Chapter 5

Chapter 5

5. Louiswell (1)

Jenkinson, who exchanged glances with Hodge, asked subtly.

“You’re interested in mana, I see?”

Of course he is.

If there were fraud jobs in his past life, here there are knights and mages. And feeling and using mana was the first hurdle that those who set their minds on either of the two professions had to overcome.

Of the two professions, what Benrik was interested in was the mage. While a knight has an obligation to bear, a mage is not greatly bound by such things.

Being responsible for just one’s own body was enough.

To give an example with his past life, yes. A mage is a doctor at a private hospital, and a knight is about a prosecutor.

Above all, mages were famous for living while stacking gold. The dimension of the reward attached to each request was different.

Of course, the threshold is damn high.

Jenkinson continued.

“If you want, I can teach you the method of operating mana.”

Even if he can’t become a mage, there would be no loss in learning anything when the opportunity arises.

There were too many uncertain factors to rely only on the reincarnator’s privilege. Don’t they say a clever rabbit digs three burrows.

“Can I learn too?”

“Yes, if you have talent.”

At that, the interest disappeared rapidly from Benrik’s face.

In the end, talent. He thought there was some great method.

“And in my view, you have talent.”

“Probably not.”

Throughout Benrik’s growth, Gerik habitually said he had no talent.

─Tsk, you won’t become a magical beast hunter. You have no talent. Strange. You should clearly have warrior’s blood flowing in you too, why are you so weak?

─What’s different about warrior’s blood? What, is the color blue or something?

─Mana flows. But why is your way of speaking so cheeky?

Gerik was a former Gold Badge mercenary. If the condition to become a Silver Badge mercenary is knowing how to use mana, then his eye for it would be better.

‘I expected for nothing.’

Jenkinson was enthusiastic about sales without knowing the child’s speed.

“If you promise to join our mercenary group, I’ll teach you. Do you have any thoughts?”

Moreover, it wasn’t just teaching for free. Jenkinson had a face full of expectation, similar to when snatching a fish that bit.

“If you have talent, within 10 years, no, even within 5 years if fast, you’ll be able to handle mana.”

“No thanks.”

“Uh, uh? Why? No, why?”

“Because Jenkinson’s expression is impure.”

Benrik replied moderately. Saying ‘My father says I have no talent’ was above his pride.

He pointed at the cooling magical beast corpse.

“Let’s clean that up, before it draws all the mountain’s magical beasts.”

From that day on, Benrik’s position within the group changed quite a bit.

From a chore worker who picked up firewood and did errands, to an indispensable guide.

“What kind of trace does it look like to you?”

“Hmm, it looks like a Poison Fang Rabbit’s burrow.”

“Is it a lowest-grade magical beast. Then we don’t have to worry.”

“Let’s destroy it. Poison Fang Rabbits have a habit of storing food in their burrows. Other magical beasts that are drawn might come···.”

Thanks to that, the movement speed was further shortened, and it became safer.

There weren’t only good points.

The more the mercenary group relied on Benrik, the more merchants who looked at him unfavorably increased.

A strange atmosphere began to hover between the mercenary group and the peddler group.

“The sight of pushing the child’s back. In name they’re a mid-level mercenary group, don’t they have any shame.”

“Ahem, it doesn’t look good.”

It was led by the young merchant dealing in star dust, Marcel.

Even those who had been silent while gauging the atmosphere passively agreed with his loud opinion. If the unit price of the payment to be made decreases, it was beneficial to them too.

“Why on earth are they doing that. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have even arrived at Logon Village in the first place.”

The eldest, Oswald, tried to dissuade them, but they didn’t even pretend to listen. And he had no authority to impose sanctions beyond advice.

If there had been a person in charge it would have been different, but the peddlers gathered here were all temporary companions bound temporarily according to profit.

He himself is a merchant, but certainly merchants are a breed one can’t associate with.

It was when Oswald was clicking his tongue. In the end Jenkinson stepped forward and warned.

“You there, Marcel was it.”

“?”

“For a merchant, your head is bad.”

“···What do you mean, mercenary leader?”

“Well, the literal meaning. Be careful.”

“What nonsense···.”

Unfortunately, it seemed he didn’t read the chilly warning contained in it.

The fortunate point for Oswald was that, just as he had no authority, there would also be no responsibility.

***

Amid the precarious atmosphere, the movement continued.

Ten days since the attack.

The group crossed the Golden Mountains, which was the biggest gateway and crisis.

It was a speed five days faster than the original schedule.

The mountain range that long crossed the empire’s outskirts and the Alliance was as harsh to humans as its overwhelming length.

Benrik’s hometown, Logon Village, was located in a basin on the mid-slope of such Golden Mountains. It was the reason quality byproducts from Logon Village did not easily circulate in the secular world.

A gentle breeze, not a sharp wind, brushed past the group.

“···It’s become cozy.”

The tension disappeared a degree from the faces of the mercenaries who looked as if they would burst if poked.

It hadn’t completely escaped the influence of the mountain range yet, but there was a sense of relief from facing the open plain.

“It feels like I can finally breathe a bit. I really thought I was going to die.”

“Johansson seems to have found some stability too. If he just gets treated in time it’ll be fine.”

Due to the fang’s attack, several injured also occurred among the merchants. They were harmed by the snow leopard that charged in together with the Yellow-Striped Fang.

“Come to think of it, is there a temple in Louiswell?

“There was a small church. I don’t know if there’s a healing priest.”

Louiswell was the small city they would pass through.

“Let’s properly relieve the travel fatigue this time, thanks to Benrik we came down earlier than schedule for once.”

