Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Ch. 92 .｡.:✧ Chapter 92 ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“It’s certainly worth doing.”
“But you were a bit hasty. Even though you said there was a promised time, I wish you’d move more slowly from now on when such matters come up.”
The promised time referred to the two years I had mentioned.
Well, we had already wasted a month visiting the warlock’s dungeon…
It seemed she thought I had moved hastily because of the time limit.
“Although the situation is uncertain since the artifact is in the possession of a monster tribe, safety is still the top priority.”
It seemed that my occasional actions appeared a bit dangerous to her, even though prioritizing safety was my basic attitude.
‘I don’t think Kayla used to be like this…’
I couldn’t tell if it was due to my influence, or if she had adopted this attitude because she needed time during her current explosive growth.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t move hastily. I just seized a good opportunity.”
“If that’s the case…”
Kayla nodded as if somewhat relieved.
Following Kayla, I also informed Athena and Baldur about the news and made sure we were all on the same page.
Although it wasn’t confirmed yet, the possibility of rejection was low.
“This kind of information can be shared quickly…”
In response to Athena’s words, I shook my head and replied.
“As I said, I originally planned to do this after we were more established. It was just an opportunity. Besides, you’ve probably guessed that I don’t have just one or two pieces of information?”
In fact, besides this, there were plenty of things to pursue – another dungeon, a ruin, and a dimensional rift that would appear later.
“That’s… true.”
“There are plenty of other places we need to go. This is just a part of it.”
It was a fact they could easily guess even without me saying it.
From the moment I set the period to two years, they probably had some expectations.
So they didn’t say anything more.
After all, I had explained that this was sudden for me too.
“So, who are these people who approached us first?”
“It’s a party led by someone named Cereo. Six members in total. A woman named Annelise made the initial contact…”
Just as I was about to explain, someone knocked on my room door.
It was the innkeeper’s voice.
“A Cereo and an Annelise are here to see you. Do you know them?”
“…Send them up.”
As we heard the innkeeper going back downstairs, I shrugged and said,
“It’ll be faster to see them directly.”
I had thought the possibility of rejection was low, but I didn’t expect them to come this quickly.
A little while later, there was a knock on the door, and I told them to come in.
The door opened and two people entered the room.
Annelise, young and quite beautiful, and Cereo, who looked to be in his early 30s with an ordinary face.
Both were familiar faces to me.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Cereo, I lead a small party.”
“I see you were all gathered. I’m Annelise.”
They both bowed their heads in greeting.
“I’m Do Inha. Call me Inha. Let’s sit down.”
I smiled slightly and offered them seats.
They thanked me and sat in the seats I offered.
Cereo and Annelise’s gazes focused on me.
Cereo had a somewhat stiff expression, while Annelise gave a small eye-smile.
Seeing this, Athena and Kayla’s gazes turned towards Annelise.
My gaze was fixed on Cereo’s face.
“We heard you have a big request for us.”
5 gold
It wasn’t a small amount by any means.
Half the price of a captured troll.
Considering that the troll disposal, an advanced mercenary request, was 20 silver…
‘They said he learned a breathing technique, but they’re still intermediate mercenaries at best. Even split among six people, 5 gold is a large sum.’
It was enough to upgrade equipment and take a big step forward for those aiming for breathing techniques.
“It seems you’ve heard everything…”
“We don’t have the audacity to ask for the artifact. We can’t handle Minotaurs anyway.”
Maybe later, but not now.
I knew that Cereo would become an expert who could use aura in the future.
“If that’s the case, would it be alright to receive the request through the Mercenary Guild for record-keeping purposes?”
“You’ll have to bear the commission fee, is that okay?”
“We’ll accept that.”
They seemed a bit uneasy.
‘Well, even if there are good rumors recently, it must be a bit unsettling to have to cooperate with a warlock.’
I understood.
“If that’s possible, we’ll accept the request.”
“All the party members agreed too.”
“That’s good news.”
I responded calmly to Annelise, who had chimed in.
Cereo’s eyebrow twitched at Annelise’s friendly demeanor.
However, since I was the client and there was a significant difference in skill, he didn’t say anything.
I smiled slightly, thinking about how things might have been different in the past.
When I smiled, curious looks were directed at me, but as we moved on to business talk, everyone’s attention shifted.
I asked them about what they needed to do, special terrains, and the most recent monster distributions.
Cereo answered my questions without hesitation, and I discussed with him the order of suspicious areas and places to visit.
‘People who have been active here really are different.’
Given the area’s characteristic of frequent changes in monster distribution, there was an abundance of information that could only be known through consistent activity.
Nevertheless, Cereo answered my questions without hesitation, and I nodded with satisfaction.
After the discussion, we set an appointment to meet tomorrow.
Cereo and Annelise left, and as soon as they were gone, my companions questioned me.
“But what’s with that woman? Don’t tell me she’s the one who approached you…”
“That’s right. It’s Annelise. She approached me at first without knowing I was a warlock.”
When I answered that she seemed to have just finished a request, Athena made a subtle expression.
Surprisingly, even Kayla looked a bit uncomfortable.
Amidst this, Baldur spoke up.
“While I can’t judge their skill, they seem to have considerable experience. It looks like they’ve cooperated with other parties often, and given that they know information about deep parts of the Monster Forest, their abilities seem like they could be helpful to us.”
It felt like he was speaking on behalf of Kayla, who would normally have said this, after seeing her condition.
I thought so too.
Although personal emotions were mixed in, it was certainly true that they could be helpful.
‘And it provides a justification too.’
If we could say we obtained what we were looking for with the help of another party, we might be able to avoid some scrutiny in the beginning.
