2 – Chaos
“…Nice to meet you. They call me Venice.”
“Please come in. There’s a lot of work to do.”
“Hmm.”
I extended my hand for a handshake, but Ceris ignored me as if she were a ghost and walked ahead. I followed Ceris with an awkward expression.
“By the way, is that magic?”
I could see a blue aura emanating from Ceris’s entire body, like the ‘qi’ emitted by a Chosaiin. It’s really fascinating.
“Is that the new leader?”
“hehehe. Looks like a useless idiot who just talks big.”
“Well, let’s strip them naked this time too~”
As we headed towards the headquarters building, I heard some troublemakers from the training ground hurling insults and blame at me.
Who are those guys? Why are there gangsters here?
“They are…”
Hey, Ceris! Aren’t you going to get rid of those gangsters? …I tried to say, but only a few words came out of my mouth.
“…Tsk.”
Ceris seemed annoyed in some way, briefly glancing at them before turning away.
What the hell. Could those gangsters be mercenaries? Seriously?
‘Talent appraisal.’
[Name: Hans / Age: 26 / Gender: Male]
[Unique Ability: None]
[Potential: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ★ (You, no talent!)]
[Name: Cops / Age: 32 / Male]
[Unique Ability: None.]
[Potential: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Not even worth a bug!)]
[Name: Call / Age: 30 / Male]
[Unique Ability (Slyness): You are a sly being! Enough to make onlookers tremble!]
[Potential: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ★ (You’re talentless!)]
Wow! When I used my unique ability to discern talents, I discovered some terrifying talents among these gang-like mercenaries!
How is it possible that not one of them has any talent?!
‘Talent discernment.’
I saw not only the ones in the front, but also the ones I had been observing from behind, and there was no significant difference.
They were all at the level of extras passing by.
‘Should I take a look at Ceris too?’
Because I felt my eyes burning at the pitiful state of these losers, I looked at Ceris just in case.
[Name: Ceris / Age: 21 / Female]
[Unique Ability (Swordmaster Aptitude): You were born with a talent for the divine art of swordsmanship! You gain bonuses in all sword-related actions and grow faster than anyone else!
[Unique Ability (Composure): You can maintain composure even in the most urgent situations.]
[Unique Ability (Divinely Crafted Body): Unbelievable, your body is perfect beyond what any god could create! All physical abilities are significantly enhanced, and you can surpass the limits of a human!]
[Unique Ability (Tenacity): If you have something you want to accomplish, you possess the tenacity to see it through, no matter what obstacles come your way!]
[Unique Ability (Magic Sight): You have eyes that can see magic. You can see the trajectory of magic and use it more efficiently!]
*
*
*
[Potential: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (100 out of 10 points! You possess the qualities of a hero who will dominate this era!)]
“……Huh?”
Endless unique abilities were being updated, each description filled with praise. Moreover, her potential was rated 6 out of 5 stars…
This woman, becoming a hero to represent an era?
I gazed at Cerise’s back, lost in thought. For someone destined to become a legend, she seemed quite narrow and fragile.
“…Hmm. This looks enticing, doesn’t it?”
I’m a hardcore efficiency enthusiast. Regardless of the game I played, I always nurtured high-performance units with affection. That way, I could maintain my position as a top ranker.
And now… showing me stats that make my mouth water like this? I can’t resist!
“Please come in.”
“…Alright.”
Following Cerise, who looked quite tired, I stepped into the stronghold.
The interior of the stronghold looked desolate beyond description.
The wooden floor was mostly collapsed, with scarce space to set foot, and instead of tidiness, only dust-filled lobbies met the eye.
Thunk-
Seeing what seemed to be the caretaker asleep at the desk, snoring away, added insult to injury.
“Wow… This is a mess, isn’t it? Looks like we’ll have to start from scratch.”
In fact, seeing the gold on the exterior walls and plants growing ablaze before entering the building, I had my doubts, and as expected… those doubts seem to have been well-founded.
“If you’re going to laugh, please do.”
As I gazed curiously inside the stronghold, Seris spoke sharply, as if disgusted.
“…Mocking. What does that mean?”
“Ha. It’s nothing.”
Seris just looked at me with dead eyes, as if she had already given up, seeing me as pathetic.
But… why tell me to mock? This is rather…
“This isn’t something to mock, but to be angry about.”
“……..?”
“I guess I’ll have to overhaul everything from one to ten.”
Seris made a face as if she had heard wrong, then her expression darkened again, and she silently ascended the stairs.
What’s with these stairs having holes in them? One wrong step and I’d be laid up for weeks.
“This is the office where you will be working.”
Following Seris, I arrived at what would be my workspace. The state of it… well, I won’t bother explaining.
I took a moment to survey the state of the office, then sat down on an old wooden chair and said,
“Understood. Deputy Chief Seris, I look forward to working with you.”
“….Yes. Then, I’ll be off.”
-I wish it were so. Damn…
Seris left the room, muttering a curse under her breath. She probably thought I hadn’t heard, but this superior body allowed me even to catch such faint sounds.
