Episode 20
“Can’t sleep?”
John Doe nodded to his question.
“I guess it’s because it bothers me more than I thought. Just like you said, I can’t sleep.”
“What do you mean?”
“you.”
John Doe, who was pointed out to me, tilts his head.
“Is that you?”
“I’m really curious. Why is an 8th circle mana user working as a mercenary?”
John Doe’s hand, which was throwing sticks into the campfire, stops in midair, and all the mercenaries around him blink.
“I was just curious and wanted to let it go, but it didn’t work.”
“… … What do you mean?”
“The place I’m going to right now is a place that’s quite important to me. It’s a place with a lot of meaning. I really don’t feel like taking a guy like you who has such a secretive mind to a place like that.”
Judging by the reactions of those around him, it is clear that the other mercenaries were unaware that John Doe was hiding his power.
That’s why you still have that blank expression on your face.
Even John Doe didn’t deny it.
“What the heck is this conversation… … .”
John Doe raised his hand and cut off the furry man’s words.
Then he asks me.
“So what do you want to do?”
“What should I do? It’s simple. I told you a funny story, so now I want to hear a funny story from you.”
“… … What if you don’t like it?”
John Doe is still expressionless, and my laughter disappears at his words.
I’m really sorry.
“If you don’t ‘convince’ me, you die. Right here.”
A cold silence.
The atmosphere suddenly becomes tense.
“… … This joke is too much.”
John Doe’s words failed to lighten the mood.
An ominous atmosphere had settled in, and the mercenaries, except for John Do and me, still looked bewildered and at a loss for words.
Looking at them, I quietly drew my sword.
“Jane Arbeloa. She does a better job than you might think. I asked her to hire a veteran, but she hired someone like you instead.”
“… … .”
“Are you perhaps a spy dispatched from the Tulcan Empire?”
John Doe’s brow furrows strongly.
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It looks like he’s denying it, but I still can’t believe it.
He said with a deep sigh.
“She said to me, ‘Let’s have a beer next time we meet.’ But, if you’re a spy for the Tulcan Empire, it’s only natural that she’d be suspicious of you, right?”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Even though I told you this, you still don’t know?
“No big deal, but aren’t you curious? Will Jane Arbeloa’s last meal before she dies be beer or not?”
John Doe’s expression becomes distorted.
“Things are turning out really interesting, aren’t they?”
John Doe’s fist clenches.
But his mana circle did not move.
I don’t know if I’m being cautious or thinking.
Now I want to tell you that you did a great job.
The moment John Doe turned the circle, I was so shocked and determined that I thought I’d cut off his head.
“I have a hard time controlling my strength, so there’s no middle ground. It’s either life or death, right? Okay. I’ll give you one minute. Decide.”
Chapter 7
John Doe was embarrassed.
No, to be exact, I should say that I don’t understand the situation that is going on.
What the kid had just said echoed in my head.
‘Why is an 8th circle mana user working as a mercenary?’
And I looked back at the line about Jane.
What should I say?
I guess I should say that it can be summarized in just one word.
‘You’re good at… threatening.’
John Doe swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
According to what I heard from Branch Manager Jane, the little boy in front of me was clearly the third prince, who was almost an abandoned child of the Marquis of Valantier.
And Jane added this:
‘What a strange little kid. He’s so different from the rumors, and I guess he’s hiding a lot of things. I wish you’d look into it.’
Jane definitely said that.
As she said, the little boy in front of her is different from the rumors.
Who could see that and call him retarded?
It seems like there are more than one or two things that are being hidden.
How on earth should I explain it?
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Should I say I don’t feel well?
Skipping everything else, how on earth did he figure out that he was the 8th Circle?
‘Did Jane make a promise?’
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No, John Doe immediately shook his head.
Jane is not stupid, and John Doe believes in her.
Because Jane and John Doe were that ‘close’.
Jack’s voice pierces John Doe’s ear as he puts the branch he was holding down on the ground.
“40 seconds left.”
John Doe chuckles and asks.
“If I am one of the 8 circles as Confucius said, then would you be able to kill me?”
And John Doe saw.
Jack’s eyes still remained cold and settled.
‘What kind of little kid’s eyes are so fierce?’
John Doe was confused for a moment.
Should I say that they are eyes with a deadly will to kill, or should I say that they are eyes without fear?
Following the selective agonizing over words, I wondered if the little boy standing before my eyes right now was really a little boy.
A huge wave of questions crashes over my mind.
“30 seconds left.”
