Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Chenarus (1)

We parted ways with Mondegreen before leaving the desert. He said he was heading east.

We exchanged our camels for horses again at the border and got a carriage.

At the edge of the desert, my companions were very happy. The reason was that the food here didn’t suit their taste at all.

The heat was the same too. Even though I maintained their body temperature with Winds, there was a limit. They could still feel the reflected light.

After that, we set our direction towards Chenarus.

The first thing we did upon arriving at the next city was to contact Al Fahri and Casmak.

‘I was a bit worried.’

There were two letters each from them. One saying they had started work and another saying it was progressing without problems.

It was fortunate for me.

They began carefully taking control of the west from the archipelago and southwest. Still, we shouldn’t expand the range too much.

Although the Empire was paying attention to the devil worshippers, the area above that was the Empire’s territory that had won the war.

‘They’ll probably overlook what’s happening below that.’

I sent word that I had returned and to continue the work smoothly.

Denif decided to make no further contact. It’s because we talked when Toun Zaha came.

We decided not to contact each other much from now on. We agreed not to approach from the Haisen side. Because there’s danger.

We agreed to request help only when there’s a big problem on our side or when urgent help is needed.

However, Denif also received one letter.

It said to proceed as Toun Zaha had said, with brief information about the Empire written on it.

‘It also said that Phiri was asking about me.’

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to meet her when I go to the Empire. I could make time if I really wanted to, but.

There’s no reason to create even a tiny risk. Let’s see for now.

Nothing special happened after that.

We trained while moving, and when we stopped in cities, I set an example and had the kids practice.

The practice was mainly infiltration.

Led by Rina, along with Aron, Jofor, and Namir. We didn’t steal or kill anything.

Because our actions might leave traces. It ended with just sneaking into and out of nobles’ mansions.

Even that alone was very exciting for Jofor.

‘I thought we might be lucky enough to catch a devil worshipper, but.’

Since the world has changed a lot from the game, I now have to believe what I see rather than what I know.

I checked while having the kids practice, but there were no ones who got caught.

Even the one who was a devil worshipper in the game was the same. I thought it might be because of the incident I caused.

The devil worshippers had retreated and people’s vigilance had increased, so they might have rejected their proposals.

‘I didn’t forget wing suit practice either.’

Namir, Jofor, and Rina were very surprised and found it fun. Rina even showed a smiling face for the first time in a long while.

There were imperial agents in every city we passed through, but we were able to arrive safely in Chenarus.

There were no problems with the relationships within our group either. Namir got quite close to Aron and Jofor.

They were in the same combat class, and in fact, Namir was quite normal compared to the others.

‘You could say he accepts the kids well.’

When it was difficult to ask me or Denif about small things related to martial arts, Namir would answer instead.

Rina got a little closer to Mary.

It seemed that Rina’s mental barriers opened a little earlier because Mary was young.

Osten was focused on the light-emitting stones the whole time. However, there were no notable results yet.

I told him to take his time looking. Instead, there was quite a satisfactory result in another area.

‘He developed colored lenses.’

My face and Denif’s were known. So we had to disguise ourselves thoroughly when going to Chenarus.

Because even with simple disguises, some people might feel a sense of déjà vu.

However, there was no way to change eye color in this continent. If done with magic, it would be noticeable.

In other words, this was the first thing Osten created. Although I provided the idea, it’s still an amazing achievement.

He said he made it by putting harmless dye into the scales of rare fish used in making magic tools, but I couldn’t understand even after hearing the explanation. 𝑅

However, what’s important is that the result didn’t look strange at all even to me.

-No, boss, this much…

Osten grinned widely when I gave him a small bonus. It seemed sufficient to encourage his work ethic.

Well, even with color lenses, we still need to spend considerable time on disguises when going out.

When we came to Chenarus, we looked for suitable lodgings.

It wasn’t an easy task. It had to be a base for the mercenary group, while not being too expensive or dirty.

But it wasn’t that difficult for me. Chenarus was a place I often visited in the game.

I already knew of good lodgings.

Moreover, there are specialized accommodations here for small and large mercenary groups.

‘As long as it’s basically clean, Winds and Purification are enough.’

After securing lodgings, we immediately started mercenary work.

There’s no mercenary guild, but since it’s a city where mercenaries gather, there are agencies.

It was enough to register with an agency and post notices on nearby street bulletin boards.

Of course, there won’t be any work for a while. Since we don’t have any reputation yet, we’ll end up doing miscellaneous jobs.

‘We have to start step by step.’

The most fortunate thing was that even after the empress assassination incident, there was no major change in the power dynamics between the prince and Erendil.

Honestly, this was what I worried about the most.

Because I returned to Chenarus after more than a year.

We moved a lot, going to the north of the west, then to the archipelago, southwest, east, and southeast in order. It was practically a tour of the continent.

Come to think of it, I’m twenty now. Soon to be twenty-one. In Earth terms, I’ve just become an adult.

Of course, in this world, you’re considered an adult at 16.

That’s how it usually is in worlds with short lifespans. It was the same on Earth during medieval times.

Nobles usually have their coming-of-age ceremony at 18, but in reality, they all get married once they’re over 16.

‘Still, I arrived within the time.’

Erendil’s coming-of-age ceremony is approaching. Originally, the trip to Tenorio should have been after the coming-of-age ceremony.

The coming-of-age ceremony isn’t anything grand.

It ends with holding the ceremony at the imperial palace, making a round of the capital, and returning to the palace.

