< Same time, different place (3) >
The border area where the Azerion Empire in the center of the Ion Continent, the Republic of Zephia in the east, and the southern desert region meet.
In contrast to the barren land where farming was not even possible, there was a fairly prosperous large city that was thriving.
Free City of Drakal.
Drakal, a city-state that did not belong to any one place, was a buffer zone between the two great powers and a trading post—.
Above all, it was the headquarters of a mercenary guild with branches throughout the continent.
In fact, in order to become a mayor, you had to be chosen by the guild, which was the city’s leader. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a country of mercenaries.
And the person who was in that country’s position of being no different from the prime minister… no, who ‘was’ there for a short while was none other than the current Secretary-General, Patrick.
‘What a headache.’
Patrick, a man in his late thirties with oiled, slicked-back brown hair and neat clothes, tried to control his expression.
He looked more like a civil servant than a mercenary, and he gently pressed the corners of his lips, which were trembling from stress, with his hand.
‘How did I get here… I can’t give up like this.’
He was an earthling from Ireland.
He was also sent at a particularly late age, and was called to another world while he was busy working as an elite.
Immediately after he landed on this earth, he tried his best to survive.
Unfortunately, since this was a new dimension, the information I had researched before sending was of no use, and the abilities I had were auxiliary types that were not suitable for combat, so it was quite a struggle.
‘Even if I go back to Earth now, I won’t be able to live a normal life. So I should gain as much as I can from here.’
It’s been more than ten years since he started climbing the ranks of the mercenary guild, doing all sorts of dirty work.
But, before I can properly enjoy the fruits of my labor, I have to step down in vain?
‘That can’t be. No! That can’t be.’
He gritted his teeth as he thought of his new lifeline, the large warrior.
The support he barely found after losing the connection with the former mercenary king, Kanbul, who had helped him get to where he is now.
It was Harley who was actively participating in the suicide squad as a comrade of the warrior.
Thanks to my connection with him, I have been able to safely maintain my position as Secretary-General for quite some time now…
“Are you listening, Secretary General?”
It seems that the competitors from other factions could not tolerate that.
“Yes, of course, Lord Claven.”
Patrick answered politely to the middle-aged man standing in front of him.
He looked again at the group of people who had suddenly barged into his office while he was busy working, as if they had conspired.
‘You came here with a plan in mind. Are you planning to make it final today?’
From guild executives to the heads of large guilds.
Among those dozen or so people, there were four people whose presence was particularly outstanding.
‘Four extreme powerhouses… They’re crazy. How on earth did they manage to recruit this many?’
My mouth dried at the aura they were giving off.
If he were a normal person, he might have fainted just from that, but he was no slouch either, being able to use karma points and unique skills.
He swallowed the sigh that was about to escape without him knowing and controlled his expression again.
“But as I said last time, Harley is busy with the Saint as a member of the suicide squad. But you can’t ignore that and rush things like that···.”
Even though he was the secretary general who oversaw the affairs of the guild, such authority could only be established when there was a mercenary king with real power who could back him up.
Now, they were the face and force of the guild, and since they were like superiors, they had to be careful about their actions at all times.
“Well, do you think we don’t know anything?”
“···yes?”
But his careful excuses soon became blocked.
As he seemed momentarily flustered, a middle-aged woman who had been watching the situation from behind, the Archmage, the representative of a faction comprised mainly of mercenary magicians, opened her mouth as if it was nothing special.
“It seems like it’s been quite some time since he left and wandered around the South. What was he called, the King of Kalkos?”
“···But in Kalkos, a tribal federation, it’s a kind of honorary position···.”
Patrick responded hurriedly to those words.
It was absurd for a mercenary guild that was supposed to maintain strict neutrality to go under someone who called himself the ‘king’ of another country rather than the mercenary king.
Their logic was that since he could no longer be called a mercenary once he became the ruler of another country, it was only natural that he should be stripped of his title of mercenary king.
“Let’s stop dragging this out and wrap this up. It’s starting to get annoying. I’ll just cut the ball off and….”
“Tallum.”
“···Tsk, even though you helped me. Then do as you please.”
