Chapter 32

Part 7: Mercenaries (2)

The female mercenary, who had just heard an absurd story, growled at the newly appeared mercenary.

"What are you? Don't interfere when I'm having fun!"

"You can't just walk away after seeing someone weaker being hurt."

"No, weaker? This rat has been bothering us a lot. And you, stop right there!"

While the hooded mercenary and the psycho female mercenary were arguing, I tried to slip away, but unfortunately, I was caught.

When the psycho woman pointed her sword at me, the newly arrived hooded mercenary stepped in front of me.

Indeed, he was a good-hearted mercenary with a broad sense of justice.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not playing around! Die!"

As soon as he stepped in, the psycho female mercenary swung her sword and charged.

At the same time, the sword in the hooded mercenary's scabbard was drawn.

Flash!

At that moment, a flash of lightning appeared before my eyes.

"Ugh!"

The psycho woman, who had charged, retreated in a daze.

Indeed, he was skilled. A normal mercenary would have found it hard to dodge such a sword.

"You have the skills to avoid my sword, yet you bully a child. You should be ashamed!"

"Damn, I almost died! And what do you mean by a child?"

The two mercenaries argued about me.

One knew my skills and didn't think I was a child, while the other, who hadn't seen my skills, assumed I was a child based on my size.

No, the tone in which he called me a child was quite confident. Was there another reason?

This thought flashed through my mind, but my eyes had been fixed on one spot since a while ago.

I couldn't take my eyes off the sword the hooded mercenary had drawn from his scabbard.

The sword, unlike the scabbard, had a very antique appearance.

It was well-maintained, and when swung, it looked like lightning. It resembled the swords from the old empire that I had seen in history books.

However, I wasn't captivated by the sword's historical form.

It was the pattern engraved on the blade.

A pattern of a bird flying towards the sun.

It was definitely the same pattern I had seen in my previous life.

At the entrance of the cave in the ruins and in the abandoned cemetery.

The words Adria had said in the cemetery that day came back to my mind.

"If I stick this sword into this hole, it might fit perfectly... If I push the sword into the hole, maybe a hidden treasure box will appear."

She had said this while looking at a hole in the bottom of a coffin, trying to distract herself from the bad situation.

It was just idle chatter, but seeing the same pattern on the sword, Adria's words came back to me as vividly as if I had heard them yesterday.

I don't know if what she said was true, but I had finally found the pattern I had been looking for.

Then, the female mercenary's voice reached my ears.

"Damn, why are they taking so long? An annoying meddler has appeared."

I snapped back to reality. This wasn't the time to stand around.

This was my only chance. I started running towards the mercenary district.

"Stop!"

Naturally, the female mercenary ran to stop me, but the meddler stepped in again.

"Give me the child!"

"This brat!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Lightning flashed again, and the sound of swords clashing echoed.

It was a shame. If I had a better sword, I wouldn't have had to run.

I couldn't avenge what happened in my previous life, even though I had met her a few months earlier and had worked hard to become stronger.

Due to overconfidence, impatience, and a poor sword, I had to run away, leaving my fate in the hands of a stranger.

Maybe because of the injury, my steps became heavier.

"Damn! He got away! Wait a bit! When everyone arrives, we'll cut off your limbs and make a taxidermy of you."

"Really a despicable person. Using poison on your sword in the city. If the guards find out, it won't just be a fine!"

"Hey, what are you talking about? Are you a mercenary?"

The two continued to argue verbally as much as they fought with their swords.

The fight was already one-sided.

In terms of sword skills and sword power, the hooded mercenary was completely dominating.

However, the fight didn't end quickly. The hooded mercenary couldn't deliver a decisive blow because of the poison on the sword.

The whistling sound that had been heard from a distance was getting closer.

"Haha, everyone is coming. Since the dwarf who made me angry is gone, I'll play with you instead."

The hooded mercenary's movements paused at the female mercenary's words. He seemed to be thinking about something.

I needed to help him make a decision.

Swish!

I threw the half-remaining sword with all my might and shouted to the hooded woman.

"Attack!"

Both were surprised by my voice.

They thought I had run away, so they were naturally shocked.

However, they seemed to be experienced.

"Where do you get the nerve!"

Clang!

The female mercenary successfully blocked the suddenly flying sword.

"Ugh! A sword imbued with mana?"

However, she didn't expect the power in the half-sword.

She was pushed back by the flying sword, and at that moment, the hooded mercenary struck and knocked her down.

"Ugh, you... "

She fell, leaving a cliché line.

I limped slightly as I approached the two.

"You didn't run away?"

"I was going to, but I couldn't."

The mercenary's annoying voice made me shake my head.

I had stopped running towards the mercenary district because my legs were getting heavier.

Then, I turned around and limped into the darkness of the alley.

I didn't have a specific reason. I just didn't want to run.

I secretly came back, hid in the darkness of the alley, watched the fight, and helped by throwing the sword.

Thinking about it rationally, it was a foolish act.

It was someone unrelated to me, someone I had only met once.

Was I naively thinking of helping again because I had been helped? Or was it because I had found the clue to the tomb?

