Chapter 5. I Became the Mercenary King of the Northern Duchy (3)
"Hmm… Ice Bone Bear… It's certainly not an easy guy to catch. Especially alone."
At the silver-haired Lady Lorraine Ashuhalt's request, revealed with a desperate expression, she asked back.
"Are you saying you can catch it?"
The light from the old lamp inside the hut refracted on her white skin, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
'No, I keep seeing hallucinations. What on earth is this?'
Is it some kind of artifact using the surroundings to make her look pretty? I suppose it wouldn't be strange if such a thing existed.
"Well… it requires a lot of preparation, but let's say yes for now."
At that, Lorraine's expression brightened.
"Mercenary King. Please, accept my request."
Danel rested his chin on his hand and fell into deep thought.
'If she used the family's soldiers, it would be instant. But she goes out of her way to ask me? There's definitely something.'
The Ashuhalt family wasn't a family that low-level informants like Gale, whom he frequented, could touch.
Because of that, Danel didn't know much about Ashuhalt's internal information.
Except that the young lady in front of him was the nuisance Lady Lorraine.
But the content of his contemplation wasn't the 'anguish over the request' she was imagining.
'That scented candle, I made that….'
It was true.
This bizarre world, encompassing both the medieval and early modern eras, smelled truly terrible.
For Danel, a modern person, air fresheners were essential.
Then he remembered researching the formula with quite some dedication after realizing that burning an Ice Bone Bear's claw produced a unique smoke and scent, which had excellent deodorizing effects and cleared the head.
"That… can't you just buy it?"
At the indifferent question, Lorraine shook her head bitterly.
"Not only is the method of making it unknown, but the imitations circulating in the market have crude scents. Only the genuine articles that occasionally flow out from the 'Corin Merchant Guild' are known to have excellent efficacy in clearing the mind. But right now, there's absolutely no stock, so the price is whatever the seller calls."
Corin Merchant Guild.
Danel's eyebrow twitched at the mention of a known name.
"…Just how much is the price of the genuine article for it to be this chaotic?"
Lorraine cautiously brought it up.
"I know the most recent price to be 1.5 million Seria. Among the nobles, it has already become a situation where you can't get it even if you have money."
"One, one point five million?!"
For just one scented candle? Surprised by the absurd amount, he ungracefully opened his eyes wide.
1.5 million Seria. That amount is enough for an ordinary family of four in the North to live on for a month.
'Corin, this bastard dares to scam me?!'
It must have been about 3 months ago.
'Hey, Danel. Who uses crap like this? Your effort is commendable, so I'll buy it. I'll give you about the price of a beer for each one, so be grateful.'
'Uh, yeah, thanks a lot, you fatty. But where do you think you're taking it? Write a contract.'
'What, writing a contract between us?'
'Wanna die? Trust what in you.'
'Tsk, picky guy.'
Price of a beer? That wasn't the price of a beer, but an amount that could buy several bottles of the highest quality whiskey.
Danel felt the back of his neck stiffen and barely managed to control his expression.
He felt his blood pressure rising, but right now, the noble lady in front of him came first.
"What is the payment I can receive?"
"10 million Seria as a down payment. And if you succeed and bring back the claw intact, I promise an additional 50 million Seria as a success reward."
Danel whistled inwardly.
As expected of the Ashuhalt family.
But he had no intention of exchanging this opportunity for mere money.
Because in this world, there were too many things money couldn't buy.
"I don't need money. Let's trade for something else."
It was then.
Schwing—!
The black-haired guard standing like a shadow behind Lorraine moved like lightning.
The sword in her hand rushed toward Danel's neck once again, emitting killing intent.
Perhaps it seemed presumptuous for a mere mercenary to propose conditions to a Duke's daughter.
However, Danel raised the corner of his mouth fishily and extended his arm toward her.
Grab—
And rotated his arm greatly to break her balance.
Whirl—
Slamming her onto the floor, he subdued her neck and arm.
Thud—!
