Evan D. Sherden, Broke the Ice (1)

‘Amy’s Kick’ was the best pub in the Royal Road, well known for their delicious food.

Thanks to its reputation, most adventurers visited it, and more importantly, the pub was used to recruit colleagues in the game.

“Welcome, sir. How many people are you with? Oh, my….”

When Evan visited the pub with his party, the pretty waitress froze on the spot when she saw Evan’s face and forgot she was greeting them. She had a minor cardiac arrest when she saw Evan.

Even though Evan disabled all the equipment that made him attractive, such as the cape and circlet, he couldn’t help it.

“Ho-how many people……?”

“Seven. Guide us.”

Evan answered her familiarly, as it was not surprising that the waitress saw him and froze.

‘And I’m well aware of you.’

When he came here as a child, when he had a meeting with Raihan, it was a different waitress. But now she was familiar to Evan, the NPC woman who appeared as a waitress in the pub in Yo-Ma Great War 3 and 4, remained the same.

“Huh, Her Highness is here, too…….”

“Shhh.”

“Shh, shh.”

The waitress was raising her voice several times, so Evan quickly gestured to the waitress, but of course, he could not hide their existence.

“Oh, that’s the second son of the Marquis of Sherden. He’s already grown up.”

“That cape…… Are they the Knights of Astray? I’m going to have to keep that in mind.”

“Her Highness is with them. She became more beautiful.”

“It’s such an unrealistic beauty that I just laugh.”

The drunkards, who were occupying a corner of the pub, saw Evan and talked. Evan scanned them once and shook his head internally. There was no talent he was waiting for. No, even the people he saw when he had come here seven years ago were still there.

‘Maybe it’s the same as the NPCs in the game.’

People’s daily lives did not change unexpectedly. Like the Yeo Ban-Min in his past life, he sat in front of the computer every evening and enjoyed the Yo-Ma Great War series. What had changed was the version of the game or the drinks he drank while playing the game. He shook his head to Shine, and then headed to the seat where the waitress guided him.

“Seven servings of the Amy’s Kick special. For the drinks……six liquor and a glass of juice.”

“We-were you a regular?”

“Yes, in the old days.”

Evan roughly replied to the waitress, who was surprised by the relentless ordering of food and drinks. It was not wrong because he used to stop by here a lot when playing the Yo-Ma games.

“Then…… please wait a moment. I didn’t know that a nobleman would visit here…….”

“Yes, you can take your time.”

Since Lucid happened to move with them, he looked around with a curious look. Raihan felt a little headache that they were in a pub with Evan, who had just canceled dinner with the King to find a talented person.

“Master, will the talent show up if we wait here?”

“That’s how I got you, Hyeong.”

“Well, if you say so, that’s not wrong……. Well, it was the same with me, you already knew you’d meet me that day and came to this pub!”

It wasn’t that, but Evan decided to let Raihan misunderstand. He didn’t want to break the emotion he was feeling by denying it for no reason.

Evan looked around silently, and Lucid, who got lucky to sit next to Evan by beating Shine with the benefits of a new member, was looking around like a countryman who had just come up to the capital city. But that was true.

“It’s very big and wide……. It smells like alcohol, and there’s a lot of pretty ladies…….”

“Lucid, we’re here to find your colleague.”

“My colleague?”

Lucid still had a habit of mimicking what people said. But Evan understood him.

Lucid had been with a group of Black Wizards who were part of a pseudo-religion, and when he was released, he was working as a dungeon knight with the Princess of Leonine, the next in line to the Dukedom of Leonine! The surrounding environment changed so suddenly that he couldn’t act normally.

“I told you a rough idea yesterday, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you mean……. I will learn relentlessly from my teacher and get introduced to the party when I become a great bandit.”

In Yo-Ma Great War 4, Lucid appeared as an enemy at first, but he could be used as an ally after winning.

Because the Black Wizards had failed to brainwash him completely, Lucid regained his mind after losing to the main character and joined the party, saying he wanted to conquer the Dungeon with the cast.

When Lucid first debut, he moved secretly, digging deadly traps that bullied the main character. He was strong and very hard to deal with.

But somehow, he joined the main character’s party, and of course, he was a very good bandit, but due to the nature of the game, which moved on a party-by-party basis, his worth disappeared. He had played a more brilliant role when he was a defensive player who moved alone and secretly attacked his enemy.