Even though it had become much more comfortable thanks to Benrik, everyone was in a state where fatigue had piled up to the limit.

In the high mountains, everything led to fatigue.

Not only magical beasts, but ordinary wild animals, the rugged terrain unique to the high mountains and the harsh weather.

There is still a fortnight to go until the border city Bromwood. For the morale of the entire group, time to relieve the travel fatigue was absolutely necessary.

The crisis of the Golden Mountains was overcome, but it is not the end.

Because now they have to prepare to face not magical beasts, but roadside bandits.

‘It’s a wall beyond the mountain, though it’s not like it hasn’t been like this before···.’

It was when Oswald was immersed in such thoughts.

‘Finally crossed it.’

The young star dust merchant Marcel’s eyes shone like a jackal that had seized an opportunity.

“Seniors, shall we talk for a moment?”

He immediately gathered several peddlers who shared his thoughts.

While some kind of conversation was going on one side, Benrik was.

“Think more seriously.”

Being harassed by Jenkinson at the rear of the procession.

‘How many times is this. He really doesn’t get tired.’

It was the recommendation to join the mercenary group that had been continuing every day since the attack incident.

“I thought about it, I said I don’t want to.”

He drew the line firmly as usual, but Jenkinson didn’t care.

“Don’t be like that. Anyway, you don’t have a proper place to work either? I won’t make you do dangerous things until you have your coming-of-age ceremony? You might not know well, but our mercenary group is quite─ in Brumwood too”

“I said I’m not going.”

There are so many corners that are safe and where one can earn money, why deliberately that rugged and low-paying work?

···Of course.

‘Mana is regrettable though···.’

He might be able to use magic. Then he really wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry for a lifetime.

The desire that was creeping up was suppressed by Demian’s memories.

The memory of having the request fee stolen.

The memory of the mercenary leader he had been with for a long time taking the request fee and running off.

Not only that, there were damn many enemies too.

Magical beasts, wild animals, epidemics, hostile mercenary guilds, nobles who suffered losses from failed requests, merchants who strive to cut even a penny of the request fee, city checkpoint soldiers who whine for bribes, etc.

‘I’ve already met one of them.’

The star dust merchant, Marcel.

Anyway, while the dangers are endless, the companions one can trust and leave one’s back to only decrease as the years go by.

‘Yes, this isn’t the only opportunity now.’

It was a job that couldn’t be said to be good even as empty words. Benrik smacked his lips and folded his heart.

“What’s the reason?”

It was Hodge, the vice-captain of Jenkinson’s mercenary group.

“Just, I’m curious if there’s a reason to dislike it that much.”

He, who was about fifteen years younger than Jenkinson in his late thirties, had a calm and intellectual side unlike a mercenary.

Benrik pondered for a moment.

Just the reasons that came to mind immediately were over a dozen···.

Benrik dismissed it with one word.

“It’s dangerous.”

Most of them conclude with that one.

If mage and knight are professional jobs, mercenary work belonged to the 3D job group in terms of his past life.

Dirty, Dangerous, and they gamble.

“And you can’t earn money either.”

Magical beast hunters at least handle money, mercenaries aren’t even that.

How else would Gerik, who was a Gold Badge mercenary, not have secured even one retirement fund and still be desperately catching magical beasts to support his family.

“Hmm. I roughly understand what you’re saying,”

Hodge, who had been tilting his head with a puzzled expression, opened his mouth.

“That is a part that can change as much as you want depending on your ability. Like Jenkinson, learn mana and get a high-grade mercenary badge issued. Then you can choose and receive the requests you want.”

Glancing, examining the child’s face, he added as if it were nothing.

“Of course, you can also resolve it by joining a renowned mercenary group like us without such troublesome processes.”

No answer came back from Benrik.

***

Two days later, the group arrived at Louiswell.

The village was bustling and lively more than Benrik had thought.

‘Wow.’

Benrik, while admiring the crowd he was facing for the first time since reincarnation, stuck closely behind Jenkinson so as not to be swept away.

“Be careful. Even if it’s a small village, if you get lost it’s dangerous.”

Small village? Small? Where do you see that?

“Village? Not a city?”

At Benrik’s question, Hodge laughed.

“There are still many shortcomings to call it a city. Well, that also seems to be soon.”

Seeing the puzzled expression, Jenkinson explained briefly.

“Recently, as the export route opened, visitors increased. Since it’s a village one must pass through to go to the Alliance, the coming and going merchants have increased.”

Certainly, hearing that, merchants of similar appearance to Oswald and the others stood out.

For reference, the peddler group and the mercenary group parted right after the checkpoint. The decision was made because the atmosphere was already tense, and if they stayed at the same inn a incident was bound to happen.

Benrik decided to stay at the same inn as the mercenary group.

It wasn’t for another reason, but as a reward for the advice so far, the mercenary group would cover the lodging and meal costs.

“Wasn’t the inn we went to last year okay?”

“Ah, there. The owner’s cooking skills weren’t bad.”

While the mercenaries were exchanging conversation, Benrik was fully occupied with sightseeing the streets.

Among them, what caught Benrik’s gaze was the people’s clothing.

They look light and convenient for activity.

The current clothes padded with fur were too thick and heavy to wear in the cozy weather.

‘Should I buy clothes?’

He also has the gold coin received from Jenkinson. Benrik, who was thinking, suddenly felt an emptiness in his chest.

His legs hardened as if nailed.

“······.”

“Benrik?”

Jenkinson, who had been turning around in between to see if the child was following well, made a puzzled expression.

There was no spirit to answer.

‘No, it can’t be.’

Benrik groped his bosom with a trembling hand. And sighed.

“···Huh.”

He was pickpocketed.

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