Chapter 31

Part 6: Mercenaries (1)

The Red Bear Mercenary Corps was using a building inside a commercial area slightly away from the mercenary street.

It was a place consisting of a two-story wooden building that looked like an inn, a warehouse, and a not-so-small open space.

Most of the lights were off, as if most of the people were out.

It was unclear whether this was good luck or bad luck.

In any case, it was a good situation for secretly spying on someone else's house.

I reduced my footsteps and stuck to the wall of the building.

The building's walls were not the smooth stone walls seen in the lord's castle or the duke's mansion, but rough plaster walls.

It would have been impossible to climb the walls of the heavily guarded duke's mansion or the marquis's castle, but it was not difficult to climb the walls of such an ordinary house.

The rooms where lights were visible on the first and second floors were not much different.

There were mercenaries maintaining their equipment, someone writing a letter, and a room from which a pinkish, eerie atmosphere was emanating.

I climbed up to the third-floor window, the last one from which light was spilling out.

It was the final room.

"How long do I have to stay here? I can't stand it anymore, it's driving me crazy."

It was good luck.

From the window where light was spilling out, a familiar voice was heard.

It was the voice of a female mercenary. Wasn't her name Noah?

I stuck to the bottom of the window.

I placed my fingers on the gaps between the window frame and the plaster wall, pressing my body tightly against the wall.

'This is a bit precarious.'

The window frame and the plaster wall were both extremely old. Both barely supported my weight.

I was lucky to be small. If I were any heavier, the wall or the window frame would not have held.

Another voice was heard from inside the room. This time, it was also a familiar voice.

"Just a little longer. We've already become close to Martin, and he will soon bring the method to eliminate the duke's family."

"Can we really trust that? Lately, he hasn't been accurate. This time, he suddenly delayed the plan by a few months..."

What does he mean by delaying the plan by a few months?

"His predictions have never been wrong in other regions. There might be something in this area that interferes with his abilities."

"But doesn't that make it even less trustworthy?"

"Still, the overall plan hasn't gone wrong, so let's wait a little longer."

"Yes, yes."

Is this about the inherited ability? Whose ability is he talking about?

"Is everything ready?"

"The sudden delay has left the training a bit lacking... However, the kids are roughly prepared. We've also finished talking with the other mercenary groups. If the mercenary groups that have agreed with our kids clean up the inside and the Duke of Rafalma brings the knights on time, it will be fine."

The conversation became increasingly strange.

Could it be that they are talking about the events from my previous life?

But that's supposed to be a few months away! Why are they preparing for it now? Could it be that the butterfly effect has occurred due to my actions in this life?

But the only thing I did was join Simon's journey.

Coming with Martin and escaping through a secret passage with Adria...

Hmm, looking at it this way, I did quite a lot.

However, it would be difficult for those actions to influence their behavior. The timing doesn't match.

I listened more closely.

Their conversation continued. They talked about the mercenaries they worked with and various complaints.

Unfortunately, I didn't hear anything I was looking for.

Moreover, it seemed they had moved, and their voices became quieter.

"So... like this... the problem is..."

They moved? So their voices became quieter?

At that moment, a chill ran down my spine.

Bang!

I kicked the wall with all my might.

At that moment.

"Rat!"

Bang!

The window frame broke, and a man jumped out of the window with a shout.

A sword shot through the scattered wood chips.

Clang!

I blocked the incoming sword with the sword I had drawn when I kicked the wall.

A sword filled with mana. The sword I blocked screamed, and I felt my hand go numb for a moment.

I barely managed to block it.

However, I was pushed back. In the air, I couldn't help but be pushed by my weight.

If it were any other time, I would have been annoyed, but now I was only grateful.

I used the force of being pushed back to launch myself as far as possible.

Whoosh!

After flying across a wide distance and landing on the ground, I immediately ran.

Now, it's time to run!

"Really, it was a rat!"

"Such a small body? Is it a woman?"

"Whether it's a dwarf or a woman, it doesn't matter. Chase quickly!"

"Yes, yes."

The woman seemed to have come down as well.

Whoosh!

As the conversation from behind became audible, a whistle and the voice of the female mercenary were heard.

"Wow! It's been a while since I had some fun! Whether it's a rat or a dwarf, I'll catch you!"

The female mercenary's voice was getting closer.

Damn, I thought she only had a good nose, but she can run fast too.

"Is it an enemy?"

"Block it! But why is it so small?"

Mercenaries jumped out from both sides of the street.

Mercenaries I hadn't seen when I came out were now everywhere.

"Could it be a kid? I can catch it with my bare hands... Gasp!"

I hit the mercenary blocking my path with the back of my sword without even drawing it.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

I kicked the side of the mercenary trying to draw his sword from behind.

The mercenaries blocking my path were thrown in all directions. I didn't kill them in case of an emergency, but it seemed a few bones were broken.

However, more mercenaries poured into the street than those I had knocked away.

"These idiots! It's not a kid! It's a skilled person! Just surround it!"

And the female mercenary's voice, which had gotten closer in that brief moment, was heard.

