episode_0004

4. Hypocritical hero!

I looked at the embarrassed man and spoke coldly.

“You said earlier that you would take off all your clothes and dance, right?”

“Well, that is…”

I handed the passing certificate to the guy. It was issued directly by the Royal Academy.

“Okay? Now dance. When you say something nice.”

“Hmph…! Ah, ah, I understand!”

In fact, the man didn’t seem to know if this was a passing certificate.

But I quickly took off my clothes.

Whoosh!

Then he really took off his clothes and started dancing.

Shake it. Shake it.

To that extent, I could tell that he was frightened by my appearance.

I looked at it for a moment and then sat down. I was so disgusted that I couldn’t look at it anymore.

“Well… uh, how long should I keep dancing…”

“If you don’t want to die, keep dancing.”

“Yes!!”

Anyway, the inside of the bar was quite quiet. Everyone was frightened by my appearance.

I drank with a satisfied face.

It was too noisy earlier.

‘It’s finally quieter.’

It was then.

Squeak-!!

thud-!!

Suddenly, the door of the bar opened violently.

And there, three fearsome figures appeared. They were all about the same size, but even if you just looked at them, they looked unusual.

They looked very proud.

Should I say there is no hesitation?

But even they couldn’t help but be embarrassed by the sight before their eyes.

Shake it. Shake it.

After all, there was a naked man putting on a show in a bar.

Of course, that was only for a moment.

They soon started raising their voices loudly. It was a voice that seemed to be in a bad mood.

“What is this?!”

“Khaha! Is it a special performance?”

“It’s disgusting to see.”

The people in the bar stiffened their expressions at that sight. He seemed worried that something dangerous might happen.

Of course, the most troublesome thing was the man who took off his clothes and danced.

He was literally crying.

I was scared when I stopped dancing, and they were scared when I kept dancing.

I opened my mouth at that sight.

“It’s over now. Next time, try to be more selective about what you say.”

“Yes, yes! Thank you!!”

He shouted loudly and quickly started to get dressed.

Afterwards, I went back among my colleagues and drank beer. It was a huge bloodbath.

Anyway, it seemed like they heard my voice.

“Oh! Captain!!”

“Captain. Were you there?!”

They soon became gentle sheep and came to my side. It looked completely different from before.

It was like that.

They were my companions.

Soon my surroundings were filled with big men.

“Three beers here!”

“Bring the most expensive snacks!”

“Yes! Okay!”

I waited for a while, watching them order.

And when the order was over, he spoke.

“I passed.”

Immediately, everything around me became quiet.

“……”

“……”

Of course, that was only for a moment. Soon a loud laugh was heard.

“Sigh.”

“Hahahaha!!”

“Oh my! Captain! Do you have a better sense of humor?! Hahaha!”

I was slightly impressed by that appearance.

Then everyone immediately stopped laughing. And then he opened his eyes round.

“Are you serious?”

“Is it really that difficult to take the Royal Academy exams…?”

“Okay.”

Maybe they heard the news too. But it seemed like he didn’t believe it.

‘I don’t have the image of being ignorant…’

I belong to a fairly smart group. And he showed it often.

And yet, to see such a reaction… The stereotype of mercenaries seemed quite scary.

“Chu, congratulations!”

“Dae, you are amazing!! Captain!!”

“The leader is someone who possesses both intelligence and military power…”

“That’s it. Have a drink.”

“Yes!!”

Just then the alcohol came out.

They drank alcohol in a lavish manner, like mercenaries. The beer ran out in an instant.

By the way, I didn’t call them to brag.

I got to the point.

“ Speaking of the next mercenary king…”

“……!!”

“Sigh…!!”

“Heh…!”

Then the three mercenaries froze while drinking.

I am the king of mercenaries, but I was also the leader of the steel mercenaries.

And these three people could be seen as the core executives of my mercenary group.

By the way, everyone stopped drinking and was rolling their eyes.

Perhaps the title of Mercenary King is coveted. But this was not something that could be passed down to anyone.

The mercenary king was the one who had to be recognized by all mercenaries.

therefore.

“I will continue to do this. Even after entering the academy, I will still be the king of mercenaries. No complaints?”

“……Uh, none.”

“Khaha! Captain, you must continue!”

“Of course, the Mercenary King will still be the leader!”

Unless a greater mercenary than me appears, I will continue to be the king of mercenaries.

This was a fact that did not change even after I entered the academy.

But there was one problem.

The mercenary group I led was the problem.

“Instead, the steel mercenaries remained.”

“Ma, that’s right!”

“Sigh! Go, the Steel Mercenaries…!!”

