Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 254
>Chapter Title: 254. Strength Enough to Survive a Night Anywhere, Even with Wicked Intent
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Before the conversation began, I took a seat in the prime spot on the guest sofa in Parun's lab.
Parun naturally ended up sitting to my right—a proper arrangement for the Tower Lord and Vice Tower Lord.
Ah, for reference, Parun's appointment as Vice Tower Lord was quite recent. He didn't know about it yet.
Anyway.
"Need some tea?"
"Just one carriage would be nice."
"Hah, spouting bullshit like that—you must be pretty thrilled."
What a clueless thing to say.
I was the type who could spout bullshit even when I wasn't thrilled.
"So, you can get the land? For free?"
Parun shook his head slowly at my question.
"Of course, not for free. The payment just isn't money."
"Not... money?"
"What else do you even have?"
I thought for a moment.
"A kind heart and a sense of justice."
"More like the brute strength to survive a night anywhere, even with a wicked heart."
"...Brute strength?"
Parun nodded silently and used his magic to fetch a tea set from the corner of the lab, then brewed the tea.
There were three cups, though.
"I'll give you the short version first. We can hear the details from the client when they arrive."
Parun poured the freshly brewed tea as he continued.
"Ever heard of the Kalia Mercenary Corps?"
"Nope."
It rang a bell somewhere, but nothing came to mind.
"What about Pola, then?"
As if I'd forget.
Until last year, we'd shared a room and turned a blind eye to each other's flights from the dorm—my rotten roommate with the good vibes.
But I tilted my head and played dumb.
Why?
Because the only time I'd met Pola in my disguise was once, when Karahen had broken into Parun's estate.
"Nope."
Parun, as if expecting that answer, calmly pressed on with his explanation.
"The young mercenary who was with Karahen back then. Not sure if you caught it, but he's an academy student. The Kalia Mercenary Corps is the group Pola belongs to."
Ah, right—now I remembered.
'Yeah, that's it.'
Pola, last year's top martial arts freshman enrollee, had been quite the hot topic among students back then.
"Anyway, so?"
"They originally had a base near Blandoga territory, but for some reason, they joined the Decullan-Lortel war this time."
"This war wasn't the scale for just any mercenary group to jump into."
"The Kalia Mercenary Corps isn't just any group. Not quite one of the Five Great Mercenary Bands, but right below them."
Yeah, sure, whatever.
"So, which side did they join?"
"Which side do you think? If it'd been Decullan, we wouldn't be having this meeting."
Why did I even ask?
Setting aside my personal feelings, the Magic Tower and Sword Academy were Lortel's staunchest allies.
Anyway, so they'd sided with Lortel...
"Go on."
"You can guess the rest. The Kalia Mercenary Corps led their elites into the war, got cut off in Decullan territory. The client wants them rescued."
"So, you want me to..."
"Rescue the Kalia Mercenary Corps from Decullan territory. Since we're Lortel's allies, helping her out isn't a bad idea. Do that, and..."
Parun wet his throat with some tea before continuing.
"They'll hand over the land the Kalia Mercenary Corps bought."
* * *
After Parun finished speaking.
"Hold on. Let me think."
I leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed, eyes closed.
Mercenary corps got cut off. I rescue them. In return, I get the land they bought.
Simple enough job, but a few things needed confirming.
First off.
"How do you know the mercenary corps is still alive?"
"The client has an artifact that lets them track the corps leader's status."
"So technically, it's a 'rescue the leader' op, not the whole corps."
"You could see it that way."
Next.
"When did they get cut off? And do you know their last confirmed position?"
"Wait for the client on the position. As for the cutoff, they estimate about one or two days ago."
One or two days ago.
A bit harsh, but I had to ask.
"You're sure they're still alive? Even if they are, they might not be in good shape."
"They were alive when the client came to me earlier. No idea now. But that bit about 'not in good shape'..."
"Decullan doesn't treat prisoners well. Knights and soldiers? They can squeeze ransom out of their lieges, so basic treatment. But mercenaries? You know how it is."
Mercenaries weren't protected under war laws to begin with.
Even regular soldiers could wring compensation from their lords, but mercenaries? No such luck.
No noble house was paying ransom to free mercenaries.
Anyway.
'Tch, right in the middle of the semester, huh.'
Bad timing.
Back in my first year, the headmaster senior had shuffled my combat training schedule to make it work.
Parun didn't have that kind of pull.
'Need some workaround.'
As I mulled it over, Parun spoke up right then.
"Can you do it?"
"Doing it isn't the issue."
I was a transcendent archmage.
Unless the Decullans sent a Seven Mage or dropped me in the middle of their army, nothing too tough.
