〈 Different Place at the Same Time (3) 〉
A border area where the Azerion Empire in the center of the Aeon Continent, the Republic of Zephia in the east, and the southern desert region meet.
Despite the barren conditions of land that could not even be farmed, there was a very prosperous metropolis that was gaining ground.
Free City Dracal.
Drakal, which was no more than a city-state because it belonged to no one, was also a buffer between the two great powers and a trade brokerage—.
Above all, it was the home of a mercenary guild with branches throughout the continent.
In fact, in order to become mayor, you had to be chosen by the guild, the city’s main mayor, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was truly a country of mercenaries.
And in that country, the person who was in a position equivalent to that of the Prime Minister… or rather, ‘had’ a brief moment in time, was Patrick, the current Secretary-General.
‘That’s a pain in the ass.’
Patrick, a man in his late 30s with oiled-back brown hair and neat clothes, took pains to maintain his facial expression.
The man, who looked more like a civil servant than a mercenary, gently pressed his hand to the corner of his mouth, which was trembling slightly from stress.
‘How did I get all the way up here… I can’t give up like this.’
He was an Earthling from Ireland.
It was also sent at a particularly late age, and I was called to another world while I was in the midst of a busy working life as an elite.
Immediately after falling to this earth, he did his best to survive.
After all, this was a new level, so the data I researched before transmission was useless, and the abilities I had were auxiliary classes that were not suitable for battle, so it was a lot of trouble.
‘Anyway, if I go back to Earth now, I can’t live a normal life. Then, you should get as much as you can from here.’
More than ten years have passed since he worked his way up the mercenary guild, willing to do all kinds of hard work.
But do you have to step down like this before you can even enjoy the fruits of your efforts?
‘You can’t do that. cancer! ‘You can’t do that.’
He gritted his teeth as he remembered his new friend, a large warrior.
A friend he managed to find after losing the connection to former mercenary king Kanbul, who had elevated him to his current position.
It was Harley who was active in the death squad as a companion of the warrior.
Thanks to my relationship with him, I was able to safely maintain my position as Secretary-General even after a considerable period of time has passed….
“Are you listening? Secretary general.”
Apparently, competitors from other factions could not tolerate it.
“Yes, of course. Lord Claven.”
Patrick responded politely to the middle-aged man standing in front of him.
He looked again at the group of people who suddenly burst into his office, where he was busy working, as if they were in a conspiracy.
‘They came here with complete intention. Are you planning to finalize it today?’
Starting from guild executives to the heads of large guilds.
Among those dozen people, there were four who had a particularly special presence.
‘Four extreme powerhouses… That’s crazy. How on earth did they capture this many people?’
My saliva went dry at the energy that was implicitly radiating from them.
If he were an ordinary person, he might have fainted just by that, but even he, who could use karma points and unique skills, was not an idiot.
He swallowed the sigh that was about to escape without realizing it and managed his expression again.
“But as I said last time, Harley is busy being with the Holy Son as a member of the death squad. But you can’t ignore that and proceed with work in such a hurry…”
Even though he was the secretary-general in charge of the guild’s practical affairs, such authority was only established when there was a mercenary king who had real power and could look after the guild’s affairs.
Now, they were the very force and face of the guild, and they were no different from superiors, so they had to be careful about their actions at all times.
“Huh, you think we don’t know anything?”
“…yes?”
However, his careful excuses did not last long and were blocked.
When he seemed confused for a moment, the archmage, who was watching the situation from behind and the representative of a faction mainly made up of middle-aged female mercenary magicians, opened her mouth as if it was no big deal.
“It seems like it’s been quite a while since he’s been wandering around the South separately. What did they say, the fighting king of Chalcos?”
“…But in Calcos, the tribal federation, it is a kind of honorary position…”
Patrick hastily answered those words.
In the first place, it was absurd for the mercenary guild, which was supposed to maintain complete neutrality, to fall under the control of someone who called himself the ‘king’ of a country other than the mercenary king.
Their logic was that since he could not be called a mercenary at the point when he became the ruler of another country, it was natural that he should be deprived of his qualifications as a mercenary king…
“Let’s stop dragging this on and finish it quickly. It’s starting to get a bit annoying now. Just pluck off the head and throw it away…”
“Talum.”
