The journey was fairly peaceful.
Perhaps thanks to having swept away the bandits last time, there were no attacks, and not even monsters like goblins appeared.
On the way, I saw Galeson gulping something down and casually turned my head.
The scent of alcohol brushed the tip of my nose.
“Galeson, are you allowed to drink that?”
I was sure the herbalist had told him to avoid alcohol.
To begin with, in his condition, even setting out on a journey was too much for him.
Galeson set the bottle down, belched, and laughed.
“Urp. This much should be fine, shouldn’t it?”
At a loss for words, I shook my head for a moment.
It was his body, so it felt a little awkward to say anything.
Beside him, Piren and Charlie were laughing and chatting.
Perhaps because Charlie had saved him after the last incident, the two seemed much closer now.
The difference in their builds was so huge that they looked like a father and child.
Their actual age difference was… about five years, maybe?
I had been quite surprised when I first heard the ages of the mercenary company members.
The oldest was Mr. Barrett, and even he was only twenty-nine.
The rest were all around twenty.
Judging by appearances alone, I’d thought they were easily over thirty… but it seemed they’d simply taken the full brunt of the years.
I wonder how old I am.
Judging by appearance, I seemed to be the same age as Piren, but since there were no dates in the diary, I couldn’t know for sure.
It was probably safe to assume I was somewhere around there.
Compared to my original age in my late twenties, this body should definitely be much younger and more vigorous…
But after fighting day in and day out, getting beaten up, passing out and waking up over and over again, I honestly couldn’t tell at all whether I felt younger or not.
Charlie and Piren were still making a racket up ahead, and in front of them Barrett and Jeminik were walking side by side.
At the very rear of the group, Tral was following silently.
Tral was definitely the type who couldn’t blend in with a group.
Because his competitive streak was far too strong, he had even fought with the mercenaries, and his blunt way of speaking made people uncomfortable.
I remembered that he had treated me that way at first too.
But after sparring with him, I realized that it was simply because his personality was straightforward and rough.
‘Still, if he does that to me again, I’ll have to plant a Water Bullet in him.’
When I turned my head for a moment, I saw Aileen following behind me.
The brown tunic she wore over her one-piece linen dress somehow suited her soft hair color strangely well.
A small face, a youthful impression. She looked the same age as me or even younger, but unlike crybaby Piren, she gave off a mature air.
Perhaps noticing that I was looking at her, Aileen quietly spoke to me.
“Sir Riv.”
“Yes?”
“Could I perhaps give you a separate request?”
For a moment, my mind stopped.
A request? What was she asking me to do?
“A request? Well, I do have plenty of time… What kind of request?”
After hesitating, she carefully continued.
“There’s someone I’m looking for, but I actually don’t know exactly where he is… You said you’d been to the city, Sir Riv, so…”
Ah, to summarize, she wanted me to do detective work.
I didn’t have any fixed schedule, so it was possible…
“What would the reward be?”
There was no need for me to lower my own price. To begin with, I needed money too.
Aileen seemed slightly flustered, as if she hadn’t expected talk of compensation to come up, but she quickly collected herself and said,
“Would… one silver coin be possible?”
This time, I was the one who was flustered.
One silver coin? She was going to spend that much money to find one person? Just who was he?
This wouldn’t be something dangerous, would it?
“This person you’re looking for… isn’t wanted, is he?”
“Pardon?”
Aileen tilted her head as if wondering what I was talking about.
Right, so it wasn’t that.
Since I had wanted-list PTSD, I’d panicked for a moment.
“I’ll accept the request.”
“Thank you.”
I decided to accept the request right away.
It was a sweet request, one I had no reason to refuse.
“Is there a deadline or anything?”
“No. I was planning to stay until I find him anyway.”
Aha, so finding him was the whole reason she had come.
I nodded.
“Understood. Once we enter the city, let’s look into it together.”
Aileen smiled in relief. The tension in her shoulders seemed to loosen a little.
I found myself chuckling inwardly for no reason. For all appearances, she was quite the reckless young lady.
After walking for a while, I turned my head and asked,
“By the way, I think I should at least hear what the person you’re looking for looks like.”
