Chapter 130: Evan (7)

Time flew by like an arrow.

Now, without anyone saying anything, we gathered every weekend and went on bounty hunts together.

Evan would decide the target and do the background check and then Yuria and I would put our heads together and make the overall plan.

When the operation was executed, the situation generally flowed according to our plan, but as is the case with all human affairs, it couldn’t be perfect, and variables arose, so we also faced crisis situations.

But the three of us solved those crises by exercising our individual wits and sometimes by working together, and as we did, we gradually seeped into each other.

Yuria was also collecting the 200 gold she had aimed for, and I also got a considerable amount of money.

Enough to be a nice side income.

The cult’s requests had been sluggish recently, as if they were plotting something, but fortunately, thanks to the bounty hunting, I was able to make up for the lack of income.

Perhaps because of that, even Luis, who had initially opposed bounty hunting, saying it was dangerous, has now changed his stance and is actively pushing me.

As a result, Evan was also making a name for himself in the Frey Empire.

Bounty hunters and soldiers of the Capital Defense Headquarters respected him, and the citizens of the empire also cheered and praised him as he went around taking the heads of villains like the grim reaper.

However, the perception of Evan within the Academy was the opposite.

His image, which was already not good because he was a former war mercenary, became even worse.

The reason was that he had damaged the dignity of a professor.

Since the profession of an Academy professor was socially respected and most of them were nobles who valued honor, Evan, who was also working as a bounty hunter behind the scenes, was not looked upon favorably.

But the center of the gossip, Evan himself, didn’t give a damn.

Like a cool guy, Evan didn’t even pay attention to what the surrounding professors said or what they gossiped about him.

His interests and purpose were money.

Only money.

And I recently finally found out why he craved money so much.

“You look busy these days, Gerard.”

It was Section Chief Baron.

“I hear you’re sticking with Evan every weekend.”

“Huh? You knew? Come to think of it, I heard you were the one who brought Professor Evan here, Section Chief Baron?”

“To be precise, Department Head Pirion and I brought him together.”

He continued.

“Take care of him. He’s a guy who works hard for his sick mother. He’s a good fellow.”

“Huh? His mother is sick?”

“Hmm? Did Evan not tell you?”

Evan’s reason for having to earn money.

It was for the medicine for his mother, who had an incurable disease.

Department Head Pirion and Section Chief Baron had met Evan when they were both active in the Central Knights.

The two, who had gotten lost during an operation, met the war mercenary Evan, and they formed a bond after receiving his help.

“We did a lot of persuading back then. His abilities were too good to be wasted wandering the battlefields. And his deep filial piety for his mother. So we suggested he become a professor instead of living as a war mercenary who could die at any moment.”

From Evan’s perspective, it was a proposal not even worth considering.

It was truly a golden rope sent down from the heavens.

It was a given that an Academy professor was more stable and earned more money than a war mercenary, and most importantly, it was a more respectable and proud profession than a war mercenary.

“How happy his mother would be if she regained consciousness and found her son had become a professor. That was the clincher.”

That was the story of how Evan became a professor.

“But seeing him go bounty hunting every weekend……”

Section Chief Baron trailed off and moaned.

I could guess the rest without having to hear it.

‘His mother’s condition has worsened, and the cost of medicine has reached a point where his professor’s salary can’t cover it.’

Knowing these circumstances, I saw Evan in a new light.

His gruffness, which had seemed cool, now looked like depression and sadness; the weapon he wielded against villains looked like a son’s effort to save his mother; and the heavy and sturdy-looking armor looked like a pledge and firm will toward himself.

And so, the weekend and the promised bounty hunt came again.

Swaaaaah!

A night of pouring rain.

We took shelter in a cave to avoid the pouring rain, and decided to spend the night there.

We made a fire and dried our wet clothes first.

Yuria seemed tired and was dozing off, leaning against the wall.

Then she lay down on her side on the floor and fell asleep.

I stared blankly at the fire.

Occasionally stirring the firewood with the poker I was holding.

Just then, Evan got up from his seat.

Evan took out a blanket and covered the sleeping Yuria.

Huh?

I stared blankly at the sight, and even though I had witnessed it with my own eyes, I experienced a momentary cognitive dissonance.

The cold and gruff Evan is taking care of Yuria?

‘Why?’

Evan glanced at my expression and answered, though I hadn’t asked.

“……Don’t misunderstand. I covered her because I was worried she might catch a cold. As I’ve always emphasized, the most terrifying enemy during field activities is hypothermia.”

I emphasize again, I hadn’t asked.

I was just looking because Evan’s action was unexpected.

I thought he was only interested in his mother and money, but this person also had a soft spot.

“It’s true. There are no other ulterior motives.”

But if you keep denying it like this, it looks even stranger.

“I don’t even see girls under fifteen as women. In the first place, I’m not interested in women, and I don’t want to get between you two.”

Wait.

The last part was strange, so I asked with a bewildered expression.

“What do you mean by the last part?”

“I heard you two are in that kind of relationship.”

“Who said that?”

“Section Chief Baron.”

It was the person I expected, so I wasn’t particularly moved and couldn’t be bothered to react, so I just let out a short sigh.

