Elqueeness - Chapter 25

ocked from the unexpected confession, I shook my head in refusal but Trom-Well had no intention of giving in and continuously spewed out apologies.  In the end, I gave in to his stubbornness and accepted his remorse.

I was probably the only one who ever felt this uncomfortable after receiving an apology…

After the second checkpoint, the endless streams of monsters that harassed our convoy day and night finally began to die down.

The mercenaries who had shed blood till their veins ran dry were finally able to relax. Bands of orcs often ambushed, but their numbers were like a drop in a pond compared to the past. The Champagne Mercenaries were unable to get a chance to display their skills as the monster parties never managed to breach past the front lines.

As a result, Harol, who always itched for action suffered from not being able to swing his axe.

“Damn damn damn, I’ll be bloody damned! I hate this kind of peace! When are the monsters attacking?!”

“Shut up, you butcher! What don’t you like about this?  Just shut your mouth and follow.”

“Why do you only hate on me!”

“Then do something likeable for once! Hosane, do you have no thoughts about kicking this buffoon out of here? At this rate, our class will fall!”

At Irial’s maddened shouts, Hosane frowned as he seemed to be stuck in a dilemma and thought deeply. A few moments later, he nodded as if he had reached a conclusion.

“You’re actually right.”

“He- Hey! What do you mean she’s right? You damned boss! If you treat me like this, then I’ll say that you and Sherry are in a XXX relationship!”

Tremble. I probably am not the only one who can see the vein bulging from Hosane’s forehead as a dark look flashed across his face.

One of the reasons why Hosane has not accepted Sherry was because of Harol’s taunts.

I could still remember that time when he screamed out, ‘I am not a Lolicon’ at the top of his lungs like it happened yesterday.

With that one line, Harol had troubled a hive of wasps.

The price of such an offense became clear soon after. Without a word, he drew his freshly sharpened blade. At that moment, Harol realized he had screwed up… Severely. His face twisted in horror as Hosane charged before Harol even had a chance to beg for mercy.
“W-w-Wahhhhh~~~ The boss’s gone crazy!! Save me!!!!”

“Shut up, you damnable bastard! Die!!!!!”

That was how the game of hunter and prey began that day. The foreign mercenaries who had yet to see Harol in such a state turned away, looking embarrassed as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have. But not a single change in expression could be seen in the faces of the Champagne Mercenaries.

“Whistle~ You’re the best, boss! Make sure you milk that fool dry of tears today!”

“It’s fine if you go all the way, boss! We’ll just bury the corpse in a handsome ditch, so don’t worry about the aftermath!”

“If it’s hard for you Sir Hosane, we could help!”

The Champagne Mercenaries seemed so delighted at Harol’s misfortune that they used honorifics when addressing Hosane. It seemed that Harol was the type to make enemies anywhere and everywhere.

Hosane did not seem to be joking as his textbook strikes soon turned Harol into a bloody mess as he became covered with cuts.

At this point, no one thought that Hosane was kidding around but no one made an attempt to stop him.

Harol’s agonizing screams turned up another notch as he also realized that Hosane’s strikes contained killing intent.

“Wa-Wait! Hold on! Are you actually trying to kill me?? You bastards, stop clapping! We’ll see about this!”

“There’s nothing to see, you buffoon! Think of this place as your final resting ground!!”

“Ueck!!!!!”

Of course, Hosane had no intention of actually killing Harol and all the mercenaries knew that. But that didn’t stop them. For them, this was a way of stress relief unique only to their group. This method seemed contagious. Soon, every mercenary was cheering and there were a couple of people huddled together making bets.

The only person who wasn’t laughing was Sherry, who had a dark look on her face. She had no idea of what was in Hosane’s mind nor the reasons for him to reject her advances. As a result, she thought that Hosane’s reaction to Harol’s taunts was because he wanted nothing to do with such a relationship.

What can be done to ease the tension in their relationship? They have spent many years as a family so their bonds were strong, so maybe when she learns of his reasons, perhaps things could change.

No, she might give up if she learns of his troubles. Their future looked grim as the problem became harder and harder to solve.

– That Man That Woman-

After passing the second checkpoint, we came across a bustling village that seemed more like an urban city.

Unlike the previous rural villages we came across, this one was filled with tall buildings, shopping districts, and countless people. As this was the first time I have ever seen such a populated area since I was reborn, I was awed by the sheer size of this village.

Even the ground was paved with solid concrete rather than the common dirt.

“Amazing. This is totally new universe compared to the other villages we’ve been through?”

“Haha, really?”

“Yes. There’s so many buildings and the markets look active..”

Another thing that made this village stand out from the rest were the numerous bookstores.

On the streets, there were many dressed as priests or magicians. When I feasted my eyes on such a sight, Matey began to explain.

“This place is honestly no different from a city. It’s also has the highest degree of learning in this area. The academies are mostly concentrated in this village. That’s why so many scholars and magicians are roaming the streets.

But compared to Alphon that is dubbed the Empire of Sagacity, this pales in comparison.”

“Huh. So this is a city?”

