Volume 2 Chapter 53 To Achieve Fame
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Are you saying we should temporarily hire adventurers as security?”
”That’s right. What do you think, Waterman?”
”Hmm.”
The bald knight responded surprisingly calmly to Maribel’s suggestion.
He had thought that someone with police authority would have pride and face to consider, but it seemed the situation was different.
As Kian wondered about this, Waterman himself explained the reason.
”Indeed, in the past, we have requested the Adventurers’ Guild to send personnel during major ceremonies. It’s cheaper than maintaining a large number of knights at all times. If we couldn’t fill the position of the security chief this time, we planned to hire adventurers to guard the western area of the arena.”
”Then there’s no problem, right? In our country without a standing army, this is a rational decision?”
”No, it is a huge problem!”
McCutchen interjected, his eyes wide.
He continued, looking back and forth between Waterman and Maribel.
”This person could be a spy from Azrael! To entrust security at the ceremony to someone like that is practically inviting the enemy to infiltrate!”
”…If necessary, I will sign a contract magic scroll.”
Kian, who had been silent until then, quietly made his offer.
Regarding Maribel’s proposal, if he could be entrusted with the security task at the ceremony, he had to take the chance.
He might have hesitated before, but now he felt confident after gaining experience with his equipment, magic power, and in ‘glasses’ mode.
It wasn’t about whether he could do it or not.
He would take the risk and do his best.
That is what it means to rise up.
Nothing changes if you remain passive.
Kian took a quiet deep breath and stared at McCutchen.
”Sir McCutchen, you should know my circumstances. …I am indeed Azraelian, but that doesn’t mean I love Azrael.”
”Circumstances?”
Waterman frowned.
”I am an outcast. I was scorned as a failure and thrown into the outside world on the day I came of age. My family was my enemy. …Even the one person I thought loved me abandoned and betrayed me.”
He spoke matter-of-factly, but his words carried heat.
A bottomless darkness──a flame of hatred and vengeance.
The negative emotions that had smoldered like embers until now.
”The Azrael within me is like a landscape painting. I find it beautiful and nostalgic, but that’s all. If the owner of the house where the painting is hung says, ‘I don’t need it anymore, throw it away,’ I’ll respectfully remove it from the wall and promptly incinerate it. Not a single speck of dust will remain.”
”I understand your situation, but I have no reason to hire you as a guard.”
”Exactly! Well said, Waterman! There’s no need to go out of our way to hire Kian Vahid when there are other suitable candidates!”
”Is my recommendation being ignored, you two?”
”With all due respect, Your Excellency, this Waterman is a responsible professional. To ensure nothing goes wrong on the day, I want to carefully organize the personnel from a professional standpoint. ──Kian, have you ever guarded a ceremonial venue before?”
”No. However, I recently protected Your Excellency from assassins during a VIP escort mission.”
”That’s irrelevant. I’d prefer to hire someone with experience.”
”Could you test my ability? I’m confident in my spatial awareness. For example, I’ve fully grasped the structure of this courtyard and the positions of all the personnel stationed here. ──Including the position of Sir McCutchen’s guard waiting in the hallway behind us.”
Kian casually pointed behind him with his thumb.
”The guards has a standard-sized short spears from the Margrave’s guard. If necessary──”
He moved with ‘Leap.’
Appearing above the guards waiting in the hallway, he landed silently behind them.
”I can kill them.”
”Wha──!?” “W-what!?”
”────────”
Kian slipped past the stunned guards, leaped over the railing, and calmly returned to McCutchen and Waterman, who were standing there with their mouths agape.
”I’ve also mastered 3 languages: the Western Common Tongue, the Eastern Common Tongue, and Azraelian. At the Azrael monastery, I studied architecture. Since becoming an adventurer, I’ve blasted and broken 3 ruins in the back alleys that served as hideouts for the Yellow Gang. I’ve buried and killed a total of 13 members. I’ve also worked on flattening a rocky dungeon in the eastern part of East End. You can verify these details of my past work by inquiring with the Adventurer’s Guild.”
”Excuse me, but what’s your adventurer rank?”
”Rank 8, Baron Waterman.”
Kian modestly lowered his eyes and answered succinctly.