He was a typical example of an “enemy who became an ally,” who was very strong when he appeared as an enemy but became strangely weak after joining as an ally. Rather, the comedy event scene that utilized his characteristics pointed out that he had no presence that stood out!

“But I don’t think so this time. You don’t have to suffer anymore. Because we’re allies from the beginning!”

“Yes, I’ll do my best!”

Lucid did not understand what Evan was talking about, but he was prepared to do whatever Evan, his savior, and discoverer at the same time, told him to do.

Belois, sitting on Lucid’s other side, looked at him and sighed lightly because it looked like he would be influenced by Save, too.

‘No, maybe Master Evan knew that and deliberately induced this situation.’

The plan to run a sub-party was a concept that could only be enacted in games, as it was difficult in reality.

The competent part or economic support may be easily resolved by using Evan’s social status or wealth. But the most important thing was trust. If the best-raised sub-party didn’t move as he wanted, it would be a total failure.

‘But Master immediately used Louise to take control of the party, and besides, he did something to Save that I didn’t know of. …… I’m afraid it’s a little too much.’

As a result, Save was reborn as a fanatic who blindly followed Evan even though he had never spoken to him, and Renail, who belonged to the party intending to become a knight of Astray with a realistic mindset, was also influenced by him.

As a result, the ideal sub-party had been completed with the thread that only moved as Evan wanted. Moreover, as Lucid felt greatly indebted to Evan, it would not be strange if he joined Louise’s party.

‘Then, Master, who are you thinking of as the next member of the party?’

It would be hard to be in a sub-party consisting of only Evan fanatics. Still, Belois speculated that Evan might have already thought of someone he would meet here, given that he had come to this pub without hesitation to find talented people.

And that was the answer.

“Oh, he’s right there.”

Looking at the entrance while waiting for the food, Evan glistened at the pub’s door and saw the newcomer.

He was a seemingly ordinary young man, and Shine noticed with his keen eyes as a butler that he was hiding a thick book under his shabby clothes.

“Is that him? He looks like a priest.”

“Yes, he is a priest. And a regular at this pub.”

Therefore, he was an NPC that could be easily met in Yo-Ma Great War 3 and Yo-Ma Great War 4 and get accepted as a colleague. Even when Evan visited the capital city at a young age, he thought that he would use that man as a colleague in the worst-case scenario.

Then Evan unexpectedly met Raihan and came back, he thought about making a sub-party, so Evan thought about him again and visited this place.

“Is he very good?”

“No, he is not that good. But he has good credit.”

He was Priest Enoch of a nameless god. As a wandering priest who served an unnamed god, his purpose was to make a huge amount of money and build a temple for the god he served.

As the motivation for action was firm, and the means to achieve it were certain, there was an overwhelming advantage that he would never betray this side if he got the money he needed. As a priest, he would get everything he needed, so he couldn’t complain.

……Well, he was just a mercenary with no story, no emotion, and no relationship. As such, he was like a guaranteed check that could be put into the sub-party.

“Here’s your Amy’s Kick special, and the liquor and juice.”

“Wow, this place always has delicious things!”

While they were talking, the meat and drinks they had ordered came out. Serena, who heard so far, picked up a piece of meat and munched on it. It was fascinating when her lips turned greasy and shiny.

“Then, Oppa, would it be better to add one more serving?”

“Haha…… Sure, go ahead.”

Evan wasn’t the only one who felt deja-vu listening to Serena. Shine said, bursting into laughter.

“I’ve seen this before. Well…… get what you want, Master.”

“I’ll have to prepare one more piece of luggage on my way back.”

“Even you guys? All right, all right.”

After Serena, Shine, and Belois said the same thing, Evan smiled bitterly, nodded, and stood up. Shine talked to Anastasia because she felt a little left out since she was not with them at that time.

“Well, I’m watching. It was quite touching back then.”

“Well, I was very young back then…… I realized a lot with your help, Master.”

“Master Evan was an extraordinary person even when he was a child. I wonder how he’s going to recruit a colleague.”

Perhaps he shouldn’t have given her unnecessary expectations.

-Boom!

“Mr. Enoch, here is a request.”

Evan approached Enoch, who was drinking the cheapest ale by himself. He dropped a bag full of gold coins in front of him.

“Come with me to the dungeon city. You have to work for a party.”

“I’ll follow you for the rest of my life.”

Enoch fell flat on the floor as soon as he saw the number of gold coins.

Evan smiled with satisfaction as he recalled this nostalgic scene in the game.

It was the moment when the fifth member of the sub-party was confirmed.