Xenia watched as Mide and Neril entered the mercenary guild.

Where was she watching from, you ask? From the sky.

“Grrrr.”

“Shh. Surprised? It’s okay now.”

She gently patted the back of Agril, the divine steed she was riding, calming it.

This beast, which greatly resembled the legendary dragon, was one of the Empire’s precious but ‘useless’ treasures.

It was capable of crossing the continent from end to end in just ten days, an incredible speed—but no one had ever been permitted to ride it.

The fact that no one had… meant now someone could.

Xenia Seide.

Vice-Captain of the Holy Knights of Light, she was a master capable of riding and controlling Agril, who had not appeared for 300 years.

She pulled a communication orb from her bosom.

“Captain Father.”

—Call me one or the other. Don’t combine them.

Xenia’s face turned red, but she quickly spoke with forced calm.

“I’ve found Neril. Or to be precise, I found Neril and Mide. They’ve entered the mercenary guild of the Lior territory.”

—I see. I’ll send backup. Until then, just observe them.

“…”

—You must not contact Neril recklessly. Remember my words…

“But, Captain.”

She cut Dame off with a slightly tense voice.

“I think I’ve been spotted.”

—What?

“Mide suddenly stood in the middle of the road and pointed a dagger… no, he pointed directly at me.”

—That’s impossible! Agril is a divine beast. It doesn’t use mana or anything like that. Not even the Witch of Carnage should be able to detect it.

From hundreds of meters in the sky—how could anyone possibly notice?

But Xenia was sure.

“It wasn’t the witch. I said it was Mide who pointed at me.”

—That’s even more absurd. He’s just a mercenary.

“As I’ve said, Mide isn’t just any regular mercenary.”

—…All the more reason to be cautious. Return at once.

“…”

—Xenia?

Xenia hesitated for a long while before finally speaking.

“He didn’t run or hide after spotting me. He walked confidently into the guild. I think he’s sure I won’t stop them.”

—…

“I can’t just go back like this. I’ll confront him myself.”

—Xenia!

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to fight. Ending communication.”

—W-wait!

Click.

Xenia slipped the orb back into her clothes and glanced to the side.

There lay a single dagger, calmly set down.

‘This was a provocation, wasn’t it?’

When that dagger grazed past her ear, she had felt chills over her entire body.

It was incredible enough that he noticed Agril, but he even threw a dagger at it.

And that dagger had disregarded the hundreds of meters of altitude and came flying like lightning.

But the most surprising thing was—

‘There was no killing intent. It wasn’t thrown to kill.’

So he really lives up to the name, the “Sword master of No Killing.”

Xenia’s curiosity was piqued.

Why did he send that invitation?

What does he want to say to her?

Just for a moment—a very brief one—Xenia’s thoughts had shifted.

Neril was no longer the primary focus in her mind. Mide was.

Though she didn’t realize it herself.

Suddenly, I was reminded of one universal truth.

Trail is noisy.

[Why the hell did you throw that? Are you out of your mind?]

‘Calm down.’

[I heard Neril and Xenia don’t get along. We’re already busy building up a reputation in the Lior territory. Why did you go and invite trouble?]

‘That’s exactly why.’

[Huh?]

‘Right now, Xenia’s head is probably filled with thoughts of Neril. Honestly, I’m impressed she didn’t attack on sight.’

[And?]

‘I needed to shift some of that attention from Neril to me. Otherwise, how could I even get a word in?’

Trail seemed convinced, but still grumbled in his usual way.

[Still, throwing a dagger? That’s one hell of a first impression.]

Well, the Xenia I know would probably find that interesting.

Anyway, we’ll see how it plays out.

First, let’s deal with the matter at hand.

We were now facing the guild master of the Lior territory’s mercenary guild.

Since I’d shown him my proof of identity, he’d been rubbing his hands together like a fly on a feast.

“I never expected the famous Sword master of No Killing to visit a backwater place like this.”