“Huh… There’s more than one or two things that need changing.”
Alone now, my usual way of speaking returned.
Overwhelmed, I quietly surveyed the office again.
When are we going to clean this up?
“Well, let’s start by organizing the office. We need to take it slow and figure things out.”
I’ve been a top-ranked player in simulation games and management games. Well, I’m pretty confident in myself.
Alright, sounds fun, right? Let’s give it our all!
***
“I hope it could be like that. Damn it…”
With a sigh, Ceris left the office.
A hair color as rare as the night sky and eyes that seemed to be soaked in blood.
Although the muscular body filled her out, her appearance was passable. Damn it, why does that matter now?
“…Damn it. This better be the last time.”
“Father, what should I do?”
The mission her father entrusted her with before he died. Taking charge of the “Scar Mercenaries.”
It was his last request and a testament to Ceris’s love and respect for him, so she did her best.
Just imagining reclaiming the glory of the empire and preserving her father’s honor was exhilarating.
“Father! I will definitely succeed! Please watch over me from above!”
Ceris looked forward to meeting the commander soon and smiled, picturing a future where she would do her best as the vice commander!
“hehehehe… You’re the vice commander? Come here…hehehehe.”
“….Ah.”
Until a drunkard with the demeanor of a street thug took up a spot in the office claiming to be the commander, of course.
Naturally, the operation of the mercenaries was a mess. They drank all day and caused trouble. How could things go smoothly?
“Captain. In my opinion…”
Nevertheless, Ceris persisted in giving advice, enduring the repulsive stench of the drunkards, all for the grand goal of resurrecting the mercenary corps.
“What are you saying! Just shut up and do as I say! You’re the vice captain for four years, and I’m the captain!”
“Well…”
“Just shut up!”
Bang-!
Ignoring their advice as if they hadn’t heard it, Ceris threw the glass they were holding, barely grazing their cheek with a shard that had shattered, causing a slight trickle of blood.
“Oh.”
Damn it. Just three days after Ceris had been inaugurated as the second captain of the Scar Mercenary Corps, they thought that.
Well. Fortunately, the author of the second captain had gotten into trouble for threatening a shopkeeper and causing injury in order to pilfer alcohol, and ended up in jail.
“Yeah! Strange people might come around once in a while! Just do well from now on!”
Preparing for the inauguration ceremony of the third captain, Ceris thought that way.
Well. Such people aren’t common. They just have to overcome the challenges with the third captain and work hard, right?
“Captain! You can give a speech at the podium!”
“Oh… Yeah. Well…”
Seeing the somewhat lethargic appearance of the third captain, Ceris felt a vague sense of unease, but didn’t think much of it.
“Oh… Yeah… Well. I’m the third captain. Just do things half-heartedly. That’s all.”
“…..Huh?”
Surprisingly, the third captain, who said that, didn’t give a single command or mission until just before retirement.
It wasn’t even retirement, they simply disappeared one day, claiming they couldn’t be bothered anymore.
By this time, Seris had, in fact, lost half her mind. The once glorious ‘Scar Mercenary Corps,’ which had commanded the entire former empire, had vanished, turning into a pitiful gathering of leftovers.
Even the original mercenaries who protected the ‘Scar Mercenary Corps’ had no answer to the sight of a ‘Scar Mercenary Corps’ with no future and no direction, so one by one, they left.
The Fourth Commander.
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“You’re kinda cute, aren’t you? Wanna date me?”
“………..Ugh. Screw off…”
The Fifth Commander.
“Just trust me! I’ll take care of everything for you!”
The confident Fifth Commander, who spoke proudly, seemed to be genuinely working hard. Some income was coming in, and the headquarters stabilized to some extent.
Watching the development of the ‘Scar Mercenary Corps,’ Seris also began to relax somewhat.
‘Finally. Yes… It’s okay now. So…!’
Until one day, when she would steal all the funds she had gathered and run away.
“Ha….hahahahaha!!”
Looking at the empty vault and the headquarters turned into a wasteland, Seris burst into laughter.
“Heh…hehehehe… Damn it…damn damn damn damn damn!!”
Even after laughing for a while, she spat out curses like a mad person.
“This f*cking sh*tty world…! What did I do wrong, damn it, you f*cking bastards!!”
She expressed her intense hatred towards the world. Passersby avoided her as if she were a lunatic.
…Since when did I curse so much? Surely I wasn’t like this in the past…
Damn. What the hell do I know.
As time passed, the inauguration ceremony of the Sixth Commander took place. It was a commander brought in with the mentality of grabbing at straws, selling off anything valuable in the headquarters to make some money.
“It doesn’t seem like something to laugh at, but maybe if I were angry…”
“…Huh?”
The 6th Division Commander was a mysteriously charismatic person. It felt like there was an aura about them, as if they carried a great weight.
“Well, does it really matter? If we fail this time… it truly will be the end of everything.”
“If we have another imbecile for a commander, let’s just set fire to everything and die together. Yeah.”
Serys furrowed her unyielding brow and began heading towards the battlefield.
To that place where even insects and maggots couldn’t survive.