Cold alcohol went down his throat.
Gulp gulp.
Saif, the rcenary who had hurriedly emptied all his alcohol, put his glass down roughly with a bang.
“Ugh, the taste of the alcohol here never changes.”
The clerk who had co over quickly filled his glass again. Saif, who had also filled his mouth with the dried snacks on the table, finally let out a deep sigh.
He got caught up in an absurd incident and was detained for several months. On top of that, he was also held responsible for smuggling and poaching, which were quite lucrative activities, and had to pay a huge fine.
Thanks to that, he was practically penniless, but thanks to the ergency funds he had hidden away in case sothing like that happened, he was able to sohow get back into rcenary work.
Moreover, Saif was in a very good mood today. It was because he had a good commission for the first ti in a long while.
So, for the first ti in a long ti, he invested in himself.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary bar, but in fact, it was the entrance to another world.
It was a holy place where dark dreams and hopes gathered.
It was an extrely dangerous amusent park where you could make a fortune overnight if you did it right, but if you weren’t careful, you could lose everything you’ve built so far.
He was here several tis, but he lost everything and never made any significant profit.
But Saif decided to try again. He had brought enough money. Now he just had to call the clerk and ask for directions…
Just imagining himself returning triumphantly with a bundle of gold in his arms brought a smile to his face.
He happened to spot a clerk running sowhere in a hurry and raised his hand.
But, at the next mont.
Shatter!
The loud sound of a plate breaking cut through the noise of the bar.
“What a nasty business.”
Almost simultaneously, the irritated voice of a young man was heard.
“What kind of side dish is this? What a waste of ti. I heard it was a place where a lot of people gathered, so I even took the ti to co here myself.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll exchange it right away.”
The clerk who had passed by Saif earlier was seen bowing his head.
There were also several rcenaries beside the young man who was making a fuss. As if they were trying to protect their employer, the rcenaries stood up from their seats and straightened their shoulders, glaring at the clerk as if they were going to eat him up at any mont.
Since the place was what it was, the clerks were also just guys who used to do odd jobs. So of course, they weren’t all that big, but the rcenaries had strong shoulders that made the clerks look ridiculous.
Thanks to that, the face of the young master who was causing a ruckus was not properly visible because it was obscured by the large figures.
“Okay, bring the best liquor you can. Leave this tasteless snack aside. Go out and buy sothing else.”
The young man took out his money pouch and threw it on the floor.
In an instant, the surroundings beca quiet. Saif forgot the situation for a mont and his eyes widened.
The clerk also froze in place.
All the things that poured out of the young master’s pouch were gold coins. The number was not small.
‘All of that?’
The bewildered clerk looked back and forth between the gold coins spilled on the floor and the young master still sitting awkwardly on his chair.
Saif also craned his neck to check the bastard’s face, but he couldn’t see it properly because it was obscured by the clerk’s body standing awkwardly.
After a long mont of deep silence, the clerk finally began to move. After sweeping up the gold coins again, the clerk politely returned the bag with both hands.
“I’ve been rude. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to serve you inside instead of providing other dishes.”
Saif’s brow furrowed slightly. By ‘inside’ he obviously ant the hidden lounge and gambling hall.
‘That kid made a mistake.’
In a place like this, you shouldn’t show off your money carelessly. You’ll get mauled to death by a pack of lynxes.
It’s true that he had fantasies about this place, but it was also difficult to look at it with rose-tinted glasses. If he loses his mind even a little, he’ll quickly lose everything he owns and beco penniless.
No, it’s if you just lose, you’re lucky.
If you owe a huge amount of money to the administrators here and can’t pay it back, then in the end…
“Inside?”
As expected, the young master’s questioning response, completely unaware of the situation, ca back.
The clerk explained in a much more polite voice than before.
“This is a space for special guests. It’s not a place that just anyone can enter. We should have invited you there from the beginning… we made a mistake.”
“Hmm, I guess so.”
But… was it just his imagination that the greenhorn’s voice felt strangely familiar? That can’t be.
Saif sipped his slightly cooled drink and quietly watched the place where the commotion occurred.
“I will go prepare. Please wait a mont.”
The clerk, with his head bowed, ran out.
Only then was Saif able to see the face of the man who had been causing a commotion.
Gulp.
The alcohol that had been in his mouth poured straight back into the glass.
The face full of irritation, half-buried in a wooden chair with his arms crossed, was so handso that it was hard to forget it once it was seen.
His pure white silver hair that seed to sparkle on its own and his golden eyes that seed to be thinking of sothing indecipherable glanced around the inside of the bar.
The blond man sitting right next to him and the young man with a slightly smaller build among the rcenaries both looked like familiar faces he had seen sowhere before.
“…”
Saif jumped up without a second thought. He thought he could make a fortune overnight and run away without looking back, but when he pushed back his chair, the sound of it caught the attention of the group.
