WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 5

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The Nameless Mercenary (5)

Katrin's gaze swept over Kyle's waist, where just a moment ago a weapon had been resting.

"I don't have a preference for any particular weapon, but... you're right that I mainly use a sword."

"I knew it."

She smiled, satisfied.

"Figured as much. Swordsmen who actually know what they're doing, their hands look different. Different from people like us. And from the look of things, you handle a dagger too. Some spear and bow work as well, I'd wager."

Katrin looked at him with an expression that said, well? He gave a small nod instead of answering.

Sharp eyes.

She wasn't wrong. Kyle could handle just about any weapon that wasn't too exotic. But the one most natural in his hands, the one he was truly at home with, was the sword. The first weapon he'd picked up after being dropped into this world had been a sword. The only weapon his one master had ever taught him had been a sword.

"You seem fairly skilled yourself," Kyle said.

Unlike him or Veil, Katrin had a bow slung across her back. A quiver packed with arrows hung at her hip. Beyond that, daggers in short sheaths were scattered all over her. The classic ranger's silhouette. From the moment she'd approached him, Kyle had read her level just from the way she walked.

"Of course. Believe it or not, I'm a former ranger from the regular army."

"The Duchy of Tervan?"

Katrin's eyes went wide.

"How did you know?"

"I ran into a ranger mercenary from your duchy once. Worked with them, too."

It wasn't as if Kyle never worked with other people. He could team up whenever necessary. He just never let things go any deeper than that.

"Ah, well, that explains it. Still, don't expect too much. Rangers like me specialize in guerrilla fighting in the woods, not open combat. Unlike the noble knights and distinguished mercenaries out there, I'm not confident in a straight head-on fight. And I can't use mana, either."

She said all that, but there was no hiding the pride on her face. A ranger from the Duchy of Tervan's regular army. Even at bronze rank, rangers of her caliber were treated on par with veteran mercenaries.

No mana, but the skill to back it up. In a forest at night, even an average silver-rank mercenary would struggle against her. Above all, rangers who could double as scouts were rare. A bronze-rank ranger like her was handled as near-silver in practice, which meant she more than fit what Director Max had called a mercenary with guaranteed ability.

Two silver-rank fighters strong in close quarters. One bronze-rank ranger who was effectively silver. And the mercenaries already escorting the convoy on top of that. The group was overkill by any measure.

"Isn't this a bit much? With a lineup like this, we could take on a regular army unit."

Katrin muttered as if the job were already done.

"Don't get too cocky. Anything can happen in an actual fight," Veil said.

"Veil, right? For someone your size, you worry a lot."

"I just meant don't say things like that before we leave. But you're right... hmm. The escort force is a bit much for the size of this convoy."

"The destination is Dornel, isn't it? It's not even that far. Shouldn't be a problem."

Light conversation drifted between Veil and Katrin. Between the two of them, Kyle watched the convoy quietly finish its preparations to depart.

"Ah, there you are. You must be the mercenaries Director Max personally selected?"

Just then, a heavyset man came walking over. Half-bald, expensive clothes, the very picture of a merchant who had done well for himself.

"You're our employer?" Veil asked, stepping forward.

"That's correct. I am the head of the Narme Merchant Company, and the one who hired all of you. Silver-rank Veil-nim, Kyle-nim, and bronze-rank Katrin-nim, as arranged by Director Max. Is that right?"

He checked the papers in his hand. All three mercenaries nodded.

"Good."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"The request is simple. Escort duty to Dornel, where Count Metis's domain lies. Expected duration is about ten days. Meals and all other supplies during the journey will be provided by the Narme Merchant Company. One gold up front, the remaining nine upon arrival."

"I heard there could be additional pay depending on performance..." Veil said.

"Yes, that's correct."

"So does that mean we might get to meet Count Metis? I heard he's the real one paying us," Katrin said.

"I'm afraid I can't speak to that..."

The merchant head dabbed at the sweat on his brow.

"What's the chain of command if something goes wrong?" Kyle asked.

His eyes cut briefly to the cluster of mercenaries nearby and the man who looked like their captain.

The merchant head paused.

"Ideally, the captain of the mercenary company currently escorting us would take charge, but given the difference in ranks and possible disagreements between the three of you, we'll leave that to your discretion. Someone like me is completely out of his depth in these matters. Perhaps you could work it out amongst yourselves."

"So you're just passing it off to us."

"Ha ha..."

Kyle said nothing more. The merchant head rubbed the back of his head.

"At any rate, you three will be covering the rear of the convoy. Any other questions?"

Kyle shook his head. The other two did the same.

"Then here is your one-gold advance. We'll be departing shortly, so I'll be counting on you."

He handed each of them a gold coin with a polite bow, then turned and waddled away. Katrin's eyes followed him the whole way.

"A count's money certainly flows freely. What do you think their connection is?"

"No idea. That sort of thing isn't my territory..." Veil said.

"Kyle. What do you think? It's not even a long route, but ten gold for a simple escort. Plus extra pay on top of that."

With a low rumble, the heavy city gate began to rise. All preparations were...

"No need to overthink it. We took the job. Just see it through."

Same as always.

The pale blue of the early sky had given way to full daylight. The lead carriage slowly rolled out of the city first. Watching the scene unfold...

***

The convoy rolled east out of Traben at a steady pace.

More than ten carriages stretched along the road, mercenaries walking alongside with weapons in hand.

Kyle and the other two, late additions to the group, held the rear. From back here they had a clear view of the whole column ahead. The merchant head was nowhere to be seen, shut inside one of the finer carriages near the middle. Fair enough. A man of his standing wouldn't bother walking.

"Nice weather," Katrin said, keeping her pace easy.

