116 – Two Years of a Mercenary and a Witch
Leos, a mercenary who signed a long-term contract with Cheyney, later moved with Cheyney to help with his experiments and material collection.
From rare plants that live in remote areas to monster materials that must be collected from dangerous monsters.
Leos has been working as a mercenary since childhood and has a wealth of knowledge and experience.
And Cheyney, a witch who wields incredible magic even to Leo, who only has a little knowledge of magic.
The two traveled around various places, combining their talents and strengths.
In the process, activities such as defeating bandits who attacked the village or defeating monsters attacking the city were added.
As a result, the two people with their unique combination became talked about by people and even became famous.
…Even so, the purpose of the two people was to collect materials for the success of Cheyney’s experiment.
One day, a little over half a year after the two first met and entered into a long-term contract, an incident occurred.
Leos was seriously injured by a monster that caught Chaney off guard.
Of course, injuries come with dealing with monsters.
The long-term contract included a clause to protect the contract owner from threats, and Leos simply faithfully kept it.
Cheney, who immediately burned the monster that attacked them after the Leos surrounding him collapsed.
“Leos!”
“…I hurt my bones a little, but I’m okay.”
“It’s not okay at all!!”
A severe stab wound to his left arm.
If something had gone wrong, it was a serious wound that could have cost him the use of one of his arms for the rest of his life.
“Hurry…Let’s go back quickly! If you go back and get treatment right away, you’ll be fine!”
“But deeper inside is the shadow you were looking for…”
“The shadow grass won’t run away! Let’s go back quickly!”
Chaney is so worried that his injured party, Leos, is embarrassed.
In the end, they had no choice but to retreat back the way they came.
Since there is a base camp set up by Leos in advance, he goes there and heals Leos.
Leos said he was fine, but while he was receiving treatment, he became so relaxed that he lost consciousness.
The next day, Leos woke up at base camp.
His left arm had already been treated, and there was little pain as the medicine worked well.
Leos suddenly noticed that his helmet had come off.
Well, since I couldn’t leave him lying down with his helmet on, I guess there was nothing we could do.
When I looked to the side, I saw that Cheyney was asleep in a sleeping bag installed on the other side.
Probably from that day.
The two people who originally didn’t talk about much other than business, started talking a lot after that incident.
“Do you have a younger sister?”
“Yes, I live with my father in my hometown. Now that I think about it, where is your hometown?”
“…It’s a long way away. It’s hard to go back now.”
Stories of family, stories of hometown…
Somehow, we started opening our hearts to each other and talking about such things.
From the relationship between client and mercenary to colleague, from colleague to friend.
And during that trip, another encounter came to the two.
A small country in the southern part of the continent, it was a small city where Cheney stopped by, as always, to find the material he wanted.
“You are the rumored duo!”
A lively-looking girl in her mid-teens with long blonde hair tied back.
The silver necklace, indicating membership in the mercenary alliance, was shaking.
Being a silver rank mercenary at such a young age shows that she is an incredibly talented person.
“My name is Olivia Die Palaginia! I am a mercenary!”
“… Judging by your name, aren’t you a noble? Why are you working as a mercenary?”
“My country has been destroyed!! I am no longer a noble or anything!”
…Well, ten years ago, when the invasion of the devil was active, small countries that were unable to respond were often destroyed.
Well, mercenaries are currently being used to restore and develop the area where the fallen country was and make it their own territory.
“So, do we have anything to do?”
“Mr. Leos, the ‘Wild Fang’! I challenge you to a duel!”
It’s been a long time since I heard that nickname.
As the number of visits to the mercenary union has decreased due to long-term contracts, the number of nicknames called by mercenaries has also decreased.
Feeling a little longing, Leos looked at Olivia.
“Duel? I don’t know what you’re talking about all of a sudden.”
“Excuse me! Actually, I mainly focus my activities on martial arts, but…”
Olivia said and clenched her fists.
Certainly, her slightly exposed arms had strong, but not thick, muscles.
“I’m going around defeating mercenaries who use my fists hard, but I haven’t dueled with Mr. Leos yet!”
“Huh?”
“I heard that in addition to weapons, Mr. Leos also uses martial arts! I hope you will fight me in martial arts!!”
Olivia, a blonde girl, makes a request with sparkling eyes.
But Leos shook her head.
“I’m sorry, but it’s hard right now.”
“Huh?! Why?!”
“…I am currently under a long-term contract. I cannot engage in personal duels without permission from my employer.”
“That…Can’t be…?”
Olivia is visibly disappointed.
I felt a little sorry for her, but it couldn’t be helped.
“I’m sorry, we have to quickly go find the evening primrose.”
“…You mean evening primrose?”
“Yes. It is a rare material that only blooms in this country. We are looking for it…”
“Well…If that’s the case…!”
Olivia rummaging through her own backpack.
What she took out was none other than her evening primrose.
“Well…If you duel with me and win, I’ll give you this!”
Evening primrose definitely blooms only in this country, but even so, it is not an easy material to find.
In fact, Leos and Chaney were prepared to stay in the country for a few days.
Leos looked at Chaney.
Of course, it doesn’t matter if you refuse and go find the evening primrose on your own.
However, if you win the duel, you can immediately obtain the evening primrose, so it was a good offer.
