The Mercenary Exam and the Unexpected Guests
Thank goodness for that.
In the Marika Continent, the age of adulthood was twenty. And it was also the age at which one could first take the mercenary exam. That was why the Mercenary Guild was always overflowing with bright-eyed twenty-year-olds who had nurtured dreams of becoming mercenaries and trained in their own ways for this very day.
Every day, four or five—sometimes as many as ten—young men in their twenties would arrive carrying their own weapons and swollen dreams, ready to take the test and become mercenaries. If they failed, they were given another chance a week later, so it was only natural that the place was constantly packed with both first-timers and retakers. At the same time, since the mercenary exam held every Friday was open for public viewing, there were occasional cases where a veteran mercenary in the audience would take notice and recruit them into a party early or take them on as disciples.
And today, as always, the first-floor main hall of the noisy Mercenary Guild was bustling. Mercenaries looking to pick up requests, those returning after completing them, and others eating before heading out on new jobs were all talking over one another in a lively clamor.
In the midst of that atmosphere, Hermann—a young man who had just turned twenty this year and had come to take the mercenary exam for the first time—clenched and unclenched his trembling hands as he looked around the guild hall.
“Hoo…”
“What’s this? Are you nervous? Oh man, you’re even more of a coward than I thought.”
As Hermann let out a sigh and tried to calm his pounding heart, a woman beside him let out a small snort of laughter and spoke up. She was his childhood friend from the same hometown and a fellow rookie who had come with him to take the exam. Her name was Dana.
“Wouldn’t you be nervous too, Dana? Just look at this atmosphere. My heart pounds every time someone even glances our way.”
“Heh, honestly I’m nervous too. But the excitement makes it even better, don’t you think?”
At Hermann’s honest answer, Dana nodded in agreement. However, unlike Hermann who was taking deep breaths to steady himself, the smile on Dana’s lips was filled with anticipation.
The occasional glances from the mercenaries around them, and the way those seasoned fighters carried themselves with the confidence of the strong—as if rookies like them weren’t even worth noticing—made her realize that they had finally stepped into the very place they had only dreamed about back in their village.
Thanks to that, Dana smiled with more excitement than tension. She patted Hermann’s tense shoulder and said,
“Besides, even if we fail the exam, we can just try again next week, right? So let’s not get too worked up, Hermann.”
“Hoo… Yeah. Looking around, it doesn’t seem like we’re the only ones who are nervous about taking the test.”
Although the main hall was filled with countless mercenaries, there weren’t many others standing stiffly against the wall like Hermann and Dana. And just by looking at their brand-new equipment, it was clear they were also here to take today’s mercenary exam for the first time.
“About ten or so, I’d say?”
“They say that as long as you pass the exam, you’re basically in… but…”
“Still, they say the success rate for first-time rookies is about fifty-fifty. We’ll have to hope for a bit of luck.”
“Well, we’ve always been pretty lucky, haven’t we? Let’s stop worrying!”
Dana patted Hermann’s shoulder once more and flashed a bright smile. Encouraged by that cheerful grin, Hermann finally relaxed his hands, which had stopped trembling, and nodded.
“You’re right. Even if we fail this time, there will be plenty more chances!”
They were still complete rookies who had never even taken on a single proper request. So rather than obsessing over passing this exam, it would be better to focus on learning as much as they could.
Having steeled his resolve, Hermann looked around the hall with a slightly wider perspective than before, waiting for the exam to begin. That was when two figures entered through the guild’s main entrance.
Clack—
“Wooow… So this is the Mercenary Guild?”
“Hehe, does it feel new to you, young miss?”
A small girl who looked to be about 140 centimeters tall and a woman holding her hand stepped into the guild. Both were wearing robes that hid their faces, but the mere fact that they had brought a little girl into the Mercenary Guild was enough to draw the attention of every mercenary inside.
The chatter that had been going on in several places abruptly stopped. The gazes of over a dozen mercenaries turned toward them at once. Naturally, other mercenaries followed suit, one after another. And in their eyes lingered a clear, unspoken emotion—dissatisfaction.
“…What the hell are those two?”
“Bringing a damn kid into the guild…”
“Tsk, nobles really are something else…”
Though they didn’t speak loud enough to be heard clearly, faint murmurs spread among the mercenaries if one strained to listen.
The reason for their reaction was simple. To mercenaries, the guild was not some playground for childish games or pranks. To them, being a mercenary was a profession where only those whose strength had been proven could accept requests using their plate as proof, risk their lives, and complete the job.
Of course, when one considered that more than half the requests were trivial, in reality they were little more than errand runners who also took on dangerous jobs. But that was a matter of pride for them. Naturally, most mercenaries would rather die than admit it.
Regardless, that was how mercenaries saw their profession, and the guild was a place reserved only for those qualified to walk among them. So when someone who was clearly a noble’s escort knight and what appeared to be a noble’s child strolled in as if they were on a picnic, it was only natural for dissatisfaction to show.
