Cradle of Heroes (15): The Knight Commander's Offer
Apart from the stories of that other world, I had quite a few long conversations with Kim Da-jeong while we stood night watch together. We covered the current state of the Border Region—where we would almost certainly be sent once we left the cradle—along with the names of decent mercenary companies, notable nobles, and other pieces of information that were nearly impossible to obtain while stuck inside these walls. I came away with more than I had expected.
“Do you usually hand out information this easily?”
“It’s all goodwill, pure goodwill. If you make it big later, you’ll have to pay me back for all of it, got it?”
She talked about paying her back someday, but in truth it was basically a free gift. Even within the same Border Region, the empire’s territory was so vast that different areas of operation would make running into each other again nearly impossible. She had buried her feelings deep in her chest. Whether the day would ever come when she could bring them out again, I didn’t know. But I hoped that if it did, she would be able to.
After spending that endless night watch in such a useful way, the journey back was comfortable. Monsters did leap out at us from time to time, but none of them were particularly threatening. The moment they appeared they were pierced by Lee Chang-hwan’s arrows and retired from the stage, so we returned to the cradle without any real trouble.
“You’ve all worked hard.”
The instant he heard we had returned, Gilen came out to greet us and delivered a pleasant piece of news at the same time.
“The requests ended up taking longer than expected, so your stay permits have been extended by roughly five days.”
“Oh, so when exactly do we have to leave?”
“You may remain for one more full week. While you are here, I hope you will make prudent choices for the road ahead.”
At the words “one more week,” everyone let out a sigh of relief. They had been secretly convinced they would be kicked out of the cradle immediately; the extension seemed to ease the weight in their stomachs.
“Yoon Iseo.”
I had heard everything I needed to hear and was about to head upstairs when Gilen stopped me. I walked over.
“Yoon Iseo, would you happen to have time tomorrow morning?”
“I don’t have any particular plans, so sure… why?”
“The bishop wishes to see you.”
“Bishop Silas?”
“Yes. He asked me to tell you he has something to discuss with you.”
“All right. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”
“Then I will come escort you when the time arrives.”
With that, Gilen gave a polite bow and departed. I watched his retreating back for a moment before turning toward my room, when—
“Senior, what did Gilen want?”
“Nothing important. The bishop wants to see me tomorrow.”
“The bishop? Why would he want to see you? Don’t tell me it’s a recruitment offer?”
Song Dayeong was getting worked up. I considered it briefly, but I doubted that was the case.
“The Goddess Church doesn’t accept anyone without divine power talent.”
The ironic part was that we were hero candidates sent by the goddesses themselves, yet they didn’t take everyone—only those who possessed divine power. It was absurd that people labeled as hero candidates could lack that talent in the first place.
“Still, you never know. Looking at the cradle, the Goddess Church doesn’t seem so bad…”
“I think you’re misunderstanding something. The Goddess Church does not recruit people without divine power talent, okay? Even if they tried to recruit me, they still wouldn’t take you.”
My words seemed to hit her like a revelation. Song Dayeong’s eyes widened, and she immediately reversed course.
“Now that I think about it, the Goddess Church probably isn’t for us.”
Watching her flip her opinion in the blink of an eye, I draped an arm over her shoulder and led her back to the room. A return was a return, but we still had things to do.
I woke up late, washed, and prepared myself. Gilen arrived and guided me to Bishop Silas’s office. The bishop’s workspace was tucked away in a quiet corner of the cradle, but once inside I saw it was bright with sunlight and impeccably organized. It truly felt like the room of someone who held the rank of bishop.
“You’ve arrived, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo. Please, sit here.”
I took the indicated sofa. Bishop Silas sat across from me, lifted a teacup from the table, and poured me a cup.
“This is tea brewed from rapa leaves harvested in Count Panima’s domain in the southern empire. Hero candidates tend to favor it the most.”
At his urging I took a sip and immediately understood why.
It’s black tea.
Though they called it rapa tea, the flavor was nearly identical to black tea. Since black tea was popular in both East and West alike, it made perfect sense that hero candidates preferred it. Personally I had never been fond of tea, so my hand didn’t naturally reach for it, but since it had been offered I continued drinking out of basic courtesy.
We sat in awkward silence, simply sipping our tea. When roughly half the cups had been emptied, Bishop Silas finally spoke.
“There are two reasons I asked to meet with you today, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo.”
“Two reasons?”
I hadn’t imagined we would have that much to talk about, but I listened.
“The first is… what is your opinion of our Goddess Church?”
“…I think it’s not bad.”
I didn’t know much about the clergy’s character or their doctrines, but as an organization it seemed decent enough.
After all, it’s the only religion in Aeteria.
Every nation on the continent worshipped only one goddess—Aeteria. The empire, the other kingdoms, all of them. Members of the Goddess Church therefore received favorable treatment wherever they went. As organizations went, it was hard to find better.
