episode_0094

“Who might this be!!”

Two days after leaving Pangea, the Red Fox Mercenary Company’s procession arrived in Alexandria,

and immediately reached the Iron Cross Knights camp area within Count Alfonso’s territory.

As they stepped inside the camp and entered the welcoming foundation where the Iron Cross Knights were lined up,

Ivan, the advisor of the Red Fox Mercenary Company, who was standing right behind Jeanne and following her, widened his eyes and couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Hahaha! That’s right! It is I, Ivan! Your eternal superior, Antonio!”

There was someone who reacted to his surprised appearance.

None other than the person located in the middle of the Iron Cross Knights formation,

the commander of the Iron Cross Knights.

His name is Antonio Daudi Faugasol,

a man who appears to be about 50 years old,

and a baron with a small territory in Alexandria.

And in the past, he was the vice-commander of the Black Hawk Mercenary Company, a bronze-level mercenary company to which Ivan belonged.

‘Wow, so that’s how it was? Jeanne clearly said it was a level of hospitality she would provide to a close friend, so he was Advisor Ivan’s close friend?’

Because Antonio and Ivan were so impressive and had loud voices, everyone there was able to grasp the situation despite only a brief exchange.

This was the same for Yujin.

That’s right.

The high trust and incredible support of the Iron Cross Knights for the Red Fox Mercenary Company,

it was none other than what Ivan’s past connections had created.

“Many of you were surprised at the welcoming ceremony earlier, right? And I would like to formally apologize for the rudeness. I was so overjoyed to meet a cherished former colleague after 10 years that it was difficult to contain my happiness.”

After a brief meeting at the foundation,

the Red Fox Mercenary Company’s welcoming banquet began immediately in the main tent of the Iron Cross Knights camp.

And before the full-fledged conversation at the banquet began, Antonio offered a polite apology to Jeanne, who was sitting next to him in his capacity as the commander of the cooperating mercenary company.

In any case, Antonio had committed the rudeness of greeting someone else before shaking hands with the mercenary company commander at the previous meeting.

“The two of you looked too good for me to feel it was rude. So please don’t worry about it.”

“Hahaha! You’re so easygoing! Indeed, you are someone whom Ivan Igor can serve as a superior! Hahaha!”

Jeanne accepted Antonio’s apology in a very mannerly way.

Rather, Jeanne’s expression became more relaxed,

because the question that had been bothering her had disappeared.

After the one-sided support, she had wondered if there would be some high-handedness in the quests.

But if the reason for the support was due to the friendship between Ivan and Antonio,

then it could be said that there was no need to worry at all.

“Advisor Ivan is a truly audacious friend. He is a man who can tell his superior his beliefs at the risk of his life, so I also took a hit when I was with him in the past, hahaha!”

Before long, the banquet was in full swing.

Therefore, the background of how today’s situation came to be was gradually revealed from Antonio’s mouth.

“After Advisor Ivan left, I began to think about what the honor of a knight is. As he said, I removed one by one the things that were not more precious than my life, and all that remained were my family and hometown. So, after struggling a bit, I eventually decided to live as a knight protecting my hometown, hehehe!”

10 years ago, the Black Hawk Mercenary Company, a bronze-level mercenary company, grew rapidly.

At the same time, its personality gradually changed.

The change in personality was none other than politicization.

Increased military power leads to the desire for power.

In the midst of this, the commander of the Black Hawk Mercenary Company strongly wanted to increase the power of the mercenary company by attracting political forces,

while Ivan, who represented the general members, yearned to remain a pure mercenary company.

The vice-commander Antonio was caught in between.

Afterwards, Ivan left, leaving words of advice to vice-commander Antonio, hoping that the beloved mercenary company would go in the right direction,

and Antonio, who had been conflicted for several months after seeing this, gained a great realization and tried to make an effort late, but after failing, he returned to his hometown.

And then he organized the Iron Cross Knights, one of the noble knight orders defending Alexandria.

In the meantime, Antonio, who was born as the son of a baronet family, was awarded the title of baron by Count Alfonso in recognition of his services.

“Wow, Advisor Ivan, you’re amazing even now, but you must have been even more amazing when you were younger? If the baron is shaking his head like that.”

Thomas asked Ivan next to him indirectly, as if to confirm the facts.

“I was just full of enthusiasm and lacked common sense. I guess the margrave must have suffered a lot in the middle. Thinking about it now, I think it’s an enormous generosity. I was a scoundrel subordinate who deserved to have his head cut off immediately.”

“Hahaha! I’m so grateful that you realized that even now, you rascal!”

Ivan smiled slightly with a look of regret, thinking of those days, and tilted his glass.

The emotion conveyed after 10 years,

Antonio joked and laughed heartily, feeling both awkward and good.

Still, based on what he felt in Ivan’s words, he thought that he had remained a pretty decent superior to him.

“Our side suspects that someone from the knight order that we cooperated with in the past or a spy has been released to the Tyrannos side, Joan of Arc.”

The full-fledged quest conversation was scheduled for tomorrow.

But Antonio brought it up as a sneak peek.

“If it’s a spy, should we see them as sophists?”

“That’s how we see them, Joan of Arc. We’ve almost identified the general Tyrannos people.”

