—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Huh? It shouldn’t be time yet, should it?”
“Well… Master.”
“What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”
Baldur’s face showed considerable perplexity.
“Well… Someone from the castle has come looking for us.”
“Ah, the iron cage? They came early.”
At this speed, it was likely that the Magic Tower had moved directly.
‘They must have been quite eager.’
However, the Magic Tower seemed even more urgent than I had thought.
“Well… the iron cage did come, but…”
Baldur continued, as if finding it somewhat absurd.
“It’s not just the iron cage that came.”
I asked with a sense of disbelief.
“…Did someone from the Magic Tower come directly? A magician?”
“Yes. And it seems to be someone quite high-ranking.”
There was no need for Baldur to explain further.
In the distance, a group was approaching us.
The magician at the forefront came up to me and spoke.
“Ah, is it you? The warlock who newly registered recently.”
He looked at me with a very bright expression as he spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I am Otriokar, a 5th class magician and the branch manager of the Doriem Magic Tower branch.”
He abruptly extended his hand to me.
I hid my stiff expression and grasped his hand.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Inha, a necromancer.”
“Oh, nice to meet you. I heard about you from the guild. I heard you attempted to capture a troll because our side needed it?”
It seemed the Mercenary Guild had spoken well of me.
As I wasn’t so tactless, I nodded and answered.
“Yes, that’s right.”
For reference, among magicians, those with higher circles and classes were the ones who called the shots.
This level of condescension was relatively polite.
Whether it was because I had caught the troll for them, or because there was an advanced expert among my companions, I wasn’t sure.
Depending on the person, there were even those who would speak informally right off the bat.
Despite that, if they were of a higher level than me, it was better to just accept it.
Without a significant background, this was quite common.
I was currently 4th class, and the other party was 5th class.
Moreover, I was a newly arrived warlock mercenary with no background whatsoever, while the other party was a proven magician who had risen to the position of branch manager of a Magic Tower.
Given that I was lacking in every aspect, this level of treatment could be considered face-saving.
Besides, even though he was acting like this now, if I were to rise to 6th class, things would change.
Of course, magicians were also human and were influenced by personal connections, positions, master-disciple relationships, seniority, and brotherly ties, but at the same time, there were many who completely disregarded these things, making circle and class the top priority.
Other than that, perhaps achievements like research results?
It couldn’t be helped, as there were many people in this field who would be considered mentally ill by normal standards, so such criteria were inevitable.
“You are a rare kind of warlock. If all warlocks were like you, they wouldn’t be treated the way they are now.”
The branch manager of the Magic Tower laughed heartily as he spoke.
“So, is this the troll you caught this time?”
“Yes. It was difficult to control, so I had no choice but to leave it like this.”
“Of course. It’s a troll, what does it matter? The damaged joints will heal on their own as long as it’s fed well, so there’s no problem. No, it’s rather amazing that you managed to keep it just at the level where it can’t regenerate. I heard your companions are excellent, is this their work?”
“That’s right.”
While Otriokar was speaking to me, his gaze frequently shifted to the troll.
In those eyes, strong greed was evident.
“It seems you really needed the troll.”
“Ahem. That’s right. You see, I was researching a certain potion, but there were some side effects.”
He explained that among the potion ingredients, there was a poison, and it was quite toxic, so the experimental monsters couldn’t withstand it.
“I have several hypotheses, but it’s difficult to determine the direction and criteria. They die before I can even confirm the reaction… Tsk tsk.”
He said he needed the troll for that.
Well, a troll would be able to withstand most poisons.
‘The process might be painful, but that’s not my concern.’
If you worried about such things, you were not a magician.
“I’m glad my small effort could be of help to your research, Tower Master.”
My flattery seemed to please the branch manager of the Magic Tower, and he smiled.
“Hahaha! Tower Master, you say? That’s quite an exaggeration! I’m just the manager of a branch. To be at the level of a Tower Master, one needs to be at least 6th class!”
Despite saying this, the corners of his mouth showed no sign of coming down.
It seemed Otriokar was the type of magician who was weak to flattery, which was quite common.
‘Surprisingly, there are quite a few childish ones among magicians.’
Many people thought of magicians as wise and intelligent, but a magician’s knowledge was usually concentrated in magic and their field of research.