"Rain would've been miserable," Veil said from beside her.

"Oh, speaking of rain, I heard there was a downpour around here last week."

"A downpour?"

"Yeah, heard it from the innkeeper. Said it absolutely poured."

Rain meant humidity. Humidity meant iron weapons rusted. Armor too.

"...Dreadful." Veil shook his head.

Unlike Kyle, who wore leather armor for mobility, Veil had a steel breastplate across his chest.

Against sword energy, iron armor was largely useless, or so they said. But wearing it still beat going without. Knights who could actually use sword energy were rare enough, and plate handled throwing knives and arrows well.

In a way, the good weather was a stroke of luck. Katrin was dressed light, same as Kyle. Walking the same road, Veil was burning through stamina faster than either of them.

If it had actually poured, they'd have been slogging through mud with rain soaking every inch of them, feet sinking with every step. Miserable, exhausting camp at the end of it.

"Kyle, do you like rain?" Katrin asked.

She'd dropped the formal speech not long after leaving Traben. The red-haired woman talked far more than he'd expected. Whatever reserve she'd had at the start was mostly gone now.

"Somewhat."

"You like rain? Why?"

"Because when it rains, I can forget about everything else."

The humidity he could do without. But the sound of rain, that was something else. Ten years ago, when he still lived in Korea, it had been the same. Even now, nothing had changed.

One of the few things that had stayed the same from the very beginning.

"Boring," she said.

"Maybe. But your stamina is something else. You haven't stopped talking since we left."

"I'm a ranger. This is nothing. Compared to how they ran us ragged during training, this is a stroll."

The three of them kept up idle conversation as they walked. Mostly Katrin would bring something up and Kyle and Veil would go along with it. Without noticing, time slipped by. The sun was overhead before any of them realized it. The lead carriage stopped. The carriages and people behind it followed suit.

"Thirty-minute rest here! Keep your guard up, take turns!"

The man who appeared to be the mercenaries' captain called out.

Groans went up everywhere.

"Starving. Should we eat something?"

"I want to sleep. Got up way too early this morning..."

Mercenaries and convoy members moaned and complained. Some dropped face-first into the grass without ceremony and let the breeze do the rest.

"Phew. Walking in full gear really does wear you down."

At the rear of the column, a little apart from the others, Veil unslung his halberd and dropped onto the ground.

"Aren't you getting old?"

"...I'm thirty-two, actually."

"Wait... really? You're serious?"

"......."

"Ahaha! Just kidding. Don't make that face. It's a little scary."

Katrin cackled. Veil's mouth twitched. Kyle settled onto a flat rock nearby and chewed on dried meat and the bread he'd grabbed from the inn in place of breakfast.

Still disgustingly salty.

What a waste of salt. He looked around. Everyone was eating whatever they'd brought.

All light rations. Unlike on Earth, where three meals a day was the norm, two was standard here. Anything hot would have to wait for the evening camp. Midday was just about taking the edge off the hunger.

"What are you looking at?" Katrin asked, still working through her own bread.

"The people."

"The people?"

Katrin tilted her head. Veil leaned in.

"Did you spot something?"

"That one."

Kyle raised a finger toward the center of the column, pointing at the most ornate of the carriages, the one the merchant head had disappeared into. In front of it stood a man who was anything but ordinary.

"A knight. The one guarding the front of the merchant head's carriage."

He said it as if commenting on the weather, still pulling at his bread.

"...What?"

Veil's eyes went wide. Katrin was no different. The girl who hadn't stopped talking moved her mouth without a sound.

"The one guarding that carriage is a knight? Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"But..."

"Not obvious, I know. He's disguised himself as a mercenary on purpose."

But Kyle could see it. The man probably thought his cover was convincing enough, but the small movements, the ingrained habits, the way he carried himself. Any one of them gave it away. A knight, and a skilled one.

"Not just any knight, either. He's got real ability."

Katrin broke her silence.

"The head of Narme isn't a noble. How does a merchant end up with a knight?"

"Because this isn't an ordinary merchant run. There's someone else inside that carriage. Probably the real person driving this whole thing."

Someone of a rank that warranted a personal escort knight. The connection between this job and Count Metis.

"Are we... in over our heads here?"

The brightness was gone from her voice entirely.

"If you've changed your mind, hand back the advance now and go. Last chance."

"......."

"Or stay and look the other way. You took the job knowing there might be risks."

Katrin had no answer for that. Under his gaze, her eyes dropped. Veil went quiet too.

Nothing in the world came free. Especially not when money was involved. Ten gold for a short escort run. Risk had been baked into this job from the start. She'd just been optimistic enough to look past it.

"And..."

Kyle swallowed the last corner of his bread. Since leaving Traben, someone had been watching him. Openly hostile. Making no effort to hide it.

"He's coming this way."

The man who appeared to be the convoy's lead captain walked toward them.

"I'm Pol, captain of the Rusty Blade Mercenary Company."

"......."

"Heard they picked up extra mercenaries in Traben. Are you the leader of the two?"

Pol stopped in front of Kyle. Veil and Katrin might as well not have existed.

"Not a leader, I'm afraid."

Kyle's tone was flat.

"Is that so?"

"......."

"Well, doesn't matter. This is a notification, not a negotiation."

"Notification?" Kyle's eyes narrowed.

"From here on, all command authority over this convoy is mine. I don't know how skilled the three of you think you are, but a fractured chain of command is a disaster waiting to happen. So..."

"No."

Not a moment's hesitation.

"...What did you say?"

"I said no. Quick decisions matter in a crisis. And I have no reason to trust your judgment."

His voice was completely even. No heat, no edge. Pol's face twisted into something ugly in contrast.

The area had gone still. Every person around them held their breath and watched.

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