Chapter 2
Now that I knew the novel's contents, spoiling Aria was no big deal at all. Even just sticking to the original route would open the doors to luxury for her.
But until then, I have to protect her daily life.
I had to safeguard this routine until Aria was adopted into the count's family. By her side, as Aria's sword, I would protect her.
I moved my legs, heavy as waterlogged cotton, slowly. I'd just barely talked Aria out of nagging me to rest.
I've gotta hurry.
I checked the time and clicked my tongue. Only ten minutes left until our fixed appointment at 6 p.m.
I forcibly activated my worn-out, rusted mana circuits, strained from days of magic beast subjugation. My insides boiled even as mana wrapped around my feet. I leaped lightly into the air.
I had a client I'd been dealing with for two years. We always met on the capital's most glamorous, bustling Sun Temple Street.
This client's really weird.
I let out a faint sigh thinking of the familiar yet still bizarre client. Every meeting, they pulled some eccentric stunt that gave me a headache.
As I entered a dark, deserted alley, a clean, luxurious restaurant stood alone at the end. Helene Restaurant.
Reservations only, tucked away in such a remote spot that most people didn't even know it existed. Entry required a mask, making it perfect for secret rendezvous among the elite. Even the prices reflected that.
I'd been clueless about the costs for a while since the client always footed the bill.
This... it can't really be actual gold, can it?
"It's edible gold, so no worries. If you don't like it, should I tell them to throw it away?"
"Are you insane? Why would you throw this away!"
Then one day, they served me truffle roasted with gold leaf dust. After spotting the menu prices in shock, every meal felt like grinding diamonds with my teeth.
I donned a black mask that exposed only my eyes and lower face, plus a magic tool to distort my voice, and cleared my throat.
"Ah, ah."
A modulated voice emerged, impossible to pin as male or female. It was time to work as the mercenary Black Calamity Mir.
The exposed restaurant screamed money. Inside, it teemed with nobles in flashy masks. Surprised stares prickled my skin. Amid all the ornate outfits, I looked like a crow among swans, wrapped head to toe in my black cloak.
"Black Calamity Mir?"
"No way. Why would he be in a place like this..."
"But I've heard rumors he frequents the area."
"There are so many copycats anyway. All the mercenaries these days dress like that."
"True enough."
A ripple spread through the restaurant with murmurs, but the stares gradually drifted away.
Once Black Calamity Mir made a name for herself, mercenaries copying her distinctive style exploded in numbers. Two out of every ten did it, so even without much disguise, people assumed I wasn't the real deal.
"An honor to serve you. Do you have a reservation?"
The waiter bowed politely. I gave a small nod.
"I have an appointment with the sky at noon."
The waiter's eyes changed in an instant. It was nonsense, but those in the know would recognize the code.
"...I see. What would you like for your meal?"
"On a bright day like today, I think a steak with sunny-side-up eggs and red champagne would be perfect."
It had been gloomy all day, and there was no red champagne anyway—this was obvious gibberish—but the waiter gave a short bow and gestured toward the VIP rooms inside.
"Right this way to the sky."
I followed the leading waiter to the familiar spot.
Meetings with my client, who introduced himself as "the sky," always happened in Helene's VIP room.
"Enjoy your time."
As always, the waiter escorted me to the door at the end of the hall, bowed, and left.
Alright... let's do this today too.
I'd met countless clients as a mercenary. All sorts of bizarre people too. Yet this one stood out as uniquely odd.
Determined not to get swept up this time, I turned the round doorknob and opened it.
The room was dazzling enough to pass for an imperial palace reception hall. In the gleaming space, I felt like a germ in a sterile lab.
Four attendants stood inside, all in holy knight uniforms. I passed the now-familiar faces and approached the client in question.
A body shrouded in a white cloak. A white mask similar to mine, framing sparkling silver eyes. Those clear, transparent eyes were as pure as a newborn's.
Before them, lies felt impossible. A faint lily scent brushed my nose.
"I trust you've been well, Vice High Priest."
I gave a short bow and my ritual greeting.
He turned from the window to face me.
"Didn't I ask you not to call me Vice High Priest?"
His red lips curved into a brilliant smile. Facing that lily-like beauty head-on was embarrassing.
"...I trust you've been well, El."
I hesitated before awkwardly using the title he'd endlessly requested.
El smiled softly.
I tried to keep distance from the client on purpose, but being with El melted my tension away—that was the problem.
"Sit comfortably."
I sat across from El as usual. With a flick of his hand, the attendants filed out in unison.
Doesn't he fear being alone with a Sword Master? Or does he trust I won't harm him?
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Staying alone before a powerless person and a Sword Master was like offering your neck.
El had zero sense of danger.
"I trust you've been well?"
I offered a polite greeting.
El slowly rolled his eyes.
"Life at the temple is always the same. Tedious and stale."
Propping his chin, he tapped the flowers in the table vase. His languid gaze turned to me.
"That's why I count down the days to our meetings. You always entertain me."
His eyes on me sparkled like they beheld something deeply cherished—it was unsettling.
Just incomprehensible words.
I sighed faintly. Even masked, the handsome client never revealed true feelings, only saying things that invited misunderstandings.
"...Kraki leather and Madros blood."
