Chapter 50

“It’s such nice weather, right?”

If it had been a few weeks ago, I would have said something like, “The sun is nice,” but now I can speak in fairly natural sentences.

Looking at things like that, it seems to hold true that everyone has their own strengths.

But… is the weather really nice?

I looked up at the sky for a moment.

“…”

A sky filled with clouds greeted me.

The sunlight that should have been shining down on the earth was unable to fulfill its role because of the clouds blocking it.

It wasn’t bad weather, but it wasn’t exactly nice either; it was that ambiguous kind of weather.

“It’s not raining, the air is nice, and since the sun isn’t too hot, it’s a perfect day for a picnic!”

When the positivity king of this era, Joanie, said that, I guess that must be the case.

I didn’t want to pour cold water on her remark about the nice weather.

Isn’t it much better to think positively rather than to always speak negatively?

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“Yeah.”

I tried the chocolate that Joanie had boasted about.

“Which one should I buy, this one or that one?”

“…They both suck.”

I helped her choose a weapon.

“Canaria! Try this on, okay?”

“…No.”

“Aw, don’t say that~!”

“…”

“…Alright then.”

I watched Joanie’s excited face as she picked up a piece of clothing, only to put it down again with a sulky expression.

Joanie led me around every corner of Liberi.

We went this way, then that way, and just when I thought we were going somewhere, we ended up in another cooking place. Sometimes we even passed through the same alley more than three times.

Given the inefficient routes we were taking, it seemed Joanie didn’t have much of a plan either.

“This one is pretty, and that one is pretty… Which one would look better? Can’t we just buy both? You guys are just saying that because it’s not your money, right? That’s why you don’t have girlfriends… Wait, I shouldn’t say that, right?”

I looked at Joanie, who had a rather serious expression as she contemplated in front of the jewelry stand.

Just then, our eyes met as Joanie raised her head.

“…”

“…”

“Umm…”

“…?”

Joanie, who had been staring at me, shifted her gaze from the necklace she had been observing to the bracelet next to it.

…What was that?

As I tilted my head in confusion over her strange behavior, a smell wafted through the air on the breeze and tickled my nose.

“Echh…!”

I couldn’t hold back a sneeze as it tickled the tip of my nose.

‘What is this smell…?’

It was a strange yet familiar scent.

Instinctively, I began to look around for the source of the smell and soon spotted a restaurant with a bright red sign.

“It’s ‘Burning Phoenix.’ Do you remember the spicy fried rice we had last time? This place sells that.”

Joanie, who had come up next to me, said.

“Last time we got it from a branch, and this is the main store. Since my stomach is a bit empty now, shall we have lunch there?”

Shaking my head, I replied.

I didn’t want to experience my tongue burning a second time.

“Wasn’t it something you liked?”

“Not at all.”

“Aww… I was thinking of having it after a long time—”

“…Cough, cough! What is this?! You call this food?! Gah!”

Suddenly, a harsh shout cut off Joanie’s words.

The commotion was happening at a place called the Burning Phoenix.

With faces as red as the sign outside, a man was coughing incessantly while a flustered employee next to him was pacing back and forth, and other customers and passersby were watching the scene unfold.

The man, clutching his throat and coughing, roughly swatted the employee’s hand away.

“I came here because it’s famous, and you serve me this trash? You’ve ruined my mood!”

“Sir, you need to pay before leaving…!”

“How dare you ask me to eat this and pay? I can’t pay! No, I won’t pay!”

“Oh, please! If you’ve eaten it, you have to pay!”

“Rather, I should be the one receiving money! I held back my anger, but if this is how it is, I can’t hold back any longer! I think I need to see a priest, so hand over the medical fees!”

Even in Liberi, the stronghold of mercenaries, there are such nuisances.

Should I call it courage, or is it just reckless bravado?

The man trying to leave the store was engaged in a tussle with the employee who was blocking him.

Although the man looked like he could easily shake off a frail employee, he seemed to be mindful not to escalate the situation too much. Instead, he kept irritably pushing away the persistent employee.

Whack!

“Ahhh!”

“Do you know who I am? I’m an Expert Class, Gold-tier mercenary!”

Suddenly, the man forcefully shoved the employee aside and pulled out a card from his pocket.

The card he displayed shimmered with a faint golden light.

“Gold-tier mercenary…!”

“An Expert Class?!”

“Let’s handle this amicably. I won’t hold you accountable, so stop bothering me.”

Seeing the crowd react with murmurs at the sight of the card, the man wore a proud expression.

‘Gold-tier….’

Is it really that impressive?

I tilted my head in confusion.

Gold-tier should only mean Expert level, yet it didn’t seem worthy of such boasting.

After all, Joanie right next to me is also a Gold-tier.

As I contemplated this, I let out a small gasp.

‘There’s a difference in standards from the Apostles.’

I had forgotten that for regular mercenaries, an Expert level is quite high.

Eventually, the uproar caused by the man led to the emergence of someone who appeared to be the owner, likely the Apostle of the store.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, manager….”

“You’re the owner? I almost died from frustration! I ate your food, and now my tongue is numb! How are you going to take responsibility for this?”

“Ah, I see how it is. …Suzanne, I told you to call me immediately if something like this happens.”

“Uh, um… I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to have you apologize, so lift your head. But more importantly, sir, you’re asking for compensation? Didn’t I explain this to you when you ordered?”

“…So, basically, you’re saying you should be able to walk out without paying for the food and just for the medical fees!”

“Hmmm… I understand. Just go.”

With the owner’s words, the atmosphere shifted drastically.

“That’s how it should have been from the start!”

