episode_0086

“Can you help me?”

The young man who appeared in front of me asking such a question had a woman-like appearance that was somewhat out of place in this back alley.

Is he just about to become an adult?

Hair and eyes that are probably the most common color among the commonly seen browns.

And a beautiful appearance that is by no means common.

The reason why such a young man was described as having an appearance that did not fit in with the back alley was not simply because of his outstanding appearance.

What should I say?

The atmosphere was different.

This back alley, and the men surrounding her, all had a common atmosphere.

It can be expressed as roughness, or it can also be expressed as insidiousness.

But I didn’t feel anything like that from the young man.

It felt completely different.

That’s why the young man was foreign to this back alley.

“do, help… … !”

At a moment of desperate crisis, someone appeared to help.

The woman, who was upset by that fact and was about to ask for help, soon held back the voice that was about to escape her mouth.

Are you afraid that if you scream, you will be harmed?

No, that wasn’t the reason.

It was because of a ray of worry.

By asking for help for no reason, isn’t that harmless-looking young man suffering harm?

She was well aware of the truth that one should not judge people by their appearance, but the difference between the men surrounding her and the seemingly peaceful young man in front of her was significant.

So much so that I felt lucky if I didn’t get hit, let alone saved.

And it seemed like it wasn’t just her idea.

“What, I was wondering if someone was interfering.”

The bald man looked at the young man’s face and laughed as if it were funny.

“I don’t know where he came from… Do you go off when I say nice things? If you turn it off now, I will give you special attention.”

The bald man laughed at the young man, as if he was just a minor disturbance.

However, in the case of the bald man, he did not look down on the young man based on his appearance like the woman.

Although he was just a beggar here in Darbil, the bald man also lived a mercenary life in his own way.

It was okay to be mean, but I knew that I had to look at the other person and make fun of them.

Therefore, the bald man looked over the man’s entire body in that short period of time.

And came to a conclusion.

He’s a guy with nothing special.

Although he was quite tall and had a strong body, the young man did not have the strength or magic characteristic of a trained warrior.

Although he was at the bottom, his senses developed while working as a mercenary for quite a long time were speaking.

This guy is weak.

It bothers me that he looks pretty, but after a quick look, his demeanor appears to be insignificant, and there are no people around him who appear to be escorts.

This is an opponent that you can touch as much as you want and there is no harm in harming it.

“You don’t want to get hurt, right? So get out of here quickly.”

Sometimes there are guys like this.

Guys who have no clue but are burning with a sense of justice or are trying to win the favor of a woman and get involved without even realizing it.

Normally he would have made a mess, but he felt good because he had caught a big fish for the first time in a long time.

So much so that I would gladly let go of those guys.

However.

“Hmm… You look troubled.”

Despite his mercy, the young man remained still and made no attempt to leave.

“Well, that… It’s difficult… … .”

The woman blurted out her words.

She was still fighting with her conscience.

The young man who heard the answer.

“Then I will help you.”

One step forward.

“I showed mercy to the best of my ability… Well, I can’t help but want to die so quickly.”

The bald man shook his head as he looked at the young man who was thinking of kicking away the mercy he had bestowed and punishing him.

“Guys, please take care of yourself.”

He then ordered his subordinates around him to deal with the young man.

The subordinates who received his orders nodded and began walking toward the young man.

After seeing that scene, the bald man lost interest in the young man.

Because I had no doubt that it would be resolved along with my subordinates, without me having to step forward.

“Then we can talk some more─”

puck!

Sure enough, a light hitting sound was heard from behind.

‘Guys… ‘Your skills have improved.’

He is satisfied with his subordinate’s growth and wants to finish his work.

“Well, what is it… !”

“This… !”

The state of the voice I heard was strange.

Aren’t his subordinates making urgent voices as if they were embarrassed?

The man sensed something strange and immediately turned around.

The situation was already over.

Looking at his subordinates lying on the floor and the young man standing alone and unharmed, the man realized.

‘I’m tired.’

Something big happened.

But that realization was too late.

That’s right, because the young man’s fist was already heading towards his face.

Pow!

With the light sound of the impact, the man’s vision became dark.

***

The woman couldn’t believe her eyes.

I couldn’t help it.

Because a very unexpected sight unfolded before my eyes.

The young man who thought he would not be able to take advantage of the tough men, but ended up dealing with them in an instant.

Even then, there was no change in his expression.

It’s as if beating up men is as natural as breathing.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh… Yes.”

In response to the man’s question, the woman quietly nodded.

The man looked at the woman quietly, then opened his mouth again.

“What brings you here? It’s a dangerous place.”

“Uh… It just so happened… … ?”

