Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Will He Come?
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Will he show?
Dianal, who had come out a bit earlier than the promised time, thought of Lian.
She felt a little sorry seeing how brutally he had been beaten.
'He should've just come at it moderately.'
To be honest, she had gone overboard because of his audacity.
Considering the huge gap in their skills, it was something Dianal shouldn't have done.
Even so, what could be done about it now?
The deed was already done.
'He bears some responsibility too.'
She tried to shrug off the blame, but she couldn't completely erase the nagging feeling in the corner of her mind.
For now, all she could do was wait for him.
But even as the appointed time approached, Lian didn't show.
'Well... he probably won't be able to get up for a few days.'
It was impressive enough that he'd endured that much—she'd even give him a thumbs-up for it.
Thinking about it, after taking such a beating, even getting up would be impossible.
"Hmm..."
She'd waited just in case, but as expected, he didn't come.
Dianal opened her pocket watch.
6 a.m.
There could be a margin of error of 1-2 minutes, but even accounting for that, the fact that he still hadn't arrived...
'Looks like he couldn't get up.'
She'd thought he might be okay since he'd managed to return, but in the end, it seemed not.
Dianal turned to head back to the inn.
She'd woken up early because of him, so now she planned to go back in and sleep the day away.
"......!"
She hadn't even taken two steps.
Her head snapped quickly to the opposite side, looking toward the bend in the street.
And there, Lian emerged.
"...Huh?"
Dianal couldn't hide her dumbfounded expression as she watched him walk over casually, as if nothing had happened.
Lian approached her and spoke.
"Sorry I'm a bit late. I had some thinking to do until morning."
"...You okay from the beating?"
"Thanks to you, I caused trouble for Mr. Adelson. But I'm fine now, so no need to worry."
"Who said I was worried?"
Dianal looked at Lian.
It was clear Adelson had gotten a priest involved, as his wounds had been treated.
It must have cost quite a bit.
That meant his physical injuries had been healed.
But what surprised Dianal wasn't that.
A normal person, after taking such a brutal beating, would instinctively flinch the next time.
Yet there was no trace of that in his eyes.
'Has he rolled around in the military quite a bit...?'
It probably meant he had plenty of real combat experience.
Of course, he was just a common foot soldier.
Shing.
Dianal drew her sword.
His spirit hadn't been broken, which was praiseworthy enough, but that didn't change anything from yesterday.
"Wonder how long you'll last today."
Dianal said to Lian. In response, he gripped his spear and pointed it at her.
"......?"
Dianal's brow furrowed slightly at the sight.
What was that?
She didn't know why, but the moment he aimed the spear, his aura changed.
Mana flow?
No, it wasn't some simple external shift.
It was something she couldn't quite put into words... His presence had sharpened, perhaps?
It felt like the instincts of Dianal, who had rolled through countless real battlefields for years, were telling her so.
As Dianal looked at him with a puzzled expression,
"Sorry about yesterday."
Lian said, spear at the ready.
Dianal asked.
"What for?"
"I think I took it too lightly, just thinking of it as learning. Even though, as you said, it's 'real combat' training."
Whoosh...
At that moment, a strange energy began to ripple from Lian's body.
Like steam rising from body heat in the cold winter air.
"...Huh?"
Dianal couldn't hide her surprise. No, she didn't bother hiding it.
She knew exactly what that was.
'Mana...'
Faint, but the mana distributed throughout his body was manifesting, wavering like gas.
It was the starting point of emission.
'Does he know about it...?'
Regardless of Dianal's thoughts, Lian's eyes were sharper and calmer than yesterday, fixed on her.
Heh.
Dianal's lips curled up.
So what?
The sure thing was that she would see a slightly different side of him than yesterday.
Lian looked at her and said lowly.
"Let's begin."
With those words, Dianal's form shot toward Lian like a beast.
* * *
A week had passed.
From the first day to the seventh.
By the end of each training session, Lian's state was utterly wretched.
Broken bones in one or two places was standard, and his body was covered in burst flesh and blood.
It was perhaps inevitable.
It was like fighting an intermediate Aura user's swordsman with an unfamiliar spear.
They called it training and sparring, but it was practically real combat.
Thanks to that, the first six days of training ended with Lian passing out.
It even led to a temple priest from Haritoan Temple becoming a regular at the Hamel Merchant Group.
"......"
Revelson was a low-rank priest at the Haritoan Temple, and it was already his seventh day coming to the Hamel Merchant Group.
It was to treat an injured man who was practically a corpse...
"This is the first time we've met while you're conscious, right?"
"You're awake today."
Revelson made a troubled face as he looked at Lian, who was speaking with a slurred voice amid his battered state.
It might have been better if he'd just passed out like usual.
Lian gave an awkward smile.
"So you've been the priest treating me all this time. I apologize, and thank you at the same time."
"I can't fathom how you fight to sustain injuries like this every day... At least you haven't lost consciousness today."
"I walked back on my own two feet."
Lian gave a wry smile.
During the training over the past week, there had been some gradual changes, and the most noticeable one today was that he hadn't passed out and had walked back.
His wretched appearance was still the same, though.
Revelson sighed at Lian's words.
"Whew, let's start the treatment first."
Revelson examined Lian's condition.
His left arm was splinted and fixed, probably broken, and beneath his torn clothes everywhere, there were burst wounds all over.
Soon, Revelson knelt politely before Lian.
In a reverent posture, he clasped his hands and began to pray.
"My beloved god, lend me your power..."
A fairly long prayer followed, and at the same time, a strange energy began to flow through the entire room.
Lian simply exhaled calmly and closed his eyes.
He knew well that this was divine power.
The prayer went on for quite a while.
It was not only because of Lian's wounds but also because Revelson was only a low-rank priest.
By the time the prayer ended, Lian looked at his recovered body in undisguised admiration.
"...Impressive."
"And finally, drink this."
What he handed over was a potion in a small vial.
It was a tiny amount, not even a sip, but a potion drunk with a priest's blessing...
'I owe Mr. Adelson a lot.'
Lian drank the potion Revelson offered. Then Revelson spoke.
"Divine power and potions aren't omnipotent. If you keep accumulating injuries like this, even if you recover, they'll build up and turn into a big problem later."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I know warnings won't help... but I'll pray you get hurt as little as possible."
With those words, Revelson left, and Adelson entered as if on cue.
Lian said to Adelson.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. More importantly, how long do you plan to keep up this training?"
"Hmm... If I think about returning, I should depart in three days. But... I'm getting a bit greedy."
"You can't desert, though."
"That's why I sent a letter to my superior for now. Asking to extend my return a little... but I don't know if it'll be approved."
At those words, Adelson made a dumbfounded face, then burst into a chuckle.
"Very much like you, Mr. Lian. By the way, a welcome guest visited today."
"A welcome guest?"
Bang!
"It's me, you bastard!"
The one who roughly threw open the door was none other than Walter.
Lian looked at him in surprise at the sudden appearance.
He truly hadn't expected it.
Walter clicked his tongue upon seeing Lian's torn clothes.
"Ugh... Tsk! Your state is something else. Looks like you got thoroughly thrashed."
"Ah... How did you get here?"
"How? I walked. You wouldn't come, so I had to come myself."
"Haha, I figured you were busy so I didn't go."
"As if. Anyway, is your body okay?"
"Yes, thanks to Mr. Adelson."
"Not dying against that guy is impressive enough."
"Yeah... He's strong. I was wondering how someone that strong could be in a city like this without making a name for himself."
It was sincere.
Even though he was using a spear, the skill gap was too vast to bridge.
But,
"Huh?"
At Lian's words, Walter's eyes widened in bewilderment. Then he burst into laughter along with Adelson beside him.
"Kahahahaha, Dianal hasn't made a name? Does him being unknown to you mean he hasn't? Uhahaha!"
"Haha, Mr. Lian, there seems to be a misunderstanding."
Adelson spoke to Lian with a slightly awkward expression.
As Lian looked puzzled, Walter said to him.
"In the mercenary world, if you mention the Silver Wolf, most guys freeze and back off."
"Silver Wolf?"
"Yes, the Silver Wolf of the Battlefield is quite famous in mercenary circles."
"Silver Wolf... Silver Wolf..."
For a moment, it felt like something was surfacing.
Chanting it repeatedly to shake off the nagging half-remembered feeling, something flashed through Lian's mind.
"Silver Fang?"
Lian's low mutter.
Come to think of it, hair that silver wasn't all that common.
Especially for a mercenary as strong as him!
'Damn... That guy's Silver Fang...'
In his past life, after the second prince Byron seized the throne, an era of conquest and battlefield dominance began with his policies.
Naturally, it was a time when not just soldiers but mercenaries were extremely active.
Silver Fang was one of the most standout figures among them.
Bearing the moniker Silver Fang, he had expanded his territory with feats using Aura as a mercenary.
His reputation, earned through achievements rivaling entire armies, was quite famous even within the kingdom.
'I'd never seen him in person, so I never thought he was Silver Fang.'
But piecing the puzzle together, it was easy to guess.
Walter asked Lian, who had suddenly sunk into deep thought.
"What're you thinking so hard about?"
"Ah... No, nothing."
"Boring guy."
Then Walter handed Lian something he had brought.
It was a long something wrapped tightly in thick cloth, and the moment Lian received it, he knew what it was.
Walter grinned and said.
"A gift."
"For me?"
"Who else?"
Lian smiled at Walter, who still spoke in his grumbling tone.
"Thank you."
And without hesitation, Lian unwrapped the cloth around it.
'As expected.'
Somehow, he'd heard about it and had this made.
Lian smiled as he looked at what was revealed.