Chapter 8: The Word 'Comrade' Is Embarrassing to Say Directly

As the one who revealed himself as a fragment of Chaos approached, Nick stepped forward in front of Ein, who was on guard.

“Hey.”

“Hmm…?”

“You did make a mess here, didn’t you? If you did something wrong, at least apologize.”

“…Are you a fragment of Chaos?”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

The man slowly blinked his eyes and, after a moment, spoke.

“Sure.”

“Alright….”

Ein couldn’t understand what the two were saying at the end. Being divine beings, they might be asserting their own status and engaging in a pride contest in front of each other.

The confrontation ended surprisingly quickly. The man nodded once and turned to leave, glancing at Ein in the middle.

Just as Ein’s eyes sparkled with the confidence that they had won, Nick approached with a serious face and whispered, pointing at the man.

“Ein.”

“Yeah…?”

“That guy is a notorious concept addict. Be careful.”

Concept addict.

Ein didn’t know what it meant, but the fact that the hero, who didn’t show much sense of crisis when facing Rich, made such a face made him realize that it wasn’t ordinary.

While pondering the spelling of the concept addict in a notebook, the hero placed his hand on his waist and looked at the man who had completely disappeared, clicking his tongue.

“Still, even though I came to this remote place to act alone… I’m really tied down in a big city.”

At the hero’s words, Ein’s hand, which was nodding the memo, paused.

It was hard to determine whether it was a good or bad thing that there were many beings whose mere existence could create history.

They were all born with a mission related to this world. Thinking that a significant event might happen soon, Ein’s mind became complicated.

“Let’s go back, hero.”

“…Do you have to keep calling me that?”

“When did you ask me to call you that?”

“What if I become a concept addict…?”

“I’ll make sure you don’t fall!”

“Alright… thanks.”

By now, the sun was setting. The desire to rest quickly and the urge to report the events made their steps back to the mercenary guild quite fast.

Although not even a day had passed, it felt like many things had happened. The hero, looking tired, turned to Ein and asked.

“We did a lot today, right? It’s not like a normal day. Can we get a promotion right away?”

“Of course. If I speak well, we might even get a B rank. It’s an unprecedented rapid promotion in our mercenary guild!”

“You’re a D rank, but you seem to have a lot of influence…?”

“Ahaha… I’ve been a D rank for a long time. I also know the guild master and the deputy guild master.”

“An influential figure behind the scenes?”

“Is it good?”

“…For you?”

Mercenaries can move to more distant places once they reach C rank and climb to a higher level. Nick was aiming for that.

There is some resistance to the system that restricts activity areas by rank.

However, fundamentally, to go to distant places, one needs the necessary skills, and the effect of working hard to break free from the constraints is also beneficial. Ein thought it wasn’t a bad system.

Moreover, he didn’t want to hear news of someone dying in vain by going to a place beyond their capabilities.

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you going to defeat the Demon King someday?”

“Probably… He’s a high rank, so it’s impossible now. Well, seeing the clichés these days, the Demon King might not be the final boss, right?”

When the hero’s words weren’t taken as a joke, Ein awkwardly laughed and sighed inwardly. Talking to a being of a different caliber was a difficult task.

Discussing how strong one needs to be to defeat the Demon King and what a quest is, the two arrived at the mercenary guild.

At the entrance, the deputy guild master was waiting, looking down at them, and the hero unconsciously placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, exuding a guarded atmosphere.

“An impressive new recruit has arrived.”

“I’m quite impressive.”

“Hero, please watch your mouth.”

But Ein could understand the hero’s attitude.

The deputy guild master’s body, like a rough rock, had a piercing gaze and small pupils that could intimidate with just a look.

It was a power that could physically affect monsters.

His thick arms and legs were taut, as if ready to tear through his shirt, and his twisted smile seemed to mock.

“It’s not a quarrel! It’s a compliment! You look happy!”

Ein had to explain to Nick, who had a bewildered expression, and the mercenaries in the branch who were eager to watch the fight.

There were only two people in the world who could recognize that subtle smile. One was Ein, and the other was

“Why don’t you try a match? If you win, I’ll promote you to A+ rank.”

Suddenly, a voice with a hint of laughter echoed in the hall, and a young man came down, calming the murmurs.

His hair was a deep purple, almost black.

His sharp, large eyes were filled with a light-hearted playfulness, but they also exuded a sharp aura, ready to cut at any moment. He was the guild master of this place.

“Anyway, Gart isn’t trying to pick a fight. Did you misunderstand?”

“No, it’s fine….”

Nick gave a wry smile, nodded, and glanced at Ein.

“Do the guild master and deputy guild master usually come out for promotions?”

“Of course not… The hero is an exceptional case. I’m not sure if it’s for the promotion….”

At Ein’s words, the deputy guild master’s thick eyebrows twitched.

“Ein. No matter what, you’re calling the hero with such extreme respect, right?”

“No, this is beyond my control! He said that calling him a hero boosts his energy and strength…!”

“…If you say it like that, it makes me sound like a pervert who gets excited by certain words!”

As the banter started again, the guild master clapped his hands a few times to draw attention.

“Enough. Your name… Nick… Mohaji, right? It’s a strange name. Do you have business with us?”

“I agree it’s a strange name. I like how you get straight to the point. I’ve defeated the Red Fang and Rich. Can I get a promotion right away?”

The hero extended a piece with a sinister aura and a robe.

The guild master looked at the black piece carefully and then at the hero.

“The robe is enough. Take the piece. Normally, a more complex procedure would be required, but… since we are the final approvers, if you do me a favor, I can do it right now?”

“What is it? Something strange?”

“It depends on how you hear it.”

The guild master’s way of speaking suggested something was up. And whenever that happened, it didn’t end well for Ein.

Sealing the deal, the guild master smiled and pointed at Ein.

“Make him your comrade.”

***

After the guild master’s suggestion, a commotion broke out in the guild. Usually, Ein would mediate such disturbances, but this time, he was at the center of it.

“I’m still a D rank!”

“If you had acted normally, it would be strange to be at a much higher rank, you know?”

“You know I’m not helpful in battles!”

“You also know it’s because you don’t participate in battles.”

As the endless back-and-forth continued, Nick, unable to bear it, began to mediate.

“Ein, guild master. As a new mercenary, I dare to say….”

“Hero, please be quiet for a moment!”

“New recruits shouldn’t interrupt when adults are talking.”

“Understood.”

The hero stood at attention, and Ein, like the protagonist of a pitiful play, slumped to the ground.

“You’re trying to kick me out! Well, thinking about how I’ve only done errands and not any missions, I guess it makes sense! I admit it!”

Finally, the guild master sighed and turned to Nick.

“This is also a personal request. Take this soft guy around and let him gain some experience. I was already looking for an opportunity to do so.”

The hero, with a wry smile, glanced at Ein, who blinked his slightly widened eyes.

“Oh, this is a linked quest? Can’t check the details?”

“What?”

“No, it’s a guild master’s request, so I have to do it.”

Feeling hurt, Ein hugged his knees and crouched down, and the deputy guild master lifted him up, still in that position.

“Don’t take it too personally.”

“Deputy guild master….”

“I’m not kicking you out. I just hope you can stand firmly on your own feet.”

The firm voice settled heavily in Ein’s heart, as if it would never change.

Ein knew they weren’t really abandoning him. If they were, they would have done it when they first met.

It was just a late tantrum and stubbornness.

As tears threatened to well up in Ein’s eyes, the deputy guild master continued gently.

“You eat too much vegetarian food, so I’ll make sure you have plenty of dried meat and jerky. You can eat it, right? Even if your focus is on elemental magic, physical training is essential. You should know that you need to mix protein and fat appropriately if you’re going to eat a vegetarian diet. According to what I know, a recent A-rank elemental mage suffered a significant loss from a simple bandit attack while climbing a mountain due to lack of stamina. Also, you shouldn’t stay up all night on watch alone. All tasks should be divided between you and Mohaji….”

“….”

In recent years, this was the moment when the deputy guild master spoke the most in one go.

Finally, he turned to Nick, who had been watching the scene.

“What do you think?”

“…It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

The hero gave an ambiguous smile, scratched his cheek, and tilted his head.

“You say you’re a solo player, but you’re an exception.”

“Because I’m different from you and the hero?”

“Right. It’s not that I dislike it because you’re different, so it should be fine, right?”

Ein hesitated to speak, unsure if he could maintain that attitude.

In a moment of emotional conflict, could he really not make an issue of the difference?

The two sentences rose to his throat.

“…I’m worried it might be inconvenient for the hero.”

“I don’t care.”

In this world, there are hundreds of races. However, not all of them are high-level intelligent beings, and they implicitly rank each other.

This means that instead of hundreds of races coexisting, there are hundreds of discriminations.

Some races are like this. Some races are like that.

Amid the natural exchange of jealousy, fabrication, and contempt, it was common to disapprove of unions between different races.

“Can I trust you?”

“I don’t know what you mean by trust, but to me, you’re all the same. As long as you do the quests and give good rewards, that’s all that matters.”

At this answer, Ein smiled slightly.

Perhaps to the immortal beings, the disputes of mortals were a ridiculous sight.

“Then there’s no problem. I’ll do my best, hero.”

“Yeah. Ein. I’ve been calling you that all along, but can I just call you Ein?”

“Yes. As I said before, I don’t really have a last name. My name was given by the guild master.”

Ein ran his lemon-colored hair back and stroked his short, pointed ears, which he had hidden in his hair.

It felt quite refreshing to take them out. It wasn’t just because of the breeze.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm… I want to eat a lemon?”

At first, the guild master, who had been alternately looking at the hero and Ein and gnawing on a toothpick, sighed in relief and smiled.

“Right? When we first met you, that was the second thought we had. You know, when we first met….”

“Guild master, stop it!”

Ein cleared his throat and looked directly at the hero.

“So, the hero and I are now comrades. Hmm, cough! Comrades! Right. Since we’re comrades, I think we need a proper introduction to understand and get to know each other!”

Was this word so embarrassing? As Ein’s eyes darted around and he extended his hand, the hero, with an equally embarrassed face, awkwardly shook it.

“My name is Kim Yu, but you can call me Nick Mohaji. I’m a fragment of Chaos. If we include TMI, I like spicy food but can’t eat it well, but here, I can adjust the sensory settings, so it’s good.”

“What’s TMI?”

“Information that’s not necessary to know…?”

“Ah… then I’ll also share my TMI….”

Now it was his turn. Ein took a deep breath.

“My name is Ein.”

Ein opened his mouth, took another deep breath, and closed his eyes before continuing.

“I’m a half-elf.”

A moment of silence followed.

Ein’s eyes were closed, so he couldn’t see the other person’s expression.

He was afraid that the hero might be making the same face that most people made when they first learned of his race.

Finally, Nick’s response came.

“Yeah, got it.”

That was it.

To be honest, this was the most insincere and least satisfying response Ein had ever seen or heard.