'And if I bring Shine along... Nah. No need to drag the guy who's already swamped.'
Shine had quit his academy instructor gig to handle security and vassal training in the Second Black-White Slums. No point pulling him in too.
The immediate snag was the academy schedule.
Just then, footsteps approached outside Parun's lab.
"Hm, they're here."
"The client?"
"Yeah."
Oh right, the client was coming.
Who could it be?
Knock knock.
Two knocks. With Parun's permission, the door opened, revealing a familiar face.
"Long... time no see. I'm Pola."
The client was Pola.
* * *
"Sit."
"Yes."
I blinked at the unexpected face.
"Why so surprised? I told you—Pola's in the Kalia Mercenary Corps."
"No, but given our connection, it's natural to think that..."
I eyed Pola suspiciously.
Did he catch the implication in my gaze?
Pola, who had politely accepted the tea Parun poured with both hands, straightened his posture and spoke.
"If it's about the reward, no need to worry."
"What, you the captain's son or something?"
Not sarcasm—just genuine curiosity.
"Not blood-related, but the captain's my adoptive mother. The land bought in the Kalia Mercenary Corps' name passes to me upon her death. So..."
"You're just cashing it in early?"
"Yes."
I rubbed my chin at Pola's firm answer.
'Feels like an IOU.'
Think about it.
The land only inherits to Pola after the captain dies.
But if I rescue her?
The land stays with the captain, and Pola has no claim.
It might look like weighing lives against land, but that was unavoidable reality.
They chose the battlefield themselves—the consequences were theirs.
Anyway, with that settled, I looked at Pola again.
"Haven't decided if I'll take the job yet. Depends on what you say. Got it?"
"Yes, understood."
"And since you came to Parun, it must be urgent. But from this point, we're not academy student, professor, and associate. The moment you met me, Parun's done his professor duty. Agree?"
"Yes. No matter how this goes, I won't hold it against Professor Parun."
"Good."
Must be the mercenary in him.
Clean separation of personal and professional.
With that established, I finally got to the point.
"First, is the captain still intact?"
"Not sure about intact, but..."
Pola pulled a white gem from his inner pocket.
A light glowed at its center.
"She's still alive, for now."
"Can't track position with that?"
"No."
"Alright. I get you're in a rush, but I need details. Where the corps got cut off. Total numbers. Rescue target—captain only, or whole corps? And the land's location as reward."
Whether I take it comes after.
"Yes, then..."
Unlike the attitude he'd shown me as a fellow academy student, Pola proceeded politely.
* * *
In Decullan territory, amid raging war.
Captain Ekst brooded, his face caked in dried blood.
'...Already the second day?'
It had been two days since their hasty retreat from a Decullan ambush had separated them from the main force, forcing them into some nameless hill's cave.
They'd shaken pursuit so far and holed up in this secluded spot, but things looked bleak.
Twenty-one knights from his White Shield Order.
And...
Thirty-two elites from the Kalia Mercenary Corps.
Over fifty survivors through relentless pursuit was a miracle, but not hopeful.
'Pursuit aside... food's the immediate problem.'
So Captain Ekst could only brood, until a woman stepped forward from the weary knights and mercenaries.
"Captain, any word from the house?"
"None. Seems the comm crystal got damaged while evading."
"Hmm."
Kalia Mercenary Corps captain Britra let out a low hum, glanced at the group, then lowered her voice.
"...How long can we last on food?"
"Three days. Even that's if we ration tight."
"Three days... Desperate."
"..."
Ekst fell silent in agreement.
Three days sounded nice, but it was barely enough to stave off death—no strength left to fight.
Even surviving three days...
'No hope of the main force coming.'
With the comm crystal busted, how would they know to come here?
If anyone showed, it'd be Decullan pursuers.
Time to choose.
'Wait indefinitely for rescue? Or...'
Strike out while they still had strength.
Then Britra spoke.
"Captain."
"Speak."
"Better not make rash calls. Hunger clouds judgment, clouded minds make mistakes. So..."
"So?"
"Let's think calmly a bit more. Worst case... we die anyway, right?"
"..."
Britra flashed a carefree grin.
Captain Ekst couldn't help but chuckle.
It reminded him of someone.
'...Tower Lord.'
Yeah, just like that guy.
'Come to think of it, thanks to him.'
Shaking Decullan's pursuit and surviving this long? Thanks to the anti-mage tactics the Tower Lord had shared.
In that desperate situation, a faint smile bloomed.
...But Ekst didn't have much time left.
When the moment came, he'd choose.
Cling to slim hope and push on, or settle for the moment and prolong life.
Either way, just as desperate. No other path.