Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Prophecy (1)

The next morning.

We entered Valien with the loot hidden outside the city. The atmosphere of the guards was tense.

They had noticed the theft much faster than expected, as if they checked every day.

The city was a little noisy due to the aftermath.

“What’s going on?”

“A thief broke into the duke’s mansion.”

“The duke’s mansion? What kind of daring thief robbed that place?”

Our group wasn’t particularly suspected. If they were thieves, they would try to leave the city, so they didn’t pay much attention to those entering.

It was probably also because our group consisted of a mage, a young male mercenary, and a girl.

‘They definitely don’t look like people who would rob a duke’s mansion.’

The inspection on me was a bit stricter. They checked my belongings, but it was just a cursory inspection.

Of course, there was nothing suspicious since all questionable items were buried outside the city.

We entered Valien without issue. We decided to only stay here for a day.

There was no point in staying long after receiving the prophecy. It was just a passing city anyway.

As soon as we arrived, I focused on resting my fatigue. I was quite tired from staying up all night.

I didn’t bother being vigilant during the day.

‘There’s no way the devil worshippers would move during the day.’

Even if they were devil worshippers, they wouldn’t cause trouble from broad daylight.

Especially in the current situation.

It was the same in the game. Before fully revealing themselves, incidents only happened at night.

The upcoming nights were more of a problem. I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly until reaching Veurtan.

Well, if my condition wasn’t good, I could just rest for a day while moving.

‘Still no signs of anything strange.’

I woke up around dusk and observed the city until dawn like yesterday.

It was a boring time.

The tension from yesterday wasn’t there even though only a day had passed.

No matter how much I tried to be conscious of the danger, it didn’t help. I only handled Ghost Blade briefly.

I spent the time idly wondering if humans are sly creatures.

It was nearing the end of dawn. The distant sky was bluish but there were no suspicious movements.

Only the occasional patrolling guards were out all night.

The night patrols were likely just strengthened in case the thief who robbed the duke’s mansion tried to leave the city.

‘Perhaps we missed meeting them here?’

I thought we might have brushed past the devil worshippers during yesterday’s dawn.

They could have come after I left.

It’s possible I avoided the devil worshippers by leaving early.

Originally, we would have delayed a bit for Aron’s training.

I had been pondering this dilemma since first thinking of it, but still had no definite answer.

5:20 AM.

The day starts earlier in this world than on Earth. People who woke up early began appearing on the streets one by one.

This means there likely won’t be any more issues today.

We planned to depart at 10 AM, so it would be good to get some more rest until then to reserve energy.

‘Hm?’

At that moment, Aron came out of our lodging rubbing his sleepy eyes. He seemed to be starting his morning training routine.

He’s diligent. I already knew that, but seeing him train this early made me feel satisfied.

Even though I couldn’t personally guide him now, he was maintaining his physical conditioning and reviewing what he’d learned.

Aron’s training was gradually stabilizing. I should start training the other members soon.

Whether grooming them as staff officers or mages, they need to have above-average combat ability.

The organization I’ll create will be similar to an intelligence agency, so basic training is essential like how Duke Brusek did it.

‘But I should start the serious training after the prophecy passes.’

Their foundational physical conditioning should be decent since I had them carry sandbags while traveling.

I’ll teach Mary a weapon, and I can apply to Osten what Orhen learned.

I didn’t do it directly, but I observed and assisted, so I have a rough idea of how mages fight.

But first, it’s time for me to get some sleep.

***

Before we knew it, Veurtan was in sight. sigh I felt quite fatigued from the lack of sleep due to staying vigilant.

Damn this Worst Condition. Even though I rested for a day in between to maintain focus, it didn’t help much.

Before entering Veurtan, I called my group together after confirming no one was around to change our guise.

It’s not good for people in my fugitive situation to keep the same appearance. We need to make periodic changes.

Whether it’s the devil worshippers or the empire’s dogs pursuing me, this prevents leaving a trail.

‘It’s the same reason I changed the kid’s hairstyles before going to Valien.’

The identity I chose was that of a daughter of a minor western noble and her escorts.

We’re fleeing the chaotic western region during the civil war to temporarily stay with relatives in the safer south.

There’s no real reason for suspicion.

In the current western situation, even ordinary people send their children elsewhere if they can.

Not all nobles are wealthy. Two escorts would be enough.

We could justify using the money from robbing Duke Valien here. After this explanation, I had the group try acting it out.

“Huh? Me? Call Mary that?”

Aron looked quite flustered. He clearly disliked the idea, despite getting along well with his sister.

“Brother…..”

He gave me a pitiful puppy-dog look.

“No way. I’m not changing it.”

But I had no intention of altering the plan since this guise worked best. They also needed to practice acting.

Aron accepted the reality, though acting it out was another matter.

“Yo, yo, yo…..”

“Why? Just say ‘young lady’.”

Osten snickered while watching Aron stammer and hesitate. Aron’s reddened face glanced at me for approval.

I gave a look signaling him to continue. His eyes wavered, going back and forth between me and Mary. After a few moments, he finally spat it out.

