I Pull Out Excalibur

26 – City of Opportunities, Cambria (2)

“I’ll buy you a meal.”

Najin looked at the girl who extended her hand to me.

A girl who looked about my age.

Her chestnut-colored hair, common anywhere, didn’t catch the eye, but the girl’s eyes, shimmering with desire, were captivating. The saffron-gold eyes were rare to see.

Some might associate the golden color with treasure in those eyes, while others might think of the eyes of a snake.

Eyes that didn’t seem to hide desire, boldly revealing their intentions. Najin, who stared into those eyes, soon lowered her gaze to the girl’s outstretched hand.

A hand adorned with white gloves.

Najin grabbed that hand and stood up. Then she followed the girl’s footsteps, one hand resting on the holster at her waist.

– Something seems suspicious. Am I really following her?

She’s buying me a meal.

While muttering to herself, Najin didn’t let down her guard. However, oddly enough, the girl truly took Najin to an ordinary restaurant.

A restaurant located in the central square of Cambria.

What greeted Najin in the restaurant that looked luxurious at first glance wasn’t a sinister trap but the enticing aroma of delicious food that made her hungry stomach scream.

“Please, have a seat.”

Until the moment Najin sat down, she didn’t let her guard down, but she couldn’t help it when faced with the dishes arriving on the table one by one.

*Sip.*

Unfamiliar foods not seen in the underground city. In front of the warm and fragrant dishes, Najin involuntarily swallowed her dry saliva. The hand that had rested on the holster was now reaching for the fork on the table.

“You must be hungry.”

The girl who looked at Najin smiled.

“Shall we eat first and then talk?”

The teasing laughter that seemed awkward a while ago now looked like the laughter of a mature strategist. Najin let go of her hand from the holster and gripped the fork.

* * *

It was delicious. Truly.

Considering it had been a few days since a proper meal, it was indeed an impressive one. When Najin bit into a well-cooked piece of meat, she almost shed a tear.

Is that so? Do people in the upper neighborhood always live like this?

In the underground city, even calling it dinner, it was nothing more than a dish made with dried and withered meat or the byproducts of livestock from the upper neighborhood that were roasted together. Even such dishes could only be tasted when there was a big event in the city and half of them were eaten.

‘There’s a whole different dimension to it.’

Na Jin sincerely admired the food from the upper neighborhood, which was not tough but soft, greasy, and satisfying to the stomach. It was like the same feeling he had when he had his first proper meal, after scavenging through garbage when he was young and it caught his eye.

After finishing the meal, Na Jin was sipping water. It was then that the girl sitting across from Na Jin finally opened her mouth.

“Is it delicious? This is my favorite restaurant.”

Na Jin nodded vigorously.

Any wariness had already melted away. Whatever the intention was behind treating him to such a meal, Na Jin thought positively about it.

Na Jin adjusted his posture. The girl could tell that he was ready to listen to her story, so she began to speak.

“First, let me introduce myself.”

She took out a nameplate from her pocket and handed it to Na Jin. Since Na Jin had learned how to read and write the standard language of the Empire from Ivan, it was not difficult for him to read the characters on the nameplate.

The nameplate was filled with the sentence “Head Angel of Dieta” at the top and the names of high-ranking officials who recognize the legitimate authority at the top. At the very top, there were characters that seemed to be the girl’s name.

Dieta ■■■■■.

The characters written afterwards were unrecognizable. It seemed like the characters had been deliberately erased by slashing with a knife rather than being worn out from the nameplate being old. Na Jin raised his head and handed the nameplate back to the girl.

“My name is Dieta.”

After receiving the nameplate back from Na Jin, she opened her mouth again.

“As you can see from the nameplate, I am the Head Angel of Dieta in Cambria. I am quite well-known in this city…”

She glanced at Na Jin.

“It seems like you are visiting this city for the first time?”

“Yes, I just arrived today.”

“And you haven’t received your nameplate yet?”

“It costs money to get one, but I don’t have any money.”

To actively receive requests and work in this city, a nameplate was necessary. However, even to receive a nameplate, money was required.

And Na Jin had no money.

The travel expenses that Ofen had given him when he left the underground city had all been used up to come to this city.

“So you really came to this city with nothing?”

“I have a lot of personal reasons.”

“It’s even harder to find someone without a story in this city.”

Dieta tilted her teacup.

As she raised the cup to her mouth, she opened her mouth. It was as if this was the main point from this point on.

“Are you willing to make a deal with me in this difficult situation?”

“Are you referring to a transaction?”

“Yes, a transaction. I have a problem that’s been weighing on me lately.”