Averting his lingering gaze slightly, I pulled out a small pouch.
Connected to a vast subspace, it brimmed with byproducts from sleepless nights hunting magic beasts.
"You work so hard, as always. Here, your payment."
Without checking the pouch, El handed over a white envelope. Was it a mistake? His fingertips slowly brushed the back of my hand as I took it.
I stared at the paper envelope in my hand for a long moment. This was the reward for my blood and sweat. With it, I'd buy Aria's medicine.
But even with the money before me, I couldn't just rejoice.
El's pulled stunts like this plenty of times before.
Four times a month, I sold her useful magic beast byproducts from subjugations, and she paid me. Normal transaction so far.
The weird part? She always paid exactly a thousand gold, no matter what.
A hundred gold was near a commoner's monthly living expense. A thousand could buy a bottle of that exorbitantly priced fairy forest elixir.
Magic beasts vary by region and season, so the byproducts' value fluctuates wildly.
What I brought depended on time and place, worth varying hugely. I'd explained multiple times that paying a flat thousand gold was a loss for her, but El always handed over the fortune without batting an eye. She was a complete mystery.
And she always toys with the payment too.
So many days I'd been shocked and horrified by her pranks.
Urged to open it quickly, I reluctantly unsealed the envelope and pulled out the check. Then I sighed deeply.
"...Vice High Priest."
"El."
"El."
"That's right."
His upturned lips were infuriating.
I sighed again.
"The promised payment... has an extra zero."
Ten thousand gold. My client was utterly mad.
"I see."
El shrugged and lifted his teacup. I was losing my mind.
I see? That's it?
Ten thousand gold wasn't pocket change. It was what I'd earn after half a year of getting trampled by magic beasts.
Even for a vice high priest...
I gripped the check tightly.
El hadn't outright stated his identity but hadn't hidden it either. I guessed vice high priest. He never denied it when I called him that, so I was half-convinced.
A vice high priest is someone even I look up to.
In the Solatine Empire, where temple and palace shared power, the temple held immense sway. Politics split into emperor, noble, and temple factions—the pope rivaled the emperor, the vice high priest a marquess.
Why does a vice high priest keep meeting me? Why act like he can't wait to spill secrets?
I couldn't understand El.
"My mistake, so take it, Mir."
El shrugged again. Even tilting his teacup gracefully, he was sculpture-perfect.
I sighed and pushed the check back.
"I can't accept this. It's too much."
"Not too much at all. It's the price of your blood."
His calm gaze and lowered voice sounded strangely wistful, leaving me speechless for a moment.
What do you know...?
I gripped my knee tightly. I'd never regretted my blood-soaked mercenary life. It was my choice. Despite losses and daily perils, I had no shame in my path.
But you know nothing.
How dare he speak of my blood's price. My clenched fists trembled.
A lofty vice high priest couldn't grasp a lowly mercenary's life scraping by on blood money. I felt deceived.
"Vice High Priest. No more games."
I ground my teeth and flung the check at him. I didn't want to be his plaything anymore.
"...Can't you just take it?"
"Vice High Priest!"
"I swear, no ulterior motives. Just goodwill! Why can't you accept pure kindness? Why make it impossible to repay the favor? You did it too! Without reason, you just...!"
His outburst cut off abruptly, face flushing.
...did what to you?
I narrowed my eyes. El bit his lip in panic, averting his gaze.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
Suspicious.
I sighed even as I furrowed my brow at his reaction.
"Enough pranks. Even a thousand gold is more than enough."
A thousand was already excessive. I'd worked my hardest, but never brought items worth nearly that much.
I wasn't the type to happily accept unearned favors.
"...Sorry if it upset you. But I'm not mocking you, Mir."
El gazed at me with sad eyes. His downcast expression stirred guilt.
Deep down, I knew El wasn't trying to deceive me. I was sensitive to lies and malice. No one using me for laughs would have eyes like that.
If it were just pride, I'd have taken it without issue.
I sighed at the ceiling. I'd once crawled like a dog before nobles for money. Pride was a distant memory for me.
Still, I won't take unjust money.
Even casting aside all pride, pounding the ground in humility—I'd never taken dirty coin.
Don't cling to pride. Hold convictions unshaken by time or circumstance—your own beliefs.
My master's old teaching. I'd discarded pride but built my convictions.
Refusing El's payment was one such belief.
Others might scoff—what convictions does a poor mercenary chasing coin have?—but it was my justice worth upholding.
No unjust rewards.
Paid for work done, no illegal deeds for profit. A thousand gold was the max without crossing my line. More betrayed my principles.
"Please don't do this next time, but I overreacted. You needn't apologize, Vice High Priest. Forgive my rudeness instead."
Still, I'd been too harsh this time. No way to treat a vice high priest, let alone someone showing goodwill.
I apologized sincerely, meeting his eyes. El slowly spoke.
"Mir."
"Yes?"
"I don't expect much from you. But I thought we were at least friends..."
Silver eyes beneath slowly blinking lids glistened like dewdrops.
"I'm sorry. For acting on my own whims. But... can't you call me El? 'Vice High Priest' makes it feel like we're nothing to each other."
His drooping eyes, brimming with imminent tears, looked heartbreaking.