Faced with the sudden appearance of a third party, both the bandits and Raven froze. The newcomer, a man who calmly glanced around, spoke in an extremely casual tone. A playful voice followed.
“I didn’t interrupt something important, did I?”
“…Judging by how you speak, you don’t seem like a bandit.”
Raven, who had barely stopped himself just before dying, only moved his eyes to examine the intruder’s attire.
“Are you a mercenary?”
“Correct!”
“Then could you help us instead of just standing there?”
“Ha, what? Since when do you think you can—”
Boom!
“It’s fine. I had to deal with them anyway for another job.”
The mercenary, who had mercilessly kicked the bandit leader and sent him flying, smiled brightly.
“L-le-leader!”
“Oh, that was the leader? I was supposed to take him alive. Hope he’s still breathing.”
“You damn lunatic, you dare kick me?! Kill him right now!”
“Oh good, he’s still alive.”
A truly peculiar lunatic.
Since he seemed skilled, Raven decided not to concern himself further.
He sat down and gently patted Didi, who had approached him, then turned his gaze toward Dan.
The boy, standing shamelessly nearby, quickly averted his eyes toward the horizon.
The ridiculous scene made Raven let out a small chuckle and turn his gaze away as well.
‘…Well, staying close to me is the safest, after all.’
One more burden didn’t make much difference. Even if the boy tried to be a nuisance, it wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, it was surprising how confident he was that he’d be protected.
What was more concerning was…
Raven’s eyes drifted to the lunatic who was excitedly and methodically cleaning up the bandits.
‘I thought he’d at least try to negotiate something.’
It was unexpected for a mercenary to help without asking for payment.
Normally, any mercenary Raven knew would have demanded to know how much they’d be paid before offering help.
But, as expected from an unusual lunatic, his behavior was different too.
Without worrying, Raven drew a knife and approached the mercenary, who was tying up the bandit leader.
“Hmm…?”
The mercenary, noticing his presence, lifted his head. Contrary to his earlier brutality, his innocent face turned toward Raven. Without any expression, Raven grabbed the mercenary by the collar and brandished his knife.
Clang!
A knife thrown from somewhere clashed with Raven’s, bouncing off with a cold metallic sound.
“There are three.”
“Wow, I thought I’d cleaned up everyone…”
The mercenary, still held by the collar, blinked blankly.
Since he had received help, Raven decided to return the favor.
He pulled out more knives and, with a swift flick of his wrist, threw them.
Though it looked like he simply waved his empty hand, the mercenary, who was close enough to see, understood what happened.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“Whoa…!”
The knives sliced through the air, and as if hitting their marks, people began falling from the trees with groans of death.
A clearly extraordinary talent.
The mercenary’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement.
Ignoring him, Raven let go of his collar and walked over to the fallen bodies.
He nudged the corpses with his foot and muttered:
“They don’t seem like bandits… Did you make some enemies somewhere?”
“E-Ehh??”
“…”
What’s with the sudden formal tone?
“I’ll ask again.”
“N-No! E-enemies, you say?! I have so many I lost count!!”
“…”
Well… I was just asking.
I had no intention of helping him deal with them.
Raven cast a somewhat pitying glance at him and turned to head back to the children, when the mercenary, like a dog finding its owner, clung desperately to his wrist with eyes full of admiration.
“First of all! What’s your name?!”
“…What?”
“Ah, I’m Eckart Lofty!”
…I don’t care about your name at all.
It was a relationship that, in any case, wouldn’t last long.
Raven was about to casually tell him to just call him “Raven” when his spirit guardian reacted.
[…The spirit guardian ??? asks if he really said “Lofty.”]
“…Lofty?”
Normally indifferent to anything unrelated to Raven, the spirit guardian’s sudden reaction to that name caught his attention.
Maybe it had some connection to his past.
Immediately, Raven’s gaze sharpened.
If he remembered correctly, “Lofty” was the name of a mercenary king recorded in the chronicles at the end of the Mythic Era and the beginning of actual recorded history.
It was also the name of his mercenary company.
And as expected, the radiant man answered brightly:
“Yes! I’m a descendant of the mercenary king Lofty! I lead the legendary Lofty Mercenary Company!”
“…Though… currently I’m the only member.”
He added in a murmur, but Raven heard it perfectly.
Raven slightly tilted his head, his face still unreadable.
‘Would the spirit guardian have a reason to react to that name?’
If he had been personally connected to the mercenary king while alive, the historical timelines wouldn’t exactly line up.
At the end of the Mythic Era, so many heroes had risen and fallen that there wasn’t even time to formally recognize all of them.
Either way, the spirit guardian had been someone officially recognized as a hero.
He belonged to an even older generation.
“So, our future member—no, I mean, what is your name, sir?”
Future member? Did I hear that right?
Watching his carefree face, Raven responded.
“…I have no name. Just call me Raven.”
“Huh? Then, Raven isn’t your real name?”
“…”
“Ah, I see!”
“…Well, you can think of it like that.”
He answered indifferently as he picked up Didi. Dan had already retreated to a safer distance long ago.
The situation was resolved, and it didn’t seem like he could gain any more information from this mercenary.
There was no reason to linger any longer.
“Thanks for the help. I’m busy, so I’m leaving.”
“Wa-wait a moooment!”
That had been the plan — if not for the human sandbag that clung to his leg.
Maybe he should’ve moved faster.