It was impossible to run down the street like this.

I hadn't checked the back alleys, but there was nothing I could do now.

I quickly ran into the space between the buildings.

An alley where only one or two people could barely pass.

An alley that would be difficult for a bulky adult to escape from.

However, a narrow alley with no light in the dark night was the best playground for a child under ten.

"Where is it!"

"It's not in this alley!"

"It's not here either!"

Voices of mercenaries were heard from all over the alley.

"Then where is it! Check all the houses with open doors or windows!"

"But they are all closed."

"It might have gone into an open place and closed the door."

"Then check them!"

It seemed that everything I had heard was true.

The mercenary groups searching were not just one. The other mercenary groups around the lodging were all in on it.

It was a mistake to rush to the mercenary lodging after hearing about it.

I thought I was being careful, but in practice, my mistakes kept showing.

'I need to be more careful. If I die like this, I'll have no excuse.'

I reaffirmed this as I watched the mercenaries running around the alley below.

Indeed, climbing to the roof was the right decision.

The mercenaries searching for me didn't think I would climb to the roof of a building.

They couldn't do it, so they didn't think others could either.

Well, even I thought it would be difficult for an average person to climb to the roof in such a short time.

While I was looking down, the female mercenary appeared in the alley below.

"Hmm, where did it run to?"

She took a deep breath and looked around.

Then she raised her head and looked in my direction.

Oh no, I'm spotted.

I pulled my head back like a turtle.

I hope I wasn't seen.

I carefully moved to a new position.

She had a good sense of smell. Even though I wasn't seen, I needed to escape quickly.

I almost waited, then moved to avoid the spot and jumped to the roof of another house.

The mercenaries were running around the alley I had jumped over, but no one looked up.

I continued to jump from roof to roof.

The night air brushing against my face was very refreshing, and my heart, which had been racing, finally calmed down.

I could see the mercenary street a few buildings away. And a few more buildings away, I could see the roof of the inn where Martin was.

The noisy sounds from the inn could be heard from here.

Despite the intense drama I had just experienced, nothing had changed in other places.

"Then, I'll head back soon."

The mercenary street, where the inn was, was noisy, but this area was very quiet.

I had escaped from the mercenaries' encirclement.

They might come looking for me here as time passed, but I would return to the kid by Adria's side before that.

I jumped down to the ground. The second-story roof was quite high, but I was past the age where such a height would scare me.

"Found you!"

At that moment, a woman's voice came from the dark alley below my feet.

It was Noah's voice.

At the same time, she jumped up.

In the darkness of the night, the woman's flushed face quickly approached.

Her face, red with excitement, was full of smiles.

I don't know what made her so happy, but her bright face and the green sword flashing towards me quickly approached.

'Are these mercenaries in this area all crazy?'

I swung my sword with all my might to block the approaching poisoned sword.

Clang!

However, when the swords collided, an unexpected sound came from my sword.

At the same time, I was pushed back and hit the wall.

Cough!

I felt the weight difference again, but that wasn't the most important thing right now.

"You're skilled, but why is your sword in such a state? Were you poor? Were you a thief, not a rat?"

I sighed, more than the absurd look on the other person's face.

One collision, and my sword broke.

Is this the limit of mass-produced iron swords?

When I clashed with the mercenary leader earlier, it looked dangerous, but I didn't expect it to break so easily.

I forced myself to stand up. My back hurt from hitting the wall, and blood was flowing from my thigh, which had been cut by the broken sword.

Damn, this is dangerous.

The alley where the woman was blocking led to the mercenary street.

My body was in bad condition, I had lost my sword, and the escape route was blocked.

It would be difficult to climb back to the roof with my bleeding leg.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the woman whistled.

"They'll all be here soon. We'll know if you're a rat or a thief soon."

It would be troublesome if the mercenaries came. Both the woman and the mercenary leader had seen my face.

If I just pulled back my cloak, they would know who I was.

'Damn, is this it?'

Thinking about the time I had to live again was terrifying, but being caught and tortured was worse than dying.

Thinking this way, this life was very regrettable. I thought I had a good grasp of things, but my overconfidence led to this.

Still, I didn't want to give up. If I was very, very lucky, there might be a chance to escape.

Just as I was about to run with my injured leg,

"What are you doing!"

A voice came from the woman's side.

"Threatening an injured child! Do you have no honor!"

It wasn't the female mercenary's voice. The voice came from behind the female mercenary.

The female mercenary Noah turned around with a bewildered look.

"Honor? You're talking about honor to a mercenary?"

It was indeed an inappropriate statement.

Then, a person walked out from the darkness behind the female mercenary.

A small mercenary in a cloak. It was the mercenary who had tried to help Adria a while ago.

"Whether you're a mercenary or a knight, anyone who wields a sword has a responsibility! You don't deserve to wield a sword if you don't know that!"

I, the female mercenary, and the newly appeared mercenary all opened our mouths in surprise.

To hear such a cheesy line from a previous life's drama directly.

Clearly, he had come to save me, but I just wanted to pretend I didn't know him.