WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 18

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Rumors of a Windfall (3)

Kyle looked down at the girl. She was trembling - not just her voice, but her shoulders too, shivering in small jerks.

So it was her. Someone had been watching him with unusual persistence since yesterday.

His eyes narrowed on their own. Kyle had sharp instincts. Even without hostile intent behind it, he'd notice when someone held their gaze on him too long. And he could tell when that attention carried a specific purpose.

She was nothing like the onlookers who'd gathered to watch yesterday's fight. The girl was shaking, yet doing everything she could not to show it. The determination in her upward gaze was almost a bonus. She didn't seem malicious - if anything, by now, she was starting to look a little pitiful.

"I didn't expect you to approach me directly..."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Talking to myself - ignore it. More importantly, you're a mage?"

Kyle sheathed the sword. Clean, without a single wasted movement. The girl's eyes widened slightly.

"Y-yes..."

"How did you know my name?"

"Yesterday, when you were talking to the bartender..."

"You were eavesdropping."

The girl bowed her head, thoroughly ashamed.

"...I'm sorry."

"Forget it. It's already done."

For her to show up at this early hour - not so surprising, when he thought about it. Kyle looked her over again.

A fine blue robe. An emblem stitched into it. Blue hair visible beneath a pulled-low hood. Eyes closer to a pale teal. And tucked inside her robe, a wand of noticeably good quality.

A mage from the Lenore Magic Tower.

In this world, mages were just as important as knights. Just as each kingdom established and cultivated its own order of knights, mages had their own separate walls to call home - a magic tower.

Among them, the Lenore Magic Tower was the finest in the Kingdom of Brendel. Rather than belonging to the royal capital, it anchored its own city. He'd heard that while they'd once clashed bitterly with the royal family, they now maintained a cooperative arrangement in exchange for the city's autonomy. Most mages affiliated with the Lenore Tower were children of Brendel nobility or wealthy merchants.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself sooner."

While Kyle was thinking, the girl cleared her throat.

"I'm Lena. As you can see, I'm a full-fledged mage of the Lenore Magic Tower. I haven't been out of my apprenticeship for very long, but..."

"......."

"My main magic is ice-type, and also..."

"What is it you actually want to say?"

Kyle cut her off. Lena flinched and faltered.

"Well, that is..."

"......."

"Th-this time! You're heading into a dungeon, right?"

"What of it?"

"Would you be willing to take me with you?"

Lena lifted her chin sharply. The way her lips pressed tight made her resolve plain.

"As it happens, I'm looking for party members. You're a silver-rank mercenary, and I'm a full-fledged mage from the Lenore Tower - if we formed a team together, surely..."

"No."

"Right, I knew we'd be a great match... Pardon?"

She'd been rambling. Now she just stared blankly at him. Kyle's voice came out flat.

"Didn't catch that? I'll say it again. I refuse."

"Wh-why?"

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. Why should I form a team with you?"

"B-because dungeons are dangerous to enter alone! I know I might not look it, but I'm quite talented in magic - even if I'm not a genius, I've been called gifted plenty of times."

"......."

"Ice magic is versatile, you know. If I went into a dungeon alongside you - a silver-rank mercenary and a swordsman - then, well..."

He looked at her quietly.

"I'm sorry, but I work better alone."

"......."

"Unless group coordination is essential - like a trade escort - I'd rather not drag an unknown variable into somewhere like a dungeon."

"...Then what about a commission?"

"What?"

Kyle had already turned to leave. He stopped.

"You're a mercenary, so you accept personal commissions too, right?"

"......."

"Then I'll do it. A named commission. I'll hire you as my escort."

Her voice wasn't trembling anymore. Lena looked straight at him.

"Fair warning - my rates are high."

"I know. Silver-rank, so I'd expect that."

"Say I agree to be hired. What's the pay?"

"Here."

After a brief hesitation, the girl reached behind her neck under her robe. When she extended her hand toward Kyle, a large pendant rested in her open palm - one she'd apparently unclasped from her own neck.

"It's a pendant with a shield-magic formula inscribed on it. Feed mana into it and it activates on the spot - strong enough to block most physical attacks and magic both."

She wasn't wrong. The sapphire pendant looked unmistakably expensive even at a glance - obvious to anyone, let alone Kyle, who was sensitive to mana.

"That's a rare piece. Looks precious."

"It is. It was my parents' keepsake. But that's all right. Please come into the dungeon with me."

"That makes even less sense to me. Your parents' keepsake, just to get into a dungeon?"

Mages from the Lenore Tower carried a fundamentally high social standing.

Mages were rare. Mages from a prestigious tower were rarer still. A full-fledged mage of the Lenore Tower was almost always a noble or the child of a wealthy family. Even those who weren't came from exceptional talent.

