Chapter 9
Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Legion Commander's Daughter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“If it’s what the young lady desires, I shall give it to her. It rightfully belongs to its original owner, so I have no issue with it.”
“No. I have no intention of arbitrarily taking something my father gave to you. It’s just… I got emotional upon encountering one of my father’s mementos in a place like this.”
Memento. Lander cautiously asked,
“The Legion Commander…”
“He returned to the gods’ embrace not long ago. So suddenly.”
Ariel’s face crumpled as if she might burst into tears at any moment, but she quickly composed herself with a trembling breath.
The Legion Commander’s death was a shock to him as well. Had he known, he would have gone to pay his respects. He couldn’t attend the funeral, but he would have at least mourned the departed from afar.
“Young lady. It’s time to go.”
The man in uniform spoke. Ariel rose from her seat. Her face was bright once more, just as it had been when she first appeared in the shop.
It was the poise of a noble who had been trained since childhood to control her emotions. *Gesthalt, senior, your daughter doesn’t seem like a wild child anymore.*
“Willett. Since no transaction took place, still give the owner some compensation.”
Ariel nodded toward the one-eyed man. The man in uniform bowed his head.
*Willett.* Lander repeated the man’s name inwardly. He had the look of someone suited for desk work, yet his physique was as ideally honed as that of a seasoned swordsman. This man must handle the actual bodyguard duties.
“And Lander.”
“Yes, young lady.”
“Could you make some time? I’d like to hear directly about what kind of man my father was on the battlefield.”
The soldier standing behind her glared at him. It was a look that warned him not to even think of the word “refuse.”
He considered making an excuse to slip away, but Gesthalt’s words came to mind. *Even something small—please help my daughter.*
“Understood. But I don’t have much to tell. He was the commander, and I was just a lowly soldier.”
“That’s fine. Even a short memory will do—just share it with me. I’ll send someone tomorrow, so wait here.”
“Understood.”
Lander clasped his hands behind his back and bowed his head.
* * *
“Andun, huh. I’ve heard it was a place of brutal, nonstop fighting. Surviving a hell like that means your boast about being a capable fighter wasn’t empty talk.”
Guchi shoved his chair back and spoke as he leaned in.
“Luck played a part too. Surviving a battlefield isn’t just about skill.”
Lander pulled his chair up to the table and replied. Right after Ariel left, Louis had collapsed to the floor from the released tension. Lander was tidying up the shop in place of the exhausted owner.
“Looks decent enough now. Louis, is this good?”
“Yes. Thank you for helping. It’s work I should’ve done myself.”
“In a way, this mess happened because of me. Anyway, feeling better?”
Louis placed a hand on his chest and said,
“My heart was pounding like it might explode earlier, but it’s calmed down some now. Still beating more vigorously than usual, though. Nobles really are something else. That outfit—I’ve never seen anything like it in this village. Even the horse parked outside was different from the ones around here. Especially when she spoke, there was this inexplicable pressure. That’s what made me shrink and tense up for no reason.”
“She’s the real deal—a true noble. The daughter of a Legion Commander wouldn’t come from an ordinary family. She’s worlds apart from the riffraff nobles who wander into places like this.”
Guchi leaned against the bar. He had responded calmly, but he too looked weary from the tension.
As he sat in his chair, Lander thought of Gesthalt. He was an iron-willed man who had seemed untouched by death.
Gesthalt had often joked about it. *Senior would attend meetings with a straight face even if his heart stopped.*
What had happened? He was a man so healthy he hadn’t coughed once during the harsh winter in Andun.
Judging by the suddenness of his death, it wasn’t some chronic illness either.
Lander knew well how fragile human life could be—like ants beneath one’s feet—but he had thought Gesthalt was beyond such frailty.
*“I decide my own grave,”* Gesthalt used to say like a mantra. Even on fierce battlefields, he’d declare this place wouldn’t be his tomb and endure to the end, returning alive.
It had felt as if the god of life gripped Gesthalt’s hand tightly, refusing to let go.
And yet, such a man had died.
Lander placed a hand on the back of his neck and pressed lightly. When he’d parted from his close friend and discarded his name, he thought all ties to the Empire were severed. But old bonds were tenacious things.
“A necklace from the Legion Commander. Quite the story behind it.”
Guchi had sidled up beside him at some point. Lander fiddled with the necklace tucked inside his clothes over his shirt.
He vividly recalled the day he received the gift, as if it were yesterday. The cold air, the sound of falling snow, the liquor sweet enough to chew, and Gesthalt’s tender gaze upon his daughter’s photo.
“It doesn’t mean much. As I said, it was just something extra he had lying around. According to the young lady, it wasn’t even valuable back then.”
He smiled as if it were nothing and spoke.
“She said she’d send someone here tomorrow, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then it might be inconvenient, but better stay the night here. Push some chairs together—it’s tolerable. I’ve crashed here a few times myself. Louis, that okay?”
Louis nodded enthusiastically.