Najin sensed it. This is the main topic.

Not a meal offered out of pure kindness, but something desired, or a meal offered with intention. From Najin’s perspective, this was more comforting.

Pure kindness is hard to comprehend.

The latter, however, is intuitive and easier to understand.

But there was still something bothering him. Why would someone at the upper ranks be dissatisfied with themselves? The more Najin listened to Dieta’s words, the more his eyes narrowed.

“So…”

Najin, who had listened to Dieta’s words, opened his mouth.

“You want me to catch the troublemakers who caused a disturbance in the upper records and hide in the alleyways. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s right. They caused a mess in the records and hid in the alleyways, right? I did file a report, but I can’t really trust the city guards here.”

“But why me?”

Najin’s question was natural.

If the situation is as grave as he described, they could easily hire other mercenaries instead of someone like him, whose abilities are uncertain.

“Does the reason matter that much?”

Dieta replied shortly to that question.

“What’s important is that I’m giving you a good opportunity… By accepting this request, you won’t lose anything, right?”

Is the intention that important?

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t accept. I don’t plan on doing anything embarrassing like demanding payment for a rejected offer, so you can rest assured.”

Dieta continued to smile just like before.

Although that laughter was highly suspicious, Najin decided not to dwell on it. It was a story that wouldn’t cause any harm to him.

Certainly, it’s an attractive proposal.

If they manage to catch them, the amount of money that Dieta is willing to pay seemed quite substantial even to Najin, who wasn’t particularly good with financial matters.

– It’s definitely not a proposition that will result in a loss. Isn’t there one thing you should check?

Merlin’s voice resonated in his ear.

Najin silently replied. Perhaps, Merlin seemed to be thinking the same thing as him.

‘Whether or not the people he wants me to catch are real criminals, that’s all I need to confirm.’

Because if not, this could be a trap.

If he went around catching people indiscriminately like he did in the underground city, where half the time was spent mingling with people without discretion, he would become a criminal in an instant. Najin was aware of this point.

– He doesn’t have no clue, does he?

Ignoring Merlin’s satisfying response, Nazin nodded.

“Do you have any impressive ones?”

“If you choose from here, it should be enough. You don’t have to choose all of them, just pick as many as you want.”

Dietta spread out the warrants in front of Nazin.

There were about six warrants spread out by her. As Nazin examined the warrants, she suddenly smiled.

Three out of the six warrants.

Because there were people written on those three warrants who were very familiar with Nazin’s stage. Nazin pointed to those three warrants.

“I’ll go with these.”

“…Three each?”

Ignoring Dietta, who seemed slightly surprised, Nazin stood up from his seat, holding the detailed contents of the request and the warrants depicting their impressions.

“One last thing.”

Before Nazin got up from his seat, he asked Dietta.

“What is the level of their combat skills? For example, can they handle magic or draw a sword?”

“…Yes?”

With a smile that seemed harmless to the world, Dietta’s face, which had remained expressionless until now, showed a significant change. In response to Nazin’s question, Dietta made a subtle expression.

A look that seemed to say, “Do I really have to explain this?”

But soon, Dietta fixed her expression and answered.

“If they can draw a sword, they are called Sword Experts… So, you should hire knights or a professional mercenary group. And a few more balls should be added to the cost of the request.”

She explained step by step.

“I’ve heard that a few guards were hired, but they are only capable of handling daggers. People who can draw a sword are not hired for cheap.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Did you perhaps come after conducting your missions in deep mountains? This is something close to common sense.”

Deep mountains, huh.

Nazin smirked and nodded.

“It’s similar.”

“…What?”

“I’ll visit again soon. And thank you for the meal. Thanks to you, I’m feeling a bit satisfied.”

Just as he was about to leave the restaurant.

Nazin’s gaze extended. His gaze landed on a man sitting in a corner of the restaurant. A man who had been observing Nazin and Dietta since they entered this place.

The gazes of Sanai and Najin met.

It was a penetrating gaze, as if seeing through oneself, but Najin not only avoided the gaze but stared directly at Sanai. As if challenging, a moment of eye contact in the air, and Sanai, who let out a dry laugh, turned his head first.

Leaving Sanai behind, Najin exited the store.

Before leaving the store, she didn’t forget to glance at the store sign and location. Thinking that she must come back if she earns money, Najin took her steps.

2.

After Najin left the store for a while.

A man approached Dita, who was sitting alone, stirring her tea. It was the only knight who followed her as she escaped from the Arvenia family, Passion, who was now a cold corpse buried in her mother’s grave, having received grace from her.

Looking at Passion, Dita spoke.

