The interrogation of the knights' captain brought a lot of interesting — though somewhat expected — revelations.
I guess it's best to start with the skill that let me conduct the interrogation in the first place. Death Whisper was a very… strange ability. When I used it, the life currents inside the subject twisted and pulsed in chaotic ways, and I still couldn't quite figure out what exactly was happening to them. But the biggest distortion was clearly happening in the head.
And then there was this other thing… I don't even know how to put it into words, but I could feel the person's soul slowly slipping away under the skill's influence. It flickered like a fragile candle flame caught in a relentless wind. And the longer the skill remained active, the higher the chance that flame would be snuffed out for good. Once and for all.
Even though it was my own ability, it still gave me the creeps. Definitely something I should only use in extreme situations.
"…Master's power is really scary."
Even Night, who had just been standing there watching the impromptu interrogation, looked noticeably paler than usual — and she was gripping the edge of my clothes way tighter than normal.
That little bird was, how should I put it, very sensitive. She never said anything about it and barely showed it in any way, but her intuition was sometimes sharper than mine. So sharp, in fact, that she could pick up on things like this without even really understanding what was going on.
Next came the actual information about me. Nothing too shocking there.
Altcray lived up to the title of "Supreme Senile of the Titleverse," and maybe even went a step beyond his original counterpart. He and the Church had already spread a bunch of rumors about me and the Shield Hero. As for me — they pinned the slaughter of an entire village on me, even though it had actually been wiped out by monsters controlled by the Diseased Dead One.
But it didn't stop there — they even blamed me for the genocide of another village I'd never even heard of. Either I completely forgot about visiting that place during my time in this world, or I'd never been there at all, because the name didn't ring any bells whatsoever.
And that's where the whole picture starts looking really… disgusting. It's one thing if the destruction of the village just happened to be a convenient excuse for starting a rumor — but it's something else entirely if the village was wiped out specifically to start that rumor. Because if that's the case, then I'm not just dealing with some cult-like fanatics — I'm up against outright maniacs and terrorists who'll stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
And the cherry on top — I was officially charged with "a barbaric assault on aristocratic property." Just to clarify — that's how the king spun the whole thing with the dragon core and everything that came with it. The fact that my "barbaric assault" was aimed at an underground organization was, apparently, a minor detail not worth mentioning to the public.
There was a bunch of other stuff too, but compared to what I'd already heard — it was all just fluff. Decorations for the bigger picture. I mean, come on — I'm not supposed to take seriously a report filed by some hyper old geezer about me stealing a cart full of cabbages, am I?
Those rumors had only just started to spread beyond Melromarc, but they were like a real plague. Sooner or later, they'd definitely make it past the borders — and after that, to neighboring countries too.
As things stood, I had almost no chance of getting out of this mess on my own. I wasn't ready to go for the most radical options just yet — and beyond that, I was running out of ideas.
The only person who could possibly affect the situation right now was far outside Melromarc, and when she'd come back — that was a huge question mark. Which meant I had no choice but to stick to what I was planning to do from the beginning.
"So, Hero-sama, you really haven't dropped the idea of becoming a mercenary?"
Having gotten rid of the knight's body, I returned to Pelge's mansion. Wyndia greeted me with a gloomy look, but didn't say anything. Good girl.
"Yeah. Being a mercenary still seems like the most optimal option to me. This way, I can get the most overall benefit."
Being a mercenary, in essence, wasn't much different from what I'd already been doing — except now my travels would actually have a clear goal. One that even paid. I'd get a job, gain experience and materials from monsters while completing it, and then earn a reward at the end. What's not to like?
"Well then, in that case, I actually have a little something in mind for you."
"And what might that be?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You see, Hero-sama, it's a bit deeper than it looks at first glance. Not far from the Zeltbull border, along one of the more popular trade routes, a strange monster has appeared..."
"And what's so strange about it?"
Strange is good. The weirder and more absurd the monster, the more interesting the weapon you might get from it. The only question was whether there was really something going on — or if a couple of merchants had just spooked themselves and started seeing things.
"It only attacks trade caravans."
"Huh. That kind of selectiveness… is surprising."
"Yeah. One or two incidents could've been chalked up to coincidence, but there have already been six attacks. And every single one targeted passing traders. Though, to be fair, they weren't exactly the most well-known merchants." Pelge shrugged. "The bigger players tend to use other, less crowded but more profitable routes."
"I see. So what do you need me for?"
"After discussing it with my colleagues, we decided to file a request with the mercenary guild to eliminate the monster. The whole situation seems suspicious on its own, but we'll handle the background investigation ourselves. All we need from the mercenary is to track and take down the monster. Ideally, while keeping the body as intact as possible. There might be some useful clues on it."
