Chapter 5

Gale slammed the bar and urged the tavern owner.

“Hey, Jake! I told you to bring me rum quickly. A cold one.”

“O-oh…! Geez. There’s no point in saying anything. Fine. Drink this, you drunkard.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Glug, glug, glug—!

He shoved the bottle of rum the tavern owner brought directly into his throat.

“Ahh! This is the taste!”

“…”

“Hmm… I knew this would happen. That rascal Gale…”

On one side was Gale, who had refused the request with a preposterous excuse and started drinking merrily by himself.

On the other side was Elwin, who had been refused with a preposterous excuse and looked somewhat dazed.

“Tsk, tsk… He must have been really desperate. Is he that bad with directions?”

The tavern owner, who rather felt guilty, glanced between the two, then sneakily approached Elwin and whispered.

“Well… traveler, don’t take it to heart. That guy is a huge fan of ‘Brave Elliot.'”

“Brave Elliot”

It was a legend passed down in Lampas. A story depicting the life of a hero chosen by God.

The hero in that story was blond. Just like Elwin.

Elwin simply smiled. He already knew that fact.

“…Well, traveler. If you’re not in a hurry, how about staying in this village for about a week? A troupe of wandering performers is scheduled to come next week, and they said a merchant would come along. There’s a guy among them who’s familiar with the geography around here, so I’ll put in a good word for you.”

The tavern owner patted Elwin’s shoulder with his rough hand. It seemed to be his way of comforting him, but Elwin showed no particular reaction.

That was because, at the moment, Elwin was…

‘That rotten old man…’

He was extremely displeased.

What Gale hadn’t expected was that the boy in front of him wasn’t an ordinary opponent.

Elwin was someone who had vowed revenge at the young age of 10 and had done everything he could for it.

Although it wasn’t a fact yet revealed to the world, he was also someone who had made history at a young age by becoming the youngest hunter.

He had always lived as a genius of the century, an object of admiration and fear.

‘So annoying…’

Since becoming aware of his reincarnation, he had never been “ignored” in this way.

Unintentionally, Gale had scratched Elwin’s nerves in the most effective way.

It was like smiling brightly and touching a lion’s whiskers. And lions are inherently ferocious creatures.

“Hehehe, rum is the best~!”

If the future Gale had known, it would have been something to shed tears of blood over, but the current Gale had no foresight ability and was just drinking.

Elwin’s gaze as he glared at Gale was dark.

“Ha, haha…!”

Eventually, Elwin, who burst into a cold laugh, smiled deeply.

Like pioneers who lead history, Elwin was also a person who would be upset to be second in persistence and tenacity.

Until now, Elwin had never failed to achieve a goal he had set.

Unfortunately for Gale, it was the same this time.

“I underestimated you too.”

Elwin’s eyes flashed. Then he would make sure Gale couldn’t look down on him anymore.

“Hey, are you listening? …Traveler?”

Even when the tavern owner called out, Elwin paid no attention and approached Gale closely.

Gale, sensing someone’s presence, turned around.

“What, you still have business with me? …Huh, hey. Are you okay? Your pupils are dilated.”

Elwin smiled brightly, clenched his fist tightly, and struck the bar table where Gale was.

Crash!

With a rough, splintering sound, the bar table split.

—This bar table is famous for being made of sturdy Morogor wood. An average strength won’t even scratch it! Rather, the other party’s hand will just hurt!

At that moment, the tavern owner’s words flashed through Gale’s mind.

“Huh?”

…It was split in two. Gale’s eyes wavered.

His trembling gaze turned to the side that had easily smashed it like splitting an apple. It looked completely fine.

“Th-that was barehanded just now?! You didn’t even use mana! What monstrous strength is that!”

“Gale.”

Towards the astonished Gale, Elwin spoke calmly.

“I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Elwin. Elwin Krieger.”

“Um, little brat, sir? Why are you introducing yourself?”

Gale’s tone somehow turned servile after learning that Elwin possessed tremendous strength even without using mana.

“Well, because from now on, you’ll have to accept my request, Gale.”

“I clearly refused that, though.”

“I refuse your refusal.”

Elwin said ominously.

“I’ve taken a liking to you! You must take on my request. No matter what.”

“…Huh?”

Gale blankly watched Elwin, who had bowed slightly, go to the tavern owner and hand over compensation money.

Gale sensed that something was wrong.

And just as he sensed,

“Damn it, why did I do that…”

For a week already, Gale was being chased by the blond uninvited guest.

Gale, who had been running away to avoid Elwin, chose to hide behind a tree’s shadow.

Sensing no presence around, he slid down and plopped onto the ground.

“Haa, I’m tired.”

And he thought about the boy who had introduced himself as Elwin Krieger.

He washed his face and muttered with a perplexed expression.

“…Is he really a monster?”

Unlike Elwin, who thought his identity hadn’t been discovered, Gale had already noticed his peculiarity.

From the moment they first met.

Gale knew he was considered strong. Objectively speaking, that is.

He was a mercenary and accepted any mission regardless of the reward. If there was one place where he particularly stood out…

—The battlefield.

People feared him as he rampaged like crazy, drenched in bright red blood from head to toe, not distinguishing between friend and foe, and called him the “Gray Demon.”

