Chapter 109
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Dark Horse
-----------------------------------------------------------------
They arrived by the skin of their teeth.
The group, who had just emerged, stared at the Abyss Gate that had completely sealed shut, gasping for breath.
"Ugh, we really almost died..."
Jun nodded wearily in agreement with Eleanor's words.
"We got lucky."
Right after escaping the alchemists' city, Head Dravan, on the 5th layer...
Jun and his companions had arrived at the 4th layer below it, the Moraden Plains.
The problem was that the layer nexus generated in Head Dravan hadn't produced an Abyss Gate allowing escape from Blackout.
From that point on, the group had raced nonstop without sleep, searching for a nearby layer nexus until time ran out.
As a result, just a few seconds later and they would've been left behind in Blackout.
That realization sent chills down their spines.
'Lucky this was a field I knew well.'
Otherwise, they would've been goners for sure.
Of course, he wasn't sure if staying behind when the season ended actually meant death.
But he had no desire to test it firsthand.
"Whew... It's been a while, Emperorshield."
The imperial capital, Emperorshield.
Jun took a brief glance at the distant palace, then surveyed the surroundings.
Passersby were staring at Jun and his group like they were lunatics.
It was only natural.
Most people exiting Blackout left with at least a week's buffer time.
Those who stayed until the very last day were rare, and ones who barely scraped through the Abyss Gate like this were almost unheard of.
"Hey...! You there!"
At that moment, one of the guards stationed at the Abyss Gate approached Jun and his companions.
"Are you insane? Coming out now of all times?"
Such blunt words right off the bat.
It really drove home just how insane their actions had been.
Of course, it hadn't been by choice.
"It's not like we wanted to come out late."
"Urgh..."
"Anyway, where do we get our exit stamps?"
"Tch, they already pulled out. If you'd followed us... Hold on. Sir!"
Just then, a man who clearly looked like an officer emerged from a nearby tent and headed their way.
The officer gave a casual salute to the soldier who'd approached Jun, then eyed the group.
"Who's the leader here?"
"Me."
The officer approached Jun with a stern expression and whispered in his ear.
"White Whale Mercenary Corps. That right?"
What?
Why ask so quietly?
A strange unease prickled at Jun's spine for a moment, but he gave a slight nod.
"Sent by the Gilenoi Merchant Guild. Skip the administrative stamps for now and follow me."
"...Understood."
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Jun followed him, and the others quietly fell in behind, reading the mood.
"We were about to send a messenger. Glad you made it back."
Once they boarded the carriage the officer had prepared, his expression softened a bit as he regarded the group.
"White Whale Mercenary Corps... It's an honor to meet you in person."
"...?"
Unlike the outside world, the officer looked at Jun and his companions with a more friendly demeanor.
Why was that?
'He mentioned the Gilenoi Merchant Guild earlier, so he must know Cloi.'
Even so, did that warrant this level of warmth?
"Ah, right. You wouldn't know about the uproar outside."
"Care to fill us in?"
Despite Jun's question, the officer shook his head.
"It's nothing bad for you. You'll hear the details from the young lady herself."
"...I see."
Something was happening that Jun wasn't privy to.
He hated situations like that by nature, but he didn't show it.
Instead, he quietly turned his gaze to the window.
As expected of the imperial capital.
Unlike Blackout, the smooth roads made for a bump-free, comfortable ride.
'So peaceful.'
It stood in stark contrast to the frantic sprint for survival just moments ago.
"..."
For a split second, the capital overlapped with an image of it burning.
'Less than five years, even at the shortest.'
Jun's intervention might have even hastened it.
But he shook his head.
'Complicated thoughts can wait.'
Now was the time to focus on the present.
The carriage came to a stop in front of a massive building.
It was the Gilenoi Merchant Guild's capital branch, a place Jun had visited before.
The ground floor had a reception desk designed for carriages to pass through.
After disembarking, Jun and his group waited near the entrance as the officer asked them to hold on a moment.
"Look at the kids."
"Playing with wooden swords and sticks right where carriages go. Dangerous."
As Aiden and Eleanor noted, some children in the opposite alley were playing with wooden swords and staffs.
"Yah! Yah! I'm the great hero! Aiden!"
"I'm the legendary mage Jun! Take my fireball!"
...?
Did he hear that wrong?
Rubbing his ears, Jun looked back at the kids.
"Hmph! Fireballs don't work against my sword!"
"Ow! Hey! Why'd you hit me? I'm the mercenary captain!"
"No way! Aiden's the captain!"
"Eek! Don't lie!"
The kids, who had been playing fine, suddenly grabbed each other's hair and started fighting.
"...Huh."
Jun's expression turned peculiar.
Aiden? Jun? Mercenary captain?