‘If we go through the Mercenary Guild, the news will spread properly.’
Athena, who had been silent, spoke up.
“…Well, I guess it’s fine if we’re just doing one request together. It does seem like they could be genuinely helpful.”
Kayla didn’t voice any opposition either.
‘That’s unexpected.’
Honestly, I hadn’t thought that Athena and Kayla would be hesitant because of Annelise.
Especially since Athena was devoted to her sister and addicted to training, and in Kayla’s case, I thought she would ignore someone like Annelise, not feeling threatened by her…
‘Annelise’s reaction was unexpected too.’
I hadn’t expected her to behave in a way that could cause discord at an official gathering for a request.
Of course, it wasn’t that she did anything overtly, just some slight flirtatious behavior…
‘She walked a fine line.’
However, because of that, Cereo’s mood had soured, and the women on our side were also irritated.
Fortunately, it didn’t escalate into a big problem, but…
‘We won’t be able to get too close.’
I felt that it would be difficult to become more than a certain level of close.
For me, this was a good thing.
After all… they were people I was planning to deal with someday.
For tomorrow, the group returned to their respective rooms to rest, and when dawn broke, we headed to the Mercenary Guild.
Servisso looked a bit surprised as he saw us posting the request and said,
“5 gold…”
“They agreed to bear the commission fee.”
“You specified Cereo’s party.”
“We had discussed it in advance. Besides, since I’m a warlock, it would be difficult to find anyone cheaper.”
“The content of the request is… exploration, correct?”
“Yes. There’s something we’re looking for. We’ll probably have to go deep into the Monster Forest, but since we haven’t been here long…”
The story was that we happened to meet a party that didn’t shy away from us as much as we expected, so we decided to work together.
“Even considering the danger pay, it’s certainly a large sum. But considering you’re a warlock… I understand. I’ll process it.”
“Cereo’s party will probably arrive soon too.”
There was also a confidentiality clause, which had increased the price a bit.
As I said, Cereo’s party entered the Mercenary Guild not long after, and Cereo, as the leader, officially accepted the request and received the advance payment from Servisso.
With this, the official request was established.
“Nice to meet you. Oh my, such beautiful ladies.”
A man in priest’s robes said cheerfully with a smile.
“No, how can a priest approach a warlock’s party…”
“Don’t be like that, Rabid.”
“You’re the strange one, Tildi. Rabid is normal.”
“I think Flana is right about that.”
“Still, we’re going to work together, so wouldn’t it be better to get along?”
Cereo’s companions debated among themselves while looking at us.
‘Is this the first time they’re directly talking with my companions?’
To be honest, I didn’t have strong feelings about Cereo’s companions.
In the past, I had hated them just for being his companions.
But thinking about it now, they hadn’t done anything particularly wrong to me.
In fact, there had been no point of contact at all between us.
Cereo’s party consisted of six members, Cereo, the leader and swordsman; Annelise, who provided long-range support with a bow; Tildi, the priest; Rabid and Arahard, the shield warriors; and Flana, who used a spear.
‘Their balance isn’t bad.’
For reference, Flana and Annelise were women, while the rest were men.
They had a decent front line and included a rare priest and archer among mercenaries.
‘Two shield warriors and a spearman make for a pretty solid front line.’
And now there was also a swordsman who had learned a mana breathing technique.
While I’d have to see their skills, the composition of their professions was quite well-balanced.
They certainly seemed like a party that would be promoted to a mercenary group in the future.
No, having a priest in their party was impressive from the start.
‘I don’t know how they ended up there, though.’
Priests were usually treated as advanced mercenaries.
They might start as intermediate mercenaries if their skills were significantly lacking or they had no experience, but basically, they were a highly respected profession due to their ability to use divine power and perform on-the-spot wound healing, buffs, and recovery.
In fact, even if they started as intermediate mercenaries, priests were the ones who quickly got promoted to advanced mercenaries.
‘And unlike magicians, there aren’t many with overtly difficult personalities.’
Because of this, every mercenary group wanted to recruit them, and some mercenary group leaders even frequented temples aiming to recruit priests.
Of course, according to Annelise, this priest’s divine power was lacking for a priest, but still, the presence or absence of a priest greatly affected a party’s stability.
“So you’re Inha, the party leader and the warlock. Nice to meet you. I’m Tildi, a priest serving the goddess. I’m still an apprentice and have much to learn. I look forward to working with you during the request period.”
I looked at Tildi, who was smiling and extending his hand to me, with a slightly curious gaze as I shook his hand.
“I’m Do Inha. Please call me Inha.”
“Hahaha. You’re certainly unique, as the rumors say.”
“The same could be said about you, I think.”
“I hear that a lot. Ahaha. My companions are quite wary, but they’re not bad people. Please be patient with them. You seem a bit different, Inha, but you know about the image of warlocks, right?”
“I understand.”
“…What an interesting person. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a mercenary approach Inha with so little wariness.”
“Oh my. You’re quite beautiful. Nice to meet you. I’m Priest Tildi.”
“Athena. Looking forward to working with you.”
“But it’s not the first time, is it? I heard Annelise approached you guys first.”
“…Is that so?”
Tildi looked puzzled at Athena’s attitude, but soon greeted Kayla and Baldur as if nothing was wrong.
Meanwhile, Annelise greeted the others moderately but showed a slightly friendlier attitude towards me, while Cereo and the other companions only stated their names with a somewhat stiff attitude.
Since no one on our side had a gentle enough personality to approach those who were initially stiff without hesitation, the overall atmosphere remained a bit awkward.
Seeing this, Cereo, as the leader, stepped forward.
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[Even kayla and athena hate the cheerios dude and his sidechick]
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