episode_0101

‘Noble?’

Lady Vivian Saint-Pierre.

Of course, she wasn’t wearing the splendid clothes befitting a lady right now.

This is because she is currently living primarily as the leader of the Pieta Company.

Nevertheless, her attire and dignity show a clear difference from those of nouveau riche merchants.

Therefore, Eugene immediately noticed that she was a high-ranking noble, beyond a common aristocrat.

‘Is that bun hairstyle her way of flaunting her noble status?’

Above all, Vivian’s hairstyle was quite a sight.

Vivian, who appeared to be around 23-25 years old,

Nevertheless, she had a long bun hairstyle, typically worn by young, noble ladies from great aristocratic families.

In other words, two enormous blonde buns filled Eugene’s vision,

Eugene felt that she was a being with an unusual aura, beyond simply being a high-ranking noble.

“Are you mute? Why aren’t you answering my question? Antonio is quite disappointing. What kind of rudeness is this?”

Furthermore, Vivian’s attitude was remarkable.

A daughter of a duke’s family would bring attendants when taking a walk.

Even if only for personal protection.

But now she is alone.

In that solitary state, she faced a man with a topless 190CM 106KG body, and wielding a greatsword.

Nevertheless, Vivian asserted herself without being intimidated at all.

‘Her guts are no joke. Mentioning Commander Antonio, is she perhaps the leader of the Pieta Company? She looks too young for that. I heard it’s a really big company.’

Swoosh.

Eugene roughly assessed the situation and turned toward Vivian.

“Ahem…”

Halt!

Vivian, who had been scolding so fiercely that Eugene clicked his tongue, paused the moment Eugene turned completely around.

“Since when has the Iron Cross Knights been so sloppy in their attire? The name of the Iron Cross is ashamed by that appearance.”

Even if it was the same topless state, the back and the front were worlds apart.

Those who know a bit about exercise will be even more excited by the back,

But from a layman’s perspective, they can’t help but react to the broad chest muscles on the front.

It was none other than Eugene Schneider’s magnificent chest muscles, resembling the Pacific Ocean with an incredible square shape.

Moreover, below that was a perfectly shaped, highly defined washboard abs.

That perfectly shaped physique was glistening with sweat, as explicitly as possible, due to the previous training session.

The overwhelming masculine force of the wilderness caused even the bold Vivian to pause.

“Hmm, you see.”

Swoosh…!

At that moment, Eugene Schneider swept his hair back to introduce himself.

As a result, his decadent, handsome face was slightly liberated from the shaggy curtain of hair.

“Um… a, are you perhaps.”

Then, Vivian, who had been constantly pausing, immediately cut off Eugene’s words.

That’s right.

This is the vibe of a noble young lady.

Jeanne, Charlotte, and Elizabeth are too kind.

“Are you perhaps a mercenary affiliated with the Red Fox Mercenary Group, which the Iron Cross Knights decided to collaborate with this time?”

Eugene’s appearance was somewhat unrefined.

No matter how you looked at it, it was far from that of a noble knight.

Even if a commoner is scouted into a noble knight order, they receive fairly thorough etiquette training.

Therefore, what crossed Vivian’s mind was the cooperative mercenary group that Antonio had mentioned in passing beforehand.

In any case, the quest performance costs paid to the Red Fox Mercenary Group are being supported by Vivian’s Pieta Company.

“That’s right. I am Eugene Caesar, the Assault Captain of the Pangea Red Fox Mercenary Group.”

Thud!

As Vivian mentioned the Red Fox Mercenary Group,

Eugene, feeling that there was a glimmer of hope for the situation to be resolved, slung his greatsword over his shoulder and introduced himself.

“I see. Then it makes sense. That’s why you’re so confident in stepping into this place. If you’re a mercenary, I guess you can be like that.”

Vivian, having confirmed that Eugene was a mercenary, straightened her back and responded with a pose befitting a noble young lady.

It seemed like she was trying not to be defeated by Eugene’s seemingly relaxed attitude.

But at that moment,

“Kwooaaaaaaah!!!!”

A wild beast’s roar echoed towards the space where Eugene and Vivian were facing each other.

‘An enormous beast, not an ordinary one!’

Whoosh!

Eugene’s expression changed to one of battle readiness.

Therefore, he immediately turned his head towards the direction from which the beast’s roar came.

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

The dense bushes rustled in the direction Eugene turned his head.

The entire bush was rustling, it was a very large creature.

“Kwoooooaaaaah!!”

Whoosh! Thud thud thud!

Soon, a mysterious beast burst through the bushes and revealed itself.

The creature rushed towards Eugene Schneider with tremendous speed.

‘It’s a very big cat. About three times the size of a Siberian tiger?’

Swoosh…!

A feline predator with sand-golden fur,

It was very large. It resembled a tiger at first glance, but it had no stripes.

Sword Expert Eugene adjusted his grip on his greatsword to face the creature.

“No, Siakan!!!!”

At that moment, Vivian shouted towards the golden beast.

The beast’s name is Siakan.

Thud thud thud!!!

Siakan came to a sudden stop at Vivian’s words.

‘Is that woman his pet?’

Not only did she know his name, but the beast reacted immediately to Vivian’s command,

Even to Eugene, it seemed that Siakan was Vivian’s possession.

In the western desert, a beast called the Golden Tiger resides.

Siakan was of that Golden Tiger species, and he was not only Vivian’s pet but also her friend who acted as her bodyguard.

