Chapter 448 – Rumors
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Hilda is a class A mercenary.
He could be said to be of the highest rank among mercenaries.
It is true that the mercenary level increases by consistently receiving requests, but it cannot be raised by just randomly requesting.
If that were possible, I would have been able to become an A-level mercenary by completing easy low-level quests like dogs or cows.
In order to raise the level of a mercenary, you must complete high-level quests.
High-level quests were often dangerous, and it was natural that survivability would decline unless a certain level of skill was supported.
There are quite a few mercenaries who die tragically while accepting unreasonable requests to raise their ranks.
Even in such a situation, Hilda, who became an A-class mercenary, was well recognized even among mercenaries.
Once you become an A-level mercenary who has completed many requests and has nowhere else to go, you will naturally have regulars.
Louise was one of them.
Louise’s request this time was dangerous, but not as dangerous as expected.
She was honestly lucky.
Considering the name value of the monster that appeared in this request, it would not have been strange if she died several times.
However, thanks to an eccentric knight named Bakra, I was able to complete the request without any problems.
Compared to the monster that appeared, I didn’t do anything big enough to be embarrassed, but I couldn’t help but feel mental fatigue.
Hilda woke up at dusk after a long sigh at her house and headed to her favorite bar to grab a bite to eat.
As she entered the bar, she was greeted with a warm, familiar smell of alcohol.
As she looked around, she saw Lafferd eating alone and drinking beer in one corner.
She was once a colleague with Rafferd, but is now working separately.
She was also a person of good character who helped Hilda a lot when she was young.
So there was a time when she had a brief crush on Raphard. But her first love ended quickly.
This is because Rafferd was a married man who married a cute, small woman who was the exact opposite of him.
Although he is a decent person, he is quiet and cold, and is not very sociable, so he often drinks alone.
Hilda naturally joined Rappard’s table.
“How is your daughter doing?”
Rapper took a quick glance at Hilda, and she responded as she continued her meal.
“I’m doing well.”
Hilda talked to Rappard like that and called the clerk and ordered a meal.
Mercenaries don’t go to bars for nothing.
If you receive the wrong request, you can end up in trouble.
To work as a mercenary, you need to be able to listen to rumors.
In that respect, the bar was almost the only outlet where you could quickly hear any news or rumors.
Rappard, who hates crowded places, didn’t sit at the bar for no reason.
“Did you hear that rumor?”
A male mercenary says that and quietly joins us, holding a beer glass.
He was a man in his 30s with impressive long sideburns.
It’s a familiar face to Hilda.
Ralph is a human.
He is a B-class mercenary.
Like Hilda, she was a native of Ramona, and unlike Raepard, she was very sociable and was famous as Ramona’s darling.
“What a rumor.”
Hilda asked bluntly.
“With bare mouth?”
After saying that, Ralph looked at Hilda leeringly, curled her finger, and thrust inside it with her opposite index finger.
“Crazy guy… Go somewhere else and find out.”
“Are you talking about the rumor about a duel between Homan’s mercenaries and a knight?”
Rafferd opened his mouth heavily.
“Ugh… Did Rappard know? That’s a shame. I was wondering if I’d suck those big tits today…”
“Damn… I think you can catch and ask anyone here that Rappard knows. But Homan’s mercenaries challenged the knight to a duel?”
It was definitely an interesting story.
Homan was a person that Hilda also knew.
He was a class A mercenary who led the largest mercenary group in Ramona.
Running a mercenary group is not as easy as you think.
Hilda also had a history of trying to make it, but it didn’t suit her temperament, so she threw it away.
Of course, there were times when the mercenaries looked down on her because she was a woman, but controlling those damn mercenaries was a hellish difficulty.
Looking at how well he has led those mercenaries up until now, it is true that Homan is capable.
However, a duel with a knight is a different matter.
“What is it? Did Ho-man sound senile? He didn’t look old enough… But what about the knight? Is it Ramona’s knight?”
“No way… If Homan is normal, he would touch Ramona’s knight. It seems like he’s a wandering knight who came in from somewhere recently. They say he wears shabby leather armor like ours… At best, he barely uses rigid body techniques. I guess that’s the extent of it.”
Hilda looked at Rappard.
He must not have known this fact… He blinked his eyes as if he was surprised.
One person naturally came to Hilda’s mind.
Raphard must have thought of the same person, so he must have been even more surprised.
“What… Is the knight’s name?”
“… Name?”
