I Pull Out Excalibur

33 – Crimson Eye Mercenaries (1)

Dieta Arbenia.

She appeared in front of Nazin disguised as a coincidental encounter, but the reality was slightly different.

She knew all about Nazin receiving a commission from Vice Priest Volkman, the content of the commission, and even the date of the mission. She had planted many informants in the guild. All that was left was to wait for Nazin’s return.

And when Nazin returned…

“This is a coincidence.”

She approached Nazin, pretending to have ‘coincidentally’ come to the guild and ‘coincidentally’ met him in the process. She was a man worth the effort.

“You won’t refuse this time, right?”

Then he took off his gloves and extended his bare hand.

Last time, he was rejected for a handshake, but this time would be different.

“It seems like you want to receive a request higher than your rank, right? That’s an area where I can offer some help.”

Because I have what you need.

Dieta smiled. Najar, who alternated between Dieta’s touch and her face with a nervous expression, reached out and shook hands with Dieta.

2.

Dieta’s private consultation room on the upper level.

Najar took a sip of coffee from the cup in front of him and frowned.

“It tastes awful.”

Come to think of it, sometimes I saw Ehab drinking coffee. It was a luxury item in the underground city. But what taste does it have? With that thought, Najar put down the cup.

“What do you mean by ‘being able to assist’?”

“Just as it sounds. I introduced myself last time, do you remember?”

She pointed to her nameplate.

“I am the upper leader of Dieta, and my upper level has a fairly important role in this city. It’s quite large in scale too.”

Najar knew. Basic information about Dieta’s upper level was included in the basic information he acquired during his ten days living in the city.

‘Dieta’s upper level.’

The upper level of enormous scale within this city, responsible for the exchange with the outside world. They were in charge of exporting the materials adventurers obtained from selling monsters.

“Our upper level has formed an alliance with the Central Guild. And, a group that has formed an alliance with the guild is deemed quite influential…”

She took out a piece of paper from her bosom.

“I can provide you with something like this.”

A paper with the pattern of Dieta’s upper level engraved on it.

Pointing to the paper, Dieta spoke.

“The most important thing when receiving a request is the grade assigned by the guild. However, a reputable group can also write a recommendation letter saying ‘This person is trustworthy.'”

In other words.

“A guarantee, you might say?”

Dieta smiled.

Although he hasn’t achieved any results yet, he is a person with enough skill to rise. There have been cases where a certain organization lends its name to such individuals.

“In this case, Dieta’s upper level will vouch for your abilities. You will be able to receive requests of a much higher grade than black-grade.”

She shook the paper in front of Najar.

“Isn’t it quite an attractive proposal?”

“It’s an enticing proposal, but…”

Najin looked at Dieta.

“Why are you doing this much for me?”

The same question as before.

Last time, Dieta evaded Najin’s question, but this time was different. She spoke plainly, as if asking what was so obvious.

“Well, because I think you’ll be worth the money.”

“···Excuse me?”

“Why would a merchant treat someone well? It’s because they think they’ll make a profit. You’re not just someone who will stay in the black rank for long, are you?”

Dieta knows.

That the boy sitting in front of her is not just at the level of the black rank. She hasn’t seen Najin fight yet, so she couldn’t be sure, but it was clear that he had the skills close to the blue rank.

‘And…’

He will rise to higher places soon. The clues given may be small, but his instincts were telling him so. The man in front of her was worth investing in.

“Lending the name of the upper echelons is a huge gamble, even for me. Your failure could lead to a decline in the trust of the upper echelons.”

Yet she still provided a guarantee.

“To win your favor. It’s like greasing someone who is capable of rising higher.”

“···Can you say that so blatantly?”

“Well, why not? You wouldn’t know anyway.”

Dieta shrugged her shoulders.

What’s wrong with revealing desire? It’s more trustworthy when intentions and purposes are clear. There is nothing as distinct as pure desire.

