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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘I didn’t want to make an enemy of the dark elves, especially since my master’s goal was to rebuild his family.’
‘I will visit him someday.’
Aside from our past connection, my master was a very helpful being to me.
Personal strength, resources, a dungeon, and a strong sense of purpose.
‘And for a warlock, he has a decent personality and sense of loyalty.’
I ended up like that because I had provoked him first, but in reality, my master had such a normal personality that it was hard to consider him a warlock.
If only I could break his contract with that damned Demon Lord, I could turn my former master into a useful and reliable ally.
‘But that’s the hard part.’
A contract with a Demon Lord wasn’t easily broken.
The most likely method was to mutually agree to terminate the contract with the Demon Lord himself.
‘I’ll prepare for it, but it won’t be easy.’
“So, what kind of support are we talking about?”
“Usually, it’s money, equipment, or designated requests.”
He also mentioned that if we showed promise, we might even have the opportunity to obtain decent mana breathing techniques or aura cultivation methods.
“Those are things we don’t really need.”
“…Yes, I admit that.”
We were all Experts, and I had just reached 5th class.
Mana breathing techniques? Aura cultivation methods?
They wouldn’t be of much help, and we could earn money easily.
Considering my recent reputation, designated requests weren’t a huge advantage.
The only decent option was equipment, but most equipment could be obtained with money.
It would be better if it were artifacts, but…
‘Honestly, I’m not that interested.’
I had the map I obtained this time, and my future knowledge.
Ordinary artifacts wouldn’t satisfy me.
Therefore, I wasn’t particularly interested in the support they offered.
Perhaps sensing my lack of enthusiasm, Colmail bit his lip for a moment and then spoke.
“Then… how about this?”
“Material things wouldn’t be of much help. So, how about this instead?”
“What do you mean?”
“Our branch will provide credit guarantee for all of your party members, including Inha.”
A guarantee from the Mercenary Guild.
It wasn’t something easily obtained.
‘It seems the pressure from the royal family was really significant.’
It was a different story to be simply registered with the Mercenary Guild versus having the guild’s guarantee.
Of course, being registered with the Mercenary Guild provided me with basic protection.
However, I was still a warlock, so there was distrust and a lack of credibility that naturally built up with experience.
But having the guild’s guarantee would instantly resolve that.
The guild would be able to actively protect me, and they would be obligated to do so.
It would also solve the credibility issue.
If a mercenary with the guild’s guarantee acted in a way that damaged their credibility, the Mercenary Guild, which vouched for them, would have to compensate for it.
Therefore, even if I was a warlock, I would naturally gain credibility.
‘Having the guild’s guarantee would also make it much easier to become an authorized warlock.’
Therefore, even with my good reputation, it wasn’t easy to receive a guarantee.
Especially since I was a warlock.
The time I spent openly operating was extremely short.
Even if warlocks were considered to be mentally unstable, in this short period, there was a possibility that I was hiding my true nature and acting.
Furthermore, with my recent breakthrough, they knew that I wasn’t an ordinary warlock.
Unlike those with low levels, I could likely control myself.
Despite all the risks, it seemed they decided that they couldn’t afford to antagonize the royal family.
“Of course, you’ll also receive separate support from the royal family. I’ll explain the situation, so you can expect different support than what I initially mentioned.”
I could feel his strong determination to change my mind.
Revenge on Annelise, or the advancement of my plans…
‘Well, the choice is obvious at this point.’
There were a few things that bothered me, though…
‘If I can get a guarantee, it changes things.’
The benefits outweighed my desire for revenge on Annelise.
If I could gain profit by selling my revenge, I would do it.
‘There are things more important than revenge.’
I wasn’t obsessed with it.
My own benefit comes first.
Besides, killing wasn’t the only form of revenge.
“If you can guarantee one thing, I’ll accept Annelise into our party as you requested.”
Kayla and Athena didn’t seem happy about it, but they didn’t object.
Baldur was technically a slave, so he couldn’t say anything either.
As my companions showed respect for my decision, Colmail spoke with a slightly brighter expression.
“What is it?”
“We’ll accept Annelise, but we can’t keep her forever. You understand that, right?”
Colmail nodded as if he had expected it.
“Yes, we intend to contact Annelise’s family secretly through the royal family. Her exact whereabouts will be decided then.”
He said that they wouldn’t give up on her completely, so if things didn’t work out, the guild would take her in.
‘I’d rather pass her off to them from the start…’
But that wasn’t possible.
If the guild, instead of us, took in Annelise, who was known as a traitor, they would have to punish her properly due to the mercenaries’ scrutiny.
Therefore, it was safer to have us protect her for a certain period and then hand her over to the guild under the guise of selling her.
Of course, Annelise wouldn’t actually become a slave, despite the rumors.
‘We can say she paid the price for her betrayal here.’
If her connection to the Demihuman Alliance was important, the royal family could have taken her in directly or had their nobles protect her.
But that was even more impossible.
‘It would inevitably lead to conflict with the Holy Empire.’
The longer they directly supported Annelise, the higher the chance of conflict.
The six-kingdom alliance wasn’t weak, but there was no need to openly antagonize the Holy Empire.
In fact, the Holy Empire was stronger than the six-kingdom alliance.
The six-kingdom alliance’s influence on the Holy Empire wasn’t significant, but the Holy Empire was a religious power, so temples of the Goddess Religion were established throughout the six-kingdom alliance.
