Should We Give Them a Chance? (3)
The King of Mercenaries.
Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed in his opponent's face. It was an impossible notion.
A King of Mercenaries? What a ridiculous claim. No such figure had ever existed in history.
If he hadn't lost the duel, he would have thrown a punch and told him to stop spouting nonsense.
And yet…
Why did those absurd words stir something inside him for a brief moment?
Tyrann stared at Yulian with a dazed expression.
'Ah…'
He, too, had once thought the same thing as a child.
Nobles used the Demon Realm as an excuse to exploit people, and those who refused to be exploited turned into bandits.
In the end, those without power lived without dreams or hope. No, it was worse than that—they fought amongst themselves to survive in a world that devoured the weak.
There were a few decent lords, but they were far too few. And even those good lords were quickly swallowed up by their peers.
'If I had power…'
As a child, he had vowed that even if he gained strength, he wouldn't live like that.
But now? He had become nothing more than a noble's dog, devouring other nobles in the process. The determination he once had as a child had long since vanished.
He had only pursued greater power and wealth. That was the way of the strong; it was only natural.
And yet, here was a man stronger than him, speaking of saving the world. Declaring that he would lead all mercenaries.
Of course, it still sounded like a foolish dream.
But
If it was a man with such unwavering eyes… perhaps he could change the world, even just a little.
Tyrann shook his head furiously. Then he growled at Yulian, glaring at him.
"A mercenary brat sure dreams big. Even if it's a dream, at least make it something achievable. Who are you trying to fool?"
"...."
Tyrann let out a sigh. Even if he ignored the nonsense about saving the world, the fact remained—he had lost the duel.
Many mercenaries had witnessed it. Acting disgracefully now would only wound his pride further.
"I lost. As promised, I'll join Yulian's mercenary corps. So go ahead—save the world, become the King of Mercenaries, whatever you want."
For all his pride, he wasn't petty. Giving up his own ambitions was disappointing, but he would dream a new dream.
"Though it's impossible, I suppose it'd be a fulfilling challenge."
Yulian smiled at Tyrann's response.
He untied the rope around his wrist and extended his hand.
Tyrann stared at Yulian's hand for a moment before taking it and standing up.
At that moment, Yulian's mercenaries erupted into cheers.
"Yaaaaah! The captain won!"
"Captain is the best! He'll be the King of Mercenaries!"
"The Yulian Mercenary Corps is the strongest!"
The entire group was in an uproar. The man they thought was the strongest, Tyrann, had lost to their captain.
Watching their leader fight fiercely, covered in wounds yet refusing to back down, had deeply inspired them. They had also realized something new—that one could fight an incredible battle even without using mana.
Osval, his face filled with admiration, shouted loudly.
"This Osval will follow Captain for life!"
"Woooooooaaah!"
The cheers of Yulian mercenaries continued to ring out. The Ironclad Lion mercenaries, on the other hand, looked on in shock.
To them, Tyrann had been the strongest, the invincible. Their pride had been tied to following him.
But he had lost. The idea that their group would dissolve after just one duel was difficult to accept.
Tyrann, with a slightly regretful expression, addressed his men.
"I lost the duel. As promised, the Ironclad Lion Mercenaries are disbanded, and we will join the Yulian Mercenary Corps. If anyone doesn't like it, they're free to leave."
A mercenary corps could be absorbed, but individual members couldn't be forced to stay. That was the rule of the mercenary world.
Mercenary corps that operated more like criminal organizations didn't allow easy departures, but at least the Ironclad Lion Mercenaries weren't one of those dishonorable bands.
At last, the Ironclad Lion mercenaries accepted reality.
They knew their prideful leader would never disgrace himself by denying the outcome or going back on his word. That much, they believed in.
"I... will stay."
The vice-captain, Zark, was the first to speak. Then, the other members followed, all choosing to join Yulian's Mercenary Corps.
After all, if they had to start over elsewhere, it was much better to stay in a major mercenary group.
Being simple mercenaries, the matter was settled quickly. Yulian's men were ecstatic, shouting in excitement.