“Really, is it all right?”
Lander asked again.
“It’s fine. Might be uncomfortable, but…”
“A roof over my head is more than enough to be grateful for.”
Ariel had rushed here in a heartbeat to see the item. She must have inherited her father’s impatient temperament.
She might even send someone at dawn tomorrow—or come herself. Staying put here made things easier all around.
“Guess it’s time to prep for the evening rush. Couldn’t do lunch thanks to entertaining that noble guest, so I gotta make it up at dinner.”
Louis opened the shop door and placed the “Open for Business” sign outside.
“I’ll help out.”
“That’d be great. How about you, old man?”
At Louis’s question, Guchi held out his palm.
“Got money to hire me?”
“Forget it then. If you don’t want to, don’t. Lander’s help is plenty.”
“Good for you. Then I’ll be off. Lander, wrap things up well tomorrow.”
“Thanks for your concern.”
“As you said, if there’s a chance, let’s meet again.”
“Sure.”
Guchi left the shop.
“Why say it like that when you could just come by tomorrow?”
Louis added wood to the brazier.
“Our dinner menu’s always the same. The regulars don’t change either. Once the meals are prepped, I’ll handle the dried snacks.”
“What should I do?”
“Good question. Now that I think about it, nothing comes to mind. I’m so used to doing everything alone that letting someone else help feels like it’ll just mess things up. Not that I don’t trust you, Lander.”
“I get it. Some things you just need to handle yourself to feel at ease.”
“Just chat with me then. Hearing your story earlier made me think—you’re not exactly a great storyteller, but you’ve got a knack for holding attention.”
“Really? News to me.”
“I’m sure your wife enjoyed listening to you too.”
*Sant, tell me stories while looking at me.* It was as if he heard his wife’s voice. He pictured her, healthy and running about on those two legs. He pictured her, who loved the rain.
She was the type to press her nose to wet grass and sniff. The one who’d take his hand and make him mimic her childlike antics.
Through her, he’d seen a world of variety. The moment the familiar turned strange was endlessly captivating. His wife—the woman he loved—was a natural teacher who always brought fresh wonders.
*Sant? Is your name Sant?*
The vividly shining memories were sucked into darkness in an instant, mingled with his wife’s voice full of questions. He wiped at his eyes with his hand.
“You okay?”
“Yes. It’s nothing.”
“You must’ve been tense too, Lander. Even I was shaking just watching from afar. I can’t imagine how it was for you up close.”
“I thought I might faint.”
“You held up well without collapsing. But you’ve gotta see her again tomorrow, right? Stay sharp. One slip-up and it’s big trouble.”
“I’ll prepare thoroughly. No missteps in speech.”
He smiled as he replied.
* * *
“Tomorrow we’ve got places to scout, so don’t wander off somewhere stupid.”
Wel rubbed his nose on the ground and rolled over. As the brothers scattered in their cliques, Shan followed Wel with his younger siblings in tow.
“What? Got something to say?”
Wel stopped walking.
“About that necklace earlier—it’s a waste to just hand it over like this.”
“Waste or not, what’re you gonna do? We got the finder’s fee. Cleanest to end it here.”
“Didn’t you hear what the noble wench said? Enough money to live lavishly in the capital for two years.”
“That’s if she buys it at three times the price.”
“We can lowball the price however we want, so that’s not the point. What matters is the item’s valuable. I looked into it separately—plenty of folks would pay more than that noble bitch.”
“So?”
Wel furrowed his brows. The one-eyed bastard frowning was a sight too ugly to behold. Shan had always resented it.
Why did Wel act like the boss? Somehow, his reputation had grown among the brothers, leading to deference.
But upon reflection, Wel didn’t do much up front. Yet he pocketed more backroom gains than imaginable.
“We do our job. Finish what we set out to do cleanly.”
“Guess you didn’t hear me. He’s a man who made a promise to the young lady.”
“So after the deal’s done, when we leave this village, we slit his throat. Isn’t that the simplest thing?”
“Cut the nonsense and take your brothers drinking. Shan, it’s been a year since you came here and became ‘brothers.’ More than enough time to learn the rules. I’ll say it again: don’t break them. That’s how you survive here.”
Wel pulled a coin from his pocket and tossed it.
“If you’re short on cash, drink on that. Don’t touch that guy.”
Shan smirked at the coin in his palm.
“We follow the rules, of course. For the brothers’ sake.”
“Good if you get it.”
Wel exited the alley. Shan glanced at his brothers behind him.
“One year’s a long time.”
“What do we do?”
“If Wel insists on his rules, we stick to ours. Getting bored of this place anyway. Clean up tonight and bail. Take the necklace as a bonus.”
“Wel’ll handle the aftermath.”
“Yeah. That’s boss work. Hate to leave a mark, but oh well. If he’s lucky, he’ll live. Though that noble wench won’t spare him.”
Shan tossed the coin Wel had given him to the ground as he spoke. Make big, spend big—that was his rule.