Ralph scratches his head, thinks for a moment, and then opens his mouth.
“Maybe… Bah… Bah… What did you say?”
‘This bastard…’
Hilda couldn’t stand the sight of Ralph stuttering and had no choice but to intervene.
“Bark?”
“Huh? Right, I think it was that name. Do you know the driver?”
“This is the article we requested this time.”
“Ah, a request to escort Louise? I heard he came with a lot of stuff… It must have been salty? Did he get some affection? Still, you should think about betting money on him.”
“Why is that again…”
The duel would probably take place in an arena, and it was natural that money would be at stake in the duel.
“Just you guys know… There are rumors that Homan is an Auror user…”
‘It’s nonsense that only you guys know.’
Hilda snorted her laughter.
If Ralph knows, the rumor has already spread.
“Is that true? What’s so bad about a knight, leading a mercenary team?”
Hilda has also seen Homan in person since she is in the same industry.
She felt that she was a formidable person.
But he is a mercenary.
It makes no sense to rub it in on the article.
There is no need to say anything, especially if it is a bark.
“I don’t know about that… It’s a rumor… If not, then you wouldn’t understand this duel, right? Ho-man isn’t that stupid.”
Even if Homan was an Auror user like Ralph said, Hilda and Rappard didn’t think Bark would lose.
The way he dressed up looked funny, but the abilities he showed while commissioning the job were nothing to look down on.
Bark is an ogre slayer.
Ogres are not monsters that a knight can catch alone. Knights who can use the Auror Sword gather together to subdue.
And they gain great fame as Ogre Slayers.
Bark did it alone.
Hilda and Rappard didn’t even think that the man who had killed the ogre by himself was a sword master.
However, I no longer doubted his words that he was confident in anyone other than a sword master.
Ramona and Hilda were silent and quiet, but if it had been any other mercenary, Ramona would have already made a fuss.
The three continued drinking, chatting about various things. It was mainly Hilda and Ralph who were talking, and Rappard was mostly just listening.
Am I a little drunk?
Rafferd’s heavy mouth opened.
“Hilda… Why… Didn’t she take his squire?”
In the cave, Bark expressed his interest to Hilda, but she waved it off.
In fact, it was a rejection.
“That’s it…”
Bach’s words about hiring women based solely on their faces rather than their skills did not sound normal to Hilda.
Bark and Karen also did not seem to have a normal relationship between a knight and a squire.
To Hilda, Bark looked like he was looking for a woman rather than a squire.
Still, Hilda was a little upset.
I would say about half-and-half.
But in the end, she expressed her refusal.
Bark probably knew that too, so he didn’t recommend it anymore… But he did regret it a little when he caught the ogre.
I don’t know how he felt about receiving the seed, but his skills were real.
Maybe he missed the opportunity of his life to become a great knight.
Hilda felt that the beer flowing down her throat was somehow bitter.
“What? Hilda received an offer from that Bakran knight to be a squire?!”
Ralph, who was drinking beer next to him, was surprised to hear Rappard’s story. But then he smiles evilly.
Haha! I wonder if they did that to make him a real squire! What kind of knight would bring in old Hilda as a squire… Ah! Did he even shake those big breasts in front of that knight? Then admit it…”
-Pow!!!
“Quack!!”
Hilda’s fist got stuck in Ralph’s face.
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Karen ties the knot of the leather armor tightly.
She was carefully examining me and adjusting her armament.
-Knock.
“It’s time.”
The door to the waiting room opens, and the neatly dressed guide bows his head politely and gives a polite congratulatory command.
We left the waiting room and followed the guide.
I saw a long corridor made of stone and at the end, an arched exit with bright light coming in.
“From here, you have to go alone.”
Karen quietly handed me her large two-handed sword that was held in her chest.
She took her sword from her and draped it lightly over her shoulder.
“I’m coming.”
After stroking Karen’s head once, I entered the arena.
-Wow!!
When I appear, people’s cheers increase.
Colosseum.
It looked exactly like that to me.
The outer wall surrounding the arena and the stairs above it were filled with people.
People wearing colorful clothes were also seen on a somewhat high platform in the center of the stairs.
I think they are nobles living in Ramona.
It is said that cities where lords usually reside have arenas like the Colosseum.
It was a famous entertainment and event location used not only for duels between knights, but also for duels between mercenaries and gladiators.
In front of me, mercenaries with grim faces had come out and were waiting.
The number is eleven.
At the center stood Homan.