As Kyle saw it, this girl named Lena had no experience in any of this. The fine robe, completely out of place for sleeping rough. The way she'd flinched looking up at him. Anyone could see she'd been raised in a greenhouse. For such a young mage to be at a tavern like this, alone, without escort or companion, trying to recruit party members from among mercenaries - none of it made sense.

"Have you ever done mercenary work?"

After a brief silence, Kyle turned to the fidgeting Lena.

"Uh, no..."

"Then have you ever entered a dungeon or a ruin?"

"That too..."

"Dungeons are dangerous. Uncleared ones more so. You could die. You understand that?"

Die. At the word, Lena's body - already stiff with tension - shuddered visibly. But she bit down on her lip and said firmly,

"...I know. That I could die."

"And?"

"I need money."

"A Tower mage shouldn't be short on money."

"What I have isn't enough. I need a great deal of money. Or at minimum, a relic or artifact related to divine power..."

Lena gripped the pendant in both hands, tight.

"Please, Kyle-ssi. Take me into the dungeon. If the pay isn't enough, I'll return to the Tower and add more. If you'd like, separate from the escort commission, we can split whatever money or byproducts we find inside the dungeon half and half. Just take me with you, and then..."

She bowed her head deeply, the pendant thrust toward him.

The sun was rising. Kyle stood and looked down at this desperate girl. Afraid of being turned away, perhaps. Her hood pulled down low.

The hem of her blue robe kept trembling. Anyone could see she was desperate.

What to do.

Kyle thought it over.

A young mage from the Lenore Magic Tower. No escort. No companions. No experience in any of this, by the look of it. A Tower mage should have no shortage of funds, yet she needs money. Short of that, a divine-power artifact of some kind. So she'd approached the person she'd assessed as the most capable on the first floor yesterday and asked to form a party. Going so far as to offer her parents' keepsake as payment.

A personal matter, perhaps. Or something tied to the Lenore Tower itself.

Either way, it might not matter. He'd been planning to enter a dungeon anyway. The payment wasn't bad. Having one mage along wouldn't hurt - casting magic himself meant burning through top-grade magic stones one by one, and even if ice magic was her specialty, she could likely handle the basics of other elements. And if things went well, he might even build a contact within the Lenore Tower.

"Do you know where the dungeon is?"

The thought was quick. The decision came faster.

"Oh...!"

Lena's face lit up as she raised her eyes. When she spoke, her voice had changed - lighter, almost eager.

"I do! It's about three days' travel from here."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Two days ago, at this inn. I heard there was an information broker well known in this area, so I paid for the information. Cost me five large silver coins..."

"Five coins?"

"Uh... is something off?"

Lena tilted her head. Kyle sighed without meaning to.

A routine scam, and she'd fallen for it completely. Not even information about the dungeon's interior - just its location, for five large silver coins.

"We'll talk payment later. Let's set out."

Kyle picked up the cloak he'd draped over the well bucket and pulled it back over his shoulders. Lena blinked in surprise.

"Right now?"

"Didn't you commission me to escort you inside the dungeon?"

"I just didn't think we'd leave immediately. I thought there'd be time to prepare..."

"Prepare?"

Kyle smiled faintly.

"No time to waste. Enough people have gathered here - if we drag our feet, there won't be anything left for us."

If the bartender was right, word of the uncleared dungeon had already been spreading for over a week. Famous mercenary companies as well as nobles had their eyes on it, apparently - they needed to move.

"Just follow me for now. We'll talk details later."

***

After accepting Lena's escort commission, Kyle first washed off the sweat from training. Then he sat down on the first floor of the inn and ordered breakfast from the same bartender as the day before.

"The market district?"

"That's right. General goods shops, food stores. There are a few things I want to pick up before we leave."

"Easy enough. Go straight out from here and head north - you'll find it right away. But are you really leaving already?"

The bartender glanced at Lena hovering awkwardly beside Kyle, surprise plain on his face. He hadn't expected Kyle, who'd said he was going in alone, to show up with a mage - and a Lenore Tower mage, no less.

"Have to. No reason to stay."

"Fair enough. Though wouldn't it be better to find a few more party members? Mages are always welcome, sure, but two is too few for a dungeon..."

"Thanks for the meal. The rest is a tip."

Kyle cut the bartender off and, just like the day before, left a generous amount of coins on the bar counter. He ignored whatever else the man added and walked out. Half a beat behind him, Lena followed, working through a sausage in tiny bites.

"Where are we going?"

"Food stores. Provisions first."

Heading north through the city, the two found the market district without much trouble, just as the bartender had described. Whether because the sun was now fully up, or because the dungeon had brought a surge of people, the morning market was far livelier than expected.

"Do you have dried meat and biscuits?"

"Sure do. How much do you need?"