The mercenaries’ eyes widened again at those words. And then his face was filled with desire.

The Steel Mercenaries are the strongest mercenary group in the kingdom. And it was also a mercenary group that I personally raised.

I recruited those three myself.

But unfortunately, I am entering the academy.

I also had to live in a dormitory.

Of course, it was impossible to maintain a mercenary group.

“Jerome.”

“Yes, yes!!”

His eyes widened at my words.

Jerome is the vice-leader of the Steel Mercenaries.

It seemed right to leave it to him. It was also the most reliable.

Anyway, the rest looked regretful. But I quickly shook my head. It seemed like he was giving up his greed.

Of course, in my opinion, all three were ridiculous.

“From now on…”

“Ah, forward…gulp.”

“He is the temporary leader of the Steel Mercenaries.”

“D, finally, I am a temporary member of the Steel Mercenaries… Huh? Im, temporary?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? Where are you trying to gulp it down? To search.”

“Oh, no! Sorry!”

He immediately lowered his head. His face turned white, and he seemed quite scared.

I asked, looking at the other two.

“You sure didn’t misunderstand, right?”

“Oh, no!”

“Absolutely not!”

The Steel Mercenaries are a mercenary group that I worked very hard to raise.

But they’re giving this away for free…

It was nonsense.

Moreover, because of my special ability, the mercenary group was absolutely necessary. I could never hand it over.

Instead, I gave them a little raise in salary.

At this level, I could see him as a good enough boss(?).

“Khahahaha! I am satisfied!”

“Well, me too.”

“Of course, you should be satisfied!”

Fortunately, all three seemed satisfied.

I nodded quietly.

As expected, it was a good idea to provide thorough mental education.

“Oh, and you know that the mercenary group’s operating funds are tight, right?”

“That… Yes. I know.”

I am quite sensitive to money. I thought it was because I lived in a capitalist society.

So is that so?

I never saw my men having fun.

“Then, you understand that you have to go to work right away?”

“Yes…”

You probably won’t even be able to see my entrance ceremony and will have to go to work.

‘I kind of like this.’

I drank my drink with a bright face.

I was glad that things worked out well.

***

A few days later.

Today was the entrance ceremony for the Royal Academy Special Department.

I headed to the main gate of the academy.

From here, it was not possible to enter by horseback.

Entry was only possible on foot.

By the way, this time too, there were a lot of people at the main gate of the academy.

But something was different from the last test.

Everyone was watching people entering school near the main gate.

This tradition existed from the beginning.

But this time the numbers were different.

“That…!! It’s Duke Philip!!”

“Gasp! The prince is there too!”

“No way, that robe…! Then, that person is the famous genius archmage…!”

People’s eyes widened at the appearance of famous people they rarely see in their lives.

And then they cheered.

“Duke Philip! Fighting!”

“Prince!! Cheer up!!”

“Grand Wizard!! I hope you win(?)!”

It was about choosing the last person to go to Earth. Maybe that’s why everyone passionately cheered for the person they were rooting for.

‘It’s not some kind of audition program…’

In the case of this academy, admission was possible regardless of age.

But still, the younger you are, the better it is to learn something.

Perhaps that’s why it was said that the younger the student, the better the score on the entrance exam.

As far as I know, among the successful candidates, there were almost no people over 30 years old.

Dukes, princes, and even archmages did the same.

Anyway, it was time to go in.

‘Shall we go in now?’

It was then.

Wow!

Waaa-!!

Suddenly a loud cheer was heard. It was on a different level from any cheers I had heard before.

‘Tsk, are you here?’

I frowned slightly.

It was because someone I didn’t really want to see appeared.

as soon as.

“Hey, warrior!!”

“You are a warrior!!”

“The saint is there too!!”

The most famous and popular warrior in the kingdom has appeared. He was with a saint who was part of the party.

Soon there was chaos around the front gate.

Everyone cheered for the warrior. He then showed a sign of respect.

Of course, I was just dumbfounded by that sight.

‘How hypocritical that guy is…’

Actually, I know the hero.

To be exact, I once belonged to a warrior party for a while. Of course, the hero kicked me out.

Anyway, my memories of that time were not very good.

Of course, I have changed a lot since then.

He went from being a mere mercenary to becoming a mercenary king.

Still, I didn’t really want to meet him.

‘Let’s go after the hero passes by.’

I thought about entering after the hero passed by.

I knew that the current hero was almost the last one. It seemed like he appeared last with the idea of being the main character.

Soon the warrior entered the main gate, receiving many cheers.

Only then did I show up.

I was just planning to go in quietly.

But I was also very famous.