Ch#149
"We're taking the ship to Talochioum tomorrow morning. Get ready."
At Tese tan's command, all the members of <Trebaga> widened their eyes.
But Tese tan was already grabbing his sword leaning against the sanctuary wall.
Aleric hurriedly followed behind him.
"Leader. You're not thinking of storming the association headquarters, are you? Please say no."
Tese tan turned to Aleric with a chilling smile.
"That wouldn't be bad either. But later. They haven't even revealed where the headquarters is anyway."
"Then why tomorrow of all days......"
"I'm going to meet the Necromancer King."
"Whaaat?!"
Libia, following from the opposite side, widened her eyes.
"Meet the Necromancer King? Us?!"
Tese tan quickened his pace instead of answering.
"Quiet and get ready. We're going to have a duel of honor with them."
At the words "duel of honor," Libia stopped in her tracks.
Even Aleric froze with his mouth agape.
* * *
Inside the sanctuary.
The spot left with only <Trebaga>'s executives.
Victor spoke up.
"The duel of honor the leader mentioned. It's really against Agavert?"
Libia irritably lifted her head.
"What do you keep your brain for? You think we'd duel monsters?"
Duel of honor.
It was a term so old that no one used it anymore.
The only ones who might were a few high noble heirs raised on history lessons?
A duel of honor was a contest knights of old waged staking their honor.
Swearing something in the empire's name beforehand, and absolutely fulfilling that oath afterward.
Victor shot Libia a dissatisfied look.
"Duels of honor are knights' business. I just asked because I've never seen mercenaries do it."
Libia muttered "Yeah right" and flipped him the middle finger.
Meanwhile, Aleric, deep in thought, murmured.
"It won't happen. Unless it turns into a dogfight."
Traditionally, duels of honor required mutual agreement.
Due to the high risk from the oaths involved.
If the loser didn't keep the oath, imperial law mandated execution.
Even now when duels were nearly extinct, that imperial law still existed.
"The Necromancer King has no reason to accept a duel. He's got everything he needs right now."
Victor and Libia nodded.
The three of them—Aleric, Victor, and Libia—were Tese tan's first recruits.
Their enlistment dates varied slightly, but they'd been by his side watching him for quite a while.
Victor sighed.
"Is the leader really feeling threatened this time?"
Until now, Trebaga had been the empire's undisputed strongest mercenary group.
They'd endured imperial indifference and church scrutiny all this time.
Maintaining rank 1 without a single national request was an achievement everyone in <Trebaga> took pride in.
But.
'We won't be taking any civil war jobs for a while.'
'About those internal Talochioum escort requests, could we hold off on the contracts for now?'
'Ah, no need! We've found other clients.'
Lately, Trebaga had been losing clients at an unnaturally high rate.
It was a direct hit for <Trebaga>, which handled more personal requests than other groups.
But soon, they learned which door those fleeing clients were knocking on.
'Heard they put in requests with Agavert and got turned down.'
'......Is that true?'
'Yeah! So Duke Bellerdin of the duchy was furious, calling mercenary trash arrogant anyway. But they say Agavert still has clients overflowing. Everyone's probing just in case.'
On the continent with Talochioum and the Northern Continent.
From islands to deserts and plains, all eyes were on Agavert.
Unprecedented dark attribute magic, the Necromancer King wielding it like something inhuman, and the strongest mercenary group he led.
Everything about them sparked people's curiosity.
"Still, a dogfight is a bit......"
Libia ruffled her hair.
Trebaga had endless conflicts with other mercenary groups over the years.
But this time, what Tese tan planned felt like a deliberate "real brawl."
"I'm fine with dropping from number one. No one on the continent doesn't know our name anymore anyway."
"Who doesn't know that, Victor."
Aleric cut him off.
"It doesn't matter to us. Whether Trebaga drops from first or not. The problem is the leader."
They still didn't know Tese tan's past.
He'd never once spoken of his history, family, or background.
But Aleric, Victor, and Libia suspected.
That Tese tan had some dark story.
"To the leader, <Trebaga> is life itself."
Tese tan was someone who found meaning in life through Trebaga.
'Trebaga will stay at the top forever. I'll make sure of it.'
He also had a strong self-destructive streak.
He regularly threw himself into dangerous situations.
And only then did his eyes sparkle like he was alive.
Tese tan never tolerated even a slight drop in siege volume.
The day a second- or third-place group surged up, he'd widen the gap like a madman before relaxing.
"We need to handle this well."
Victor said.
"We always expected someone would surpass the leader someday. He's not a god."
As Victor said, the executives had anticipated it to some degree.
That someone would eventually "actually" threaten Tese tan.
When that day came, they had one job.
To assist him in safely letting go of his obsession with first place.
And ultimately, protect him and all of Trebaga.
Libia waved her hand to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, whatever. We'll think about it later. A duel won't happen anyway."
"......How can you be so sure?"
Libia laughed.
"Is the Necromancer King crazy? Why would he do a duel with our leader that gains him nothing?"
* * *
Two days later.
The evening Trebaga arrived at the northern docks.
A single letter flew into Agavert's base.
"Waaah, it's so pretty!"
Tie sparkled as she opened the letter sealed with an elegant blue wax stamp and sky-blue ribbon.
Then she slowly read the words on the paper inside.
"Sori...... Sori Association?"
Basto came rushing from the kitchen.
"Tie, what? Where's the letter from?"
Tie handed the letter to the urgent-looking Basto.
Basto gulped after reading it.
"......A national request."
"What?!"
This time, Veil jumped down the entire staircase from the second floor.
Nordics, who had been tending the garden behind the mansion and entered, stopped at the doorway.
"A national request came to Agavert."
A smile spread across Basto's face.
National request.
The great opportunity and dream mission for mercenary groups.
"It's a siege with Holy Knights. Looks like Luminen's Holy Knights are participating."
Basto shut his mouth.
There.
At the bottom of the paper, thick letters caught his eye.
[......This summons is a key step in advancing the national request. We'd appreciate confirming your attendance in advance.
The temporary assembly is tomorrow evening, under the Clock Tower at the imperial main gate.]
"Clock Tower!"
Tie's face lit up.
The Clock Tower at the imperial main gate was what she saw every time going to the reward office.
The massive Clock Tower in the center of the central plaza was enormous.
Even from her home on Rosewell Street, the top was visible.
"I'm so excited! Tie is a Wakcle now!"
And collaborating with the Luminen ducal family too!
From now on, no more pretending not to know each other when meeting outside!
Tie was so thrilled she dashed up to her room.
She spent a long time picking tomorrow's outfit before promptly falling asleep.
Because of that, she didn't hear Kkamangi knocking on her door late at night.
She certainly didn't see the light turning on in the house next door beyond the window.
