The Commander's Test
I had somewhat expected that Kwon Soyeon wouldn't be joining us. Aside from being the only remaining friend from Earth, there was no reason for her to follow me. By now, even the "only friend" part had become ambiguous. After drugging her with the aphrodisiac potion and having sex, whether we could still be considered friends was questionable. If anything, we might be enemies. Yet the reason Kwon Soyeon had remained friendly afterward was ultimately because of the points I could provide and my value even after coming to Aeteria. Even after arriving at the Cradle, I continued to prove myself, resulting in offers from many places. In that situation, it would have been a waste to simply discard me. So she stayed close. Now that she had made up her mind to some extent, she was naturally starting to distance herself. I understood—after all, you never know how things will turn out, so it's wise to keep at least one option open—but it was still disappointing.
I wanted to see a college senior and junior sharing the same bed.
I had thought I might actually get to experience something straight out of an adult webtoon, but judging by the current atmosphere, that seemed unlikely.
"Uh… Iseo."
Startled by my sudden appearance, Kwon Soyeon glanced around nervously. There was nothing particularly surprising about it, yet her flustered reaction made me greet her cheerfully and join the conversation.
"Hey, Soyeon. Who's this?"
I could have just said hello and moved on, but I decided to probe a little, curious about where the recruitment offer had come from.
"This person is, um…"
"Pleased to meet you, Yoon Iseo. My name is Coman, in service to Viscount Berne."
"Likewise, Coman."
A viscount. The title was lower than I expected. Of course, among the five ranks of nobility it was the fourth, so it might not seem like much, but a viscount was still someone who couldn't be easily ignored. Especially in the Empire, a viscount's tax-generating lands could rival or exceed those of a count in other countries, so it wasn't something to dismiss lightly.
Someone like that wants Kwon Soyeon…
I didn't know the reason, but from her perspective it wasn't a bad offer. Mages required enormous amounts of money to grow. Even the most basic magic book I'd seen at the bookstore a few days before the second request cost one gold per volume. Of course, with so few mages in the Cradle, supply was limited and prices had risen, but if the cheapest introductory text already cost that much, I couldn't even imagine the price of the others.
"Yoon Iseo, if you haven't received any other offers, how about joining Viscount Berne's household?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm already considering another place."
Even if I turned down the place I had in mind, I probably couldn't join any noble house lower in rank than the Drakenfels Marquisate. If I did, that Reynold fellow would likely separate my head from my body. So if I were to attach myself to a noble house, it would probably be the Drakenfels Marquisate.
"If it's not too presumptuous, may I ask where?"
"I'm sorry. I can't disclose that yet."
"Not at all. That's understandable. Then, if you ever feel like speaking with us later, please contact either Mage Kwon Soyeon here or the White Branch Inn in the city. We'll be staying there for the time being, so feel free to reach out."
With those words, Coman maintained his professional smile to the very end and left the Cradle.
"You're going there?"
"Huh? I haven't decided yet…"
From her expression, she still had a lot to think about. That was only natural—her entire future was at stake, so she needed to agonize over it until the very end. Even I hadn't given an immediate answer to the marquis's offer and had postponed it until tomorrow. I understood.
"So, have you decided?"
"More or less."
"Can I ask where?"
I already had a rough idea of where I was headed. All that remained was choosing among the options. Faced with her direct question, a mischievous impulse struck me.
"Probably the Drakenfels Marquisate."
"Hup…! Marquisate! Gah!"
"Shh! Someone might hear. It's still a secret, so don't tell anyone."
When Kwon Soyeon cried out in shock at the word "marquisate," I hurriedly covered her mouth and pretended to check our surroundings. At my action, she blinked her large eyes and nodded. Satisfied, I smiled inwardly and removed my hand from her lips.
It might have been conceited of me, but hearing the word "marquisate" had probably made the thoughts in her head just a little more complicated. Even if she went to the viscount, he wouldn't give her money whenever she asked—she would constantly have to haggle over funds. Dealing with a professional at that game might be harder than squeezing money out of me. After all, she already had the memory of extracting five hundred points from me. And she had probably noticed the relationship between Song Dayeong and me…
The moment I imagined the two of them lying in the same bed, my lower body grew heavy. Thanks to that, I gave Kwon Soyeon an awkward farewell and headed straight up to my room, only to suddenly feel pathetic about myself.
Feels like I'm living with my dick instead of my brain…
Lately I'd been working my hips every night; maybe my brain really had migrated downward. Having thoughts like this made me think I needed to cut back a little.
After finishing her conversation with Yoon Iseo and returning to her room, Kwon Soyeon threw herself onto the bed.
Thud.
The unfamiliar cheap soap scent—now more familiar than shampoo—wafted up, and for some reason she felt wronged.
"Why do I have to worry about this?"
Originally, this was the time when she should have been worrying about employment, but back then she at least had the specs she had built up. Here, she had nothing. The only thing she possessed was the ambiguous talent called Magic Comprehension (Mid-Low) that she had obtained by sullying her body. It was certainly a grateful talent that had allowed her to use magic, but because it was a talent that helped with understanding, and with no magic books available right now, she was at best a first-circle mage. Even a first-circle mage was still a mage, so plenty of places sought her out, but they all felt mediocre, leaving her unable to decide where to go.