While it was true that they tended to be intelligent, personality was a different matter.
They had a lot of knowledge, but it was hard to say they were particularly wise.
They tended to be stubborn and many were trapped in their own world.
Especially those of higher ranks… tended to have such tendencies.
Of course, not all of them were like this, but it was an undeniable fact that quite a number of them were.
‘Those obsessed with magic.’
Only such individuals could rise to the top, which was why the higher the class of a magician, the more likely they were to have personalities difficult for ordinary people to understand.
“Ah, is that so? I heard that even a branch is considered a tower…”
“Well, that’s true in form.”
Otriokar boasted that if this potion research was successfully completed, he might be able to have his research achievements recognized, upgrade the branch to an official tower, and possibly receive the title of Tower Master.
It wasn’t impossible.
There were cases where 5th class magicians officially became Tower Masters.
‘If research results are good, or if there’s absolutely no one else to succeed, there are cases where they become Tower Masters.’
The former was somewhat better, but in the latter case, they were often disregarded, and since most 5th class Tower Masters fell into the latter category, Otriokar’s earlier statement reflected the common perception.
‘Independence, huh…’
That wasn’t an easy thing to achieve.
However, I didn’t show this thought.
I chose to humor him appropriately, and thanks to that, I succeeded in forming a fairly good image.
“You’re quite easy to talk to!”
“It’s an honor.”
“Hmm. Anyway, I can’t just let this go after you’ve prepared such a fine specimen. The Mercenary Guild said 10 gold, right? I’ll specially add 1 more gold.”
I didn’t feel particularly moved.
1 gold wasn’t a small amount of money, but considering the opportunities I would have in the future, I couldn’t feel too excited about it.
In the meantime, Athena, Kayla, and Baldur, having heard the news, arrived at the scene fully equipped, and I received the money and handed over the troll on the spot.
They seemed to have prepared in advance, apparently quite urgently.
‘Well, how often do opportunities like this come along?’
Monster hunters were rare and not well-regarded, so their numbers were extremely few.
Especially skilled ones were monopolized by merchants, so even for the branch manager of the Doriem Magic Tower, it wasn’t easy to obtain a live troll.
In such circumstances, this opportunity had come…
‘It’s not really strange.’
When the people he brought had difficulty pulling out the stakes, Kayla helped resolve the situation.
Otriokar, who had been speaking down to me, couldn’t do so to Kayla and expressed his gratitude in a polite tone.
Kayla, perhaps thinking of me, accepted it moderately.
In fact, Kayla had slightly frowned when she saw how Otriokar was treating me, but I secretly stopped her because getting involved in matters between magicians could become troublesome.
‘At most, it’ll be 1 or 2 years.’
Until now, Kayla and Athena’s growth had been noticeable, but now it was my turn.
Although it was unavoidable for now, things would be different later.
The return journey was decided to be made together with them.
Since we had planned to leave today anyway, we were able to depart quickly.
We left the village with the sendoff of the village chief and the villagers, comfortably returned to the castle, and during that time, I had to engage in brief conversations with Otriokar.
He kept talking about the reasons why his research had failed so far, and thanks to this, I could indirectly understand how grateful he was to me.
Of course, there was absolutely no mention of the core of his research.
He might have had a childish personality, but he wasn’t stupid.
‘This is the good thing about childish magicians.’
It was difficult to gain their favor at first, but once you did, they tended to view you positively unless something really went wrong.
Of course, they absolutely hated anything that brought them loss, but…
‘I don’t particularly want anything anyway.’
Just gaining a good image was enough.
As long as I wasn’t actively hated, that was sufficient.
‘In any territory, the influence of the Magic Tower is bound to be significant.’
The Magic Tower could exert direct or indirect influence on merchants, lords, the Mercenary Guild, and so on.
For a warlock, who was disliked just by existing, not being at odds with the Magic Tower was already a great achievement from this incident.
“If anyone tries to harm you, come find me. I’ll help you anytime!”
“I’m grateful for just your words.”
I responded to him with the most benevolent smile I could muster.
Of course, I had no intention of directly asking for help.
Just the fact that I had received such words would indirectly spread the news, and that alone was enough.
After arriving at the castle, we parted ways with smiles, and when we returned to the Mercenary Guild, Servisso immediately handed over the payment for the request.