The silver-haired young man turned his head involuntarily toward the noise. That is, the apprentice knight Arendt von Eckhart let out an unexpected exclamation.
“Oh, you look familiar.”
“…”
“You don’t seem to have had much to drink, so why are you getting up? You’re not trying to run away, are you?”
Ki-ki-ki-ki.
Saif forced his stiff neck to turn.
The young man smiled wickedly, just like he did on that nightmarish day.
“It’s nice to see you after such a long ti. Co here and say hello, mister.”
Arthur and Richt, who happened to be nearby, also noticed him and frowned.
“What? Do you know him?”
“Well, you can say that?”
Arthur answered Rider’s question vaguely.
It was also easy to figure out the identities of the rcenaries accompanying those three people.
Saif’s face turned pale.
Arendt chuckled and snapped his fingers.
“At this point, we’re on good terms. Sir, can we talk for a bit? It’s fate that we t like this.”
Now Saif was almost on the verge of tears.
But he knew from past experience that rebelling was useless. In the end, he had no choice but to hunch his shoulders and join them.
It was quite a rare sight to see a vicious rcenary who looked like he would rob soone of their money, sweat profusely.
The sight was even more bizarre because the person sitting right next to him, laughing heartily, was Arendt, who was barely half Saif’s size.
Arendt wrapped his arm around the rcenary’s shoulder.
“This is difficult. I never expected this kind of situation. Isn’t that right, sir?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
Saif nodded with difficulty, hunching his shoulders.
Thud, thud. His large fra shook limply every ti Arendt patted his back.
The other knights, who had heard Arthur’s brief explanation of the situation, could not help but look at him with dismay.
Is that a knight or a local thug?
But since the person being treated like that was a guy who did bad things as if it were nothing, there was no point in nitpicking.
Arendt, placing his hand on Saif’s broad back, spoke darkly.
“That’s why I told you to live well. If you had, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
“…”
Gulp.
Saif swallowed dryly. His pale face looked pitiful.
Richt let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.
“So, what are we going to do? There’s not much ti for fooling around.”
The clerk would be back soon.
Arendt tilted his head, making a “hmm”.
“That’s right. I never thought I’d et soone I recognize here. It’d be troubleso if you went outside and complained…”
The apprentice knight, who had been lost in thought for a mont, blurted out the question without thinking.
“Co to think of it, corpses can’t speak, right?”
“…!”
Saif was shocked, and the other knights were also terrified by their junior’s unimaginable remarks.
Fortunately, Arthur, who was sowhat familiar with Arendt’s antics, ca to Saif’s rescue.
“We told you that there’s no ti for that. It would take longer to kill him secretly and dispose of the body.”
“That’s true. Well, then I guess there’s nothing we can do. It seems like our destination is the sa anyway.”
Bam.
Arendt tapped Saif on the shoulder again.
“Let’s go together.”
“Yes, yes, yes?!”
“Why? What’s the problem? Aren’t you here to have so fun too, sir?”
Arendt smiled faintly at his surprised face.
“Unfortunately, the rcenaries I hired don’t know how to play. I would really appreciate it if you could teach them so tricks.”
“…”
“If you don’t like it, well, we could put in so effort to… What can we do?”
In the end, there was only one answer he could give.
Saif hung his head and muttered.
“I will go…”
“We’ve gained a reliable colleague.”
He heard Richt’s voice, which made it hard to tell if he was joking or being serious.
As the story was concluded, the other knights disguised as rcenaries nodded their heads in agreent.
Arendt was Arendt, but honestly, it seed like everyone else was out of their minds too. Was it because they were all infected by that crazy guy’s madness, or were they all just weird from the beginning?
Since he only lives once, he’ll live it well.
Belated regret crept in, but it was already too late.
Salty drops of water, whether tears or cold sweat, fell one after another, but no one pitied him.
Soon the clerk ca running in with two more people.
“Thank you for waiting for a long ti. I will take you inside.”
“…Wait a minute. Aren’t you Saif?”
At that mont, one person who recognized Saif frowned.
Then Arendt responded shalessly.
“He’s my friend. Is there a problem? I just happened to et him and I’d like to go with him.”
“Oh, I see. That’s not a problem, it’s no trouble.”
The man with a bright face waved his hand to deny any problems with the request.
Saif forced a smile. His back was getting more and more moist. Saif knew who that man was.
He was the chief manager of the lounge, whose job was to filter out the swindlers who ca only to gamble and keep them from mixing with the real rich and noble guests.
It seed like he had personally run out to fish out Arendt, who seed like a rich kid and a naive fool, not knowing that the young master was no different from a baby viper hunting for prey.
‘This is going to be a ss.’
As he trudged along with the group heading to the lounge, Saif just gave up.
If he could just return safely, he would firmly resolve to live a good life.
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