The tavern they entered, chosen at random from the visible establishments, was even noisier than the square despite it being daytime.

Seated at a table in the bustling tavern, which seemed quite popular judging by the crowd, Sa-yoon rummaged through his pocket. Geon-joo gently tugged at Sa-yoon’s sleeve.

“Are you crazy? What if we don’t have any money when we just barged in like this?”

His whisper betrayed his anxiety. It was clearly a different world and a different era. Geon-joo was alarmed because there was no way the modern currency they used would be valid in this world, but Sa-yoon just smirked as if to say not to worry and continued searching his pocket.

The system wouldn’t have just dropped them here without any means.

Just as it had assigned them the role of mercenaries, Sa-yoon confidently smiled, thinking it must have provided at least enough capital to clear the quest. However, less than a minute after sitting at the table, Sa-yoon stood up.

There was nothing.

That is, no money.

He thought there must be something, but after searching his pockets, inventory, and even taking off his shoes to check the soles, there was no money. They were literally penniless.

A beggar?

To think that she, of all people, was not just a beggar but a complete pauper without even a single coin.

Sa-yoon, who had never known a moment of poverty since the Night Rat Guild was established, opened and closed his mouth. The perceptive Geon-joo read Sa-yoon’s slightly stiffened face and grasped the situation.

“See?”

He clicked his tongue and added a sigh to his words. As he suggested they should just leave in a tone that implied he knew this would happen, Sa-yoon ignored him and stood his ground. His eyes darted quickly, assessing the people in the tavern.

“Guild Master?”

Geon-joo grabbed Sa-yoon’s arm as he remained motionless. Just then, Sa-yoon spotted a suitable target at a table in the corner of the tavern. He instead grasped Geon-joo’s wrist and glanced at him.

“Who says we don’t have money?”

“Didn’t you just say we didn’t?”

We don’t.

But if we don’t have money, we can just make some, can’t we?

Hiding his true thoughts, Sa-yoon smiled and pulled the confused Geon-joo towards the table he had spotted earlier. There was a group of three men, drinking and chatting among themselves. As they got closer to the others, Geon-joo, who had been eyeing Sa-yoon with an ominous look, leaned in.

“I’m asking just in case, but you’re not going to kill them, right?”

“What?”

“Those people. You’re not going to kill them and take their money, are you?”

Although they had known each other for a short time, Geon-joo, who had spent most of his time with Sa-yoon since meeting him, was quite confident in his assumption. Sa-yoon let out an exasperated sigh at Geon-joo’s attitude, which seemed to believe without a doubt that he would kill the men before them, even as he asked the question.

What kind of ruffian did he take his for?

Sa-yoon was a person who could live without laws.

In fact, he’d live even better without laws, given that he was already breaking all existing ones.

Sa-yoon furrowed his brow, inwardly developing a logic that would have horrified Jongsik if he had heard it.

“What do you take me for?”

“Wouldn’t you know best, Guild Master?”

His calm reply was accompanied by a slight raise of his eyebrows. Geon-joo, whose hit-and-run skills had noticeably improved, received Sa-yoon’s gaze and then became docile again as if he had never been sarcastic.

“I have no intention of killing anyone, so just follow me quietly.”

Sa-yoon spoke softly and continued walking towards the table with the three men. As he naturally pulled out a chair near them, the sound of the wooden chair scraping the floor made the chattering group turn to look at Sa-yoon.

“You seem to be having an interesting conversation. Mind if I join in?”

Geon-joo behind him flinched at his words, spoken with a friendly smile. Sa-yoon gave Geon-joo a look that meant to stay still and not do anything unnecessary, then waited for the men’s response. The men, who had been looking askance, alternated their gaze between Sa-yoon and Geon-joo before eventually nodding.

“Thank you.”

As Sa-yoon sat down, he slid his hand smoothly and pocketed a cloth pouch from the waist of the man next to him. The movement was as natural as flowing water and so skillful that only Geon-joo properly saw what Sa-yoon had done.

“What the—”

Sa-yoon elbowed Geon-joo in the side as he opened his mouth tactlessly. Geon-joo, who had been hit in the middle of speaking, swallowed his groan and narrowed his eyes at Sa-yoon.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to kill them?”

