“……”
In the heavy silence, I silently gazed upon the figure of the “Nameless Demon.”
Instead of observing from a distance as before, I was now confronted with the fine details of my adversary in front of me.
Her brown hair tied back was slightly curly, and her eyes held a depth that made it impossible to discern her thoughts.
In her hand was a single short sword, but aside from the scabbard at her waist, there was another sword visible behind her back, and she also had two daggers at her hip.
Considering her small stature and lean frame, it appeared as though she was surrounded by weapons rather than simply equipped with them. Strangely enough, this didn’t seem unnatural.
She was of a similar age to me, a former mercenary, wielding an array of weapons with combat prowess that belied her years.
Despite the absence of any visible system window or anyone informing me, I was certain.
This girl was one of the six templates a player could choose from.
A key to navigating this perilous world.
‘It’s surprising that she’s a woman, but it’s not entirely unusual.’
The characteristics determined by the template primarily encompassed background settings and abilities. Aspects such as name, gender, and appearance could be customized by players within certain limits, and in the case of “Hero Assembly” mode, it was entirely random.
When I first chose the “Nameless Demon,” I played as a male, but there was no guarantee that would be the case again this time.
“Uh, um, thank you. You saved my life.”
I expressed my gratitude to the girl, whose name I didn’t even know.
Purely thankful as I was, there was nothing wrong with leaving a good impression on someone who was the “Nameless Demon.”
“……”
However, no response came in return.
The girl didn’t open her mouth or make any gestures.
She simply gazed at me.
With an air of mystery, her eyes seemed to penetrate my innermost thoughts, making me feel oddly anxious.
Had the Nameless Demon been mute? That didn’t seem to be part of her character.
Or had I done something to offend her? If she believed I had abandoned them to escape, it would have been Dorf who did so, so I needed to clear up that misunderstanding.
“Uh—”
Just when I was about to speak again, her mouth finally opened.
“-Only words?”
Did I just hear that correctly?
Hmm, maybe the shock had affected her. It seemed her hearing was a bit off.
“Well, I wouldn’t think of just thanking the person who saved my life with mere words. Something like a reward, or at the very least, a decent weapon would be better. It’s the life of a rich young master’s worth, right?”
“…………………………”
I glanced up at the sky for a moment.
It appeared that the first protagonist I had met was somewhat of an odd character.
<><><>
Ligret, she revealed as her name.
“I originally wasn’t planning to step in. But if both that chubby guy and you were to die, I wouldn’t get paid for the request, would I? Clark and the others seemed busy worrying about other things.”
“So you came to save me?”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find it, but since I have time, I might as well. Besides, I didn’t plan on fighting in front of others anyway.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s just a hassle.”
She didn’t elaborate on what was a hassle, but I could take a wild guess. Standing out isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Even though she was strong, it’s even more true for a girl her age.
“…What are you doing, anyway?”
I asked Ligret, who was inspecting the sword that lay next to the man pierced through the throat.
“Checking if it’s usable. But it’s not that great. It’s not bad either, but it’s not worth replacing with my old one.”
With a swift motion, she tossed the sword to the ground.
Could it be that she had been switching weapons every time she defeated an opponent with a better one?
“Anyway, judging by what I mentioned earlier, that chubby guy is probably dead by now. Looks like the request has failed.”
She casually remarked as if it wasn’t her concern.
From what she said, it seemed that the remaining mercenary group and guild members were capable enough to survive on their own.
If that were the case, rejoining them again wouldn’t present much of a solution for a Lord’s son who had few companions left.
But—
‘If I go back empty-handed, will that Head of the Family throw me aside?’
I didn’t know.
After all, I wasn’t the one in charge of this deal, and I was merely observing to learn, so I shouldn’t bear too much responsibility. However, my understanding of that Head’s character was still lacking.
All I knew was that he was the unscrupulous owner of a merciless trading company, womanizing, and turned a blind eye to the power struggles among his own children.
Hmm, after thinking it through, I couldn’t foresee a good outcome.
