The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)
chapter-293

Rina’s request suggested one possibility.

There might be more attacks like the one they just suffered.

Of course, Lukas had no reason to refuse her request since he had intended to help them if they were attacked anyway.

‘With this, I’ve now secured 150 gold coins.’

For the time being, he wouldn’t have to worry about finances. That was the only thought Lukas had towards his gains.

While he knew the power of money, it was only something he had to worry about while remaining in the bounds of human society. Of course, considering the fact that he would have to live within that framework for a while, he couldn’t ignore its value.

“We will arrive at the Rulan River Bridge tomorrow.”

He heard Garp murmur. The new leader of the mercenary group was pressing his fingers to his eyes, perhaps because he was tired.

The mercenaries around him who heard his voice began to stretch exaggeratedly.

“Ah. Then it won’t be much longer till we arrive in Bairak. When we get there, the first thing I’ll do is sleep. I think I could probably sleep for 20 hours straight.”

“The street food in the Bairak night market is pretty famous. Apparently, they’re the best side dishes to eat while drinking… Just thinking about it makes me drool.”

“I’ll be heading to the dens to make a big fortune. I have a really good feeling this time.”

“Bullshit. If you saved the amount of money you wasted gambling, you probably could’ve opened three stores by now. You bastard.”

The mercenaries burst into laughter.

They sat side by side in front of the bonfire and talked happily among themselves.

It was a sight that young people who dreamt of adventure longed to see, but Lukas could tell that the mercenaries weren’t as happy as they appeared to be.

‘They’re forcing themselves to not think about the attack.’

They were intentionally creating a pleasant atmosphere so that the atmosphere wouldn’t subconsciously become gloomy.

In a way, it could also be called a rough funeral.

Due to the nature of their jobs as mercenaries, there were memorials and tributes for their comrades who died. Otherwise, the atmosphere of their group would be like a funeral home year round. And there was no way that customers would hire such gloomy mercenaries.

Their dead comrades would probably want them to laugh happily too.

“What about you brother?”

It was the bald mercenary who asked this. For reference, his name was Dumbo. (TL: oof)

He’d been one of the few who bullied Lukas the most, but after he killed Budilem, Dumbo’s eyes became as bright as a loyal dog looking at his owner whenever he saw him.

Of course, Dumbo was not as cute as a loyal dog. It was very burdensome when a bald giant, who was at least 2 metres tall, stared at you with bright eyes.

“I’ll have to find a job first.”

Lukas averted his gaze as he answered. Dumbo spoke to him informally, so Lukas also spoke informally.

“Because I’ll need money in order to find my memories.”

He’d learned the value of money in this world to an extent.

Currently, Lukas had 80 gold coins in his possession. After completing the request, the total amount would become 150.

This was by no means a small amount. It was enough to allow a commoner to live a comfortable life for a few years. But Lukas didn’t intend to settle down in a city and diligently work after finding a job.

He intended to wander the continent instead.

‘The price to use a Warp Stone… is probably around 20 gold coins.’ (TL: For reference, this was the price 10 years before)

It was incredibly expensive, but the merit of allowing him to save time could not be ignored.

Lukas couldn’t use magic at the moment. In other words, the fastest way for him to travel would be to use Warp Stones.

‘There’s no need to rush, but I also can’t waste time unnecessarily.’

At the very least, he couldn’t afford to waste time on travel. He would probably need to use Warp Stones frequently. In addition to that, there were also dozens of other things he’d have to spend money on, especially if he were to encounter any unexpected situations.

“Why don’t you do more mercenary work similar to what you’re doing now?”

“…mercenary work.”

Of course, it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about this.

It was the easiest way for powerful persons to make money, and there wouldn’t be anything to worry about since it only prioritised skill.

But Lukas couldn’t help but glance down at his legs.

“I don’t think the mercenary guild would accept me with my legs like this.”

“Ah. Would that still be a problem with your level of skill? Or you could just join our mercenary group.”

