Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 31: Circumstances (1).

The group finally emerged from the gorge on the seventh evening. Among those overwhelmed with survival, there was someone who even kissed the dirt ground repeatedly in gratitude.

There were quite a few who had fallen victim to the demonic beast attacks, but still, the majority had made it out alive, thanks to the Kalim-Mercenary Group taking down the demonic beasts in the front line, and the Allen-Mercenary Group almost handling the dark mage who had turned into a demonic beast.

In fact, the enemy’s attack wasn’t that strong, but the problem was the curse that had been continuously building up over several days, severely constricting their bodies. Both their bodies and minds were so devastated that they couldn’t even unleash half of their true abilities.

Anyway, they had resolved the incident in the gorge and managed to escape without major issues. For Allen, that was enough.

“Did anyone die?”

“We’re dying here.”

Bulky Frank, with a slight raise of his hand, said so, and everyone snickered. The curse was now gone, and they now had the leisure to joke around.

“Never mind then. Everyone did a great job. Really.”

“Mercenary work, well, it all sucks, but this time was the absolute worst. That curse was really fucking awful. It was the first time I didn’t even want to fuck.”

Unusually, everyone nodded in agreement without any complaints. This was the case even with the muscular woman who usually grimaced at Frank’s words.

The curse was that horrible. Allen even wondered if he should promote the name from curse sorcerer to dick sorcerer.

Honestly, in the game, whenever a character was afflicted with [Confusion] or [Weaken], he would just ignore it and push them to the brink of death before heading to the city to heal, but it turns out, that was damn hard to do in reality. He regretted his ignorant past self who would curse, “Damn it, fuck,” whenever an attack missed while under the [Confusion] status. …There was a reason for everything.

“Eat up without holding back today. We’re just a bit away from the city. …But let’s save some for breakfast tomorrow.”

The members nearly emptied their emergency food supplies. They finished their dinner heartily and gathered around the campfire.

Allen went a little away from the campsite and sat on a flat rock, watching the sky turn increasingly dusky. Maybe because they had gone through such a tough time, he felt particularly sentimental today.

…Still, having made a strong impression on Group Leader Kalim should be of some help later on, in one way or another.

In Guild Master, when the mercenary business reached its mid-stage, it had become clear that relying solely on discovering new talents had its limits. In that case, it became inevitable to bring in proven talents from other mercenary groups. However, if there were rivalries or poor relations between mercenary groups, it could be very difficult to recruit the mercenaries one wanted. Therefore, maintaining good relations to facilitate negotiations smoothly was the best approach.

Of course, it was unrealistic to maintain good relations with every mercenary group, but unless one was going for a madman concept, it was generally better to avoid making enemies whenever possible.

Allen sighed lightly, lost in thought when someone quietly approached him. He turned his head, wondering who it was, and his gaze immediately landed on a lewd chest. It was the milk-jug mage.

“Elena…, what brings you…?”

“Can I sit down for a moment?”

“Oh, sure.”

Elena sat down modestly next to Group Leader Allen. Although they were fellow members, her behavior and dignity were clearly different from the other mercenaries. …A noble was a noble, after all.

Even after sitting down, she hesitated for a moment before starting the conversation.

“…Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me.”

“Helping? You helped me. I should be the one saying thanks.”

The milk-jug mage shook her head slightly.

“No, it was Group Leader who made me come to my senses. …Honestly, I was really scared at that time. My hands and feet were trembling, and I couldn’t do anything. If I had stayed like that, I would have been attacked by the monster.”

“…From what I saw, that wasn’t the case. You overcame it much better than I thought. To the point where I was grateful.”

“Is that so….”

She glanced at his profile with a sidelong glance. …She still couldn’t forget his intense voice in her mind.

“- Don’t be scared. The moment you back down because you’re scared, it’s over. Got it? You have to keep your wits about you until the very end. I’ll be by your side. I’ll be by your side until the end——!!”

The group leader had never made empty promises before. He promised to be by her side, and he kept that promise until the end.

Even when the monster charged as if in a frenzy, he was by her side.

The group leader was a brave person. He was also competent, and excellent…. Watching him, Elena was realizing what the position of a group leader meant.

…He was cool. It was the first time she felt a person was cool.

“It seems that you managed to practice magic in your busy schedule? You were able to cast it skillfully and shoot it. I was amazed. I can understand why people say magician this, magician that. …Isn’t this like getting high-quality labor for free?”

