The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 10 - Selling to a Great Customer

Inside the Guild, everyone was found to be quite busy.

Most of what was here were the adventurers looking into the quest board for any sort of jobs that they might undertake, while the mercenaries were waiting around the corners for anyone willing to hire them.

For mercenaries, they too could look into the boards for jobs, but what mostly gives out more money is being hired directly by the client. Mercenaries were the only people who actually take jobs that have more risk than Adventurers do. It’s a fact that I stand by seeing as how I was once a mercenary.

It shows that in the exchange for their lives, they get coin.

Anyway, as I approached the counter, I was meet with a familiar face yet again.

Stella…a brunette haired beauty who stood quite tall on her heels. And along with that, she had a bountiful breast that would always attract my eyes…

We never really got into anything personal. To me she was a friend.

She was one of the handlers and receptionist of the guild and also the one who would spread my name once to those who were looking for a solo mercenary.

It was because of her that my name grew farther than I thought it would.

So seeing her face again brought me a bit of joy like how Mr. Churi did.

I’m very thankful of seeing her again…

It was a second chance to meet a friend.

As I approached her, I greeted her kindly. “Hi, I was wondering if Mr. Liondel was here in the Guild?” I asked with a calm and friendly manner.

“Oh? And to what reason do you have for meeting with Mr. Liondel?”

“I came here willing show him something in the efforts of settling a trade with him.”

“A trade?”

“Yes, I was wondering if Mr. Liondel would look at my swords and buy one. I was supposed to sell it to a shop owned by Mr. Churi, but Mr. Churi instead directed me here to Mr. Liondel.” I said as I explained the situation to her.

“I see…Mr. Churi does have a connection with Liondel, but did Mr. Churi ever say anything in regards to meeting Mr. Liondel?” she asked.

“Ah..yes, he said that Murly sends his best.”

“Hmm, I see. Please wait here. I’ll go and ask for Liondel’s presence.”

As Stella went to the second floor of the guild, soon after she returned with a soft smile on her face.

“Mr. Liondel would like to meet you.”

“Thank you!”

As I went up the stairs to a room instructed by Stella, I came to a door that was emitting a dangerous presence behind it.

It was clear here that Liondel was behind it.

As I slowly opened the door, I came to the sight of Liondel sitting on a chair with his sword on his waist.

“…” from his usual silence that never changed, even from the future, his deadly demeanor was spilling out like a crashing wave.

It was here that he was intentionally showing his bloodlust down on me. But this sort of feeling was common to my daily life. After gaining a title, everyone always looked at me like I was the most hated person alive. Although, I don’t know why he would ever spill his bloodlust down on me now.

“…So you’re the one that Murley sent in?”

“Y-yes…” I said while stuttering for a bit.

“Bring your sword…”

He was as straightforward as ever. Always on the intent of being direct. Never wasting his own time.

So if he’s going to be like this, I’ll comply.

Having put down my bag, I pulled out five swords decorated with our family’s sign.

I laid it down before him and made him act on the choice of which sword was worth his time.

One after the other, I placed the swords down.

Slowly but surely, he chose the one on the center.

As he pulled it out of its scabbard, the shining glare from the sword hits his eye unexpectedly. This happened the same way with Mr. Churi.

But as he fully brought out the sword into the open, he gazed upon it over his head and a look of admiration was placed on his clod expression.

“…”

He stared at it for a minute before finally turning back to me.

“.…How much?” he asked as he slowly pulled down the sword back to its scabbard.

“How much do you think this sword is worth?” I asked as I wanted his opinion on the matter.

“It’s a good sword. Compared to any iron sword I’ve ever held, this one shows spirit that could only ever be appreciated by a true warrior.”

That was the longest sentence I’ve ever heard from him say.

“I-I see…”

“One gold coin and fifty silver….for each.” he said as he looked to me with the gaze of a warrior.

“…Really?”

“Indeed…and I’ll take it all.” he said.

“I understand.” having said this, I agreed to sell it to him.

“…It won’t be long before I can use these swords in battle.” he whispered to the blade on his hand.

I wasn’t really surprised.

Liondel was a man with a certain title in the city.

[The Hundred Blade Master]

A man who uses more than just single sword in battle.

This was his swordsmanship…

Back to the times when I was challenged by him, I had to face seven swords all at once…

He was a master at manipulating weapons to his will even without touching them.

So for him to use seven was not an exaggeration…and if he wanted to go all out, he could use a hundred blades all at the same time.

To him, each blade he had as an arsenal is an advantage in a battlefield.

Using weak weapons will only hinder his battle and maybe even lose his life. So having to buy my sword first hand is nothing but an honor.

That day, after selling all the swords I had on hand to Liondel, I received quite a lot of payment.

More exactly, I received seven gold coins and fifty silver ones.

It was a good day to live as a blacksmith.