Neither the enemies he faced nor the temporary allies he joined hands with…

None of them were a match for Gale.

Then, in the tavern of this small village, he had encountered a powerhouse he couldn’t even imagine.

Usually, any living person has a certain “energy” to them. A life force that feels slightly different from mana.

However, he felt nothing from that blond boy.

It felt like looking at a completely blank white paper. Despite his young appearance, Gale didn’t let his guard down.

‘A reclusive master in a child’s form…?’

Although the direction was a bit off, Gale sincerely believed that.

It was more believable than suddenly having the youngest Special Class Hunter in disguise appear before him.

‘It doesn’t seem like our requests overlap. If they did, from the moment I entered the village…’

His judgment was quick.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s better not to get involved.’

So he pretended not to know of his prowess and refused to take on the request with a hastily made-up excuse.

‘I’m confident in my acting.’

Despite that, he was inwardly trembling in fear, imagining the boy drawing his sword and saying, “You bastard, how arrogant. Die!”

But he thought the problem would be resolved without incident.

Because Gale believed he didn’t have a very trustworthy appearance.

But the reality was…

‘Why the hell is he doing this to me?! What business does he have with this good-for-nothing mister?!’

It was a chase that had been going on for a week.

“Found you.”

A chanting voice was heard nearby.

“…?!”

Before Gale could get up in surprise, Elwin, who had quickly jumped down from the tree, subdued Gale.

Elwin grabbed Gale by the collar and shouted brightly.

“Gale, I caught you!”

“…Yeah, you caught me.”

Gale said with a face like a dried-up tree branch.

“But can you not grab my collar?”

“But then you’ll run away, won’t you?”

“I won’t. I won’t go.”

Gale thought that running away any further was meaningless since he would get caught again anyway.

But Elwin was adamant.

“I can’t trust you.”

The Elwin who had a somewhat naive side until entering the village was nowhere to be seen.

It was because of Gale, who had confused Elwin with all sorts of tricks and lies during the week-long chase.

“Then at least grab a different part!”

“Alright.”

Instead of protecting his collar, Gale’s expression withered as his scruff was grabbed.

“Oh my, I’m dying…”

“Haha! Gale, your stamina is too low, isn’t it? Is it because you’re old?”

He muttered at the end in a lowered voice, but it was enough for Gale to hear.

He reflexively flared up, but being grabbed by the scruff still made him look trivial.

“I’m not that old! I’m in my prime!”

“Wow. That must be nice.”

“…”

Elwin retorted with sincerity in his own way. Isn’t the prime of life a good thing?

But Gale glanced up at Elwin, who was saying such things, and lost his fighting spirit.

“…Enough.”

Gale, who let out a deep sigh, spoke.

“Hey, little brat.”

“I told you, it’s Elwin.”

“Okay, Elwin.”

Elwin’s eyes widened.

Until now, Gale had only called him “little brat” and had never called him by his name.

“Let’s find out the reason now. Why is a powerhouse like you chasing after me?”

Elwin merely smiled at Gale’s words, which implied he had already guessed Elwin’s prowess.

As if he had expected it.

“I told you from the beginning, didn’t I? I want to request a job from you.”

“…Finding directions?”

“Haha, no. That was just an excuse. Actually, I have a separate main agenda. ‘Gray Demon’… It’s something only you can do.”

At that moment, an extraordinary aura burst out from Gale. A blood-red energy swirled around him.

“How do you know that? Did you come here knowing my identity?”

Gale barked threateningly. Looking down at him, Elwin laughed coldly as if it were absurd.

“Put it away. You know it won’t work anyway, right? You should fight while assessing your opponent.”

At that astonishingly cold voice, Gale’s mind, which had momentarily heated up, cleared.

An excellent mercenary always aimed their blade rationally, judging their match. And Gale was the most outstanding mercenary of the current era.

He lightly bowed his head and said.

“…My apologies. So, what is this request about?”

“That’s…”

Elwin pondered for a moment.

‘Is it better to say it here? What the request is. And who I am.’

A week had already been spent. He had allotted about 2 weeks for recruiting, but it had taken longer than expected.

Elwin had to reach Central Island, Mediale, before March.

Of course, with Gale.

It would take about four days by airship to get from Virga Village to Mediale…

Indeed, he couldn’t delay any further.

‘Alright, let’s say it.’

Elwin made a decision.

‘Gale Garib loves money anyway!’

A wretched human immersed in alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. He loved money just as much.

Well, it was fitting for a mercenary in a dark fantasy… but he wasn’t the type of person Elwin personally wanted to get involved with.

‘Anyway, it’s convenient that he can be won over with money.’

What overflowed for a Special Class Hunter was none other than money.

In a way, wanting only money was the easiest and purest condition.

‘Also… there’s a proposal he absolutely can’t refuse.’

Elwin, who had organized his thoughts, slowly opened his mouth, and Gale focused on him.

“Before I explain the request I want to entrust you with, there’s something I need to say first. Actually, I am…”

Just as Elwin was about to reveal his identity and scout Gale!

Boom—!!!

A powerful explosive sound, as if something huge had detonated, reverberated through the air.

“That’s…”

“Virga Village.”

The two quickly exchanged glances. Without a word, they ran towards the source of the sound.

It was the beginning of the incident.