Chapter 136 - Mercenary of the North (3)

The King of Dotrin was a straightforward man.

He had no hesitation when speaking, and once he brought up a topic, he never hid anything or beat around the bush.

Through him, I was able to hear about circumstances I hadn't known about.

Among them was the story regarding Dolosis.

Originally, the Azure Sky Knights were never supposed to reveal themselves until the decisive moment arrived. But Doris had brought out that hidden trump card as he pleased.

And right in the middle of enemy territory, where they would eventually have to fight for supremacy, no less.

For his part, he seemed to think there was no need to worry about future repercussions since he had handled it without leaving any witnesses, but the King of Dotrin showed his displeasure, calling it a foolish act of trying to cover the sky with his palm.

He added that it wouldn't be strange if the Emperor's suspicions turned into certainty, given that the Leonberk delegation had vanished into thin air while the Bourgogne imperial family, who hadn't forgotten the old legends, was keeping their eyes peeled for the existence of wyverns.

"Of course, thanks to you leaving separate tracks on the land route, a sliver of doubt remains."

Wondering what he meant, I realized the King seemed to think my action of sorting out the soldiers and having them escape via land was part of a smokescreen operation.

The truth was, I had simply chosen the path to send them back safely, believing the Imperial Knights wouldn't pay much attention to ordinary soldiers.

But that had unintentionally played a role in confusing the empire's intelligence network.

While generously praising me, the King said he had intended to strictly punish the mistake made by his own country's delegation.

"Until I saw you with my own eyes, that is."

The King's expression softened into a gentle one.

"Because I didn't believe it."

A gaze of unfathomable depth swept over my body.

"The words that there was an ally we had to secure, even at the risk of exposing the Azure Sky Knights early."

I leisurely leaned back in my chair and looked at the King.

"So, what do you think?"

I was asking if I really seemed worth that much now that he saw me in person.

"I think it's sufficient."

The King nodded.

"I am so honored that I don't know what to do with myself."

"Don't be too honored. It was only in comparison to a secret that will be revealed soon anyway; it doesn't mean that you alone are worth more than the entire Azure Sky Knights."

At his pride-filled words, I shrugged my shoulders.

They were the Wyvern Riders who had forced the mighty elves to hide in densely branched forests out of fear of the blue sky, so it was only natural.

"Then will the disciplinary actions against Doris and Jean be withdrawn?"

The King of Dotrin shook his head.

He said he intended to use this opportunity to fix the habits of that unruly prince.

The King's reasoning for the punishment sounded quite plausible.

"There's no way that Doris boy deliberated and made the judgment to intervene. The claim about a trustworthy ally is undoubtedly a hastily concocted excuse he came up with after causing the incident. He's my child, so I know him best."

He wasn't my child, but I deeply agreed.

From the brief time I had spent with him, it didn't seem likely that he had weighed the pros and cons before making a decision. There was a high chance that the excuse hadn't come from his own head, but from Jean Catherine's.

"That Jean brat is the same. He's usually an extraordinary guy, but whenever he's with that Doris boy, he just gets dragged around."

The King continued to complain about the two of them for quite some time after that.

They were complaints in words, but I could feel how much the King loved and trusted them.

I chuckled and appropriately played along before bringing up the main point.

"How is the war situation?"

"There are places where we have the advantage, and places where we are being pushed back. No place has been breached yet."

"Where are the places being pushed back?"

The King was about to casually reply to my words before his eyes went wide.

Looking at the King, I grinned.

And I asked the King once again.

The battlefield where advances and retreats repeated,

I asked where the most disadvantageous location was among them.

It was time to pay the price for hitching a ride on the wyverns.

* * *

Instead of answering right then and there, the King said he would allow me and the knights to attend the Great Hall meeting held tomorrow.

And prior to that, he said it was necessary to properly disguise my identity.

It was a situation I had already expected, and I replied that being a mercenary from somewhere would be enough.

I had only selected knights who accumulated mana in their hearts in the first place to disguise them as mercenaries.

Because in this era, the Mana Heart was a low-grade method learned only by mercenaries.

"There will be a lot of inconveniences."

The King of Dotrin was deeply concerned.

He said that since I wouldn't be able to expect the reverence and respect I had enjoyed as royalty, uncomfortable situations would often arise.

