Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Canyon (1)
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- Father, are you doing well?
- Is Mother well too?
- I'm healthy in body and mind.
- We're heading to the Empire right now. Thankfully, the journey has been quite pleasant so far.
- Honestly, I was a bit nervous before leaving home, but the outside world isn't as harsh as I thought.
- I'd heard it was full of bandits roaming around, monsters crawling everywhere, and demons lurking about.
- I think coming out was the right choice. It's already turning into a great experience.
- And Leader Allen has been kind and taking good care of me.
- He can be scary sometimes, but learning isn't easy, after all.
- I often dream of home. It's not been long since I left, but the scenery there already feels hazy.
- I'll make sure to return as a daughter you can be proud of, Father.
- Well, that's all for now.
Putting the final period on the page, the red-robed mage gazed wistfully at the letter. In the pitch-black night, beside the flickering campfire, the emotions stirred by writing this letter brought an indescribable sense of nostalgia.
She licked the edge with the tip of her tongue to seal it, let out a massive yawn, and lay down on her mat. Ever since joining the Allen Mercenary Corps, sleeping without a personal tent had become somewhat routine. ...Going to the bathroom was still awkward as hell, though.
This isn't so bad after all. People scared me for nothing. I'm careful enough as it is...
She'd heard the world outside was crawling with all sorts of dangers, but it seemed a bit exaggerated.
With that comforting thought, she closed her eyes. But moments later, the frantic clang of a bell jolted her wide awake.
- CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
- Bandits!
Just like a tiger showing up when you mention it, the moment the red-robed mage let her guard down, the bandits appeared. The mercenaries swiftly grabbed their gear with practiced ease and prepared to face the horde charging toward them.
"Spread out and protect the cargo!"
The eastern region was mostly mountainous terrain, which was a blessing—mounted bandits were rare. Compared to the scrawny southern bandits who looked like mangy mutts, these eastern ones were far sturdier. Not quite on a mercenary's level, but they at least had the look of proper outlaws now.
Allen had heard that the ongoing war in the east had bandits swarming more than usual. They'd been lucky enough to avoid them so far, but apparently, their luck didn't extend to dodging them entirely. ...Well, with a juicy merchant caravan passing by, which bandit idiots would just let it slip away? Especially now, with the war causing food shortages—they came charging with fire in their eyes.
Uwaaaaaah!
The bandits howled as they rushed the caravan. But the Allen Mercenary Corps had leveled up so much that these ragtag thugs were embarrassing to even compare to.
The mercenaries smashed every attacker's skull without mercy. The ambushers were the ones getting utterly crushed. The gap in strength was obvious to anyone.
Those who quickly read the room turned tail and fled in an instant, not giving a damn about their comrades.
"Tch. Fucking bastards. Know your place before you charge."
The mercenary corps repelled the bandits in the blink of an eye. Only then did the merchant leader, who'd hired them for protection, finally grasp their prowess and start fussing in a way he hadn't before. He asked if they could escort on the return trip too, but Allen firmly shook his head. Not because he didn't want to—their paths diverged completely.
The red-robed mage hadn't even gotten a chance to fire off a single spell, but in her excitement, she panted as if she'd fought alongside them. ...Truth be told, she wanted to show off her mage prestige to her comrades at least once, but Allen had told her to hold back on magic as much as possible. No need to use a cattle butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.
Anyway, after dealing with the bandits, they went back to sleep.
The red-robed mage, having missed her chance to doze off, tossed and turned for a while before finally drifting off.
···
After leaving the mid-sized city of Mahbana, passing through three or four villages large and small, and crossing several valleys, they finally arrived before the city. It had been a full fortnight.
For Elena, who'd never traveled this far from home in her life, seeing the towering outer walls of the distant city filled her with a swell of emotion.
"The city!"
The great city of Laplaus lived up to its name—its scale was immense. The rocky mountain rising sharply behind Laplaus blended with the city like an ornate decoration.
The red-robed mage had heard plenty about Laplaus but was visiting for the first time. ...The city was far larger and grander than she'd imagined.
A massive crowd surged toward the great city. Strangely, countless wagons had set up camp right outside the outer walls. They seemed to belong to merchant groups. For merchants, every day of delay ballooned their losses like a snowball—Allen couldn't easily fathom why they'd idle out here doing nothing. ...Unless they had no choice.
