Chapter 27

The next morning, Aldis left the twins at home and headed to the tavern that Norris had told him about. There, he officially accepted the request and immediately left the city of Tria, heading west along the road.

Without being attacked by beasts, he made steady progress for about two hours. He did not stop to hunt along the way, and since it was a day trip, he carried only the bare minimum of supplies. No one accompanied him, so Aldis's steps were light.

In fact, he covered a distance that would normally take a regular mercenary six hours in just two hours. If someone had watched his entire journey, they would probably have been amazed.

Aldis's feet kicked the ground and landed about three meters away each time. This was not the stride of a person who is 170 centimeters tall.

Furthermore, if someone had been close enough to see Aldis's steps, they would have tilted their head in confusion. This was because Aldis's feet never touched the ground; they were always floating a few centimeters above it.

His feet kicked the air a few centimeters above the ground, advancing about three meters with each step. Aldis was using magic to levitate his body.

He levitated his body in the same way he levitated his short sword and propelled himself in the same way he propelled his short sword. If he wanted to, he could even fly while lying on his back at an altitude of 100 meters. However, he chose to fly at a height just above the ground because this was an unconventional use of magic in this world.

In this world, there is no magic that allows humans to fly, and no known spells that enable flight. Naturally, if Aldis were to fly in the air, it would cause a commotion. Therefore, he moderated his speed and deliberately made movements that would look like walking if seen by anyone.

Even if he flew at a sufficient height, he might be discovered when taking off or landing. In areas near the city or along the road, where people might see him at any time, he could not afford to do such things.

For this particular request, the one-way trip took about two hours, and the round trip took four hours. Considering the time for negotiations, Aldis thought he could return to Tria by dusk and was heading to his destination using the "floating walk" that appeared to be walking.

Fortunately, he did not encounter any beasts or bandits and arrived at the location he had heard about by midday.

"I was told it would be around here... Is that it?"

Aldis saw a crowd of people.

Although it was along the road, it was a rare sight in such a remote area. Upon getting closer, he saw a large number of rough-looking mercenaries.

There were a few people who looked like merchants, but they were probably watching the commotion while taking a break during their journey, sitting on rocks and drinking from their canteens. Some merchants were even selling their goods to the onlookers.

The atmosphere was not hostile, and the sounds of laughter and cheers echoed, reminiscent of a festival.

"Who's next? I'm fine if everyone comes at me at once."

A young woman's voice, similar to a man's, rang out. Following the crowd's gaze, Aldis found the source of the voice.

She had long, Alice blue hair, and her narrow eyes were a deep, clear sky blue. Her face, which appeared expressionless, was well-formed and exuded a noble lady's grace.

She wore a white hooded cloak, which made her look like a magician or a healer, but her posture and movements suggested a seasoned warrior.

"Alright! I'm up next!"

A burly warrior stepped forward from the crowd.

"Go, Gandalf!"

"Don't lose!"

"Don't get taken down in a second!"

"Alright! Five copper coins on Gandalf!"

"One silver coin on the girl!"

Cheers and jeers rose from all around.

The warrior called Gandalf was clad in chainmail and carried a halberd, an unusual outfit for a mercenary. He was probably in his mid-thirties, the age when warriors are said to be at their peak.

"The girl is strong, but I've been wielding weapons since before she was born. I'll show you the difference in experience."

"Since before I was born? What an interesting thing to say."

A seductive smile appeared on the woman's beautiful face. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, but her smile was more alluring than that of a courtesan. Amidst the cheers and whistles, Gandalf and the woman faced each other.

"Alright, let's go, girl!"

At Gandalf's shout, the two began their battle.

First strike.

Gandalf raised his halberd overhead and swung it in a semicircle, aiming for the woman's legs from the side.

Without dodging, the woman leaned forward, lightly kicked the ground, and tried to slip into Gandalf's guard. Her Alice blue hair swayed.

"Damn!"

While cursing, Gandalf forcibly changed the trajectory of his halberd to a horizontal slash, but the woman had already closed the distance. Judging that he could not capture her, Gandalf hooked the halberd's claw into the ground and used centrifugal force to swing his body to the side.

However, as Gandalf completed his rotation and readied his halberd, a dagger was already pressed against his neck.

"That's the end of the match."

The woman, who had moved behind Gandalf, declared.

"Seriously? Even Gandalf couldn't do it!"

"She's really strong, that girl!"

