Chapter 23 – Chapter 3

Wolf, no, Lillian was delighted when Kaicent showed his childish expression for the first time.

If it wasn’t for ‘that incident’, she and Frederick would have gotten married amid everyone’s congratulations and spent happy days with a child the size of Kaicent.

Perhaps that is why, whenever she sees Kai Sent, she feels a subtle vicarious satisfaction.

Sincere, cute, and kind, Kai Sent became mild because she was like the child they wanted.

‘It’s also lovely.’

Kai Sent was able to share with Frederick her feelings that she was like the child they wanted, but not her feelings that she was lovable.

Just looking at her makes her happy, she wants to give her something more, and she is proud and cute no matter what she does.

She secretly expected Kai Sent to use the money to buy her childish things.

Toys are good, and sweet snacks are also good.

However, he realized once again the bitter reality that Kaicent’s situation had no choice but to grow up early.

“I’ll take this one.”

At first, she seemed to be interested in this or that, but when she went to the bookstore, she checked this and that and became interested in a botanical book called ‘Plants of the Continent’.

“Why did you choose that?”
“That’s because you can know anything about this world, and in the worst case, it helps you survive. The mercenary guys don’t know this very well.”
“…”

Lillian, who didn’t show any emotion when she saw the orphans from before, felt sorry for Kaicent’s stern answer.

She didn’t know if it was because she projected the child they wanted, or if she felt good about her sincerity.

What is clear is that her protective instincts have infested her with a desire to console her by unwittingly removing her helmet and revealing herself as her Lillian.

“Is that really enough?”
“Yes. I like to read books too.”

Kai Sent, who has figured out what worries her, reassures her that she loves to read.

Since she is so kind and has a deep heart, she must have been enjoying a happy life in her hometown, receiving love and cuteness from many people.

‘I have to protect this child.’

Unbeknownst to her, Lillian had a sense of mission and headed to the place where she was supposed to gather with her men while protecting Wolf’s side.

“Huh?”

At that time, Lillian, feeling strange, looked around her.

Although it was very fleeting, it was clearly a tangible energy aimed at this side.

‘What? How did you feel?’

It feels similar to when I was targeted by an assassin sent by a hostile mercenary in the past.

However, there is no such thing as murderous intent, and it is a strange energy that coexists with a sticky feeling of discomfort even though it is neatly captured.

She looks around, but sees only mercenaries and hordes of merchants busily passing by.

“Captain, I’ve checked.”

With the return of her men, sent to check her market, she decides to sell only a portion of her goods, returning to Volf rather than Lillian.

As the party returned to the campsite, there was someone secretly following them.

*                           *

Like mercenaries who are good at camping, when Wolf and his party returned, they were almost in the finishing stage.

Around the time I finished preparing for camping and was planning my future schedule, a man came to me.

“Do you want to join our mercenary group?”
“Exactly.”

Armor and long sword with special patterns.
A neat appearance unlike a mercenary.
Behaviors that left traces of a long wandering life in every nook and cranny.

Wolf looked suspiciously at the brown-haired man who said he would join his mercenary company.

“No matter how you look at it, rather than being a mercenary…”
“There’s nothing strange about thinking of him as a knight. He’s actually a wandering knight.”
“Why is that wandering knight trying to join our mercenary?”

Whether it is a wandering knight or just a knight, the title of knight is only possible when one learns prana and is officially bestowed by a nobleman.

I don’t know why he became a wandering knight, but a wandering knight who hopes to join the mercenary corps without finding a new nobleman to serve is rare.

“I’m tired of serving vain nobles. I wanted to find something more adventurous, but I didn’t like hanging out with people of lower standards.”
“If?”
“That’s right. You are the first and last mercenary to feel the energy I sent.”

It is surprisingly common for knights who want to test their abilities to become adventurers.

All of them didn’t start from the bottom and joined famous adventurers or mercenaries, so it’s just hard to see.

“It’s a good opportunity. It’s going to be a tough fight from now on, but if a knight participates, things will be many times easier.”

A knight who has mastered prana and can use mana can exert the fighting power of 10 mercenaries even at low ranks.

In addition, special patterns were shining on his armor and sword, showing that it was a magical weapon.

With the exception of Lillian and Frederick, no one would be able to deal with a knight armed with magical weapons.