"Keuk!?"
Everything connected in a fleeting moment like flowing water.
Danel raised the corner of his mouth looking at the guard subdued on the floor.
"You, you have bad habits. Aren't you getting too cocky trusting only your speed? Don't you know I went easy on you earlier?"
'Hmm… The level of a Duke's daughter's guard is merely this?'
He went easy earlier because the Lady was also there, but she keeps shoving a sword in his face and acting up.
As Danel looked down coldly, Kailey's face flushed red with shame and she struggled.
"Keuk! L-Let go!"
Just then, Lorraine jumped up and shouted as if screaming.
"Kailey! What are you doing!!"
Danel was a little surprised.
'Hoh, look at this?'
An ordinary noble would have defended their guard or rather blamed Danel, but she was scolding her own guard instead.
Danel shrugged his shoulders and released Kailey's arm.
Then the guard called Kailey adjusted her clothes and bowed her head.
"S-Sorry, my Lady. A mere mercenary was acting too arrogantly without knowing his place, so I just…."
"I was staying still, so why did you step in! Are you ignoring me too?! Can't you see I'm in the position of asking for a favor?!"
"T-That's not it…! S-Sorry…."
At Lorraine's furious shout, Kailey couldn't lift her head. Watching that scene, Danel chuckled and sat back down.
"Excessive loyalty sometimes blocks the master's path."
"...Just you wait, you bastard."
"Look at that."
Lightly ignoring Kailey's venomous gaze, Danel stared at Lorraine.
Lorraine's eyes sparkled like starlight.
"You certainly have skills."
"If my skills met your expectations, let's get to the main point. The reward I want is an 'Aura Cultivation Method.' I don't even hope for the highest grade passed down to the Ashuhalt direct line. Just a dusty mid-grade cultivation method rolling around in a corner of the family library is enough to start the request."
Lorraine's complexion turned pale.
She exchanged glances with Kailey as if troubled.
Kailey shook her head as if to say 'nonsense.'
"I'm sorry but… that seems difficult. I don't have the authority to access the deep parts of the library. And it is excessively too much in exchange for catching one bear. How about something else?"
'Hmm… As expected, not easy?'
Danel racked his brain.
How should I cook this pumpkin that rolled in entirely to extract the maximum profit.
If an Aura cultivation method doesn't work, a Plan B was needed.
Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Then do you perhaps have any elixirs or divine medicines related to 'eyes'? The kind that allows one to see the flow of mana."
At my words, Lorraine's eyes sparkled as if she had been waiting.
"Ah…! Are you talking about something like 'Ahisha's Eye' used when mages train?"
For a human like Danel, the Magic Tower was perhaps a place harder to approach than a noble family.
Furthermore, Ahisha's Eye, that was an item beyond what Danel had imagined.
"You say you have Ahisha's Eye? In a swordsmanship family?"
"Yes, we definitely have it. I saw it stuck in the warehouse because no one uses it."
Actually, it was a lie.
It was an item Lorraine had obtained with difficulty, wondering if she might have talent in magic since she had no talent in swordsmanship.
Because Ahisha's Eye was an educational magic tool that allowed beginners in magic to see mana visually.
Of course, Lorraine naturally had no talent as a mage either.
Danel's heart, unaware of that fact, started pounding.
'Trace' sees muscle movements and physical trajectories, but cannot see the mana flow inside the body.
If I can visually capture the knights' Aura operation methods through 'Ahisha's Eye'?
The success is unknown, but it might have far greater value than obtaining a single old cultivation method book.
To such Danel, Lorraine's voice struck.
"May I ask where you intend to use it?"
"There is a precious herb in the western forest that I have been searching for a long time. It's a spirit herb full of mana, so if I can see mana, I might be able to find it more easily."
I came up with it myself, but it was a pretty decent excuse.
"I see."
"Can I receive Ahisha's Eye as payment?"
For Lorraine, it was actually good.
It was an item bought for tens of millions of Seria, but it was useless.