But still, his employer is Cheney.
Therefore, Leos confirmed Cheyney’s intention.
Chaney looked slightly worried, but she quickly nodded her head.
To conclude, the duel was a landslide victory for Leos.
Olivia’s martial arts skills and the power they contained were powerful beyond her imagination.
However, Leos’ combat-trained martial arts skills were not easy.
In addition, the physical abilities of Leos, a beastman, are so outstanding that they are completely different from those of ordinary humans.
In a duel of pure physical ability, his martial arts skills are on par.
In the end, Olivia had no choice but to be defeated by Leos.
… Well, if Olivia had used her martial arts techniques that incorporated her magic, which she learned many years later, she might have had different results, but at this time Olivia only used her martial arts techniques purely. Used.
In the end, Olivia was defeated by Leos and was forced to hand over the evening primroses she had collected.
“Ugh, I’m upset. I couldn’t jump over the racial gap.”
Olivia was so upset that her face turned bright red, but she quickly swallowed her anger and declared war on Leos.
“I will become even stronger and try again! Let’s meet again someday!”
Having said that, Olivia left the place.
And indeed, no one knew at the time that many years later she would be reunited with Olivia as her colleague.
Almost two years have passed since Leos and Chaney started traveling around the country.
They were tied together in the form of a long-term contract, but they were already two people who had nothing to do with contracts.
They are already colleagues and friends.
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“Chaney, get back out! I’ll stop you!”
“Uh…Yeah. I’ll leave it to you.”
As Leos stepped forward and raised his shield, Chaney fell back.
His broad back standing in front of him.
Chaney felt his face getting hot without realizing it.
‘Ugh…’
Chaney suppresses his pounding heart.
She is not a teenage girl who knows nothing.
She has already figured out her own feelings.
…Whether or not you express those feelings directly is a different story.
Anyway, for now, let’s start with what’s in front of us.
Thinking like that, Chainy used her magic to annihilate the monsters.
All the necessary materials were gathered, and the research was being completed.
Although she has already experienced numerous failures, her success is increasingly visible.
To conclude her research, Chaney headed to a land accompanied by Leos.
The largest country on the continent, the Marcos Empire.
The Marcos Empire was originally a large country occupying about 30% of the continent, but it was growing even larger by absorbing and annexing several small countries that had perished due to the invasion of demons in the past.
The capital Rhinos, the center of the Marcos Empire, boasted an area large enough to be the size of two large cities.
Taking Leos, who was impressed by the size of the imperial capital Rhinos, the place Cheney headed to was none other than Baleim Palace, where the emperor resides.
“Leos, come this way.”
“…Is it okay for me to enter the emperor’s residence as I please?”
“It’s okay. It’s not something I want to do.”
Leos follows Chaney, who goes ahead while saying so.
When Cheyney stood in front of the main gate of Baleim Palace, naturally her guards blocked her path.
“Stop. Only those with permission can enter this place.”
To those guards, Cheney showed the object he had taken out of his arms.
It was a metal plaque decorated with gold and depicting the side face of a horse.
The guards’ expressions turned pale when they saw that.
“Uh…Welcome!”
The guards have definitely changed.
Seeing that, Leos looked at Cheyney with a puzzled expression.
“What are you doing? Follow me quickly.”
Leos, who quickly came to his senses upon hearing Cheyney enter the castle without hesitation, followed him.
Without any hesitation, Cheyney headed to the throne room where he could see the king, and he showed the metal plaque to the person waiting in front of him.
And then, after seeing the metal plaque, the middle-aged man hurriedly entered the throne room.
“You may come in.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Leos followed Cheyney into the throne room and found an old man sitting in an ornate chair at the end of the throne room.
He would be the current Imperial Emperor, Breed III.
As Chaney got down on his knees and showed respect, Leos also hastily followed suit.
“Meet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“It’s been a while, Miss Cheney.”
“Yes, it’s been a really long time.”
The old man stroked his long beard.
“I can’t believe you came here…”
“Yes. It’s time.”
At Cheyney’s words, the expressions of the middle-aged to elderly people in the audience room became serious.
Although Leos was not aware of the situation, he was astonished by Cheney’s words that soon came out of his mouth.
“In about a year, the devil will appear again.”
The conversations that took place in the throne room did not enter Leos’ mind.
More than anything, Leos’ head was filled with stories that the Demon King would reappear.
Leos sat on a bench in a large park in the middle of the ecliptic and asked Chaney.
“Cheney, what does it mean that the devil appears again?”
“……”
“Didn’t the Demon King die at the hands of a hero many years ago?”
At Leos’ words, Chaney lowered his head and shook it from side to side.
“The Demon King is not dead. He was just sealed for a while.”
“What do you mean…?”
Hearing Leos’ words, Chaney got up from the bench.
After walking a few steps, he stood in front of a statue erected in the middle of the park.
A statue commemorating the warriors who defeated the Demon King.
A warrior, a saint standing behind him, and a wizard who appears to be a woman wearing a pointed hat.
A silhouette of a male warrior holding an axe and a woman wearing a robe.
The statues of the five members were erected quite nicely.
Chaney, who was staring blankly at the statue, opened her mouth.
“…I’ll tell you a little story from the past.”