Coincidence?
But that seemed too much for mere chance.
If it was famous enough for kids to call it a legend, he'd have heard of it.
Were they just making up names on the spot?
If so, it was an eerie coincidence.
"...The kids are playing something unique today."
Aiden, standing right beside him, gave an awkward smile.
"Yeah."
About then, the officer returned from the reception desk.
"Head on in. This is as far as I go. Once again, it was an honor."
"..."
Strange.
Feeling it all over again, Jun and his group followed a young staff member who appeared to be an employee up into the building.
Unlike the officer, the young man said nothing extra.
A glance showed he looked extremely tense.
'What's going on, seriously.'
Nothing made sense.
They arrived at a certain room following the staffer.
There, for some reason, Cloi waited with slightly reddened eyes.
"You're here?"
She was trying to act calm, but couldn't fully hide the faint tremble.
"Thanks for bringing them. Get back to work."
"Yes, miss!"
At Cloi's words, the staffer who'd been tense beside her scurried away.
Only then did Cloi glare at Jun with a face full of pent-up fury.
"Y-You...!"
"Haha, long time no see."
"You idiot!"
He didn't know the full situation.
But one thing was clear.
Cloi was the same as ever, and safety was finally assured.
Jun truly felt that the long Blackout season was over.
"Haa."
Late at night.
While his comrades rested in their assigned rooms, Jun was having a private talk with Cloi.
"For now... good work. Sorry for snapping earlier."
"Nah, you had every right."
Suddenly going radio silent for months and popping up again warranted that reaction.
"I never imagined you'd go through all that."
Even a brief recount of events took hours.
Cloi spoke with a guilty look.
"I didn't expect the commission I gave you to turn out like this..."
"No need for that face. Blackout's always been unpredictable like that."
You never knew when variables would pop up.
Overanalyzing blame meant no one would work with anyone.
"So that's why Professor Schneider acted like that..."
"Schneider?"
Why that name here?
"Yeah. You felt it on the way back, right? That sense something had changed?"
"...I did."
"Professor Schneider published what you all did."
"What?"
"So..."
Cloi's ensuing explanation was more than enough to shock Jun.
Schneider, scholar and professor at the Issus Academy.
Having survived the orc horde's advance, he immediately set out to track the traces left by Jun and his group.
Eventually, he found the spot in the Quiet Plains where they had clashed in a final battle with the Orc Lord.
But all he saw there were signs of fierce combat and a massive energy explosion.
No sign of Jun or his companions.
He despaired greatly.
"Oh no, it can't be! The heroes who would brilliantly illuminate Blackout have met their end..."
It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.
The orcs, freed from the Orc Lord's control, had vanished, and the blocked layer nexus had returned to normal.
Even so, he held out hope to the end, waiting for news of Jun and the others, but none came.
"This must be reported outside immediately!"
So he hurriedly wrote a paper for the academy, including every detail of what they'd been through, and published it to the world.
Even Cloi hadn't known until the day of the announcement.
It showed how desperately Schneider had acted.
...The issue was that the Issus Academy was highly prestigious in many ways.
It stirred up plenty of controversies, but as it dealt with Blackout's major secrets, it drew massive interest—especially from the Imperial Family.
A tale of how the colossal Orc Lord nearly escaped to the surface.
Naturally, it captured countless people's attention.
In the process, Schneider nearly faced backlash for almost endangering the empire...
But Blackout was prone to incidents by nature, and above all, the emperor and Count Mordena defended him.
Holding it against him would only stifle Blackout operations.
Thus, attention shifted to the White Whale Mercenary Corps, who had racked up massive contributions in resolving the crisis.
-Just who are these guys to achieve something like that?
Starting from that curiosity, people with various agendas began digging into the White Whale Mercenary Corps.
And that's where the next problem erupted.
The ones who thwarted a Dimensional Reversal led by the Orc Lord of all things were... a mere Silver-rank mercenary corps.
At first, no one believed it, but deeper investigations revealed...
The feats of the White Whale Mercenary Corps came to light.
-Made major contributions in subjugating the Goblin Lord in the Black Forest.
-Dealt the decisive blow in slaying the Area Lord, Fairy Queen.
That was fine enough.
It could be chalked up to a talented dark horse emerging.
But various factions dug even deeper.
And secrets unknown to the world were exposed.
-The culprits behind destroying Enchantment Queen Shaylock's Zengar Mage Tower were the Valkatornik Mage Tower, backed by the shadowy group known as the Azure Heaven Sect!
-And the ones who uncovered that secret? None other than the White Whale Mercenary Corps!
From that point, as the rumor spread, public opinion flipped even among those merely intrigued by a promising dark horse.
Hero Party's Mage Life Chapter 110