Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Division (1)
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“......Dad collapsed?”
Athena’s face drained of color at the mercenary’s words.
“What do you mean? Why would Dad collapse?”
“I-I don’t know the details either. I only heard that about a week ago, the Mercenary King was found collapsed.”
Athena’s body swayed. Demian supported her to keep her from falling and asked the mercenary,
“Where is the Mercenary King now?”
“H-He’s in his quarters. The other Saintesses are nursing h......”
Before the mercenary could finish, Athena bolted toward the Mercenary King’s quarters. Demian chased after her.
The tent where the Mercenary King stayed was far more ornate than the others, making it easy to spot.
At the entrance to the tent sat a woman holding a bow. It was Cynthia, one of the Mercenary King’s closest confidants.
“Cynthia!”
“Miss, you’ve come.”
Cynthia replied with a calm expression. She opened the tent flap and said to Athena,
“The Mercenary King is inside. Go on in.”
“Th-thank you.”
Athena entered the tent with Cynthia. Demian followed the two.
On a bed large enough for three or four people to lie comfortably, the Mercenary King lay alone.
His appearance was exactly the same as the last time Demian had seen him—a youthful boy.
The only difference was that his eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving a muscle.
“Dad!”
Athena grabbed the Mercenary King’s hand, but he didn’t open his eyes even at his daughter’s call. He looked just like a dead man.
Tears soon welled up in Athena’s eyes.
“Wh-what happened? Why did Dad collapse? He was so healthy it was overwhelming!”
“We still haven’t figured out the cause.”
“But you have to do something!”
“We’ve tried everything from potions to magic tools, but he just won’t wake up.”
Athena bit her lip silently at Cynthia’s explanation.
‘Did the Mercenary King collapse at this time?’
Demian examined the Mercenary King as he fell into thought.
What Demian knew about the Fafnir Mercenary Group was that the Mercenary King had fallen for a black mage’s scheme and split the group apart.
‘There’s no guarantee that’s accurate. I didn’t see it myself.’
The information Demian knew had come secondhand from others. The truth could be entirely different.
‘A figure like the Mercenary King wouldn’t just collapse out of nowhere.’
The Mercenary King was a powerhouse beyond master-class. Both his body and soul had long transcended human limits.
For such a being to pass out and remain unconscious? Someone had definitely intervened.
‘The only one who’d pull a stunt like this...... is Rubia.’
What he couldn’t understand was how she’d done it.
The Mercenary King was a transcendent being and heir to dragon blood.
As such, he had innate resistance to drugs and curses.
‘No, dragon blood is a strength, but also a weakness.’
No creature in this world had been studied as extensively as dragons.
Their unmatched power on land, their myriad abilities—nothing was more alluring to researchers.
Mages and black mages alike had studied dragons, uncovering many weaknesses in the process.
Of course, knowing the weaknesses didn’t mean you could do anything to a dragon.
‘But the Mercenary King isn’t a true dragon. And he has that fatal flaw of being weak to women.’
There was no way the Mercenary King would have left a beauty like Rubia alone.
So Rubia would have had ample opportunity to work her schemes on him.
‘Hm?’
As Demian observed the Mercenary King, he noticed one subtle incongruity.
It was so faint that anyone but Demian would have missed it.
‘Rubia, you’ve played quite the amusing trick.’
It was then, as Demian smirked faintly on one side of his mouth.
“Miss, I understand it’s hard, but you need to move.”
Cynthia said to Athena.
“The emergency meeting is about to start. As a first-generation Saintess, you must attend.”
At Cynthia’s words, Athena wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stood.
Athena exited the tent first. Demian tried to follow.
“Demian Haksen.”
Cynthia stopped him and said,
“Take good care of the miss.”
* * *
Demian and Athena headed to the meeting place Cynthia had mentioned.
Inside the large makeshift tent, chairs were arranged in a circle.
Many mercenaries were already seated, talking noisily. Everyone’s expressions were gravely serious.
‘Impressive.’
As soon as he entered the meeting hall, Demian couldn’t help but be impressed.
Among those seated were a great number of master-class experts.
‘Blade Storm, Blue Thunder, the Executioner...... I didn’t expect to see them this soon.’
Some were masters Demian had fought personally. All were powerhouses he acknowledged.
Not that it was only masters present. There were also high-class Saintesses.
Middle-aged women were there too.
They hadn’t trained their bodies or accumulated mana. They looked like ordinary people.
Yet the Saintesses treated them with utmost respect. Even the master-class did the same.
‘They’re the faction leaders.’
The Fafnir Mercenary Group was divided into several factions.
The core of each faction was the Mercenary King’s women—the mothers of the Saintesses.
“Looks like everyone who’s coming is here.”
One of the middle-aged women stood and spoke. The meeting hall fell silent in an instant.