"Damn! I'm broke now!"

The match was over in an instant.

It wasn't that Gandalf was weak. From Aldis's observation, he had the strength to defeat a Beast King one-on-one, even if he couldn't defeat Despair.

But the seasoned mercenary was treated like a child. Even if he had heard from Norris and the tavern owner, the fact that she could subdue so many mercenaries without killing them suggested a significant difference in strength.

"Who's next?"

Without even breaking a sweat, the woman looked at the crowd with her sky blue eyes.

"What do we do?"

"You go."

"That Gandalf was taken down in a second? No way, no way."

The mercenaries murmured, but no one stepped forward to challenge her.

"No one?"

Aldis stepped forward in response to the woman's call.

"Huh? Hey, kid. Don't do it."

A middle-aged mercenary tried to dissuade Aldis, who had stepped forward as a challenger. He probably thought it was reckless for a young, inexperienced-looking boy to challenge someone who had left Gandalf, a seasoned mercenary, in the dust.

Looking puzzled, Aldis contrasted with the murmuring mercenaries, while the woman narrowed her eyes and observed him.

"Hmm... Finally, someone who might be interesting."

Aldis faced the woman and said, "Wait. I came here to negotiate, not to fight."

"Negotiate? You said negotiate?"

"Yes. I just want to talk. I don't want to fight you—"

A dagger flew toward Aldis's throat as he spoke.

Aldis instinctively raised his left hand and deployed a physical barrier in front of him. The dagger, which had been thrown by the woman, bounced off with a metallic sound and fell to the ground.

"Hey, listen to me."

Aldis said in a cold voice. He would not be caught off guard by such a cheap trick, but he was not pleased to be interrupted mid-sentence.

Of course, in a battlefield, it would be foolish to deliver a speech. However, Aldis had come to negotiate, and he had clearly stated that.

"It's not funny to attack someone who came to negotiate."

"You said you want to talk."

"Didn't you hear me?"

"I don't want to talk to you. But you want me to listen to you. Since our intentions conflict, one of us must yield."

"So what?"

"Since I won't yield, if you want to make your point, you must convince me."

"That's a roundabout way of saying it. Can't you be more straightforward?"

"In other words, if you want to talk to me, you must defeat me first!"

The woman closed the distance in an instant.

"Rock."

In response to Aldis's voice, sharp rocks protruded from the ground, blocking her path. She immediately changed direction and pointed her index finger at Aldis.

"Let's start with a test."

Ice pellets floated around the woman and were launched at Aldis.

"Magic barrier."

Aldis deflected the ice pellets with a barrier he quickly deployed.

The next moment, a ball of fire attacked from above. Aldis sidestepped, and the woman's dagger, which seemed to be waiting, approached.

Aldis avoided the sharp blade with a half-turn and tried to grab her arm as he passed, but a gust of wind cut through the air, blocking him.

Avoiding the wind, Aldis took a step back, and the woman pointed her finger at him again.

"How about this?"

Numerous lights formed a band above the woman's head and were launched at Aldis.

"Damn!"

Aldis jumped to the side, using a magic barrier to block only the direct hits.

The lights that hit the ground burned the soil and disappeared. A burnt smell filled the air.

"Then how about this?"

Again, numerous lights appeared above the woman's head. This time, they converged into a single point and were launched at Aldis.

Aldis judged that it would be dangerous to take the light head-on and deflected it by adjusting the angle of his magic barrier.

"Hmm. You're skilled. Who are you?"

"That's my line."

Aldis glared at the woman, who stood calmly.

Magic attacks without incantations. Aldis had never met anyone else in this world who could do that except himself.

The power of the magic alone was enough to show that she was not an ordinary user. From the feel of the barrier, it was probably powerful enough to instantly kill not just Despair but even Whips.

"Hey, is that woman a magician?"

"Seriously? That means we were taken down by a magician with just a dagger?"

"It might be, but that's not how a magician moves."

"True, but that kid over there doesn't move like a magician either."

The mercenaries, who had been watching the battle between Aldis and the woman, murmured. They were amazed by the woman, who had been handling them with just a dagger, now using a series of attacks. Some were angry, realizing they had been treated like infants from the start.

Moreover, they were shocked to see the young magician, who looked like a new mercenary, easily handling the woman's magical and dagger attacks.

They forgot to place bets on who would win and were completely absorbed in the ongoing battle.