“The branch manager of the Magic Tower seemed very pleased.”
“I was just lucky, but he viewed me favorably.”
“Our branch manager is currently away, but I think it won’t be long before you’re invited.”
“I see.”
I had thought they would watch for a while, but it seemed things had changed with Otriokar’s involvement.
It seemed he had been quite vocal even before meeting me…
‘His personality must be well-known.’
On top of that, I had shown a humble attitude that perfectly suited his taste…
‘He’ll come looking for me whenever he can.’
I smiled and asked about the next request, and Servisso looked a bit surprised when I said I would take another request without resting.
Well, usually mercenaries took a rest after completing a request.
Mercenaries typically took requests that matched their level, and as a result, they tended to be exhausted after completing one.
Even lower-ranked mercenaries who were desperately in need of money usually rested for the day after completing a request, so he was bound to be surprised when I asked right away.
It wasn’t just any request either; we had even captured a troll.
“Ah, I don’t intend to do it right away. I’m just looking to see if there are any good requests.”
There weren’t any requests as good as the previous troll subjugation.
Originally, I had planned to complete as many requests as possible quickly for my purpose, but now there was no need for that.
The situation had changed.
I had just formed a good relationship with Otriokar, who could be considered an influential figure in the territory, and as a result, good rumors were about to spread.
It was an opportunity to improve my image more effectively while doing fewer requests by resting for a day or two, letting the rumors spread, and then focusing on monster subjugation activities.
Therefore, we rented a separate inn and took about two days of rest.
There were still some people who were annoying, but when we ignored them, they didn’t cling to us anymore.
The rumors of us catching the troll and immediately forming a good relationship with the branch manager of the Magic Tower upon arrival had quickly silenced those who had openly insulted us before.
The inn we chose was the one with the sleeping bear sign where we had stayed on the first day.
Although it was quite expensive, it wasn’t a big problem to stay there now that we had funds.
‘Even with money, there’s nowhere to spend it.’
Our equipment was dwarven-made so there was nothing to change, and we weren’t the type to just play around.
And since it was impossible to make friends by openly treating others to food and drinks like in the past, now that I was known as a warlock, there wasn’t much we could do at the moment.
‘Time will solve everything.’
Probably after the meeting with the branch manager, many mercenaries would seek me out even if I didn’t look for them.
So, during this unexpected free time that had somehow appeared, while we were resting…
“Huh?”
I had gone to the Mercenary Guild to look for any useful requests, but finding none, I was about to leave when I encountered a woman.
The woman stared at my face for a while and then approached me to strike up a conversation.
“You must be a new mercenary, right?”
“Ah, I noticed an unfamiliar face. Nice to meet you. I’m Annelise. I don’t belong to any mercenary group, I’m still working in a party.”
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to have just returned from completing a request.
She didn’t seem to know that I was the recently registered warlock.
Although I was wearing a robe, my face was exposed, and since the staff looked off-putting, I had wrapped it in leather, making it look like just a self-defense stick at a glance.
Therefore, I could have appeared to be an ordinary mercenary.
She extended her hand towards me as if to shake hands, and I looked at that hand for a moment before extending my own hand to accept the handshake.
“I’m Inha. I’m a warlock.”
“A… warlock? Wait. Then you must be the one who just arrived…”
It seemed she had heard some news upon arrival.
“…I heard you had a better personality than other warlocks… It seems that wasn’t a lie. You even shook hands.”
She licked her lips slightly as she spoke.
“I heard you also formed a connection with Master Otriokar…”
“I was lucky.”
“If you have some time, would you like to have a meal together? I’m curious about many things, but it feels a bit off to do a background check. Ah, of course, I’ll pay. I just completed a request, so I have some money.”
She spoke to me with a very confident attitude, and I nodded as if it was no big deal.
“I didn’t expect you to invite me first… I’d be delighted. Everyone else is busy avoiding me.”
“Hehe. Connections are important for mercenaries. Alright. Let’s meet at the Fairy Tavern in an hour. I’m in no state to be seen right now.”
“See you in a bit, then.”
She waved her hand and left the place, and as soon as she disappeared, I wiped the smile off my face and looked at the place where she had vanished with emotionless eyes.
‘It’s been a while.’
And her methods hadn’t changed either.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
