Warrior Marigold

7.

The moment blades clash, a myriad of emotions pass between them. The mingling of sweat, the exchange of ragged breaths, the scrutiny of each other with bloodshot eyes—all these actions create a sense of unity.

Lancel, during his early years after first being transmigrated into this world, before he was trapped in the prison of ‘Infinite Regression,’ learned from his old master that this was the very essence of the ‘Way of the Warrior.’ The bond forged through combat.

His master was a devout believer in this Way of the Warrior. No, a fanatic.

He would proclaim that true love was born from fighting as if to kill the opponent before you. Can you imagine the extent? He was a man who would say, without a hint of jest, that duels were better than sex.

Of course, the common opinion was that he was simply a madman obsessed with war, which was why he spouted such nonsense.

Lancel felt like he understood the meaning a little today.

“Hiyah!”

The emotions contained in the hilt Marigold threw were a mass of countless, unorganized wanderings.

The tip of the sword, flying erratically, was still full of wavering. From her grip to her shoulder, from her waist to her knees, from her toes to the top of her head, every small tremor was unresolved.

It was almost inevitable that Lancel would clearly feel her wandering in this series of actions.

“If you’ve drawn your sword, don’t hesitate, Marigold. Look straight at the person in front of you.”

Lancel’s stance with the wooden sword changed.

“In this world, there’s only you and me. Just the two of us.”

“……!”

The sword held upright, the stance sideways. It was as if the blade was concealing his entire body.

Marigold had to fall into the illusion of facing not a person, but a sword.

“That’s.”

The Third Prince’s dazed mouth opened slightly.

“Ancient Imperial Swordsmanship.”

Lancel’s body blurred for a moment. Almost simultaneously, a tremendous shock swept through the Third Prince.

“Kugh!”

The Third Prince hurriedly covered his mouth. It was the impact felt the moment Lancel’s wooden sword struck Marigold twice.

“Heeik……huh?”

Marigold’s expression was blank, expecting pain.

“I hit you softly, softly.”

That was a lie. He hit her with all his heart.

Of course, there was no way for Marigold to know that. At this moment, all the damage she suffered belonged to the Third Prince.

Lancel had no more reason to hesitate.

The wooden sword relentlessly struck at Marigold’s openings. Whether she counterattacked or retreated, Lancel followed her like a shadow, continuing to surge forward.

“What on earth is this.”

“What, what, what’s happening?”

The mercenaries’ faces were full of bewilderment.

“Your skills have improved, Young Master.”

“Improved skills, you say? Isn’t this just……a completely different person?”

Convulsions spread across the faces of the guards.

Objectively speaking, Lancel’s swordsmanship wasn’t flashy. It was simply efficient to the extreme. Unpredictably cunning.

“Marigold.”

==========

—Warning! The Third Prince’s remaining Magic Power has dropped below 50%. Overflow will be forcibly terminated if Magic Power is exhausted.

※Marigold’s mental strength and stamina have significantly decreased. Her condition has fallen below the standard.

==========

“I’ll finish this quickly.”

Each time the wooden sword struck Marigold, the red ring that had appeared in her eyes gradually faded.

—Remaining Magic Power 35%

Thud!

“Are you alright?”

The sound of the Third Prince staggering behind them was heard. Hesti hurriedly supported him.

The Third Prince’s face was already covered in cold sweat.

“How can a human with no Magic Power use my magic…….”

His pupils trembled aimlessly.

Even if she was just a woman who worked at an inn, she was more trained than most fledgling Mercenaries.

Moreover, from the moment the high-level magic Overflow was used, she was no longer just a ‘human.’ She was a monster, comparable to a Demon beast.

To subdue such a being purely with swordsmanship skills? The Third Prince had never seen such a person. Not once.

“Lancel, Dan, Te……!”

Feeling the Magic Power rapidly draining away, the Third Prince slowly collapsed to the floor.

He, who had been called a genius of magic since birth, was experiencing ‘Magic Power exhaustion’ for the first time since he was very young.

—Remaining Magic Power 10%.

—Remaining Magic Power 9%.

—Remaining Magic Power 8%……5%.

The moment Lancel’s sword was swung for the last time, their wooden swords crossed and shattered simultaneously.

Among the scattering wooden fragments, Marigold’s eyes lost their color for a moment.

Lancel supported her collapsing body with both hands and embraced her. He felt her warmth, burning as if it would catch fire.

He met Marigold’s eyes, glistening with moisture.

“Marigold, why did you attack me?”

Weren’t we meeting for the first time?

That was what Lancel wanted to ask.

“……I wanted to know.”

Marigold’s emaciated mouth slowly opened. Her voice, having exhausted her stamina and mental strength to the limit, was so faint that it seemed as if it would be missed if one didn’t listen carefully.

