Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Indefinite Contractor Heads Out on Expedition Duties from the Outpost
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One of the northern mid-sized cities, Rohenberg.
Balt vented his frustration.
"Tch. Just do business as usual. What difference does it make with a measly four of them?"
He was a merchant who made his living off arms dealing.
The raids by the Highland Tribes, led by the Steel Scale Tribe, were an annual event.
Therefore, hiring mercenaries or adventurers was essential, and merchants like Balt prepared goods for them every year.
Food, weapons, medical supplies, even women.
But this year, half of his prepared stock was destined to remain unsold.
Because His Greatness the Northern Archduke had decided to invest the money for hiring mercenaries elsewhere this year.
Magic Tower mages.
They were the culprits who had reduced Rohenberg's mercenary deployment rate to less than 60% compared to the previous year.
"Father, I heard one of them took down twelve wyverns, though?"
"You idiot. Do you believe that?"
Balt snorted at his son, who hadn't quite shed his boyish naivety.
He had been doing business in the north for over twenty years.
He knew exactly what kind of political propaganda the higher-ups spouted around this time.
"Remember this, son. Rumors are usually nine parts exaggeration out of ten."
"So it's all lies?"
"Finally, you've grasped the truth. Your father is proud."
A single mage defeating a wyvern pack single-handedly? The reincarnation of the Dragon Slayer.
Thanks to the great black flame mage, no one died even during the wyvern attack.
Just hearing the story, he sounded like a miraculous hero straight out of legend.
But Balt didn't buy it.
'They probably caught it after hundreds of sacrifices and are advertising it as the mage's solo feat.'
That way, they could justify, "Hiring mages instead of mercenaries was the right choice."
The high and mighty never admitted mistakes, after all.
"Still, they say it's a 5th Circle mage, so it might be true?"
"Hmph. 4th Circle or 5th Circle—what's the difference in just one rank? At best, better than four 4th Circle mages."
Balt had seen countless mages in his business dealings.
4th Circle mages, hailed as top-tier by the public, were indeed impressive.
How shocked had he been witnessing a 4th Circle mage's spell drop dozens of barbarian soldiers in one hit?
Balt didn't deny the power of mages.
He just knew they weren't invincible or superhuman.
After seeing a mage who felled dozens of barbarians get his head lopped off by a Horse Demon Tribe charge, that conviction had never wavered.
"Instead of spouting nonsense, think of ways to sell the warehouse stock. Unless you want to see your father burst a vein."
"......"
"What? Answer me, boy!"
Balt turned his head.
His son sat there dumbfounded, mouth agape.
'What's with him? Did a beauty pop out or something?'
Grumbling, Balt turned to look.
"Huh?"
It took less than a second for him to wear the exact same expression as his son.
Something more astonishing than a beauty caught his eye.
A monster corpse.
"Hogzilla???"
-Crunch
The sound of his conviction cracking rang in his ears.
"Hogzilla? Is that really a Hogzilla?"
"Y-yeah, that's a Mountain Lord, right?"
"It is. It really is. What in the world happened?"
Rohenberg citizens gathered, buzzing with chatter.
Hogzilla.
The monster boar known as the Mountain Lord in the north.
A hybrid beast bred from giant boars and wild pigs.
Weighing at least three tons, packs of them could turn even trolls into meals—one of the north's worst predators.
Infamous as the beast tamed by the Flatnose Tribe, one of the top ten powers among the Highland Tribes.
Just three days ago, hadn't an entire mercenary band been wiped out by two Hogzillas?
Yet now, symbols of terror lay dead—three of them, loaded in a row on carts rolling into the city.
Citizens rubbed their eyes incessantly, unsure if it was a dream or reality.
"Who's that guy?"
Among those driving the carts was a familiar face.
Jang. To Balt, a rival merchant as loathsome as an enemy.
Normally, he'd curse at the sight and turn away, but today was an exception.
"Hey, what the hell happened here?"
"Balt."
Jang spoke.
The jerk who usually spat insults on sight was strangely calm.
No, not calm—
'He's lost his wits. Looks possessed.'
"What trick did you pull? Hogzillas, three of them?"
"We didn't catch them. A noble did."
"A noble?"
Jang nodded.
Balt was dumbfounded.
'Has this guy lost his mind?'
The Jang he knew was a money demon second to none.
Polite around money and the rich, but never reverent.
Not this time.
Sincerity rang in his voice.
"Who the hell is it?"
Balt scanned the people near the carts.
No one stood out.
"He's not here."
"What? You don't mean—"
"Hey! Don't you dare think so irreverently of him!"
"Hah!"
It was real. No acting.
Balt panicked at Jang's genuine anger over his slip.
"The noble entrusted us with transporting the Mountain Lords and left in a hurry. To catch the Flatnose chieftain."
"What?!"
Balt wondered if he'd misheard.