John Doe was convinced.
That kid’s confidence.
Clearly the kid was confident that he could kill himself.
Should I avoid it?
Should I tell the truth?
Convince me? Where should I start talking?
At that moment, John Doe realized.
Body, brain, and senses.
Without realizing it, they were seriously wary of the little boy in front of them.
This was not ordinary.
Intuition tells me.
To judge wisely.
John Doe looked around slowly.
Following the ominous atmosphere, the members’ eyes slightly distrusted him for not denying Jack’s words.
In that brief moment, a thousand complicated thoughts race through John Doe’s head.
The countless crossroads of choices I’ve faced over the years of working as a mercenary.
John Doe made rational decisions each time.
It’s the same now.
John Doe, who considered himself lucky, eventually decided.
at the same time.
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“Time is up. I don’t feel like it, but I guess I really have to kill you.”
One minute was shorter than I thought.
Just as Jack was about to ‘say’ something.
“Do you know what Jane’s situation is?”
John Doe began to tell his story.
* * *
John Doe’s story wasn’t long, but at least it felt sincere.
In fact, in some ways, it could be said to be a very common story.
A commoner who falls in love with a daughter of a noble family.
John Doe looked to be in his early 30s, but he was actually 40 years old.
He says he first met 19-year-old Jane Arbeloa when he was 30 and had completed his 7th Circle.
They fell in love at first sight, and their love has continued to blossom ever since.
As I briefly mentioned earlier, Jane Arbeloa has outstanding looks.
And as she said, her family was against political marriages, so they probably put their heads together and came up with a plan.
They must have come to their own conclusions and that’s how the story ended.
What’s important now is that John Doe is a strong man with eight circles engraved on his heart.
Continentally speaking, the 8th Circle is definitely not a rare powerhouse.
But this is the Kingdom of Teslan.
A weak country among weak countries.
Here, if you were in the 8th circle, you could put some strength into your shoulders, but you were a mercenary.
‘Did something happen?’
John Doe may have had serious problems,
For example, there are things like that. Things like not being able to choose.
Or perhaps Jane Arbeloa’s family itself has no interest in ‘power’.
Anyway, such complicated things are intertwined.
“She is the head of an adventurer’s branch of a small estate, and you are a mercenary?”
“Yes.”
I had a vague idea that he seemed like a romantic, but I immediately shook my head.
Compared to the ‘real romantics’ I know, it’s just a drop in the bucket, so there’s nothing to be moved about, and in fact, John Doe’s story is just a simple story that can be pieced together in any way you want.
The doubts have not yet gone away.
First, I focused my mana into my eyes.
I took in all of the movements of the mercenaries around John Doe, as well as the subtle tremors of their muscles.
He looked at John Doe and asked.
“What is the Tulkan Empire doing with their baby dragons?”
John Doe frowns at my question.
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“How would I know a fairy tale I’ve never heard of?”
Ps …
If you don’t know, you should tell me.
“As you know, Master is a general term for those who have 10 circles engraved on their hearts. There are currently about 40 Masters known on the continent, regardless of country. If you include the Masters who live in seclusion and travel the world, the number could increase to 50 or 60. However, they don’t know. There is a new realm above the Masters. Monsters who use the power of the soul, not mana. In the past, they were called ‘Transcendents.’”
Everyone, including John Doe, shut their mouths and listened to my story.
“Two years later, Heynckes Beckerman, the royal guardian of the Tulcan Empire, broke down the wall of the Master and was declared the true strongest swordsman on the continent, continuing the history of the Transcendents who had existed only in past history. But, funny enough, that bastard didn’t become a Transcendent on his own.”
That’s a strange thing to say.
“He replaced half of his blood with dragon blood and grafted dragon bones onto his body. It was a ridiculous idea, and everyone in the Tulcan royal family thought it was crazy… … but the result was, well, it worked. He became human but not human, dragon but not dragon. That’s how he became a transcendent being. Yes, your expressions say it all, a not-so-funny hybrid was born.”
“… … So what does that have to do with the current situation?”
“As I said, there is only one dragon in the Tulkan Imperial Palace right now. It is a monstrous creature that can regenerate even severed bones if fed properly, even though it is a madman. It is just one. We can’t do many ‘experiments’ with just one dragon.”
“… … .”
“So they send some pretty capable guys to other kingdoms. There are two purposes. One is to gather simple information, like they do in other kingdoms. In other words, they are spies. And the other is to confirm the existence of dragons. You remind me of those guys.”
