Chapter 202 : The Process of Becoming Great

A few weeks had passed.

I had brought in a smart person to handle the paperwork, and unexpectedly, a noble person had also come to take care of the household chores.

I could finally say that we had settled down.

It was only now that it looked like something.

The mercenary corps, which had looked shabby and empty, seemed to be running properly only now.

'Yes.'

I clenched my fist.

'This is the real beginning.'

The Sherwood Mercenary Corps.

Now, all that was left was to become great.

"Stop right there!"

Udadada!

Bang!

"Can't you guys be quiet?"

"Um, I'm about to do the laundry, so if you have anything to wash, please give it to me now!"

"Ah, here."

"Gotcha!"

"Kyaak!"

Thud!

The laundry basket, full of smelly clothes, overturned and rolled in front of me.

"...."

The Heavenly Demon laughed slowly.

[What a mess.]

I felt that my previous resolution was in vain.

At the same time, as the leader of the New Sherwood, I felt a great deal of responsibility.

My shoulders were heavy with the great responsibility.

But I soon brushed it off with a sigh.

I don't know what it was like to look at Sherwood from the outside, but in reality, it wasn't much different from this.

In fact, this was on the quiet side.

I guess I have to see this as a process of becoming great.

Sometimes... no, most days are this chaotic.

The ship was steadily heading towards its destination.

I had already cleared out the large magical beasts in the vicinity, so I was gradually expanding the area and taking on requests to defeat C-rank or higher magical beasts.

The number of clients who came to make designated requests was also gradually increasing.

Even now, Schmitt was away on a designated request.

Of course, we couldn't handle all the requests, so there were quite a few cases that went back to the mercenary guild.

And that became the share of other mercenaries.

Naturally, mercenaries gathered in search of work.

Hud had set a guideline not to accept requests of D-rank or lower unless absolutely necessary, and thanks to that, the work of other mercenaries was guaranteed, which also played a part. At the same time, the prestige of Sherwood also rose. With the feeling that they don't just take any request.

As expected, smart people think differently.

It was a good thing I brought her. As expected, there should be at least one smart person in a mercenary corps.

There were also quite a few people who settled in Milestone.

Not only mercenaries, but also ordinary people.

Because it had become safe after clearing out the surrounding magical beasts.

Since it was a free city, there were no nobles to bother them.

Since they also had to make a living here, the diversity of jobs naturally increased.

When I walked down the street, I could see new shops opening up day by day.

The amount of work was gradually increasing, and the flow of people gathering in Milestone was also getting bigger.

The streets were lively.

It was a positive change.

The feeling of rebuilding this half-abandoned free city with my own hands.

It wasn't bad.

"Give me back my cherries!"

"Ugh, ugh!"

"Ack! Spit it out!"

It seemed that Linda had stolen Shushruta's cherries, and she was caught by her and was frantically stuffing the handful of cherries she was holding into her mouth.

Seeing Linda, Shushruta was jumping up and down.

She sat on top of Linda and was hitting her with her front paws—no, with her two hands.

Linda, while being beaten up, was stubbornly munching on the cherries.

Anyway, it's the leader's job to mediate the fight.

"Hey, hey. Stop fighting."

I helped Mary, who was picking up the spilled laundry, and then I separated the two who were still fighting.

I looked at Shushruta, who was hanging by the scruff of her neck in my hand.

"How much are those cherries? Just buy them."

Shushruta was furious.

"That's not the problem! That crazy girl keeps stealing my things!"

I looked at Shushruta, who was kicking her legs in the air, and then I looked at the other side.

Linda, like Shushruta, was hanging by the scruff of her neck in my hand, busily munching on something. Not a hamster, but her cheeks were puffed out.

I asked her.

"Is it good?"

Linda looked at me and nodded her head vigorously.

"It's delicious to steal and eat, right?"

Nod, nod.

There's no way Linda would like something like cherries.

She was a girl who would pick up and eat poisonous mushrooms, saying they were delicious.

She probably stole them to play with Shushruta because she was bored.

Shushruta kept kicking at Linda.

Of course, it was short, so it didn't hit.

"I have to teach her a lesson this time! I have to fix that bad habit of hers!"

It's also funny that a thief is saying this.

But a leader must be fair.

I sentenced Linda to a heavy punishment in a solemn voice.

"Linda. You have broken a very important rule within the mercenary corps."

Linda tilted her head and looked at me.

Her cheeks were still puffed out.

"The crime of stealing cherries is heavy."

Shushruta, who was flailing her arms and legs in the air, agreed.

"Yes! Punish her! A terrible punishment!"

"For the crime of stealing Shushruta's precious cherries, you will help Mary with the laundry and cleaning for three days."

Thump!

I seemed to hear Linda's heart drop.

Her expression turned pale.

Linda, who had been munching for a long time, finally swallowed what was in her mouth and looked at me.

"L-laundry and cleaning?"

I nodded with a cold expression.

"Yes. It's too late to regret. I'll only accept it if I hear testimony from Mary that you helped diligently. I won't let it slide like last time. Because stealing Shushruta's cherries is a serious matter. It's a felony."

Shushruta immediately pointed at Linda and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! That's what you get for stealing my cherries! Serves you right!"

"Hing..."

Linda drooped.

Only after the strict judgment did I put the two down on the floor.

As I was watching Shushruta tease the sullen Linda, something came to mind.

"Hey, Shushruta."

"What?"

"What happened to the potion you were supposed to investigate?"

"The black potion?"

"Yeah, that."

"As soon as I got back, I found a reliable place and asked them to investigate. But the results haven't come out yet."

"Still?"

"Analysis usually takes a long time. Instead, I did some research on the Dark Heaven you mentioned."

"Hmm. Report."

