Must Save, On the Stage (1)

In the morning, when he saw Louise entering the inn, Save tilted his head.

“Louise, are you in a bad mood?”

“Do I look like I am? There was nothing particularly unpleasant…”

“Wow! You look like a dead body whose blood was sucked by a vampire!”

Even Renail, who came out of the room late, affirmed Save’s comment, and Louise stammered. Before she knew it, Save was looking at Louise with a serious look.

“Did something happen with Astray…?”

“No matter what happens, you can’t do anything with your ability now.”

“I know that, but I still want to know. It’s almost like an instinct.”

Leaving Save and Renail, who started quarreling among themselves, Louise patted her cheeks repeatedly to calm down. If her facial expression had hardened, it was probably because she saw Evan and Arisha coming into the Knights Headquarters’ lobby this morning. The two were smiling, clinging to each other as if they were newlyweds. It wasn’t an opportunity to meddle in the private life of her Master, but the moment she saw it, she felt like she was the only one left behind.

‘I felt like I was mistaken and came to my senses in cold water.’

Evan and Arisha must’ve had similar childhoods. All three of them were second to a family that had ruled a Dungeon. They had identical financial resources, equal power, and similar environments. The starting point must’ve been similar. So maybe there was a future where she stood next to Evan instead of Arisha. Louise might have had the opportunity to have an equal relationship with him…she couldn’t be comfortable because she was upset at the thoughts of such things that made her feel so pleased.

At one time, she blamed her environment, but when she saw Evan, who didn’t borrow his family’s power and established an overwhelming position on his own, she forgot her idea. In the end, what was left was a sense of nervousness about herself. She recalled that hopelessness when she had escaped from Merdin.

‘I have to be strong. I have to be strong…’

The humiliation she felt this morning was something she could hardly forget. She clenched her teeth and vowed to be strong. Her position would be a little different then, and Evan would see her differently. Someday, the day would surely come when she would prove it.

“Dear Louise?”

“Oh… there’s nothing wrong with the Astray, so don’t worry. It’s something to celebrate.”

“What’s to celebrate?”

“No, nothing. More than that, I’m thinking of taking on a guild request today. What do you think?”

Louise sidestepped Save’s questions and suggested it to the party, as Evan had ordered. She was in charge of one axis that could never be ignored in the huge scenario Evan was planning now.

“Now I have to get ready to go back into the Dungeon, and if I can do it with the request of a guild, I think it’ll be a good thing.”

“What is a guild request? Getting the Mana stone from the dungeon?”

Renail bit the bait first; Louise nodded.

“Of course, there’s a general request where you had to get a mana stone at a certain level or to collect herbs that only grow in a certain spot. However, there are many requests from larger guilds to process a certain number of monsters in a particular section of the dungeon, explore a new route, or even build a camp. Sometimes there’s a request outside the dungeon.”

“Out of the dungeon?”

Save also responded with interest. Louise explained as naturally as possible.

“Yes, there’s plenty of work to do outside the dungeon. They are also in charge of security at the city entrance and dungeon due to their contracts with aristocrats who govern the city. The representatives can’t always handle the workload, so they’re borrowing from mercenaries.”

“I see. Are you suggesting we do mercenary work?”

“It’s not enough to only rely on the income you earn from the dungeon. And even if it’s mercenary work, I think it’s quite promising to work with a reliable guild and build a connection.”

“I see.”

Save nodded, convinced when he heard her. Renail posed a question with her head tilted.

“Have you thought about which guild you’ll be commissioned to?”

“Yes, there’s a place where the Master wrote me a letter of recommendation.”

“If Evan wrote it, there’s no doubt. Let’s go!”

“We’re ready.”

“Uh, yeah.”

When Evan said he had written a letter of recommendation, Renail stood up straight from her seat with a very motivated expression. From Louise’s perspective, Renail also seemed a little strange the day she ate the sandwich, but she wasn’t confident in dealing with the reality when she asked something weird, so she tried to ignore that fact and led them away.

*

* *

It would be nice to go directly to the Guild introduced by Evan, but there was a prerequisite to be a mercenary inside and outside the dungeon. It was to get registered as a mercenary at the Mercenary Guild created by the Brotherhood Corporation.

“In the past, there used to be a lot of problems, such as selling good requests at high prices, swindling mercenaries or clients, but after the shutdown of the dungeon, the Brotherhood Corporation launched a mercenary guild and now manages them directly.”