“Wanted to know? What?”

“The person who appears in my dreams……what……kind of person they are.”

Dreams?

Lancel couldn’t ask any more. At that point, Marigold’s eyes completely closed.

But he knew what it meant.

‘She has memories from a previous regression?’

Even if it wasn’t complete. It sounded like fragments of memory remained within her. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to attack a human she had just met, nor would there be any reason for her to say such things.

Lancel stared silently at Marigold’s face. Compared to when he first saw her, her body had grown beyond recognition.

But for some reason, she felt so light in his arms.

It felt as if she would scatter at any moment.

“Keuheok!”

The Third Prince shook off Hesti’s support and slipped into an alley. A lump of black blood gushed from his mouth and splattered onto the floor.

It seemed he had suffered internal injuries from the Magic Power draining away too quickly.

“Hahaha.”

The Third Prince wiped his mouth and let out a hollow laugh.

“A knight who wields the sword of the old Empire……my father would have liked that if he were alive.”

A smile mixed with various complex emotions lingered on his lips.

8.

Lancel gently laid Marigold on the bed. Or, at least, he tried to.

It was difficult to pry off the leech-like girl. A grip that was hard to believe came from an exhausted person.

Lancel, who had been trying to force her off, soon changed his mind.

‘If I leave her alone, she’ll fall off on her own.’

In the end, Lancel climbed onto the bed with her. He smelled a fragrance like wild grass from her body, which was damp with sweat and full of heat.

A nostalgic scent.

Lancel closed his eyes.

He remembered his own appearance when he first opened his eyes in this world. The days when he still knew nothing, when everything in this world was unfamiliar.

‘…….’

When a person lives for about 200 years, old memories tend to fade. But there are also memories that can never be forgotten.

‘Princess.’

Rather, they came back to life vividly when he closed his eyes. His fifteen-year-old self, thrown onto the battlefield without knowing anything.

—Be happy, Lancel.

The Lancel in his memory was being held in someone’s arms. That person also had this exact scent. The scent of wild grass.

—Just like you were my happiness.

The more strongly Marigold’s arms embraced him, the more vivid it became.

The scent of that moment.

The cool breeze blowing gently.

Even the orange-colored hills where the setting sun had fallen.

—Someday, for you too.

Lancel couldn’t bring himself to shake Marigold off and remained in that state for a long time.

By now, her familiar, Pina, must be making a fuss. A strange man was hugging her master, after all.

‘It’s not my fault. Your master is the one clinging on.’

When he tried to pull away slightly, her arms wrapped around him even tighter for some reason.

Eventually, Lancel was able to escape from her grasp only after the sun had set.

9.

The next day.

“Take this, Marigold. It’s a Bronze Insignia.”

When Marigold, having regained her senses, returned to the guild, Lancel handed her a badge made of bronze.

Marigold stared at it with a dazed expression, as if she hadn’t expected it.

“C-Can I really receive this, u-um, Master?”

“……Call me Master.”

“Master.”

“I wasn’t going to give it to you at first either.”

Lancel shook his head, looking around at most of the other Mercenaries who had received Iron Insignias.

“It’s because the average level is all like that.”

They all avoided his gaze at once.

It was unexpected for Lancel as well.

Even though he had gathered them in a hurry, he didn’t expect the average level of the Imperial Capital Mercenaries to be only this much. There was only one person who had received a Silver Insignia or higher, and even the number of those who had received Bronze Insignias could barely be counted on two hands.

“Bronze Insignia…….”

Marigold blushed as she looked at the badge in her hand.

“W-When can I start taking requests?”

“You can start today if you want, but why?”

“……My current living situation is a bit tight…….”

At Marigold’s words, spoken in a barely audible voice, Lancel barely suppressed the words, ‘Should I lend you some money?’

‘No, no. What if she marries me again? She’s going to be an Empress in the future.’

Anyone who heard that would think he was a human deeply immersed in narcissism, but what could he do? It had really happened before.

After pondering for a moment, Lancel gestured towards Hesti.

“Hesti, please recommend some requests to Marigold first.”

“There aren’t many suitable requests for someone who’s still a Bronze Insignia? Guard duty, catching thieves, cleaning sewers, dealing with debtors, cleaning up troublesome customers in the red-light district, just small things like that.”

“I’ll do it! I’ll do anything!”

Marigold said that while glancing at Lancel.

‘What?’

Lancel couldn’t figure out why she was looking at him.

“Give me everything! I’ll do it all!”

“Do them one by one. One by one.”

Lancel felt uneasy about Marigold’s gaze that kept looking at him, but he had no choice but to dismiss it as just a feeling.

‘……I didn’t do anything wrong again, did I?’