A muscular warrior with a bushy bandit beard and a large build who had been threatening violently clicked his tongue at the attempt of a middle-aged man at the front.
He must also be a strong man who has reached the extreme, but now he folded his arms and stepped back as if he would follow the other person’s will.
‘Claven···.’
Then Patrick’s gaze turned back to the middle-aged man in front of him.
A master-level knight who has been in the mercenary world for over twenty years as a wandering knight, and an ambitious man who aims to become the next mercenary king by uniting representatives of other factions.
“Secretary General, don’t you already know this? There’s no benefit to you in wasting time like this. If I really had my mind set on it, there wouldn’t have been any need for such a bothersome procedure.”
As you said.
He was a strong candidate who not only possessed great military power but also excellent political skills, and could compete on equal terms with the faction of the former mercenary king, Kanbul.
At that time, he was defeated by Kanbul, who was known as a pure mercenary, and lost in terms of legitimacy.
‘This is difficult.’
In fact, this kind of pressure has existed often in the past.
But up until then, I had managed to avoid it somehow by using Harley’s name as a shield, but now that the other side had a justification, it was starting to become burdensome.
It seemed that Claven was also trying to follow the procedure because of his name value that was skyrocketing, but there was a limit to how long he could endure having an agent sell his name without him even being there.
“You wouldn’t be thinking of handing this Drakal over to the southern barbarians, would you?”
“···How could that be?”
“Hmm, so you still believe in that guy called the Fighter?”
When Patrick showed signs of wavering, Claven pushed him forward with a firm tone.
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He was confident enough to be counted as one of the strongest men in the entire mercenary guild, so although he didn’t say it out loud, his tone of voice hinted at his opponent’s belittling.
Of course, I had heard a lot about the famous warrior named Harley, and it was true that his reputation was burdensome, but…
‘What? The legendary dragon? A giant over 10 meters tall? … Ha! That’s ridiculous.’
Rumors were exaggerated, and it wasn’t just yesterday or a new day, so he thought they were all false rumors.
It’s so ridiculous that I can’t believe who would believe such nonsense.
Perhaps Patrick went to such lengths to use him as a shield?
‘I should have joined the suicide squad. Then I wouldn’t have had to go back like this.’
The memory of holding his breath for fear that he would be called in as a replacement for the former mercenary king, Kanbul, had already disappeared from his mind.
Contrary to what I had thought at the time, as the suicide squad was actually cruising along, I began to feel unfounded confidence.
Even if he had gone, he would have been able to do that much.
That was also the main reason why he had recently started to move actively and expand his influence within the guild.
If I just stayed still, it was obvious that I would lose my position as the King of Mercenaries again.
It was only natural that there would be conflict with Secretary-General Patrick, who supported Harley.
“···Secretary General, I have something to say···.”
But what a twist of fate.
Things started to go differently than Claven had expected.
A bit suddenly.
“Right now··· in the first floor lobby···.”
The secretary, who had entered the office cautiously, swallowed hard and barely managed to squeeze out her words, feeling overwhelmed by the lined up high-ranking officials.
“···They say Harley is here.”
***
‘Let’s meet up and see each other’s faces.’
The candidate for the mercenary king, Claven, walked confidently.
He was now heading to the lobby with Secretary General Patrick and other Guild high-ranking officials who had stormed the office.
To meet Harley in person, something I had only heard about through word of mouth.
‘Of course, even if the rumors are exaggerated, they are not an easy opponent.’
Perhaps, if we judge by force alone, I may be a little lacking.
It’s not like the reputation of being a member of the suicide squad that fought alongside the warriors is completely in vain.
‘But the mercenary king is not someone who can be strong only through force.’
Unlike Harley, who has only recently started to make a name for himself, he has been a mercenary for over 20 years, and has been active as a strong representative of the mercenary guild for over 10 of those years.
Those intangible assets were by no means negligible.
Besides, isn’t he alone now?
‘I don’t care what rights I’ve given up to other guys. As long as I get my hands on the position of the Mercenary King…’
He confidently headed to the lobby with the strong people who had promised to support him.
The moment I got there, I sensed an ominous air permeating the entire space and frowned.
“hmm?”