"And this is the job you want to make my… 'debut'?" I tried to find the right word.
"Exactly! As sharp as ever, Hero-sama."
Once we were done with all the polite formalities — we moved on to actually discussing the job in more detail. First thing I had to do was register as a mercenary. But that turned out to be no problem at all — Pelge's connections came in handy, as always, and I got my "license" within a matter of hours.
I mean, come on — why should I waste several days messing with paperwork when I could cut the whole process down to a few hours for free? Connections are everything, and you've gotta use them.
Then the official monster hunt request was submitted to the guild by an alliance of a few trade organizations. It was immediately, and oh-so-conveniently, picked up by yours truly — who just happened to be in the guild at the time, looking for a new assignment. Yep.
Both Remus and I weren't half-bad at acting, but for some reason, that day we went with the most ridiculously over-the-top performances of "two strangers who totally don't know each other." The face of the young receptionist girl was priceless. Just like our own "shocked at such a perfect coincidence" expressions, complete with lines like "O-ho-ho!" and comically polite chatter, and all the other theatrics.
Her face basically screamed, "I don't believe a word of this!" — but she couldn't really do anything about it. And honestly, it wasn't even her problem. She did her job, and she did it well! She only laughed once — and even then she managed to cover it up pretty smoothly as a coughing fit. True professional.
And just like that, I became an officially recognized mercenary. My new status was confirmed by some kind of enchanted green card. According to the same girl, there were only three types of cards: green, yellow, and black. Green ones were given to brand-new mercs with no reputation whatsoever. Yellow meant "the most average of the average," which was apparently the most accurate way to describe the majority.
Most mercenaries had yellow cards, and they made up the bulk of the hired workforce. Black cards, on the other hand, belonged to the elite — a whole different level, only taking on the toughest and most expensive jobs.
So yeah, by isekai standards, it was a pretty primitive "adventurer system." No ranks, no levels, no mithril badges or anything like that. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. Good thing my mental resistance to crushed expectations and broken tropes had already built up nicely.
Once all the bureaucratic stuff was taken care of — it was time to move on to the practical part of the assignment. But before that, there was still one more thing I needed to sort out.
"Hey, Wyndia, have you ever thought about doing something?" I asked the girl as she quietly watched me prep for the upcoming "hunt."
"Huh?" Wyndia blinked, like I'd just snapped her out of a trance.
"I don't mean that in a bad way. No hidden 'you're useless' insult or anything, I promise." I waved my hand dismissively. "I just mean… isn't it kinda boring for you to sit around here all the time?"
"Well…" She hesitated a bit. "Sometimes, I guess. But… what would I even do?"
As far as I could tell, Wyndia was still occasionally practicing that same Power Line Magic she'd taught me before — the one I'd kind of abandoned. Yeah, guilty. I'd gotten too used to things coming easy and subconsciously started pushing anything difficult off to the side.
But Wyndia hadn't stopped improving, even if she was doing it slowly.
Still, that didn't seem like the most "fun" way for a kid to spend her time.
"I mean… I don't know. Sewing? Reading? Playing? Going for walks? Chasing boys?"
"W-what?! C-chasing who?!" Oh wow, the way she blushed…
"Well..." I glanced at Night, who was — as always — hanging out nearby. "If that's how it is… hey, no judgment here, of course, but…"
"That's not what I meant!" Wyndia turned even redder as she started realizing where I was going with that.
"Alright." I nodded calmly. "But seriously — talk to Remus and he'll get you everything you need. And don't worry too much about money either. A bit later, I'll help raise your level, at least to 40. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?"
"Okay, but…" She shifted awkwardly, her confidence suddenly draining all at once. "It still feels… kind of wrong…"
I walked over, crouched down in front of her, and poked her in the forehead. Just because I felt like it.
"Don't overthink it. Trust me — I wouldn't let you do anything I didn't approve of. You're allowed to live a normal life, spend money, and do what you want — I'm not gonna stop you. And if something really bothers me, I'll just say so, don't worry." A small smirk slipped out on its own. "So stop filling your head with nonsense and focus on finding something you actually enjoy doing. We'll figure out the rest later."
"O-okay…"
Man, it's great being a straightforward person. I really can't stand all the beating around the bush, the misunderstandings, all that crap. It's so annoying. Way easier — and way more effective — to just say what you think and feel instead of hoping people somehow figure it out on their own. Such a simple truth, and yet most people seem dead set on ignoring it...
"Alright then… ready?" Though honestly, has Night ever actually been "ready" for anything?
"Yeah." With a serious nod, the little bird stepped up beside me.
"Then let's go. And let the hunt begin."