I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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Chapter 13

Creak—

The massive wooden door groaned with the sound of its old hinges as it swung open.

Inside the tavern-style mercenary guild, people bustled about. I passed through the familiar scene and stood in front of the bulletin board. With my arrival, the area fell into a brief silence.

“…Isn’t that Mir?”

“Mir often comes here looking for quests, so it’s not unusual to see him… But there are so many impersonators these days; we need to be able to distinguish the real one.”

‘There’s a monster subjugation quest that can be completed within a week.’

Ignoring the gazes pouring over me, I searched for suitable quests on the board. I rummaged through the numerous papers stuck together until my attention was caught by a single notice.

‘Help subjugate the winter monsters in the Village of Lujou.’

The Village of Lujou was a part of the House of Crisis’s territory, situated in the outskirts near the North, perpetually invaded by monsters. I heard that it was a place that suffered from chronic food shortages and poverty due to its proximity to the eternal snowfields, making farming impossible.

‘The monsters appearing are all as ferocious and difficult to subjugate as Harabana or Bacchus. And it’s winter now.’

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue. Camping out in the cold weather was extremely arduous, and during winter, large monsters were particularly active, making winter monster subjugation especially challenging. As a result, the impoverished frontier villages often had to deal with hundreds of corpses during winter.

I sighed while looking at the bounty amount and the golden shield emblem glinting at the corner of the mission notice.

The bounty was a mere hundred gold. Given the difficulty of winter monster subjugation, it was an utterly insufficient amount—so pitiful that if there were a labor office in this world, it would surely get reported. But for the impoverished Village of Lujou, this was likely all they could scrape together for a reward.

‘Moreover, with a golden shield…’

It meant only the top-tier mercenaries could apply.

Even among mercenaries, there were ranks. They were graded based on their success rates, client satisfaction, and achievements. The jobs that mercenaries could apply for were restricted according to their grades. High-paying yet difficult quests could only be taken by those with high rankings.

‘The standard for rank is the shield.’

Iron shields for low-grade mercenaries. Bronze shields for mid-grade. Silver shields for high-grade. Only an extremely rare few who surpassed a 90% success rate were awarded gold shields. Mercenaries of such caliber never moved easily unless the remuneration was considerable.

‘But limiting the rank to gold shield while offering a mere hundred gold…’

This was no different from having no intention to gather recruits.

‘Looks like someone who doesn’t understand the mercenary world wrote this.’

A deep sigh escaped me without realizing it.

Among the golden shield mercenaries I knew, there was only one fool who would take on such a terribly difficult quest with such pathetic pay.

“I’ll take it.”

That fool was me.

As I set the ripped-off notice on the bar, Howl, who had been mixing drinks behind the counter, glanced back and forth between the notice and me. A knowing smile spread across his face.

“I was sure you’d take it as soon as I put that notice up. Is there any other fool who would take on such a quest besides Mir?”

“Quit the nonsense and just register it.”

As I urged him irritably, Howl laughed heartily and snatched the notice away.

It had been five years since I started working as a mercenary. During that time, I had formed quite a friendship with Howl, who was in charge of registering quests. He seemed confident that I was the real Mir among the countless impersonators.

“What about the golden shield?”

“Here.”

I tossed the badge I retrieved from my pocket. As Howl caught the badge carefully engraved with the golden shield and performed a formal inspection, he returned it to me.

“Registered. We need to leave right away.”

“Right away?”

“The deadline for that quest is today. Besides, the other participants for this quest will be leaving soon. If you want to go together, you need to prepare immediately.”

“…There are others besides me who have applied?”

I frowned at the unexpected situation. The golden shield mercenaries I had met so far were all greedy and arrogant individuals. I couldn’t think of anyone who would respond to such a cheap and difficult request.

“They’re not mercenaries, mind you. You know that among our guild, there’s no fool besides you who would volunteer for such a quest like that.”

“Do you want to see me draw my sword?”

“Ahem! This time, knights will be participating.”

“Knights?”

I blinked in shock at his unexpected words. Howl added an explanation.

“The House of Crisis has been quite diligent in their manor. There have been several instances where the support team sent to the Village of Lujou was completely wiped out from monster attacks, so this time they’re only organizing a team of knights to deal with the monsters.”

“Uh.”

“Apparently, if there are mercenaries who have supported the monster subjugation requested by the Village of Lujou, they’ll take them along. But I wouldn’t expect anyone to volunteer for this cheap quest. If you go, you’ll be in for a huge surprise.”

While Howl rambled on excitedly, my head began to pound.

‘The House of Crisis… that’s my biological uncle’s household.’

Nobody knew I was an illegitimate child of the Duke of Crisis. Still, it was something that weighed on my mind.

‘Well… What could possibly go wrong?’

Since only the knights of the House of Crisis were participating in the subjugation, there shouldn’t be any direct involvement with the duke’s household.

“I’ve packed my things, so let’s eat and head out right away. Where do I go?”

“Just go to the Duke’s Mansion. In fact, as soon as it was known that you would apply for that quest, they sent a telegram to the duke’s house the moment you arrived.”

“How amusing?”

“Hey, what can I say when I know how much I care about you?”

Jokingly placing my hand on the hilt of my sword elicited a nervous reaction from Howl. Having known each other for five years, we weren’t exactly friends, but we knew enough about each other’s lives. With his bright smile, I couldn’t help but offer a light smile in return.

“Is that scrawny guy really the mercenary Mir? Nonsense! I heard he was short, but that’s just a kid!”

“At that height… maybe I could beat him?”

I let the nonsensical remarks brushing past my ears fade away.

‘Today’s atmosphere is particularly filthy.’

