Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Newbie (1)
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The streets where the guild's main facilities were clustered began filling with people from the crack of dawn.
To snag the best missions first.
To prepare for expeditions.
To do business with all the gathered mercenaries.
And among them all, the one building that drew crowds earliest was the Mercenary Recruitment Office.
The most bustling spot, yet laced with the deepest tension.
Numerous unaffiliated mercenaries sat on chairs in the waiting room, stealing glances around and sizing each other up.
Some wore anxious expressions, relentlessly scanning every passerby.
Others pretended to be unflappable, staring straight ahead without a twitch.
Still others hung their heads, sighing as they killed time.
They passed the hours in all sorts of ways, but they were all there for the same reason.
Rookie mercenaries who hadn't joined any corps yet.
They'd paid the fee to register with the guild and earned the right to work, but they were total newbies—unaffiliated with any mercenary corps and without a single mission under their belts.
In a city overflowing with mercenaries, hardly any corps wanted to take on someone with zero experience.
If you didn't have any standout skills to boast about, all you could do was wait endlessly for a fledgling corps that might need even a rookie like you.
One wall of the Mercenary Recruitment Office was plastered with bulletin boards covered in scribbled notes.
They were like resumes, penned by the mercenaries themselves with whatever skills and self-intros they could muster.
"Who's Sara?"
"Yes! Me, number four!"
Corps leaders seeking recruits constantly passed by, occasionally peeling off a note that caught their eye and calling out a name.
Each time a mercenary answered and bolted up, the seated ones shot envious glances their way.
Ian arrived at the Mercenary Recruitment Office and scanned the mercenaries lounging in the waiting area.
It hadn't been long, but he'd grown familiar enough with life here that he carried the unmistakable air of a corps leader.
The sitting mercenaries instinctively sensed he was a leader on the hunt for recruits.
Ian turned his gaze to the bulletin boards filled with the mercenaries' profiles.
Over there, leaders pored over the resumes, desperately searching for anyone useful.
Ian didn't need to bother with those handwritten intros. Instead, he strolled right up to the chairs where the mercenaries sat.
Leaders sometimes picked on first impressions alone, so every time Ian's footsteps passed by, the mercenaries straightened up tensely.
Ian walked slowly, eyeing each nervous face one by one.
Most didn't appeal to him, but finding the right recruits wasn't a one-day job anyway.
Ian made a habit of stopping by every morning to check out the available mercenaries.
This had gone on for several days now.
Finally, Ian's steps halted in front of someone.
A mercenary clutching a staff as tall as herself slowly lifted her head, frozen in tension.
The sun had fully risen, brightening the streets enough that no lanterns were needed.
With the hectic predawn rush over, a calm, leisurely vibe settled over the inn's first floor.
Rin came down yawning lazily, her face relaxed, and claimed a wide table all to herself.
It was a bit late for breakfast, so the inn's ground floor held only a few off-duty mercenaries enjoying a slow meal.
Rin picked up her fork as the morning dishes started arriving one by one.
Screech—
The inn's door creaked open softly, and Ian stepped inside.
Having returned early from his outing, Ian spotted Rin eating breakfast on the first floor.
"Oh. Captain."
"You're up already."
Ian had planned to head upstairs and wake her if she was still asleep, but this worked out perfectly. He pulled out a chair and sat across from her.
Rin, who had clearly just rolled out of bed, yawned and stretched.
"Haaah... Where've you been so early?"
"Had some guild business."
"You always have so much to do?"
As Ian chatted with Rin, the innkeeper approached and set down a fresh plate on the table.
Ian glanced at the lavish breakfast laid out in front of Rin.
"Fancy menu for breakfast..."
"We got paid well last time."
The inn's standard breakfast was usually a pot of stew and a hunk of bread.
But if it wasn't peak hours, you could tip the innkeeper extra for custom dishes made to order.
In addition to the basic stew and bread, Rin had a roasted hunk of meat and some baked potatoes.
