I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist chapter 74

74. In memory (3)

“We are a repair mercenary.”

The woman said that to Arjen in the caravan. Arjen looked at the woman with blank eyes. An eyepatch on tanned skin, black hair cut short. The woman gave a chin to her colleagues in the caravan and called each one by name.

“Charlie, Don, Brett, Mac, and Heaney.”

Every time the woman called her name, the tough men turned their eyes to Arjen. Then, as if he was not interested, he lowered his head and began to take a nap, or took something out of his bosom and began to eat it. The woman looked at her colleagues and frowned slightly.

“The one driving the horse is Walter. That’s why I’m called Carla.”

Arjen stares and looks. I stared at Carla with a gaze somewhere there. I couldn’t think of anything. My senses were still immersed in that sea of blood, but it felt like I was being transported with only my body left behind. What are these people trying to do with me? Will it die or be sold?

“If you tell me your name, it’s polite to say your name too, kid.”

man. A bald mercenary called Charlie said in a thick voice. Arjen ignored the man’s words as if he wasn’t interested. Right. There was a noise and Carla’s fingers hit Arjen’s head. Arjen’s eyes turned ferocious, turning his gaze towards Carla into hostility.

“Your name, what is it?”

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However, for some reason, the voice seemed to have a knack for opening Arjen’s mouth.

“Arjen Elmion.”

Elmion was said to be a castle given a long time ago. It didn’t mean much. Arjen thought it was just an extension of his name. The tongue that spoke the name was rough. Arn chewed his tongue.

“It’s Arjen. Please take care of me, Arjen.”

Arjen turned his head. Carla snorted as if Arjen was cute, then lowered her hand. Fellow mercenaries looked at him and let out laughs.

“You guys are on Chrome’s side.”

Chrom is the enemy. Arjen repeated that and buried his face in his knees. At Arjen’s words, Carla giggled and laughed. Arjen didn’t know why she was laughing so hard.

“We are on the side of the money givers. This time they just gave me money. If Kairos had given us money, we would have been on Kairos’ side.”

Saying that, Carla scratched the floor of the caravan with the large dagger she had been fiddling with. No matter how many times she had already scratched it, the caravan’s floor was full of knife scratches.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you killed our people.”

father would be dead mother too. Arjen couldn’t cry. The shock seemed to have torn even the tear ducts to shreds. If you look in the mirror now, you probably have the same eyes as those white corpses.

“I will not apologize. Then the people from other countries I’ve killed are going to be weird. In the first place, we were hired by other countries to kill the people of Chrome.”

Carla said and shrugged her shoulders. Arjen couldn’t understand her attitude towards death. Because I was talking too casually.

“I’m not asking for an apology. Why didn’t you kill me and leave me alone?”

Carla smiled bitterly at Arjen, who asked in a high-pitched voice as if reprimanding him.

“You’ll find out later, kid. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to sell you as a slave.”

It was confusing. I didn’t want to talk any more. Arjen buried his face in his lap and closed his eyes. The rumbling and swaying caravan did not know where it was headed.

“The world is a harsh place, Arjen. It’s harsh, cruel, and doesn’t care about circumstances. No mercy. Those who wander around in search of salvation are abandoned, and those who deny him and prey on others survive.”

Carla’s voice softened. Arjen sighed, listening to her voice as she read a fairy tale to him. everything is messed up Something went wrong. It was as if someone had removed the brain and left it floating in the air.

“So you have to live. You have to live and be harsher than the world. don’t let the world eat you lest it lead you down the path of death.”

Carla’s words seemed to be reciting prayers. Arjen felt that he was losing consciousness. Fatigue poured out. Arjen dozed off to the beat of the swaying caravan and fell asleep. In my sleep, I felt as if someone had laid me down and covered me with a blanket.

—

Arjen was not sold. I didn’t even become a slave. The mercenaries of the Repair Mercenary Corps raised Arjen like an adopted child. Arjen had no choice. It wasn’t them who burned the village and killed the villagers.

The repair mercenary was a wandering mercenary without nationality hired by the enemy country. The place where the war takes place was their country, hometown, and home. The mercenaries roamed regardless of the terrain. sea, alpine, plain, forest. Arjen grew up with mercenaries in the repair mercenary corps. The rough mercenaries could not become fathers, but they could become teachers.

Arjen learned the sword from them. Learned to fight, learned tactics, learned strategy, learned war. I learned about money, alcohol and people. Death was something I didn’t want to learn so much. However, time had no choice but to teach Arjen death.

Don dies, Brett dies, Mack leaves, and Heeney puts down the sword one day.

Arjen grew up. The height, which was on the small side when I was young, has suddenly grown taller than my father, and has grown to the same extent as Charlie. Arjen’s growth was rapid. The ability to use a sword had already reached a point where the mercenaries could not teach them. Arjen was strong and good at killing. A new member was formed, and Arjen rose to a senior position at a young age.

“You seem stronger than me already.”

Charlie said, lowering his sword. Arjen retrieved the sword expressionlessly. The corpses of fallen soldiers and knights were scattered at his feet. Even the allies were glaring at Arjen, keeping a distance as if amazed at his ability. As Arjen turned towards them, the soldiers tried to avoid eye contact with Arjen. Arjen looked at them emotionless as they organized the battlefield.

“I think it’s been a long time since I’ve become stronger than you.”

“If you lift me up once, you climb up, Arjen. You won’t know until you try.”

Arjen smiled and shook his head. Charlie looked at Arjen and smiled bitterly.

“It will be okay if I hand over the vice-captain position to you sooner or later.”

