Chapter 31
Thanks to the recent mercenary recruitment, there had apparently been many outsiders around lately, so no one paid much attention when I, stepping into the tavern for the first time, walked in.
Most of the people seated inside wore light armor like leather gear and carried multiple weapons—it seemed the place was crawling with mercenaries.
“Heaven will be furious! Heaven’s wrath will bring hellfire! Demons will sweep through this place! Heaven will be furious! You’ll all be dragged into hell!”
Just as I downed a mug of alcohol I had ordered, the tavern door swung open and an old woman, screaming like a madwoman, walked in.
“There she is again, that crazy old hag.” “Ugh, Jackie! Get her out of here, I’ll give you a free drink for it.”
The tavern owner seemed familiar with the situation and tried to toss her out. That’s when a flash of blue fire flickered in the old woman’s eyes and disappeared. No one else seemed to notice, but I recognized immediately that it wasn’t madness.
“Don’t lay a hand on me. Hellfire will consume you.”
The mercenary called Jackie, tasked with removing her, felt his body freeze for a moment in front of the old woman. But the rest of the tavern’s patrons were too busy drinking and laughing to notice.
“I’ll escort her.”
Before anyone realized, I had approached the old woman and offered her a warm loaf of bread.
“Would you spare me a moment? I’d like to hear more of your story.”
“….”
The moment our eyes met, her gaze flared blue again. I met that clear blue light with indifferent eyes, calm as a lake.
I guided her to an empty seat. The mercenaries assumed I was just some clueless outsider paying attention to a mad old hag and returned to their conversations.
Amid the clamor, the old woman—who had been screaming just moments ago—now sat silently, as if she’d never raised her voice. I handed her a bowl of hot stew I’d ordered and sat across from her without a word.
“Why have you come here?”
Her question, sharp and cold, came from eyes that were snake-like in their narrowness.
“Who knows? Why don’t you guess?”
“You stink of something foul. Whom do you serve?”
“Serve? No one.”
Her expression was filled with displeasure. It was clear I didn’t sit well with her.
“This place will soon be consumed by the blaze of hell. If you don’t want to get caught in it, leave now.”
She slurped the stew greedily, licking her lips as she ate.
“Hellfire, you say? Could you tell me more about that?”
“Figure it out yourself.”
I chuckled at her response.
‘I don’t know what it is yet, but I’ve come to the right place.’
With the suspicious old woman before me, I took another swig from my mug.
“Remember—what you see isn’t all there is. Consider that your payment for the meal. Kekekeke.”
She laughed like a madwoman again. I remembered the last words she left me with. Moments later, she vanished as if evaporating before my eyes.
The strange part? No one noticed she was gone.
But I was certain—I would see her again. I had never been wrong about this kind of feeling. I drained the last of my drink and stood up.
“Looks like I’m going to be a mercenary.”
I got up and started walking slowly toward the lord’s castle. The light buzz from the alcohol moved my body forward.
“Karl-nim!”
Just as I reached the inner city gate, someone ran toward me in haste.
“What brings you here!? Are you signing up as a mercenary, perhaps?”
As I had noticed before, Hob was overly nosy and quick to speak. Spotting me, he rushed over.
“I’m thinking about it.”
“Excellent! With your skill, Karl-nim, even the lord would welcome you with open arms!”
Hob, clearly well-connected inside the castle, bypassed the formal registration and led me straight to a man who looked like a manager. While I waited outside briefly, Hob conversed passionately with the man inside. Then the door opened.
“…I heard you’re a Free Knight?”
The manager looked a bit uneasy dealing with a knight and opened awkwardly.
“That’s right. Karl, Free Knight.”
At my brief introduction, the manager nodded and led me inside.
“We’ve had a flood of mercenaries lately. Even people calling themselves Free Knights. Some of them had real skill, but a lot of them were complete fakes.”
As the manager rambled on, I simply leaned back in my chair, staring ahead with indifference.
“Ahem… so, we’ll need to verify your skill.”
“As you wish.”
Despite my short reply, the manager frowned for a moment before rising to lead me somewhere.
“Wait here.”
We arrived at what seemed like a training ground. He left and soon returned with a man at least a head taller than me.