“Getting it for free? I’m learning a lot from you, Group Leader. Really. Something one can’t learn with money.”

“It feels like you’re flattering me too much.”

“Not at all. Really…!”

“Enough. Let’s stop. …And they’re making fun of us over there now.”

“…What?”

Allen pointed with his chin towards the members huddled around the campfire. The gaze of the milk-jug mage followed in that direction.

“Ah—.”

Not only were all the members’ gazes fixed on this side, but they were also making strange noises and gestures. Even Bulky Frank stood up and pretended to jerk off.

“- The carriage is empty, so you can use it there.”

“- Everyone’s gone to sleep, so don’t shout too much.”

The flustered Red Mage quickly stood up, bowed deeply to the group leader, and scurried back to her place.

‘…Cute.’

Seeing that she was still not immune to mischievous pranks, Allen felt that she still had an innate innocence. Of course, this innocence will eventually fade away someday.

As the sunset completely disappeared, Allen also stood up and dusted off his dusty buttocks.

When the group leader lay down on the carpet spread out by the members, Bulky Frank chuckled and said,

“She totally fell for him, didn’t she?”

“Indeed, our group leader does have some style. I would have fallen for him too if I were a woman.”

“…Hey, aren’t you guys sleeping? If you’re bored, shall we go back into the gorge?”

Then, the members laughed mischievously and flopped down in their places. Only Aiden, who was on the first night watch, sat down again near the campfire.

“Chirp chirp,” an unidentified insect cried nearby. The muscular woman picked up a stone nearby and roughly threw it towards the sound, saying, “Ah, damn bugs—.” Then, the sound briefly stopped before starting to chirp again.

Allen closed his eyes to the chirping sound as if it were a lullaby. His mind felt much more at ease once they were out of the gorge.

Above the faint snoring, the cool night air gently settled.

The next day.

The group woke up early in the morning, and ran along the paved stone path again.

And when the sun reached its zenith, finally, the outer walls of the city in the distance began to appear. A large city that could truly be considered the central region.

The Iron Fortress, Kalstadt—.

The mountain ranges stretching to the left and right were connected to the city’s walls, making it a city one must pass through to go to the capital of the empire.

In its long history of hundreds of years, this Iron Fortress was breached only once. In fact, since that one time was more about opening it voluntarily, strictly speaking, it was a place that had never been conquered in history. It was a fortress that the empire had created with all sorts of efforts and dedication over decades, so perhaps it was an obvious story.

Since most of the logistics heading from the eastern to the central region were connected through here, its scale was much larger than that of the big city, Raplause, which they had passed before.

Whether it was the scenery, history, or entertainment, it was a place where everything flourished, proudly occupying one of the positions of the continent’s five major cities.

‘…It’s finally starting to feel like a city.’

As it was a place where many people gathered, naturally, various businesses also thrived. Not to mention the mercenary business.

After the city became visible in the distance and some time had passed, they finally arrived at the gates of Kalstadt.

The checkpoint was already packed with a waiting crowd. However, as soon as Group Leader Kalim showed the documents he had received from Duke Winterhorn, the checkpoint officer immediately allowed them to pass.

With this, the Kalim-Mercenary Group’s mission was also over. They had safely brought the group here, so they would stay and rest for a day or two before returning to the big city, Raplause.

Before parting with the group, Kalim called for the Group Leader Allen. Just him alone.

“Did you call for me?”

“You’ve worked hard during this time.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Since we’re connected by fate, it felt a bit regrettable to just let you go. You’ve also helped me quite a bit.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t act with the expectation of receiving anything in return.”

“If it feels burdensome, just think of it as my gift.”

Group Leader Kalim pulled out an envelope and extended it to Group Leader Allen. He received it politely.

“If you ever find yourself going to Vermandois, go to the guild house and look for the Viola-Mercenary Group. Tell them you came with my introduction, and you’ll be welcomed.”

‘The Viola-Mercenary Group—!’

That name was enough to make Allen’s eyes sparkle with surprise. It was so unexpected that he even stuttered a bit.

“Th-thank you.”

…Allen thought to himself that this elder must have thought much more highly of him than he expected.

“Well then, take care.”

“Farewell, Group Leader.”

The carriage carrying Group Leader Kalim soon departed, following the main road into the distance. On his way back to his comrades, Allen glanced down at the letter envelope he was holding in his hand.

Viola-Mercenary Group.

One of the top ten mercenary groups on the continent.

Kalim had arranged for Allen and her to meet.