This is why Antonio needed the help of a reliable force from outside, rather than other noble knight orders.

“……”

At that moment, Yujin silently glanced at Jeanne, who was mixing words with Antonio and the commander.

“In the situation where we were preparing countermeasures for that, we heard from the Alexandria Mercenary Association that there was a White Stone Mercenary Company that had risen to the plus level this time. We had requested them to look for a capable and reliable mercenary company from about a month ago. So, as we examined them according to the recommendation, wouldn’t you know it, there was a name called Ivan Igor there? And an ex-user class!”

In a situation where spies could infiltrate,

Antonio changed his cooperation target radar to a small elite mercenary company.

Then, he happened to hear the news of a rare White Stone Plus mercenary company,

and while examining it in detail to request cooperation, he discovered the name of his old subordinate Ivan.

“I heard a rumor a few years ago that Advisor Ivan had left the Black Hawk Mercenary Company and was living a wandering mercenary life because he felt disillusioned with the giant mercenary company. Not only was it the mercenary company that such a friend had chosen, but it was also a plus level, so I was convinced that their skills would be certain and that there was no need to hesitate any further regarding trust.”

The path that Ivan has steadfastly walked, and his life,

it became a trust guarantee ticket as it was.

Antonio wanted to call Ivan again while creating the Iron Cross Knights.

But he heard that he was living a wandering mercenary life, so he gave up on it instead.

It was because he felt the trauma of the subordinate who had left.

After a few years after hearing that news, Ivan’s actions, which started again with a small White Stone-sized mercenary company,

made Antonio feel that his mind had been healed and that he was still maintaining his previous beliefs.

So he requested cooperation with the Red Fox Mercenary Company without hesitation,

and gave unconditional and full support.

“Wow~ Our Advisor Ivan is so cool? You’ve really walked the path of a real man!”

“As expected, my drinking buddy Ivan~! A drinking buddy should be full of romance~!”

“I’m touched, Advisor Ivan… I, Mari, want to become a romantic mercenary like Advisor Ivan…”

“Oh my, I’m so embarrassed! Hehehet!”

“Hehet! That friend has gotten old! To be so embarrassed!”

As the situation was all cleared up neatly,

the Red Fox Mercenary Company colleagues did not spare their expressions of respect, giving Ivan constant thumbs up.

Ivan, who was embarrassed by the reactions of his colleagues,

Antonio was amazed to see Ivan, who had become much more flexible compared to 10 years ago.

“Is that so? Hmm…”

Then, Antonio became quite serious after hearing urgent news from Vice-Commander Davis, who had been out for a while.

“It seems the schedule will be changing, everyone.”

Afterwards, Antonio stood up from his seat and looked at Jeanne and the Red Fox Mercenary Company side, and opened his mouth again.

“Originally, the Pieta Merchant Guild leader was scheduled to visit when the evening got a little deeper. He is not only a key figure in this secret trade, but also the person in charge of the expenses of our two groups. But it seems that there is a slight problem with the means of transportation, so it will be postponed until tomorrow.”

The foundation of this quest is to protect the secret trade route that is being carried out through Count Alfonso’s territory,

so the person who is the subject of the trade was an indispensable figure.

The name of that subject is Pieta Merchant Guild,

the Pieta Merchant Guild is the guild that has a firm grasp on Alexandria’s foreign trade.

“Is there anything our mercenary company can do to help?”

“Haha! It’s okay, Commander Joan of Arc. You’ve come a long way, so please get a good rest at least today.”

Antonio’s side had to move to help the Pieta Merchant Guild leader, who had a problem with transportation.

Jeanne asked if there was anything she could do to help out of courtesy,

but Antonio, with an expression that it was nothing serious, advised them to stay as guests tonight.

**********

Thud!

‘Did I drink a little too much without realizing it? Everything in front of me looks blurry, and I barely walked to my room.’

The party continued to some extent even after Antonio left.

As a result, Yujin drank until after midnight.

He was just ending his trip, and his drunkenness was rising to the top of his head,

so fatigue washed over him.

So he lay down on the bed in the executive accommodation assigned to him by the Iron Cross Knights.

Yujin Schneider was in a state of having taken off his armor roughly and wearing an outer garment.

‘I can’t wash up and sleep… I’m fucking tired…’

Yujin looked at the wooden ceiling of the accommodation with blurry eyes,

but he seemed to have no energy left to wash up and sleep even though he was going to.

‘Hmm… For some reason, I’m thinking of Elisabeth especially today? By now, she must have already arrived and be preparing to write a letter to me?’

At that moment, just before he fell asleep,

Yujin was reminded of his younger sister Elisabeth, like a sense of déjà vu.

It must be because her appearance as she left him was worrying to him as an older brother.

‘I should visit the academy sometime… Because I’m not who I used to be…’

Srrr…!

That’s how Yujin fell asleep feeling affectionate towards his younger sister.

About an hour later, when Yujin had fallen into a very deep sleep,

Sssssss…!!!!!

A lilac-colored dimension gate suddenly opened in Yujin’s room.

And through that dimension gate,

Step… Step…

someone walked out.

“Haa… Brother…”

That mysterious being was the person Yujin had thought of before going to sleep, his younger sister Elisabeth.