The suddenly chilled atmosphere of the guild made Hermann and Dana, who had been leaning against the wall, instinctively lean toward each other and whisper.
“…Dana, doesn’t this feel like it’s about to get dangerous?”
“What a coincidence. I was just thinking the exact same thing.”
The mercenaries stared at the pair with displeased eyes. The woman holding the child’s hand seemed to notice those gazes as well. She stopped walking and looked around.
“Hmm… The atmosphere is worse than I expected.”
The troubled sigh that escaped the woman after she scanned her surroundings carried clear annoyance. Strangely, however, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of fear in her voice.
Not only the Bronze Plate rookies, but even the Silver and Gold Plate veterans were glaring at them. It should have been natural to feel intimidated by the presence of such powerful individuals, yet she showed no sign of fear at all. It didn’t seem like she was simply relying on her family’s status—she genuinely didn’t appear to feel any terror toward their strength.
Well, a noble house’s escort knight would have received excellent training… Maybe she’s stronger than she looks?
Hermann was pondering this inwardly as he watched the woman when her fearless attitude seemed to act as the final trigger. The precarious tension that had been barely holding finally snapped.
“Hey, you noble bitch and that little brat. Do you think the Mercenary Guild is your personal playground? If you don’t want to cause any more trouble, get the hell out of here right now. Or should I cut your heads off and throw you out myself?”
A Silver Plate mercenary stepped forward, spitting out crude curses. The surrounding mercenaries all stared at him with wide eyes. To speak so rudely to someone who was clearly a noble? That level of disrespect could easily get him dragged away and executed without question. That was exactly why the other mercenaries, despite their displeasure, had only glared and muttered among themselves.
It was only natural for their eyes to widen at the sight of a man acting like a reckless lunatic with nothing to lose. Hermann and Dana were no exception.
“W-what’s with that guy? Is he crazy?”
“That’s straight-up insulting a noble. I’ve heard there are plenty of reckless mercenaries, but I never thought we’d see it in person…”
The scene left their mouths hanging open in shock. At the same time, it was such a rare spectacle that they couldn’t tear their eyes away.
In the midst of all those watching eyes, the woman who had been insulted glanced down once at the girl whose hand she held, then spoke to the man.
“You would do well to apologize politely for those words. Especially to the young miss—you should kneel and apologize with the utmost respect. Otherwise, you’ll end up in a situation where you’ll wish you had simply died instead.”
“Ha! What a load of bullshit. What? Kneel and apologize to this little brat?”
The man crouched down where he stood at her words, his face twisted in disgust as he stared at the girl. Then a filthy smile spread across his face as he opened his mouth again.
“Well, the kid’s face isn’t bad. If we sell her at the black mark—”
But before he could finish speaking, in a moment no one could follow, the woman’s sword—still in its sheath—shot out.
Crack—!!!
The sheathed blade smashed into the man’s lower jaw, shattering it as it rose upward. The sword that had been aimed at the sky immediately swung back down, driving the man’s skull straight into the floor.
Boooom—!!!
The man’s face smashed through the wooden planks that made up the floor, shattering them to pieces. The woman, who had been about to swing her sword at him once more, saw that he was still barely breathing and gasping for air. She loosened her white-knuckled grip on the weapon and flicked it lightly.
“Khh… kuhk…”
“…Consider yourself lucky the young miss is here. If she weren’t, I would have drawn the blade instead of using the sheath.”
As the woman flicked her sword, droplets of blood splattered across the floor, striking the man’s head with a wet smack. The entire sequence had taken less than a second. The mercenaries stared at the woman with eyes wide for an entirely different reason than before.
“That… wasn’t the level of a regular escort knight.”
“I couldn’t even see the movement properly.”
“That guy’s mercenary career is over.”
In the now deathly silent atmosphere, the mercenaries whispered among themselves. Some time passed—roughly three minutes—before a man came rushing down the stairs leading to the upper floor, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Whoa, sorry about that! I had something urgent to take care of and got a little delayed!”
“Seriously, can’t you move any faster? If I hadn’t been here, Master would have beaten you to death.”
The sight of the man descending the stairs caused the mercenaries’ eyes to widen for the third time that day. Voices rose all around.
“Th-the Guild Master?!”
“Why is the Guild Master coming down here?”
“Does he know that noble woman?”
The casual, familiar way they spoke to each other suggested their relationship went far beyond mere acquaintances. A wave of bewilderment swept through the mercenaries. However, the atmosphere around Guild Master Martin, the woman, and the girl felt as if they existed in a completely different world. The three of them soon followed Martin up the stairs and disappeared from view.
Once they were completely gone, Hermann turned to Dana standing beside him and asked,
“…Just who were those people?”
“…How should I know?”
Dana could only return the same unanswerable question.