Chapter 46: Recruiting (2)

[‘Barel Hejit’ has temporarily joined the party.]

[He will be considered part of the party until the end of this event.]

“My goodness. I can’t believe this young magician can’t hear….”

When I brought Barel over, Tirvaen’s expression was pure bewilderment.

It seemed that, among all the witches in history, none had ever borne such a disability.

“Hmmm.”

Tirvaen’s gaze turned so cold that it was almost unsettling, making Barel shrink back.

But she was just sizing him up as a magician.

“You, you’re about early 4-star level, right?”

“……!”

Barel’s hands flitted nervously.

-How did you know?

“There are ways to know everything.”

Please tell me too!

“It’s a secret.”

It seemed that knowledge of sign language was also included in the memories of the previous generations, as Tirvaen understood Barel’s meaning perfectly.

She even seemed better at it than I was at picking things up.

“Hm.”

After staring at him for a while, the witch shook her head.

“It’s an almost unbelievably unfavorable condition, yet you’ve made it this far.”

I was curious about that too.

“How much of a disadvantage is a speech disability?”

Tirvaen fell into thought for a moment, then held up a single finger.

A pale, slender index finger.

I tilted my head, unsure what she meant.

“Others live with five fingers, but he has to make do with just this one. That’s about the difference.”

“!”

“If you can’t use your voice, it’s hard to ask and answer with your teacher. You probably can’t even touch magic phenomena that require phonetics. And you basically have to abandon all spells that can only be cast by voice….”

She shrugged.

“I wouldn’t have managed. Not ever.”

“I see.”

But Barel would go on to become the Chief Magician of the Revolutionary Army….

Suddenly, this kid looked completely different to me.

‘When I met him in the game, I just thought, “Wow, impressive.”’

Seeing him in person now was a whole different feeling.

‘Kid’s the definition of overcoming adversity.’

That’s exactly how I felt.

Back when I played the original game, if ‘Karlsroit’ was my vanguard, then ‘Barel Hejit’ was my backline striker.

‘He was my main artillery, melting enemies from afar with explosive damage.’

That made him all the more special to me.

He hadn’t officially joined the party yet, but after this quest, I intended to ask him to travel with us.

Just like always.

“Let’s do our best.”

-Yes, I look forward to working with you. So, ‘Shian’, you’re the team leader, right?

“That’s right.”

-But I haven’t seen these faces in Aurax before. Are you all from other regions?

That was a question never asked to player characters.

This subtle shift was happening because I was Gilloshian.

‘We can’t reveal everything about ourselves here.’

I could tell them once the event and quest were over.

“You’ll find out soon. We still have to recruit one more, so let’s talk more later.”

Shifting the topic, I turned to Karls.

“Any word from her side?”

Karls quietly shook his head.

“.I see.”

Even I noticed how despondent my voice sounded, which annoyed me.

‘Damn.’

Of course, the “her” I was talking about was Eve.

Eve Rotwyler.

A player, like me, trapped in an NPC’s body.

‘But in the end, she didn’t look for me.’

Even though she had spies watching us.

Even though she knew I’d joined the camp late.

She never sought me out first.

..That was clear.

“So, ‘Eve Regal’ has no intention of working with me.”

That meant she wasn’t going to give up her own quest strategy.

Karls hesitantly opened his mouth.

“She might have her own reasons. Maybe we should approach her first.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Even if we couldn’t cooperate, I needed to see what kind of expression she’d have.

‘And I need to prepare for the worst.’

But there was still something else to do before that.

‘If things go sour with Eve, we’ll still need to fill that last spot.’

I needed insurance.

That insurance was close at hand.

“En nuna. Can you find out where Hekster Walt is?”

“Hekster?”

Just hearing the name seemed to displease Tirvaen, whose face twisted.

“Why him, all of a sudden?”

Karls seemed the same.

But I just grinned.

“Don’t mess with him, but among his followers, there’s a guy called ‘Shark Robren’.”

“……Shark? What does he look like?”

“Big, bald, probably has a longbow slung over him.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen him among the woodcutters.”

“Don’t call him over just yet. Casually ask if he’s interested in the ‘Soulstone of the Orc Warrior’.”

“Soulstone of the Orc Warrior? That’s pretty much useless to humans, isn’t it?”

“Right. But just bring it up.”

“……?”

“There’ll be a reaction.”

“……Ah!”

It seemed Tirvaen finally caught my meaning, and she nodded confidently.

She quickly disappeared into the crowd.

‘Alright, that’s our insurance in place.’

But I noticed Karls’s eyes, watching her back, wavered with anxiety.

It wasn’t hard to guess why.

I teased the knight hopelessly in love.

“What’s wrong? Worried?”

Karls awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Worried she might get hurt or something?”

“I—yeah.”

What a cute guy.

But there’s something he should know.

I folded my arms and spoke.

“You’re underestimating your sister, aren’t you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Think about the gap between her and everyone else here.”

Even if she’d been demoted to my master, Tirvaen was a 7-star witch, recognized even in the royal court of the Magic Empire.

Compared to her, the kids here…?

‘Well, they are promising.’

They were the future prodigies of the Revolutionary Army Camp.

But!

“They’re just kids who’ve barely come of age. Even if En wanted to let herself get beaten up, it wouldn’t be easy.”

“Ah!”

If you think about it, it’s obvious.

If the situation was right, Tirvaen could annihilate an entire company in an instant—her firepower was that overwhelming.

Even in terms of achievement, Karls was still far behind Tirvaen.