Frederick suggested not to miss this opportunity, but Wolf felt a somewhat uneasy feeling of reluctance as Lillian, not as the mercenary leader.

‘But the energy I sent at that time was so unpleasant.’

The displeasure was too severe to be the energy sent simply to test it.

After struggling in the position of the mercenary leader Wolf and Lillian, she decided to take Wolf’s hand this time.

“If there’s one thing I’m willing to pay attention to, I’ll accept it.”
“What is it?”
“If you treat other colleagues carelessly because you are a knight or strong, our relationship will end on that day.”
“I accept it.”

The knight took it for granted.

“When I first became a wandering knight, I would have been offended, but it’s been a long time since I looked like this. Call me Kenneth.”
“A knight would have a castle?”
Haha. Didn’t I tell you not to treat your colleagues meanly? Even if you reveal your last name, you’ll only feel a sense of distance from each other.”

A knight who didn’t reveal his sexuality because it was difficult to get in the middle of the mercenaries and showed off his ease.

Frederick admired Kenneth for the courtesy of a learner, the brute force of a knight, and the cohesiveness of not showing pride.

Kenneth, who became a member of Wolff’s mercenary corps, found himself among the mercenaries who had difficulty with himself as a wandering knight.

“Is it okay if I move this? You should call me, the youngest, to do this.”
“Spread your legs a little more. Strengthen your waist. Lean your upper body slightly forward. Okay. How about it? A little more power to cut, right?”
“For the sake of the honor of the past owner, I can’t tell you my real name, but one day the nobleman went hunting and got sick and got diarrhea. Since then, I’ve been able to laugh and ignore awkward situations.”

Kenneth quickly got along with the mercenaries with his unique affinity, such as moving boxes or watching fellow mercenaries swordsman without showing the privilege of a knight.

“You’re lucky this time. To hire a knight with such an affinity so easily.”
“…I know.”

Frederick was pleased with Kenneth, but Wolf, as Lillian, felt that he was constantly reluctant to the man.

‘Why? Why do I feel uncomfortable with that man?’

I don’t feel like trying to harm myself or the mercenaries.

Even so, she constantly feels the reluctance that Kenneth approached them with a purpose.

‘Right now, no matter how much we watch, it’s meaningless, so let’s wait and watch.’

Kenneth, who is a new mercenary and even a knight, will attract the attention of many mercenaries.

I don’t know what purpose she has, but she decided to ignore it for a while because she wouldn’t work in a situation like this.

When Lillian returns to Volf, Kenneth discovers something while chatting with her mercenaries.

“I’ve been wondering about something for a while.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“What is that boy? He’s too young to be called a mercenary?”
“He? Kai Sen is a different species, but he’s sincere and kind. He has a talent for bows, and he accepted it recently because he himself hoped for it.”
“Hmm.”

Kenneth looked curiously at Kai Cent, who had finished counting the money as the bookkeeper and headed to the kitchenette to help her with dinner.

Creepy-

“Ugh!?”

And Kaicent, feeling the displeasure of the insects passing by, involuntarily screamed.

*                           *

As the seriously injured turned into lightly wounded while buying and selling things in Munratel, the Wolf Mercenary Corps moved to hunt the Greenskins based on the information they had gathered so far.

The number of greenskins united this time is about 4000, and it is said that they are raising the scale there after devastating a city.

Of course, the greenskins who move with their savage and savage temperament are unlikely to gather normally, but the Wolf mercenary corps targeted the reconnaissance party, the gathering greenskins, and the plundering troops that set out to plunder for supplies.

Other mercenaries would think this much, but in the end, it meant getting closer to the place where thousands of greenskins gathered, so only the courageous mercenaries could get into action.

“Turn around!”
“Wow!”

Spotted by scouts at the temporary encampment of the Greenskins, the Wolf mercenaries approached as close as possible and ordered an assault as soon as they met eye contact with the goblins guarding them.

Pew pew pew pew!

As the archers who were preparing to fire in advance poured in a volley, some of the greek skins that were in a hurry were blown away with arrows stuck in their heads or bodies.

“Oohhhhh!”

Kenneth rushes through a hole made by archers with plate armor enchanted with weight reduction.

“Kyaaaaak!”

A hobgoblin set up a round shield and rushed to block Kenneth’s movement.

Kwajik!

However, the magic sword with the strengthening magic pierced the shield made of hard wood and penetrated the Hobgoblin’s head.

