Chapter 51

The cold night wind blew.

Rod stood on the second-floor balcony, quietly gazing at the beautiful scenery of Deepstone City before him. At the edge of the dark, massive mine pit, the flickering lights formed a bright necklace, looking dazzling and enchanting against the dark sky. The sounds of the wind, the water, and the distant commotion composed a brand new world.

At such moments, Rod felt with utmost clarity that this was the world in which he existed.

"Tap, tap."

The crisp sound of footsteps rang out, but Rod did not turn around. The other person did not speak either, but walked to Rod's side and looked at the scenery together. After a while, Marin's clear and pleasant voice finally reached Rod's ears.

"I've already heard about what happened from Riz. Thank you."

"I don't seem to have done anything worth your thanks."

Rod said without turning his head.

"You saved Riz, which is very important to me."

Marin reached out and tidied her long hair. She raised her head and looked at the man's back with a complex expression.

"She is my only friend. From the past to the present, I only have her. If she had died..." Marin did not continue, but Rod already understood her meaning.

"Do you know Riz's past?"

"If she is willing to tell me, I believe she will."

In response to the girl's question, Rod did not give a direct answer but shrugged and gave a vague response. Hearing Rod's answer, Marin did not say anything more. She quietly gazed at the man's back, clenching her teeth. Although Riz had told her that Rod was very easy to get along with, from Marin's "personal experience," she could not see what was so easy about this man who looked very feminine.

"......I have made my decision, Mr. Rod. I will accept your conditions and hope you will let me stay."

"Oh?"

Hearing Marin's answer, Rod finally turned around.

"You've made your decision?"

"Yes."

Facing Rod's inquiring gaze, Marin proudly raised her head. Although she had lost badly in the match with Rod, it was precisely because of this that she realized her shortcomings. Although she still did not fully trust that Rod could give her good advice, since she could not do it herself, she might as well accept others' suggestions.

And since she had made her decision, she would not regret it. This was Marin's pride.

"Very well."

Rod did not say much about the girl's change; he just nodded slightly.

"Are your injuries healed?"

"......Yes."

Mentioning this, Marin's originally calm expression changed slightly, and she instinctively pressed her wrist. The injury was not serious, and after Riz treated it, there was not even a scar left. However, the impact of this injury on Marin was significant, and even now, when she thought about it, she felt a slight pain in her arm.

"You had a chance to defeat me."

Rod's unexpected words made Marin look up in surprise, staring at him in bewilderment, not understanding why this man would suddenly say such a thing.

"Your injury was not serious. If you had seized the opportunity to counterattack me at that moment, even if you failed, it would not have been so quick. But you gave up a good chance to counterattack because of a minor injury, putting yourself in an even more dangerous situation."

Hearing this, Marin's face turned slightly red. After that, she had recalled the battle with Rod several times, and she indeed found that if she had remained calm, although she might not have been able to defeat this strange young man, she could have ensured that she would not lose so badly. But after being injured, she lost her composure and did not know what to do, leading to her subsequent defeat. Indeed, as Rod said, a minor injury on her arm was not a big deal, but because of this minor injury, she almost lost her life...

"I understand your point, thank you, Mr. Rod."

"You're welcome, I was just saying it offhandedly."

After saying this, Rod turned around again. This time, Marin hesitated, and after a moment of silence, she asked in a low voice.

"Mr. Rod, I heard... you come from the Eastern Mountain Plains."

"Yes, is there a problem with that?"

"No... I just wanted to..."

The girl opened her mouth, but in the end, she did not voice her inner doubts.

"Nothing, then I'll take my leave. Good night, Mr. Rod."

It should be impossible, according to the records, that family had already been extinct for a long time.

Marin shook her head, dismissing the thought, then lifted her skirt and bowed to Rod before turning to leave.

At that moment, a loud voice suddenly rang out, startling the girl.

"Hey, you damn brat, where are you? I'm here!!"

Walking to the door, Rod quickly saw the old Walker standing there. The old man no longer had the lazy and dejected look he had in the tavern a few days ago. His dirty clothes had been replaced with a clean, though old, leather armor. A crude longbow and quiver were slung across his back, making him look very spirited—except for his sour face, which looked as if someone owed him money.

"I thought you wouldn't come, Mr. Walker."

Although old Walker's face clearly showed dissatisfaction, Rod completely ignored it. He walked to the old man's side, glanced at him, and nodded.

"Twenty minutes left... well, welcome to my mercenary group. From today on, you are a formal member of the group."

"Don't get too cocky, boy."

Hearing Rod's words, old Walker coldly snorted in response.

"I want to see how badly you will fail, you arrogant brat. I'll laugh at you and let you experience just how cruel reality can be!"

"Only the weak think reality is cruel."

In response to old Walker's provocation, Rod completely ignored it, which made the old man roll his eyes in annoyance. Then he glanced at Marin, who was standing at the door with a clearly dissatisfied look, and sneered.

"Who's this girl? Your woman? She's not bad-looking, just a bit sour-faced..."

"You...!!"

Hearing this, Marin could not hold back. Because of old Walker's loud voice, she had already categorized him as one of those rude and impolite people. Now, hearing him say such things, the noble-born young lady could not tolerate it.

"How rude, I..."

"This is Miss Marin Senea, an old acquaintance of Riz. She will temporarily join our mercenary group."

Clearly, Rod did not intend to give Marin a chance to vent her anger. He waved his hand to cut her off before she could speak. Then he slightly extended his hand, making an inviting gesture to the old man.

"Mr. Walker, it's late today. I'll prepare a room for you. Rest well, and we'll set out early tomorrow for the Pavel Cemetery."

"Of course, no problem, boy. You think I'm... wait!!"

Halfway through his sentence, the old man realized the issue. He stared at Rod in surprise, then jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Pavel Cemetery? Why are we going to that cursed place?! Did you take that damn mission?"

"Of course."

In response to old Walker's questioning, Rod raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with you, boy!! How could you take such a mission! Why didn't you tell me at the time!"

"Simple. First, when we came to find you, I hadn't taken the mission yet. Second, even if we had taken it then, you weren't a member of our mercenary group, so I didn't think it necessary to tell you."

"You... you... you..."

Old Walker pointed at Rod in anger, his hand trembling with rage.

"You're playing me, I'm out!"

"Suit yourself."

In the face of the old man's shouting and threats, Rod did not even raise an eyebrow. He knew that this old man was actually a masochist. If he did not give him a good lesson, he would never follow his orders. So, from the beginning, he decided not to be polite. Besides, even if the old man really left in a fit of anger, Rod did not care. He already had a plan to challenge the cemetery with at least two people, and Marin's addition was a significant boost. In this situation, it did not matter whether old Walker came or not.

"For a coward, breaking your word is not surprising."

"You... you..."

Hearing Rod's indifferent sarcasm, old Walker felt his blood boil, almost fainting. At this moment, Marin, standing at the door, let out a light laugh, looking at Rod with a playful expression.

Because Rod usually had a stern face, Marin initially thought he was a quiet and reserved person. But after truly interacting with him, the girl found that this man was quite talkative and—sometimes quite hurtful. Although Rod was only a few years older than her, Marin felt that she was always at a disadvantage in front of him. She had never felt this way with people her age.

Perhaps only that person was an exception?

After glaring at Rod for a while, old Walker finally gave up. He put down his hand and turned his head.

"Fine, boy, you win. I want to see how badly you will die. I'll go with you, but I want to make it clear that if things go wrong, I'll turn around and leave! I may be old, but I don't want to entrust my life to a reckless young fool like you!"

"No problem."

In response to old Walker's words, Rod shrugged.

"If you can do it, I have no objections."

What does he mean?

Hearing Rod's response, old Walker looked at the young man in front of him with confusion and surprise. What did he mean by that?