The reason Vivian was able to take a walk alone from the morning without bringing other bodyguards was because of Siakan’s presence.

Siakan had been watching Vivian’s situation from afar and following her,

And when Eugene placed his greatsword on his shoulder, he recognized it as an attack signal and rushed in.

“Come here, Siakan. That person is not your target.”

“Krrr…”

Vivian called Siakan over.

Then, Siakan immediately walked towards her.

‘Looking at it like that, I can tell she’s the head of a trading company that dominates foreign trade. A desert beast.’

Watching that scene, Eugene was slightly intrigued.

When he was carrying out the Pilgrim’s Writings, he stopped by a pilgrimage site near the western desert,

And that place was none other than the sacred ground of the guardian spirit Baramion Tiger.

The Golden Tiger is a beast said to be a descendant of that legendary guardian spirit Baramion Tiger.

“I will apologize for making you feel threatened. Let’s consider it an exchange for entering this area without permission. How about it?”

“Alright. I will also apologize for entering without knowing.”

Despite having the appearance of a noble young lady,

Vivian also possessed a somewhat cool side, befitting the owner of a giant trading company.

She suggested settling it neatly,

And Eugene readily agreed.

At that moment, from the side of the two people,

“Oh no! I’m too late!”

“Eugene, hyung! No, Assault Captain Eugene!”

Thud thud thud thud!

Davis and Thomas were climbing up the hill with panicked faces.

“Really? You saw the leader of the Pieta Company?”

In Jeanne’s temporary tent office, created by the Iron Cross Knights,

She was sitting in a desk chair, looking at documents, and looked up at someone with slightly widened eyes.

“Yeah. I went to the hill to the south for a morning exercise, and it turned out that place was the Pieta Company leader’s private land. They hadn’t opened it to the knights. It seemed like a private walking area.”

The person was, of course, Eugene Schneider.

Eugene Schneider returned to the lodging, took a shower, had breakfast, and then came to see Jeanne.

This time slot is the time for a one-on-one conversation between the commander and the assault captain.

And, of course, the current topic was the situation Eugene experienced in the morning.

“I already expected her to be a noble, but what level of noble does she seem to be? Does she seem quite high-ranking? Even to me, this area doesn’t seem like a place that ordinary nobles would own. After all, it’s within the count’s territory, right? They wouldn’t give it to just anyone.”

As such, Jeanne, having heard that Eugene had met the Pieta Company leader, began to ask for more specific details.

In terms of combat, Antonio is clearly the cooperation partner, but in terms of the entire quest project, the Pieta Company leader, who is the source of funds, is also a key figure.

In particular, from Jeanne’s perspective, marking the company leader is a more difficult task than dealing with Antonio, the commander of the knights.

They are completely different professions.

At least the commander of the knights has some connection to the political side,

But mercenaries rarely do, except for very large mercenary groups.

“Well, I didn’t hear her name. But judging from her overall visuals, attire, and attitude towards Davis, who is a baron, I thought she was at least a count. I also saw the unique look in the eyes of ladies of that status.”

Jeanne, too, is aware that the Pieta Company leader is a woman.

So Eugene explained it based on that premise.

“Is she a picky and sensitive type, as expected? Well, it would be stranger if a high-ranking noble who is also earning money wasn’t like that.”

A collaboration between a high-ranking noble lady and the head of a giant trading company,

It’s not easy.

Therefore, Jeanne clicked her tongue intensely.

After that, Eugene said something that made her click her tongue even more.

“That’s how it seemed. She looked about the same age as you, Jeanne, or maybe a little older, but she was still wearing a bun hairstyle? That’s got to be a tremendous stubbornness, right?”

Eugene mentioned Vivian’s bun hairstyle, which had left the strongest impression on him.

“Bun hairstyle??”

Jeanne’s eyes widened sharply at the mention of the bun hairstyle, and her brows furrowed slightly.

“Huh? Your reaction is even more intense than I expected, Jeanne? Do you empathize with my nuance to that extent?”

Even Eugene could see that Jeanne was showing a more intense reaction than usual regarding Vivian’s bun hairstyle.

“Ah, no. I just thought she was a bit eccentric.”

However, Jeanne immediately changed her expression and brushed it off.

She didn’t seem to want to mention what had made her furrow her brows to Eugene Schneider at the moment.

‘Ah, seriously, what did I ever do to bun hairstyles… I suddenly feel even more threatened…’

However, Jeanne’s heart felt like she couldn’t brush it off no matter how hard she tried.

An intense feeling of impending crisis rose up,

Jeanne even let out a light sigh and showed a slight annoyance.

“Well, then, the leader of the Pieta Company, who you were originally scheduled to meet yesterday, will be joining us.”

Two hours later,

The situation where the truth of that feeling of impending crisis would be completely revealed arrived.

The official first joint meeting between the Iron Cross Knights and the Red Fox Mercenary Group had become the theme.

And Pieta Company leader Vivian was going to attend.

After giving a preliminary explanation after the meeting’s opening declaration, Antonio called Vivian in.

“Hohoho, please be seated. It’s overwhelming for you all to greet me standing like that.”

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter,

Then, Vivian finally walked into the Iron Cross Knights meeting tent with her secretary.

Swoosh…!

Jeanne, who was standing up out of courtesy and slightly turned her head to look at Vivian entering,

“!!!!!!!”

Her eyes immediately widened.

‘Damn it, so it was that bitch Vivian????’

Jeanne and Vivian, the two of them were, as expected, very well acquainted.