“Sigh. Here we go again. Don’t believe what that person says. We’re not in that kind of relationship.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

Evan nodded his head.

I stirred the firewood again, and the flames that shot up for a moment pushed back the darkness of the cave and illuminated our two faces in red.

“Idemacus. That’s the name of the disease my mother has.”

And the story suddenly began.

“A devil’s disease where you have to rely on medicine for the rest of your life and even that medicine is at best for maintaining the status quo, not a cure. But to save my mother, I have no choice but to do my best and that’s why I needed money. The reason I bounty hunt.”

“……”

“But I don’t think I have much time left for this either.”

I flinched and looked up at him.

‘Not much time left for this kind of thing. Don’t tell me his mother’s condition has worsened?’ a miserable thought came to mind, but when I looked at Evan, a faint smile was already on his lips.

I could count on one hand the number of times I had seen him smile, but this was the brightest smile among them.

“A while ago, I was introduced to a doctor. He was said to be a doctor with considerable knowledge and authority in the field of internal medicine and that he was researching a cure for Idemacus. So I took my mother to him, and what do you think the result was.”

“Was it a success?”

“Yes.”

His smile deepened.

“Although it was only half a success, my mother, who had always been staring at the ceiling, looked at me.”

At the same time, a blurry film of water formed in his eyes.

“……It’s been 5 years. The time it took for my mother to look at me.”

I felt like his sincerity was being conveyed, and I too was overjoyed.

“That’s really great. Congratulations, Professor.”

“Thank you.”

“Now you don’t have to do this bounty hunting thing anymore, right? Oh. Then is today the last day?”

“That’s not it. The doctor demanded quite a lot of money for the treatment, so I think I’ll have to go bounty hunting three more times. So, could you help me just three more times?”

I grinned.

“Of course. We should be the ones asking for the favor.”

I have learned quite a lot while being with Evan.

Things I couldn’t learn in the Academy’s lectures, and things that couldn’t be explained by the words in a secret tome.

An enlightenment that can only be faced when experienced with the body.

“Do you know something, Gerard?”

“What is it?”

“My mother’s cooking skills were the best in the empire. If the treatment is successful, I want to let you taste my mother’s cooking too……”

He trailed off and Evan cast his gaze outside the cave.

Was it his first time inviting and treating someone?

Seeing him look quite awkward, I nodded my head with a smile.

“I’m curious about that. Please finish the treatment well and be sure to invite me.”

Afterward, we stayed up all night, chatting about this and that.

That day, the sky poured down a torrent of rain all day long, as if a hole had been torn in it.

The cloudy day was as gloomy as night, and the wind and lightning blew and struck without warning, hindering our march.

It was a sudden deterioration of the weather.

Why?

I had a bad feeling about something.

But as if to mock my prediction, Evan threw an axe at the head of a wanted criminal who was fleeing through the storm, and the axe flew without wavering in the fierce wind and rain and smashed his head.

Thwack!

We cheered.

Whatever the case, we had caught the wanted criminal, so that was enough.

After successfully finishing our journey, we immediately returned to Icata.

The next day.

I received my share of the bounty from Evan and I gave it back to Evan just as I had received it.

At my action, Evan’s head tilted to the side.

“Why? I gave you the tuition fee.”

“……All of this?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Don’t tell me you……”

“Eh? No. I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but I was purely satisfied with your teachings during this bounty hunt and there’s no other reason. Please don’t misunderstand on your own.”

And without looking back, I bowed and parted ways.

A smile suddenly came to my lips.

At first, I was curious about the person named Evan.

His background, hidden in a veil because it wasn’t revealed in the original work, his gloomy image, the wall he built toward others, and even his situation of not being able to adapt to the Academy.

I felt it.

He was the optimal talent for Shadow in many ways.

What I was especially greedy for was his strong martial power.

I thought he would become an outstanding comrade who could sufficiently make up for Shadow’s lack of interpersonal combat power.

But as we stuck together, I guess I gradually seeped in.

Before I knew it, I was sincerely wishing for the happiness of him, who was trying to cure his mother.

‘So just one more bounty hunt is needed, right?’

Since I gave him my entire share this time, if we go out just one more time, his mother’s treatment fee will be completely collected.

‘I hope it’s a success.’

And that night, I met Guartes for the first time in a long while.

It was an urgent meeting and a request that required a solution on the same day.

It was a sudden request, but the pay was just as high and given my personality, I would take more, not refuse.

Of course, it was a call.

The difficulty was not high, and it was a matter of sneaking an item called the ‘Rune of Exorcism’ from the Research Wing.

So I immediately headed to the Research Wing.

The problem was──,

The axe.

Whoosh!

Kkaang!

After successfully stealing the Rune of Exorcism and leisurely coming out, I heard the sound of the wind being torn from the side and swung Raven.

At the same time, an incredible repulsive force and pain were felt in my wrist.

It felt as if I had struck a rock.

I looked at the object that had fallen on the floor, wondering what it was.

It was an axe.

At the same time, a man suddenly comes to mind.

And the sound coming from the front was adding certainty to the ominous speculation.

Clank, clank.

……The Empire’s worst thief and the Empire’s best bounty hunter met at the Academy.

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