“Please, speak comfortably. And how is this a backwater? In terms of land size, this territory ranks pretty high, doesn’t it?”

“The output of this vast land is dead last in the Empire. Everyone’s too lazy to actually work.”

“And the lord of the land just lets that slide?”

“The lord’s the laziest of them all. He probably finds supervising too bothersome.”

At that, Neril chuckled softly.

The guild master looked at her, as if just remembering something, and asked:

“And this lady is?”

I was about to answer, but Neril beat me to it.

“A noble lady.”

“…”

“What? That’s how you introduced me to the coachman.”

I ignored her and responded to the guild master.

“Just an acquaintance. Not a mercenary, so you don’t have to mind her.”

“Hmm. Got it.”

“Anyway, I’m here today to ask for a favour.”

“Anything you need. But… may I spread the word that Mide has taken a request through our guild?”

“That’s fine by me.”

Once our little deal was struck, the guild master’s expression turned serious.

“Please, tell me.”

“Among the requests registered in the guild, find one where I can encounter the Martial King.”

“M-Martial King? You mean Lord Terce Crine?”

…Who’s that?

“You mean Artwil Garen, the Martial King…?”

“…”

“Yes. Terce Crine.”

Neril turned away, holding back her laughter.

We’ll talk later.

“Hmm. I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but we don’t have any requests related to him.”

“I’m not looking for something submitted by him or requiring direct cooperation. I just need a request where I might encounter the Martial King.”

“Well… wait.”

He suddenly started rummaging through the pile of request forms, as if something came to mind.

And then it happened.

Zing.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and quickly looked toward the window.

Neril did the same.

‘Whoa. That’s a sharp killing intent.’

[Hmm. Looks like the guild master doesn’t notice it.]

‘It’s being aimed only at those it’s meant for. They’re controlling this thick intent very precisely. Definitely hero-level skill.’

Xenia.

The dagger I threw had done its job.

Even while she held hostility toward Neril, she refrained from immediately arresting, interrogating, or attacking us.

At the very least, she had developed a curiosity about me—enough not to act right away.

At that moment, the completely oblivious, and calm, guild master spoke up.

“Did you know? This place may be called the land of the lazy now, but it used to be bustling twenty years ago.”

“Really?”

“About twenty years ago, an unexplained laziness started spreading through the land. Half a year later, the lord submitted a request.”

Tap.

He placed a very old, worn document on the table.

—Find and resolve the cause of the laziness spreading through the territory!

The guild master spoke in a gloomy voice.

“It’s a request that’s remained unresolved for twenty whole years.”

“Hmmm.”

“If you accept this request, you’ll likely be able to meet the lord. And always by the lord’s side is the Martial King, Lord Terce.”

“I understand what you mean. I’ll take the request.”

“I’m sorry to dampen the mood right from the start, but this might stain your reputation, Sir Mide.”

In the past, I might’ve brushed that off, but not anymore.

Reputation.

Just that word made my body flinch.

I carefully accepted the document and said,

“I’ll have to go all in.”

“Whew. I don’t know what’s going on, but alright. I’ll send word.”

“Thank you. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Two days should be enough.”

I nodded and asked another question.

“What exactly does the Martial King do in this territory?”

“He’s the commander of the lord’s personal knights. But it’s mostly an honorary title—he’s just listed by name. His actual role is guarding the lord from close quarters.”

“If what you’re saying is true, then an expert ranked among the top ten in the Empire is guarding the lord of this rural backwater?”

“He first set foot on the path of the sword when he joined the knight order of this land. He must have deep ties to it.”

Doesn’t seem like that’s the real reason.

Anyway, now that I’d gotten the gist, I stood from my seat.

“Understood. Let me know when preparations are ready. I’ll be staying at the inn.”

But Neril didn’t stand with me.

I motioned with my eyes, but she remained seated, gazing distantly out the window.

“…Did I do something wrong to her?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. You can feel this weird vibe too, can’t you?”

I scratched my head.

Both Neril and I had lived lives that made us sensitive to hostility.

