“Ah.”
Chloe who had been dozing off opened her eyes.
When she looked around, she saw her office which was now far more minimalistic than before.
This style had always been more to Chloe’s taste.
The previous extravagance of her office had been for the sake of instilling pride in the employees who had chosen to follow her.
But now, they were gone, and showing off such luxury to the new ones would have been like squeezing water from a stone.
“Ugh, my head…”
Chloe stirred the coffee in a silver cup a few times with a silver spoon and then drank the rest in one go.
It had gone cold anyway.
“I guess I’ve finally taken care of the urgent matters…”
Not long ago, Chloe’s auction house which she had operated in partnership with the Count had successfully concluded.
Throughout that time, Chloe had gone around meeting countless people almost daily, greatly expanding her network.
The Arobatty Merchant Guild, her biggest competitor, no longer tried to meddle in her affairs.
That was because Adolf, the master of the Arobatty Guild, was under the Count’s scrutiny after the incident at the Volkatornic Mage Tower.
Fortunately, whether because her efforts had been recognized or because he simply hadn’t cared from the start—
The Count didn’t interfere with him in the end.
“And the family has provided sufficient support…”
Backed by the Count’s influence, even the surface-based Gillen Merchant Guild recognized the visible results.
As a result, her grandfather Gillen Jake gave her his full support.
He always returned support in accordance with the results shown.
That was the kind of person Gillen Jake was.
Thanks to him, the Gillen Guild’s branch had once again been splendidly rebuilt in the Black Forest Fortress.
She had lost much, but she had also gained much.
And it had all begun with one particular mage.
“Then… maybe it’s about time I called that guy over?”
But for some reason—
That mage, however, hadn’t made any contact in the past few months.
She had heard that he had gone to the level 3 Silent City field as a request, but after that, all news of him had completely stopped.
It does make sense for him to stay quiet until things on this end are settled.
Still, wasn’t it a bit too quiet?
The only saving grace was that the Arikrotus Church where the client was affiliated had sent word that the matter had been resolved successfully and had paid the commission fee.
Though she found it odd that the amount was far higher than expected.
Anyway, since it’s all taken care of, he’ll probably come back soon.
It was just as she was thinking that.
That evening, a letter arrived addressed to her.
Just like the one she had received before, it came from the Arikrotus Church.
However, unlike last time, the sender was someone different.
“Jun?”
Chloe read through the long letter, and as she reached the end, she brought her hand to her forehead again.
“Quiet, my ass.”
The contents inside were far too much to fully grasp in one sitting.
But she was a born merchant.
And soon, she figured out a way to relate it all to money.
“Hoo, alright. At least he’s safe. That’s what matters.”
She refocused on the new job that had come in.
The headache that had been pounding at her quickly disappeared.
***
The process of taming Predator had finally been completed.
Predator no longer drained Jun’s blood at will just because it was hungry.
Instead—
Squeeze…
It now sent a signal when it was hungry.
It would throw a little tantrum by tightening its grip once.
“Just wait a bit. I’ll feed you something tasty soon.”
As he said that, Jun glanced to either side of him.
“Hoo… Just one hit. Just one solid hit…”
There was Aiden, whose eyes looked slightly bloodshot for some reason.
“It’s almost ready. It’s good to go, so just help me out.”
And there was Maya, muttering to herself in a foreign tongue as she stared into the air.
The one thing they had in common was an invisible sense of determination that could be felt.
And their shared goal was none other than the Level 7 Paladin.
Bern.
“Hahaha! That’s the spirit!”
Over the past month and a half, Aiden and Maya had been killed by Bern countless times.
The number was nearing triple digits, so their one and only wish had become to land even a single critical blow on Bern.
Just how much have you been through, Aiden…
Maya was one thing, but to think Aiden would show such killing intent.
Clearly, Bern turned out to be a better teacher than expected for a Paladin.
He would intentionally lower his limits to bait them in, and just as Aiden and Maya thought they were about to surpass those limits, he would raise the bar once more.
And each time he did, their heads were practically guaranteed to be smashed by his battle hammer.
“Senior… I really want to win…”
Aiden’s teary expression as he said that made Jun feel a strange urge to play basketball.
Even though he had no memory of ever holding a basketball in his life.
“Yeah, I’d rather not have my head explode either.”
He was already pushing [Mana Body] past its limits every day and suffering from overheat symptoms.
As if the pain of his bones melting wasn’t enough, he didn’t want to add the experience of his skull bursting open to the list.
“Now, are you ready!”
Bern picked up his battle hammer and shield.
And soon after, the three of them charged at Bern with their spirits blazing.
That was the final lesson they had in the Sacred Ground.
***
“They’ve left.”
Looking out over the now-quiet Sacred Ground, Pope Elahim muttered softly.
“Feeling lonely, brother?”
Beside him, Bern let out a hearty grin.
It had been quite some time since Elahim had seen Bern smile like that.
Because ever since that day twenty years ago, Bern had rarely smiled in front of him.
“Hoho. For an old man, loneliness is like an old friend. But sometimes, noisy encounters can be just as enjoyable.”
Like the silence that follows a festival, Elahim gave a faint smile that seemed to lack strength. But only for a moment. Soon, he turned to Bern with a mischievous look.
“Seems to me that you’re the one who’s feeling a bit empty, not me.”
“How could I not be? I got to taste the raw energy of youth up close.”
Aiden and Maya. Something always felt missing when it was just the two of them.
Their passion was second to none, but it lacked refinement.
However, the moment the mage joined them, everything changed.
Bern recalled the pain of his neck being nearly sliced. A feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
It had been a thrilling experience.
Their passion was something he had once possessed himself.
