Chapter 2: The Worst Reunion (2)

[2] 1. The Worst Reunion (2)

Our mercenary guild building has something that passes for a reception room.

Of course, it’s nothing like what you’d find in a high-class inn or a mage tower. It’s more like someone shoved a sofa and some refreshments into the best room of a cheap inn.

Actually, it’s not ‘like’ that, that’s exactly what it is. This building used to be an inn, after all.

Still, considering how much of our budget went into decorating this reception room, wouldn’t it be fair to call it a pretty decent one?

Anyway, right now I was sitting in that reception room, facing the woman who claimed to be the hero party’s porter.

“This tea is quite good.”

“Thank you.”

I watched her as she sipped her tea and nodded.

I had felt it back then, when I was practically kicked out, but she’s a strange woman.

She has a youthful appearance, as if she had just come of age, and her hands are delicate, as if they have never known a day of hard work or labor. Yet, I can’t sense any magical power from her, so she’s not some spellcaster.

Overall, she gives off the impression of a desk clerk rather than a porter. The deep sense of boredom etched on her young face adds to that impression.

Well, I guess that much is possible. She could be a porter in name, but an accountant in reality.

The problem is, what’s really getting on my nerves, is her eyes.

Back then, and even now, this woman keeps looking at me with this strange look in her eyes.

As if she’s looking at something that shouldn’t exist.

As if she’s a mage closely observing an anomaly.

On top of that, there’s this strange familiarity I’ve felt from the moment I first saw her.

Feeling a mixture of discomfort and curiosity, I spoke up.

“So, what brings you here…?”

The porter finally put down her teacup. Then she laced her fingers together as if gathering her thoughts.

The words that came out of her mouth were not what I had expected.

“First of all, on behalf of the hero party, I apologize for the rudeness you experienced last time.”

The porter gets up from her seat and bows deeply.

“The party members weren’t feeling well at the time…”

I waved my hand dismissively, feeling bewildered.

“No, it’s okay, because those things… It can happen.”

No matter how sick you are, how could you react like that as soon as you see my face…?

“Thank you for understanding.”

The porter only raised her head after another deep bow. Then she pulled out a few documents from thin air and held them out.

“Now then, getting straight to the point…”

…A subspace pocket?

A porter with such an expensive item?

“There are a few things I’d like to discuss that we weren’t able to cover last time.”

“Ah, yes…”

My mind, momentarily captivated by the expensive item, returns to the matter at hand.

As she handed over the documents, I was suddenly struck by a question and looked at the porter.

“So you’re still entrusting this job to our mercenary group…?”

“Yes, we’ve already signed the contract.”

The porter replied as if it were obvious. I let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly at her response.

To be honest, I was considering leaving the mercenary group, so I was glad it didn’t come to that.

I still don’t know why they reacted the way they did, but the important thing was the job.

Pulling myself together, I looked over the documents.

What followed was a simple repetition of agreements and signatures. It didn’t take long. As expected of a hero party, they were generous when it came to spending money.

Finally, after signing the last document, I was about to conclude the meeting with a handshake.

“If you don’t mind me asking, can I ask you something?”

I withdrew my extended hand and nodded.

“Do you happen to know the hero party personally?”

There’s that look again.

That look that seems to scrutinize my every move.

Facing her head-on, I’m sure of it now.

This woman is very wary of me.

But why?

Pushing down my questions, I answered,

“Yes, in fact, I do. Though it’s been a while since we last met.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, that’s right. Is there a problem with that?”

I deliberately put a bit of an edge to my tone. I was hoping to get something out of her.

“No, it’s just personal curiosity. I apologize if I offended you.”

But she immediately backed down. I clicked my tongue and shook my head inwardly.

“No, it’s alright. I just want to make sure that this doesn’t interfere with the request.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Well then.”

The hero party’s porter held out her hand to me.

“Thank you for your time.”

I looked at her hand for a moment before shaking it. I forced a smile and said,

“Thank you for entrusting this job to our mercenary group. You won’t regret it.”

And so, the hero party’s porter, escorted off by our guys, left the reception room.

Left alone in the reception room, I slumped back down on the sofa. I downed the cold tea in one gulp and stared at the ceiling with a sour look on my face.

