The ensuing series of events after Maxwell and Vin’s conversation was relatively ta.
The entirety of the red valley was enveloped in silence. No roaring sounds in the distance, no screechings in the sky.
Only the calm sound of streaming water, washing away dark blood, echoed. And the two silent rcenaries, walking side-by-side, stepped on the flowing water as they scoured the valley, raiding every corpse they saw, whether Slimander or not. As long as it possessed crimson cores.
They went on about it for hours. Vin picked as many crimson cores as he could and filled his sacks to the brim with them, while Maxwell calmly arranged the cores Frilo absorbed into his pocket dinsion.
By the ti the sun began to set, the rcenaries had gathered the cores of hundreds of beasts. And they were quite satisfied with their haul.
Before they left the Valley for the guild, Vin had to package the corpses of about five or so Slimanders and so other beasts as proof that they didn’t just erase every single Slimander, but they cleared the entire red valley of monsters. Sothing worthy of an S-rank task.
The guild would have to send in so officiators to the valley to confirm their report before their rewards would be processed. But if the officiators eventually confird it, Maxwell and Vin would not just get their rewards—
—Their nas would be written in the history books of the Jalozi Empire, alongside the Earth Archmage Linoel, for they had not perford any ordinary feat.
Linoel could only prevent the rampaging beasts from escaping and ravaging Ludia and the Empire as a whole, while these rcenaries had ended the problem entirely.
Maxwell looked around the valley after they were done, and the sight of the corpses caused him to breathe in deeply. The corrupted mana that’d once baked the atmosphere had died out, and now, the refreshing evening breeze blew against his skin, ruffling his hair.
’When the officiators count and collect the corpses, eventually selling them to researchers of various Kingdoms and states... I wonder how much we’ll make.’
Maxwell chuckled.
’It seems I might have to retire from this rcenary work earlier than I thought. I’ll have enough money, after all. Money to give Rita a good life, and to open a...’
Maxwell gazed at Vin, who stood with two large sacks hanging on both shoulders, Frilo floated just above his head. They were ready to go.
Vin hadn’t spoken a word to Maxwell ever since that conversation. And so, after a thoughtful consideration, Maxwell smiled and asked Vin:
"Do you like drinking?"
Vin blinked, surprised. He thought for a while, lips parting and closing, until he nodded, smiling.
"I do. It calms my nerves, yes. One of the fondest mories I have of my ti in the battlefield was when my troop and I gathered round a bonfire at night to drink, laugh and hope we won’t die the next day. That hope failed most of them." Vin wore a somber expression. "But why do you ask?"
Maxwell nodded, looking upward at the sky. The moon was making its way, parting the clouds above. And the moon was cleaved. Like it’d been cut in an imperfect half by a sword, partially glued together, and left to float in the sky.
The cleaved moon of Cryst.
Maxwell spoke:
"It’s a good thing you like drinking because I plan on opening a bar," Maxwell said, shrugging as he looked at Vin. "Surely you’d visit from ti to ti, right? Although it might be far from Ludia.. or Jalozi entirely, your family–"
"I will co. I’ll carry my family along with if I have to. I can call it a vacation," Vin shrugged. "It might even be a good thing. I can finally go on that trip around the world I’d promised my wife."
Maxwell smiled, his heart warming up. He couldn’t rember when he first got this idea. Maybe it was the first ti he gazed into the cerulean stream of ti, into freefall. The stream had shown him a lot of things, after all. The past, the present and even the possible future. But the idea properly ford in his mind when he saw Malik cooking in that shared rcenary accommodation.
The man reminded Maxwell of what he actually wanted this second life of his to look and feel like. A calm, peaceful life, of him doing sothing he loved.
It might’ve been surprising, but Maxwell had been a drinker at so point in his last life. Although his love for drinking died the mont he transcended the boundaries of mortality.
The bar was one of his favorite places to be in, where he’d drink with Malin, Jeriq, Telth, Vigan, and the rest of the gang.
All those warm mories soaked his heart, making him consider... What if, in this life, he wasn’t just the one who drank rrily in bars? What if he was the one who poured the drink for others?
Maxwell chuckled. Rita would love that. She’d always wanted herself and Maxwell to settle down into sothing peaceful. She’d even suggested they open a restaurant or a tavern where she’d cook and Maxwell served, but—
Maxwell groaned. Why was he so dumb back then? He never took her suggestions. And now, it was the thing he craved the most.
"Hello?" Vin called, dragging Maxwell away from his stream of thoughts.
Maxwell blinked, shaking his head.
"I was asking," Vin grunted softly, "are you planning to leave? You speak like you are."
Maxwell smiled.
"Surely you must’ve heard what I said in Gislow’s office. I plan to retire early, after I’ve made enough. And I will. After we finish this task, I’ll take a couple more commissions just for the sake of it," he shrugged. "It’ll be a waste not to when my reputation and fa practically explode. Ours, to be exact. And after that... I’ll leave."
"That’s–" Vin’s voice lowered, and he looked down. "That sounds good." Vin raised his head, chuckling. "You know, for so reason, I’d always thought you were a young lad chasing after glory and fa."
Maxwell chuckled, waving a hand.
’I’ve had enough of that in my lifeti.’
"No, nothing of that sort." Max shook his head.
Silence.
After a few seconds of silence, Maxwell exhaled loudly and lightly slapped his legs.
"Well, how about we go have a drink after we report this task? Just you and ."
Vin smiled.
"My pleasure."
Frilo trailed behind the duo as they slowly walked back to the rcenary guild, having achieved what they set out to.
Maxwell’s journey in the guild was almost coming to an end, while Vin’s... his was just beginning.
"Guess what people are going to be calling you after this task."
"Core swordsman?"
"Ha! Wrong."
"What then?"
"There’s been a Golden Swordsman once, Kairo, the one who cleaved the moon. Or wait, was it the Emperor of Kafer, Delarus, who cleaved the moon?"
"Delarus cleaved the moon during his battle with Kairo to claim the title of the first great lance, Max."
"Oh, yes, I forgot about that. Anyway, people are going to call you...
The Silver Swordsman."
Vin chuckled.
"I like the title."
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