Volume 4 Chapter 27 The Author Was In A Predicament, But...
"I want to entrust you with a task right away."
"Is it really right away?"
Karan seems more lively than when talking about promotions and giving nicknames. Maybe this was more important to him than the previous two.
"Don't worry. According to regulations, the guild will not force mercenaries into anything."
Saying this, Karan took out a document - a request letter - and handed it over.
"However, I do hope you understand even a little bit why I specifically asked you to take on this task."
Listening to his roundabout way of talking, I received the request letter from Karan.
I read through the document and confirmed the contents, including reading it out loud to Karan.
"Um, let's see...eliminate a band of bandits?"
No country has the luxury of fighting among themselves with monsters around. It's ironic how a common enemy forces those who were biting at each other's throats to join hands.
But on the other hand, not all problems and conflicts vanished.
One of them is the existence of bandits. They're a group of troublemakers who use violence to attack villages, towns, and people to steal goods.
Just like monsters, they're a constant problem everywhere.
To put it roughly, their nuisance level isn't much different from monsters.
"Once you reach the 3rd rank, you'll be able to take on these types of requests. It wouldn't hurt to gain experience with them early on. Of course, this request is recommended based on your abilities."
As I read further into the request, it mentioned that it wasn't for an individual but for a group of mercenaries.
"...It seems like you approached not just me but also Mikage to take on this job together."
When I looked at him suspiciously, Karan smiled wryly.
"I understand what you want to say. I won't deny that using you to recruit Silver Flash is one aspect. However, if we go with that logic, you should also try to get Aina-kun and Kyunei-kun to help."
"Aina too?"
Kyunei is not a mercenary, but is positioned as a support member of the Mercenary Guild. She assists in requests from the guild, such as healing injuries. Like during my 4th rank promotion exam.
Although she cannot take on jobs alone, she can accompany a sponsored mercenary to undertake requests together, and if successful, they both receive rewards. In this case, it would be me and Mikage.
However, Aina is still a new recruit who just became a 5th rank. I know her abilities as a magician, but Karan shouldn't know about them.
"Aina-kun is a special kind of magician. She can fight on the front lines, which is rare. If she gains more experience, it'll be a great help, so I want her to take on this request too."
I heard from Mikage that most mercenaries don’t need a lot of education, which is why only a small percentage of them know magic. If someone has the skills to use magic, they usually pick a safer job that pays well.
Karan’s point made sense.
"...Anyway, I’ll think about it. Since this involves others, I need to talk it over with my team first."
"Of course. I'm glad you're not rushing into things. It's good to be careful."
Karan noticed that I tend to be cautious, which made it easier to discuss things.
"And by the way, I've already asked a few other mercenaries."
"Really?"
"The group you're dealing with might be smaller than an army, but they've banded together. Dealing with them will require a fair number of people."
In other words, if I take on this request, I'll be working alongside strangers. Perhaps this is what Karan meant by 'experience.'
"Well, in any case, I'll head home for today."
"I'll expect your answer soon. At most, within a week. They're not the kind of people we can let run wild indefinitely."
With that, I left the guild, having received not just a promotion and a nickname but also some extra tasks.
――side other
Karan is a senior figure in the guild and takes on many jobs. That particular evening was exceptionally busy, and he stayed in the guild office until late at night, burdened by the workload.
"Ah, my shoulders are stiff. Working at a desk like this makes me miss the days when I was out there, facing monsters and swinging my sword."
He muttered words to himself, thinking back to the exciting days when he faced dangerous monsters as a 2nd rank mercenary. Even though his calm days now were nice, he sometimes missed the thrill.
Shaking off thoughts of his turbulent past, he was about to start writing when there was a knock on the door.
Aside from himself, there shouldn't be many people left in the guild. Even if there were, there were only a few left behind doing odd jobs. Expecting to find someone from the guild, he invited the knocker in.
But when the door opened, it wasn't who he expected.
"Isn't it a bit careless to invite someone in without even asking their name, especially this late? Even if you're a former 2nd rank mercenary?"
The person who said that was Mikage, the current 2nd rank mercenary.
After a brief surprise, Karan put down his pen, turned to face her, and took a deep breath.
"When you say that, it's not exactly a compliment to describe a beautiful woman walking at night."
"I didn't come here to entertain your wandering words."
With words as sharp as a razor, Karan chuckled.
"So, young lady, what can I do for you?"
"I'm sure you can already guess without me saying."
That's true, Karan thought as he folded his hands on the table.
When he saw her face, he already had an idea. In fact, there was only one possibility.
"...It's about the request I introduced to Yukina-kun, right?"
"I wanted to make sure of your 'true intentions' regarding that."
"True intentions, you say?"
The words Karan spoke when introducing the request to Yukina. They were all equally true. There was no deception in wanting Yukina to gain new experiences.
But--Mikage, upon hearing Yukina's story, had an intuition.
Even if every word spoken may be true, they don't encompass the whole truth.
"Dealing with a band of bandits. A joint mission with strangers. Indeed, that's accurate. Such tasks do increase once you reach the 3rd rank. Yes, there's no falsehood in that."
However, Mikage's gaze became sharper.
It was a gaze that carried the intimidating presence, akin to the killing intent of an active 2nd rank mercenary. An intensity that could make an ordinary person weak in the knees and even cause a seasoned mercenary to shrink back.
"What you truly wanted to accumulate for Yukina-sama was... the experience of killing someone, wasn't it?"
"...You've hit the mark."
Despite enduring such intense pressure, Karan replied nonchalantly.
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