“There is still a long way to go about dealing with people. I’m not going to take on such troublesome things. You’ll have to stay still until you retire.”

Arjen looked at the pool of blood and the corpse. Those whom Arjen had killed had their eyes wide open, like the corpses they had seen as children. Arjen knelt down and closed the dead knight’s eyes.

“Good work, Arjen.”

To Arjen, Carla approached without hesitation and hugged Arjen with her arms wide open. Arjen struggled in Carla’s arms, blushing.

“Now, wait.”

“What are you shy about? suddenly.”

Carla laughed and hugged Arjen tighter, and Arjen couldn’t even push Carla away, only struggling with his arms.

“Blood, bloody.”

“what. I have already buried everything I need to bury.”

Carla said that and removed Arjen. Arjen’s face was stained as red as blood. Seeing Arjen like that, Carla smiled.

“Funny, you. After all, he still looks like a kid.”

“Noisy. really.”

Arjen shook his head and stood up. The other mercenaries in the mercenary army were not even good uncles, let alone fathers, but Kala was different. Carla wanted to be a lot to Arjen. A clumsy mother or sister, friend or lover. Carla taught Arjen everything the mercenaries could not teach. life. Perhaps what Arjen learned was life.

“Who died this time?”

“doesn’t exist. Arjen alone wipes out most of the strong guys.”

Charlie snorted and answered Carla’s question. Carla blinked and looked at Arjen. Arjen scratched the back of his head shyly.

“Because everyone is weak. That’s what I do.”

Carla approached Arjen. She ran through the night towards Arjen’s head, to the extent that she now had to bend her head and look up. As Arjen frowned and rubbed his forehead, Carla looked up at Arjen with a rather stern expression.

“Don’t overdo it. Don’t be rude. How many times have I told you that you never know when you will die on the battlefield.”

“… Okay.”

I didn’t feel the pain even when I was cut by the knife. But Carla’s night was as painful as always. Carla waved her hand at Arjen. When Arjen lowered his head to look at Carla, Carla raised her heel and tousled Arjen’s hair.

“You’ve grown too tall for this.”

Carla laughed at that. Her face hasn’t changed since she first met Arjen. Mercenaries such as Charlie, Mack, and Heaney had more scars and wrinkles on their faces, but Carla did not have any scars on her face, let alone wrinkles.

“Okay then, let’s move to a different location.”

Saying that, Carla shook her arms. Today’s battle is over. Carla waved her hand roughly at the commander, and the commander shook his head in disbelief.

“Good job. Please take care of the battle tomorrow as well.”

“any amount.”

Carla answered lightly and walked to the designated lodging while pushing Arjen on the back.

That night, Arjen woke up with a knock on the door of the inn and his eyebrows bent at the sound of someone. The time is one thirty in the morning. Arjen walked over to the door, slightly annoyed, and threw the door open.

“Who are you, at this hour… .”

“hi?”

And, seeing Carla standing by the doorway, Arjen completely stiffened. Seeing Arjen’s hardened face, Carla giggled and asked, looking back into the room.

“Can I come in?”

Arjen slightly twisted her body to get out of the way, and Carla entered Arjen’s room humming softly. Her shaking hair was slightly damp, as if she had just washed it. Arjen turned from the doorway and looked at Carla. Carla looked at Arjen’s bed casually and sat down. As Arjen frowned, Carla smiled again and gestured.

“Sit next to me.”

Arjen closed the door and walked over to Carla and sat down. Carla turned to look at Arjen as soon as Arjen sat down next to her. Seeing him wearing a top almost like underwear, Arjen blushed.

“Why did you come to my room?”

Looking at Arjen, who forced his voice to avoid the awkward atmosphere, Carla shrugged.

“I had a strange dream.”

“A strange dream?”

Carla giggled again and laughed. Arjen felt her smile was somehow empty.

“yes. But I won’t talk. If I tell you, I’ll feel bad again.”

“To invade someone else’s bedroom just because you had a bad dream.”

Arjen mumbled as he said that. Carla shook her head.

“Did you know I used to sleep with you when you were little? ‘Cause I’m having nightmares I had no choice but to take him to sleep.”

Arjen frowned.

“What, why are you bringing up that story all of a sudden?”

“At that time, he was a sharp but cute kid.”

Carla’s attitude was the same as usual, but not the same as usual. Arjen didn’t bother to point that out. Rather, I should have asked more then.

“hug me.”

Carla then moved closer to Arjen. Arjen couldn’t back down and carefully embraced the approaching Carla. It was the first time he had ever hugged her. The collar in his bosom was much smaller than Arjen had thought. Arjen smelled her body odor. It was more like a scent than a smell.

“Let’s lie down.”

Following Carla’s words, Arjen lay down on the bed. The moonlight fell over the fallen bed. Carla’s eyes were gray. It was similar in color to pale moonlight. Carla’s warmth was close. Arjen lay down and looked at Carla for a while.

“yes. nice.”

Carla smiled faintly like the moon and put a hand on Arjen’s cheek. Then, little by little, I pulled my body closer and buried my head in Arjen’s chest. Arjen wrapped his arms around Carla’s head and gave Carla a strong hug. A tinge of uneasiness was peeking out from her. Arjen could feel Carla’s sigh against his chest.

Anxiety about tomorrow slowly crept in, but it was okay. Arjen put his back to the window as if blocking time and hugged Carla. There was no warmth in the moonlight. The only thing he could feel was the warmth that came from the contact between Carla’s skin and his own.

In it, Arjen thought he might have seen Carla’s tears.