Chapter 7: A Dangerous Person (2)
The battle with the monster horde ended.
Generally, the atmosphere after such an unexpected event occurred wasn't very good.
Because casualties occurred.
Groans flowed from the mouths of those who were laughing and talking just yesterday, and in severe cases, even those groans stopped.
Burying a comrade who had beco a corpse was a far more dreadful task than wiping the monster's bodily fluids off equipnt.
However, the current atmosphere of the Barjean rchant Guild was quite different from that.
“Wahahha, drink up!”
“Yeah, if not now, when else would we drink? This is wine bestowed by none other than the rchant Guild Leader!”
“Kiyaa, this is killer! It’s on a different level from the cheap wine we usually drink!”
“That's what I'm saying. They said departure tomorrow is from noon, so it won’t matter even if we drink till our noses are crooked.”
“Take it easy. If a weakling like you drinks too much, you might throw up on your horse tomorrow?”
“You bastard!”
“Puhahahaha!”
Everyone wore bright expressions.
It couldn't be helped.
Despite facing a nightti battle that everyone dreaded, and one involving a leader-type Elite Monster at that, they suffered no losses.
Perhaps at any other ti, quite a few people would have lost their lives.
It was a situation where even so goods might have been damaged.
Considering this, distributing good quality wine to the rcenaries wasn't regrettable at all.
The master of the rchant guild, Barjean, nodded and spoke.
“Unlucky, yet lucky. To encounter a leader goblin and repel it without any damage.”
“It’s thanks to that young man.”
“That’s right. Just what is his identity…… Haven’t you found out anything?”
“Well, not yet…….”
The rchant Guild Leader’s daughter, Bianca, answered in a small voice.
But it was unavoidable.
This commotion erupted right after her discussion with her father, so it was correct to say there hadn't even been ti for a proper conversation.
‘Asking right now…… the atmosphere is a bit like that, too.’
Indeed, right now, Harang had beco the superstar of the rchant guild.
It couldn't be helped.
Who else could possibly dive alone into a place swarming with those vicious monsters?
Who else could deceive the goblins' attention and precisely single out only the leader to snap its neck?
No one else could likely do it.
Perhaps a Gold Plate level rcenary or soone from a famous swordsmanship hall, but within this rchant guild, Harang was surely the only one.
Was it because of that?
Everyone who had ignored him until now, or at worst treated him as if he didn't exist, was now worshipping this black-haired young man like an idol.
“Oh, oh oh oh! He’s here! The hero of the rchant guild!”
“Your na is…… Harang! Right, Harang?”
“Yes. That’s right?”
“Wooooah! It’s my first ti talking to Harang! Hey, maybe a handshake……”
“Move aside! Shouldn’t we offer our hero a drink!”
“Aha, so this is alcohol? The thing they say makes you feel good when you drink it.”
“What? You’ve never drunk alcohol before, lad?”
“No. I wanted to try it a few days ago, but……”
“But?”
“There was no one offering it. So I haven't been able to drink it yet.”
“What! Which bastard! Which bastard didn’t give our Harang a drink!”
“It was you……”
“What? Hahaha, this friend, his mory isn't good! There's no way I'd do that!”
It was truly a scene of frenzy.
Watching the rcenaries swarming Harang's side, Bianca shook her head slowly.
‘For now, after the mood calms down a bit, I should talk to him separately later.’
Bianca, deciding to put aside her questions for a while, scanned the rchant guild.
Most had excitedly flocked to Harang’s side, but there were also those who hadn't.
The Carlson rcenary Corps was a pri example.
After Harang rejected the captain’s recruitnt offer, they had ended up in a sowhat awkward relationship.
It was perfectly understandable.
A Silver Plate rcenary himself had extended a hand, yet he had shown such a sharp refusal.
Of course, now that his skills had been sowhat revealed, the reason was understood, but regardless of that, the relationship between the two showed no signs of improving.
No, perhaps it could even worsen.
Because rcenaries not belonging to the Carlson rcenary Corps were starting to utter words that slightly grated on the nerves.
“By the way, with that level of skill, isn’t he almost Gold Plate?”