They were inevitably influenced indirectly.
Their actual power was greater as well.
Therefore, they had to resort to this troublesome and complicated approach.
Since I had gained unexpected benefits by being caught in the middle of this, it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
‘Is it really a benefit since I can’t deal with Annelise?’
Overall, it was a benefit.
That was enough.
“It might take some time, but it won’t be too long.”
Considering the distance to the Demihuman Alliance and the Holy Empire, it would take at least several months to communicate with them.
‘But it won’t take years, so that’s fine.’
“One year at most. Any longer than that is difficult.”
“That’s enough.”
Colmail smiled, relieved that I had agreed.
I glanced at Annelise, who was tied up next to Colmail.
Despite her fate being decided through our conversation, Annelise couldn’t do anything.
Suddenly, a question came to mind, and I asked Colmail,
“Did Annelise know that she was receiving this kind of protection?”
“She learned about it recently. To be precise, she didn’t know.”
She only thought that the Demihuman Alliance family had helped her establish her human identity.
It was understandable in a way.
The royal family wouldn’t want to reveal their connection to the Demihuman Alliance.
Therefore, Annelise herself didn’t know that the royal family was keeping an eye on her.
“We initially considered keeping it a secret, but given the situation, it would be difficult to keep her completely in the dark.”
That was how serious betrayal was.
“If she acts recklessly, believing in the support of the Demihuman Alliance or the royal family, we’ll only keep her alive.”
“I understand. At that point, even the dark elf family won’t be able to say anything.”
She committed a serious crime that caused this whole mess, and now she was causing more trouble?
The situation of the dark elves wasn’t good to begin with, so it was doubtful whether they would care about a mere half-blood like Annelise.
‘They might even sever their connection with her.’
Then it was obvious who the royal family’s anger would be directed at.
Annelise shuddered slightly, as if understanding the situation.
With things like this, I honestly didn’t care whether Annelise held a grudge against me or not.
‘The family that’s supporting her is far away, and she can barely take care of herself. Honestly, considering what she did, she should be grateful to be alive.’
I believed she’d know her place.
“Alright. Let’s leave this uncomfortable topic here. I’ll officially declare Annelise as Inha’s slave as of today.”
Colmail said he would do his best to expedite the promised guarantee.
Even though the Mercenary Guild had close ties to the territory, the guarantee was entirely the branch manager’s authority, so it wouldn’t be difficult.
I received Annelise, and then spoke to Colmail,
“About the support from the royal family…”
“Ah, yes. Is there anything specific you want?”
They couldn’t offer anything excessive, but there was something suitable.
“I’m planning to release Baldur.”
Colmail’s gaze turned to Baldur.
Baldur looked quite surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to say something like that here.
“You said he was an Expert, right? So, it’s a magical inscription, then.”
“Hmm, although Lord Otriokar is capable, this requires a specialist.”
Magical slave inscriptions were extremely difficult to remove compared to inscribe.
Therefore, if I wanted to properly remove it, it was best to find a skilled mage.
And naturally, the more skilled the mage, the more expensive it was.
Expensive meant safe and reliable.
It wasn’t for nothing that I thought it might cost close to 100 gold.
I was planning to save up money and go to a larger magic tower instead of this one, but if there was an opportunity like this, I had to use it.
‘Honestly, there’s not much the royal family can do for us.’
I couldn’t ask for anything excessive, and the support they could offer wasn’t really necessary for me.
So, this was the only way to utilize it.
‘The person the royal family sends will be reliable.’
“If that’s the case, it’s certainly worth suggesting. It’s not an unreasonable request for the royal family either. Hmm, you made a big decision.”
Indeed, Expert-level slaves were hard to come by.
Experts themselves weren’t that common to begin with.
They weren’t considered high-ranking mercenaries for nothing.
“He made a significant contribution.”
Colmail didn’t ask for details.
“Alright. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
After the conversation ended, he led us to a separate room where we could finally have dinner.
They untied Annelise and allowed her to eat, but I didn’t lift the curse, so she had to remain silent.
The conversation continued even during dinner.
I asked him about the influential figures and groups in the city, and he answered my questions kindly, as if it wasn’t anything important.
‘Nothing has really changed.’
I reconfirmed the information I knew and also gained some new information.
Since I had spent most of my time at the bottom of society, there were quite a few things I didn’t know.
Through this conversation, I was able to fill in the missing information about the factions within the territory.
As the meal ended, Colmail said to me,
“Please contact me if you need any help.”
“I appreciate your kindness.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Once again, welcome to the Doriem branch.”
Thus, the meeting with the branch manager ended on a good note, and we returned to the inn.
“…We’ve got a burden now.”
Athena said, glancing at Annelise with annoyance.
“It won’t be for long. Didn’t they say so?”
“But it’s true that we can’t operate properly because of her, right?”
I interjected in Athena and Kayla’s conversation.
‘It seems they’re thinking about the map…’
It didn’t matter.
“Her presence won’t affect our activities.”
“…How?”
“Because I reached 5th class.”
Plus, with the credit guarantee, there was less need to actively seek out work.
‘We don’t need to take on many requests. We can just focus on what we need.’
Even if our story leaked out in the process, it didn’t matter anymore.
‘The Doriem branch will unconditionally support us.’
Even the radicals would have to hesitate.
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