“This… doesn’t feel right…”

***

Despite my gut feeling, the contract was already in the mercenary guild’s warehouse, and the schedule was proceeding as planned.

My gut feeling isn’t exactly known for its accuracy anyway.

I pushed down my ominous premonition and focused on the task at hand.

The hero party’s request was a simple cargo escort mission.

Transporting an important item belonging to a certain high-ranking individual to the northern city of Axolotl.

The porter explained that this was originally a mission that the hero party was supposed to carry out on their own, but they had hired us because things have been uneasy in the north recently.

It seemed to be a rather confidential mission. We weren’t even told the name of the client, let alone the contents of the cargo.

Judging from that, there seemed to be a rather complicated backstory, but it’s not a mercenary’s job to pry.

I silently recruited new members in preparation for the escort and gathered supplies.

And so the day of departure arrived in no time.

At the city gate, we were waiting for the hero party in the cold morning dew.

“Just how secretly do they plan to go, making us leave at the crack of dawn…”

“Have a drink, big bro.”

I was shivering and grumbling when Feya came up to me and offered me a canteen. I opened the lid, took a whiff, and frowned.

“Are you drinking before work?”

“The guys are already drinking it, aren’t they?”

I looked back at our wagon. I could see our guys, their faces already flushed.

“…If you think those bastards are going to cause trouble, beat them up first.”

“Yes, sir.”

It wasn’t the cold, but the stress that made me tilt the canteen back.

As the warmth began to settle in my stomach, Feya’s low voice reached my ears.

“They’re coming.”

I turned my head and saw a carriage heading towards us. The carriage soon stopped in front of us, revealing familiar faces.

Amy, the hero.

Clara, the cleric.

Parsley, the mage.

They were no longer in the formal attire they wore at the inn, but in comfortable clothes suitable for battle. Even Clara, the would-be saintess, was dressed in a leather-reinforced nun’s habit.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Rose, Captain of the Rose Rem Mercenary Group.”

Our Captain was the first to approach the hero party. Amy, the hero, shook the hand that our Captain had extended with a smile.

“I’m Amy. Pleased to meet you.”

And then, looking at our guys, she opened her mouth.

“So these are all the escorts…”

And then, the hero’s eyes stopped at me. Her eyes widened with emotion, revealing her true feelings.

I wasn’t sure then, but seeing it now, I can tell for sure.

Amy was looking at me with disgust.

And it was the same with Parsley and Clara, who had followed Amy’s gaze and found me.

I felt a strange twisting sensation in my gut.

“Feya, take charge of the men for a bit.”

“Huh? Then what will you be doing, big bro?”

“I’m going to go make sure we didn’t forget anything.”

Swallowing down the bitterness rising in my throat, I headed towards the wagon containing the cargo.

Fortunately, there were a few of our guys standing guard in front of the wagon loaded with the cargo. Their faces were flushed with alcohol, which was a problem.

I roughly kicked them in the butts and chased them away, then got into the wagon.

Naturally, there was nothing wrong with the cargo. I had checked it myself last night.

Besides, if I came here with that intention in mind, I would’ve brought that damn ledger with me.

I opened a box that was lying next to a sack of rice and took out a bottle of alcohol. I uncorked it and poured it down my throat.

“Ah…!”

The pungent scent of alcohol burned its way down my throat.

I felt the knot in my stomach loosen a little.

“What are you doing slacking off?”

I put down the bottle and turned around. And in a gruff voice, I said,

“What are *you* doing when you should be working, Captain?”

The Captain, tossing her red hair back, declared proudly.

“I’m leaving it all to Feya!”

“…Captain, if you keep that up, one of these days, she’s going to stab you in your sleep.”

“That warrior tribe girl? Maybe she’ll challenge me to a duel in the dead of night…”

“Are you confident you can win?”

“No, I’ll have to get down on my knees and beg her to spare my life. She can have the Captain position, just as long as she spares my life.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity. The Captain also smirked back and asked me,

“So, why is our dear Vice-Captain secretly drinking in a wagon on a day like this?”

“The cheap booze that Feya gave me tastes awful. I thought I’d drink something decent.”

“Since when does the Vice-Captain drink for that reason?”

The Captain’s mouth was smiling, but her eyes were sharp.

This is why being with someone you’ve known for a long time is both comfortable and uncomfortable.