“You crazy bastard, does Gold Plate look that easy? Even for masters from decent swordsmanship halls, reaching the Graduate stage isn't easy.”
“Ah, you have to be a Graduate to beco Gold Plate?”
“That’s right. Even if you comb through all the southern rcenaries, there aren't even ten Gold Plates. No matter how amazing that young man is, that level is impossible. Of course……”
“Of course?”
“Judging by skill alone, he seems more than sufficient for Silver Plate. Maybe even stronger than Carlson.”
“Ah, is he that good?”
“Well, even Carlson wouldn't have thought of jumping into that goblin horde alone.”
“That’s true…… Shh, speak quieter!”
Words comparing Carlson and Harang could be heard from here and there.
Although they thought they spoke quietly, the atmosphere and gazes were enough to tell.
Who they were comparing with whom.
Because of this, the expressions of the Carlson rcenary Corps mbers were uniformly unpleasant.
The strange thing was that Carlson, who should have been the most offended, maintained a calm appearance.
‘Strange…….’
Carlson was skilled and bold, but his pride was strong, and he wasn't the type to let those who insulted him go unpunished.
Of course, with his position as a rcenary captain, he wouldn't challenge just anyone to a duel like before, but he was known to at least approach those running their mouths lightly and apply pressure.
‘I don’t know. My head hurts.’
Quite a lot had happened today.
Her mind overloaded, she too sipped the wine she was holding.
It wasn't bad.
Not as good as what she drank at ho, but this was among the best luxuries one could enjoy during a trade journey.
“Let’s think about it tomorrow, tomorrow.”
A deeper languor than usual laced her softly murmured voice.
* * *
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“Jack?”
“Huh? Why.”
“Just, you’re quiet.”
“What about you.”
“Indeed.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Damn it, I’m jealous…….”
One of the two newbie rcenaries, Jack, spoke in a voice filled with all sorts of complex emotions.
It was a monuntal day.
For the first ti in his rcenary life, he had broken free from chores to participate in battle and hunted a monster.
The feeling of the sword slicing through the monster’s flesh was still vivid.
Even though it was a creature showing its back and fleeing, today's achievent was undoubtedly the greatest in Jack’s life.
However, he didn't feel good.
But, he couldn't help but feel a sense of deprivation.
Watching the shining figure surrounded by rcenaries far away, he quietly muttered.
“Should I…… give up being a rcenary…….”
“Jack!”
“You saw it too, Matthew. The dream we desire is sothing only guys like him can reach.”
Jack sipped his wine.
No, perhaps what he sipped was tears mixed with snot.
Today's events were that shocking.
To think that the person he had thoroughly looked down on as a newbie was actually hiding incredible skill.
To think he had picked on the guy without knowing.
Self-loathing, sorrow, anger, and pitiful feelings mixed together, continuously pushing him down to rock bottom.
“…….”
Watching his friend, Matthew couldn't say anything.
No words of comfort ca to mind.
No, before that, his own heart was also in tatters.
Jack was right.
Harang's actions were the cool and shining image they had dread of.
And their own actions were of a shabby level, hardly worthy of being bar talk anywhere.
The more he thought about that enormous gap, the heavier his heart beca, and his body grew tired.
Matthew also drank the wine.
It felt like he couldn't endure it without drinking sothing.
‘Ah, whatever!’
The saving grace was that Matthew was inherently thicker-skinned and more optimistic than Jack.
As the warmth of the alcohol enveloped his body, the negative emotions gradually subsided, and conversely, the thought 'I can do it too!' began to rear its head.
‘Right, it’s not like Harang was strong from birth, right?’
Sa for Carlson.
Sa for Vice-captain Nick, and the head of the guild's escort must be the sa too.
They all must have had tis like theirs in the beginning.
What's important is an unbroken spirit in such situations, and the perseverance to keep striving.
Matthew turned his head.
He saw Jack, who had said these words to him when he was about to give up at the start of his rcenary career.
Seeing his friend downcast, he thought.
This ti, he should be the one to give strength.
Having made up his mind, he nodded and opened his mouth to offer words of comfort.
No, he tried to open it.
“……?”
It was strange.