Stopping his awkward, heavy march, Raven looked down at the man clinging to him.
“…What?”
“You said you were grateful for my help, right?! Then please, just do me one favor!”
I have a bad feeling this is going to get very annoying.
“Couldn’t I just pay you with money?”
“It’s not that I don’t need money, but still…”
“…Anyway, speak. I’ll listen first and then decide.”
“I want you to join the Lofty Mercenary Squad—no, wait, where are you going?!”
No need to listen anymore.
It seemed the “provisional recruit” comment earlier wasn’t a joke.
Bracing his legs, Raven began dragging the mercenary along with him.
“I’ll send you a monetary reward through the mercenary guild later, so let go and wrap up your business.”
“Money is fine, but I’d rather have you, Sir Raven…”
“The price of my head is steep. It’s not something you can settle with that.”
“Then just lend me your name!”
“My name costs even more than my life.”
I can more or less guess his situation.
There was a peculiar tradition dating back to the time of the original mercenary king Lofty.
Apparently, the squad would adopt a pupil, raise them alongside the members, and once the pupil matured and inherited the name “Lofty,” the previous generation would retire from the battlefield.
It was said that the former members wouldn’t retire immediately, but would lend their names to keep the group active until the heir formed their own company.
Considering the squad now consisted of only one member desperately trying to recruit, it was clear something had gone wrong in that process.
But.
‘What does that have to do with me?’
I have absolutely no reason to concern myself with that.
So get off me, clingy monster.
With his palm, Raven firmly pushed the man’s face away.
“If not that, at least show your face…!”
“…How damn persistent.”
You can’t even register as a mercenary just by showing your face.
No, more importantly, Raven leaned his face closer to the mercenary’s.
“Do you have any idea how much this face is worth?”
“…”
“It’s not as much as my name, but it’s still more valuable than my body.”
He lightly tapped his left cheek with his index and middle fingers, flashing a crooked smile.
While he appreciated the help, he could’ve solved this situation on his own.
He had even saved the man’s life immediately afterward as payment.
In short, the mercenary’s help wasn’t worth much.
And it was clear now — he wasn’t an ordinary mercenary but someone trying to gain something for nothing.
“Besides, I know the Lofty Squad carefully chooses their members.”
He said bluntly.
For future pupils, they supposedly handpicked companions carefully — essentially uncles raising the next heir.
“But… since you have kids with you, you don’t seem like a bad person… and you helped me too…”
Ah. So I’ve unknowingly passed the first interview?
“And you seem skilled…”
Looks like I passed the second interview too.
Since when was an interview this easy?
Anyone could pass at this rate.
Raven frowned for a moment at how absurd it was but immediately pushed the guy away.
Yet the mercenary, looking even more animated by the rough treatment, once again looked up at him with sparkling eyes…
“No matter. I’m not joining, so stop clinging.”
“Yeah, there’s no helping it. If you say no, I can’t force you.”
Surprisingly, he gave up easily.
Raven thought he’d cling longer.
Just as he let his guard down, thinking it was over, the man lifted his head and shouted:
“Then how about becoming the captain instead?!”
“Get lost.”
***
The Lofty Mercenary Corps.
A legendary squad where the mercenary king Lofty once shone as captain, and the oldest mercenary corps still in existence.
There was a time when it was the pride of all, but sadly, that era was long gone.
The corps was now on the brink of dissolution.
All that remained was a broken, withered fame.
A mercenary corps with only a single member couldn’t survive.
Up until now, it had managed to hang on by invoking the legacy of the mercenary king and its long history, but even the mercenary guild couldn’t wait forever.
Thus, a grace period had been granted to the Lofty Corps.
‘I have to recruit comrades within a month.’
The minimum number to maintain the status of a corps was five members.
He needed to recruit at least four more people, or else the Lofty Corps, which had existed for more than a thousand years, would be dissolved and erased from the guild’s records.
He couldn’t allow that disgrace to happen under his watch.
Eckhart Lofty gritted his teeth.
‘I can’t remain a prisoner of the guild forever.’
Though he had accepted missions without pay just to keep the corps alive, he had finally reached his limit.
Now, only one option remained.
‘I must find companions as soon as possible.’
And in that regard… he had an excellent candidate right in front of him.
‘Isn’t there some way to convince him?’
Looking at the man with those unusual green-gray eyes, Eckhart swallowed hard.
***
Raven tried to walk away, leaving the mercenary behind.
But his attempt was thwarted when the mercenary, abandoning even the fallen bandit leader, quickly grabbed hold of him.
Kicking the sniveling bandit leader aside, the mercenary once again looked at Raven with sparkling eyes.
Despite Raven’s scowling face, the man shamelessly spoke up.
“Now that I’ve finished the job, I’m heading to the mercenary guild in the capital. And you, Captain?”
“…Who’s the Captain?”
“Then… Commander?”
“…”
Better not to even talk to him.
“The capital.”
“Oh! What a coincidence! Can I accompany you?”
“Does it even make sense to ask when you already know I won’t accept?”
“That’s true!”
“…”
He didn’t say anything more, but to the mercenary, that was practically a yes.
Secretly celebrating the small victory of having secured more time to convince him, Eckhart clung once again to Raven’s coat as he started walking.
“Ah, but I have to clean up first… Could you wait just a moment?”
“…”
“If you say no, I’ll cling to your leg!”
“Haa…”