I let out a shallow sigh.
“Understood… I’ll go with you.”
It wasn’t as if running away would solve anything.
The priest bowed his head and approached my side.
Aileen looked at me with worried eyes.
“May I… come with you as well?”
“We will protect the lady separately.”
At the priest’s words, Aileen hesitated, then finally nodded.
I gave her a small wave and headed toward the cathedral.
The cathedral was a building that stood out even in the heart of the city. White bricks, silver patterns, and spires that seemed to pierce the sky.
The closer I got, the more oppressive it felt. Guards holding spears stood before the doors, but with the priest guiding me, I was able to enter naturally.
The interior was even more overwhelming. Endless corridors, candles lining the ceiling, white statues carved into every wall.
My footsteps echoed softly across the marble floor. For some reason, that sound seemed to make the tension inside me swell even further.
‘The Order’s influence is greater than I thought.’
The priest walked ahead in silence. At the end of the corridor, when we arrived before a door engraved with decorations, he stopped.
“Lady Luna is waiting inside.”
The door opened slowly. Inside, a familiar blue-haired woman stood by the window.
She looked at me and smiled faintly.
“You’ve come, Sir Liv.”
Her voice was calm, as it always was.
I quietly walked over and stood before her.
“…Why did you summon me?”
Luna walked toward the desk as she continued speaking.
“You needn’t be nervous. It’s because of a request.”
“A request… What kind?”
“I needed someone to take on an external request for the Order.”
From the stack of documents on the desk, she took out a sealed letter and held it out to me.
“……Why me, of all people?”
“Because you have no affiliation.”
Luna’s answer was simple yet clear. I mulled over those words for a moment.
“It is a matter difficult to entrust to those within the Order. There are many watchers inside as well. I needed someone unaffiliated, someone capable of using force—someone like you, Sir Liv.”
…This is suspicious as hell.
Was there really no one in this city who was unaffiliated and more skilled than me?
It gave me an unpleasant feeling, as if she had deliberately singled me out.
It felt like there had to be some hidden motive.
And on top of that, watchers inside the Order?
Even if such people existed, why would she reveal that to an outsider like me?
This… is a lot more tangled than I expected.
I carefully accepted the document.
The sensation at my fingertips felt strangely heavy.
It was only a single paper document, but it felt as though I had shouldered an entire burden.
“What is the request?”
“Go to Riverton, a small village on the western border, and deliver this letter to the head priest there.”
“Is that… all?”
“It may be all, and it may not be.”
Her words left behind an odd lingering note. I looked at the document, then asked again.
“Why does it have to be delivered in person?”
“…Long-distance means of communication are being monitored. But a direct delivery can evade their eyes.”
Which also meant this document was that dangerous.
What the hell could it be?
“…What about the compensation?”
“You will be paid appropriately. Including danger pay.”
Luna smiled. But that smile did not look light.
“If I refuse—”
“I believe you will not refuse.”
At that answer, a bitter smile briefly escaped me.
Seeing that her expression did not change as she said it, she seemed to truly believe that.
“When I return… we can talk then.”
I tucked the document into my clothes. Luna looked at me and paused for a moment before opening her mouth again.
“Sir Liv.”
“What is it?”
“…I will trust you.”
There was sincerity in her eyes. Perhaps because of that, it made me feel even more uneasy.
What exactly was she trusting me with?
“Understood. In return, I have one request as well.”
“A request?”
“Could you help me find someone? Once I find him, I’ll depart immediately.”
Luna nodded. I described the man’s features in as much detail as I could.
The moment Luna heard my explanation, as if someone had come to mind, she immediately spoke.
“Black hair, taciturn… Could it be Sir Kalreun?”
“Pardon? You know him?”
“I don’t know him well. But based on the features you mentioned, the only person who comes to mind is the Mercenary Guild branch leader.”
Kalreun. The branch leader of the Mercenary Guild’s Mondark branch.
If he was truly the person we were looking for… he would definitely be an immense help.
It was the first bit of good news I had heard since coming here.
I quietly turned around, opened the door, and stepped out. The long corridor stretched on again. Candlelight cast long shadows along the walls.
I stopped walking for a moment and quietly let out a sigh.
‘I’m being dragged along again.’
Ever since coming to this world, I felt as if I had constantly been swept up in some vast, unknowable current.
It would be nice if that current flowed in a direction favorable to me, but the problem was that it never did.
My uneasy premonitions, strangely enough, had never once been wrong.
As I left the cathedral, I looked up at the sky.
Before I knew it, the sky had grown dark, and gray clouds hung low.
‘What am I supposed to tell Aileen?’
I slowly turned my steps. I had to return to the lodging and talk to Aileen.
This request was absolutely not simple.
Holding the document close, I threw myself back into the noise of the city.
When I arrived at the lodging, Aileen approached me with worried eyes.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But there’s something I need to tell you.”
“…You accepted a request?”
As expected, had she guessed roughly from my expression?
I nodded.
“They called it an external request from the Order. I have to go to the western border.”
Aileen’s face stiffened.
“Is it dangerous?”
“I’m not sure yet, but judging from how they assigned it… I’ll have to be careful.”
Aileen bit her lip tightly.
“May I… go with you?”
“Aileen…”
Her gaze was resolute.
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“All right. Let’s go together. But don’t push yourself.”
“Yes. I will be sure to be of help.”
Aileen bowed her head deeply.
Since I had accepted her request anyway, it was better for us to travel together.
I took the document from my clothes again and looked at it.
A letter sealed firmly with red wax. I might never know what was inside it.
…Honestly, I want to just open it. If I get caught, will they burn me at the stake or something?
