When Peaceful Times Cease to Exist : Battle of Seeker’s Village, Part Six— Mercenaries in Black

Sponsored Content

And the time is now in Dulcass Forest.

「What are you doing, Rui?」

「A message from Valthus, 『All units report urgently to the Western capital of the Third Eid.』that’s it.」

「…Tch, everyone stop fighting.」

The mam puts his greatsword away.
Then, the female swordsman, the mage, the orc, and Rui also put their weapons under their arms.

「Lexus, you too as well.」

「Oka—y.」

Lisa was startled.
A voice came from right behind her.
When she turned to, she found that Lexus’ dagger was placed to her throat.
Sweat broke out on Lisa’s back.

「When did you…?」

「Nhn—? Since when you shouted『Alfiris.』」

「T–That’s…」

He had been behind her for a few seconds.
It was a shock for Lisa that she, who could even detect the impact of a falling leaf behind her, was unaware of it.

Lexus patted Lisa’s head.

「You don’t have to make that face.
I’m telling you, all assassins do this kind of thing.
Because it would be bad for their business if Sensors can detect them.
You’re still a greenhorn as a Sensor, you should not be overconfident in your abilities.
There are mages and sensors in the world who can destroy the abilities of sensors.」

「…」

Lisa bristles with frustration.
Meanwhile, the men with the huge swords began talking to Rui, as if they had already lost interest in Alfiris and the others.

「Rui, I didn’t know you were the messenger.
What kind of a windbag are you, anyway?」

Sponsored Content

「Nothing.
It just happened.」

「Would you come this deep into the woods just because it happened?」

「Ugh, Miss come on.
Let’s be honest and say that Valthus-san is not good at this! You were having hard time breathing when we were together, right?」

Snap!

Lexus blows up with a nice sound.

「…It just happened.」

「Uhh, okay.」

The man with the huge sword forced himself to look at Rui’s cold eyes.
Then, with one cough, the man asks Rui a question.

「So, what happened?」

「I heard the 4th was wiped out.」

「Virat’s squadron!?」

「If I had been the 5th, we wouldn’t have to worry about it.」

「That’s… I have to agree.」

At this, all the opponent they had been fighting looked surprised.

「Who did it?」

「It was said to be an Archfiend of some kind.
It was also quite powerful, and is rumored to be a legendary Archfiend.」

「…And Valthus still retaliates according to the code?」

Sponsored Content

「That’s true.
It’s the only code we have, isn’t it?」

「So all units will assemble?」

「They’re eben calling in people who retired a long time ago.
So we’re short-staffed, and even I am doing this.」

「I see.
Well, your arm rings.」

「Ahh, we’re in agreement on that one.」

Rui and the man with huge sword grins.
As if on cue, the others all twist the corners of their mouths.
They are unmistakably battle junkies.
And if one look closely, they all seem to be wearing the same coat.

「Black coats, gold embroidered eagles… Are you guys,『the Blackhawk Mercenary Corps led by Valthus?』」

Left alone, Miranda asks a question that she can’t seem to put to rest.
The people on the coats react to the question.

「That’s right.
I guess we won’t have to fight for now, so I’ll just say my name.
Zelver, captain of 『Vandal-Valthus Blackhawk’s』third squadron.」

「Unfortunately, though, we don’t have a second-in-command.
I am Dorothy, the acting deputy captain.
And the orc there is Dunda, and the old mage is Bernot.
And the unsociable woman over there…」

「She’s Miss Rui, captain of the second squadron.
And I’m the second-in-command, Lexus.
We are the only two in the second squadron, though.」

「…It’s a miracle that we’re still at that…」

Miranda sighs.
No wonder, the mercenary group in front of her is one of the most famous mercenary group on the continent.
There are famous mercenary groups on the continent, such as Friedrinde’s Pegasus Knights, Karatzel Cavalry, and Muller’s Iron and Steel Guards, but it is said that no mercenary group is better than the Vandal-Valthus Blackhawks, especially when it comes to leading the way on the battlefield.

They are a group of less than 50 mercenaries in total, but it is said that the captain’s condition is「to achieve 100-man elite units cut about the rest」by himself.
Therefore, it is said that when Valthus, who is also known as the「Mad Beast,」leads the entire group, their strength is said to be equivalent to that of a single army, and it said that even dragons would flee barefoot if they saw them on the battlefield.
Dragons are barefoot to begin with! But throw aside the “what if” remark.
However, it was quite plausible that Valthus, the leader of the group, had hunted an Archfiend alone.