“Doesn’t it raise more suspicion to approach with pure goodwill? That’s even more suspicious.”

“I can’t deny that.”

“Of course, even if I spread this around and you deny knowing me later, there’s nothing I can do. But still, by saying ‘I invested in a talented person in advance,’ I can leave an impression in the market.”

Dieta tapped her fingers.

“Either way, I am in a position to invest in you. The more achievements you accumulate, the more I will be willing to invest in you.”

She narrowed her eyes.

Her light yellow eyes glanced over Najin.

“A talented adventurer who quickly rises through the ranks, supported by Dieta upper echelons. Using the upper echelon’s equipment, potions, and vault… It’s quite an advertisement in itself.”

Adventurers admire special individuals.

Admiration leads to imitation, and imitation leads to consumption of the same items as the subject. Dieta knows that alone can have a tremendous advertising effect.

“It’s good for you to receive support, and it’s good for me to advertise you as a model. Isn’t it a mutually beneficial arrangement?”

Theta laid bare her inner thoughts.

It didn’t matter to her to reveal them.

“I’ll use you, and you can use me. Why would we need any other reason here?”

Najin, who was silently listening to Theta’s words, inadvertently let out a laugh. At that laughter, Theta tilted her head.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just because it’s refreshing.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I haven’t met someone who lays out their intentions so boldly.”

Najin took a long breath.

“Well, fine. I don’t know what you saw in me, but if you’re willing to invest, I appreciate it.”

Najin pointed to the guarantee Theta had produced.

“How far can you raise this in rank?”

“I can get it up to the blue rank, but I’m still considering. I haven’t confirmed your skills yet.”

Hm, Najin pursed her lips.

“Can I show you?”

-You’re disguised as 28 years old, right? Then showing a bit of skill should be okay. You’re thinking of revealing yourself gradually too, right?

“That’s right.”

Najin made a decision.

The moment Najin placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, the escort knight Passion, who stood by Theta, reacted. Anticipating Passion’s movement, as if he would draw the sword immediately, Najin spoke in advance.

“I’m going to show you.”

Rather than presenting the drawn blade to Theta, Najin extended it towards the ground. Then she firmly gripped the hilt.

Pashuush…

She didn’t draw in external mana as usual.

A small amount of mana stored in her body using the mana manipulation technique Merlin had taught her. Moving that mana, Najin created a blade. A white glow flowed down along the blade through the sword.

It was the sign of a drawn blade.

Turning it into a complete blade, Najin restricted her power to prevent the emission of platinum-colored brilliance. Since she hadn’t drawn in a large amount of mana from the outside, controlling the power wasn’t that difficult.

However, even so…

The white glow on Najin’s sword was enough to widen the eyes of those watching. Passion and Theta stared at Najin’s sword with wide eyes.

“Is this enough for the blue rank?”

Jin, who had received a guarantee for tasks up to the cyan grade, rose from his seat and paused for a moment. Dieta, who remained in the meeting room, spoke up.

“Pashion Kyeong.”

“…Please speak.”

“That, it was a sword, right? Clearly.”

“Exactly, it was a manifestation of a sword.”

A white gleam.

Although it had not yet formed the complete shape of a sword, it was an endlessly radiant glow close to that of a sword. In other words, it meant that the boy had reached a level close to that of a sword expert.

“Officially, his age is 28, but… honestly, he doesn’t look like it, right?”

“If you judge by skills, he seems to be in his early twenties. At a glance, he could even pass for Dieta-nim’s peer.”

“I think so too.”

In his early twenties, a manifestation of a sword.

At this level, Dieta let out a bitter laugh. Of course, it might be true that the man’s name was really ‘Ivan’ and that he was in his late twenties.

Even so, it was fast.

Even for promising individuals receiving proper support from prestigious families, it was usually in their early thirties when they manifested a sword. Pashion, despite hearing stories about him being a genius discovered by the Arbenia family, manifested a sword at the age of 31.