Still, it was ultimately a religious body…
“Would you consider joining us?”
“I have no talent for divine power.”
“I am aware. Though it is rare, we do occasionally recruit those without the talent.”
Faced with Bishop Silas’s calm, matter-of-fact offer, I fell into thought. There were certainly many advantages, but the religious nature of the group still bothered me. It wasn’t simply that I had no faith. No matter how good an impression I made, I would never become part of the mainstream inside those walls. The relationship would be similar to that between soldiers and civilian military personnel, but given the era, it could easily be worse. Unless I ran my own mercenary company of hero candidates, I would be an outsider everywhere I went. I had no desire to be the one who didn’t fit in and was left on the periphery again.
“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline.”
“It cannot be helped. I respect your decision.”
He didn’t press me at all. It seemed he had expected rejection from the start.
“Then the second matter…”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Bishop, a guest has arrived.”
“It appears our timing was perfect. There is someone who wishes to meet Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo.”
When he said someone was looking for me, I wondered who it could be. Since possessing this body I had almost never needed to look up at anyone, yet now I found myself doing exactly that.
“Oh! Silas, it’s been a while.”
“Reynold, it has indeed been some time.”
“Contact me more often! Getting old is boring enough as it is! KHAHAHA!”
“For the knight commander of the Drakenfels Marquisate to complain of boredom? That doesn’t sound right at all.”
“All the tedious work is handled by the subordinates anyway. You of all people should know that. KHAHAHA!”
Knight commander of a marquisate… Listening to their exchange, I could barely follow. They clearly shared a close friendship, but why would someone like him want to see me?
“Is this the newly arrived hero candidate?”
“Ah, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo, allow me to introduce you. This is Reynold Bulsen, Knight Commander of the Drakenfels Marquisate.”
“Nice to… meet you. I’m Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo.”
Unsure how to address a noble, I simply extended my hand. The man ignored the gesture entirely. He stepped straight up to me, thrust his intimidating face forward, and scanned me from head to toe.
Frankly, it felt unpleasant. But he was a knight commander—of a marquisate, no less. That meant he was at minimum an advanced knight. Like a private soldier standing before a division commander, I stiffened and kept my mouth shut, waiting silently until he finished his inspection.
“Hmm… Certainly, unlike those other hero candidate bastards, your build is quite satisfactory. You. Join our marquisate’s conquest party.”
The first words out of his mouth were a demand to join the conquest party. A conquest party was essentially a noble-operated exploration team for the Border Region. They hunted monsters mutated and strengthened by demonic energy, their very existence a tool to display the nobles’ power. Catch powerful monsters, parade them around, prove how great you are. Of course, because they were run by nobles the treatment was supposedly the best in the business—especially under a high-ranking house like a marquisate.
“I’ll give you the highest treatment available anywhere. If there’s anything you desire, I’ll accommodate it as much as possible.”
“…Must I answer you right now?”
“Hoo, have you received a better offer somewhere else?”
“There’s still time. Isn’t it possible another offer could come in?”
“KHAHAHA. True, that could happen.”
Thud.
After laughing heartily for a while, Knight Commander Reynold dropped a heavy hand on my shoulder. Towering over me with his massive frame, he spoke.
“I’ll give you exactly one day. I’ve come to see an old friend after so long; I can’t simply leave empty-handed. Is that sufficient?”
His eyes and mouth were smiling, yet the deep scar at his temple made the expression look anything but friendly up close. I nodded at once.
“I’ll have an answer for you by tomorrow.”
“Good. KHAHAHA. Hey, Silas! Let’s go have a drink since we’re both here!”
“I am still on duty, you fool.”
“What kind of bishop cares about such trivial things? Come on!”
It felt as if a storm had swept through the room. I watched the two men leave me behind in the office and let out a long sigh.
When I stepped outside, Gilen was still waiting. I asked him about the knight commander.
“Does that man visit often?”
“The two are close, so he comes two or three times a year.”
“So my business was just a side errand.”
Even so, sending a knight commander for something like this seemed excessive. Then again, with a face like that, if he decided to do it himself, no one would be able to stop him.
“He can be rather forceful, but he is not a bad person. The Drakenfels Marquisate is also a house of great renown.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Not at all.”
After thanking Gilen for the final piece of counsel, I headed back to my room. I had told the knight commander I would think it over, but in reality there was no better offer. The highest proposal I had received until now had come from a count’s household. From what I knew, marquisates and higher normally preferred people who had already proven themselves. High nobles had their pride, after all, and the image that “not just anyone can enter” meant they favored those with a track record in the Border Region. Being able to walk straight in would be ideal.
While I pondered what to do, I arrived at my room and saw Kwon Soyeon speaking with a man dressed in unmistakably expensive clothing.
“Then let me know once you’ve decided.”
“Yes. Please travel safely.”