Chapter 10 The Girl and the Mercenaries (Part V)

Sylvia knocked on the guest’s door.

“Excuse me, we’re here to serve dinner.”

“Come on in,” Nadir answered.

When they entered, his companions were in the room with him. They’d washed up and appeared more themselves.

The three sat around the table. The fully parted windows behind them allowed a full view of the courtyard and the run-down buildings beyond, bathed in darkness and candlelight.

“Hello,” she said to Nadir.

“Why, thank you for the hospitality, little sister,” he said with the same smile as before. “Is your foot doing well?”

‘That damned old man!’

“It hurts when I walk wrong.”

“Huh? What happened to her foot?”

Nadir’s lips twitched.

“It’s nothing,” Sylvia said immediately and narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m fine.”

She felt Taleer’s eyes on her, but she’d rather keep it a secret.

Taleer must’ve felt that she wouldn’t tell, so he changed the direction of the conversation.

“A follower of Lumere, huh. There’s not a lot of you these days.”

‘The old man just said there were plenty of them here?’

‘It’s only natural that people from the slums would place their hopes on Lumere.’

The chair scraped against the floor as Nadir stood to his feet.

“May more people’s hearts receive Lumere’s light,” he said with his hands clasped in prayer.

Taleer nodded.

He made quick work of placing the trays on the table.

The woman, now wearing neat clothes and boots, kept staring at Sylvia.

A chill ran up her spine. It felt like a giant pair of eyes was scrutinizing her.

She pretended not to notice since it was uncomfortable.

‘They’re monsters.’

‘Even Lord Marcus called them so.’

‘They won’t kill me for knowing a bit about them, will they?’

“Then, we’ll excuse ourselves. We’ll come by later to collect them.”

“One moment, brother. Can we have a word with the little sister?” Nadir asked.

The sensation of someone watching her disappeared in an instant.

“Huh … with Sylvia?”

Taleer raised his arm in front of her. Brown eyes sharpened, and so did his tone.

“Tsk. Another fake, huh?” he mumbled.

“I’ll have to ask you to behave yourselves, sir. We don’t offer that kind of service.”

Nadir’s brows burrowed. His frown expressed displeasure.

Mur and Livia remained seated, but they remained unmoving with their heads bowed slightly.

“Ah … Taleer, they’re not—”

“Like I said, we’ll excuse ourselves now. Enjoy your evening.”

Taleer grabbed her wrist and dragged her out.

She wanted to retaliate but decided against it.

‘It’s nothing new. When you grow up in the slums as a girl, you’ll have to fend off perverts on your own from time to time.’

In that moment, Taleer felt like a different person. His jaw was tight, and the hand squeezing her wrist felt unfamiliar.

They passed through the common area on their way to the kitchen. The knight squad made their usual remarks, but he ignored them this time.

Taleer released her when they were in the kitchen. Then, without a word, he turned his back to her and began filling up a bowl.

“Taleer, I-”

“Don’t trust any stranger, Sylvie,” he said as he faced her with his usual self. “Especially mercenaries. You can’t trust someone who’ll take on any work for money.”

He put the bowl down on the table and called her over.

“Come and eat. Don’t get too close to those guys. I’ll put in a word to Shote not to send you there anymore.”

“Ah—no, you can’t!”

‘My future … my future has use for those monsters!’

“Sylvie?” Taleer asked, visibly confused.

After all, she’d never raised her voice to him before.

“They saved me this morning. Those triplet bastards were going to beat me, and they scared them off.”

“What? Those bastards are back?” he replied, a vein popping on his forehead.

Sylvia nodded.

“The big one’s Nadir, the guy with one eye’s Mur, and the lady’s Livia,” she said as she sat down.

Taleer crossed his arms. He had a grim expression on his face.

“Never heard those names before.”

‘That’s odd. Monsters like them should be famous.’

Since Taleer often went to the mercenary guilds to buy ingredients, he must be telling the truth.

‘He definitely moved like Lord Marcus.’

‘Was it a more common skill than I thought?’

“They—they must be new.”

Taleer nodded.

“I’ll ask around. Since they’re from out of town, they’ll have to greet the guild master sometime.”

He placed his hand on the top of her head.

“Keep your distance, Sylvie. Adults are not to be trusted.”

“You’re an adult.”

“I’m an exception.”

“Why?”

He sighed.

“Eat up and then go to bed,” he said as he left her alone.

As soon as he did, Sylvia’s head hung between her hands.

“Was I wrong?”

‘What if they’re not good people?’

‘Were they engaged in shady business before the war?’

‘It’s a common story for criminals to volunteer in drafts for their crimes to be pardoned.’

The dull throbbing ache in her foot interrupted her thoughts.

In her previous life, Sylvia discovered her affinity for divinity was remarkably high later on in life. According to the High Priest, she had a high capacity for divinity, whatever that meant.

Since people who could use divinity were born with the ability, Sylvia felt that she could extract a tiny bit to heal her aching foot quickly now that she was finally alone.

‘Damn that Clementine!’

Sylvia crossed her left leg over the other, then placed a hand on her foot.

She relaxed her shoulders and focused on her breathing.

“Existing long before your time, this power shall respond to your call. Guide the divinity residing in your blessed heart to the passages it must traverse like a gentle stream following its predestined path. Its warmth embraces your being, and whomever you share Lumere’s light with, whether he refuses or accepts His Divine Providence, shall receive His grace and judgment.”

Sylvia recalled the High Priest’s parting words from her previous life.

An otherworldly warmth began to emanate from within her, starting from her heart. With each deep breath, she guided it to gather in her fingertips.

‘As expected, there isn’t much.’

The golden light looked like a candle flame about to be blown out by the wind.

When she’s gathered what she could, Sylvia began to release it from her body.

However, the moment she did, an unprecedented effect began.

“Augh.”

She tasted iron in her mouth as something warm shot up her throat.

Sylvia opened her eyes, and in the next second shut them tight as countless needles stabbed her body from the inside. From the top of her head to the tip of her toes, the sensation of a million sharp piercings spared not a single part of her.

“Ag-h. A-a-a-h-h-h!”

‘It hurts. It hurts.’

Everything screamed as her insides felt like they were being twisted and ripped apart. Tears invariably wet her cheeks.

‘I’m going to die.’

Fear struck her heart more intensely than anything she’d experienced.

“Sylvie! Sylvie!” Taleer’s voice called out, but he sounded so far away.

‘Not yet.’

Deep in the recesses of her mind, Sylvia knew this was going to kill her.

‘I don’t want to die.’

And there was nothing she could do about it.

‘Not yet.’

No matter how much Sylvia wished for it, this was how she was going to die—by the power Lumere granted her.

This unimaginable pain bore into her being without mercy, a pain so immense in degree, Sylvia could only think of it as divine punishment … until she couldn’t think anymore.

-gn_cc-