"Yeahhh! Now we're the biggest mercenary corps!"
"Captain Yulian is the best!"
"How the hell did we grow this fast? Hahaha!"
Amidst the celebrations, only Ghislain was staring blankly at Yulian.
'King of Mercenaries?'
That was supposed to be his title.
Sure, he had drilled into Yulian's head every day that he should become the center of the world, but he had never told him to become the King of Mercenaries.
Yulian was supposed to be the savior of the world, not just some mercenary.
Still, if Yulian had set his own goal, that wasn't a bad thing.
Ghislain smiled brightly.
'Goals are always stronger when they're self-made.'
He was ultimately a transient figure. He didn't know how much longer he could deceive this world and remain in this era, but as Astion's level rose, the time of separation inevitably drew closer.
And now, Yulian had finally set a goal for himself. Ghislain couldn't help but feel proud.
'Fine, be this era's King of Mercenaries. That's a great goal too.'
They had planned to establish a foundation through mercenary work anyway. If they were going to do it, they might as well do it right—becoming the most influential mercenary in the world sounded like a solid plan.
"Yulian! Yulian!"
The mercenaries continued to chant Yulian's name. Yulian, looking slightly embarrassed, suddenly lost strength in his legs and collapsed.
He had lost too much blood and was feeling dizzy.
"Yulian!"
Deneb rushed forward in shock, channeling her divine power as she desperately tried to heal him.
"Are you okay? Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry too much."
"Are you really fine? You're covered in wounds!"
"I said I'm fine."
Deneb was on the verge of tears, while Yulian continued to smile. A strange atmosphere lingered between them.
Deneb was always attentive to others, so it had never seemed unusual before… but when Yulian was in danger or hurt, something felt different.
Ghislain suddenly realized something and looked at the two of them with suspicion.
'Wait… this is weird. Don't tell me…?'
The answer came from inside his head. Astion, now more advanced, could manifest more freely than before.
— You didn't know? After two years together?
'Know what?'
— They like each other.
'…Seriously?'
There was a moment of silence before Astion's voice rang with exasperation.
— …You really didn't know, did you?
'…Since when?'
— Since forever. Even as kids.
'As kids?'
— Yeah. Deneb always looked after Yulian.
Astion briefly recounted their childhood.
Yulian, an orphan, had been the village outcast. And Deneb had always been the one to take care of him.
— Think about it. No matter how much of a pushover Yulian is, would someone who suffered like that, betrayed by his own village, still want to save the world? Most would have turned bitter.
"Umm…"
– Whenever he started to go astray, Deneb pulled him back. That's why Yulian grew up to be the way he is.
'Then what about Deneb?'
– Who knows? She was just born that way. She's naturally kind. That's probably why she awakened her holy power. Even Kyle used to joke that the stars of pushovers must have blessed her.
'Hmmm…'
In short, the biggest reason Yulian had such a noble heart was Deneb's influence.
'So that's why he ended up dreaming about saving the world?'
– That… was because of me.
'Oh.'
– At first, it was just about helping people and living kindly. Making sure others like us didn't suffer unfairly. That was about it.
'And then that possessed prophet or whatever started spouting nonsense about saving the world?'
– Exactly. So I kept feeding him ideas, and as he grew stronger with the knowledge I gave him, his dreams got bigger and bigger.
'Ah…'
It made sense now. Originally, these kids had fairly normal ambitions, but Astion had pumped them up until they became something grand.
And yet, in the end, those grand dreams really would come true. A handful of children from the countryside would change the world.
It was almost mystical, as if there truly was an invisible force guiding history—something beyond human comprehension.
As Ghislain pondered this lofty thought, Astion clicked his tongue.
– Come on, isn't it obvious just by looking at them? How could you not notice? You've never been in a relationship, have you?
"......."
– Be honest.
Ghislain quickly tried to defend himself.
'... I had a fiancée. I'm not like you brats—I was an adult, okay?'
Even if their relationship had been filled with mutual attempts at murder, it still technically counted. But of course, a flimsy excuse like that wouldn't fool Astion.