“Manager…!”

A man with a beaming smile and the disgruntled face of an employee.

That was enough for me to understand the meaning behind the boss’s words.

Indeed, the most entertaining spectacle is watching a fight.

“Ah, now I get it.”

Taking a step forward while watching the fight with keen interest, I found myself standing before the man.

“…Canaria?”

“Just wait.”

His voice and face felt strangely familiar, and now I understood why.

As I moved closer to stand in front of him, the man, who was about to leave, made a puzzled sound.

“What’s this kid doing here?”

“Kid….”

“…Huh? Is that your voice…?”

His eyes widened.

“It’s been a while, but your speech habits haven’t changed at all.”

“Th-th-the commander…?!”

“Yeah. Th-th-the commander.”

Had he recognized me, he instinctively spoke to me in Granic.

Even in that moment, he referred to me as “the commander,” not “the commander-nim,” which revealed what he thought of me.

Well, it wasn’t something I was unaware of.

“Did you recognize me but not salute?”

“Hah! You think you’re still the commander just because you were one back then? Just because a ghost from the past suddenly appears…!”

“Well… you’re not wrong. But you were the one who called me ‘the commander’ first. I just matched your rhythm.”

“…Shut up!”

Kids these days. As soon as they’re hit with a truth bomb, they lash out.

I clicked my tongue.

What was the guy’s name again?

I remembered he was with the same order as I was… so he was part of the Crimson Aegis. I knew what he did, but I couldn’t recall his name.

He was a commoner who had clung to the noble faction, flattering them at every turn.

I could understand a commoner aligning with the nobility, but he took advantage of their influence in such a slimy, juvenile way that I never liked him.

“What was your name again?”

“How dare you mock me like that!”

“Uh… sorry…?”

I meant to ask because I genuinely didn’t remember.

It was indeed rude to forget someone’s name, so I sincerely apologized, but the man’s face turned even redder.

“Forget it! I have things to do, so get out of my way!”

Thud.

Clunk.

The man moved, not hiding his impatience.

I stepped aside to follow his movements.

His eyebrows twitched.

“…What’s this? Move aside quickly—”

“I don’t want to meddle in your affairs.”

At this point, pretending to be a champion of justice felt hypocritical given my deep sins.

“So this is just me letting off steam.”

I was quite annoyed by him because of what he did back then.

I lifted my arm, hidden beneath my cape.

“Are you crazy?! You plan to fight here?!”

“No.”

This isn’t a fight.

I shook my head.

“I’m just trying to give you a lesson as someone who used to be your superior.”

It might sting a bit, but good medicine is often bitter, isn’t it?

I’m sure this will be a good experience for him as well.

Or not.

“Y-you’ll regret causing a commotion here!”

“Is that something you should be saying?”

“…Right! I’ll inform the Empire of your whereabouts! Can you really ensure your safety?”

“Your news travels slower than the Apostles.”

It’s been ages since the Empire found out where I was.

As none of my words seemed to take effect, the guy eventually let out a wild scream and charged at me, drawing his sword.

“Uwaaaah! Die!”

-“Kyah!”

-“C-call the guards!”

In an instant, the area turned into chaos.

Even in this condition, the trajectory of his sword was far cleaner than that of your average mercenary, despite his eyes being half-rolled back.

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The sword of a man who had lost much of his rationality was no threat to me at all.

I reached out like a beam of light and firmly grabbed him by the collar.

Then, I lifted him up—

Boom!

Thud!

“…!”

And slammed him hard into the ground.

The sound of something breaking echoed, along with the noise of the ground shattering, as the man hit the floor, trembling and rolling his eyes back in shock.

Looking down at him, I suddenly recalled a name and snapped my fingers.

“Right, it was James.”

That was his name.

Now I remember.

His expression, appearing very aggrieved while unconscious, was probably just my imagination.

***

“…How long has it been since you went out and caused trouble again?”

“Um… About three hours?”

“You know I’m not asking for real, right?”

Aeron sighed and clutched his head.

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

If anything was wrong, it was Liberi for accepting James as a mercenary.

I proudly held my head high.

“I can see you didn’t do anything wrong. But did you really need to go that far?”

“Wasn’t I kind enough?”

“…I have to admit, you’re better than before. Last time, you turned him into a bloody mess.”

“Yeah.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean I’m complimenting you, so don’t get too proud.”

Aeron sighed again.

“Didn’t you know?”

“Are you talking about him joining Liberi? Of course I didn’t know. I’m not in charge of personnel; I handle training.”

“Couldn’t you have given a hint at least?”

“I don’t know. At least, I don’t recall hearing anything like that.”

“Hmm.”

Aaron wouldn’t have any reason to lie to me, so that must be the case.

In fact, it’s not that unusual for some low-quality scumbags to mix in with mercenaries.

That’s why there’s a saying, “There are those who will do anything for money.”

Of course, if you actually do anything, you won’t come out of it unscathed, but it means that there are indeed such terrible people out there.

James was just one of them.

“It seems he wandered around after the nobles disappeared and ended up in Liberi. Normally, he wouldn’t have done anything so serious that he’d face anything more than a warning, but…”

“But?”

“He’s not someone who would bring any good influence to Liberi, so we should drive him out. I don’t have direct authority, but if I say something, they will take it seriously.”

“If only this had happened a long time ago.”

“Yeah, right?”

This time, Aeron and I let out a simultaneous sigh.

Neither of us was in a good situation, suffering from the headache that James had caused.

They say that if the upper water is clear, the lower water will also be clear, but just because the upper water is clear doesn’t mean the lower water is as well.

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