Chapter 07 The Girl and the Mercenaries (Part II)

“Mmmh.”

Sylvia tried her best to hold it in. But the pain that shot up from her leg to her hips was too much to grit her teeth through.

“A-a-a-h-h-h!”

Sylvia’s scream rang out. She sat on the ground, back stretched, with both hands compressing her throbbing left foot.

“It-it hurts.”

“Dummy.”

“I know,” she whined. “That was dumb.”

‘Ugh. I can’t believe I hurt myself because of her.’

‘My pride can’t take this.’

‘I’ll make you pay. Just you wait. One day, you’ll regret making me do this.’

“Hm. Hm,” the woman said with a huff.

Sylvia slowly pulled her back straight, dragging her injured foot to cross over her right thigh. She turned her neck to look at the approaching group of semi-reliable adults.

“Why would you inflict pain upon yourself, little sister?”

The giant man crouched near her, then effortlessly lowered his friend. He made him sit up with his back against the well.

Sylvia noticed his shoulders shake, which made her cheeks flush from embarrassment.

“Don’t laugh at me, damned old man!”

Smack!

“Ah!”

Sylvia was bent forward forcibly by a strong hit on her back. Now, two locations on her frail young body throbbed from pain.

“Foul-mouthed brat,” the woman said.

 Sylvia glared at her, but when she raised a fist, she quickly looked away.

“So-sorry,” she muttered, meeting the giant man’s cool gray eyes. “Old man.”

“This—”

Ble-e-e-g-h.

The woman paused.

She had to.

Anyone would when the alcohol one had stored in their stomach sought emergence through the mouth.

 A slight breeze whipped past Sylvia before the sound of the woman retching in the distance hit her ears.

‘Huh?’

The giant man had disappeared from her line of sight in a flash in order to take his friend back to the mouth of the alley.

Sylvia’s mouth gaped open. She gathered herself and rose to unsteady feet.

‘What just happened? He was … right there.’

Mercenaries rivaled knights in terms of combat abilities. Making a living by risking their lives and sometimes taking on dirty jobs that knights consider dishonorable required skills worth their reputation.

As such, minor skirmishes to wars between nations conscripted them into their respective armies as independent units, capable of executing even the most dangerous missions on their own.

And from time to time, a few names rose above the others. Lord Marcus called them ‘beings beyond the realm of humans.’

Simply put, they were a cut above seasoned mercenaries and well-trained knights, and every nation sought their loyalty while being wary of them.

He’d never said it himself. When Sylvia asked, Lord Marcus said he was merely a knight. But the servants and nobles acknowledged that he was one of these beings.

In this very moment, Sylvia had seen a demonstration of that strength for the first time.

Perhaps it was through instinct that she understood — even as a mere civilian—the scene she’d just witnessed was something extraordinary.

‘I didn’t see him.’

Goosebumps rose all over her skin. The first conclusion she came to was completely wrong.

‘I couldn’t see him.’

For a person with a build like his, Sylvia couldn’t track his movements in that moment, though he passed her. Moreover, even considering his towering height, it’d take a normal adult more than ten paces to move from the well to the alley. Yet he crossed the distance within seconds with another human being as added weight.

‘Another human being?’

She’d caught the servants’ idle talk of rumors and prominent figures during the wars—of how some of them had surpassed the realm of humans and deemed monsters clad in human skin.

‘He’s a monster.’

His other companions were down for the count, but they must be monsters in their own right as well.

Sylvia shivered.

‘Just how strong are they? What more can they do?’

‘Back then, I only thought about getting an extra piece of meat.’

She lowered her head to hide her grinning face.

‘To think I was in the presence of those so-called monsters. Thank you, whatever power brought me back here.’

‘That’s right. It’s better to return here. It’s better to start again.’

‘If I can at least make their acquaintance, I’ll be able to meet them again in the future.’

Sylvia drew in a breath. She relaxed her shoulders.

Her foot and back still throbbed, but that was a matter she could resolve later when she was alone.

‘How’d I do it again?’

She filled up her bucket as she waited for the two to return.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, little sister,” he said as he lowered the woman beside the unconscious man.

She put on a friendly smile.

“No, no, it’s fine, mister. Is she going to be alright?”

‘The first step to establishing a good relationship is gaining each other’s trust.’

The woman groaned. She stood nearly folded in half with an arm around the man’s thick neck.

“Ugh, Mur … I can’t move.”

The man smiled kindly, but his nose twitched for a quick second.

“Yes. They’ll recover after sleeping it off, little sister,” he replied.

If memory served her right, these mercenaries hadn’t checked into an inn yet.

“Then … do-do you seek a room?” she asked.

 He may look scary, but she judged him to be the most sensible in their group.

‘I don’t have a choice. The woman … isn’t an option.’

“I-I work at an inn. It’s cheap, and it’s not far from here. And the meals are good.”

“Hm? Are you offering us free lodging and meals, little sister?”

Sylvia’s mouth fell.

‘It’s rude to say otherwise since they saved me from getting beat, but I can’t afford it! I can’t pay for three, let alone one!’

‘How much will it cost? Three coppers … and the silvers for the meals …’

The woman nudged his side.

“Mean. Dummy,” she said, then her head rolled back.

Thankfully, the giant man kept her steady. Next, he pulled the unconscious man to his feet with his other arm.

He hoisted the man onto his shoulder in one swift movement; it scared Sylvia. Those triplets would’ve been beaten black and blue if they’d fought him. It wouldn’t even be a fight but a one-sided assault.

Sylvia chuckled at the thought of those three getting their just desserts.

“You’re strong, mister,” she said.

“Why, thank you, little sister. But I’m not ‘mister’,” he said as he threw the woman in the air slightly.

As gravity pulled her down, he hooked an arm around her waist. She dangled at his side like a blanket.

With two full-grown adults bearing down on him, he held them both with ease, like they were pillows.

Sylvia, marveling at his strength, couldn’t help but slip out a compliment in a daze.

“Wow,” she whispered.

The man smiled widely. It made the sharp angles of his jaw more prominent and his eyes squint.

“I’m sorry for teasing you, little sister,” he said.

He crouched a little to match Sylvia’s height, then extended a hand.

“My name’s Nadir. This is Mur, and this is Livia. Grow up well so you don’t end up like them, little sister.”

Sylvia nodded. She wouldn’t grow up to be a drunkard, but seeing him easily haul two adults lit an excited buzz in her stomach.

Nadir was strong. She couldn’t fathom how much, but if she could gain a tiny fraction of his strength, she’d be able to protect herself.

“I’m Sylvia. Thank you for saving me.”

“It was hardly anything. Did you say you work at an inn? Could you lead me there?” he asked as he stood tall.

Sylvia grabbed her buckets and lifted them with great effort.

‘I’ll have to think about how to get closer to them once we get back. So long as they’re in the inn, we’re bound to run into each other. There will be plenty of chances.’

-gn_cc-