Actually, that’s what I was aiming for, but I didn’t think there was a need to explain the whole situation.

If that were the case, there would be a high probability that the man would look at himself with the eyes of a simpleton.

“Hmm… Is there still business left here?”

“Oh, no… !”

“Then let’s go. I’ll take you to the main street.”

“Yes, yes… .”

Are you taking me to the beach? why?

No, apart from that… … .

‘Why did you help me?’

Although she is a woman who does not know much about the world, she knows very well that everything in the world revolves around profit.

Because my parents told me so hard that if someone does something for someone else, it means they want something.

So, does that mean that this man is also aiming for something?

So, did you help yourself?

If that assumption is true, then what on earth are you aiming for?

perhaps… This may be an intention to take him to a dark place.

It would be right to think like that and be nervous, but… … .

‘Somehow… I think it’ll be okay.’

For some reason, I thought this guy would be fine.

The basis for such thinking.

‘a look.’

It was the look in a man’s eyes.

Those eyes were very far from those who tried to harm her just moments ago.

Their eyes themselves were sinister and insidious, as if revealing that they had bad intentions.

But the look in the eyes of the man in front of me… What should I say?

‘It’s transparent.’

Yes, it was transparent.

A bit too much.

It was so transparent, as if he had no feelings towards the woman.

For some reason, I felt reassured, but on the other hand, it also made me curious.

What on earth is this guy doing? Why did you help me?

While the woman was examining the man and building up guesses about him.

“It has arrived.”

Before we knew it, the two were out on the main street.

“Ah… .”

Seeing the lively atmosphere and people moving around, the woman was filled with relief and let go of all the tension she had.

While she was calming down.

“Then I’ll just leave.”

The man left a short comment and turned around.

“Ah, that… ! for a moment… !”

The woman tried to grab the man.

I couldn’t even say thank you, and I couldn’t repay the favor.

I couldn’t risk my family’s honor and do such a shameful thing.

However, she desperately stretched out her hand, but was unable to grab the man due to the crowd of people around her.

The woman tried to chase after him.

“Lady!”

A familiar voice grabbed her feet.

Sure enough, it was her escort, Dorothy.

“Where on earth have you been!”

While ignoring Dorothy’s eyes, which were a mixture of worry, relief, and anger, the woman followed the man’s shadow.

However, the man was nowhere to be seen.

***

“Huh? You came back quickly?”

The man nodded quietly as he looked at the clerk who was looking at him as he entered the room.

“Yes. I took care of everything that was assigned to me.”

“Already?”

The clerk’s eyes widened in surprise at the man’s answer.

Then he said with a soft smile.

“As expected, it’s Andel.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“It may not have been a very difficult request, but it was cumbersome and time-consuming. I can’t tell you how much help Mr. Andel has helped me in a situation where I was in trouble because I didn’t have any help.”

The man called Andel smiled awkwardly at the praise and gratitude directed at him.

As I said, it was quite a hassle, but I didn’t think it was a request worthy of such comments.

“You didn’t eat, right? Please wait a moment.”

After catching a glimpse of the clerk’s back as he entered the kitchen, I sat down at one of the many tables lined up in the store and slowly began to spend some time.

What came to the man’s mind was the face of a woman he had met a little while ago.

It was purely by chance that I saw the woman.

On my way out of the back alley after completing my request, I saw a woman surrounded by a gang of back alleys, and at that moment I recognized the situation.

Even if you don’t use your imagination, it is not difficult to guess what would happen if such a picture were to unfold in such a place.

I checked just in case, but it was still the same, and the man immediately helped the woman.

It was easy to sort out the situation, but I didn’t know what would happen if I left the woman in the back alley, so I even walked her to the main street.

‘This is my first time seeing it in person.’

Although I had heard of foreigners wandering into the back alleys of Darbil, it was my first time seeing them in person.

It is a rule that no outsider would know that one must not enter the back alleys of Darbil.

‘… Well, I won’t do it again from now on.’

“You’ve waited a long time.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Not long after, the clerk served the food, and the woman’s face was erased from the man’s mind.

Soon the man started eating.

And the clerk looked at the man with a satisfied expression.

“Andel, I feel like I’m quite used to it now.”

“Really? I think we still have a long way to go.”

“No. I definitely feel less like a rookie now. No, if you think about it, Mr. Andel had some leeway from the beginning.”

The man, Andel, was a new mercenary who appeared here in Darville not long ago.

As the place was a place, it was quite common to find people who started their career as mercenaries in Darbil with big dreams.

From that perspective, Andel was not a particularly notable person in Darville.

Except that in reality, he is being chased from the empire on charges of murdering the prince.