His tongue wouldn't move properly.
It felt numb, as if the root had stiffened.
Matthew frowned and tried to stand up.
His intention was to get water and rinse his mouth.
“…….”
He couldn't.
Only then did Matthew realize sothing was terribly wrong with the situation, and he forced his stiff neck to turn and survey the surroundings.
“What……”
“Mm!”
“This is……!”
That wasn't all.
The other rcenaries who had been excitedly enjoying the wine could no longer laugh and chat.
Even the voices they managed to squeeze out were cut off before forming words, and their movents beca sluggish as if under several tis normal gravity.
Many couldn't move at all.
Of course, not everyone was like that.
Those who hadn't drunk the provided wine.
rchant Guild Leader Barjean, the head of the escort, and the Carlson rcenary Corps faced each other.
The culprit was imdiately identified.
“Carlson! What is the aning of this!”
“Hm? What are you talking about? Wasn’t it the rchant Guild Leader who provided the wine?”
“Enough nonsense! Even in this situation, you won’t admit you pulled so trick? For what reason, for what reason did you do this ki— Kuhak!”
The escort leader’s words were cut short.
Carlson, drawing his sword with a sneering laugh, swung it forcefully, and his opponent couldn't block it.
The grayish-white energy gathered on the blade left a long gash on the escort leader’s chest.
Aura Sword!
It wasn't complete like a Graduate's.
As proof, Carlson’s aura didn’t stably envelop the sword body but scattered into the air like a heat haze.
But that alone was enough to overwhelm the guild leader.
As the Sword Expert master swung his sword twice more, the escort leader staggered and collapsed to the ground.
“Keok, krrrk……!”
“The underling should just stay out of it.”
Kwackak!
“…….”
“Whew, now it’s finally quiet.”
Carlson, having snapped the opponent's neck by stepping on it, looked at Barjean with a refreshed expression.
Like soone who had endured the heat for a long ti finally gulping down cold water.
He opened his mouth with a vile smile.
“It’s Elder Kilkearn’s order.”
“……!”
“You’ve been too conspicuous lately. You should have known when to stop.”
“This…… Even so, a double contract……!”
rchant Guild Leader Barjean wore a look of ruin.
He knew that the surrounding rchant guilds, and the influential figures backing them, didn't look favorably upon him, a re commoner, rapidly expanding his influence.
That was why he had paid a hefty price to hire the Silver Plate rcenary Guild.
Because he couldn't do anything if he was outmatched in strength.
But, the ones he hired had been targeting him from the start?
It was all the sche of the rival rchant guild, Kilkearn?
“Heo…… Heo, hehehehe…….”
“You were lucky. If it weren't for the goblin horde, it wouldn't have been easy to spike the wine with paralysis poison. Of course, it wouldn't have been too difficult even without this.”
“…….”
“Co now, don’t look like you’ve bitten into shit. I plan to let you and your daughter live. Of course, dying here might be better for you…… but that’s none of my business.”
Finished speaking, Carlson turned around and nodded his head.
It was a signal to the rcenary corps.
A terribly cold command to kill everyone except the targets, the rchant Guild Leader and his daughter.
No, that wasn't right.
Strictly speaking, there was one more person who needed to be kept alive.
That arrogant black-haired brat who rejected his offer, but whose pretty face made even that seem charming.
A broad smile spreading across his face, Carlson looked towards where Harang was.
He wanted to leisurely savor the fellow's ruined expression, the look in his eyes trying to curry favor to beg for his life.
The unexpected happened then.
Kwadeuk-
Pulseok!
Everyone looked towards where Harang was.
Specifically, they stared at the mber of the rcenary corps in front of the young man, Fernando of the Dagger.
At his corpse, neck broken, tongue lolling out.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Silence descended.
Eyes filled with incomprehension.
Gazes mixed with the question of how he could move when he clearly drank the wine too.
Regardless, Harang was nonchalant.
Calmly picking up the dagger Fernando had been holding, he swung his arm, Hwoong.
Shweeeek-
Pook
“Keo…… Heo……!”
Carlson couldn't react.
Blood gushed from his neck where the dagger was embedded.
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