「Anyway, are you sure you don’t want to fight with us anymore?」

「Ahh, 『the emergency meeting』takes precedence over everything else.
Even it it means abandoning a current request.
It’s liek the only rule in this mercenary corps.」

「Oh, okay.
Alfie, we’re saved.」

「Un… Umm!」

Sponsored Content

Miranda checked with Zelver.
But Alfiris’ face did not clear.
Nia, too, was left beaten, and her irritation did not seem to subside.

「Rui-san, thank you very much.
I’m so grateful for you help…」

「I didn’t meant to save you.」

Rui’s reply was only modest.
Perhaps she felt a little sorry for Alfiris’ puzzled state, but Rui was the first to connect the two.
It was a rare occurrence.

「And if he’s hitting it, it’s probably Zelver who’s dead.」

「Hey, that’s—!」

「Hey, Rui! I don’t care how much you know, you’re not listening to us!」

「Well, well, hold it together, Dorothy.」

Lexus restrains Dorothy from behind as she try to bite Rui.
It’s a wonder how did he get behind her.
Despite his light-hearted behavior, he is man who can never be too careful.

「D—Dororthy.
Short-tempered.
D–Don’t.」

「I don’t want to hear from an orc like you, Dunda!」

「Being angry, and you get wrinkles, I heard…」

「You bastard!」

「Hohoho.
Dunda’s won, Dorothy.
And you’re not as good as Rui.」

「I know!」

Apparently, they are a group of mercenaries who somehow get along quite well, or they are just having a good time.
It was hard for them to believe that they are the ones which they fought earlier.
Recently, they all looked like reapers to Alfiris and the others, but now they are just life-size human beings.
Even if one of them is an orc.

Zelver controls the commotion, which could be described as an endless argument and jostling.

Sponsored Content

「How long are we going to keep on fooling around? We have no more mission within these woods.
Let’s go.」

「I suppose… but, I think it would be less troublesome later if I said a few words to my employer to apologize.」

「When is that employer coming back?」

「Speaking of the devil, look.」

In the direction where Bernot points, they saw 30 soldiers and at the head of the group is a man dressed in a very flashy outfit, who does not look like he belongs in this forest.
That must be the prince.
They understood, they might said this, but whoever looks at him has a face that looks as if he is short of brains.
His eyes are distant and unfocused.
Moreover, he was a small obese man, which had nothing to do with his dignity.
He looks more like a clown than a royalty.

Moreover, if one wear such a flimsy straight-legs to explore this forest, they must get caught everywhere and be torn to shreds.
Have they not understand that it was not suitable for exploration at all? As Alfiris and the others looked at them, the prince, perhaps noticing their gaze, registered them in his eyes.

「Mm, who are you? What are you doing? Are you on our side?」

It’s burning all over the place, and they thought they were fighting for all intents and purposes.
Moreover, how could reinforcements comes out of nowhere against a prince who is acting in secret? Even Fenna is not hiding her Seeker appearance.
It seems that what the soldiers are saying is not far off the mark.

Perhaps it was his pride as a mercenary that makes him do this, or perhaps it was the fact that he was a mercenary, but Zelver tells him in a disciplined manner.

「My employer! Sorry for inconveniencing you, but we’re leaving now.
We have an urgent matter to attend to.
We’ll pay you back in full and on a pro-rated basis!」

「What? Do you think this third prince— your Master would approve of such a thing? Are you smart enough?」

Not only, the Blackhawks and Alfiris’ company, but also the soldiers on the prince’s side who have a look on their faces that says “which one of you is not smart enough?” The prince had taken it upon himself to identify himself, even though Zelver had taken the trouble to conceal his identity.
They thought he doesn’t understand the meaning of covert operation.

「Zelver, cam we ignore that one now?」

「Ahh… I didn’t think he was this stupid.
I’m sorry, Rui.
Sorry for the trouble.」

「Alfie, who don’t you and we get out of the way? I don’t think we need to deal with some idiot or something.
We’ve already got the seal.」

「Do you think so, Miranda? I’m starting to get that feeling too…」

Already, Alfiris and the Blackhawks are all getting restless.
But there were people watching from the sky.