I pondered for a moment but eventually mustered up the courage to speak.
“If I told you there might be a way to receive the reward, what would you say?”
“Hmm? How?”
Ligret tilted her head questioningly, so I continued.
“-Capture the culprit of this incident.”
<><><>
Stern Baldwin, the heir of the Baldwin family and son of Sardan Baldwin, was feeling anxious.
“…Isn’t it taking too long for a single child to be captured?”
The elite members he had mobilized for this operation were those he usually trained alongside, the next leading members to guide the Baldwin territory.
Although they were equipped lightly due to the dire economic conditions of the territory and the necessity for a swift ambush, their skills weren’t lacking, and he thought this operation would be straightforward.
However, contrary to Stern’s expectations, he had yet to receive news of victory from his comrades who had conducted the ambush from within, and the team pursuing the youngest son of the Midas family, who had escaped their trap, had also not returned for a long while.
‘Should I have taken charge of the ambush team inside instead?’
As the heir to the territory, he was responsible for being cautious and ensuring the objective of capturing their target rather than running into chaotic engagements. Nevertheless, he was currently regretting that choice.
If he had been busy fighting in the fray, he might not have been here anxiously waiting.
A young man, who had just moments ago been screaming like a pig, pointed at the unconscious Dorf beside him and spoke up.
His face, swollen like a steamed bun from multiple blows, sported several gaps where his front teeth used to be, and his limbs twisted grotesquely in a way that seemed he was barely clinging to life. However, Stern shook his head.
“He worked as the hands and feet of the Midas head. He might help us understand their ugly side or weaknesses, so let’s keep him alive for now.”
“Understood.”
Rustle.
In that instant, an unsettling presence emerged from the dense thicket ahead.
Stern and his subordinate turned their gazes that way and widened their eyes at the scene that appeared through the trees.
Chrome Midas.
The primary target of this operation and a filthy scion of Midas was dragging something much larger than himself toward them.
The fact that this “something” bore an uncanny resemblance to a comrade with whom he had shared meals just the previous day, coupled with the boy’s sinister grin as he discarded their comrade like garbage upon approaching, robbed both men of their composure and reason.
“You bastard!!”
A man charged in a fit of rage, but his path was blocked by a blade that flew in from the side.
A flash of light flickered, and in the next instant, the man’s body spun through the air like a windmill, flipping upside down, and blood gushed from his neck, which had almost been severed due to a combination of the force of his charge and the slashing motion used against him.
In a fit of rage, Stern swung his weapon at the girl who had killed one of his comrades, but Ligret, instead of enduring the attack, discarded her longsword and drew a shortsword to meet his strike.
For just a moment, Stern’s gaze wavered at the sight of a young girl who had killed her comrade, but his anger swiftly overshadowed that fleeting hesitation.
Clang! Clash!
Unlike his comrades who were cut down in mere exchanges, Stern, the next lord and recognized knight, held his ground against Ligret without faltering.
No, he was, in fact, overwhelming her.
‘Incredible agility and variation, she’s surprisingly strong for her frail frame. She possesses that kind of cunning and instinct that goes straight for the vitals without hesitation.’
But that was all.
‘She’s never properly learned swordsmanship, so her fundamentals are lacking. Besides, her strength, impressive as it may be, is merely relative to her appearance; she is no match for me!’
Each time their weapons clashed, Ligret stumbled backward under the pressure, while Stern’s assault grew even more fierce.
Eventually, the moment Ligret tripped over an exposed tree root and lost her weapon, he was sure of his victory.
‘This is also a result of the Midas family’s cooperation. Don’t blame me for this!!’
A final, deadly strike came down.
—Or, at least, it was supposed to.
Had the girl not swiftly rotated her body before falling, catching his leg in the process.
“What the—”
Thud!
A jarring shock reverberated through Stern as he lost his balance and crashed head-first into a tree.
Even through the excruciating pain of his face scraping against the bark, which sent horrific sensations coursing through his body, he managed to open his eyes one last time, seeing the large club the girl had pulled out striking down at him.
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