“Oh, that happens a lot in the Silk Line. In particular, wizards who are stuck in a tower and do nothing but research are often ignorant of the world, so it’s easy to fool them.”

At that time, all the brokers in Sherden protested, saying, “A big company is pushing around the commercial districts in the alley,” as they saw the Brotherhood Corporation use their overwhelming wealth, power, and force to sign exclusive contracts with almost all the guilds at once, but they were eventually absorbed, or their complaints died down according to the logic on people, but at that time, it was imperative to find other things to do for explorers while the dungeon was closed. The existence of mercenary guilds, which provided mercenaries with appropriate requests at low prices, was great for everyone except brokers who made unnecessary profits and sold information at high prices.

“I’ve always been very curious. At first, I thought I’d join the Astray right away, so I just let it go…”

“I have a guild that I’ve been recommended for now, but they might have to make another request for us to carry out, so we’d better register as a mercenary first of all. This request will also be officially registered with the Mercenary Guild and used to raise the confidence level.”

Renail tilted her head when she heard it.

“But if it’s a commission that you don’t get through the mercenary guild, how do you get the trust rating on the guild…?”

“It’s okay because I have that many connections.”

“Trust me, Renail. Evan is behind us.”

“Oh, he is!”

“…”

The party quickly arrived at the Mercenary Guild. The large wooden board was glittering with Brotherhood Corporation’s emblems on both sides.

“Wow, the building is huge. Such a building in the heart of downtown…”

“I realize the power of the Brotherhood Corporation. Of course, his power over it…!”

“Come on, let’s go in.”

Louise opened the Guild’s front door, listening to the opinions of the two who said the same thing but sounded different. The eyes of everyone in it were at the party. Whether it was comics or games, it was common that these ambitious newcomers would enter the Guild for the first time, only for mercenaries who pretended to be veterans to appear in an attempt to scare or tease them, but…

“Oh, that badge is the Astray’s mark…!”

“That’s her. Be careful; there’s a rumor that Master Evan has a new concubine.”

A badge with the Astray pattern hanging from Louise’s shoulder made her one of the most powerful people in Sherden. If a person were related to Evan, regardless of his or her ability, they would be able to stand tall with just that fact. That was the reality of Sherden now. Most of the people in the Guild were nervous and stiffening up just upon seeing Louise!

‘Oh, it’s thrilling. I can feel the power of my Teacher…!’

It was a truly sweet moment. The humiliation she had felt in the morning washed away.

About two or three people were working in the office, and all of them were dealing with people, but as they approached the window, curiously enough, the people waiting stepped down and gave up their turn.

“Good to see you, Louise.”

“I look forward to your kind cooperation!”

The Mercenary Guild’s staff also had to serve Louise very well. She immediately informed them of the case. Not only was she issued three mercenary certificates without difficulty, but she could also be recognized for improving her trust rating if she received the certificate properly.

“Please take good care of the mercenary guild in the future!”

“Yes.”

Louise smiled politely, feeling the eyes focused on her. It was a smile that she used to make often when she was an aristocrat. It was a relaxed smile.

“Hmm…?”

At that time, she turned around to give out the mercenary certificates issued to the party, but suddenly Save looked around with a strange look on his face.

“I’m sure there was a suspicious look just now…”

Louise’s eyes twinkled when she saw it. Come to think of it. Her Master told her that this was where the scenario began.

It was the same in the game where a criminal would briefly reveal the side effects of the dark clouds (production and provision of Evan D. Sherden) that would cover Sherden. Evan was a man of great detail.

“What’s wrong, Save?”

“Well…”

On the other hand, Renail, who didn’t notice anything, asked calmly. However, Save looked over the floor, and the ceiling and soon nodded his head to see if he had found what he had wanted.

“I think I felt his will. Be careful, Renail. I think he’s hoping for a new move from us.”

This was a little different from what Louise expected.

“Oh, you idiot. Don’t say that out loud here. Other people will misunderstand. Don’t play it to people who don’t need to hear it, okay?”

“Ugh…okay. Thanks for your advice, Renail.”

“As long as you know.”

Oh, this conversation was a little different from what she expected.

“Then let’s go, Louise. I’ve fully understood what it meant to be here.”

“When we’re alone later, tell me more, Save.”

“Well, yeah, I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“…”

Louise looked at each one with a serious look but eventually turned her head away. She couldn’t wait to get away from these guys and go to Evan.

–

[There will be 3 tomorrow, 3 the next day, and 4 the day after that. We’ve gotten major upgrades with our support staff, they’re almost all fully oriented.]