At those words, I couldn't help but laugh.

Reverence and respect naturally enjoyed as royalty?

I had never been interested in such things in the first place, nor had I ever enjoyed them.

I left him with words telling him not to worry and immediately exited the breakfast hall.

In the hallway where not a single servant was still in sight, I headed toward my bedchambers, following the path the messenger had guided me through earlier.

My party had gathered in front of the room and was waiting for me.

"Let's go in."

I led them into the room and relayed the conversation I had with the King exactly as it happened.

"Starting tomorrow, we are mercenaries."

At my words, the knights nodded.

No one showed any reluctance.

It was a given.

They were chosen for this very purpose from the beginning.

Gawain's trio had never lived as knights from the start, and had even fallen to rock bottom, living like wrecks. Even if I told them to disguise themselves as soldiers rather than mercenaries, they wouldn't have felt any reluctance.

The same went for Gunne and Adelia.

The problem was that Eli bastard, but fortunately, he harbored a strange fantasy.

"Mercenaries with disguised identities. How romantic."

Ignoring the Eli bastard babbling with a flushed, excited face, I sorted out our titles.

Since we had gone through the trouble of disguising ourselves as mercenaries, we couldn't be saying 'Your Highness' or anything like that.

"You can just call me Ian."

"Ian."

The Eli bastard called me as if he had been waiting for this.

I had definitely made up my mind to do this, and it was something I had ordered.

But oddly enough, it put me in a bad mood.

"Ian. Ian. Ian."

The Eli bastard called me repeatedly with a sly smirk.

SMACK.

Unable to endure it any longer, I slapped the back of his head.

"Ah, why! You were the one who told us to call you Ian!"

At his words, I awkwardly made up an excuse.

I told him to at least attach 'Sir' to it.

"Sir Ian. Sir Ian. Sir Ian."

The Eli bastard continued to call me, grumbling.

"It would be best if you avoided calling me as much as possible."

Because it pissed me off for some reason.

Seeing my expression, the Eli bastard hastily backed away.

When I first saw him, he definitely had a rather noble demeanor and maintained an appropriate level of dignity, but looking at him now, he had become completely useless.

It seemed he had been tainted after living and sharing hardships with the rough Rangers.

As I was clicking my tongue, Gawain called out to me.

"Sir Ian."

It was dry and awkward, but there was no sign of reluctance. Unlike the Eli bastard, I couldn't sense any ulterior motives either. It was just a voice that sounded like he was calling a complete stranger.

Gawain's companions also called me once in similar tones before shutting their mouths.

It seemed they had practiced in their own way.

I looked at Gunne. Unable to speak, she merely mouthed my name. And then she gestured.

[Name, first time.]

I asked what was a first time, but she didn't answer.

I figured that was that, withdrew my interest, and looked at Adelia.

Shake, shake.

She shook her head.

Unlike the others, she had been my maid from the beginning, and having even been bound to me by [Subordination] due to the [Slave Mentality] trait, she found the very act of speaking my name deeply uncomfortable.

I tried to make her do it several times, but she ultimately couldn't say my name.

"I think she can just call you Captain."

The Eli bastard said.

My eyes went wide.

"Since we came as mercenaries in the first place, someone has to act as the boss, and since it can't be us, isn't it only natural for Sir Ian to take on the role of Captain?"

He was right. I had only thought being mercenaries would be enough, and hadn't even considered the idea of a mercenary company.

"Don't tell me you hadn't even thought of something like that..."

The Eli bastard, who was blabbering arrogantly, stealthily avoided my gaze upon seeing my expression.

"C-Captain."

While I was briefly bickering with the Eli bastard, Adelia softly whispered.

And then she turned bright red all by herself, not knowing what to do.

It seemed she would need time to get used to it.

"But if we're a mercenary company, we need a name for the mercenary company too."

The Eli bastard, who was unusually sharp today, pointed out another issue.

"Let's decide right now."

And then, as if he had been thinking about it beforehand, he casually tossed out his opinion.

"How about the Sword of Radiance Mercenaries?"

A name that not even the old knights from 400 years ago, who worshipped Poems of Martial Deeds and enjoyed using poetic expressions, would have used. I neatly ignored it and asked for the others' opinions.