As expected, the caravan Allen had escorted was denied entry at the checkpoint. The merchant leader pleaded his case, but to no avail. Allen asked the returning leader what was up.
"The city's at capacity. No wagons allowed without the ducal castle's permission. Damn it all."
"That's rough."
"Fucking nightmare. ...How the hell are we supposed to get all this inside someday...?"
The merchant leader looked like death, having to swallow massive losses. But what could he do? It was the duke's word, like the will of heaven.
With the mercenaries' job done, Allen collected their fee from the leader, and they parted ways. The moment the mercenary corps entered the city, they instantly understood what "at capacity" meant.
The great city teemed with an insane number of people. Even for a great city, it was hard to comprehend.
"Something's going on, Leader."
"Yeah."
The nine of them wandered in search of lodging, but every inn they hit was packed. Like beachside hotels near the Korean coast during peak season, all reservations sold out.
They hustled for ages on foot before barely snagging two rooms. Different buildings, naturally, but no other options.
The current Allen Mercenary Corps roster: six men including Leader Allen, three women. Unlike camping, they had to separate by gender here, but the men's room was way too cramped for all six guys. So one had to bunk with the women.
"I'll go over there!"
The burly hunk Frank pointed toward the women's side with a lecherous glint in his eye, but the bronzed, muscled bombshell Mei hopped in outrage. The other two women shot him disgusted looks too.
"Fuck off, you perv. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Makes sense for a big lug like me to sit out, bitch."
"Bullshit. We can all see you're just angling to fuck one."
"That's not it!"
Allen, who'd been watching, finally stepped in.
"Alright. Let the three ladies pick. That settles it, right?"
No real choice needed. The women unanimously picked Allen. ...With a flower-boy leader right there, who'd choose anyone else?
Frank looked gutted, but tough luck.
The fiercely loyal Kallisman worried if it'd be uncomfortable for him, but the muscle babe jumped in like she'd been waiting.
"Uncomfortable my ass. I'll protect our leader, so quit fretting."
"Bitch, we're worried you'll eat him alive."
"Eat him? Dream on, asshole. You clueless idiot. Right, Leeeader?"
Her sultry coo toward the leader made the burly guy mime gagging.
"Leader, watch out for her especially."
"Shut your trap and fuck off."
And so the group split. Allen, surrounded by the three women, naturally drew every eye. Crowds meant plenty of crazies, and the catcalls flew thick.
- Hey, share one with me. What about me, you king-dicked stud?
- Hogging three pussies? Greedy fuck.
- Big bro, how 'bout me? Room for one more?
Each time, the muscle babe glared daggers and played guard dog to perfection.
The red-robed mage had felt plenty of leers before, but having crude taunts flung right in her face was a first—left her feeling weird.
The room they got seemed like a warehouse hastily cleared out—no furniture whatsoever. So they spread mats on the wooden floor and crashed.
Lying order: Allen, red-robed mage, muscle babe, lop-ear girl.
As expected, the muscle babe's sneaky moves kicked off.
"Leeeeader, you asleep?"
Allen pretended to be out.
"Aww, I know you're not."
No reply, so she let out fake porn moans.
"Ahhn. My pussy's all ready... Leeeeader? Leeeeader? Want me to clean your dick? Di... ck... cleeeeansing."
The lop-ear girl, fed up, snarled like a beast.
"Fuckin' slut, go to sleep. Horny bitch jerking off solo. You alone or what?"
"What'd you say, bitch? Jealous?"
"Fuck off. Cut the crap. Can't you shut that stinking cunt?"
"Lop-ear twat, drop dead. Yours reeks of fish."
Allen cleared his throat pointedly, and they shut up.
"Knock it off and sleep."
"...Leeeeader?"
"Enough."
"Tch."
The muscle babe eyeing the leader's dick finally gave up.
Honestly, alone with her, Allen might not have resisted the blatant seduction, but with the red-robed mage and lop-ear girl there, he couldn't. ...Maybe that was a blessing.
Listening from beside her, the red-robed mage couldn't calm her pounding heart. Never dreamed she'd hear pussy-and-dick talk so openly. ...Didn't even know "dick cleaning" was a thing.
Once the two women's bickering died down, Elena found herself hyper-aware of Leader Allen's presence.
...It was one of those nights sleep just wouldn't come.