Chapter 58

"Those, those children were the hostages captured by the bandits?"

Balen's blue eyes bulged as if they would pop out.

"Rescuing hostages means you found the bandits! Don't lie to me!"

Marta leaned in, her face close to Balen's, warning him not to spout nonsense.

The two of them, no, all the trainees at the base, couldn't believe that Raon and Runan had rescued children from the bandits, and their eyes widened in shock.

"Do as you please."

Raon smirked and led the children to the campfire.

"Rest here for a moment."

He sat the children by the fire and handed them the dried meat Sylvia and Helen had packed.

"Fill your stomachs with this."

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

The boy bowed, and the girl nodded her head in the same way.

The two children stared blankly for a moment before they began to munch on the dried meat. Tears welled up in their eyes, as if a wave of sadness was washing over them.

"Dorian."

"Huh? Yes!"

"Do you have a blanket? A clean one."

"Of course I do."

"Thanks."

Dorian pulled a long green cloak from his satchel and draped it over the children's shoulders.

"Here, eat this too."

Runan knelt down to meet the children's eyes, took the lid off the ice cream box from her bag, and offered it to them.

There were only two marble ice creams left, and they were the flavors she liked the most, but there was no hesitation in her gesture.

"What's this?"

The girl tilted her head.

"It's ice cream."

Runan told her it was cool and delicious, wiped the girl's hands, and handed her the ice cream.

"Ah!"

The girl tasted the ice cream with her tongue and screamed. Of course, it was a scream of delight. She began to eat the ice cream, flicking her small tongue like a kitten.

"Ooh!"

The boy also tasted the ice cream and his eyes widened. However, instead of continuing to eat, he passed the remaining ice cream to his sister, who was enjoying it.

Raon watched the two children and smacked his lips. His tongue tingled.

'He's grown up.'

From the time he was with the bandits to now, even after eating the ice cream, the boy still took care of his sister first. The boy, who had lost his parents, had already become an adult.

Compared to his past self, who only followed the orders of Delus Robert, Raon lightly patted the boy's shoulder.

-Huh, to resist the temptation of ice cream, which even I couldn't resist, this kid will surely become great. Recruit him. He's to my liking.

Ras muttered that he wanted to make the boy his subordinate.

"Ah!"

He raised his head at the sniffling sound. Dorian was looking at the children with teary eyes.

"Eat all of this!"

He pulled out all the snacks he usually kept in his satchel and piled them in front of the children. He was a kind-hearted kid.

"We've rescued the children, but we still need to deal with the remaining bandits. Once they confirm the hostages are rescued, they'll definitely run."

"Right. Where are those bastards? I'll break their necks."

Balen approached with a heated look, and Marta with a furious glare, as if urging him to quickly lead them to the bandits, tapping his scabbard.

"It's fine."

"What do you mean, 'it's fine'? The mission must be completed properly…."

"What's going on now?"

As Balen was about to argue, Limer and the instructors emerged from the bushes on the hillside. Only the three instructors who had stayed behind to clean up the bandits' traces were not visible.

"What children?"

They pretended to know nothing and tilted their heads.

'You already knew.'

Raon's lips curled slightly. Although he couldn't pinpoint Limer's exact location due to his limited aura, he was definitely watching him.

"You know, don't you?"

"What?"

Limer shrugged, feigning ignorance.

"Raon and I rescued them."

Runan nodded as she approached Limer.

"Rescued these children?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Didn't you hear from the other instructors?"

"Oh, right. I don't see the other three. Where did they go?"

"Ah, I'll tell you."

Raon sighed and stood up. From Limer's expression, it seemed he wanted him to explain in front of everyone.

"We found the bandits' traces in the forest inside the hills and started tracking them. The traces were almost invisible, but we eventually found the bandits deep in the forest."

He explained everything that happened during the tracking today in detail.

"…After killing the leader of the bandits, we brought the children back."

Silence fell over the clearing as they listened to his explanation.

"Unbelievable…."

Balen swallowed hard.

'While I was wasting time, he completed the mission…'

While he was wasting time, Raon had rescued the hostages and killed all the bandits. It was hard to believe, but given the situation, he couldn't deny it.

"Damn it!"

He had vowed to outperform Raon in real missions, but he failed again.

Not just a failure, but he wasn't even a match. He couldn't bear the shame of his overconfidence.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Marta turned around and punched a tree. Bark split and fell to the ground.