Demian recognized her face immediately.
Clea Fowler.
The Mercenary King’s first woman and leader of the largest faction. Rubia belonged to that faction too.
“It’s been a week since the Mercenary King collapsed. We haven’t handled a single commission in that time. I called this emergency meeting because I feel it’s time to select a proxy.”
The other mercenaries nodded at Clea Fowler’s words.
The Fafnir Mercenary Group was the continent’s greatest mercenary outfit. Commissions poured in from across the land.
Someone had to lead the group in the Mercenary King’s stead.
“So, who do you plan to pick as proxy?”
A woman sitting opposite Clea Fowler asked.
She looked a bit younger than Clea but was still advanced in years.
“You’re not thinking of picking someone from your own faction, are you, Clea?”
Susan asked sharply. Clea smiled and replied,
“Of course not. I plan to consider everyone’s opinions and entrust it to the most suitable candidate. So please, suggest your nominees.”
Susan eyed Clea suspiciously and said,
“In that case, allow me to nominate first. My son Lennox is the perfect fit.”
No sooner had Susan spoken than a woman from another faction chimed in.
“Lennox? Didn’t that guy fail his last commission and cause massive damage to the group?”
Susan’s face flushed red at the woman’s words.
“Th-that wasn’t Lennox’s fault! It was the Empire meddling that was the problem!”
“Joey from our faction would be far better suited as proxy. The Mercenary King himself acknowledged Joey’s skills, and he’s already running his own mercenary unit!”
“Joey? That kid lacks the skill! How could someone like that handle being proxy?”
The factions’ words grew increasingly coarse. The heat was turning dangerous.
“How can we trust Lennic’s judgment? It’d only tarnish the Fafnir Mercenary Group’s reputation!”
“Hah! What about Thomas then? You can’t seriously think that fool could handle being proxy.”
The word “family” held no meaning in this gathering.
It was filled with vultures eyeing the enticing position of the Mercenary King’s proxy.
“These idiots...... With Dad collapsed, what the hell are they doing......”
Athena muttered with a sigh. Demian agreed with her.
‘I wondered why the Fafnir Mercenary Group split......’
It was all about power.
The power struggles between factions were fiercer than Demian had imagined.
Until now, they’d been suppressed by the overwhelming presence of the Mercenary King.
With his absence, the conflicts had finally erupted.
‘If things escalated like this, it must have led to civil war.’
He didn’t know why it had all been pinned on the Mercenary King.
But one thing was clear.
‘We can’t let the mercenary group fracture like this.’
The Fafnir Mercenary Group was the third greatest power after the Empire and the Holy Order.
But through infighting, their numbers had dwindled drastically.
If the Fafnir Mercenary Group had maintained its full strength, humanity wouldn’t have surrendered so easily to Dorgo during the apocalypse war.
‘To prevent this, waking the Mercenary King is the priority.’
It was then, as Demian pondered.
“But it seems there’s someone here who doesn’t belong.”
Clea Fowler raised her voice again. Her gaze was fixed on Athena.
“Athena, why are you sitting here?”
As Athena opened her mouth to protest Clea Fowler’s question,
“Exactly. Does that girl even have the qualifications?”
Susan agreed with Clea. She wasn’t alone.
“She hasn’t earned the status or the realm for it. She doesn’t qualify.”
Women from the other factions chimed in agreement. As if they hadn’t just been at each other’s throats.
“Athena, why don’t you leave now?”
Clea said softly, pointing to the door.
It was effectively an eviction.
* * *
In the end, Athena had to leave the meeting hall without a word.
“......Idiot morons.”
Still fuming, Athena spat out harsh words. She turned to Demian and said,
“What’s so wrong with me being alone...... Why do they have to act so petty......?”
Athena had been the Mercenary King’s favorite, so she didn’t belong to any faction.
The other factions must have resented her monopolizing his favor.
The moment the Mercenary King’s shield vanished, they’d pounced.
“Sorry...... I wanted to send someone to the Grape Kingdom as soon as possible for your compensation...... but it might take some time.”
“That won’t do.”
With the Mercenary King collapsed, when could they send anyone? An indefinite wait was inevitable.
“Y-yeah...... I’ll find a way quickly......”
Misunderstanding Demian’s words, Athena said dejectedly.
“That’s not what I meant. There’s no time to wait, so we need to wake your father quickly.”
“Huh? Wake him? D-do you have a way?”
Demian nodded at Athena’s question.
“Y-you should’ve said so earlier! L-let’s go right now!”
Demian grabbed Athena as she tried to run off.
“Not there.”
“What are you talking about? Father’s tent is that way.”
“That’s a fake.”
Athena gave him a look like he was spouting nonsense. Demian drove the point home.
“The real one is somewhere else.”