The Viscount Berne household she had met today had offered substantial support, which had drawn her in…
"Was he serious about going under the marquis?"
He had no reason to lie, and given his abilities as she had seen them so far, it was highly likely. The marquisate… They would probably pay a lot of money.
She felt a bit guilty obsessing over money, but ever since hearing Kim Dajeong's advice before going on the request, money was all she could think about. When she had explained her situation, Kim Dajeong had told her to go somewhere that paid mages well without exception. She had emphasized multiple times that only then would her skills grow quickly, and Kwon Soyeon knew it was true. This was a place where one's skills were directly tied to survival. For a mage, raising one's abilities required not only combat but also constant research and study. And this was the medieval era, where studying cost the most money. A single basic book cost one gold—how much more would she need in the future? Naturally, among all the conditions, she had become fixated on money.
In that situation, hearing that Yoon Iseo was going under the marquis made an option she had once erased from her mind resurface. She shook her head vigorously.
"No, Soyeon. That's not it."
Back then she had only thought that because she was truly cornered. Now that she had many options, there was no need to crawl under Yoon Iseo.
"Forget it. Forget."
To erase the stray thoughts that had risen in her mind, Kwon Soyeon sat at her desk and carefully spread out a sheet of paper. It was such poor quality that she wouldn't have even glanced at it in the modern world, yet it had been expensive enough that she had to spend nearly all the money she had set aside for buying books. Still, determined to organize the magic in her head, she had made the investment. On the paper, Kwon Soyeon carefully wrote down her knowledge one character at a time, calmly sorting through her thoughts—until the ugly memories of her past no longer surfaced.
"So? Have you made your decision?"
After the promised time had passed, I met with Knight Commander Reynold again in Bishop Silas's office. Looking at his expression, I let out a sigh inwardly.
This guy knew everything.
Reynold had been smiling meaningfully at me since earlier. I was certain he knew that once he declared he was recruiting me, all the other offers would disappear. Originally, I should have spent the entire previous day meeting with various people and hearing their stories, but everyone I met had said the same thing: "I'm sorry." Why had people who had been begging me to talk to them just last week suddenly changed their tune? There was only one person who could have caused that. He probably hadn't done anything special. He had simply let a word slip to someone, and it had reached the right ears, causing them to withdraw their offers on their own. That was what power looked like—making people grovel without lifting a finger.
Still, I had thought the mercenary groups formed by Hero Candidates might be different, but even those claiming to be among the top ten mercenary groups had left without a word. It seemed nobles really did have the strongest connections.
"I'll work with you. But there are a few things I'd like you to agree to."
"Kuhahaha. Of course. Go ahead and say it. I'll grant anything except cutting off the Demon King's head."
"Please let me bring one companion with me."
"That's hardly anything compared to that serious face. Very well, I'll allow that much. Anything else?"
"You'll handle the rest anyway, won't you? After all, I'm someone the Knight Commander himself came to recruit."
"Exactly! Kuhahaha, you know your worth. I'll make sure everything else is the best. Now, pick up a sword."
"Excuse me?"
When I asked in confusion at the sudden request to pick up a sword, Reynold grinned, one corner of his mouth lifting in a fearsome smile.
"We're going to be working together from now on. I need to know your skill level. Did you really think we'd just leave without crossing swords?"
I had no hobby of fighting people stronger than me, but the look in his eyes made it clear that refusing would only lead to being forced anyway. I had no choice but to nod.
"Kuhahaha, good! Hey, Silas, is the training ground ready?"
"If you destroy the training ground again this time, I'm sending the bill straight to the Drakenfels Marquisate."
"That was because we were sparring with the Cradle's knights last time. This time it's just this one kid—don't worry about it breaking!"
Watching Reynold pound his chest and boast, Bishop Silas shook his head. Just from that expression, I could already predict the future.
Damn, how savagely do they spar for the training ground to break?
I couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of training would destroy the facility.
"Alright! Let's go!"
"Wait!"
With those words, Reynold grabbed the back of my neck with his pot-lid-sized hand and lifted me up. I was a solid 185 cm and hadn't neglected training, so my build wasn't small, yet he hoisted me with one hand. I was shocked once by that monstrous strength.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
I was shocked a second time by the insane act of carrying me all the way to the training ground in that state.
"Haa… Can't we just walk normally?"
"Sparring should be done the moment the blood starts boiling. Here, this is the sword you'll be using."
What a temperamental guy. Reynold, who had been laughing since earlier for some reason, tossed me a sword. I picked it up and took my stance.
"Ho, your posture isn't bad."
While Reynold leisurely admired my stance, I raised my tension, ready to spring forward at any moment.
"Come at me, then."
Signaling me to come with a flick of his fingers, I held my breath and charged with all my strength.
"Hup!"
My opponent was overwhelmingly stronger. Since there was no way I could win no matter what I did, I swung my sword at Reynold, who stood defenseless, with the intent to kill him in a single strike.
"Not bad."
My sword had clearly been about to reach the commander's neck. Even though I had pushed my concentration to the limit and time had seemed to slow, it happened in a split second too fast to catch.
"Not bad at all."
Before I knew it, Reynold's arm had moved, and his fist was already striking my sword. When my concentration broke and time returned to normal flow—
Bang!!
Before I realized it, I was sliding across the training ground wall, embedded in it.