“How was it, Sir Passion?”

“Not bad. I’ve checked this area.”

“You checked?”

“Yes. I sensed it even though he was hiding his presence. He stared at us for quite a while before leaving.”

Passion chuckled as if amazed.

“He’s quite audacious.”

“Any peculiarities?”

“His eyes seem sharp, but other than that, there’s nothing special. That aside…”

Passion sighed.

“I always say, refrain from dealing with those pinned in the back alleys. You never know where they might bounce.”

“The interesting thing is that Sir Passion seems to know nothing.”

Dita chuckled softly.

“Wouldn’t Sir Passion understand if he once experiences the pleasure of finding things that shine in the dark? Sometimes, things that shine emerge in the alleyways. Just one or two can leave a good impression on talents over a meal. It’s a completely profitable business.”

“Up to now, I’ve provided meals to almost 40 people, and considering that only two of them have paid, it’s quite a worthwhile investment.”

“Now it’s three people.”

“…Yes?”

“Including the boy who just left. So, out of around forty, three is not bad, right?”

A confident tone.

“….”

Passion glanced silently at his master.

Although she belonged to the Arvenia family, she didn’t have the same shining blonde hair as the people of the Arvenia family. This was due to the strong genetic influence from her mother’s side, not her father.

But, at least as much as those eyes.

He possessed eyes as piercing and discerning as a snake, reminiscent of the gaze of Arbenia’s patriarch. At times, Passion couldn’t help but shiver as he caught a glimpse of his master’s chilling gaze.

Whenever my master was so certain, there was often something significant about the other party.

“A little while ago, it seems that young man caught your fancy.”

“Well, he is quite handsome.”

“···Is that the only reason?”

“There are other reasons besides that.”

Theta’s words trailed off.

“It’s not something that can be understood through explanation. Just a matter of intuition.”

Theta thought of the boy and stroked his chin.

A sharp and poised demeanor. The boy retained the distinctive aura of those who had crawled up from the bottom. However, his eyes were different.

Eyes with a clear brightness untouched by anything.

Eyes distinct from the atmosphere the boy exuded. In those eyes, Theta felt intrigue. The boy was still a novice, seemingly stained, marked by the city he had just set foot in, but…

“There’s something there. I don’t really know what.”

“Is it a hunch?”

“Something like that.”

Theta chuckled, chin in hand.

“Captain Passion, care to make a wager with me?”

“What are we betting on?”

“Whether that boy will complete the mission and bring it back within a few days. How about a week for you?”

After a brief pause, Passion responded.

Passion took a week, and Theta took three days. It was a period that reflected positive evaluations of the boy. Even a week, as mentioned by Passion, was quite tight by the standards of ‘ordinary bounty hunters.’

Theta had not lied to the boy.

In reality, the chosen targets of the boy’s mission were not particularly formidable. The problem lay in their escape skills. Being alley rats, they navigated the labyrinthine alleyways of this city as if it were their own home.

Finding them might not be difficult, but…

Capturing them was by no means an easy task.

3.

– It’s not a trap.

“That’s right. It feels suspicious, though…”

A request presented by a girl named Theta.

Upon confirming that the target of the request was a wanted criminal, Najin immediately headed towards the alley. There was a street marked by Theta where they were known to appear.

Walking down the street, Najin took a long breath. The stuffy air of the alley was familiar to Najin. Although the alley was dark because sunlight couldn’t penetrate, it was not a problem for Najin.

For someone like Najin, who had lived in places untouched by light, the sight in the darkness was familiar.

“It’s an opportunity that can’t be denied.”

Indeed, it was a good opportunity.

To live in this city, to establish a foundation, and to grow substantially, Najin needed capital.

You needed money to find a place to stay, and you needed money to avoid starvation. It wasn’t necessary to have a lot, but at least enough to ensure a decent living.

“Let’s earn it and start.”

– Yeah. We shouldn’t resort to digging through garbage at the very least.

“So, that was just a joke.”

Ignoring Merlin’s disapproval, Najin slowly regulated his breathing. Merlin whispered in Najin’s ear as he stretched his body lightly.

– But have you thought about a plan? It seems challenging to find in such a dark place. Why those three specifically?

Najin only smiled at the question.

The three wanted posters Najin had chosen.

The place where the three wanted criminals were spotted was none other than the city’s narrow alley. In other words, an environment very similar to an underground city.

“That’s right.”

A familiar stage.

And a familiar job.

“This is my specialty.”

The chief of the organization that had operated as Ivan’s hound for many years smiled. Catching those who had taken the money and disappeared had always been Najin’s specialty.