Fortunately, the outcome was good, but it wasn't a wise decision for any reason.

"You didn't kill her."

The gaze from inside the hood seemed to become a bit stricter.

"Talking about a child killing someone..."

Indeed, he was saying something unbecoming of a mercenary.

No, even nobles don't say such things. Where did he spend his life in a flower garden?

I picked up the half-sword lying on the ground.

The remaining blade of the half-sword was cracked in several places.

It was now completely useless.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the female mercenary's poisoned sword. Where did it go?

I held the broken sword and walked to the fallen female mercenary.

The whistling sound was getting closer, and now I could hear shouts.

Time was running out.

I stood in front of the fallen female mercenary and swung the sword.

Directly at her neck.

Thud!

However, the sword didn't pierce her.

The half-sword was blocked by another sword and shattered.

"Why did you block it? She was trying to kill us."

"Really... How is the country going to be..."

The hooded mercenary muttered something strange and pointed behind him.

"People are coming. I don't know what's going on, but you don't want to be caught by them, right?"

The hooded mercenary grabbed my arm and started running towards the mercenary district.

I obediently followed the hooded mercenary.

It was too late.

The sword was broken, and with this meddler blocking me, it was impossible to kill the woman before they arrived.

But, making an injured person run...

"That woman, Noa, is a mercenary, right? The deputy leader of the Red Bear Mercenary Group."

He wasn't unaware of his opponent. The hooded mercenary had pretended not to know.

"She's famous for her bad temper, but from what I saw, it's more than just a bad temper."

Indeed, it's more than just a bad temper. It's dangerously problematic. Why did you stop me!

"But, even if she's a problem, if the deputy leader of the Red Bear Mercenary Group dies here, it will be a huge hassle."

"You'll have to leave this territory, and I might be chased by the bear mercenaries for life."

Wow, for a meddler, that's a very logical statement.

"You don't know my face, and the kid is completely mistaken, so if you don't kill her, things will calm down soon."

From the perspective of a normal mercenary who doesn't know my true identity, it was a reasonable statement.

I prefer a quiet life.

I had a plan in mind, and this commotion wouldn't help.

Killing her would have been fine, but not killing her wasn't bad for my plan either.

"By the way, why are you being chased? It doesn't seem to be for simple pedophilia."

Being chased for that reason would be quite scary.

"I seem to have overheard something I shouldn't have. They chased me after I overheard their conversation."

"Hmm. Overheard... You don't seem like a simple kid."

What? It was a simple explanation, but did it cause a misunderstanding?

"I just happened to overhear it while walking."

"A kid who can avoid several mercenaries, throw a mana-infused sword, and approach me without me noticing... And this kid just happened to overhear it?"

Oh, my skills were exposed, so the excuse didn't work.

"Well, I don't regret helping you, but since things have come to this, can I hear what's going on as a thank you?"

When the hooded mercenary asked, we had just entered the mercenary district.

This place was still very noisy. In fact, it seemed to be getting noisier as the night deepened.

"By the way, do you know me?"

"I saw you earlier. Don't you remember when I caught a pickpocket for you?"

Indeed, he recognized me.

I took off my hood.

"Indeed, a pretty boy. You look much better without it."

Indeed, the more he talked, the more his tone changed.

'He's not used to his voice change yet.'

I looked at the face hidden under the hood and spoke.

"Since you know my face... How should I address you? Miss? Sister?"

At my words, the other person stopped in her tracks. She seemed troubled.

"Caught?"

The awkward voice found its natural tone.

It was a slightly husky, but definitely female, voice.

"An awkward tone like that will be exposed if you talk too much."

"Indeed... I tried to be careful, but I must have been too excited."

What part got her excited? The meddler? The fight?

Anyway, I also had something I wanted to know.

"Where are you staying? I'll come by later today. I need to thank you and tell you what's going on."

I had many questions, but something else was more urgent. I needed to know where she was staying and plan to meet her later.

Fortunately, she thought for a moment and told me where she was staying.

It was a different inn a bit away from here.

"Come in the evening. If I'm out, I'll tell the owner when I'll be back, so ask him."

After making the appointment, she gave me a vial and left.

The vial contained a very high-quality medicine, specifically for treating wounds.

It was a good medicine, but it was too expensive to give to a child I just met.

I was puzzled, but thanks to it, the pain in my leg decreased significantly.

After checking my leg, I headed to the inn where Adria was waiting.

Martin wasn't there, and Adria was waiting for me alone.

Fortunately, she seemed to be in a good mood.

"Brother had some urgent business and left first."

Hmm, that urgent business was probably because of me...

"I talked a lot with him. He's changed a lot, but also hasn't changed at all."

On the way back from the inn, Adria kept talking about her conversation with Martin.

Strange mercenaries were passing by, looking for something, but no one paid attention to us, who looked like siblings.

As we left the mercenary district, the number of people decreased, and as we approached the temple, the streets were empty.

"Oh, right. I told Brother about the secret passage. He said he'll come to meet you when he has time."

In the end, she told Martin about the secret passage.

Even though it happened a few months earlier, it didn't change from my previous life.

I smiled inwardly.

The gears were meshing and turning.