'This isn't a lie.'

Raon never lied, as far as she had seen. He must have really rescued the hostages and eliminated the bandits with Runan.

'What a moron!'

Knowing that Raon and Runan risked their lives while she was having a childish argument with Balen made her so angry that she wanted to cry.

'I was going to end it this time.'

She had planned to complete this mission perfectly to invalidate the promise to follow Raon, but it was a complete defeat. There was no excuse.

"Huff…."

Marta sighed deeply, admitting her defeat to Raon.

"Alone, you killed all the bandits?"

"Even tracked and rescued the hostages…."

"What kind of guy is he!"

The trainees' jaws trembled. They all looked at Raon and Runan in amazement.

"Is it true?"

One of the instructors approached Raon, feigning ignorance. He seemed to have been watching the other children.

"The leader of the bandits was a high-level sword user. How did you defeat him? Maybe you saw it wrong?"

"No."

"How can you be sure?"

"See for yourself."

Raon pointed to the loot, which could also be considered a trophy.

"Hmm."

The instructor nodded and opened the bag.

'Red hair, large scar on the face.'

It matched the description of the bandit leader they had received when the mission was assigned. His eyes widened as he looked back at Raon.

"…It's confirmed."

The instructor swallowed and approached Raon.

"Well, it was for mission verification, so I hope you're not upset."

"Of course not."

Raon nodded, and the instructor nodded back before returning to Limer.

'Probably Limer's doing.'

Raon could tell from Limer's playful eyes that he had ordered it. It seemed to be to confirm for those who didn't believe or were skeptical.

Thanks to this, the trainees' eyes, when looking at him and Runan, were filled with admiration and surprise.

'Why?'

Limer treated him better than just a simple instructor-student relationship. He was so different from the instructors he met in his past life that he honestly didn't understand the meaning.

"So, is the mission over?"

"But we didn't do anything…."

"Um, is it okay to just go like this…."

The trainees were happy to think they could go home and sleep comfortably, but their faces were shadowed by the fact that they hadn't done anything.

"Why are you so disappointed?"

Limer smiled awkwardly at the disappointed trainees.

"First missions rarely show your true abilities. Even the instructors here made mistakes or did nothing on their first missions."

The instructors nodded in agreement.

"Then what about Raon and Runan?"

"They finished everything, didn't they?"

"Well, sometimes there are exceptional cases. Even though they're already familiar, what's the big deal? Actually, I also performed well on my first mission. It was a big mess. I charged into the enemy camp with just a sword…."

Limer chuckled and began to recount his own first mission.

-That guy's story isn't that impressive. When I was in the Demon Realm, I froze an entire city in my first battle, a legend that spread throughout the Demon Realm….

"Hah…."

Raon shook his head. Listening to the two chatterboxes was starting to hurt his ears.

* * *

Limer declared the mission over and said they would return to their families tomorrow.

The trainees immediately prepared a meal, and Runan and the children, who had already become close, ate together.

While eating a soup or stew, Limer approached.

"Good job."

He sat down next to Raon, holding a bowl full of lumps.

"It was a mission."

"There are many who fail to complete missions even after becoming knights. You did well. Of course, there were some shortcomings."

Limer took a spoonful of the soup. He muttered that it tasted terrible and put the bowl aside.

"Bandits are not easy opponents like in stories. They use the mountains like elves and are as ruthless as orcs. Especially those affiliated with the North-South Alliance or targeting the area."

"Understood."

Raon nodded quietly.

"Your quick thinking in rescuing the children was definitely good, but if there had been an expert-level warrior there, you and Runan would have died."

"Indeed, you were watching."

"Well, it just happened."

Limer chuckled and continued.

"You did well today. However, in the future, consider the enemy's strength, numbers, and whether there are hostages and their condition before deciding whether to act alone or call for help. You are the leader. It would be good to develop that judgment."

It's not wrong. He had killed countless times, but this was his first hostage rescue, so there were some shortcomings.

In Sieghart, he would often move with a partner rather than alone, so he needed to develop the right judgment for the situation.

"There's no need to look so serious. You and Runan showed the best possible actions. You will become great."

"Thank you."

Limer gave a thumbs up. Raon quietly closed his eyes, accepting the praise.

"By the way, I think I'll take these children to the family. They said they have no place to go since their family is