Ian covered the basics with the room fee he'd prepaid, but the extras were Rin's splurge with her own coin.
Whenever she got a big payout, Rin indulged like this on food.
No matter how big the paycheck, it'd vanish fast if she did this daily... but Ian decided not to point it out.
Pay was for spending as you pleased, and "mercenary" and "savings" weren't words that went together anyway.
Moments later, bread and stew arrived for Ian too.
Ian waved off the innkeeper and placed an order.
"Oh, and two steak plates... plus a fruit salad."
Rin, who'd been watching, grinned mischievously at Ian's order.
"Says the captain who's in no position to judge me."
"Nah, this isn't for me."
"Oh...? Then can I have it?"
Just then, the inn's door swung open again.
Two mercenaries entered, stiff with nerves, scanning the room rigidly.
Spotting Ian's face, they hurried over and stood ramrod straight before the table.
"H-Hello, sir!"
"Greetings."
These were the recruits Ian had found that morning at the Mercenary Recruitment Office.
After checking the place out for days, he'd finally spotted the ones he wanted and hired them on the spot.
They'd wrapped up the remaining guild paperwork and grabbed their gear before heading to the inn Ian had directed them to.
"Who are they?"
"New recruits."
Rin blinked, fork still in her mouth. She clearly hadn't expected any new members joining the corps.
"We need more hands for D-rank missions."
"Whoa!"
Rin, used to it just being the two of them, widened her eyes at the word "new recruits."
Up until now, the corps name had felt hollow—they'd cleared missions as just Ian the captain and Rin.
Of course, it had grown comfortable being a duo, with its own simple charm...
But a real mercenary corps needed a bunch of members.
With that thought, Rin's eyes sparkled as she looked at the two standing before the table.
A brief silence fell, and one stepped forward, figuring it was time for introductions.
"I'm Tanya! Here as a porter!"
The mercenary—with red hair braided back neatly, exuding an vibe totally unsuited to mercenary work—bowed deeply.
"Um... I haven't fought before, but I'll work hard at anything you give me!"
Porter. In other words... baggage handler.
Porters in a corps handled odd jobs, meal prep, and miscellaneous chores.
The reason for hiring them as official members? They joined expeditions too—hauling gear, guarding luggage in fights, collecting loot.
Rin's eyes lit up at the word.
Having a porter was a sign of a thriving corps.
They were the first cut when times got tough, but hiring a new one meant the corps was growing steadily.
After Tanya's intro, Rin's gaze shifted to the other recruit beside her.
Unlike the rigidly tense Tanya, this one—long straight hair cascading down, staff in hand—tried to project a calm demeanor as she gave her name.
"I'm Mika."
But it was just an attempt.
She couldn't hide that rookie tension; you could tell she was trying hard to seem composed.
"My position... is mage."
"...!"
Rin, even more shocked than before, scooted right up to Ian's side.
She whispered to him, too quietly for the two to hear.
"Don't mages cost a fortune?"
"Mm... A bit more than your average mercenary."
Rin stared at Mika with shining eyes.
Real-world mercenary life had shattered many of her fantasies, but "mage" reignited that old romantic spark.
A mage... had joined the corps!
"What magic's your specialty? Fire?"
"...No."
"Lightning then?"
"No, um..."
Mika, who had seemed so confident at first, grew quieter with each question.
In the end, she shrank back like any rookie, confidence drained, and mumbled her answer.
"I... haven't learned any magic yet..."
"...Then you're not a mage?"
"......"
Mika bowed her head under Rin's suddenly dimmed gaze.
Ian, watching from the side, chimed in with a gentle nudge.
"Rookies are all like that. You were cocky after taking down one single goblin at first."
"......"
This time, Rin was the one hanging her head.
Most rookies were the same.
Swordsmen rarely had access to proper training, and even if a country boy had mage talent, no way he could afford pricey spells.
In the end—swordsman or mage—they showed up to the labyrinth with nothing but the cheapest sword or staff, bare-handed.
"Have a seat, both of you."
Ian gestured to the empty chairs.