Things To Keep (1)
Kanna, Elle, Wellington. They were a kind of NPC reenacted by the Tower, and mission-focused challengers didn’t treat NPC as characters.
‘If they were also challengers, they wouldn’t have done that openly.’
Everyone watched from the side, even though one of them might be able to step up. Yoon-seok didn’t find that strange. In the early days, there might’ve been people who condemned their actions and acted heroically. But if the same thing was repeated several times, the good deed returns a debt with interest…
There wouldn’t be many people who wouldn’t be discouraged. In addition, it was a comfortable environment to rationalize. They weren’t real; they were just something created by the Tower. In other words, saving them at the risk of personal loss was meaningless.
It was unusual for someone to be stupid enough to repeat such meaningless actions. However, there was something that Yoon-seok felt strange about.
「Please guard Pontiff Kanna Blitz for 45 days. The mission fails when the target dies.」
The eighth-floor mission was to guard Kanna Blitz, but there was only one condition of failure. Only when the target was dead would you fail. That was why the challengers were able to do such a thing boldly.
‘But even if it’s not for that, you can fail with a single word….’
He didn’t understand. They were veterans who reached the 8th floor, but they reacted as if it was the first time they had experienced a failure like this. How come this had never happened before? Come to think of it; he had a few hypotheses.
Either it was the first guard mission hired in the form of “mercenaries,” or new conditions increased depending on the floor. This didn’t make any sense. The Tower wasn’t very kind to challengers, but that didn’t explain everything.
The Tower’s way was more like pushing challengers down a cliff and asking them to find a way to climb up on their own. Of course, there was a possibility that the victims, suppressed by them, were terrified and couldn’t rebel. Without Yoon-seok, the results wouldn’t have changed much. Even if Kanna tried to cancel the request, they had the power to force her to reverse it.
“…”
Flop.
As he was thinking about this and that, Kanna sank into the bushes. She’d confidently shouted that she would terminate their requests, but was it very hard on her mentally? That was what he’d thought for a while.
It was soon apparent that her legs were weak for a completely different reason.
“Where…where did they all go?”
It was different from the challengers disappearing on day one. They all disappeared in a flash in front of their eyes.
“Are they wizards? I mean, then why the hell would they do mercenary work…?”
Kanna muttered in a confused voice. It was inevitable. Notifying them of the termination of the contract meant to split ways. Whether they returned to the castle or headed to another city, things must go on. But disappearing suddenly?
He didn’t even think of this.
“…”
Yoon-seok felt a headache coming on. How could he convince her of the current situation? Would she agree if he said that all of them were secretly wizards? It wouldn’t be so easy.
So, he chose the best method after much agonizing consideration.
“I don’t know. That’s strange.”
He spoke as naturally as he could, but it sounded as stiff as a new theater actor. But fortunately, Kanna paid no mind to the details of his speech.
“I suppose so…there’s no way I’d know it was you….”
She nodded her head blankly. Then, a young voice popped out from behind.
“God, he’s angry.”
“…?”
It was Elle, who was hiding in the carriage. He suddenly thought that the present scene wouldn’t be good for a child’s emotions, but…it was unfounded. Elle continued without batting an eye at the sight of dozens of bodies lying on the floor.
“They have forfeited their duties. Duties of a mercenary, duties as a person with the right power, and even duties as a human being. That’s why God is angry.”
Was there a big difference between innocence and savagery? There was a strange sense of incompatibility between her attitude and appearance as an early teen. He wondered if the child was the same person who called Yoon-seok a devil just two days ago.
“But he’s different. I can tell.”
“…?”
“He’s not one to throw his duty away because of money or anything that would defile his soul.”
Yoon-seok tilted his head at her words. Aside from being a good judge of him, he felt that the conversation was heading south.
Yoon-seok soon realized what it was.
“Just to confirm, do you think those mercenaries attacked the wagon for money?”
“What? Is it not?”
Elle asked innocently. Only then did Yoon-seok find out that Elle was a little unique, and she was acting to her age. However, now wasn’t the right time to start sex education, so Yoon-seok just nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kanna, who cast an absurd look at Yoon-seok, soon came to her senses and sent Elle back into the carriage.
“Elle, would you like to go in? I need to talk to him for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Yoon-seok and Kanna settled a few steps away from the wagon. She seemed to have many questions for Yoon-seok, but Yoon-seok quickly beat her to the punch.
“What are you going to do in the future?”
Their purpose was to get to Jarisman Harbor, but he didn’t mean to stop her if she said she would go back to the city where they’d started and reorganize. Yoon-seok’s guarding mission was until the 45th day anyway. As long as Kanna didn’t offer to break the contract with him, it was none of his business.
“I can’t stop here. We have to keep going.”
Kanna said firmly. There was no room for compromise, and her eyes were as desperate as a person driven to the edge of a cliff. He could sense that there was a hidden reason behind it.
She caught her breath for a moment and continued.
“I can see that you’re not an ordinary F-class mercenary. I won’t ask you why you hid your power. Instead, I would like to ask you one question.”
“Anything.”
“Rick Gerssey. No, I don’t know if that’s a real name…do you have the power to protect us from the heathens?”
“…Yes.”
Yoon-seok answered after thinking for a while, and Kanna asked again.
“We will give you all the reward that was due to be paid to the mercenaries. Will you protect us?”
What was the use of money to him, but it would be even weirder to refuse. Yoon-seok nodded and added.
“Instead, there is one condition. What’s her real name?”
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