“I never said I wouldn’t steal.”

Sa-yoon whispered just loud enough for Geon-joo, an awakened one, to hear, but not the men who looked like ordinary pedestrians. He shrugged.

It was a gesture implying he had never broken a word he had spoken aloud.

Geon-joo, who had clearly seen the bad hand that had so naturally swiped a money pouch, looked at Sa-yoon with complicated eyes before letting out a breath swallowing his bewilderment.

“Just this once.”

“What does it matter? They’re virtual characters anyway.”

If he wanted to, he could kill everyone in the tavern and take all their money. So their money was his money, and his money was his money too.

As he unfolded this brazen logic, Geon-joo shook his head and let out a long sigh. Noticing that this was Geon-joo’s way of resignation based on past experiences, Sa-yoon smiled and observed the men.

Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be in their early to mid-thirties. Sa-yoon opened his mouth, looking at them as they showed interest while also being wary of his sudden proposal to join them.

“I heard you talking about monsters earlier. Could I hear a bit more detail about that?”

Speaking in a friendly tone to ease their wariness, Geon-joo behind his flinched again. He didn’t understand what he was doing. He was about to point out that he shouldn’t act suspiciously when a loud thud of a cup being put down drew his attention. One of the three men resumed the story he had been telling since Sa-yoon entered the tavern.

As the man with a long beard began talking about the damage caused by monsters, the other two joined in, sharing their own experiences of harm, and the conversation grew longer. The damage that had initially affected individuals shifted to families, then from groups to entire villages.

Sa-yoon quietly listened to what seemed like endless complaints, then filled the cup in front of him.

“What exactly are these monsters you speak of?”

Both the man they met in the square and the people at this table kept mentioning monsters, but they never explained what these monsters actually were. He had been listening, thinking they might eventually explain, but as there seemed to be no sign of them revealing the nature of the monsters, he asked. The three men, who had been focused on complaining, all turned to look at Sa-yoon at once.

“You don’t know about the monsters?”

“Ah, we came from a rather remote place. We’ve vaguely heard rumors, but don’t know exactly.”

“Where on earth did you come from that you don’t even know about the monsters? The rumors should have spread even to the capital by now.”

Sa-yoon hesitated for a moment at the sudden question. Suddenly, the words the man they had spoken to earlier had muttered as he left came to mind.

“We’re from a small village a bit further in from Belfia.”

“Further in than Belfia?”

“If it’s that area, it’s understandable they wouldn’t know.”

“Belfia is already quite remote, so further in would certainly be lacking in information.”

Although he had just used what he had overheard, the three men discussed among themselves and then seemed to understand Sa-yoon and Geon-joo’s circumstances on their own. They speculated that they must have come because there was no food due to the poverty of their territory, asked if they were indeed mercenaries who had come after hearing rumors, and created a backstory for them. Sa-yoon just nodded along and brought up his main point again.

“So, what exactly are these monsters?”

They were so talkative that if you let your guard down even a little, the conversation would go completely off-track. When he reminded them of the topic, redirecting their overly stream-of-consciousness dialogue, the men finally shared information about the monsters.

Apparently, they were creatures that had started appearing one or two at a time a few months ago. They resembled animals but were larger than bears and completely pitch black, hence called monsters. Sa-yoon instinctively knew what they were.

Monsters.

Listening to them complain about how the number of monsters had increased significantly recently, giving them headaches, it seemed that signs of a monster wave were beginning to show.

It looks like my initial hypothesis was correct.

This was clearly the era before the field was destroyed by monster waves.

In other words, the point where destruction was just beginning.

“They say the Lord is calling in mercenaries to exterminate these creatures, but their numbers just won’t decrease. I heard Bala’s house was attacked and destroyed just recently?”

“Not just Bala’s. All the nearby shops were hit too.”

“Damn it. Can’t they just recruit more knights? Gathering mercenaries won’t be much of a force anyway.”

“Watch what you’re saying. If we’re accused of treason, it’s over for all of us.”

The chatty men continued their conversation again, excluding Sa-yoon, but as they were volunteering information on their own, Sa-yoon didn’t intervene.