“…Tsk, even if you help me. “Then just figure it out.”
A large, muscular warrior with a bushy bandit beard who was making an aggressive threat clicked his tongue when the middle-aged man standing in front of him stopped him.
He must have been a strong man who reached the extreme, but now he crossed his arms and stepped back as if he would follow the other person’s will.
‘Clayven…’
Patrick’s eyes turned again to the middle-aged man in front of him.
As a former wandering knight, he is a master-level knight who entered the mercenary world more than twenty years ago, and is an ambitious man who is determined to rally together representatives of other factions and aim to become the next mercenary king.
“Doesn’t the Secretary-General already know? If you take your time like this, it won’t do you any good. “If I had really made up my mind, there wouldn’t have been a need for such a troublesome procedure.”
As the saying goes.
He was a strong candidate who competed on equal footing with the former mercenary king Kanble’s faction, as he was not only armed but also possessed outstanding political power.
At that time, he was defeated in legitimacy by Kanbul, who had made a name for himself as a pure mercenary, and ended up falling out of the race.
‘This is difficult.’
In fact, this kind of pressure has happened often before.
Still, I was able to somehow avoid it by using Harley’s name as a shield, but now that the other side had a justification, it was slowly becoming difficult.
Claven also seemed to be trying to follow the procedure because of the sky-rocketing value of his name, but there was a limit to how much his agent could endure by selling his name when he himself was not there.
“You’re not planning on handing this Drakal over to the southern barbarians, are you?”
“…Is that possible?”
“Hmm, then you still believe in that guy called Tuwang?”
When Patrick appeared to be shaking, Claven pushed him in a strong tone.
He was a strong man in the entire mercenary guild who could be counted on one hand, so he had a lot of confidence, so he didn’t say it out loud, but his tone of voice implicitly showed a feeling of belittling the other person.
Of course, I had heard of the famous great warrior named Harley, and it was true that that reputation was a burden, but…
‘What? A legendary dragon? A giant over 10 meters tall? …under! ‘That’s nonsense.’
The rumors were exaggerated, and as it was nothing new, he thought they were all lies.
It makes me laugh out loud, wondering who on earth would believe such nonsense.
Perhaps Patrick went to such extreme lengths to use him as a shield?
‘I would rather join the death squad. If that were the case, there wouldn’t have been a need to go back like this.’
The memory of holding his breath for fear that he would be called in his place immediately after the death of former mercenary king Kanble had already disappeared from his mind.
Contrary to what I had thought at the time, I was filled with unfounded confidence as the death squad was actually cruising along.
Even if he had gone, he would have been able to do that much.
That was the main reason why he had recently begun to move actively and expand his influence within the guild.
It was obvious that if I stayed like this, I would lose my position as the King of Mercenaries for nothing.
It was natural that a conflict arose with Secretary General Patrick, who supported Harley.
“…Secretary General, I have something to tell you…”
But what a twist of fate.
Things started to go in a different direction than Claven had thought.
A little suddenly.
“Now… in the lobby on the first floor…”
The secretary, who had carefully entered the office, swallowed hard and continued speaking, feeling overwhelmed by the intimidation of the many high-ranking officials lined up.
“…They say Harley has arrived.”
***
‘Let’s see your face sometime.’
The mercenary king candidate Claven walked confidently.
He was now heading to the lobby with Secretary General Patrick as well as other high-ranking guild officials who had stormed into the office.
To meet Harley in person, whom I had only heard about.
‘Of course, no matter how exaggerated the rumors are, he won’t be such an easy opponent.’
Perhaps, when it comes to simply using force, I may be a little lacking.
The name value of being a member of a deadly force that worked together with a warrior cannot be completely false.
‘But the mercenary king cannot be said to be merely strong in arms.’
Unlike Harley, who only recently began to make a name for himself, he has been a mercenary for over 20 years and has been active as a strong representative of the mercenary guild for about 10 of those years.
Those intangible assets were never something that could be ignored.
And isn’t he alone now?
‘It doesn’t matter if you give up your rights to others. Once he takes the position of mercenary king…’
He confidently headed to the lobby with the powerful people who had promised to support him.
The moment I arrived there, I noticed an unusual atmosphere floating throughout the space and frowned.