”I was promoted to Rank 8 just the other day.”
”That’s absurd… It doesn’t make sense.”
”No, Waterman. He’s useless in sword fights because he has no magic power. That’s why he was a low-rank adventurer.”
”But, Sir McCutchen. Judging by his earlier movements, he was using magic power just fine. Honestly, I thought he was just some shady ordinary adventurer, but this… is surprising.”
Waterman stared at Kian with hawk-like eyes.
His entourage of knights was even more obvious.
All of them had their hands on their sword hilts, ready for action.
Some, realizing the gap in strength, were sweating nervously under their helmets.
(As expected, Waterman’s subordinates are well-trained. They’re completely different from those young guards. They’re on par with the soldiers from the Knights of the Sun.)
’Even if they sre rotten, they sre still the Margrave’s personal guard. Each one must come from a family skilled in martial arts.’
”Do you speak the Eastern Common Tongue as well?”
”Yes.”
”…….There’s a small Eastern town in the outskirts of the castle. We’re expecting a few guests from there, and we definitely need someone skilled in their language. To be honest, my subordinates only speak the common Western tongue. As for the hired adventurers, it goes without saying. We need someone fluent in Azraelian.”
”Hey, you’re not seriously thinking of hiring this guy, are you?”
At the old fat steward’s question, the bald knight Waterman fell silent for a moment.
After about ten seconds, he spoke carefully.
”Even if we don’t hire him, we should keep a close eye on him. If what he said about his background is true──”
”There’s no lie in it. I confirmed it by contacting Friedrich, the guild master of the East End Adventurers Guild. ──Sorry, Kian.”
”No, it’s fine. I’m a mysterious Azraelian, after all, Your Excellency.”
”Princess… did you invite him to the fortress knowing he’s an expert in demolition?”
”According to Friedrich, he’s a very serious adventurer. After meeting and talking with him a few times, I felt the same way.”
”──Don’t be fooled by his appearance! We should get rid of him quickly!”
McCutchen shouted, veins bulging.
Waterman weakly shook his head.
”It’s too late to remove him now. We either hire him or kill him.”
”────────”
One of Waterman’s knights──the most skilled among them──tapped Waterman’s shoulder and shook his head.
Several others also looked at the bald knight, agreeing with the gesture.
They were likely saying it would be unwise to fight here.
In reality, Kian had already finished simulating how to kill every hostile person in the courtyard in his mind.
With the Windsong Blade and the newly acquired Magic-Draining Mirror, he could easily turn this place into a sea of blood.
Of course, he’d prefer to avoid killing if possible.
Waterman turned to Kian again.
”You, I heard you risked your life to protect the princess from some assassins the other day. Why did you do it?”
”────────”
The honest answer would be “Because that was the quest content,” but that’s not the kind of formulaic phrase the bald knight is looking for.
Through this question, he is trying to find out Kian’s true intentions.
Friend or foe?
Are they trustworthy people, or will they betray you for money?
”…I was banished from Azrael because I was not qualified to be a warrior monk, but if Your Excellency Maribel had been the head of the country, I don’t think that would have happened. Your Excellency is intelligent and knows how to choose information. She doesn’t discard talent easily, but gives an equal opportunity to those who sell themselves. She also evaluates fairly… That’s why she accepted me, even though I’m an oddball. She has charisma. She has the presence to unite this frontier and lead the people. I didn’t want someone like that to fall to the sword of an assassin, and I had to protect Your Excellency even at the cost of my life – that’s why I protected her with all my might.”
”Kian…. Did you think of something like that?”
”────”
Maribel’s words are answered with silence.
He kept his eyes down, and before long, Waterman seemed to nod.
”Sir McCutchen, I think we should hire this guy. I think it would be a good idea to give him some proper housing and keep him after the ceremony is over.”
”That’s stupid, are you insane, Waterman?”
”Yes. Nowadays, all the best people are being snatched up by the Knights of the Sun. How many of our knights do you think can stand up to Lord Oswald, Lord Renaud, and Lord Owl?”
”No, but”
”Lord Owl has been faithful to me, but Lord Renaud has not. Lord Oswald is… a man I don’t think should be trusted. Do you understand?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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