Five years ago, he'd glimpsed the Flatnose chieftain by chance.
A human weapon riding a larger-headed Hogzilla, swinging a chained flail to crush skulls!
Now, some noble was chasing that monster.
In other words, the monster was fleeing from the noble!
Normally, he'd grab the collar and yell, "Caught lying? Didn't they teach you to pay for it?"
Not now.
Not with the undeniable evidence of Hogzilla corpses.
"What kind of knight—"
"Not a knight."
"Huh?"
"The noble is a mage. The most famous one in the north lately. You've heard the name, right?"
"No way?"
The conversation with his son flashed through his mind.
God no. It was true? Not political wordplay, but the real deal?
Balt couldn't believe it.
But less than a day later, he had no choice.
That evening, he saw it.
The triumphant procession entering Rohenberg.
House-sized Hogzilla corpses on carts.
The Flatnose chieftain's head on a pole.
A black-cloaked mage striding confidently, wyvern skull slung on his back like a backpack.
"Hooray! Sir Daniel! Hooray!"
"Dragon Slayer! Hooray!"
The citizens' cheers pounded Balt's ears.
"It was real. All real."
Balt admitted it.
This year's hero wasn't a fake wrapped in propaganda.
A true hero who slew real monsters.
Balt applauded him.
With all his heart.
Rohenberg brimmed with life again.
Hard to believe it was the same city shrouded in heavy silence and anxiety from frequent barbarian raids just yesterday.
Citizens welcomed the heroes who restored the city's vitality.
"Hooray! Sir Daniel! Hooray!"
"Magic Knight Sir Daniel repelled the Flatnose Tribe!"
"Kazan's hero! Daniel of the Black Flames!"
"Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!"
The cheers showed no sign of stopping.
Young and old, men and women, all screamed Daniel's name.
"Dragon Slayer Daniel! Hooray!"
"Ugh!"
Daniel's expression stiffened as he silently waved.
"Sigh. Seriously. I wish they'd drop that one."
"Such a luxurious worry, Team Leader Daniel. Imperial knights would kill to be called that."
"I'm a mage, not a knight. Irina."
"Always so picky."
The woman walking beside him, Irina, sighed.
Early twenties, wavy blonde hair caught the eye, but more striking was her scale armor mimicking scales and the massive scythe on her back.
Frozen bloodstains on the blade hinted she was a true warrior, not a reaper impersonator clown.
"Manage your expression first. People will talk if they notice."
"That obvious?"
"Civilians might miss it, but those in the people business? They'll spot it instantly."
"Hmm."
Daniel fixed his business smile and waved again.
The cheers grew louder.
Irina nodded.
"That's how you do it."
"Politics is such a hassle."
"Deal with it, Dragon Slayer. Or what? Want to personally show me why 'first time's a mistake, second's on purpose' became a saying?"
"Irina, you can be brutally sharp sometimes."
"Don't worry. Only with you, Team Leader Daniel."
"Urgh."
Daniel groaned.
Guilty as charged, no rebuttal possible.
The enthusiastic welcome parade halted briefly due to road conditions.
Irina asked casually.
"But really, you sure it's okay?"
"What?"
"Letting me have the chieftain's head."
"Oh, that."
Daniel's eyes drifted to the bloodstains on her scythe.
"If you'd beheaded him yourself, the acclaim would be even greater..."
"Don't sweat it. Credit for repelling the Flatnose Tribe is more than enough."
Daniel shrugged.
"Whether I cut the head or not makes no difference to me. Might as well yield it to the one who benefits most, right?"
Irina's eyes widened as she looked at him.
"Planning to apply to the Magic Tower next year? Beheading a Highland Tribe chieftain? That'll catch the examiners' eyes for sure."
"True, but..."
Irina hesitated.
She felt guilty for taking his achievement.
Daniel chuckled.
"Don't worry. When a senior offers, juniors just accept politely. That's proper etiquette."
"...Thank you."
"Sure."
Irina bowed her head.
The parade resumed.
Daniel flashed his sales smile and waved to the citizens again.
'Good. Operation Favor worked! Shared the glory, so Manager Titania will chew me out less later? ...She'll chew less... Gotta believe it.'
His insides burned, but he had to smile outwardly. His stomach hurt.
The worst part? This self-inflicted disaster left him nowhere to complain.
Daniel wanted to cry.
'Damn. One wrong word, and this is the suffering.'
Daniel sighed.
How did he end up slaving away in a distant land instead of Kazan?
Bitterly smiling, Daniel began recalling the start of this grueling expedition duty.
"Pardon?"
His first thought was this.
'Fuck. I screwed up!'
And it was a massive screw-up.
'Did I just bypass the dispatch agency's president, report a subcontractor's private request straight to HQ, and accept it on my own without any contact or consultation?'
If this wasn't a screw-up, what was?
Daniel missed his mom.