After making our transaction, I made my way out of the room…but as I was leaving, the swordmaster said one last thing to me.

“Bring more next time…” he said.

I smiled and waved goodbye. And from there on, I hooked in a faithful customer.

***

As Thill left, Liondel was suddenly greeted by Stella who walked in moments after Thill Left.

“So, what did he had to sell you?” she asked as she walked up to him.

“This.” having held the sword on his hand, he showed the sharpness of its blade out to Stella.

“?” Stella was a but confused, but soon after Liondel pulled in a simple sword from the corner of the room like he was manipulating it like a magnet.

As he caught it by his hand, he directed the Thill’s sword’s blade on the normal sword above.

As he lets go of the simple sword, it fell down on Thill’s crafted blade, and once it did…to Stella’s shock, the blade was cut in two.

It was more sharper than she had realized.

“…Only a master craftsman could ever make such a weapon.” said Liondel.

“Is he more talented than Mr. Churi?” asked Stella.

“…Probably.” after that, he pulled his newly bought sword back to its scabbard.

And as he did, he turned to Stella.

“…It’d be best that he keeps his talents hidden.” he said.

“Hmm.”

“So, what are you here for?” he asked as he finished demonstrating the blade.

“Actually, I came here to tell you that Evelyn Ambers has returned.”

“…!?”

“She just returned this early morning…I forgot to tell you. So in her return, the request has been pulled back, you no longer have to search for her.” she said.

“…” in his silence, he smiled coldly.

Despite his expression, he was glad that someone has returned safe and sound to their family.

“And more to her issue, it was said that she came in with 11 more women. It seems that the bandit group was harboring women in their camp.” said Stella as she sweated nervously to this news.

“…How did they escape?”

“Well, the guild is out questioning her. But to her response, she remains quiet on the matter. It seems as though she refuses to give out an answer on how they were able to escape.”

“.…”

“When we asked the other women who were also kidnapped, they too kept their silence.”

“…strange.”

“It is, but judging by their reactions, it doesn’t seem like it was an issue on who saved them or not. They seemed at peace in question to their escape…”

“Hero?” asked Liondel as he was intrigue by the situation.

“Maybe…we don’t know.” said Stella.

***

Despite having finished selling my swords, I still have something to do here in the city. And that was to buy things that were needed at home.

Theresa gave me a list before I left home, and judging by the looks of it, I needed to buy a horse, a carriage, a bag of salt, a few hens for laying eggs, and a few more groceries.

Along with that, I also needed to buy a few materials for the workshop. From ores and other melting materials.

And more than anything, I needed to buy a gift for them, for my siblings.

Thomas likes tasting sweets that aren’t common, so I’ll buy him a jar of exported candy. Mostly because he loves all sorts of food, he genuinely yearns to become a baker,

Theodore loves reading, but mostly magic related literature, so I’ll buy him a book.

Thalia loves cute dresses despite her timid nature, so I’ll buy her pretty dress.

And Tilly loves animals. She always wanted a pet since I’ve known her…more than anything, she wanted a dog. So I’ll look for one.

As for Theresa, the only thing I know she likes was that our family was being kept fed. But even still, I had to gift her something. So I bought her a hair ornament.

This city was filled with all sorts of things for sale, and having a lot on my budget, I can spend everything just for them.

Its the least I could do…for them.

***

As the sun was finally starting to set, I had bought everything I ever wanted. I bought groceries for that would last a week, the gifts that were for my brothers and sisters.

But sadly I couldn’t get a dog. The ones in the market were more rabid than I imagined. It was bad for me to buy a rabid dog for someone as small as Tilly.

So instead, I compromised and simply bought a toy that resembled an animal.

Over all, it only ever costed me about two gold coins.

The carriage I bought was filled to the brim and the two horses I picked were stronger than ever.

With everything ready, it was finally time to go home.

It’ll take an entire day just for me to reach home by carriage, so if I leave now, I’ll make it back to the village by tomorrow, sundown.

So as early as I could, I left the city.

By midnight, I stopped and let the horse rest.

I was still a bit far from the village, yet I didn’t want to abuse the horses, so I had to let them rest.

During this time, I took one of the issue regarding my current strength.

As of now, I only have developed the first pure core inside my body.

To evolve into the second form, what I need to do, to go past it is to train my body. It’s only natural that one’s core can only evolve when it’s body can handle the changes.

If I were to force myself to evolve right now, I would surely die.

Core was what makes up a warrior’s strength and power, if one wishes to evolve one’s strength, one needs a proper host of a vessel.

That’s why in this free time, I’ll train my body the only way I know how.

By undergoing the “Death-Set Method.”

A sort of exercise method that truly abuses one’s body but also at the same time, develops it at a faster rate than any other training method.

No one knows this method other than me…because I’m the author to this exercise.

In the middle of the night, rest is not necessary when one wants to claim the honor of strength.