If they were mercenaries who had worked here for a while, they wouldn’t be so reckless in talking about me. But today, it seemed many were ignorant of the topic and were blabbering. As I slowly scanned the guild, I soon found the reason.

‘An overseas mercenary group is said to be visiting soon, and that’s today.’

There were many exotic faces around; it turned out they were overseas mercenaries. Had they been unaware of the incident where I had dealt with those troublemaking mercenaries and blew half the guild away, I’d let it slide.

“Have you really lost your mind? Just shut up! I don’t want to get involved!”

“Are all the people of the Empire cowards? Why’s that kid shaking in fear?”

While there were those who attempted to stop the chatter with pale faces, the noise only grew louder.

‘Well, let them think what they want.’

A little taunting like that was just child’s play to me.

Regardless, I leisurely munched on the dried seafood sandwich I had ordered, while Howl fidgeted with unease.

“…Our guild recently underwent some renovations. We’ve replaced all the old chairs and tables.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Please don’t fight inside…”

Seeing Howl plead with a resigned expression, I chuckled softly before finishing the remaining sandwich in one bite.

“Don’t worry. I’m not a child. There’s no need to fight…”

Just then, a sudden sensation shot through me. I quickly ducked my head to avoid something flying towards me.

Crash!

Goodness, how hard did they throw it? Even a glass was surely capable of making a hole in the wall it hit. I looked at the shattered glass and the gaping hole through which the outside wind blew with indifferent eyes and sighed.

‘They threw it with mana charged in it.’

Normally, a glass wouldn’t break a wooden wall. The fact that it had been thrown at my head with mana infused within it surely meant they had the intent to harm me.

“Is that kid really the mercenary king Mir?”

The area fell silent as Howl frowned with annoyance, and a man stood up.

He was a massive figure with a rugged appearance and an exotic face. The foreign mercenary glared at me with evident malice.

He marched toward me with confident strides.

“Haha! Ridiculous! What a waste of a body to wield a sword! You’ll break your wrist before you even hold it!”

The man drew close and roughly shoved my shoulder with his large, thick hand. It was clear he intended to knock me down, but immediately after throwing the glass, he must have sensed trouble and became cautious, refusing to push against my mana-wrapped body.

I, unaffected, turned to Howl calmly and said, “Feeling thirsty? How about a glass of ice water?”

Howl, knowing I might put him in danger, turned pale at my request for ice water.

“You’re not…”

“Just say it.”

“Damn… If you’re going to fight, you should do it outside…”

Howl looked around the tavern with worried eyes as if he was dreading picking up the corpses and took steps toward the inner part of the guild.

“W-Wait! That punk!”

Seeing that I didn’t budge, the man ground his teeth and pulled an axe from his back pointing it at me. I stared blankly at him without even glancing at the sharp axe.

“What’s the problem?”

“I can’t accept that a kid like you is the mercenary king! I’m a silver shield! If I beat you, I’ll become a golden shield!”

‘What a person consumed by inferiority complex.’

Sighing, I recognized that while he wasn’t so pathetic that he lacked any fighting skills, his every word dripped with envy.

“I don’t feel like fighting.”

“Ha! So you’re scared?”

‘Afraid I’d lose control and kill you, you fool.’

Annoyed, I shifted my body from him to indicate my lack of interest in fighting. If my action was perceived as disrespect, the enraged man slammed his axe into the ground.

“How dare you ignore me?”

Swish!

With a fierce whoosh, the axe was swung towards me. It wasn’t particularly fast. I simply ducked slightly to sidestep the furious glare of the man who began to wildly swing his axe.

Bang! Crash!

The man’s axe struck the furniture, shattering it into pieces. I clicked my tongue at Howl’s pale face as I easily dodged each of his attacks. This was almost akin to child’s play for me.

“Little rat!”

With an enraged face and heavy breaths, the man hurled the axe at me.

‘A fool. Losing your weapon is something you should never do, mercenary.’

Unless it was an unavoidable situation, a mercenary should never lose a weapon from their hands.

I leaped to evade the incoming axe.

Bang!

The axe buried itself in the ground where I had just been. In the next moment, I propelled myself off the handle of the axe lodged in the ground and soared up high.

I met the man’s astonished face directly. In that moment, I emanated an aura of killing intent throughout the area.

“Yikes!”

A violet mist of black smoke filled the building. Everyone held their breath, and I concentrated on the man before me. His muscles couldn’t bear the overwhelming force I exuded and began to tremble.

“You’d better know who you’re dealing with before you jump in.”

Muttering thoughtlessly, I roughly covered the man’s mouth with my gloved hand. The black aura covering my hand surged wildly and enveloped him.

My aura touched a nerve directly connected to his brain.

“I am Mir.”

Bang!

The gigantic figure crumbled without resistance.

I settled into a chair amidst the heavy silence that enveloped the area.

The mercenary king Mir. That name held a weight beyond compare.

‘Even though I started out for money, though I never aimed to become this grand…’

Nonetheless, I loved the sword and took pride in this name.

Loving the sword was an invincible force for me. I delighted in the sound of the weapon slicing through the air, cherished the black aura glowing at the sword’s tip, and rejoiced that I could protect my precious ones with it.

The name ‘Mir’ served as a testament to the years I had desperately fought to keep my dear ones safe.

“Crazy…”

Howl, who emerged with an ice water, gasped at the sight of the wrecked interior after being smashed by an axe. I snatched the glass from his dazed hand, downing it in one gulp with a grin.

“I just avoided it. Let that guy compensate for any damages.”

I placed the crumpled money on the bar and stood up.

“Well then, take care, Howl.”

As I lightly passed the gazes that were now upon me, I departed the building.

“…You bastard!”

Howl’s anguished cries echoed behind me, ringing loud and clear.