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Chapter 137: You’re not alone
"Daisy lost?"
"That's right."
"To whom? Is there someone capable of that around here?"
I knew Daisy's talent and tenacity better than anyone.
In a real fight, she was at a level where she could easily defeat a typical 4-star knight.
She was already at that level when I last saw her, so her skills must have improved even further by now.
Even among those I saw at the banquet in Urgon, there were few who could match Daisy.
"Did she go on an expedition to a noble clan's territory or a regular mercenary group's base? Did she get into a fight with someone?"
"She didn't get into a fight with any faction, and she didn't go on an expedition either. It happened in Kaoto."
Zion, who had been listening quietly, spoke up politely.
"Why didn't you tell us, officer? You should have asked for our cooperation."
"It wasn't something that required assistance, investor."
I looked at Bravo Khan and said,
"Tell me more."
Bravo Khan replied with a bitter smile.
"It's actually quite embarrassing to explain. The executives were all having a meal together at Donkey's place when a middle-aged man we'd never seen before came in and asked to join us. It wasn't that strange. As you know, the restaurant is always full during dinner time. The middle-aged man ordered chicken stew, and we had stir-fried chicken."
"I can't even begin to imagine how this unfolds."
"While eating the stew, the middle-aged man let out an exclamation of admiration. Then he looked at us and asked..."
"What did he ask?"
"If he could try a piece of our stir-fried chicken."
"A complete stranger?"
"That's right."
Palge suddenly became indignant.
"He made such an unreasonable request?"
"Vice Commander Daisy refused, of course. But the middle-aged man persistently asked to try just one piece. Suddenly, Vice Commander Daisy and the middle-aged man started a staring contest. After a while, they both went outside. Naturally, we thought the middle-aged man would come back beaten to a pulp."
"But the result was the opposite?"
Bravo Khan nodded.
"We thought it was strange that there was no news for a while, and then suddenly the middle-aged man walked back into the restaurant perfectly fine. Then he took out a pouch from his pocket, paid for the stir-fried chicken we ate, and left."
"He had money but begged for food?"
"Thinking about it now, I find it strange too."
"What about Daisy?"
"We found her in the empty lot. She had collapsed, completely battered. Fortunately, there were no fatal injuries. She was bruised all over and exhausted, but there were no internal injuries."
I understood what had happened.
"The middle-aged man went easy on her."
"That was the end of it. The middle-aged man didn't appear again. We don't know his identity either. Even when I asked Vice Commander Daisy who he was, she wouldn't answer. Since then, she's been holed up in the main building and barely comes out."
As I listened to the explanation, someone suddenly came to mind.
"By any chance, was that middle-aged man bald with only three strands of hair?"
"He had a sword at his waist and long hair."
"Then it wasn't him. Seems like some wandering knight."
Bravo Khan asked,
"Wouldn't it be best if you talked to Vice Commander Daisy, Boss?"
I nodded as if it were a matter of course.
"Of course. What good is it if the Brotherhood's deputy is like that?"
"Thank you."
"Let's meet tomorrow."
***
The next day, I left the main house early in the morning with Bravo Khan.
"Attention!"
With Garlic's loud command, the guards lined up in unison.
"Salute!"
"Chwoooong!"
Along with the thudding sound of stamping feet, a powerful shout resonated.
"Your saluting skills have improved."
"Thank you!"
"Good work."
"Sir!"
Stepping outside, I took a moment to look around the eastern district of Kaoto.
As if a blocked blood vessel had opened, many merchants were coming and going along the street.
"I'll go and gather the executives."
"Let's meet at Donkey's place."
After parting ways with Bravo Khan, I stopped by the place where the apothecary used to be.
The spot was empty and clean.
Did Baldy leave Kaoto?
I had some questions for him.
With a sigh, I turned around and headed towards Donkey's place. As soon as I entered, a familiar smell stimulated my sense of smell.
"Well, well, look who it is."
"Still the same, Brother Donkey."
From early in the morning, Donkey was busy cleaning the restaurant.