I grimaced and shoved the bottle back into the box.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it and let’s go to wo…”

“Our Vice-Captain isn’t the type to sulk over nothing.”

This woman….

“I’m not sulking.”

“Our Vice-Captain isn’t the type to drink in the early morning when he’s not sulking.”

“I’m not drinking in the early mor…”

“Our Vice-Captain isn’t the type to touch the mercenary group’s supplies for no reason.”

“No, that’s not…”

“And above all, our Vice-Captain isn’t the type to dump work on Feya for no reason.”

“Captain, will you just listen to…”

I stopped talking when I saw the Captain’s face, which was now grinning from ear to ear.

It’s over.

This woman has no intention of listening to me…

In the end, I sighed and raised the white flag.

“I’ll tell you later, so let’s just go to work…”

“Really? You’re going to tell me everything? Promise?”

“Yes, yes…”

I answered halfheartedly and turned back to where Feya was probably waiting with a sullen look on her face.

And that night…

“I’m here.”

The Captain, in her pajamas, came to my tent.

…Damn it.

***

The city our mercenary group has established as a base, Essier, is quite far from Axolotl.

Moreover, there weren’t many cities to stop at as it’s located in the middle of a rugged mountain range.

To make matters worse, the client of the hero’s party, that is, the client’s client, was in a hurry and asked us to transport the cargo as quickly as possible.

In other words, we were camping out from day one.

You could say that we’d kicked off the start of countless nights of camping ahead of us.

Of course, although it was camping, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

That’s because I had anticipated this disaster and bought some expensive tents and strong alcohol.

Except for the guys on watch duty, everyone was too drunk to notice if they were being bitten by bugs.

…Actually, I had also gotten a tent for the hero’s party just in case, but their porter took out a small house from some kind of subspace pocket.

Anyway.

I was planning on spending the first night of the journey, which was ‘not as bad as I thought it would be’, alone in my tent.

“So, tell this Captain everything.”

…That is, if this woman hadn’t suddenly barged in wearing her pajamas.

“I believe I said I would tell you later.”

I put the voice output device, which I had taken off, back on and retorted. But the Captain’s shamelessness always exceeded my expectations.

“You promised me this morning, and now it’s nighttime, so that’s late enough.”

Dumbfounded, I asked back,

“Even so, do normal, grown women go into a man’s tent wearing their pajamas?”

“What’s the big deal? Our guys already think we’re doing it anyway.”

I was speechless for a moment. The Captain, seizing the opportunity, asked with a sly smile.

“So, what’s wrong with our Vice-Captain, who’s sulking because his long-lost friends didn’t recognize him?”

“…I believe you just pointed out exactly what the problem is.”

“No, no.”

The Captain waved the bottle of alcohol in her hand dismissively, and spoke with a serious expression.

“The Vice-Captain I know isn’t the type to sulk over something like this.”

“…”

“So the fact that our Vice-Captain is reacting this way must mean that there’s more to it than meets the eye.”

“…So what is it you want to hear?”

The Captain, finally getting the question she wanted, grinned. She took a swig of from the bottle and spat at me.

“Your past.”

And then, she shoved the mouth of the bottle at me. I tried to grab the bottle by raising my prosthetic hand, but she pulled it back.

“Gotta save money on magic stones.”

I sighed and let my prosthetic hand go limp. Only then did she bring the mouth of the bottle to my lips, pouring the alcohol into my mouth.

“You’ve never actually told me about it, you know.”

The warmth flowed down my throat.

I took a few gulps and shook my hand dismissively, prompting the Captain to set the bottle down and wipe my mouth with her hand.

I made no effort to hide my displeasure as I spoke.

“It’s not a very interesting story.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

The Captain answered with a grin. Realizing that I had nowhere to retreat, I sighed once more.

And so, I began my story.

***

The morning of the season, gradually turning into autumn, is overwhelmingly cozy.

Especially when the sunlight breaks through the leaves and falls down.

Even more so when lying on a cart swaying to the rhythm of the ox pulling it.

I stretched and yawned widely in the sunlight.

“Did you not sleep well last night?”

I looked at Feya with a questioning look on my face. Without taking her eyes off the sword she was polishing, she said,

“You’ve been yawning nonstop.”

“Ah.”