"Yes, it is possible."
"Then let's go with that. 10 million Seria as a down payment, and all stock of 'Ahisha's Eye' in the warehouse as a success reward."
"There are a total of three, will that be okay?"
"Sufficient."
"Understood. The deal is established."
Lorraine nodded as if relieved.
From her perspective, it was like trading with trash from the warehouse, and from Danel's perspective, he gained an opportunity called possibility.
It was a perfect deal for both.
After Lorraine and Kailey left, silence returned to the hut.
My head was chaotic.
'That's not magic?'
That unrealistic brightness I felt when I first saw Lorraine earlier.
Those bizarre phenomena where the flower scent amplified and vision brightened.
I was certain it was mental magic or an illusion, but Kailey and Lorraine asserted there was no mage.
My extremely developed senses also couldn't find any waves of power nearby.
I fell for the Lady?
That made even less sense.
She's pretty, but to me, a Lady is just a tool good for using.
For the past 10 years, I believed this world to be only a blood-splattering 'Dark Fantasy.'
A hellish world where parents are murdered before your eyes, the smell of blood vibrates, and knights trample mercenaries to death like bugs.
But facing Lorraine up close today, I started to piece together the deformed characteristics of this world one by one.
'Come to think of it, there were one or two strange things.'
This place clearly wore the outer shell of the Middle Ages, but the early modern and contemporary eras were subtly mixed in.
The style of clothes worn by nobles somewhat incorporated modern designs, and there were even suits.
Even in the lower-class districts, women walked around wearing clothes impossible in the Middle Ages like hoodies, crop tops, or leggings.
A bitter laugh flowed out.
'Seeing bikinis on the beach says it all.'
Even in dessert shops, things like macarons developed in the 20th century were openly sold.
So I just assumed this world was a dark and gloomy Souls-like game world.
Because even in such a worldview, one could wear idiotic outfits like bikini armor.
But today that belief was shaken.
A knight deformedly strong to call it a game where balance was thrown to the dogs.
Noble ladies carrying ridiculously beautiful looks and unrealistic background effects.
'If this isn't inside a game… A novel? A webtoon?'
Then lightning struck my head.
I stared at the burning flame of the lamp and muttered a monologue low.
"Damn it, this… Is it possibly Romance Fantasy (Ro-pan)?"
Thinking like that, everything fit.
10 years of time believed to be Dark Fantasy.
But the overwhelming martial power of the knight was a device to show the absolute strength of the male character,
And Lorraine's unrealistic beauty was due to significant character correction buffs.
"Hah…. This is driving me crazy."
A hollow laugh burst out involuntarily.
I lived harboring poison thinking it was hell, but to think this was a stage where pink romance unfolds.
The fact that 10 years of desperate survival might be nothing more than a single line of background setting for romance was despondent.
No, it probably wouldn't even appear.
I succeeded in recalling one Ro-pan scene from old memories.
It was an internet post on a community.
[This is the power balance of Ro-pan. Yup]
In that post, there was a scene where a single male lead knight favored by the female lead wiped out gods, demons, and even outer gods of the universe.
And the best comment on that.
[ㄴBecause that is Ro-pan. Nod.]
The verisimilitude and probability of Ro-pan were things like that.
That doesn't mean it's safe just because it's Ro-pan. Rather, this place might be more dangerous than Dark Fantasy.
'I'm going to go nuts.'
But that doesn't mean what I have to do changes.
If someone is filming a variety show in Dark Fantasy swinging a toy hammer wearing bikini armor and a duck tube.
I just had to film a Dark Fantasy in Ro-pan.
Next morning, as soon as I opened my eyes, I got dressed and headed straight to the 'Corin Merchant Guild' in the lower-class district.
Bang—!
"Huh? Danel?! Oh! Did you perhaps bring scented candles?!"
I strode over, grabbed the guy by the collar, and growled.
"W-Why are you being like this?!"
"From now on, you'd better think carefully and answer what I ask."