His habit of cleaning first thing hasn't changed.
I also picked up a broom placed in a corner of the restaurant and started cleaning.
Donkey chuckled.
"Reminds me of the old days."
Once we finished cleaning up, Donkey said,
"Want a bowl of stew?"
"Sure."
"Mild for breakfast?"
"Make it spicy. That's what I've been missing."
Donkey went into the kitchen and quickly came out with a bowl of stew.
"Damn. That smells amazing."
I took a spoonful and, ha.
This is it. This is the taste of home.
This stimulating spiciness. This crazy deliciousness.
The tender, boiled chicken tore apart along the grain, adding to the texture as it melted in my mouth.
"I was wrong. That was an insult."
I was definitely wrong.
The owner of the braised carp place can't even hold a candle to Donkey.
That was an insult to Donkey.
No matter how perfect the owner's skills become, at best, he'll only be able to kiss Donkey's feet.
Suddenly, a glass was placed in front of me, and Donkey poured a glass of moonshine.
With the savory taste of the stew lingering on my tongue, I took a sip of the moonshine.
"Haaa..."
"Why are you crying? Is it too spicy?"
"Haaa..."
I was overwhelmed with emotion.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps from the entrance, so I quickly wiped my eyes and turned my gaze.
"Boss!"
I was momentarily speechless when I saw who came in. One-Eye, Ponytail, Carrot... Every single one of them had changed in physique.
"We have been waiting for you, Boss!"
"What happened to your bodies?"
"We trained hard."
"Who told you to bulk up like that?"
It was excessively bulky to simply be called the result of hard training. It felt like I was looking at the bull-like Bulrai from the past.
"We ate a lot of chicken."
"How much did you eat?"
At that moment, Donkey came out of the kitchen carrying a basket piled high with chicken.
I tasted it, and it was boiled chicken stir-fry without any seasoning.
"We eat this all day long."
"Why?"
"It's easy on the stomach, and it tastes good. We ate this and trained, and that's how our bodies became like this."
Ponytail added from the side,
"It's actually better this way. When we go out on patrol, the number of people surrendering without a fight has increased."
"Instead of Patrol Unit, 'Muscleheads' would be a more fitting name, you rotten bastards."
I abruptly threw Red Dagger at One-Eye.
Surprisingly, One-Eye deflected the attack with an agile move that didn't match his bulky body.
"...That's a surprising move."
It was strange because usually, when muscles are that bulky, movements become sluggish.
Suddenly, as I was looking at One-Eye, I said without realizing it,
"So your left hand has become your dominant hand now."
"That's right."
"Are you using a dagger instead of a sword?"
"How did you know?"
Well...
It was hard for me to answer.
I didn't figure it out by looking at his physique or posture.
It was purely because I had a feeling that it would be the case. This had happened once before.
Instead, I asked One-Eye,
"Why did you switch to a dagger? A sword would be better."
"I have only one eye, don't I?"
"So?"
"I heard that daggers suit one-eyed people, and it made sense, so I'm using a dagger now. Swift and silent."
Ponytail chimed in,
"He goes around spreading the nickname 'One-Eyed Assassin' himself."
"Turning a weakness into a strength. That's an excellent attitude."
After chatting with the other executives, I suddenly looked towards the entrance again.
Bravo Khan entered, followed awkwardly by Daisy.
"You're here?"
Her voice was somewhat gloomy.
I gestured to the seat in front of me.
"Sit down, Vice Commander Daisy."
As Daisy sat across from me, the members all looked at her with worried expressions.
After observing her complexion for a moment, I looked around and said,
"Everyone except Daisy, please leave. Brother Donkey, bring us some moonshine."
***
The preliminary symptoms of a Heart Demon.
Daisy's complexion was pale, as if she hadn't slept in days.
I poured moonshine into two glasses and handed one to Daisy.
"Tell me. I've heard everything."
"Brother..."
"How did the fight go?"
If it had been a duel where they exchanged blows, Daisy's personality wouldn't have led to these symptoms.