“Well, yes. In scale, it’s smaller than Kalmore but most consider it a city. Wonder too much and you’ll get lost. Also, the public order isn’t that good so be alert so you don’t get robbed.”

“Ah, yes.”

Despite the high number of mercenaries concentrated in one location, we did not attract a single pair of eyes; but that seemed reasonable, since the streets were layered and layered with bodies after bodies.

Harol and Irial, who have been arguing up till now, finally revealed a relaxed smile while stating that they could finally relax for the first in a long time.

To prevent any more friction between mercenary groups, every company was allowed to select their own place of lodgings.

“If anyone needs to go to the armory or the smith, do it now. We leave after three days, so make sure to finish what you start within then.”

“Got it. How are we dividing up the rooms?”

“Same as last time. There are two 3-bedrooms and one 2-bedrooms.”

“Ah! You’re too much boss~”

Harol’s helpless pleas went ignored as if it was not even worth listening to. Laughing, I shot a glance at Isana, who nodded in return. Isana has been wearing the same robe and footwear since we first departed to Kalmore. His shoes had been worn out to the point that it looked like it could fall apart any moment now.

It was time to purchase new wears for him.

After deciding on our lodge, each of us scattered and headed to our own destinations. Isana and I, who have been paired up, started to look for a clothing shop. Trom-Well had wanted to tag along as well, but was dragged off by Harol who claimed to be in need of urgent help.

“Hey El, I’m fine. I have no problem with what I’m wearing now.”

“Nonsense! Look at the state it’s in, not to mention all those blood stains from the monsters. Also, winter’s coming, so we need something for that as well. Your clothes are far too thin to provide any sort of warmth. We need something thicker for you or you’ll catch a cold.”

Although Isana argued till the end that he was okay, we eventually arrived at a market that sold all sorts of clothing and footwear.

Ring. The sound of a bell welcomed our arrival as well as alerting the owners. A large, middle-aged, and plump woman shot up and approached us.

“Oh my, welcome. What would you like?”

While wearing a pleasant smile, she seemed to be eyeing us top to bottom. Her long experience of her career seemed to be revealing itself. She seemed disappointed at Isana’s shabby clothing and frowned, but when she turned her eyes to my direction, she her eyes widened in surprised as she immediately lowered her head.

It looks like it’s true that I look like some child of a powerful noble family.

Smiling, I gestured towards Isana.

“This person needs some change in clothing. Something thick that can keep out the chills and can prevail against snow will be preferable.”

“Of course we can provide that! What brand would you like to look at?”

“Anything you can wear while in a journey is fine. Also, a hood large enough to hide the face as well as a cloak.”

“Yes yes, this way please. Jacob-! Bring the best winter wears we have!”

Within a few seconds, a brown haired, blue eyed man came in carrying a mountain of clothing. Compared to the beefy owner, he seemed like a dried up stick in comparison.

Regardless, his strength seem to be fine as he was able to carry such a stack of heavy clothing without a single sweat. He spread out the wears so that we could have a better look and allowed his business instinct to take over.

“I thank you for choosing our market. I am Jacob, this shop’s clerk. Even though I only brought clothing fitting for journeying, please be aware that as long as you give me the word, I can bring you to any kind of style imaginable!”

Afterwards, he began to wave his hands in a dramatic pose as if to flaunt his merchandise. What he pointed to were eye-catching and luxurious clothes. It seemed to be something that nobles wore.

“I like the design, but the coloring is too eye catching. Don’t you have anything more plain? I don’t care if the fabrics expensive. I’m looking for something dark to the point that stains won’t show up. Give me something of that description.”

“Hm, then how about this one? It’s made from the hide of a bull native to Mt. Kawran. It’s extremely flexible, not to mention durable. It’s also light weight but can keep the wearer warm. The downside is that it’s slightly expensive, but for dear guest, it is the perfect choice.”

What he was referring to was a pair of black trousers, waist coat, and a vest designed in a rather plain fashion. A hood was attached to the neckline which was convenient for Isana. Unfortunately, despite the simple design, anyone could tell that the quality of material was high. It may bring unwanted attention but because Isana was going to be wearing a cloak over it anyways, it didn’t seem like a major issue.

Satisfied, I nodded in agreement.

“It’s fine. What do you think Rai? Do you like it? Since it’s what you’ll wear, pick something you’ll like.”

“It’s fine with me, but…”

“Then let’s go with this. We still have a month till we arrive, so we should buy something sturdy and long lasting. Since it’s the hide of a bull, rather than dye, the coloring won’t come off either.”

“Ohhh, beautiful customer, you truly do have an eye for quality products.”

Her words that were designed to flatter gave me a rather unpleasant feeling, so I simply ignored her and began to size up the clothing.  Afterwards, I ordered shoes and a cloak as well.

Rather than something tight, I requested clothing that were loose. I couldn’t tell how much Isana, who still in his growth phase, would grow during this journey. Fortunately, everything we needed was available so we didn’t need to wait for any tweaks in the products.

As he had said earlier, the clothes were extremely expensive as it costed an entire 3 gold. Afterwards, I wondered what I should do now. Even if we returned to the tavern, I doubted that anyone would be there….. Should we just hit the streets?