“Your mercenary group?”

“Yes… This time, we’ll probably have to replenish our numbers.”

As Dumbo said this he glanced over at Garp, who nodded.

Perhaps the conversation caused them to think about their dead comrades once again as the mood became a bit gloomy.

A young mercenary, who had been looking at Lukas the entire time, abruptly opened his mouth.

“Hey, maybe Sir Lukas is from Luanoble.”

His tone was pretty calm for a mercenary.

“Luanoble? Isn’t that the land of the Knights?”

“What land of the Knights? That place is basically the land of criminals. The cities there are so disgusting.”

“Huh?”

“Read the newspaper sometimes. There they have a slave market that runs on basically a national level and I heard that it even grew in scale a few years.”

This was something that Lukas knew.

He’d visited Luanoble in the past, and at the same time, he’d seen firsthand a slave breeding house run by a certain noble. The Demigod, Riki, had even called Luanoble ‘the most corrupt place among the human nations’.

‘…10 years ago, they were able to keep that fact well hidden.’

Now, it was something that could even become the conversation of mercenaries.

That was enough to show what kind of scrutiny Luanoble was currently receiving.

“It’s not just human slaves either, even other races and monsters are treated as commodities. So they did a good job when they named it [Country of Honour and Pride.]

“Come to think of it, Aren, you’re from Luanoble aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Aren had a calm expression even as his homeland was blatantly insulted. He didn’t seem to be particularly patriotic towards Luanoble.

He continued to talk to Lukas.

“In Luanoble, a Knight competition is held once a year. Regardless of status anyone who is a Knight can participate.”

Dumbo frowned.

“What kind of bullshit is that? In the first place, all Knights are nobles.”

“Not anymore. Luanoble introduced an honorary Knight a few years ago. Anyone can become a Knight as long as they have the skills to match and there are no major issues with their past. Of course, this means that there are hundreds of Knights in the competition.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Lukas turned to Aren and tilted his head to the side.

“But what does the competition have to do with anything?”

“When I was young, I used to watch the Knight competition. I think I saw Sir Lukas’ swordsmanship in the competition.”

“Re-, really?”

Dumbo asked with a more excited expression than Lukas.

“Do you remember who it was?”

“If my memory is correct… it was Marquis Aquarid.”

“A-, Aquarid…?”

A ripple spread through the mercenaries.

It seemed that it was a famous family name. Lukas felt that he’d heard the name before somewhere… but he couldn’t remember. (TL: He forgot Sonia.)

However, he understood the situation.

The Luanoble Kingdom was built on Icollium, Lucid’s homeland. There were probably descendants of Lucid there, so it wasn’t strange for them to have inherited his swordsmanship.

“It’s possible that Sir Lukas might be a Knight trainee from the Aquarid family.”

“House Aquarid is considered the hope of the Luanoble Kingdom. They’re the only family who have Knights with integrity and honour.”

“Indeed…”

“It’s just as I expected. Because he showed a sword technique that was able to easily break ‘the inescapable death’.

Apparently, the man named Budilem that Lukas had killed was very strong. The mercenaries all had looks of respect on their face as they remembered that time.”

But Lukas’ expression couldn’t help but become complicated.

The only reason he’d been able to kill Budilem at that time was because he was aware of the situation and his surroundings, and he used his opponent’s own psychology against him.

To put it bluntly, when it came purely to physical capabilities, he fell short of the mercenaries around him, not to mention Budilem.

‘…swordsmanship alone is not enough.’

It would take more than just a day or two to train his body.

Only by repeatedly and steadily training for a long time would his body be able to reach an acceptable level. That was the difference from magicology, where the performance of the mind was the most important. No matter how great his technique was, there would still be a limit to the level of power he could produce if his body was weak.

‘I need something else.’

But for the current him who couldn’t even use magic, what the hell could he do?

Lukas stayed up all night thinking about it.

The next day.

The convoy finally arrived at the bridge.