The reliable investigator, Shushruta, reported.

"It seems to be called the Dark Heaven Society, or the Dark Heaven Cult. It is presumed that they are the ones who distributed the black potion. Stories of people who drank the black potion and went berserk, looking like magical beasts, are being heard from all over, and it is said that they all mentioned the word 'Dark Heaven'."

"So there are more than just that one?"

Shushruta nodded.

"It's being heard from all over, north, south, east, and west. Thanks to that, the knight orders and mercenary guilds in each region are having a hard time. I heard that it's related to black magicians, but it's not certain."

"Hmm. Is it some kind of religion for black magicians?"

"It could be."

Linda looked at me.

"Then the devil would know! Because the devil also uses black magic."

I gave Linda a flick on the forehead.

Thump!

"Ouch."

"How many times do I have to tell you it's not black magic?"

"Hing."

Linda asked, rubbing the spot where she had been hit.

"Then what is it?"

I answered solemnly.

"It's a martial art."

"Our respected master personally taught me, it's a martial art that contains a profound truth."

When the topic of the Heavenly Demon came up, the words flowed out of me as much as my respect for my master.

"Have you ever heard of the Heavenly Demon? The absolute demon under the sky. At his gesture, everyone holds their breath. All living things tremble in fear and bow their heads before him, and no one dares to oppose him—"

[Shut up.]

"...."

Since my master's words are absolute, I shut my mouth.

That's how much I respect the Heavenly Demon.

It seemed that the Heavenly Demon was a little embarrassed, unlike usual, so I immediately changed the subject.

"By the way, did you take the promotion test?"

"Yeah! Look at this!"

Linda took out a gold tag from her bosom and held it out to me.

"I did well, right?"

"Not bad."

"Hehe."

By the way,

Seeing her gold tag, I suddenly remembered my mercenary tag.

I am also a gold rank, just like Shushruta and Linda.

I am a gold rank mercenary.

But who am I?

I am Ashuban of Sherwood, a man who knows no satisfaction.

If I were to be satisfied with a gold rank, I wouldn't have trained so hard to the point of death.

My goal is none other than Gustan of the Greatsword.

A monster above the platinum rank.

In order to catch him, I must get a platinum tag.

It's not the final goal. It's just a stepping stone. A stepping stone that I must cross.

Even if catching the leader is a distant goal, I will not give up.

Because I am a man who does not know how to give up.

Even if it's not for my personal greed, the sooner I get a platinum tag, the better.

Because if you become a platinum rank, the range of requests you can take on becomes wider.

Secondary things like the gazes of others, treatment, and money are not even worth mentioning.

But even if I have the skill to beat another platinum-rank mercenary, I can't become a platinum rank right away.

Because the promotion test is waiting.

In the Maia Kingdom, unlike other places, there are an unusually large number of magical beasts, so most of the requests are focused on magical beasts. The same goes for the promotion test.

Therefore, you can only be promoted to platinum rank if you can confidently hunt an A-rank magical beast alone in front of an examiner.

Because you have to satisfy the essential condition of a platinum-rank mercenary, 'Can you hunt an A-rank magical beast alone?'.

But A-rank magical beasts are strong enough to destroy a city.

If these guys were seen frequently, Maia would have become a den of magical beasts long ago.

Because they don't show themselves easily, my promotion test is being postponed indefinitely.

I told Boris to let me know as soon as an A-rank magical beast appeared, but there has been no news.

"Aigoo."

A sigh escaped me automatically.

When will I become a platinum-rank mercenary?

At that moment, the door of the hideout burst open.

"No, what kind of ill-mannered person doesn't even knock—"

"Hey, Ashuban!"

It was Boris.

'Not surprising at all.'

When will this guy learn some manners?

As I was looking at the guy and clicking my tongue...

Boris, who had run here in a hurry, shouted with a flushed face.

"It's here!"

"What is?"

"An A-rank magical beast!"

"What?"

I snatched the request form that Boris had brought.

On the request form, a hideous monster with several snake-like heads was drawn.

Looking at it from above, below, and the side, I could tell it was no ordinary guy.

The atmosphere was different from the miscellaneous magical beasts I had seen so far.

An A--rank magical beast.

"Damn it. It's real?"

Boris grinned, panting.

"How about it? Will you buy me a drink?"

"Of course. I'll buy you three."

"It's an emergency request. It's destroying several villages and advancing towards the city. The mayor of Honeygrove sent an urgent message."

"Then we have to go right away."

Boris took the request form back from me and put it in the file he was holding, and then he asked.

"What about the examiner? Are you going to take the golden kid again?"

"No, Schmitt is out on a request."

"Then?"

"Who else is there? Besides Schmitt, there's only one person."

Among the people here, there was only one person who met the qualifications for an examiner.

"Ah."

Boris also seemed to have noticed who I was talking about and nodded.

"That one is better than the golden kid."

Come to think of it, the examiner was also an acquaintance of mine this time.

So, it means that a guild employee has to accompany them.

That's why this guy brought the file with him.

"Can you leave your post? Aren't there some customers?"

As Sherwood settled down, the number of customers at the mercenary guild was also increasing.

With people who wanted to make requests, and mercenaries who wanted to take on requests.

Boris answered nonchalantly.

"Employees from the headquarters came down. To supplement the workforce. No problem."

"Ah, really?"

If that's the case.

I immediately went upstairs and threw open the door to her office.

Bang!

Hud, who was doing paperwork at her desk, raised her eyebrow.

"I told you to knock, didn't I?"

I grinned instead of answering.

"Hehe."

Hud looked at me with a startled expression.

"...What. Why are you laughing?"

"Hud."

"Why."

"Let's go get some fresh air."

(End of Chapter)

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