Ch.359[Episode 359] Shepherd John Expedition

Raids are quite fun.

Sir Dominic was thinking about the raid he had just participated in as he was returning home.

In the recent raid, Sir Dominic had felt quite an exhilarating pleasure.

The joy of seeing health points being depleted in real-time.

How many times had Sir Dominic’s health been hanging by a thread since acquiring the [Tank] trait, special skill [Rider], and [Cinematic]?

Although meeting people who worked well together like in the recent raid was rare, Sir Dominic was thinking of going on another raid solely to savor this feeling once more.

“I’m home.”

Lost in these random thoughts while walking, Sir Dominic had already arrived home before he knew it.

“Oh, you’re back?”

Sir Dominica was, for some reason, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and fishing.

A fishing float bobbing on a tiny few-pixel-sized puddle of water in the corner.

“What are you doing?”

Sir Dominic questioned Sir Dominica’s behavior.

It was something he had never seen before.

“Nothing special. I read in the newspaper that fish prices are rising.”

“So you’re fishing for fish? How much could you possibly make from that?”

“No, that’s not it. The word ‘fish’ just suddenly made me want to go fishing.”

“…?”

Sir Dominic didn’t understand Sir Dominica’s words at first, but soon nodded as if he had grasped something.

By now, Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica had almost perfectly adapted to Gachaland.

Perhaps that’s why?

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica’s curiosity about the world had diminished compared to before.

A decrease in curiosity meant a decrease in the potential for growth.

Both Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica thought so.

With such thoughts, Sir Dominica had undoubtedly started fishing to fill her curiosity with new experiences.

Of course, this was just Sir Dominic’s assumption…

“There hasn’t been anything interesting lately. How should I put it? Mannerism? Something like that seems to have set in, so I’m trying something new.”

Sir Dominic’s assumption was surprisingly accurate.

Since Sir Dominica was another version of Sir Dominic, their thinking was similar.

“By the way, a letter came for Sir Dominic earlier?”

Sir Dominica said, handing Sir Dominic an envelope.

It was a golden envelope sealed with red wax.

“For me?”

Sir Dominic took the envelope and examined its exterior.

Recipient: Sir Dominic.

Sender: Johann Shepherd Expedition…?

Sir Dominic tilted his head at the somehow familiar name.

It was a name he had heard somewhere before.

And after a brief moment of contemplation, Sir Dominic was able to recall the name.

Johann Shepherd Expedition.

That was where General Joseph had been before becoming affiliated with Mountain Bridge Marsh.

Why would they send me a letter?

While questioning this unexpected letter, Sir Dominic broke the wax seal to check its contents.

Inside the golden envelope was a very white piece of paper, and when Sir Dominic took it out, something was written on it in elegant cursive.

Yes, something was written on it.

Sir Dominic held the letter, turning it this way and that, and tilted his head.

Due to the excessively flourished cursive, he couldn’t make out what was written at all.

“Sir Dominica, can you read what these letters say?”

Sir Dominic showed the letter to Sir Dominica.

However, Sir Dominica was equally unable to read the letter.

The cursive was so flowing that the letters looked more like drawings.

“I can’t tell… Oh, wait a moment.”

Sir Dominica suddenly noticed the float moving in the few pixels of water and grabbed the fishing rod again.

After a brief struggle, she succeeded in reeling something in.

“…This is quite a coincidence.”

Sir Dominica chuckled as she looked at what she had caught.

“What is that?”

Sir Dominic asked, pointing at the caught item.

Sir Dominica answered as if it were nothing special.

“A cipher decoder.”

It was a cipher decoder resembling an Enigma machine.

…

“Let’s try putting that in here.”

Sir Dominica jokingly suggested putting Sir Dominic’s letter into this cipher decoder.

Sir Dominic, thinking they couldn’t read it anyway, decided to go along with Sir Dominica’s suggestion and handed her the letter.

Taking the letter, Sir Dominica inserted it into the cipher decoder, and surprisingly, it fit perfectly.