To summarize, signs of a wave appearing were showing, so the Lord was gathering mercenaries for extermination. Judging by the mention of treason, it seemed the current emperor was not the type to spare troops to deal with monsters.

Sa-yoon listened to the men’s stories while gulping down the alcohol in his cup. After chattering among themselves for quite a while, even telling useless stories like how Malden living next door was kicked by a horse, the men, their faces flushed with alcohol, turned their attention to Sa-yoon and Geon-joo.

“So, you two came all the way here from Belfia to volunteer for this extermination?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It seemed they had gathered enough information from these men. Thinking it might be time to leave, Sa-yoon answered lightly, but one of the men tilted his head and looked back and forth between Sa-yoon and Geon-joo.

“For people from Belfia, you look quite well-off.”

“That’s true. Isn’t Belfia a poor territory?”

“They probably don’t have money, so let’s buy them drinks! Don’t worry and drink up, you two.”

The drunk men laughed as they spoke, and Sa-yoon just smiled slightly. He was too lazy to answer.

It seems like it’s time to leave.

Staying any longer would just be a waste of time, and he was about to call Geon-joo when he felt something unpleasant.

Turning his head, he saw the man whose money pouch he had taken earlier eyeing his with a somewhat unpleasant gaze.

“I’ve been thinking this from the start, but you two are quite pretty for mercenaries. No, for men in general.”

“……”

At the man’s blunt words, Geon-joo, who had been fiddling with his cup with a bored expression, looked up, and Sa-yoon’s eyes narrowed. The gaze was too uncomfortable for it to have been said without any intention.

At first glance, it sounded like he was doubting whether they were really mercenaries, but his gaze and tone proved otherwise.

It was an emotion more sinister and blatant than suspicion. Recognizing this, Sa-yoon let out a dry laugh.

They say out of every five people, one is an idiot, and it seemed this was that one.

While Geon-joo was alternating his gaze between Sa-yoon and the man, pondering something, Sa-yoon lightly tapped the man’s leg with his foot and downed all the remaining alcohol in his cup.

The large amount of alcohol filling more than half the cup disappeared into his throat in an instant. After wiping his mouth, Sa-yoon met the man’s eyes and spoke in a gentle voice.

“There were a few guys who said things like that in our territory too.”

“…?”

“Do you know what happened to them?”

At the sudden informal speech, different from the polite language he had maintained until now, the man shook his head with a sour expression. With a soft chuckle, Sa-yoon narrowed his eyes and leaned his upper body closer to the man. He lowered his head and whispered something into his ear. The man’s face, which had widened his eyes and swallowed as Sa-yoon approached, instantly turned pale.

“We’ll consider the bill paid by you.”

Leaving the pale-faced man behind, Sa-yoon smiled calmly and stood up from his seat. He smoothly left the tavern, taking the puzzled Geon-joo with him. Once outside, Geon-joo looked back at the tavern they had just left.

“What on earth did you say to make him freeze up like that?”

“Are you curious?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t a very pleasant thing for his pretty one to hear. Sa-yoon caught the money pouch he had been twirling on his finger and thought for a moment before giving Geon-joo what he considered the most sanitized version of what he had said. Geon-joo’s expression turned pale as he heard it. After being frozen in place for a moment, he then frowned as if imagining something and covered his mouth as if trying to hold back rising nausea.

Sa-yoon looked at Geon-joo, who was making retching sounds, with disdainful eyes.

He always had a weak stomach.

“…Did you really do that?”

“Do what?”

“What you just said.”

“Why? Are you curious about that too?”

There was nothing particularly good to hear even if he did. As he asked with a smile, Geon-joo shook his head, noticing his voice had dropped half a tone lower than usual.

“…Never mind. I wasn’t that curious anyway.”

“Good thinking. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.”

Sa-yoon chuckled and patted Geon-joo’s head as if stroking an obedient cat, then moved on to the next location. He thought he should probably tell Jongsik to keep the kids’ mouths shut when they got back, just in case.

After all, it would be a problem if his pretty one got scared and ran away after confirming the truth of what he had just said.