“hmm?”
In fact, the size of the lobby was enormous as it was the headquarters of the mercenary guild, which was practically the ruler of the Dracal.
From numerous counters and desks to various convenience facilities.
The lobby was always crowded with people using it…
“…….”
“…big.”
There was a strange silence in that space now.
Even though there were no people.
And those who had just arrived at the lobby naturally found out what the cause was.
‘The author is…’
A man who was almost lying down on the sofa next to the pillar, with both hands on the backrest.
At that time, his gaze, which had been lazing like a well-fed lion, turned to them and—.
‘ah.’
…Just because of that, those who came down here with confidence became stiff like everyone else here.
“oh! It’s been a while, Patrick! How have you been? Hahaha!”
However, as if he didn’t care about their reactions, the person in question found Patrick in the middle of the group, smiled coolly, and slowly got up from the sofa. A
final
sigh escaped from the sofa, which had already sunk in response to that action.
Although the weight in tons was reduced as much as possible by using energy, an object made based on the normal human weight could not support it.
“Oh, I’m sorry about this! “I think the sofa is broken.”
“…Oh, it looks like it was a defective product. It’s okay, Harley. “It was scheduled to be replaced soon anyway.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, this is the guild headquarters, so don’t bring any good stuff.”
“Hahaha sorry. “We will pay more attention in the future.”
A muscular giant approaches him, clicking his tongue, and before he knows it, Patrick comes to the front and bows to him.
But even in that situation, the high-ranking officials, including Claven, could not say anything.
‘big.’
That was the first thought that came to everyone’s mind.
The biggest of them all, Bandit Beard, was over two meters tall, but he could barely compare to that man.
…No, I wasn’t just talking about size.
The density of existence.
Their status as living creatures is different.
It even felt like the surrounding space was being weighed down by him, like a rock on a bed.
‘What the hell is that?!’
Claven barely swallowed his saliva.
I didn’t do anything in particular, but my breathing gradually became shorter.
As the distance between me and the creature slowly approached me like a well-fed beast, my body began to react uncontrollably.
‘no way.’
It was a little late to notice because it was the first time it had happened, but he was soon able to understand what this reaction meant.
‘…Surely it was like this?’
It is a warning sent by instinct.
It was a desperate scream from a body that recognized that its life was at risk.
In reality, the other person wasn’t paying any attention to this and was just laughing and talking with Patrick.
“oh! Who are these friends? “The level is pretty good?”
Just then, the being turned its gaze and looked back at where they were.
And Claven, who made eye contact with that incomprehensible thing, was able to realize it right away.
‘…Die.’
Adversity is impossible.
Are the rumors exaggerated? This is a rumor fabricated by Patrick? The author doesn’t have the qualifications to be a mercenary king?
It was literally bullshit.
Those things meant nothing in front of that monster.
All the shallow tricks he had prepared were meaningless.
Whether it is concentrating public opinion, uniting factions, or bringing together many powerful people.
What good is that to someone who can tear it all apart right now?
“Ah, they are no different from the executives of our guild. “We were having a conversation together to discuss the direction of the guild.”
“iced coffee! That’s right! But why are these guys so stiff? I won’t eat you, so relax your shoulders! Kahahaha!”
Harley bursts into laughter again at Patrick’s answer.
Only then did Claven, who was able to properly perceive his surroundings, realize that he was not the only one who had reacted strangely.
For some reason, it has been strangely quiet since a while ago.
Regardless of whether it was a drama or not, everyone who came with us was sweating coldly with extremely nervous faces.
Seeing that, he quickly decided his course of action.
“…This was rude. I’ve heard of your reputation, Harley. It is an honor to meet you like this. “My name is Claven, leader of the Golden Crow mercenaries.”
The waist slowly bows with a polite greeting.
It was a clear expression of surrender.
“Oh! “I wish you good luck in the future!”
Then, Harley, who smiled brightly as he approached him, lightly tapped him on the back.
…It was clearly a light touch, but Claven smiled awkwardly as he tried to control his swaying body.
A servile smile driven only by survival instinct.
“Luckily, I think I’ll be able to remain friends with you in the future! Hahaha!”
“Ha haha… that’s a good thing…”
And it was the right decision.