“Yo, yo….. young lady……”

“Pffft!”

Mary burst out laughing, making Aron’s face turn even redder.

Unlike the flustered Aron, Mary seemed to find it amusing. I spoke seriously:

“Mary, don’t laugh. Practice this seriously. You too, Osten.”

“Yes, sorry.”

“Yep!”

Mary tried to regain her composure, but Aron just sighed with reluctance.

Is this how siblings act?

I don’t have any siblings, but from what I saw on Earth, siblings tended to dislike each other.

I decided to give Aron some time. And when it was Osten’s turn, the situation was reversed.

“Young laaady~”

Unlike Aron’s reluctance, Osten’s issue was that it sounded creepy rather than unwilling. His tone was strange.

Osten was clearly in his early 20s, but he sounded like the sketchy older men children are warned about. Mary turned away with a disgusted look.

“Um… yes.”

“You should use informal speech~”

“Uh, alright. Osten.”

It was a complete disaster.

“Osten.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Your acting is way over the top.”

“Huh? How could it be? I was totally in character as a knight escort!”

Osten protested with an indignant look. Doesn’t he have any self-awareness? I was momentarily at a loss for words.

“It was cringeworthy enough to make me nauseous.”

“Wh-What a harsh thing to say…”

The shocked Osten looked deeply hurt. But I had no intention of compromising on this.

Acting will be essential going forward.

Whether traveling or establishing a base, it doesn’t matter. Even if not asking for perfection, they can’t be so bad it stands out.

“I’m being totally serious. Try again. Tone it down a bit. ‘Young lady’, like this.”

“Young lady…?”

Osten said while watching me cautiously.

Despite directly demonstrating, his tone was similar – he just didn’t draw out the words as much. I shook my head.

“That’s not it.”

“Ahem.”

Osten cleared his throat, seeming a bit peeved.

“Young lady…..”

“Why does it sound so wistful? Are you addressing a departed lover?”

“Young lady.”

This time his tone was stiff to the point of sounding unnatural to anyone listening.

“Too stiff. Again.”

“Young lady!”

“You want to pick a fight with those words? Again.”

Several more attempts were made, but there was no improvement. No, he can’t even do this simple thing?

I couldn’t understand it.

It’s not even a different line, he just can’t properly say the two words ‘young lady’?

Is that even possible?

Or maybe…

Even allowing for an inability to act, isn’t this a bit too much? Are my standards too high?

“Young lady?”

“Haah…”

This is hopeless.

I was certain of it. Occasionally there were intelligence agents who also couldn’t act.

It limited what missions they could take and prevented promotions. Of course, none were as bad as Osten.

He’s the worst I’ve ever seen. A thought crossed my mind.

“Try addressing me how you normally do, like calling me ‘boss’.”

“Young lady.”

Osten tilted his head after saying it. It was the best one so far. I was slightly moved that I could coach him this much.

It even made me wonder if I had a talent for teaching.

“Yeah! That’s it! Remember that feeling.”

“Like this, young lady?”

“Good. Now try a full sentence. ‘Have you had your meal?'”

“Young lady, have you had your meal?”

“Haah…”

Another sigh escaped me.

Only ‘young lady’ was passable, the rest was still an issue. Though, he was okay pretending to be a mercenary, no?

Come to think of it, Osten and Mary didn’t really converse much while acting as mercenaries.

I had intentionally kept some distance between them.

With the aloof vibe of mercenaries begrudgingly taking a child escort mission.

“This isn’t working. Osten, just stick to your previous taciturn persona.”

“Huh? No way. My acting can’t be that bad…..”

He had been making a shocked expression this whole time, to the point I was the one feeling vexed. This shameless guy.

Hm, does he have dreams of being an actor? There are theater troupes in this world too.

While one’s dreams are their own freedom…

I seriously wondered if it wasn’t a blessing to this world that Osten chose the path of magic instead of acting.

“Boss, I can do it well.”

Things like this definitely need to be said clearly.

“No. You seem hopeless.”

Well, perhaps that was a bit too harsh after actually saying it out loud. I hurriedly continued:

“In Veurtan, at least. You still need more practice. We can try again later.”

“…Yes.”

Osten lowered his head in disappointment. I turned my gaze back to Aron.

His disgruntled air had vanished, replaced with a bit of determination.

Was he shocked by Osten’s acting?

Or did he think he should do it properly after seeing my frustration?

“Brother, I’ll try again.”

From his tone, it seemed to be the latter. I nodded.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Young lady, have you had your meal?”

Good. No, actually not extremely good. It’s just that after seeing Osten’s acting, I felt like giving a standing ovation for this being passable.

“Not bad.”

However, I couldn’t evaluate based on personal likes and dislikes. This is a matter of life and death.

It seems we still have a long way to go.

I never expected teaching acting would be more difficult than teaching martial arts.

After a brief practice run, the distant sky had turned dark. Rainclouds were gathering.

“That’s enough for now. Let’s get moving. It looks like it’ll rain soon.”

Author's Thoughts

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