Episode 17

I thanked Eva.

“My name is Ian Frost. Thanks for your help.”

“Your name was Ian? I’m Eva Bowin, and I’m the vice-captain of the Bowin sisters’ mercenary corps. You look younger than me, so can I call you my sister?”

A question close to advice.

The answer is fixed.

“Yes. Eva-sama.”

“Your brother calls you sister too. Anyway, it’s a big deal to get caught by Thomas. He’s as small as a rat on the inside, so he won’t stay still.”

“Well, it’s so sudden, I’m not sure what’s what. Can I ask for some advice?”

“Advice? It’s simple. If you join our Bowin sisters’ mercenary corps, you won’t even be able to get away with it.”

“I have no intention of joining the Mercenary Corps. Is there any other way?”

When I climb to the proficiency level, I have an output exceeding 13 mana.

Strength, speed, and stamina are all close to twice that of the general proficiency watch.

At that time, I thought that it would be a loss to join the mercenary corps while paying the protection fee because I could hunt large beast species alone.

“Why do you not want to join the mercenary corps? Are you not familiar with the mercenary corps?”

“No. I’ve heard that joining a mercenary corps is safe and pays well.”

“But why?”

Eva tilted her head, raising her eyebrows as if she didn’t understand at all.

‘Why? It’s because I can earn more by myself.’

Once you join the mercenary corps, you cannot leave until you leave for another area or retire.

In the long run, it was better not to join the mercenary corps.

I quickly racked my brain and found a suitable excuse.

“That… after being betrayed by people close to me a few times, I couldn’t trust people. The more I believed, the more the shock was.”

My position in the mercenary world is, at best, the level of a herbivore.

The weaker the animal, the more skillful it must be to hide and decorate itself.

I looked into Eva’s eyes, remembering the sad memories.

As his body strengthened and his dominance increased, he immediately felt his eyes fill with water.

“Oh… how good it is. It must have been a lot of hard work.”

As if the smoke had taken hold, Eva looked at me pitifully like a poor puppy.

Driven by momentum, I stared into space with a melancholy expression on my face as if I was recalling a painful past.

after a while like that.

Eva snapped her fingers as if she had a good idea.

“Brother. Then let’s do this. First of all, there are a lot of ears here, so it would be better to go out and talk. Where are you going?”

“I had business at the North Gate, so I was about to go there.”

“Okay. Then let’s go together.”

We exited the citadel and headed for the north gate.

Eva, who had been walking silently for a while, started talking in the bustling marketplace.

“So my plan is, first, to tell Thomas that his younger brother is joining our mercenary corps. First of all, he became a mercenary today, right?

It’s not like this isn’t the case at all, so Thomas won’t have any doubts. It’s an unspoken rule not to touch new recruits from other mercenaries for three months, so it should be safe in the meantime.

But this is only a temporary means of blinding. In the end, no matter where you are, as long as you don’t join the mercenary corps, someday Thomas will use his hand on his brother.”

Can we break through the big boundary in 3 months?

I asked myself, but the answer was negative.

Every time I practice in the sub-dimension, the feeling of getting closer to Mana gradually gets stronger.

There is also the certainty that if you keep moving forward, you will definitely reach a certain boundary.

But I couldn’t tell when that would be.

‘There’s nothing to be afraid of though.’

No one can predict when the border will break through.

Given a short amount of time, the possibilities were infinitely open.

“So three months is definitely safe?”

“I can’t say it’s unconditional, but I’m almost certain. In some places, the unspoken rules are better followed than the actual law.”

“Even if that’s the case, it’s something I’m grateful for. My sister must be troublesome because of me. I’m sorry.”

“No. If I had that kind of heart in the first place, I wouldn’t have helped my younger brother. And it’s not like I’m running on my own, I just need to ask the members who specialize in this kind of work.

And I’m really saying this because I’m thinking of my younger brother. If you have time, find out which mercenary you’ll join. I think the only way for my younger brother to end his bad relationship with Thomas is to join another mercenary group.

By the way, even if there are places that are bigger than our mercenary group, there are few places that have a good reputation. Reputation isn’t built up overnight, right? Find out slowly and come to me anytime when you build trust in our mercenary group.”

“Yes. I’ll definitely take the time to look into it. Thanks for the advice. By the way, sister. Do you know Sir Herbert Robinson? He used to be with the Black Panther Knights.”

The more countermeasures, the better.

I brought up the story of Uncle Herbert as an insurance character.

Seeing that it was also eaten by nobles, it was judged that it would surely be useful.

“Then you know. Why is he?”

“Uncle Harbert came to our village as the lord last year, and my father and I are like brothers. My mana, simbeop, and martial arts were also taught to me by Uncle Harbert. Why don’t you let Uncle Bert know how you are?”

“Did you ever have such a great sponsor?”

Eva opened her eyes wide in surprise.

After thinking for a while, he opened his mouth.

“I wondered where I’d seen it, maybe the sword on his waist. Isn’t that the sword that Sir Herbert always wore?”

Eva’s question took me by surprise.

‘It must have been hard to see because it was covered under the coat, but when did you see it?’

Uncle Herbert spoke of the sword’s value and warned him to be careful.

There is nothing as difficult to understand as a person’s heart, but judging from Eva’s status and behavior, I thought that she wouldn’t try to harm me just because of a sword.

