With Mitchell’s skill, he could more than qualify to become a Guard Knight in Penslot. Therefore, they could not dare tell him to join the mercenary corps. Though the Kasim Mercenary Corps did plan to do things in the future that no one could imagine, there was an enormous difference from the outset between a mercenary knight and a Guard Knight.
‘True. With his skill, he’s more than enough to become a Guard Knight.’
‘Unless he’s a fool, who would want to remain a mercenary?’
A look of anguish also settled over Mitchell’s face as he listened in silence. In truth, it had not been long since he had made up his mind to leave. Even when he first began instructing the mercenaries, he had not intended to go. He had thought it would not be bad to become a member of the mercenary corps.
But his mind soon changed. Ironically, the greatest reason behind his decision to leave was the mercenaries’ extraordinary growth. Their skills improved day by day. Compared to himself, who had remained proportionally at a standstill, their achievement was beyond comparison. He could not help but feel a sense of relative deprivation.
‘I was only able to use a rudimentary Aura Blade after a full eight years had passed since I began training. Even under Father’s thorough private instruction, after bone-grinding training, that was the extent of it. But these people reached that level in just a single year. I am still stronger than they are for now, but it is as clear as day that they will overtake me before long.’
For Mitchell, whose pride was unusually strong, it was something he could hardly endure. His skill did improve through sparring with the Death Knights, but compared to the mercenaries’ accomplishments, it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, Mitchell went to see Damon. Casting aside all his pride, he asked to be taught the mana cultivation method the mercenaries were learning.
But what returned was a cold refusal.
“It’s impossible for you to learn this now. This mana cultivation method can only be learned when one has learned nothing else.”
From Damon’s perspective, it was a natural judgment, but to Mitchell it could only feel heartless. From that day on, Mitchell hardened his resolve to leave the mercenary corps. Since he had already received Juliana’s permission, he did not think long on it.
‘It can’t be helped. I want to hunt dragons together with them more than anything, but if I do, I’ll have to endure watching myself grow more and more pathetic as time passes.’
Although his father, Hales, had firmly warned him not to go to Penslot, Mitchell boldly ignored it. In the present situation, the only way for him to become a Guard Knight was to go to Penslot. If he revealed his identity there and passed the qualification exam, he would easily be able to become a Guard Knight… Mitchell forced the troubled expression from his face.
‘I will not regret it. In any case, what I think and what they think are different.’
Seeing Mitchell’s expression, Kasim realized that his resolve was firm. He had already tried to persuade him several times, only to fail, so Kasim thought there was nothing more he could do.
“From the look of it, you seem to have made up your mind. But remember this. The door of our mercenary corps is always open, so if you ever wish to come, we will accept you at any time.”
A faint smile appeared on Mitchell’s face.
“Thank you. But I don’t think that will happen.”
“……”
Kasim nodded and looked around at the mercenaries.
“The first place we’ll go is Penslot. After we send Mitchell off there, we’ll depart for our next destination. If only for the sake of settling what has passed between us, I think we should watch him become a Guard Knight before we leave. I’ll tell you the journey after that when the time comes.”
The mercenaries nodded, their faces filled with regret. They could no longer hold back someone who had already made up his mind to leave. Juliana spoke for the first time in a long while.
“Ever since you were in Carsel, you longed to become a Guard Knight. Since I promised I would let you go, I’ll speak well of you to Father. You’re more than capable of becoming a Guard Knight of Penslot.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t accompany you all the way to the Crosen Empire. And I hope you, too, accomplish what you wish.”
Mitchell answered quietly. Though he had suffered under her to the point of exhaustion until now, now that they were soon to part, he felt somewhat saddened. He looked at Juliana with an ambiguous gaze.
In a way, perhaps no one knew Juliana as well as he did, and the one who had found Juliana’s changes the strangest was none other than Mitchell. Recalling Juliana staring blankly at Damon whenever she had the chance, Mitchell silently murmured to himself.
‘I don’t know what kind of feelings you could possibly have for a dark mage who has lived several dozen times longer than you, but I hope you make a wise choice. Consider it my consideration for the princess I once served.’
When the discussion ended, Kasim clapped his hands.
“We’ll leave after finishing breakfast. The cold of the north is still fierce, but since all of us can now operate mana, we should be able to endure well enough even without Ice Troll pelts. Then this meeting is concluded.”
As the meeting ended, the mercenaries rose one by one. By now, the innkeeper and his wife would have carefully prepared food downstairs. As if to prove it, the savory smell of soup drifted up, and the mercenaries, their appetites stirred, hurried downstairs.
After finishing the meal, while the mercenaries were resting, Damon approached Kasim.
“Do you intend to go straight to Penslot from here?”
“Yes.”
“You know the way well, I trust?”
“Yes. I’ve gone back and forth several times while serving as an escort for merchant caravans.”
Watching Kasim answer without hesitation, Damon fell briefly into thought.
“Then it seems we’ll have to part ways here for a while.”
At the words Damon uttered after finishing his thoughts, Kasim was startled.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
Damon replied as though it were nothing important.
“I need to go somewhere. It seems I should find out what changes have occurred in Arcadia over the past year. I have an informant planted here…”
Only then did Kasim calm his startled heart. The thought of parting from Damon was dreadful in itself. Since Damon was an archmage, if he used spatial movement, there was a strong chance he would arrive in Penslot before them.
“I don’t think there will be much danger if we go to Penslot by ourselves from here. It should take about a week, so please go and return without concern.”
“Thank you. Then let us meet again in Penslot.”
Damon nodded, then suddenly frowned.
“But the problem is safe spatial movement coordinates. After being burned once by faulty coordinates, my startled heart simply won’t settle down.”
Kasim smiled and took a booklet from his clothes, holding it out.
“Don’t worry. I already bought a coordinate booklet for spatial movement in Laytona.”
Damon’s eyes widened. He had not expected Kasim to have already taken care of even that.
“When did you…”
“It was outrageously expensive. If our finances hadn’t been comfortable, I probably wouldn’t have dared buy it.”
“In any case, thank you. As expected of a leader…”
With a satisfied expression, he patted Kasim on the shoulder. Kasim truly was thorough when it came to preparation.
“Then I’ll be going. People will be startled, so I intend to draw a magic circle in the bedroom and depart immediately. You all should leave soon as well.”
“Understood.”
After speaking, Damon immediately went up to the second floor.
After he went upstairs, the members of the mercenary corps prepared to depart. They still had a month’s leeway, but since there were many places they had to stop by, they needed to hurry somewhat. But when the mercenaries stepped out of the inn, their eyes suddenly widened.
“What?”
“Who are they?”
In front of the inn, many people had formed a long line. Covered in snow flurries, they greeted the mercenaries with bright smiles. Having obtained Ice Troll pelts that would let them pass the winter warmly for a price no different from free, the villagers had come out to see them off.
Their hands were piled high with things such as dried fish and water bottles. As a sign of gratitude, they had each brought items they thought might be useful for a journey.
“It’s a shame you’re leaving already.”
“If you have time even later, please visit our village again.”
They were people who, though not well-off, possessed simple and honest hearts. Unlike when they had entered, when they left, they were sent off by many people.
“Thank you.”
Receiving the villagers’ farewell, the mercenaries began their journey toward the Crosen Empire. Having gained a measure of strength, their steps were nothing if not light. But among them, only one person could not be seen. For he had already departed far away by spatial movement…
Lorvain, a trade city located at the southwestern end of Arcadia, was as lively as ever today. Its blessed conditions, positioned at the border between the coast and the inland, were more than enough to make Lorvain grow wealthier with each passing day.
In the southern part of Lorvain stood a massive residential district. It was a wealthy neighborhood where only the rich gathered to live, and among its homes was one mansion larger and more splendid than all the rest. It was none other than the mansion of Baron Romain, the richest man in Lorvain. Baron Romain, a man of immense wealth who held more than half of the commercial rights in the city center in one hand. Even setting that fact aside, there was no doubt that Baron Romain had recently become the most talked-about figure in Lorvain.
In truth, he had once been a man of considerable ill fame. He not only engaged without hesitation in the slave trade that everyone else avoided, but he was also the very model of a typical unscrupulous merchant who would stop at nothing to amass money. Countless people had shed tears of blood because of him, and the resentment poured upon him had seemed endless.
But that resentment had now vanished without a trace. In the short span of just six years, Baron Romain had changed so much that one might mistake him for another person. That change could be described in a single phrase: turning over a new leaf.
One day, Baron Romain went to city hall and threw out a single sentence during his meeting with the mayor.
“I’ve done many things I shouldn’t have to gather wealth until now. Since I’ve gathered enough, I’d like to do some good deeds from now on.”
Leaving behind the incredulous mayor, he began large-scale social activity. He set about renovating the slums, the only blemish remaining in Lorvain. No matter how wealthy a city was, it could not be without slums.
Baron Romain began pouring a vast amount of his fortune into the place where those of the lower classes—that is, the poor who handled all kinds of menial labor—lived together. Bridges were built, disorderly abandoned houses were repaired, demolished, or newly constructed, and massive civil engineering work took place in the slums of Lorvain. Ironically, the laborers mobilized for it were none other than the poor who lived there. An absurd situation arose in which they were paid daily wages to repair the houses they themselves lived in. Of course, all the building materials required were provided by Baron Romain.
“Well, this is strange.”
“Live long enough, and you really do see things like this.”
Though half in doubt, the poor worked diligently. Since they were repairing the homes they lived in, there was no way they could suffer a loss. In this way, Lorvain’s slums were neatly restored. Half of Baron Romain’s fortune was invested, so one could hardly imagine how vast the project had been. But even so, people’s view of Baron Romain had not yet changed. That was how great the ill fame he had built up until then had been.
“He must have wanted something, so he pulled a stunt like this.”
“We mustn’t fall for that wicked bastard’s schemes.”
Though he had performed good deeds only to be cursed for them, Baron Romain did not so much as twitch an eyebrow. Rather, he began his second plan.
“Now it is time to reorganize the merchant company. From now on, we will compete with fair and honest trade.”
Baron Romain boldly reformed the shops and merchant caravans he owned.