“That man earlier, how long do you think it will take for the sword to be fully completed?”

“…If there’s a catalyst, it will be completed. I estimate within one or two months at the latest.”

Dieta let out a bitter laugh.

“What on earth? Do the Rangers of the Teshel Mountains also manifest swords? I remember they trained in a different direction, not with swords…”

“I don’t know either.”

Pashion replied, concealing his surprise.

He had seen the sword that Jin had presented a short while ago up close. Dieta, who didn’t know much about swords, couldn’t have known, but Pashion could.

The peculiarity of the boy’s sword manifestation.

Although the sword had not fully formed yet, the white glow flowing through the sword’s spirit was extremely dense. Pashion had never seen a sword manifestation with such density.

“I’m sure we’ll only know for sure if we clash, but…”

Even though it was just a spirit, it didn’t seem like the sword, properly manifested, would be easily overwhelmed when clashed with.

3.

Dieta’s top-grade guarantee certificate.

When Jin presented the certificate at the counter, he could confirm tasks up to the cyan grade. Glancing at the papers plastered on the bulletin board, Jin inwardly clicked his tongue.

“Indeed, things get complicated around the cyan grade.”

If in the black grades, most tasks involved simply subduing monsters or collecting materials…

[Escort Mission.]

[Capture of the special entity ‘Orc with External Eyes.’]

[Capture of the wanted criminal ‘Wyman.’]

The blue-grade tasks ranged from escort missions to hunting down special creatures or wanted criminals. As Na-jin perused the professionally crafted request forms, her gaze settled on a particular one.

“Doesn’t this look interesting?”

– Not bad. It’s suitable for gaining experience and making a mark, isn’t it?

Making a mark.

A mission well-suited for building a proper track record.

“Then let’s go with this one.”

Na-jin and Merlin were in agreement.

With a swift motion, Na-jin tore open the request form.

* * *

“Captain.”

“What’s the matter, Vargo? Do you have a report?”

“The commission you accepted earlier, sir. The recruitment of personnel has concluded. Would you like to review the list of recruits?”

“Oh. Thank you.”

The document handed over by my subordinate.

The woman who casually flipped through the pile of documents furrowed her brows. With an air of arrogance, she slapped the paper.

“What’s this? Why are there rookies here?”

Rookies. A derogatory term used to refer to adventurers of the widely recognized black grade. Pointed out by her, there was information about a guy named Yi-baek.

“Wasn’t the minimum commission grade supposed to be blue? How did a rookie manage to get a commission? Did those guild idiots not handle their work properly?”

“Please check for any peculiar details.”

“Peculiar details?”

Still frowning, she continued to scrutinize the document.

“…Delta Top vouched for it? The Delta Top I know?”

“Yes.”

“The crazy woman who swallows gold coins? She vouched for someone? Why would she guarantee anything for someone else?”

“I was considering filtering it out, but it seemed relevant, so I brought it to you. What would you like to do?”

In response to her subordinate’s question, the woman clenched her fist and lightly tapped her forearm with her fingers.

“That Delta snake-like woman wouldn’t just vouch for someone without a reason. There must be some hidden belief in it somewhere.”

“How intriguing.”

Murmuring to herself, she stood up from her seat. Her black hair swayed along with her movements. Tying her long hair loosely with a rubber band around her waist, she spoke.

“Just leave it to me. Let’s see what kind of person he is.”

She picked one of the swords hanging on the wall and looped her arm around her subordinate’s shoulder, placing the sword at her hip.

“If he seems acceptable, I might as well hook him. What do you think, Barugar?”

“I don’t think the kind of snake that swallows gold coins would stay still…”

“Oh well, who cares? It’s only natural for the one who offers better conditions to win in this world.”

Her red eyes flickered.

“Then should we go take a look at his face?”

The leader of the Red Eye Mercenary Band.

One of the five Horns (白角) in the city.

Sword Seeker, Rozelin Ascalon, had developed a taste.