I Obtained Sword God Level Talent - Chapter 10
The victory parade concluded with the Duke’s declaration of victory and a brief speech.
“What did you think?”
Lancelot asked with a face beaming with pride as we walked towards the central district of the city.
“…It was impressive. More than I expected.”
It was certainly fascinating to see the well-trained cavalry and infantry, as well as the numerous knights and mage corps. If it weren’t for that intense gaze I felt during the parade, I might have been as excited as Lancelot.
‘Maria saw me.’
T hi s w as co pi ed f r o m kin gm t l .or g
The gaze Duchess Maria Theresa sent my way was definitely not a mistake. The feeling of being seen through to my very core was something I had never experienced before in my life.
“A trait? Or perhaps, a talent?”
I muttered to myself as I trudged along behind Lancelot.
It was definitely not a common occurrence for someone to spot me so precisely amidst such a large crowd. What if she had left the procession and suddenly acted on impulse? Something difficult to deal with would have surely happened.
This was because the gap between her and me was immense. Encountering a powerful character at this point in time was something I wanted to avoid.
“…Frey? Frey!”
“Ah, what?”
“What are you thinking so hard about? This is the Mercenary Guild. Don’t you have some business here?”
“…The Mercenary Guild?”
Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked up. Looking around, I saw a three-story building with a large signboard, located between the central district and the commercial district.
“Right, I forgot about that.”
I was a mercenary. I had participated in the Northern Expedition as a member of the Oak Mercenary Corps, and the war had just ended. This meant that I was entitled to receive compensation.
“I have to receive it. Of course.”
Creak.
I muttered briefly and entered the guild building. An interior resembling a medieval tavern greeted me.
“Welcome.”
The guild was much quieter than I expected. A few mercenaries who looked like they had been through years of battles were sitting at tables, sipping on day-time drinks, and in the center of the establishment, a bartender dressed in a suit was wiping glasses with a white cloth.
“Frey of the Oak Mercenary Corps. I’d like to receive my compensation for participating in the Northern Expedition.”
Th i s w a s c o pi e d fro m k i ngm t l .o r g
“Please wait a moment.”
The bartender answered curtly and disappeared inside. With some time to spare, I slowly looked around the guild. It seemed this was Lancelot’s first time visiting a mercenary guild as well, as he was looking around with interest.
“Hey, young’un, did you survive the Northern Expedition?”
It was at that moment that one of the mercenaries who was drinking alone spoke to me.
It was a middle-aged mercenary who looked like he had seen it all. A gruesome scar ran across his face, and his bushy beard symbolized the hardships he had endured.
“You’re lucky. All of my comrades died at the hands of the enemy.”
At first glance, it seemed like he was picking a fight for no reason. But I could sense the deep sorrow in his voice.
“Same here. I’m the only survivor from my mercenary group.”
“…Damn it all.”
The middle-aged mercenary scowled at the fact that, just like him, I was the only survivor of my mercenary group. He wiped his hand on his coat, approached me, and extended his hand.
“I’m Fran of the Enganu Mercenary Corps. It’s moving to meet someone who’s gone through something similar.”
“Frey of the Oak Mercenary Corps. Nice to meet you too.”
“Huh. What is…”
Lancelot, who had been silently watching the interaction, let out a bewildered sound. He seemed to find it awkward, seeing me and the middle-aged mercenary shaking hands, and wore a confused expression.
“And who is this?”
It was only natural for the middle-aged mercenary to take an interest in him. Lancelot, who had been standing silently, opened his mouth.
“Lancelot Du Armance of the Golden Lion Knights.”
“A-A knight… sir. My apologies. I thought you were a fellow mercenary since you were with this friend.”
The middle-aged mercenary, who had approached without hesitation, returned to his seat with a fearful expression. I couldn’t help but tilt my head as I watched him quietly.
“Do mercenaries fear knights?”
“Of course. Mercenaries often become targets of knights. It could be due to conflicts of interest, or because they become heinous criminals. If it’s like this with knights, mercenaries practically faint when they meet nobles.”
…Is that so? I didn’t really know because I hated the ‘mercenary’ route in the original game.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but look at Lancelot with renewed interest.
Come to think of it, he had asked me, ‘Aren’t you afraid of me?’ when I first woke up. Now I understood what he meant. He seemed to find it strange that I, a mere mercenary, was being so defiant towards a knight.
It was at that moment that the bartender returned with a transparent glass plate.
“Thank you for waiting. Please place your palm on this glass plate. We’ll apply for compensation payment after confirming your identity.”
It was a reasonable process. I had wondered if they would say something like, ‘We can’t pay you without your mercenary badge,’ but they didn’t.
Thwack.
I nonchalantly placed my palm on the plate. Transparent light then seeped out from the small glass plate, bead by bead. It seemed this was how they confirmed identities before paying out compensation.