I let out a short sigh and scratched my head sheepishly.

“I had a few drinks with the Captain last night, so I went to bed late. Sorry if it bothered you.”

To be precise, we were talking about the past until dawn.

I tried to keep it as short as possible, but it’s been a long and eventful life.

“No, it’s not that it bothered me. It’s just that… big bro, it’s been a while since we’ve had a drink together, hasn’t it?”

I couldn’t help but grimace as I replied.

“But you cry when you drink.”

“I don’t!”

Feya shouted at me, her face flushed, before quietly turning her gaze back to the sword she was polishing.

“It’s just… I’m just a little sensitive.”

“I’m sure you are.”

I replied sarcastically and thought back.

Now that I think about it, it has been a while since we’ve had a drink together. Should I go for a drink with her and the Captain after this is over?

If she starts crying, I’m just going to leave the Captain behind and run.

“What were you talking about with the Captain for so long?”

“What else could it be? Stories of when we were nobodies, stories of our struggles, terrible requests, etcetera, etcetera…”

As I was casually lying through my teeth, my mind suddenly wandered, and I stopped talking.

[So, why don’t you pretend to have amnesia?]

That was when my self-pity, which began as soon as I finished my story, was coming to an end.

The Captain had suddenly said those words to me, who was grumbling about how they could throw up at the sight of me after being such good friends.

I asked her what kind of nonsense that was, but the Captain just kept repeating herself.

That maybe they would suddenly act like they know me if I pretended to have amnesia.

“What the hell kind of nonsense…”

“Vice-Captain!”

I got up from my seat. I could see one of our men outside the carriage window, his face filled with urgency.

“Ah, it seems there’s trouble ahead.”

“Ahead?”

“Yes, Mr. Shareek said he’s found something…”

I tightened my prosthetic hand and leg and jumped out of the carriage. Feya poked her head out of the carriage window and said,

“I’ll be right behind you.”

“No, stay here.”

The hero party and the cargo are at the back of the line. And so is the Captain, who’s probably suffering from a hangover.

Feya, who has a knack for fighting, is better off staying in the rear for now.

Leaving Feya with a sullen look on her face, I mounted my horse and headed to the front of the line.

At the very front of the line, the only elf in our mercenary group was keeping an eye out. I urged my horse to his side and asked,

“Hey, pointy ears, what’s going on?”

“My name is not ‘pointy ears,’ it’s Shafiq de Fasitao Rodiner si Olaminea kun Dinar.”

“Yeah, yeah, pointy ears, so what’s going on?”

The elf turned his head away from me as if to hide his grimace before looking at me again.

“I found something strange up ahead. See that over there?”

I followed his finger and looked ahead.

There, on the road winding through the forest, I saw a small dot. I narrowed my eyes, then stopped and covered my eyes with my hands.

“Ars Fee”

And when I opened my eyes again, the dot had become a dead horse.

Judging by the state of decay, it must have been dead for about three days. The wound on its neck and twisted leg suggested someone had put it out of its misery.

Without taking my eyes off it, I asked,

“It’s a dead horse.”

“Yes, it’s a dead horse. And a very strange one at that.”

I released the magic from my eyes and looked at the elf. The elf, with an expression of disgust unique to his race, continued,

“You humans are a practical bunch. So practical that you’d be the first to think of eating the meat of a horse you considered a friend if it died.”

“Maybe the owner was a sentimental type.”

“Then wouldn’t it make more sense to take the horse’s body and give it a proper burial?”

“Maybe they had something urgent to attend to.”

“What could be so urgent?”

The elf said with an indifferent expression.

“There are no dangerous creatures around here. And the city isn’t that far away.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“And more importantly,”

The elf grimaced as if disgusted.

“It stinks.”

I immediately stopped my horse and yelled at the top of my lungs.

“Stop!! Everyone stop…!!”

*KABOOM!!*

An explosion rang out from where the horse’s carcass had been.

At the same time, a creaking sound could be heard faintly through the startled birds taking flight.

A sound so old and decayed that it couldn’t possibly have come from a living creature.

And a cold air that instantly polluted the cozy autumn sunlight.

Feeling a chill run down my spine, I drew my sword.

“Necromancers!! Everyone, battle stations!!”

And from the shadows of the trees, the dead came flooding in.