“It fits.”

Sir Dominica exclaimed at the remarkably perfect fit.

Then she pulled down a lever next to the cipher decoder, and the paper went into the machine with clicking, clanking, and crashing sounds.

“Is that how it’s supposed to be used?”

Sir Dominic asked Sir Dominica, startled by the sounds of something breaking.

“I don’t know either.”

Sir Dominica shrugged while holding the cipher decoder.

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica waited rather anxiously for the cipher to be decoded, and after a brief moment, with a ding! sound, the cipher decoder spat out the paper again.

And surprisingly, the letter had indeed been a cipher, as it was now fully decoded.

With some annotations.

The contents of the letter were as follows:

[To the esteemed Sir Dominic.]

[Greetings, Sir Dominic. I imagine you are surprised to receive this sudden letter.]

[We are the Johann Shepherd Expedition, abbreviated as JSE, a clan based on a fantasy world setting.]

…

[To get to the point, we have a request for you, Sir Dominic.]

[You are surely aware of the new AOS mode that has been created.]

[To promote our Johann Shepherd Expedition to commanders, we have prepared an event in alliance with the Eastern Union.]

[It is an East-West Showdown.]

[In this showdown, each team can recruit one mercenary as a joker pick. We would like to invite you, Sir Dominic, as that mercenary.]

[There will be no disadvantages if you decline, but we hope you will consider our proposal carefully.]

[Johann Shepherd Expedition Clan Leader, Eric Frayman]

[P.S. This handwriting is terrible. – Cipher Decoder P]

Reading the letter, Sir Dominic realized it was a mercenary proposal.

The Johann Shepherd Expedition was a group of fantasy-oriented individuals, and conceptually, they could only hire fantasy-like mercenaries.

Fortunately for them, Sir Dominic was a medieval knight, which fit perfectly with the fantasy concept.

There was no reason not to send a mercenary proposal to Sir Dominic.

“Well, this is interesting.”

Sir Dominic said to Sir Dominica as he folded the letter.

“Indeed. A new mode…”

Sir Dominica looked at Sir Dominic with envious eyes.

She also knew about the new mode and secretly wanted to experience it herself.

But was it a twist of fate?

Another letter fell from the sky.

The letter, fluttering down toward the ground, was suddenly struck by an arrow and pinned to a post next to Sir Dominica.

Just like how letters are delivered in Eastern dramas.

One might wonder why there was a post next to Sir Dominica, but the few-pixel-sized water was located in the corner of Sir Dominica’s yard.

Right next to it was a fence, and the arrow had been pinned to one of the fence posts.

Anyway, Sir Dominica, startled by the sudden arrow, naturally pulled it out and removed the letter.

“Another letter.”

Sir Dominic said.

“This one’s for me?”

Sir Dominica said, examining the letter.

The envelope’s exterior read:

Recipient: Sir Dominica

Sender: Eastern Union

Sir Dominic was seized by a strange sense of déjà vu.

“Somehow this feels familiar.”

“…Could this also be a mercenary recruitment offer?”

Sir Dominica immediately opened the letter to check its contents.

Inside was a black letter paper with a cherry blossom scent, and something was written on it in white letters.

Yes.

It was written in the same illegible squiggly handwriting.

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica looked at each other, bewildered by this continuous sense of déjà vu.

Then, silently, they put this letter into the cipher decoder.

[To the esteemed Sir Dominica.]

[Greetings, Sir Dominica. I imagine you are surprised to receive this sudden letter.]

[We are a clan called the Eastern Union, based on an Eastern-style world setting.]

…

[To get to the point, we have a request for you, Sir Dominica…]

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica got goosebumps as they read the letter.

The content of the letter was identical.

The letter expressed a desire to have Sir Dominica as a mercenary, acknowledging that she might not fit the Eastern style, and mentioned sending an Eastern-style skin exchange voucher.

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica looked at each other again, surprised by this absurd situation.

“…Why don’t I get a skin?”

Well, it seems Sir Dominic was less shocked.