As it was the headquarters of the mercenary guild that practically ruled Drakal, the lobby was incredibly spacious.
From numerous counters and desks to various convenience facilities.
The lobby was always bustling with people using it.
“······.”
“···greatness.”
There was a strange silence in the room now.
It wasn’t like there weren’t any people.
And those who had just arrived in the lobby could naturally guess what the cause was.
‘The author is···.’
A man lying almost flat on a sofa placed next to a pillar, with both hands resting on the back of the sofa.
At that moment, his gaze, which had been lying leisurely like a full lion, turned towards them—.
‘ah.’
···Just because of that, those who came down here confidently froze like everyone else in this place.
“Oh! It’s been a while, Patrick! How have you been? Hahahaha!”
But as if he didn’t care about their reactions, the person in question found Patrick in the crowd, smiled coolly, and slowly got up from the sofa.
Squeak—
The last words leaked out from the sofa that had already sunk into the action.
Although he tried to reduce the weight in tons as much as possible by moving his energy, it was not enough to support an object that was made to assume the weight of a normal human.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that! I think the sofa is broken.”
“···Ah, it seems it was a defective product. It’s okay, Harley. I was planning on replacing it soon anyway.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, this is called the guild headquarters, don’t bring in some good stuff.”
“Hahaha, sorry. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
A muscular giant approaches with his tongue clicking and Patrick steps forward and bows to him.
But even in that situation, the high-ranking officials, including Claven, were unable to say anything.
‘big.’
That was the first thought that came to everyone’s mind.
Even the largest of them, Bandit Beard, was over two meters tall, but he was barely comparable to that man.
…No, I’m not just talking about size.
Density as an entity.
They are of a different class as living beings.
It was to the point where he felt as if the surrounding space was being crushed by him, like a rock placed on a bed.
‘What the hell is that!’
At that, Claven barely swallowed.
I didn’t do anything in particular, but I’m slowly starting to feel out of breath.
As I got closer to that being that approached me leisurely like a well-fed beast, my body began to react strangely on its own.
‘no way.’
It was the first time this had happened since he had reached the extreme, so he was a little late in noticing it, but he soon realized what this reaction meant.
‘···Could it really be this much?’
It’s a warning from instinct.
It was a desperate cry from a body that realized its life was in danger.
The person in question, however, was not paying any attention to me and was just laughing and talking to Patrick.
“Oh! Who are these guys? They’re pretty good.”
Just then, the being turned its gaze and looked at where they were.
And when Claven’s eyes met with that incomprehensible something, he immediately realized.
‘···I’m dying.’
There is no such thing as an opponent.
The rumors are exaggerated? They’re false rumors made up by Patrick? The author is not worthy of being the King of Mercenaries?
It was literally bullshit.
Those things meant nothing in front of that monster.
All the shallow tricks he had prepared were meaningless.
Whether it’s concentrating public opinion, uniting factions, or bringing together a large number of powerful people.
What good is that to a being who can tear them all apart single-handedly at any moment?
“Ah, they are almost like executives of our guild. We were just having a conversation to discuss the direction of the guild.”
“Ah! That’s right! But why are these guys so stiff? I’m not going to eat them, so relax your shoulders a bit! Hahahaha!”
Harley bursts into a cool laugh again at Patrick’s answer.
Only then was Claven able to properly perceive his surroundings and realize that he was not the only one who had been reacting strangely.
It’s been strangely quiet since a while ago.
Regardless of the play, everyone who came together had nervous faces and were sweating profusely.
At that sight, he quickly decided on his course of action.
“···I apologize for my rudeness. I have heard of your reputation, Harley. It is an honor to meet you. I am Klaven, the leader of the Golden Crow Mercenary Corps.”
A slow bow with a polite greeting.
It was a clear expression of surrender.
“Oh! I’ll be counting on you in the future!”
Then, Harley, who had come up next to him and laughed heartily, lightly patted his back.
···It was definitely a light touch, but Claven tried to steady his swaying body and smiled awkwardly.
A cowardly laugh based solely on survival instinct.
“Fortunately, it looks like we’ll be able to remain friends in the future! Hahahaha!”
“Ha, haha… That’s fortunate….”
And it was the right decision.