“Ah…”
Aileen seemed a little flustered, then soon nodded.
“His hair is black, and his eyes are gray like mine. He’s much taller than me… and he’s a little taciturn.”
“Is he a man?”
“Yes.”
I thought for a moment. Finding someone like that in a city… wouldn’t be easy. But well, it was a request.
“Well, we can take our time looking.”
I said it with a light smile.
Aileen hesitated briefly, then smiled.
“Thank you, Sir Riv.”
There was still about a day left until Mondark.
***
“That’s Mondark…”
Aileen murmured beside me.
Along with her words, beyond the fields in the distance, an enormous city wall revealed itself.
The wall, built densely from gray bricks, made me lift my head high for the first time in a while, unlike the walls of some backwater village.
Mondark.
True to its nature as a commercial city, there was still a long line of wagons in front of the gate.
Merchants with loaded cargo, the sharp gazes of soldiers inspecting freight, and even groups of mercenaries from time to time…
Had the city always had such a grim atmosphere?
When I tried to stand in the wagon line like last time, Barrett gestured for me to follow him.
I guessed he meant that wasn’t the right place.
“Are we not supposed to stand here?”
“There’s a separate line for people on foot. Over there, that line.”
Barrett pointed beside the stretched-out procession of wagons.
Sure enough, farmers and mercenaries without wagons were standing in line there.
After standing in line and waiting for quite some time, we were finally able to be inspected in front of the gate.
I couldn’t remember clearly, but somehow it felt more stringent this time.
Had something happened?
“What business brings you here?”
“We’re Barrett’s Mercenary Company. We’ve come to take mercenary work.”
“Where are you from?”
“We came from Hutsen.”
The gatekeeper looked over the group with sharp eyes.
After seeming to check something for a moment, he soon allowed us to enter.
So we were entering the city just as evening was approaching.
The moment I set foot inside the city while following Barrett’s Mercenary Company—
“Wait. Those two aren’t registered with the mercenary company.”
At the gatekeeper’s voice, Aileen and I froze at the same time.
“Pardon?”
Aileen murmured softly, sending him an anxious look, and I took a breath a beat late and tried to open my mouth.
But my lips only twitched, unable to come up with an explanation.
‘Where am I from?’
In this world, where should I say this body named “Riv” was from?
It felt like they were checking things too thoroughly for me to gloss over it like I did when talking to other people.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“Uh…”
In that brief silence, I noticed the gatekeeper’s gaze sharpening and his grip tightening around the shaft of his spear.
It was then.
“What is the commotion?”
From inside the city came the sound of quick footsteps approaching, along with a familiar voice. I lifted my head.
A woman with dark navy hair, a neat priest’s robe, and keen eyes—the Watcher of the Order of Sereon, Luna.
“W-Watcher? There are suspicious individuals here, so we were checking them.”
Luna glanced over my face, then said to the gatekeeper,
“These two have already been verified by the Order of Sereon.”
Her tone was gentle but firm.
The gatekeeper’s eyes wavered, and he soon furrowed his brow.
“Pardon? What business does the Order have with them…”
“That is the Order’s affair. We will take charge of them for now.”
A short, resolute answer. Her expression held no trace of a smile, but there was weight in her voice.
The gatekeeper exchanged glances for a moment, then finally exhaled heavily.
“…Understood. If the Order will take responsibility.”
The moment those words fell, the tension left my shoulders.
Aileen also let out a light breath, as if relieved.
Thanks to that, we passed through the gate and stood facing Luna.
Luna looked at me for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“Sir Riv. I was going to come find you, but fortunately you came on your own.”
…What is this? How did she know I was coming?
I felt like I had somehow gotten tangled up with the Order.
“Ah, it’s good to see you. Um, Lady Luna.”
Perhaps sensing something from my awkward reply, Luna pondered for a moment before speaking.
“You must be tired from your journey, but if you have time later, please stop by the church.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
With those words, Luna disappeared beyond the street.
Thanks to her, I had entered the city, so it felt awkward to refuse now.
At this point, it would probably be polite to go.
