Chapter 28
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Becoming a Mercenary
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'Is she finally about to reveal the face she's been hiding?'
Ruyan considered ignoring her but ultimately couldn't help stopping in his tracks.
He had a feeling that letting it slide would leave a nagging unease.
"What is it?"
"You said you wanted to become a mercenary, right? Then join our mercenary band."
'Was this woman a wandering warrior too?'
Alize possessed remarkably skilled martial prowess, so there was nothing strange about it.
She'd gone from assassin to scatterbrained girl, and now mercenary. A faint chuckle escaped him at the sheer breadth of her activities.
"If you join our band, I can get you a mercenary tag at least."
As soon as Alize's words landed, the mercenaries inside the guild erupted into chaos.
"What? Did I hear that right?"
"I think I heard it too? No way Alize is personally scouting him?"
"Nah, no chance. What's the Alize Mercenary Band lacking that they'd recruit some no-name like that...?"
The mercenaries couldn't believe what they were seeing.
'Looks like quite a capable mercenary band.'
From their reactions alone, Ruyan could roughly gauge Alize's standing.
'Well, she's a warrior nearing the absolute peak, so it's only natural she'd be respected.'
Recalling her massive greatsword, Ruyan inwardly agreed and met her gaze squarely.
"Why make that offer to me?"
"You still owe me money. You seem flat broke right now, but what can I do? Gotta make you earn it back."
Ruyan had asked in all seriousness, but Alize had slipped back into her sly grin.
"Were you really planning to collect that 10 silver?"
"Nah, it's 20 now. You stiffed me, so no discount."
Her mouth spouted jokes nonstop, but the look in her eyes as she regarded Ruyan was utterly earnest.
"Amusing. How can you trust me enough to make that proposal?"
"You're funny, you know that? Trust has nothing to do with it in the mercenary life. If you've got the skills, you're on the same side. That's it."
It was a perfectly apt response.
A wandering warrior needed no oath of loyalty. Skill alone proved everything.
Ruyan nodded lightly and shrugged.
"You sound awfully sure of my skills."
"Yeah. That bow on your back? No ordinary piece. It must weigh a ton, yet you walk so lightly. Takes more than average skill for that."
Alize had a sharp eye indeed.
Gauging an opponent's prowess from their weapon alone required years of experience.
'My mistake. So the bow was the issue after all?'
Getting stopped for inspection at a city gate everyone passed freely through had been odd from the start.
The innkeeper's forced indifference, the mages' guild not recognizing him as a mage—it was all because of this.
He'd been lugging around a ridiculously huge bow.
'Tch. Habits from the Central Plains have stuck with me.'
In the Central Plains, carrying weapons was commonplace, no matter how unique.
No one batted an eye.
But Sobles Continent was different.
A low-grade soldier's weapon enlarged to absurd size—it was bound to draw stares.
"The draw strength looks insane too. Even a burly mercenary couldn't pull that monster."
Alize eyed Ruyan's bow outright, clicking her tongue in admiration.
'Now I see why her band's so renowned.'
He still couldn't read her ulterior motives, but Ruyan revised his assessment of Alize upward.
'A mercenary band, huh...'
Money aside, Ruyan's plan to become a mercenary was to gather intel while gaining experience in this unfamiliar world.
'Didn't expect the ID issue here too.'
Yet a minor snag had derailed things, leaving him at a loss.
'Money and ID in one go. Not a bad opportunity.'
Long-term, he'd need imperial certification as a mage.
Securing a solid identity now was wise preparation.
'Problem is, she's awfully suspicious...'
Ruyan stared straight at Alize, scrutinizing her every micro-movement.
Unyielding eyes.
Confident posture.
Even her calm, relaxed breathing exuded poise.
She was no mercenary captain destined to fade into obscurity.
'Might even be interesting.'
Hesitation and wariness weren't Ruyan's style.
If it didn't sit right, discard it. If it did, charge ahead. Deal with the consequences as they came.
'This path isn't bad.'
Ruyan curved his lips softly and slowly approached Alize.
"Fine. I'm in."
The moment the Divine Bow became a mercenary in another world.
Alize's mercenary band held absolute prestige in Tvente Village.
Just affiliating with them let Ruyan skip guild procedures and become an official mercenary on the spot.
'A capable woman.'
The troubles that had plagued him dissolved effortlessly once she stepped in.
"Here. Your mercenary tag. No record yet, so you're 5th grade, but stick with me and you'll hit 4th in no time."