"As much as possible. Enough for two people to eat for a month. And also..."

"Got dried fruit and nuts too. Good price. What do you say?"

Kyle moved from shop to shop, buying food. Mostly provisions that kept well. The dried fruits thrown in as a bonus were actually quite decent. The price ran a bit high despite the talk of a good deal, but that was just how it was.

After that, several more shops followed. Kyle walked without hesitation. Prices were inflated above normal from the surge in dungeon-driven demand, yet he didn't bother haggling - just bought. That left Lena with nothing to do but trail along behind him.

She watched his back and thought.

What kind of person was he, exactly?

He'd said it himself - silver-rank mercenary. Hiring someone that capable was well and good. Just watching him put down those troublemaking mercenaries yesterday was enough to see he operated at a different level entirely.

But from what little she'd observed, Kyle didn't seem like a simple mercenary. He felt more like a knight-errant drifting aimlessly across the continent. His basic manner of speech and movement had that quality too. And that swordsmanship she'd seen at dawn - she couldn't quite put words to it, but even from her inexperienced perspective, it wasn't something a silver-rank mercenary should have.

Maybe...

"We're here. Last stop."

She'd been deep in thought when Kyle stopped abruptly ahead of her.

A weathered sign hung over the entrance. A general goods shop.

Kyle walked straight inside. An elderly man with glasses was reading a book behind the counter.

"I'd like to purchase a few things."

The old man looked up as Kyle approached.

"Going into a dungeon, are you?"

"Yes. You've heard, I take it."

"We've been getting a lot of customers for that lately. Good for a merchant like me, no question. Any specific items you're after?"

He closed his book, set it aside, and pushed himself to his feet with a groan.

"Two lamps that run on lower-grade magic stones. Four waterproof, sturdy blankets. One hemostatic ointment. Five wound bandages. Three potions brewed from baekilcho. Is that possible?"

"Quite a list. Give me a moment."

Despite the number of items, the old man showed no sign of irritation and disappeared into the back of the shop. Lena, standing beside Kyle, let out a worried murmur.

"Kyle-ssi. Isn't that too much?"

"It's not too much. If anything, we might run short. Something unexpected always comes up."

"The money..."

"Don't worry about it. Compared to what comes out of a dungeon, this is pocket change."

Before long, the old man reappeared, arms loaded.

"Oof. Getting old - even a little movement makes every bone ache."

With a short grunt, he set everything down on the counter.

"How much?"

"Three gold coins."

"Wait just a moment! Three gold is way too expensive!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Lena raised her voice for the first time.

"Too expensive?"

The old man snorted.

"Now listen here, young mage. You seem like you don't know much about how the world works. Prices are set by supply and demand - always have been. Under normal circumstances, maybe you'd have a point. But right now, with demand spiking because of the dungeon, does it make sense to charge the same as before?"

"Even so, paying that much for three low-grade potions and a lamp the Tower wouldn't even bother handling..."

"Lena."

At Kyle's voice, Lena stopped mid-argument.

"Prices are a bit high, I'll grant you," Kyle said to the old man.

"That's commerce. So - not buying?"

"Two gold fifty silver. I'll pay you right now."

"Hmm... suppose that can't be helped. I feel a bit bad for the young mage, so..."

Kyle pulled out two gold coins and five large silver coins from his pouch. The old man grinned as he took the money and disappeared into the back again.

"Kyle-ssi..."

"Don't understand it? Why I'd buy so many things without haggling and pay above asking."

Kyle spoke as he packed the items into his void pouch. Lena blinked, then ducked her head.

"Honestly... no, I don't really understand. I know I'm not great with how the world works, but this still feels too expensive."

"That's fair. Most people who haven't been into a dungeon or a ruin feel the same way."

The prices Kyle had paid were more than double the normal rate. The provisions were the same, and so were the goods the old man had just sold.

"But once you're inside a dungeon, you'll think differently."

Experienced mercenaries knew. How dangerous an uncleared dungeon could be, or an unexplored ruin. These were places barely touched by human hands - cursed wilderness in every sense. Underground labyrinths especially: people often couldn't find their way out for over a month before dying inside.

"Nothing is more foolish than pinching coins and ending up dead."

Even the time and energy spent haggling felt like a waste. That was why Kyle paid without argument.

To him, the extra cost was nothing. If a little more coin bought time, it was worth it. Another shop wouldn't be cheaper. As the old man had said, prices were determined by supply and demand.

In that sense, Kyle hadn't really been taken advantage of at all. Every city in this area would have seen prices rise in much the same way.

"Physical attacks can be blocked. But cold and hunger can't."

Once you're dead, none of it matters.

Money, honor, power.

"Let's go. We're done here. I took on your escort - so at the very least, I'll protect you properly."

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