Even if there were a few things that pricked at my conscience, it wasn’t as if I had committed any crime, and there was no reason I couldn’t go.
…Ah, the original owner of this body had committed a crime, hadn’t he.
I should find lodging. I wonder if Mr. Barrett has gone ahead to that inn from last time.
Just as I was thinking that, I heard a slightly tense voice from behind me.
“Sir Riv, um… wait a moment.”
It was Aileen.
I turned my head and looked at her.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Could you perhaps come with me?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m a little scared on my own. I’m not used to places with so many people…”
For a moment, I was dumbfounded and laughed.
I never thought she would say something like this with that face that usually looked so cold.
“Understood. I’ll accompany you.”
At my words, Aileen let out a sigh of relief.
She definitely seemed young in these aspects.
“Then let’s go find lodging first. You do have money, right?”
Now that I thought about it, I had accepted her request, but I hadn’t checked whether she had money.
“Yes.”
Aileen took a small pouch from her purse and shook it.
I didn’t know how much was inside, but it was quite weighty, so it seemed she certainly wasn’t broke.
We headed straight for the inn.
We got a little confused along the way, but in the end, we found the inn.
Calea Inn. It was definitely the place I had stopped by last time.
When I went inside, I saw Galeson sitting at a dining table, once again guzzling down beer.
We had come to the right place.
“Huh? Sir Riv? How did you get in?”
He sounded flustered.
I looked around, wondering where Barrett was, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“The captain went to the guards to get you inside, Sir Riv. What are we supposed to do about this?”
“Pardon?”
It seemed he had gone out to move things along so I could get in.
Mm, as expected of Mr. Barrett. He really was reliable.
Once again admiring Barrett’s loyalty, I asked the innkeeper where the guard post was.
“The guards? The soldiers are in the watchtower beside the western gate.”
“Thank you.”
I left Aileen at the inn, tossed my luggage down roughly, and immediately headed west.
I got a little lost, but eventually, I saw a stone watchtower.
It felt like the guards’ headquarters, and in front of it, I saw Barrett arguing with a soldier.
“Hey, I told you, asking won’t help.”
“Please, isn’t there any way—”
“Mr. Barrett!”
“S-Sir Riv?”
Mr. Barrett reacted the moment he heard my voice.
Only then did the soldier let out a sigh of relief, as if the nuisance had finally gone away.
“How did you get through the gate?”
“Well, I had a bit of a connection. You didn’t push yourself too hard because of me, did you?”
Mr. Barrett waved his hand as if to say it was fine.
By the way, since I had come all the way here, could I ask?
I approached the soldier cautiously and asked him a question.
“Have you perhaps seen a man with black hair and gray eyes?”
“What? Do you bastards think this is your playground? You think there are only one or two men like that?”
The soldier got angry with an expression of disbelief.
I hadn’t expected much anyway, so I gave a rough apology and stepped back.
“Sir Riv, is there someone you’re looking for?”
“Yes. Not me, exactly. I received a separate request from Miss Aileen.”
“Miss Aileen? Oho…”
Ignoring Barrett’s strange expression, I fell into thought.
‘No matter how I think about it, finding someone with only these characteristics is impossible.’
Black hair and gray eyes.
There was no way there would be only one person like that in this city.
I needed some sort of clearer clue that could identify him.
But asking Aileen gave me the sense that she didn’t know anything more either.
Just how did she know this person that she was looking for him like this? Was he even really an acquaintance to begin with?
“Black hair… gray eyes… I’m sure there was someone I remember.”
While I was pondering, I heard Barrett muttering.
“Do you need to find him quickly?”
“No, I heard there’s no deadline.”
“Ah, then it should be doable.”
“What work are you going to do, Mr. Barrett?”
“We should head to the guild now too. Would you like to come with us?”
At Mr. Barrett’s suggestion, I shook my head.
I already had a request I’d taken first, and I also needed to unpack the luggage I had tossed roughly at the inn.
I parted ways with Mr. Barrett along the way and returned to the lodging, only to be met with the sight of—
“Kyaah!”
Aileen being threatened with a small dagger by an unknown man.