In the first place, the question itself is a state of certainty.

I decided to answer without hiding.

“Yes. That’s right. Uncle Herbert gave it to you. How did you know?”

When I asked with a surprised face, Eva replied with a smile.

“If you are in my position, you can attend the strategy meeting of the military leaders. At that time, I noticed that you were wearing a sword that looked too plain for a master warrior to use. I also remembered the diamond-shaped hilt decoration at first glance.”

“Uncle Herbert told me that it was a sword he had been carrying around like a habit, and that he wouldn’t be able to use it anymore.”

“To be honest, I was dubious about the fact that my brother had a relationship with Lord Herbert, but seeing that sword, I can believe it.

Then, at the end of three months, I’ll let you know about my relationship with Sir Herbert and my brother. If you find out that Sir Herbert is your guardian, Thomas won’t be the problem, and Jerome won’t be able to move.

However, keep in mind that Sir Herbert cannot protect his brother forever. Sir Herbert isn’t in office, and his influence won’t last very long.

For example, if I use my hand after a year, how will I find out if my brother died in battle or was killed by a beast? Even knowing the relationship between your brother and Sir Herbert, if you stretch your chest, it must mean that you have prepared everything. Perhaps a truly unavoidable danger looms.”

While listening to the story, there was something I didn’t understand, so I asked a question.

“But why is Thomas doing that to me? Did I make such a big mistake?”

Eva looked at me intently and answered in a calm voice.

“It doesn’t matter whether your brother did good or bad. To Thomas, what matters is that he is insignificant enough to do as he pleases. If it’s his brother’s fault, he has no power?

Imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t helped. Was it really possible to get out of Thomas? And will that really solve everything?”

I pictured the situation for a moment.

If I had been an ordinary introductory warrior, there was a high probability that I would have followed Thomas and joined the mercenary corps out of coercion and appeasement.

No, if he hadn’t known what Jerome’s mercenary corps was like in the first place, he would have followed the idea of joining the mercenary corps.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have been in a difficult situation. But if you treat me so insignificantly, is there any reason to plan and target me for over three months?”

“That’s the world of mercenaries. Once you’ve formed a bad relationship, get rid of it before it grows. From the point of view of the younger siblings, you’ll think it’s enough if you don’t see each other. But what if the younger sibling becomes a master at least?”

Eva kept her mouth shut and smiled meaningfully.

‘At that time, I won’t let him go.’

Through the conversation with Eva, I realized a little bit of the physiology of a mercenary.

“That’s why everyone wants to join the mercenaries. The mercenaries move in groups, and they have a means of contacting the city in case of an unexpected situation. That’s why it’s rare for mercenaries to fight with each other unless there’s a really big grudge. If that’s the case, then A fight would break out and a lot of blood would flow.

So out of respect for each other, most disputes are resolved with a light duel trial. But is there a need for a mercenary belonging to a mercenary corps to be with Heo-jeop, who has no background? It would be neat to just do it in a place where you can’t see it.”

Eva’s words made sense.

“I understand what you mean. By the way, sister. I have a little question for you. Why are you being so kind to me? It’s the first time we’ve met, and there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

At my question, Eva gave a slightly humorous laugh.

“Now I have a few more reasons to talk nicely and be nice to you, but that was it at first. I just liked my sister because she was pretty.

My younger brother has just become a mercenary, so it may not be easy to sympathize with him, but most mercenaries do not hold back or hide their desires if possible. It’s a life that might die tomorrow, but if you measure it one by one, will there be more regrets before you die? So don’t think too much about it, brother, just think you’re lucky.

Also, don’t forget to be careful as there are many people who only live for one day, you never know when and where you might meet a madman.”

“Yes. Sister.”

After that, our conversation went on for quite some time.

Sister Eva purposely went round to the North Gate, saying that just going with her would block the approach of other mercenaries.

In the process, I saw a lot of people who seemed to be mercenaries and me and Eva walking together.

At first, I thought Eva was just a passing relationship.

However, as the conversation deepened, I felt that we could communicate well with each other.

It doesn’t take long to become close to like-minded people.

I opened my heart to sister Eva to some extent.

“Then be careful. When the hunt is over, stop by our mercenary corps. Noona will buy you something delicious. Surely noona doesn’t want to go out with you because she’s old, right?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

I couldn’t tell you exactly, but Eva’s age was in her late twenties.

While commoners in rural villages age rapidly from the age of 20 due to all the hardships they have suffered, Eva’s older sister, who has reached an advanced level, looks younger than women of a similar age in her previous life.

“Okay. Then you must come.”

“Yes. Then let’s go.”

After lightly greeting Eva and the escorts, I entered the inner wall.

After passing through the thick inner wall, a courtyard appeared to be about 30 meters wide.

I slowly looked around the courtyard.

On the left and right of the road leading to the outer wall, heavily armed mercenaries were crowded.

When I saw the people who were busy looking for colleagues, I finally realized that I had become a real mercenary.

‘I thought that once we arrived in Erita, we would be able to hunt and make money right away. Why is hunting so hard?’

It’s only the first day, but it feels like things have been busy.

I shook off my thoughts and moved in earnest to enter the life of a real mercenary.

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