is dangerous, and potentially a terrorist! Keep an eye out for him, and if you happen to see him, notify the capital at once! One of the guards said before nailing a wanted poster onto the board.

After that, they turned around and left the village.

There was a murmur among the villagers. Two men, Ralph and John, walked towards the board to see the poster. They were shocked to see a familiar face on the poster.

"Ralph, you don't think..."

"No, absolutely not. There's no way Kazuma is a terrorist. After defeating the Destroyer, there's no way. He was here, for several days and he did nothing to us. Instead he helped us." Ralph refused to believe the sign was true.

"You're right, this must be why he was running."

"Probably."

"Do you think he's okay?" John asked.

"Probably... I don't know..." Ralph said uncertainly.


The sun was setting, it was getting darker. Kazuma took this opportunity to start leaving the forest. He stuck beside the walls of the border until he got close to the gate. Once he got close enough, he noticed there was a door beside the gate, perhaps the way to the top of the wall.

He snuck closer to the gate until the guards came into view. From there he used his lurk skill to slip behind some guards and got to the door. He slowly opened the door and slipped in.

'I'm so close!' Kazuma thought to himself.

BANG* ...That is, until the door slammed shut.

"What was that?!" One of the guards shouted.

"Go check the doors, everyone else stay on guard!" Another shouted.

'Crap! Just my luck! And I thought I was supposed to have high luck!' Kazuma internally screamed.

He heard the door handle rattling, so he booked it up the stairs. When he reached the top, he saw a guard at the top, weapon drawn.

"Stop right there!" The guard shouted.

Kazuma ran right to the guard, dodging an attack before punching him in the gut, causing the guard to fall back.

He then hopped over the side towards the no man's land.

"Stop him!" A guard shouted.

Kazuma turned around to see a bunch of guards on the wall, bows ready to shoot.

"Fire!" One shouted.

"Shit!" Kazuma shouted before booking it into the large forest. He had to dodge several arrows, one nearly catching him but only went through his cloak.

Eventually he was out of range, and out of view of the wall.

He stopped running and caught his breath.

"I... I did it! I actually did it!" Kazuma cheered

'I can't believe it! I actually managed to escape from Belzerg!'

Once he caught his breath, he took out his map and compass and checked that he was heading in the right direction. Once he confirmed where he was going, he put them away before walking.

It was eerie, walking through the forest in this kind of darkness, so he trekked carefully.

As he moved along, he noticed a a tree with an unusual marking on it. He got closer to the tree and saw the marking clearly.

An eye with a scar, drawn in red.

'Wait, isn't this-'

"There's a bandit group that's mighty legendary in that area. They're one of the main reasons why neither kingdom can claim the land as their own."

'This marking! It's them!'

Before he could properly process what situation he was in, he got hit over the head with a strong force.

He fell to the floor unconscious.

From the shadows appeared two figures.

One with a female voice spoke up.

"Go back to base and let the boss know we got company coming." She said to the other.

The other person nodded before leaving into the shadows.

The girl crouched down beside the unconscious Kazuma and lifted his hood.

"Well then, what're you doing out here?"