The implication of this Heart Demon was clear.
Daisy emptied the glass in one gulp and said,
"At first, he seemed like nothing special. I just thought he was a weird guy. But once the duel started, it was different. He had many openings, but no matter how much I attacked, he blocked everything."
"Did he only defend?"
"That's right. It felt like he was reading all my attacks. He kept doing that, so I got angry and put mana into my attacks, fighting seriously."
"And that didn't work either?"
"He deflected everything. In the end, that bastard knocked me unconscious by hitting me only with his scabbard, without even using mana."
"I thought so."
Now I understood.
"That's why you've been withdrawn."
"I kept training alone, thinking about how to defeat him, but no matter what I did, I couldn't come up with a way."
Knowing Daisy's personality, she must have been working on it day and night.
Even after all that research, she couldn't find an answer, leading to a Heart Demon.
Looking at Daisy's pale face, I shared my own experience.
"I've been there too."
"You have, Brother?"
"It was before I knew magic. There was this place called the Red Moon Tavern. A drunkard picked a fight with me, and I was badly defeated in a duel. Turned out he was a 5-star knight."
"You lost?"
"But I didn't give up. I worked my ass off, became a mage, and finally succeeded in getting my revenge on him."
"As expected of you, Brother."
Strictly speaking, there were some inaccuracies in my story, but that wasn't important.
"There are many strong people in the world. The important thing is to keep trying without giving up."
Looking at Daisy, whose expression was still dark, I said,
"Do you know the identity of that man?"
"I don't know. His attire was a bit unusual for a swordsman."
"How so?"
"I noticed it during the fight, but he had a butterfly pattern drawn on his arm."
"Go and get the officer."
A moment later, Bravo Khan, who had been waiting outside, entered.
"You called?"
"Officer, I heard that the man who fought Daisy had a butterfly pattern on his arm. Do you know anything about that?"
"A butterfly pattern... Do you happen to remember the color as well?"
Daisy answered,
"Blue."
I asked Bravo Khan,
"Is it a clan crest?"
"As far as I know, there's no clan that uses that kind of crest. If it's a blue butterfly pattern, there is one place that comes to mind."
"Where?"
"The Fenrir Mercenary Group comes to mind. They're not a regular mercenary group, but I remember them because they've been quite active recently, mainly in the southern part of the continent."
Bravo Khan recalled his memories and said,
"If you go west from Leon, you'll come across a base called Poeta, and they're active around there."
"Poeta?"
"Yes."
Poeta was a region I knew as well.
It was one of the bases where a public magic circle was installed.
"I'm not sure though. I heard that the mercenary captain there is young. There would be quite an age difference between him and the middle-aged man who fought Vice Commander Daisy."
"What's their reputation like?"
"Not very good. They don't seem to be picky about the jobs they take. Their area of activity doesn't extend beyond Poeta, and they haven't really clashed with us, so I haven't looked into them in detail."
"How long does it take to get to Poeta?"
"About three days by carriage."
Three days by carriage wasn't that far.
If I went alone, it would only take a few hours.
There was still some time left before the Lord returned.
"Daisy."
"Yes, Brother."
"Pack your things."
"Huh?"
"I can't just let go of the guy who dared to steal our stir-fried chicken and make a fool out of Vice Commander Daisy in our territory. Revenge isn't always something you do alone."
Bravo Khan said,
"It might not be the Fenrir Mercenary Group."
"We'll find out when we get there. I have a bad feeling about this."
"Excuse my boldness... but aren't you deciding this too hastily?"
"It's fine. Officer, go and tell the Crazy Mage Squad."
Bravo Khan asked back,
"What should I tell them?"
"Tell them to finish all their preparations by the time I get back."
"Understood."
I just felt that way.
I had always regretted not getting revenge on that pot-bellied drunkard knight, but there was no need for Daisy to carry that same regret.
I was alone, but the Brotherhood wasn't.
I didn't want my subordinates to feel the same emotions I had experienced.
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