"Rank doesn't matter."
Ruyan was beyond mercenary guild rankings; he had no attachment to such chains.
"Still, memorize them. You need at least 4th grade for respect in other regions."
Reading between the lines, 4th grade meant full freedom from ID woes.
'Then raising my rank comes first.'
Ruyan nodded without argument and pocketed the tag.
But Alize wasn't done. She scanned the guild with fierce eyes.
"Quit eyeing him already. This guy's Alize Mercenary Band now."
Her single declaration melted the guild's tension.
The taut atmosphere vanished; mercenaries returned to their drinks.
Starting trouble with another band's member could spark a brawl.
Satisfied with the response, Alize finally grinned wide.
"Brothers! Drinks on me today. My name's good for it—booze up. Anyone sober tomorrow gets it."
The guild roared again at her bold call.
"Knew Alize had the goods!"
"Oi, throat! Earn your keep! Today's the day!"
Cheers erupted everywhere; they clamored to order first, turning the place upside down.
'She knows how to handle people.'
Tricky for Ruyan.
Told to silence them, he'd have locked the doors first.
Alize got them seated willingly—true mark of a skilled captain.
"Shall we?"
Leaving the drunken battlefield, Alize winked at Ruyan and exited the guild.
"Saw no luggage earlier. Straight to guild HQ okay?"
"Doesn't matter. Lead on."
Ruyan replied indifferently; Alize turned and strode into the night streets.
He stared blankly at her back, then followed.
Without looking, she tossed over her shoulder:
"Not running this time?"
"Never ran. Had somewhere to be."
Ruyan bristled at "running," but Alize glanced back with an amused fondness.
"Good! Gotta have that guts to join Alize Mercenary Band."
Such banter felt alien to Ruyan, but it didn't displease him.
'This world really is fun.'
Even the king of wanderers in his past life hadn't spoken to him this way.
Yet here he was, taking it from a mere mercenary captain.
Trivial, perhaps, but everything on Sobles Continent was fresh to Ruyan.
"A question."
His low voice made Alize flinch briefly.
She hesitated, took a quiet breath, then turned casually.
"What?"
"The gate incident today. From the soldier's words, it seems you do this often. Why?"
Not for money—that much was clear, even to oblivious Ruyan.
Alize finally halted and spilled the truth.
"Not a big deal. Just saves hassle if soldiers don't keep dying."
She said it like it was nothing.
But Ruyan couldn't take it lightly.
'Protecting the soldier, not me?'
He'd never intended harm; it went against his principles.
But purely by ability, he could've taken the soldier's life easily.
'No need for the bow if I'd wanted to.'
Alize had sensed it and intervened before clash.
To save the soldier from potential accident.
'Spotting that on the fly is impressive enough...'
One mystery solved birthed another.
"If he's a threat to kill soldiers, you're not safe either."
"True. If you had... Wait, what's your name?"
"Asking early. Ruyan."
He chuckled and teased, but Alize pressed on shamelessly.
"Ruyan... Nice name. Anyway, if you'd handed over 10 silver easy, I wouldn't have stood by."
"What do you mean?"
"Hiding a name for 10 silver? No petty crook. Real danger, like you said."
Ruyan simply hadn't seen the need to pay, but the outcome was fortunate.
Friction with Alize there? She'd have died instantly.
No matter Ruyan's patience, he wouldn't tolerate scheming right beside him.
"Ruyan, count yourself lucky. One slip, and you'd be our enemy."
Lucky for whom, exactly?
Alize? Tvente Village?
Hard to pinpoint one, but certainly not Ruyan.
Still, his expression unchanged, he nodded.
"Good. No enmity."
He meant it.
No needless death, and it paved his mercenary path.
"You're a first for me. Usually drag 'em around till they spill if no pay—didn't expect you to bolt."
"Said it wasn't bolting."
"Stubborn. Fine, questions done?"
Alize rushed to end it, hurrying onward.
'Didn't think he'd join so readily.'
Ruyan had clearly seen her face in the wild hills. A minor disguise wouldn't fool him.
Yet she accepted him into the band. Why?
'No open hostility... Better keep him close and watch.'
This much talk sufficed.
No need to reveal he'd recognized her voice.
Mercenaries rarely bared their pasts.
Alize likely figured his reticence ordinary.
But one fact eluded her.
Her accidental new recruit was a war god who'd conquered a world.