Blink, blink.

Gawain's trio and Adelia stared at me blankly.

They truly had faces that showed absolutely no thought whatsoever.

When our eyes met, Gawain must have thought he should say at least something, and cautiously offered an idea.

"What about the Death-Defying Mercenaries..."

Gawain, who was speaking, shut his mouth again with a sour expression. He seemed to think he had stepped up for nothing.

I agreed. It would have been better to just stay quiet.

I looked at Gunne just in case, but she seemed completely uninterested.

"I'm telling you, the Sword of Radiance is good."

The Eli bastard slyly slipped his opinion in again.

"If you don't like the Sword of Radiance, how about the Unrivaled, Indomitable Mercenaries?"

I completely ignored whatever the Eli bastard was babbling about and fell into thought.

Then, a name suddenly came to mind.

"Vale."

At my words, the Eli bastard looked at me and frowned.

"From now on, we are the mercenaries of the Vale Mercenaries."

"What's with Vale all of a sudden..."

Speaking like that, he suddenly shut his mouth.

It was a solemn face.

It wasn't just the Eli bastard. Gawain's trio and Adelia all wore the same expression.

Perhaps, I was the same.

Vale, my uncle's name, held an extraordinary meaning to the kingdom's knights.

* * *

The next day, prior to attending the meeting, I met with the King separately.

It was to align our stories in advance and familiarize ourselves with each other.

"The Vale Mercenaries. It's a fine name."

Spitting out a brief appraisal, the King of Dotrin observed the party.

A distinct gleam surfaced in the King's eyes, which had initially been merely calm.

When looking at Bernardo Eli, the King nodded as if to say he was decent, and when passing in front of Gawain's trio, he tilted his head as if sensing an unknown dissonance.

In front of Gunne, he even cast a cold gaze.

And when he looked at Adelia, the King let out an exclamation.

"Amazing. Truly amazing."

Having recognized her potential, the King's eyes were shining brighter than ever before.

I slyly stepped forward, blocking the line of sight between the King and Adelia.

"She is my person."

And then I spoke firmly.

Telling him not to covet her.

The King let out a sigh.

It seemed he was quite covetous of Adelia's potential.

However, he didn't go out of his way to reveal his greed for talent to the point of antagonizing me. With a mild attitude, he withdrew his gaze.

"Then enter when I send word. I'll formally introduce you."

Having said that, the King disappeared somewhere first.

After waiting for a short while, the messenger I had seen once before appeared and informed us that the King was looking for us.

CLANK.

The knights pulled on their helmets.

They were iron helmets that only exposed the area below the nose and the mouth. The knights, who had pulled the hoods of their cloaks over their helmets again, gave me a look.

Nod.

I too followed suit, putting on my helmet and pulling up my hood.

And then I walked, following the messenger.

The messenger came to a halt in front of a large door.

When I gave him a nod, he quietly opened the door for us.

A meeting room with a wide-open ceiling covered by the deep blue sky like a roof, a massive marble table, and the dozens of men surrounding it all turned to look at us.

It was clearly just the appearance of some lowly mercenary scrubs,

And they weren't figures that the command staff leading the kingdom would pay much attention to,

But their reactions were completely bizarre.

They were focusing on us to a strange degree.

Without a single person opening their mouth.

At that bizarre silence, I looked at the King.

The King of Dotrin was smiling.

Mischievously, as if a highly entertaining spectacle was right in front of him.

Beside him was Dolosis, whom I hadn't met since arriving at the royal castle, and Jean as well.

Among them, Jean looked at me and moved his lips.

Telling me to introduce myself.

It was an unfamiliar experience. Others had always spoken my name on my behalf, so this was the first time I was stepping up to reveal my name myself. But it wasn't bad.

I had never liked the identical, cookie-cutter introductions.

So, I introduced myself and my party in my own way.

Like one who walks the path of the sword, and extremely like a mercenary.

I drew my sword and proved myself by overlaying it with an Aura Blade.

VWOOOONG.

The sound of sharp gasps being drawn in could be heard from behind me. The Dotrin dignitaries gathered at the table widened their eyes.

The King looked like he was about to burst into laughter, finding something incredibly amusing.

Whether he did or not, I shouted vigorously.

"The Vale Mercenaries are here!"