The man carried a metal club so thick it looked like two human forearms put together. Even its length easily exceeded that of a child’s height.
“This is Kirk, the strongest among us. If you can last five minutes against him, I’ll acknowledge your skill.”
It seemed Kirk wasn’t just strong, but skilled too—otherwise, they wouldn’t bother with this kind of test.
“I’ll try to go easy, but if I hit wrong, you’ll be dealing with broken bones. Careful, alright?”
With a thick Western accent, Kirk swung his club around and laughed heartily. His harmless appearance was oddly endearing. Just then, the manager gave the signal to start.
I didn’t even draw Léctĭo—I stood with my arms relaxed as Kirk approached.
Raising his club with both hands, he stomped forward twice, then leapt. For his size, he was surprisingly nimble.
Kaang!
The moment his massive body swung the club down, both Hob and the manager flinched and shut their eyes—then came an unbelievable sight as the club met Léctĭo.
“Wha…?”
A shocked Kirk opened his mouth in disbelief.
His massive club had been stopped by my seemingly ordinary longsword. Even more shocking, I had blocked the full-force swing with just one hand.
Then my free hand struck Kirk’s stomach. Anyone with sharp eyes might’ve seen his abdomen cave in for a split second before returning.
Boom!
Kirk collapsed forward with a single punch.
“That enough?”
“….”
The manager nodded wildly, eyes wide with shock, while I walked away with my usual indifference. Hob, of course, was practically glued to my side.
“See! I knew it! I knew Karl-nim was the real deal!”
Hob shouted excitedly as if he’d defeated the giant himself. I ignored him and headed back toward the tavern.
“So, what do mercenaries actually do?”
“Well, nothing in particular right now. That’s why people call this a goldmine—you get paid just for being here!”
Hob rambled on with glee, but I found myself wondering what exactly Viscount Julio was trying to accomplish by hiring mercenaries.
Hiring them with gold only to give them no tasks—it made no sense.
“Do they gather for anything?”
“Yes. Three times a week, we have group training. Though it’s not much—just some stamina training, personal drills, and then we eat a meal prepared by the castle together.”
Calling in mercenaries just to do half-hearted training and share meals? A certain thought crossed my mind.
‘That guy Muller… he turned demonic after taking that potion from Tarantula, didn’t he?’
Organizing a few thoughts, I eventually returned to the room I had reserved at the tavern.
On the way, I sensed a few watchful eyes—likely Julio’s spies—but I ignored them and lay down to sleep.
***
“Did you say his name was Karl?”
“Yes, my lord. That’s what I heard.”
Karl’s name was on a list of monitored individuals recently sent from the main office. Though his threat level was only ranked C, his presence during such a crucial time wasn’t exactly welcome.
“What about surveillance?”
“I’ve assigned three men.”
“Good. Report any unusual behavior immediately. This is a critical time—we can’t afford disruptions.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
After watching his subordinate leave, Viscount Julio entered a hidden chamber inside the lord’s office.
“…Andrew, just wait a little longer. It’s almost time.”
Clutching a glass chamber, Julio knelt, eyes flickering with sorrowful madness.
“My son… my beloved Andrew….”
The glass container was filled with liquid—and inside was the body of a young man.
The youth looked exactly as he had in life, save for the absence of breath.
“No one will stop me. Not gods, not demons. No one will stop this.”
Julio’s glimmering eyes turned bloodshot, as if they were about to bleed.
***
Along a well-maintained mountain road, a group of twenty cavalry rode in formation. At the lead was a familiar man with a magnificent beard.
“Captain, do you really think Count Calido is involved with something so vile? He’s greedy, sure, but this seems extreme…”
“It’s our job to uncover the truth.”
Since the investigation into my previous activities, the higher-ups of the Holy Knights had begun to suspect Count Calido. After several inquiries, they found ties between Viscount Julio and the Count.
As a result, Godfrey had been ordered to investigate the Burkden Domain.
“You think we might run into Sir Karl there?”
“Possibly. But that’s not our concern. We focus solely on our mission.”
“Y-yes, you’re right, Captain…”
Wooster grumbled behind Godfrey, keeping up on his horse.