Maybe that’s why she seemed unusually upset.

“This is so annoying. I’ve never even crossed paths with that woman before, so why is she picking a fight the moment we meet… No, even before that.”

“There was a time.”

“Huh?”

“Uh… never mind. It’s nothing. Let’s just get up.”

“You’re staying pretty calm even with all this pressure, huh? Unless I’m mistaken, that woman seems to have already surpassed Dame.”

She should have.

Dame is only ranked third in the Empire.

[Heh. I see. Only third-ranked…]

‘…’

[Wait! That messes up the whole equation.]

‘Still talking to yourself, I see.’

[Yeah. I developed that habit thanks to you constantly ignoring me.]

When did I ever ignore you?

[Aren’t both Neril and Xenia in the hero tier? But thirty years ago when Dame and Neril clashed, Neril was almost killed, right?]

‘I never said that. I just repeated the rumors that said so.’

Trail went quiet for a moment, then asked:

[So that was part of the covert contract too?]

‘Yup. It had to look like everything was under perfect control for the people. Even if Neril slipped away, the message was that the Holy Knights of Light are much stronger, so the public could rest easy.’

[Phew. The world’s just overflowing with lies. No wonder Idria was so strong.]

His cryptic remark made me tilt my head.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

[You’ll see. Or maybe not. Doesn’t matter.]

I pressed him a few more times, but Trail never opened his mouth again.

That night.

Just as I was thinking about lying down, something slipped under the door.

A letter—no, just a note.

—Tonight at 11. Near the south gate.

[That’s the shortest invitation I have ever seen.]

‘Or maybe it’s a challenge.’ Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs N0veI.Fiɾe.net

[It’s from Xenia, right?]

The inn staff may have delivered it, but there was no doubt who had written it.

I grabbed my sword and stepped out.

And there she was—Neril, standing in the hallway. I had assumed she would be fast asleep by now.

“What, not sleeping?”

“Got a lot on my mind.”

“Still thinking about earlier?”

“…”

Neril looked out the window once.

“I’ve been going over it in my head, and I’m sure I didn’t do anything to Xenia.”

“…”

“But maybe… maybe I did something I didn’t realize.”

“That’s not it.”

I answered firmly.

Neril’s blood-written list had many names—far more than the number of true culprits—but Xenia’s name was nowhere to be found.

Neril widened her eyes and asked,

“How can you be so sure?”

“Most of the horrors you’ve been blamed for were false charges you willingly took on. This is probably just another case of that. It’s a matter of probability.”

“Huh. Doesn’t feel that way to me.”

“…”

“Still… I hope you’re right.”

I tilted my head.

“Not sure how this’ll sound, but you never struck me as the kind of person to care about this stuff.”

“I wasn’t. But now, if my infamy affects you negatively, that’s a problem.”

“What?”

“You said it yourself—you won’t let me keep racking up infamy. Doesn’t that mean the bad reputation I already have is an issue too? I’m not really sure, but…”

“…”

“I just don’t like that idea.”

I was honestly stunned.

Never imagined she would say something like that.

Neril frowned at my surprised expression and said,

“What’s with that face?”

“Hmph. Nothing.”

“Anyway, going somewhere?”

“Yeah.”

“Did Xenia send an invitation or something?”

Strange.

Neril stretched and added,

“I don’t need to tag along, right?”

“More like—you shouldn’t.”

“Pfft. Fair enough. Well, have fun. I’ll head to bed.”

“You could at least pretend to worry. I am meeting the Vice-Captain of the Holy Knights of Light, you know.”

Neril laughed like she’d just heard the world’s funniest joke.

“There are better people to worry about.”

I arrived at the meeting spot and scanned the area. Then I heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Golden hair and blue eyes.

Except when dealing with Neril before the regression, Xenia usually wore a gentle expression.

Whoosh. Tap.

She tossed the dagger I’d thrown earlier into the air and caught it.

And before any greeting or introduction, she said:

“I’m returning this.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep