Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: First Mission
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Loan was pleased.
First, because of the accomplishments he'd gained while with Sienna.
‘Now I have two techniques I can call my own.’
‘Convection’ and ‘Domain’.
They didn't strain his body or mind, yet were versatile enough for practical combat, which was reassuring.
And another thing that pleased Loan was that he had been assigned a mission.
He was excited. It felt like he was steadily moving forward, one step at a time.
He didn't want to just complete the mission; he wanted to achieve something remarkable.
A long time ago, when he had asked Lazaros, he had said this.
‘You're aiming to be the captain?’
‘Yes. Is there something wrong with that?’
‘Not at all. Many members harbor the same dream. There's nothing better than striving for a distant goal.’
‘In other words, that means there are a lot of competitors.’
‘That's right. But is there any need to rush? Loan, you're still in your early teens. Even if you were to become captain, it would be much later.’
‘Uh... is there an age requirement to be captain?’
‘No, there isn't. The current captain is a bit old, but he was thirty when he took the position.’
‘...’
‘Hmm? Why the dark expression? Did I misspeak again...?’
‘No. I just want to achieve it as quickly as possible. Thirty feels far too late.’
‘How quickly...?’
‘Before I'm out of my teens.’
‘...’
Lazaros had taken Loan's words as a joke, saying that perhaps it would be possible if he achieved an incredible number of merits.
And now, here he was, a member of the Union.
Loan kept the immediate goal of 'achieving merits' close to his heart.
And now, it was finally beginning.
"You're so lucky. Getting to go on a mission."
Sophie's voice drifted into Loan's ears as he was pleasantly lost in thought.
He looked over and saw she was on the verge of tears.
Sophie hadn't been happy from the start about being placed alone in the 4th Squad—the Honor Division.
The Honor Division was a firepower-focused combat unit composed mainly of mages and magic swordsmen. Those skilled with weapons were primarily tasked with protecting the mages.
Sophie and Loan had even wondered if their squad assignments had been switched.
But since the Governor-General's decision to place her there aligned with the intentions of the dwarf who had made her sword and shield, perhaps it was her true calling after all.
However, Sophie seemed to be struggling with that as well.
The shield and sword she had reluctantly accepted still felt awkward in her hands and body.
Loan said.
"Why don't you ask the seniors in the Honor Division for help? There must be plenty of people there who use a sword and shield together."
"The seniors?"
"Yeah. The Union seniors all seem very kind."
"The seniors? Is it like that in the Faith Division?"
"As if."
Lucas cut into their conversation.
"Does this guy really not know that people are only kind to him, or is he still just pretending not to know?"
Loan tilted his head and asked.
"Why? Lucas, you've been sparring with the seniors too, haven't you?"
"I'm grateful for it, but they're not exactly kind about it. They all start by calling me an arrogant brat."
Sophie patted Lucas on the back proudly.
"Still, seeing you actually ask for help, you've really grown up, haven't you?"
"I'm testing the seniors. Seeing if I can trust them with my back."
"..."
Neither Loan nor Sophie could find the right words to say.
Sophie changed the subject.
"So for this mission, who's going with you two?"
Loan answered.
"Three of us, including Senior Sienna. We were just waiting for her to arrive before heading out."
"Ah, then before you go, could you take a quick look at my swordsmanship? Using a shield and sword together feels so awkward. And I'm still a bit uncomfortable with the seniors."
To an outsider, it would look like she was making a ridiculous request of a mage who had never even held a shield.
"Sure. I'm a bit interested myself. It would be even better if Lucas could be your opponent while we're at it."
"Hmm... I'm not confident I can go easy on you."
At Loan's words, Lucas joked as he took his position to one side.
Sophie glared at Lucas and stood opposite him.
"Here I come!"
Once he held his sword, Lucas shed all his playfulness and began to press Sophie with his massive claymore.
Sophie did a decent job blocking Lucas's attacks with the unfamiliar shield. However, that was only possible because she knew his attack patterns to some extent.
Loan watched their exchange, jotting down his thoughts in a notebook.
‘The reason Mr. Alric made her such a sleek, small kite shield must be so she can attack with it too. It would be better to deflect attacks rather than block them completely...’
As he organized his thoughts, his writing soon filled one page, then two.
Thoughts on her stance, how to deflect force with the shield, how to manage her mana while doing so, and more.
Considering Sophie's intellect, he even drew diagrams for the parts he thought might be difficult, confident that her skills would surely improve even if she practiced alone.
"Ah..."
He wanted to explain it to her directly if he had the time, but he couldn't.
Sienna had suddenly appeared in the distance.
Sienna then raised her hand and beckoned.
Loan used a gust of wind to gently draw their gazes.
The moment Lucas spotted Sienna, he ran toward her without even a goodbye to Sophie, his face full of determination.
The bravado he'd shown moments before, claiming he was testing the seniors' strength, was nowhere to be seen.
Loan chuckled and handed the notebook to Sophie.
"I hope this helps. I'll help you more when I get back, Sophie."
"Thanks. Be safe!"
Sophie watched her friends' retreating backs for a long time as they set off on their first mission.
* * *
The reconnaissance team, with Sienna as its leader, rode for nearly two days before arriving at Olen, a small city in the northeast.
At the entrance to the low outer wall, Sienna spoke.
"First, we'll leave the horses and enter on foot."
The difference in complexion between Loan, who had practiced riding diligently, and Lucas, who had thought little of it, was stark.
"This is why I told you to take riding lessons."
"I thought you just get on a horse and ride."
Sienna said to the grimacing Lucas.
"Practice as soon as we get back. If you don't want to be a burden."
"Yes, Senior."
"Don't use titles from now on. We're just mercenaries who've gotten to know each other on the road."
"Yes..."
While on the subject, Sienna reminded the newcomers of the mission briefing she had received from Commander Adrian before their departure.
"To reiterate, this mission is reconnaissance, and the method is infiltration."
Olen, a small city in the Kingdom of Grafton's territory, was a transportation hub, yet it had been all but abandoned for political reasons.
This gave rise to a crime-ridden area.
The settlements that formed as people from various nations gathered indiscriminately on Olen's outskirts were left completely exposed to crime.
Olen designated the area as an immigrant zone and, instead of helping, built high walls around it.
It was a way to quarantine crime and danger from the city, but in terms of size, the zone was several times larger than Olen itself.
The tail was wagging the dog.
"Olen isn't too fond of the Union either. So, as usual, they try to solve problems on their own. They manage to scrape together some money since they're in a key location."
While Olen usually didn't care what happened in the quarantine zone, they couldn't just ignore a situation like this, where the city's safety was also threatened.
"We'll join a mercenary squad to gather information. It's best if the three of us split up to get as much varied information as possible."
The three of them disguised themselves as mercenaries.
All they did was wear robes over their suits, but that was enough. No one would pay attention to how a mercenary dressed.
Sienna in her robe brought to mind an assassin or a rogue, while Lucas, with a robe and a claymore on his back, looked like a somewhat clumsy rookie mercenary.
To disguise himself as a mage from Schwerin, Loan wore a muffler robe, unlike the other two.
"It seems the quarantine zone is swarming with ghouls. We suspect they were created by Le Tell. On the surface, we're a subjugation squad, but don't forget that our top priority is gathering information, and our second is staying safe."
After hearing the name Le Tell, Loan's expression grew heavier.
Loan let out a short sigh and said.
"Is disguising ourselves as a subjugation squad just a means to enter the quarantine zone?"
"Yes. Once we're in, you can act according to your own judgment. There's no rule that says the number of team members going in has to be the same as the number coming out."
It was a rather grim thing to say, but Loan thought it was for the best.
"Can't ghouls be turned back?"
"No. Killing them is the only way. You can handle that, right?"
For Loan, who had already crossed that line once, it wasn't a difficult task.
The same went for Lucas. Having snuck out of school as a matter of course since he was young, Lucas was actually more experienced than Loan. In many ways.
"Anyway, this is a reconnaissance mission, so don't go too wild."
"Okay. Sis."
"What?"
"You said not to call you Senior anymore."
"Right..."
Deciding that was enough of a pre-briefing, Sienna turned and headed for their next destination.
"Even if I wanted to go wild, I don't think I could."
Lucas muttered, shuffling his feet.
The sores from riding seemed to be hurting him quite a bit.
With Lucas naturally falling behind, the three of them arrived one by one at the mercenary guild.
It was quite crowded.
A mix of various races and non-human species made for a boisterous scene, but it was a far cry from the vitality he had seen inside and outside the Union.
It was dark and rough.
The stench of sweat, grime, and blood was so strong it stung his nose. The density and turbidity of mana varied from person to person, as did their weapons and armor.
‘So these are mercenaries.’
People who didn't put down roots anywhere, wandering from place to place and profiting from their martial prowess.
But they weren't all just ruffians; no one tried to pick a fight even when the fair-featured Sienna and Loan appeared.
"Here to sign up for the ghoul subjugation squad."
Loan stood at a distance behind Sienna, taking in his senior's demonstration with his eyes and ears.
The receptionist licked the tip of his pen, his eyes darting back and forth.
"Two? Three? You should know we don't accept teams."
When a single mercenary joins a group of people who already know each other, unpleasant incidents often occur. Since they're all earning from a common pool of rewards, it can lead to unnecessary casualties.
To prevent such situations, the guild's policy was to form teams individually.
Sienna shrugged and replied.
"We just met on the way here."
The receptionist studied the three of them and nodded.
They didn't really look like a party anyway, and in any case, all he had to do was split them up.
"Mercenary licenses."
"Here."
They couldn't just give a job to anyone who claimed to be a mercenary.
It was a headache if they died needlessly, and an even bigger one if they didn't die and became a ghoul instead.
Also, since this was a job funded by a budget, a minimum level of security was necessary.
Thus, the licenses issued by the Grafton Mercenary Union served to verify a mercenary's skill and identity.
"Three-man or four-man?"
"Three-man."
"Go out to the right; there are teams waiting. The leader is... Elric. Join his team immediately. Bring back their tongues, and we'll pay you per head."
Sienna gave a slight nod and left.
Loan immediately took her place and presented his forged license.
The receptionist's eyes lingered on Loan's partially revealed face for a moment.
"...Looks like you haven't been out of the mage tower for long."
"Yes."
"Nothing like mercenary work to gain experience."
There was no particular objection or suspicion.
Even though he was young, as long as he had a mercenary license, he was treated as an equal.
Whether or not he was a capable mage was a problem for his party members to deal with.
And so.
The three mercenaries waiting for their last party member felt a mix of relief and annoyance at Loan's appearance.
"He's just a kid. Where'd this scrawny brat come from... Can he even protect himself?"
"A mage this age has probably barely mastered 1st Circle magic, right? He's just another head to fill the quota and shrink our shares."
Two men with unremarkable faces openly expressed their dissatisfaction.
The one who appeared to be the leader, clad in heavy armor, patted their shoulders and said.
"Enough, enough. At least we've got the numbers. Let's just go in thinking he's not here. And who knows? Maybe he'll be kind enough to die early for us."
Loan let out a small sigh at their baseless rudeness.