“Identity confirmed. Payment will be processed after review by the guild. It will take about two days.”
I nodded silently at the bartender’s additional explanation. It truly was a world where magic engineering was developed instead of science. To think I could receive my combat compensation in just two days.
T his w a s c o p ie d f r o m k in g m t l .o r g
“Would you like me to open a communication channel in case you stay in Roven?”
“…Ah! Yes, please.”
“Alright. Please visit us in two or three days, and we’ll give you good news.”
A communication channel, they had that here too.
I nodded and left the mercenary guild. I caught a glimpse of the middle-aged mercenary looking at me, but conscious of Lancelot, he simply watched us leave without a word.
T hi s was co p ied f r o m k i ngmt l . o r g
“Frey. What’s a communication channel?”
As soon as we stepped out into the street, Lancelot couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer and asked.
“Simply put… it’s a system where people can contact each other through guild branches. Many mercenaries are wanderers.”
“…Good work. If we’re lucky, someone who remembers your past might contact you.”
“I hope so too.”
I smiled wryly and started walking. I was heading back to the inn. It was almost lunchtime, and I was hungry, and there was something I needed to do after eating.
‘It’s time to start.’
My initial reason for coming to the fortress city of Roven was to find Lancelot’s mother. Participating in the victory parade was just a bonus.
‘It doesn’t seem like it’ll take that long.’
Lancelot said that the mother he was desperately searching for was the daughter of a blacksmith in Roven.
That meant most of her relatives lived in Roven. Finding her wouldn’t be that difficult, even within a city as large as the fortress city.
‘First… I’ll stop by there.’
I had already decided on my first destination. The Tomb on the Coastal Cliff. I was going to check it out.
***
Th i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m kin g m t l .o r g
A peaceful afternoon. The fortress city of Roven, where the official events had concluded, was buzzing with a festive atmosphere.
But this room was different. Unlike the bustling city, the owner of the room was sitting quietly in a chair, staring at the paper on the table.
T hi s w a s c o p ie d fr o m ki n g m t l . o r g
“….”
Scratch, scratch.
The pen, which had been silent for a long time, began to move. The owner of the pen, Maria Theresa, was lost in thought. It was because she had witnessed something quite interesting that afternoon.
T h i s w a s c o pi e d fr o m k i n g m t l . o r g
‘A dazzling, intense light.’
Maria had awakened a unique blessing when she was young. She could see people’s ‘light’. It was one of the powers unique to her, a power no one else possessed.
Swoosh.
She rose from her seat and walked over to the window, her footsteps echoing softly. A gardener was diligently mowing the lawn in the mansion’s garden.
‘White.’
Maria, who immediately checked the gardener’s light, pursed her lips. He had a single ‘white’ light. An extremely ordinary color.
‘That man….’
Maria’s expressionless lips curved into a subtle smile. It was a change that would have terrified her family, but fortunately, she was alone in this room.
Maria Theresa’s clear eyes recalled the recent past.
A cheering crowd, the Duke’s army marching in a stately manner.
Maria Theresa felt bored amidst all of this. White here, white there. Occasionally, she would see ‘gold,’ but she quickly lost interest.
It was utterly ordinary. They might have been lucky enough to be born with ‘gold,’ but they didn’t seem like talents who would truly stand out.
It was near the end of the victory parade that Maria’s eyes widened.
“…?”
From atop the white horse whose name she didn’t even care about, Maria witnessed a shocking sight.
Sparkle! Sparkle!
‘Light….’
Th is wa s cop i e d fr o m k i n gm t l .o r g
A light that exploded from someone unknown filled her vision completely. The owner of this wondrous light, so dazzling that she felt as if she was drowning in it, was a young man who seemed to have just reached adulthood.
“…Oh my?”
The man was looking at her.
Just like the saying that when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. The man saw through something that ‘Maria Theresa’ possessed.
The man’s face paled instantly.
He had seen it too. Just like she had, the fact that Maria was fundamentally different from others from birth.
“Ah.”
T h i s w a s c o pi ed f r o m k i ngm t l . o r g
Maria let out an uncharacteristic sigh from atop the procession. The light… The light was moving away. The dazzling, breathtaking feast of light she had encountered for the first time in her life was leaving her.
But.
It didn’t matter. She could meet him again.
She had the power, the authority to do so. And she wanted to have a deep conversation with him. She was curious about what kind of person he was. It wasn’t as if she had fallen in love at first sight or anything… It was just that an intense curiosity had stirred within her rational mind.
Th is wa s c o p i e d f ro m k i n g mt l . o r g
Swoosh!
The window of the Duke’s mansion opened smoothly. And she threw herself out the window.
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Uhh, why not leave normally?