But it was also something he’d been forced to set aside when faced with reality.
Though he had abandoned it due to a wrong decision and a twisted belief…
They would hold on to that passion for a long time.
Because at their side was a wise mage….something he himself hadn’t had back then.
“You should’ve gone with them, too.”
“Hoho, you’re quite the joker. You know full well I’d only get in the way if I did.”
“Not wrong, I’ll give you that.”
The White Whale mercenary group was like wildflowers in the midst of growing.
And wildflowers thrive best in the wild.
If Bern hovered around out of concern, the flowers that had been growing so well might see their roots rot.
Bern didn’t want to see that happen.
Still, the reason Elahim had said such a thing was probably because of Eleanor.
“Are you that worried about Eleanor?”
“I must be getting old… letting you see through me like this.”
Senior Priestess Eleanor.
Rather than stay within the Church, she had chosen to venture beyond it.
Elahim hadn’t stopped her. He had no right to.
“She chose to step out into the world to change herself.”
“That’s right. Time… it all feels so fleeting.”
“That’s right. For old folks like us, it’s hard to keep up with the times. There’s far less romance in the world than there used to be.”
“……”
“But the seat we sit in… it’s not a seat where we can just sit around and wait.”
After recent events, Elahim had been reminded of that truth.
The Church needed to change.
Even after all that had happened twenty years ago, they had realized it far too late.
“Elias….he ended up leaving us in vain, but he still left us with a lesson.”
If things stayed as they were, there would be no change in the Church. They couldn’t cling to the past; they had to read the current tide.
Elahim looked down at the letter in his hand.
It was written on fine stationery, embossed with an elegant pattern.
“Gillen Merchant Guild…”
He should have acted sooner, but he had lacked faith in the world.
If not for the help of a certain mage, things might have spiraled into disaster before he even realized the truth.
Acknowledging that fact, Elahim decided to summon what courage he had left in his old body.
***
Eleanor had joined the party.
It had been unexpected, but no one had refused her.
The only question was why someone of her status would want to join a mere Silver-ranked mercenary group.
To that, Eleanor had simply answered:
“I needed to sort myself out.”
During her last encounter with Elahim, Eleanor had finally poured out what she had been holding inside through what could only be called a very rough conversation.
But that hadn’t been enough for her to remain in the Church.
On top of that, there were still issues she needed to resolve.
The traces of the outer god still lingered within her, and she needed to find a way to deal with them.
“Until then, I’ll stay with you guys.”
Jun had gained a lot from this mission in more ways than one.
But among everything, the most significant outcome was, without a doubt, that the party had gained a permanent healer.
“Now we just need to recruit a tank, huh…”
They still didn’t have a proper tank in the team, but even as it was, the party was already ridiculously powerful.
Even without counting myself, two of them are named NPCs… and the healer is a future world-quest level boss.
He couldn’t believe a party like this even existed.
Just then, Eleanor asked,
“So, Captain, where are we heading now?”
“Well, we’re mercenaries. It’s obvious. Do a request.”
“Is it safe for us to go outside now?”
At Aiden’s question, Jun gave a nod.
While the Count had been swinging his sword around, they had kept a low profile to avoid drawing attention.
Two months had already passed since then, and by now, the aftermath was unlikely to reach the White Whale Mercenary Group.
“I exchanged letters with Chloe not long ago. Got a reply, too.”
“Ooh…”
Aiden’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
He understood it well, too.
Unlike a month ago, he had become much stronger.
He was eager to put that strength to the test.
“What’s the new request about?”
At that moment, Maya got straight to the point.
“A typical escort request.”
“…Are you sure it’s really typical?”
“The request itself seems that way, at least.”
Maya narrowed her eyes at Jun, as if she were suspicious.
“Ahem. That kind of look toward the captain is quite disrespectful, you know.”
“Isn’t this just going to turn into another annoying mess?”
“Well, thanks to that, we’ve grown, haven’t we? They say you should go looking for hardships while you’re young.”
“That’s a fresh load of crap, if you ask me.”
She was right.
Jun nodded at her words. In an era where it was already hard enough to make a living, who in their right mind would go out of their way to suffer?
“Honestly, this mission won’t be all that easy either, but you all know, right? There’s less than four months left until the season ends.”
That was true.
In four months, this season’s Blackout would come to an end.
“To prepare for the next season, we need to know exactly how far we can go.”
“Already…?”
Aiden looked down at his hands, as if remembering the very first day he had entered the Blackout.
So much had happened in less than a year.
At first, surviving had been the only priority, and to do that, he had decided to team up with Jun.
Even then, he had faced death more times than he could count.
But Aiden didn’t think, not even for a second, that it had been Jun’s fault.
It’s probably just my nature.
He knew full well that he was the kind of person who hated staying in one place.
That must’ve been why he was walking the same path as Jun.
To him, even this very moment was incredibly precious.
– Make your reason for becoming stronger clear. Follow the path that reason points to. Otherwise, like I once did, you may end up losing your way.
It was something Bern had said during their sparring match, and Aiden had taken those words to heart.
“So, where is the mission location?”
Maya asked.
“The Warfield of Ortacus.”
Jun answered.
“Huh?”
Aiden asked in surprise.
“Senior, isn’t that a level 4 field? Isn’t it a bit… too soon for us to be heading to the level 4 field already?”
But Eleanor, who stood nearby, looked at Aiden as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“So, with that level of skill, you were planning to stay in level 3? Why?”
Weren’t they the ones who had taken down a level 7 Paladin?
Even though Bern hadn’t used his divine power, he was still undeniably a level 7 powerhouse.
With that kind of strength, were they shamelessly planning to hang around the level 3 field?
Did he just have a preference for bullying the weak?
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