Episode 28: Unlucky Cow

Horizon.

She’s from the Umbra Clan, who manipulate shadows.

As she manipulates shadows, she can appear and disappear anywhere, which is a great help in information warfare.

Even without considering that she’s a woman, she was a capable scout worth picking.

“Horizon-ssi.”

“Ah, ugh, y-yes, yes!”

While answering, she bit her tongue and replied with a face that showed her tongue was numb.

Her personality was, so to speak, weak.

She was timid, shy, and often stuttered.

My gaze turned to Aransul and Babiyen.

Babiyen stared at Horizon with annoyed eyes.

Aransul seemed to be contemplating.

Should I pick her, or not.

“Hey, look over there.”

“It’s the Unlucky Cow.”

While I was contemplating, people’s voices were heard.

Unlucky Cow.

I could quickly tell who they were referring to.

Horizon is as eye-catching as Aransul, at least in terms of her body.

Judging from the fact that I don’t remember her, she seems to be a Pioneer who joined recently, so it was natural for her to become famous quickly.

Like the uncivilized Otherworlders they are, they come up with such low-class nicknames.

More than that, the word “unlucky” bothers me.

“What kind of teams have you been in so far?”

I couldn’t ignore what I had already heard.

I decided to ask her directly about the teams she had been in.

“Ah, th-that is…”

Horizon listed the teams she had belonged to.

After hearing all the stories, I realized one commonality among the teams she had been in.

Every team she had been in had been disbanded.

There were various reasons for this, but the fact was that they had been disbanded.

No wonder the nickname Unlucky Cow stuck to her.

I wondered why she was solo without a team, even though she was an excellent Umbra Clan member as a scout.

Horizon lowered her head as if she was conscious of the situation.

She also knew that all the teams she had been in had been disbanded.

But it didn’t seem like Horizon was responsible for it.

I also asked the staff, and they said that she had completed all the team missions excellently.

More than that, to be this unlucky.

Shouldn’t you have your body torn to shreds by a cult right after being transferred to be considered unlucky?

Anyway, these uncivilized Otherworlder bastards blame everything on luck if things don’t go their way.

They can’t even imagine that their own abilities are lacking.

“Harua, are you going to pick that person?”

At that time, Aransul approached me, who had left Horizon alone to ask the staff.

“I’m thinking about it. All the applicants are horny bastards who are so obvious.”

Anyone could see that they were all guys trying to hit on Babiyen or Aransul.

Before Horizon, I had seen a few guys who seemed decent, but they couldn’t take their eyes off Aransul and Babiyen.

In the end, Horizon was the only female scout I could pick.

“I think she’ll be fine.”

Aransul surprisingly agreed.

“I took a look at her hands. Those are hands that have wielded a sword a lot.”

These are the eyes of Aransul, who has lived her whole life wielding a sword.

This was information that couldn’t be wrong.

“So, her skills as a swordsman are certain.”

She has been consistently working as a scout, so her skills as a scout are also sufficient.

I didn’t hesitate for long.

There was no one else to pick as a scout anyway.

“Horizon-ssi, let’s team up.”

“Ah, r-really! Wow, I haven’t been able to find a team at all, thank you so much!”

She probably knows that she is called the Unlucky Cow.

She must have also known that she couldn’t belong to a team because of that.

Still, seeing the passion in her eyes, I thought I had picked a reliable force.

“Let’s go to the 2nd World tomorrow.”

It was a little late because I was carefully picking a scout.

Everyone who heard the suggestion agreed.

I haven’t even had a wink of sleep yet.

I needed to relax a little.

Of course, before that, I needed to know how the recent Pioneer situation was going.

The world is so chaotic these days due to the recent Black Dawn.

Something might have happened among the Pioneers.

To find out, I looked around a suitable Pioneer gathering.

The Pioneers are holding drinking parties at the Pioneer Association restaurant almost every day.

The job of a Pioneer is so short-lived that there were many guys holding drinking parties like this.

“Aransul, you go ahead and book a nearby inn, including my room.”

“What about Harua?”

“I’ll find out some information and go back as soon as you arrive.”

Aransul nodded without saying much and left.

Her face said that there wouldn’t be a big problem for me since there were many eyes watching.

I picked a suitable guy among them and approached him.

There was a Gnome, two human men and women, and a Dwarf.

Judging from their relatively bright impressions and clothes, they are guys who have been doing Pioneer work to some extent.

I had seen them a few times when I was working with Bulldog Ajussi.

They have survived from then until now, so they must have some skills.

They will also know the situation among the Pioneers well.

“Hello?”

“Huh?”

The human man was the first to react to my greeting.

His eyes quickly scanned me.

“Wow, it’s the Holy Magic Swordsman-nim who was surrounded by women earlier. Do you have any business with us humble folks?”

In the meantime, the Gnome spoke with a slight sneer.

Gnomes are often looked down upon because of their small size, so many of them have prickly personalities.

It felt like a Chihuahua barking, so I didn’t feel anything special.

“Keu keu, it seems like you called the Unlucky Cow to your team. It might be disbanded soon.”

The Dwarf added to the words.

It was a meddlesome Dwarf-like remark.

“What do you mean?”

Finally, the human woman, who seemed to be an archer, asked calmly.