– No, I mean, have you ever been in a proper relationship?
"......."
Ghislain was momentarily speechless at this brutal truth attack. Then Dark chimed in.
– Master's never been in one! He only cares about fighting! I saw everything—he was alone even in the womb!
Since Dark had access to all of his memories, there was no use lying.
Astonishingly, despite his impressive past, Ghislain's romantic history was a perfect zero.
"......."
With Dark around, deception was impossible.
Sensing they had found a golden opportunity, Astion and Dark mercilessly teased him.
– Puhaha! No wonder you didn't notice! You actually have a weakness!
– You just eat, train, and fight all day! Do you even know how women think? Huh?
"........"
Ghislain felt deeply wronged. In his defense, he had far too much on his plate.
Before his regression, he had been consumed by revenge. Afterward, he had to dedicate himself entirely to stopping the Duchy and the Salvation Church.
And just when he thought things had settled, he found himself in a completely different era. Now, he had to train Yulian as quickly as possible before he was forcefully ejected from this world.
How could he have possibly found time for romance? And yet, these little brats had the nerve to mock him without understanding his noble sacrifices!
'I was just… too busy for romance.'
– Ha! That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard. Just admit you've never been in one.
– Master, that's a pathetic excuse. If you had time to train and fight, you could've made time for dating too!
Ghislain was a master strategist. He did not engage in battles he could not win.
And so, he simply trapped the two of them inside his mind realm.
– Aaaahhh! What the hell! This is my body! Let me out!
– Eeeeeek! I'm sorry! Let me go!
Finally, peace.
Taking a deep breath to calm his frustration, Ghislain turned to Kyle.
"Did you know those two liked each other?"
"Yeah. Why? I thought everyone knew. It's been obvious forever."
"... Actually, I totally knew too."
So, it turned out he was the only one who hadn't noticed. The whole world had known except for him.
It wasn't that he was dense—it was just that he had been busy.
"Well… whatever. It's not my problem."
If they liked each other, so be it. In fact, it would probably make them even more determined to protect one another, which was a good thing.
After all, people became stronger when they had someone to protect. Hadn't he himself been the same way?
There was no need to worry too much.
Meanwhile, Yulian and Tyrann were rushed to the infirmary. With Ghislain's potions, their external wounds healed quickly, but they had lost a lot of blood and needed rest for a few days.
The newly merged mercenary corps was initially awkward, but they soon grew comfortable with each other.
They were going to be comrades from now on, and since their leaders were so powerful, there was no room for contempt or conflict.
During this time, Yulian's executives worked tirelessly to establish order and determine their future course of action.
Once the basic structure was settled, Tyrann spoke up.
"We had already made arrangements to join Count Crest's upcoming territorial war. We'll be receiving an official request soon. What's your plan?"
Ghislain replied nonchalantly.
"We hadn't signed the contract yet, so it doesn't matter. Even if we had, the Ironclad Lions are disbanded, so we have no obligation to follow through."
"Count Crest won't just let this go. He'll try to force us to join his forces one way or another."
"And if he doesn't back down? What's he going to do—fight us? Then we just fight back."
"......."
Tyrann was momentarily speechless.
Count Crest was the most powerful noble in the region. No mercenary would dare refuse his summons.
Yet, this madman was casually suggesting they go to war with him.
Just how fearless was he?
As Tyrann stared at him, his expression subtly stiffening, Ghislain smirked and added,
"If he picks a fight with us first, that'd actually be better."
"... Better?"
"Yeah. If we want to grow the Yulian mercenary corps and strengthen Baron Nordhill, then war is the best way. We're short on time, so we need to move fast. If he gives us a legitimate reason to fight, that's a golden opportunity."
If they crushed the most dominant power in the region, expanding into the kingdom wouldn't take long.
That way, Yulian could quickly establish himself as the center of the nation.
Ghislain truly believed this. It was the perfect way to accelerate their plans.
However, to Tyrann, the answer sounded entirely different.
'This guy is completely insane.'
For the first time, Tyrann regretted joining the Yulian mercenary corps.
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