Chapter 22. Reward

“Haaah…! Hah…!”

I’m out of breath.

*Thud!*

The masked person I’d stabbed in the heart collapsed right in front of me.

“Fucking hell… I almost died.”

He was probably the toughest opponent I’d ever faced.

I can’t understand why someone with his skills would be wasting their time with Demon Worship.

*Drip, drip.*

More importantly…

Now that I had a moment to breathe, the pain in my side hit me like a truck. I grabbed at it.

A quick look revealed blood gushing from between my torn leather armor and shattered chainmail. Looks worse than I thought.

I staggered to my feet.

*Bang—* *Clang!*

The fight was still raging.

Still…

Lorenz’s men seemed to have the upper hand overall.

Well, yeah…

*Crack!*

“Agh!”

Over there…

It was only natural, since Lorenz was holding off a whole section on his own, which allowed them to focus their forces on this side.

…I remember there being another skilled fighter like that masked guy over there. But Lorenz was single-handedly holding back the other masked people, and now he's subduing them.

No need to worry about that side. Just need to help out here.

*Whew*, I just need to help finish this and get some healing. This pain is killing me.

*Plunge!*

I pulled the broken sword from the corpse of the masked person I'd killed.

Come to think of it, this is the second time I've properly fought an Aura User, and both times my sword broke.

I need to get a sturdier sword.

*Plunge!*

“Gah…!”

I stabbed another masked person who was sneaking up behind me in the chest, killing him. Then I snatched his sword.

I’ll have to ask for a new sword as a reward when I get back. I just took down a fully-fledged Aura User, and a damn good Guard at that, a Demon Worshipper no less.

It won't be as much Merit as I got from the Mansion incident, but it’s still gotta be a significant amount.

So…

I tore some cloth from the dead masked person's clothes and bound my wound before rejoining the fight.

***

“Your wound is serious.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mel, take care of him.”

After the battle ended.

One of Lorenz’s subordinates, called Mel, cast a healing spell on me.

Healing spells aren't like in those games from my past life, where wounds magically close up. It's more like first aid and pain relief.

I’d heard that high-ranking priests can actually heal wounds, but I doubt I’ll ever get the chance to experience that.

Still, I’m grateful for this. I feel much better than before.

“Get further treatment when we return.”

“Understood.”

Since I needed proper treatment, after the others received some basic first aid, we headed back up through the sewers.

Thankfully, there were no more ambushes until we reached the first floor.

We successfully made it back to the surface.

“Come find me after you’ve been treated.”

“Is there something else?”

“No, I want to reward you personally.”

After exchanging those words with Lorenz, we parted ways.

Instead of going to a medical facility, I went back to the mansion. I figured the Void Family healer was a better option than some random healer I’d never met.

"A-Are you injured?!"

"Yeah, could you patch me up?"

“Heavens…! What happened?!”

It was dark before, so I couldn't see it clearly, but now in the light, the wound definitely looked serious.

I’d done some basic first aid, but the shattered chainmail and leather were tangled with the wound, making it a gruesome sight.

“Oh my! Doesn't it hurt?!”

“...It hurts, but I’m fine.”

“I’ll give you some painkillers first. Lie down here!”

After that, I received treatment while listening to the healer’s fussing, which I hadn't heard in a while.

“Now, let’s start with the sutures.”

The healer skillfully removed the pieces of chainmail and leather from the wound and then, with delicate hands, stitched up my torn side.

I knew she was good.

“You absolutely must rest! Stay in the treatment room and lie down!”

“Alright.”

“You won’t run off, will you?”

“Do I look like a child to you? Why would I run off?”

*Zing-* The healer looked at me doubtfully…

“Absolute rest! Remember that!”

She said that and then left to fetch more medicine.

…*Sigh.*

Looks like I’m stuck lying in this treatment room.

Still, it was worth it for fighting someone that strong and getting away with just this.

And so…

I lay there obediently, just like I was told.

*Knock, knock.*

“Yes, come in.”

Someone opened the door and came in. Since they knocked, it probably wasn’t the healer.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Yep, it’s Lowell.

“I feel like I’m dying. Send me some good drugs.”

“I’ve already given instructions that you can use any medicine in the Mansion as you please.”

“Good to know.”

The medicine here is pretty effective. I remember from last time. I should be back on my feet in a week.

“By the way. I heard from Lorenz. He said you completed your task admirably.”

“You already talked to Lorenz?”

How long could I have possibly been in treatment for him to have already met with Lorenz?

“With a large number of Demon Worshippers emerging from the Capital's Underground, Lorenz is moving quickly.”

“Ah, so a suppression force is being sent?”

“The Royal Knights have been dispatched.”

“Oh…”

The Royal Knights, huh…

“Think they’ll be able to handle it?”

Honestly, my image of them had taken a bit of a hit. After all, they were the ones who charged in so bravely, only to get ambushed.