Looking at them, I smiled.

“I’ll pay for the drinks you’re having now. Instead, I’d like to hear some stories about how the world is doing. It’s been a while since I’ve done Pioneer work.”

“What, he was a generous Holy Magic Swordsman-nim!”

“There’s no such thing as a bad person who buys drinks. Please, have a seat!”

The Gnome and the Dwarf quickly became my allies.

However, my eyes were on the human man.

I realized that he, with his short hair and dark skin tone, was the leader of this team.

“That’s good. We were also broke this time because we failed in the 2nd World, so we welcome it.”

Fortunately, permission was granted on this side as well.

I sat down in the seat that the Gnome readily gave me.

“You said you failed a little while ago, did something happen in the 2nd World?”

“Hmph, don’t even mention it. Recently, the Pioneer bastards from Kardun are constantly causing trouble.

They are shouting that they will monopolize all the Phantasms in the areas they have preempted.”

The meddlesome Dwarf answered right away.

There are dozens of entrances to the 2nd World in the Human race country of Gladion alone.

All of these 2nd World entrances are managed by the Pioneer Association and are called different groups depending on the region.

Pioneers from Gladion, the capital.

Pioneers from Kardun, the western region.

This is how Pioneers are divided by region.

Therefore, competition between Pioneer groups often becomes excessive.

The 2nd World is a limited resource.

With so many Pioneers pouring in, there is a competitive mentality to grab even a little more resources in their hands right now.

“Aren’t the Kardun guys originally immoral bastards?”

“That’s right. But they seem to be determined this time. They are tightly united among themselves.”

The Dwarf showed annoyance all over his face.

Each Pioneer group has its own nickname.

Among them, Kardun has many nomads distributed as its main base is a wide plain.

Thanks to this, they have the derogatory name of barbarians.

In my opinion, all Otherworlders are the same barbarians.

“That’s not all. After the recent mass murder in the 2nd World, the guys who had their comrades killed by the murderer are also a problem because they are united to catch him.

Those bastards are out of their minds and will pull out their swords on anyone they see, whether they are Pioneers or not.”

The Gnome also made a groaning sound.

The murder case that happened in the 2nd World.

I am the person involved, so I can guess the situation.

The nameless murderer bastard who beheaded Bulldog Ajussi and me.

It seemed that he had not been caught yet.

I hope he dies soon without tarnishing the Nameless image.

“Recently, it’s almost like a cult atmosphere. Holy Magic Swordsman-ssi, you should also be careful.”

The human woman also told me to be careful.

I have bad memories of cults, so I don’t like it.

“The Kardun guys are also united because of those bastards.”

“Hmm, that’s right. Even among the barbarian bastards, there were guys who were victimized, so they are saying that they won’t let outsiders in.”

I don’t know what the fuss is about because of one murderer.

“To be honest, I don’t really recommend the 2nd World these days.”

Then the human man gave an honest assessment.

“As the Black Dawn is causing a stir outside, the sparks are flying to the 2nd World as well.

There is also news that some of the Black Dawn members who committed the terror have fled to the 2nd World.”

The situation in the 2nd World is not good.

Hearing that, I pressed the back of my neck.

Then, would it be better to wait while using the money I have?

I’m sorry to Babiyen and Horizon, but it might be better to promise next time.

“We short-lived guys are having a hard time, but Holy Magic Swordsman-ssi doesn’t necessarily have to take such risks, right?”

Holy Magic Swordsmen can also receive money for healing people.

So, if I made up my mind, it wasn’t like there was no way to earn money.

“Thank you for the advice.”

His advice was worth taking.

“More than that, there’s something I want to ask now.”

Then, the man asked a question instead.

“By any chance, aren’t you the porter who used to be with Bulldog-ssi, Holy Magic Swordsman-ssi?”

This guy also remembered me.

To remember me, who was just a porter, he’s a guy with a good memory.

“That’s right. I was lucky to end up like this.”

There was no reason to deny it.

Rather, if he was a guy who knew me, it would be enough to build a little more trust.

“Huh? There was a Holy Magic Swordsman-nim next to Bulldog-ssi?”

“If it’s Bulldog, he’s a Silver-rank Pioneer. Hooo.”

The Gnome and the Dwarf also looked at me with surprised eyes.

Bulldog Ajussi seems to be quite famous among the Pioneers.

“I had learned from Bulldog-ssi in the past. He was a good person, but I was sad that he was retiring.”

Apparently, they don’t know about Bulldog Ajussi’s recent situation.

“Bulldog Ajussi went missing a while ago.”

“What?”

“That old man?”

Unlike the man who was talking, the outside was noisy.

The man also looked a little surprised.

“If you happen to know anything about Bulldog Ajussi, please leave a message at the Pioneer Association under the name Harua. I will reward you.”

“Harua.”

At that time, Aransul appeared.

At her appearance, I got up from my seat.

I also put the coins to pay for the drinks on the table.

While the Dwarf and the Gnome were happy, the man and I made eye contact.

He smiled when he made eye contact with me.

“Let’s see each other often in Pioneer work.”

I don’t know if he’s a bad guy or a good guy.

Still, I remembered him as someone with a good eye and left after saying goodbye.

And the next day.

I end up squandering all my fortune.