I’ve done this before…and I’ll do it again.

[Death-Set Training Method]

The first ever set of exercise one needs to truly embedded an arm strong enough to move the world is 10,000 perfect swings.

It’ll probably take me hours, but whatever. I know how to make a perfect swing, and with the improvements of being able to develop the first stage of the pure core, I won’t be tired all the way through once I’m done.

***

Time went by and Thill had undergone his exercise.

And when the sun had finally risen back up, he made his way back to the village.

Not long after, he made it back home by afternoon. And to his surprise, he was being greeted by his family.

“It seems that you sold all your swords, that’s amazing.” said Theresa.

“I did…and just like what you asked, I bought everything that was on the list.”

“Really? That’s great!” Theresa joyfully smiled in seeing that the resources that we’ve been struggling so far have been finally been restored.

“It is, so was there anything going on, while I was away?” asked Thill.

“Not much really…but that guy did return.” she said.

“Guy?”

“You know, the man named Orion. He’s been waiting for you since about three hours ago.” she said.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t give me an answer…but it looks serious.” she said.

“Okay…where is he?”

“In the shop.”

Feeling a sense of dread, I didn’t stop to greet my family, instead I went straight to the shop.

As I slowly opened the door to my shop, I quickly noticed Orion sitting down on a chair next to a counter.

“Hmm, I’ve been here for a while now and you barely have any customers here. Don’t you think it’s a shame to sell your swords here when you’re such a talented blacksmith?” he asked as he leaned on the chair.

“…What are you here for?” I asked as I noticed a sword by his waist. It seems he wsa trying ot make it obvious to be seen by me.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll believe me when I say that I’m here to buy a sword, no?”

“It’s strange for a man to wait for hours on me when he can just easily buy a sword on the counter.”

“You’re right…actually, I’m here for something else.”

As he stood up from the chair, he pulled something that was tied to his waist.

It was a sack that contained a weird round piece of object.

And the next thing he did after showing me the sack, he started shaking it. As he did, it started to create a sound that seemed oddly familiar.

“What do you think is inside this bag?” he asked.

“What?”

Knowing that I wouldn’t answer directly, he decided to reveal what was inside the bag. Having poured the piece down on the counter, I was shocked to find what was inside it.

“!?”

“Does it remind you of anything?”

On top of the counter was a piece of a human skull cut straight in half, pefectly on the middle.

It was the head of the Lich who I defeated a few days ago.

“What are you doing, putting a skull over my counter? Are you insane?” I asked as I tried acting dumb.

“Not as insane as the guy who actually killed this thing.” he said as he grabbed the two pieces of skull and linked it together as if it was a piece of a puzzle.

“…”

“We know it’s you.” he said without context.

“…Me?”

“And we also know that…you know what this is.” he said with a smile on his face.

“…”

“We discovered the location of the barnhouse a few days ago…and using magic, we traced back the elements of what kind of magic there was…to this place.”

“.…Don’t lie to me. Such magic doesn’t exist. If a person were to use a skill or a magical attack on an enemy, it’s elemental traces won’t even last an hour before it dicipates into mid air. There’s no evidence that whatever this thing is that you’re holding, is something that I’m responsible for.”

“Fine, we can ignore the fact that you killed the lich and drove off the plague. The reason why I’m here in the first place is to warn you…”

“…”

“Knowing your capabilities…The King’s hounds have set their eyes on you. Thread lightly on whatever you plan to do in the future.”

The Guard Hounds are a fearsome and elite order of knights, sworn to uphold law and bring order within the king’s domain. Renowned for their unwavering loyalty to the crown, they are often deployed to quell unrest, enforce justice, and hunt down those who defy the king’s law. Their name, “Guard Hounds,” reflects their fierce vigilance and unyielding tenacity, much like hunting hounds that never lose the scent of their prey.

The Guard Hounds operate under a strict code of discipline, emphasizing loyalty, honor, and duty. However, they are also infamous for their brutal methods in maintaining peace. While they see themselves as protectors of order, others may view them as ruthless enforcers. They are known to be unmerciful toward criminals and rebels, pursuing their targets relentlessly, earning them both fear and respect across the kingdom. “Mercy,” to the Guard Hounds, is a rare word—reserved only for those who bend the knee to the king.

I remember them well…

After all, they were the ones who drove me to the ends of the world in the order of eliminating me, but in their efforts, they’ve lost over a hundred men just to kill me back in the past. They never did succeeded. And its because of such a lost, they decided to give up on the order.

I’m not afraid of them, even to his warnings.

As long as my family acts accordingly and doesn’t go against the peace of this kingdom, we won’t have any problems.

After he told me of his warning, he left simply with a calm face. For him to personally send that message…what a bastard.

Orion is a smart man…I have to be careful around him if I don’t want to end up killing him in the end.