Well, sure, even *after* getting ambushed, they inflicted enough damage on the Demon Worshippers and the Remnants of the Lugard Kingdom that we managed to hold them off. So, I guess it was a success?

“This is a place with many skilled individuals.”

“...Is that so?”

“Yes, however, the problem was that there were also many hot-headed individuals amongst them.”

Lowell’s words were in the past tense.

So that means….

“They’re not like that anymore?”

“On the contrary, they've likely learned their lesson after being so soundly beaten before.”

Then can I get my hopes up?

Well, I guess.

The Royal Knights aren't some kids' game. They’ll handle things just fine.

Anyway, I’ve finished my job now.

“More importantly, what kind of reward would you like?”

Now, yes, it’s time to receive my reward.

This first mission was pretty damn difficult, just doing it for a regular paycheck wouldn’t cut it.

“I’d like to receive a good weapon.”

“A straightforward answer.”

“My sword broke again, so.”

I already decided what I wanted to get.

In two real battles against Aura Users, both of my swords broke.

The thing I need most right now is a good sword.

“It’s time you had a dedicated weapon. As luck would have it…”

Lowell said that and took out his wallet.

I thought he was going to give me money to buy a weapon when…

“Here you go.”

What Lowell handed me wasn't money, but a piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“A ticket.”

“Huh?”

“Go to the address written on the back.”

Looking closely, the front of the luxurious paper had only the word ‘Gareth’ written on it.

Flipping it over revealed a simple map.

“This is…?”

“It’s a VIP Ticket to use Gareth’s Forge.”

Gareth, Gareth.

Naturally, it’s a name I’ve never heard before.

However, the fact that Lowell gave me this ticket means he must be a remarkable blacksmith.

“He’s the best craftsman in the Kingdom, so you should visit him."

“I’ll visit sometime soon.”

“Yes, once you’re healed, go and see him.”

Just like that,

I carefully tucked the ticket Lowell gave me into my pocket.

And a few days later.

“Absolute bed rest!”

“Understood.”

Taking advantage of the moment when the Healer, who tells me to rest every day, leaves to do other work,

I opened the window and went out into the garden.

Then I went back to the doghouse, rummaged around, and got dressed.

“Oh, are you going out, sir?”

“Yes, I’ll be back.”

I casually greeted the guard and left the mansion.

The servants here don’t know the details of my situation, so I didn’t hear any complaints.

Probably only Lowell and the Healer know that I was injured on a mission and returned.

Most people would think I was just gone for other reasons.

Anyway.

After I got outside, I immediately followed the map on the ticket and headed for the high-end commercial district.

I was practically itching to get there quickly.

A dedicated weapon, what a romantic notion.

Moreover, today was also the day I had made plans with the Mercenary Leader, Jebeon. So after visiting the forge, I can go to the Mercenary Guild and check on my fake identity.

The Healer will be furious when I get back to the mansion… but forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission.

“Is this it?”

Following the map, I arrived at a huge building in the high-end commercial district.

It looked more like the other commercial buildings around it than a forge.

The unusual thing was the large number of people gathered on the first floor.

It seems they were all lined up.

I saw everyone from merchants in suits to rough mercenaries in armor, exuding a powerful aura.

Since it’s a forge, I guess the customer base is diverse.

Do I seriously have to wait in line there too?

I have a VIP Ticket from the Void Family, I doubted I’d have to queue.

So I examined the ticket carefully, and noticed something odd about the map on the back.

[Entrance: 2nd Floor]

Second floor?

Those people are lining up on the first floor, but it says the second floor.

So, it looks like the second floor and above are VIP Rooms.

I looked around the building for the stairs to get to the second-floor entrance, but I couldn’t find any.

…Do I really have to push through the crowd blocking the entrance, pretending to be in line, just to get upstairs? When…

I saw a terrace on the second floor of the forge building.

A small terrace with large windows closed, curtains drawn.

…Isn’t that also an entrance?

I’m a VIP, it should be fine to enter from there.

*Thump, thump.*

I jumped in place for a moment, gauging the height of the second floor.

Let’s see....

I gathered Aura in my legs.

*Woosh.*

I instantly leaped into the air, using Fleet's principles.

“Huh?”

“What was that?!”

Hearing the surprised voices of the people below as I suddenly jumped up, I landed precisely on the terrace.

And then.

*Knock, knock.*

I knocked on the closed window.

*Creak-*

The curtains parted and the window opened.

“Ah, excuse me, I…”

“Please come inside.”

I was about to apologize, thinking it might have been rude, but the woman who opened the window simply pointed inside, her expression unchanged.

“Was it okay to come in through the window?”

“Pardon? This is the common entrance for our VIPs. There's no problem.”

“Oh.”

So this really *was* the entrance.

That old Lowell didn't explain things properly.

He has such a nasty personality.

Well, whatever….

“I’ll escort you to Gareth.”

With a bit of anticipation, I moved to the inside of the forge.