I grinned at Karls.

“So, don’t worry too much. It’s an insult to her.”

“……I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

“Let’s just say your love is longer than your thoughts.”

“Th-that’s not…! No!”

“Why not? What’s wrong with loving your sister?”

I cackled, mercilessly teasing the now red-faced Karls.

But there was something I didn’t say to him.

‘Once we leave this camp and enter the forest, things will change.’

In fact, from that point on, “getting hurt” might not even count as harm anymore.

As I said before, anything that happens in the hunting ground isn’t anyone’s responsibility.

Even a Swordmaster would be helpless against a knife in the back.

That’s why I needed trustworthy people.

‘Barel Hejit, Shark Robren.’

The two of them would make excellent companions.

“Now, shall we go meet the one we can’t trust?”

I asked Karls.

“Karls hyung, you know where Eve is, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Let’s go. Barel, come with us.”

It was finally time to meet the mysterious woman.

Hekster Walt sat quietly in his tent with his eyes closed.

The kids outside were making a racket, but he didn’t care.

The words from earlier spun through Hekster’s mind.

‘That bastard knows what I did last summer?’

……How?

He couldn’t understand it at all.

He’d slipped out of Aurax under the pretext of a training trip to meet the necromancers—an act done in utter secrecy.

So how could that guy know?

A guess?

‘No way. He described me drinking the “black water” exactly—he definitely knows.’

He couldn’t help but agonize.

“Shan Alledro…”

He had to figure out what to do about that guy.

The simplest solution was to enter the hunting ground and quietly cut his throat so no one would know.

It was cruel, but not unheard of.

Kids from rival families often killed each other during the ritual.

‘Or I could dig up some dirt on him.’

Actually, Hekster preferred the latter.

He wanted to bring the utmost pain to that arrogant brat who’d dared to threaten him.

He wanted to yank him around with his weakness like a collar and make him taste suffering worse than death.

……Yes, that’s what he’d do.

‘What kind of weakness could he have?’

He’d heard they weren’t from this region, so there was probably nothing to dig up.

Just as Hekster was deep in thought—

“Boss, you need to come out for a second!”

At the shout from outside, Hekster frowned.

“Hey, you brat. Just because you say so, I should come out? Where’s your manners? Want to die?”

“S-sorry! But, boss, En Alledro is trying to poach one of our members….”

En Alledro?

At that name, Hekster sprang up.

Savage thoughts flashed through his mind, and a twisted grin crept onto his lips.

“Kekeke, what luck is this?”

If he got his hands on that girl, the whole game could flip in his favor.

Could that guy still talk about last summer after losing his own sister?

And she’d walked right into his hands….

“I’ll savor this, that’s for sure! Kekeke!”

Chuckling gleefully, Hekster flung open his tent and stepped outside.

He shoved through the gathered kids and pushed forward.

There, the girl stood.

‘En Alledro.’

He’d seen her in passing, but she really was stunning.

Crimson hair pouring over her white cheeks like a waterfall.

And features with a mysterious aura that drew a second look from anyone.

But standing by her side, talking, was that big guy—

“……Shark Robren?”

Recognizing his subordinate, Hekster’s face contorted.

“You planning to betray me?”

Shark scratched his bald head.

“I just heard an interesting offer, boss. Haven’t decided yet.”

“You crazy bastard! I fed you, raised you, and now what? An interesting offer? Haven’t decided? Ungrateful brat’s lost his mind. Really.”

Shark Robren had been raised as a 4-star archer with support from the Walt Family since childhood.

So, of course, Hekster owned him.

Just as he was about to assert that—

“Hey, brat. Even if your mouth’s crooked, say things straight.”

The red-haired witch tilted her head with a sneer.

“What?”

“Your family didn’t feed and raise him. You just kept him on a leash like a dog. Right?”

Hekster faltered for a moment.

A strange pressure emanated from the little witch’s small frame.

‘What is this?’

But Hekster quickly snorted.

Backing down from this wouldn’t befit a 5-star assassin.

“Hey, we’ll have our fun later, missy. This is family business, okay?”

But Tirvaen didn’t wait.

She already knew what he was thinking.

“The outcome’s obvious.”

[Binding Magic: Nightmare Stage]

Shaaa!

From the witch’s crimson eyes, gray mist burst forth.

It seeped into the kids’ heads in an instant.

Unprepared for magic, they froze in place.

Even Hekster, confident in his own strength, was no exception.

“Ugh, uhhh…”

Shivering like a frozen log, he was rendered speechless.

“You’re not planning to kill them, right?”

“Geez, of course not.”

Tirvaen smirked at the alarmed Shark.

“It’s really nothing. Just a short nightmare.”

“That’s a relief, but… their faces look terrifying.”

“It’s a pretty scary nightmare.”

Well, anyway.

The red witch offered some sincere advice.

“Think it over, Quarter-Orc.”

“I—”

“You know as well as I do—those sedatives he tosses you sometimes won’t cure your frenzy. Only the Soulstone of the Orc Warrior will.”

With that, Tirvaen turned on her heel and walked away.

Left behind, Shark Robren disappeared somewhere after a brief moment of thought.

A short while later—

“Haah!”

“W-what?”

“What happened?”

Finally freed from the magic, Hekster could only stare in blank disbelief.

“En Alledro! Shark Robren! Wh-where did they go?”

“Uh, I don’t see them?”

“Goddamn it! Those miserable brats!”

The neighborhood bully’s fury pierced the sky, having gained nothing and lost everything.