Swinging his sword and slicing his head in two from the middle of his forehead, he slashed away at the visible greenskins, extending his reach.

“Let’s go too!”
“You can’t make a freshman alone!”

Wolf’s mercenaries attacked along the path made by Kenneth, and the Greenskins could not unite properly and were individually defeated and annihilated.

“Wow!”
“Kenneth!”

Although worse than Wolf and Frederick, thanks to Kenneth, who showed why knights are knights, the mercenaries were able to win a great victory without much damage except for some minor injuries.

“Okay. With Kenneth’s help, the battle ahead will be easier.”

Fredrick smiled at Kenneth, who fulfilled 120% of the performance he wanted.

If he was active like this, it would be okay for him to be proud of himself, saying that he was superior to other mercenaries, but he took the initiative to clean up after himself while chatting with other mercenaries.

“Isn’t it strange?”
“Huh?”

However, she still felt insecure as her Lillian, not as Wolf, and she opened her doubts that she felt.

“I’ve never seen an article so friendly and leading by example.”
“Well… That’s true…”

Excluding Kenneth, the two had met the Wandering Knight four times, and remembered the arrogance they displayed.

If you join a party, it will be taken for granted, and if you say no, you will draw a weapon and intimidate you, making you dare not resist.

“In any group, a unique being is bound to come out one by one, right? We’re just lucky.”
“…”
“I don’t know why you don’t like Kenneth, but all his men like him. Don’t be prejudiced. Just watch.”
“Okay.”

After that line, the two returned between the captain and vice-captain and quickly cut their heads and began collecting loot.

Since then, Kenneth has been active in several small battles and has been recognized by mercenaries.

“Hey, kid.”
“Yes?”

As Nal prepared to camp in a defensible location, Kenneth approached Kaicent.

“I’ve been watching you, but you’re quite sincere. Can I call you Kaicent?”
“Yes I’m okay…”

Kaicent answered timidly and met Kenneth’s eyes.

‘Eww… Every time I look into that man’s eyes, I feel strangely upset.’

But he didn’t have the guts to say it openly, so he lowered his eyes and tried to escape his displeasure.

“I had one seed before, but I was too scared to run away during battle. You are young, but you fight bravely and are sincere, so I want to propose a seed.”
“Seed…?”
“Seed? Kaicent! Say you’ll do it! This is not an opportunity to come again!”

A mercenary who happened to be near Kaicent insisted on accepting it as if it were his own business.

Being a knight’s squire means training under him and taking lessons to become a knight.

In addition, since the knight recommends his own seed and gives him a chance to become a knight, it was the only chance to become a semi-nobleman in this world where commoners cannot escape from their own class for the rest of their lives.

Kaicent learned the meaning of the seed thanks to a nearby mercenary, but his instincts were even more alarming.

“Ah… I… I’ll think about it a little more…”
“What? Thinking? Why are you thinking of this opportunity?”
“Ah, stop. I have no intention of forcibly recommending it.”

Kenneth put on a friendly smile while dissuading the mercenary from making a fuss about it.

“You must be taken aback since the proposal came so suddenly. From what I hear, it is said that you are a different species who have only been in this world for a little over a month. Since you don’t know much about this world, you probably don’t even understand what it means to be a seed.”
“Um… That’s true, but…”
“My offer is always valid, so come later.”

After that, he lightly waved his hand and left.

“Huh. To leave coolly even though he rejected his seed offer. I’ve seen many articles so far, but this is the first article with such a good personality.”

The mercenary who was with him praised Kenneth’s character and complained that he wished he had proposed it to him.

Contrary to the mercenary’s heart, it was only after Kenneth fell that Kaicent’s pounding heart calmed down.

‘Why are you doing this? Why am I feeling insecure about that person?’

Kaicent felt puzzled, but soon cleared his mind and went into the dough to prepare the meal.

Greenskins, if not to the level of beasts, have a better sense of smell than humans, so no fragrant stew or grilled meat can be served as a meal.

That’s why it was not an exaggeration to say that it was a stone, so I had to serve something similar to a hard-baked biscuit for a meal.

After taking his share, Kaicent drenched it in water and ate it somehow before starting to read the book he had bought in the city.

Feeling the texture of paper for the first time in his life, he learned new knowledge in the midst of discomfort and wonder.