“Still, I got a lead on the person we’re looking for. Let’s go there now.”
Aileen began packing her things with a tense expression.
I also packed the necessities into a small backpack.
Beyond the window, the evening sky was visible. The last rays of light were vanishing between the gray clouds.
***
“You’re looking for the branch leader? May I ask for his name?”
The receptionist of the Mercenary Guild, which we visited late in the evening, asked us in return.
Then she looked us over with suspicious eyes.
She had the look of someone who had dealt with plenty of nuisances of this kind.
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
How should I explain this?
At that moment, Aileen quietly stepped forward.
She took a small wooden token from her belongings and held it out in front of the receptionist.
It was an old wooden token bearing the traces of time, engraved with a small sword and shield.
The receptionist tilted her head for a moment, then accepted it and disappeared inside.
Not long after, the receptionist came running back in a fluster and stopped before us.
“Th-the branch leader says you may come inside.”
I glanced at Aileen.
“You had something like that?”
She shrugged as if it were nothing.
…If she had it, she should have told me sooner.
We followed the receptionist’s guidance inside.
The guild was far larger than it appeared from the outside.
On the corridor walls hung old swords, broken shields, tattered banners, and the like.
Each time we passed one, it felt as if old stories were brushing heavily past us.
“This way.”
The receptionist stopped and knocked on a door.
A low, deep voice came from within.
“Send them in.”
The door opened.
Inside the room, a man was sitting, leaning against a desk.
Dark black hair, deeply set eyes, and indifferent gray irises.
He matched Aileen’s description perfectly.
He glanced at us, then slowly lowered his head.
“……You were looking for me, I hear.”
His voice was tinged with fatigue.
Perhaps pressured by his atmosphere, Aileen took a moment to catch her breath, then slowly nodded.
“You are Sir Kalreun, correct?”
The corner of Kalreun’s mouth twisted very slightly, like a smile without any humor.
“That’s right… What business do you have with me?”
My throat suddenly went dry.
But I could no longer back down.
“…We need help.”
When I spoke, he raised his head again.
Then, as if he were prepared to listen to our story for a long time, he gestured with his hand.
“Speak.”
Aileen stepped forward and explained the entire situation.
Kalreun listened to the story without the slightest change in expression, then remained silent for a while.
After a brief silence, he slowly tilted his head.
“That bastard Chad dumped a troublesome matter on you.”
Kalreun let out a sigh and pushed aside the documents on his desk with a tap.
“I can’t step in personally. I’m not exactly free enough for that right now.”
At Kalreun’s words, my heart sank slightly.
But then he continued.
“Instead, I’ll assign you someone. A man suited to your situation.”
He turned his head toward the outside of the room and gave a short order to someone waiting there.
A moment later, the door opened and a man entered.
Short-cropped silver hair, sharp eyes, and a sturdy build clad in well-fitted light armor.
The man leaning against the doorway looked at us indifferently.
Kalreun pointed at him with his chin.
“This is Kane. He’s the strongest candidate to receive a gold badge at the next evaluation.”
His gray eyes turned back to me.
“For today. I’ll leave your request to him.”
One day… Not bad. We didn’t have time to drag this out anyway.
Kane uncrossed his arms and approached us.
There was a mixture of wariness and curiosity in his eyes.
We quietly bowed our heads to Kalreun.
“Thank you.”
Kalreun gave a short nod.
“Do your best.”
His indifferent voice brushed against our backs.
We stepped out the door again.
Once we came out into the corridor, Kane looked at me askance from beside me and asked,
“…No need for introductions, I suppose. What do I need to do?”
“Do you know of the Black Hand?”
At my question, he let out a faint laugh.
“Ha, interesting. Where are we starting?”
Even though I had only mentioned the Black Hand, had Kane immediately caught on?
As expected of someone likely to become a gold badge.
I took a short breath and looked at him.
“First… I’m thinking of going to their hideout.”
“Good.”
Kane shrugged.
“Then let’s go right away. We don’t have time to waste, do we? The young lady is fine with that too, right?”
When Aileen nodded, Kane took the lead with quick steps, and we followed him out into the streets.
In the end, he stopped before an old building on the outskirts of the city.
We did not approach immediately, instead hiding at the mouth of an alley as we watched the building.
“This is it.”
“This place is…”
The building looked like an old inn. Its walls were faded as if washed by time, and cracks ran through them here and there.
Several windows were broken, and bricks and fragments of stone lay scattered around.
At a glance, it looked like an abandoned ruin, but Kane immediately recognized it as the Black Hand’s hideout.
“No one would suspect it from the outside. It used to be a place the guards used.”
Kane spoke in a low voice.
“But now… it’s become the perfect place for them to hide.”
He looked around once more, then quietly headed toward the entrance.
“It may look like a ruin on the outside, but there should still be movement inside.”
Kane easily picked the locked padlock.
Once you’re a veteran mercenary, is lockpicking a passive skill?
The door creaked open, and a musty smell of dust drifted out from inside.
“Let’s go in quietly.”
Kane spoke in a low voice and stepped inside.
Aileen and I followed after him.
Inside the building, narrow corridors and small rooms continued one after another.
Old stains and scratches remained on the brick-and-wood walls.
Old beds, broken chairs, shattered lamps, and the like were scattered here and there.
We moved toward the center while muffling our footsteps.
“To think a place like this is their hideout…”
Aileen murmured softly.
Kane pointed ahead with his finger.
On one side of the wall he indicated, unlike the rest, there was a clean and sturdy door.
As if it had been replaced recently, it stood out in a strange way.
“It’s in there.”
Kane whispered softly.
We slowly stepped toward the door, into the darkness.