However, the problem was the devil worshippers and princes. There’s a potential threat of assassination.

Considering past events, the Sword Master will probably accompany her, but there are more variables outside than inside the palace.

The Imperial Intelligence Agency will also pay a lot of attention, but it’s difficult to respond when crowds gather. This is also why I tried to enter the empire quickly.

***

From the first night I returned to Chenarus, I started internal inspections. This means investigating the nobles supporting Erendil.

The reason for internal inspections is to possibly detect the enemies’ schemes through internal traitors.

It’s also to grasp the political relationships between supporting nobles during the time I was away.

I’ve heard about the situation through newspapers, but that’s only limited information.

‘The information received from the Haisen intelligence agency isn’t certain either.’

Right now, with me absent, Haisen’s intelligence power in the empire has weakened considerably.

Originally, I brought most of the information from the imperial palace.

Also, after the empress assassination incident, the empire is watching Haisen, and Haisen itself has weeded out internal traitors.

Anyway, it’s difficult to know political issues within the faction from the outside, so I have to check with my own eyes.

Originally, you should discipline internally before looking externally.

‘I can’t check everyone, but.’

Since nobles have their own territories, not many stay in the capital.

But being in the capital now, with the coming-of-age ceremony approaching, likely means they have high influence, so I conducted searches.

However, there wasn’t much gain.

You can’t see everyone in one night. But there’s still 45 days left, so there’s plenty of time. We need to look at it long-term.

One thing I learned was that Hanut Campbell is acting as an advisor by Erendil’s side.

He was the talent I recommended after waiting for him to submit his thesis.

‘His role has grown quite a bit, it seems.’

Judging from the situation, it’s assumed that Hanut played a part in the power structure not changing much after the empress assassination incident.

Other than that, no major power shifts were visible yet. I’ll need to look more.

I had no intention of seeking out Erendil. The elite of the Imperial Intelligence Agency will be by her side.

And I can’t be sure how she thinks of me, who killed her mother, and there’s no reason to meet.

“Ugh…”

Aron twisted his body beside me. While I’ve been busy at night these past few days, the kids have been doing mercenary work.

In fact, it couldn’t even be called mercenary work.

A new mercenary group.

Moreover, all the mercenary members were relatively young. Aron was young rather than just relatively young.

It was natural that there was no work.

At best, it was just odd jobs. Yesterday, all they did was take on an urgent delivery mission within the capital.

They did train, but these are kids who have been traveling around the continent with me, seeing new things.

Considering their age, the current situation must be quite boring.

“Should I ask if we’re not doing infiltration at night here?”

“No. It’s better to stay put. Big brother looks busy too.”

Jofor, who was next to me, had a secret conversation. Jofor was even more bored than Aron.

He’s a friend who came hoping for a secret organization, but all he’s doing is menial tasks, so it’s understandable.

However, the kids aren’t at the level to move in the capital yet. Even now, after a year, the capital is full of intelligence agency agents.

It seemed to be because of Erendil’s coming-of-age ceremony soon.

Even I’m moving quite cautiously. At the kids’ level, they’d be caught immediately.

Knock knock-

At that moment, Namir knocked on the door and entered. His expression looked somehow complex.

“Boss, we’ve received a request.”

“But why? Don’t you like it?”

Namir tilted his head.

“It’s not odd jobs, but it’s a bit suspicious.”

“What is it?”

“We’ve received an escort request from a merchant group. It’s a round trip mission from Chenarus to Requiza and back to Chenarus.”

“Oh! Isn’t that good?”

The kids who were getting antsy perked up with interest. I seemed to understand Namir’s concern.

“It’s not something that should come to us yet.”

Only about a week has passed since we came here. We’re a small mercenary group with no name, doing only odd jobs.

An escort request from a merchant group to such a mercenary group?

What that implies is one of two things. Either the merchant group is also new and doesn’t have much money…

Or it’s a shady job.

‘The latter is more likely.’

There are often mercenary groups like us who come to Chenarus without any foundation.

Young people live dreaming, after all.

But merchant groups are different.

It’s not that there aren’t such people, but since it involves big money, they usually do the basics at least.

“Yes. Personally, I think there’s a high chance of problems occurring.”

I agreed as well. There was also something that bothered me. Erendil’s coming-of-age ceremony is not far off.

Of course, the probability that this job is related to that is slim.

The prince or devil worshippers wouldn’t use people like us. It would be better for them to move themselves.

Even if it’s a shady job, it probably won’t be to that extent.

‘Still, it’s not bad for building reputation as a mercenary group.’

The dangerous part of taking on shady jobs doesn’t actually matter. Because we have the skills.

We can make sure there are no problems with most jobs. Hmm, what should we do?

“What’s the name of the merchant group?”

“They say it’s the Blancheot merchant group. It’s a newly established group.”

If this job is involved with nobles, it might become a bit of a headache…

Or not?

Looking at it differently, we might even be able to grasp a weakness.

Whether it’s the merchant group or nobles, if we know the inside story of the shady job, we might be able to use it as we wish.

“What will you do?”

“Let’s take the request for now. We need to build our reputation too.”

Namir nodded.

“True. Well, if problems arise, we can just kill them all.”

“…”

I was momentarily at a loss for words. I thought he had changed due to some incident in the game because he had been acting normal all this time.

But this was how he originally was. Misreading my silence, Namir scratched the back of his head with an awkward face.

“Ah, is it because we’re a secret organization that we shouldn’t do that?”

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