Quit being a knight and become a mercenary

20 – Lucia, the Fox Magical Girl (3)

She looked around her with her ears pricked up, as if she was embarrassed by being pointed out so suddenly.

After realizing that she was herself no matter how she looked, she put on a puzzled expression.

“Yes? Me?”

She was more than baffled at the sudden remark she received.

Lucia blushed in an instant.

If I was dealing with someone else and they showed me how to be so timid, I probably wouldn’t have accepted them under my command.

Since mercenaries have to fight to the death on the battlefield, it is an extreme job where everyone on the same side will die together if they cannot cooperate with each other in the process.

So, people who are engaged in these occupations must have good interpersonal relationships, even if they are not up to the so-called ‘inside’.

Only then, within the same group of teenagers, can a humane bond be established and based on that, a war can be waged hand-to-hand.

It’s because it’s hard to expect a connection when such a timid member joins in, and then you’re practically just a piece of luggage.

‘However, Lucia’s worth is not covered only by her timidity.’

Knowing that, in order to buy her favour, I will invite her in the gentlest way possible, rather than in a masculine way mixed with swear words, like when I invite other mercenaries.

Just in time, the other captains of the Ten Commandments began soliciting rookie knights, rookie wizards, and cockfighters around Lucia in their usual arrogant tone, saying that they would seek new recruits.

“Looking at the knight over there, he looks like he could use a sword. Damn, why don’t you take a quick sweep with us? Shouldn’t you build up some skills, build up a reputation, and become a real knight?”

“Honestly, if you don’t have any real combat experience, even if you’re a magician, you’re going to get f*cked, so why don’t you give it a try?”

“Do you see that tall kid over there? When that bastard first came, I thought he was a dick, but after joining the mercenary army, he flew like crazy and was even offered a job as a knight on his first campaign, a crazy bastard. I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do as an older brother. How about doing it with us?”

Because of the consciousness that knights and wizards, except for me, belong to the nobility at the bottom of the hierarchy, they must think that the commanders of the tens are lowly.

At the point where the mercenaries have fallen, those bastards are just a bit better idiots than the new idiots over there anyway.

And when I saw her terrifyingly recommending her with a mix of curse words, she, with her timid personality, was even more at a loss for what to do.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you followed me rather than following the other guys over there?”

Lucia nodded her head.

“Yes, I am also a bit uncomfortable with those radish, no, rough people like that… I like someone calm like Captain Martin.”

“Really?”

“…… It’s not that people like that are bad, but it’s a bit difficult and difficult for me to deal with…”

When she said that she liked the beautiful girl with fox ears blushing her face, her emotions in the wrong direction welled up at the moment and she was excited…

Looking at Lucia’s expression, that must mean that I’m better off with some decent manners than the other 10th commanders in our mercenary corps who just talk wildly without filtering whatever comes to their brains over there.

As evidence of that, he still hasn’t let go of his wary attitude towards me.

“Then, will you join us as a teenager? Wouldn’t it be better for us to be the Ten Commander than any other place?”

“Yes, I think Captain Martin is better than the others…”

“There are many things to learn to become a mercenary, but for now, just eat, drink, and enjoy without thinking. Do you like beer?”

“It’s my first time drinking beer, so if you recommend it, I’ll try it…”

At that, I shook my hand.

“Then eat meat with milk and bread. Other guys force me to drink, but I don’t really want to.”

“Thank you. But can you really eat everything you eat today for free? ?”

I pointed with my finger at Captain Dalton, who was wearing a cape decorated with colorful silk, saying he was flirting with mercenaries.

“The nobleman over there is our white beard mercenary captain, Dalton. Because he pays for all the alcohol, meat, milk, and bread we eat today. You can eat as much as you want.”

Lucia’s eyes brightened when she heard those words.

However, because of her timid personality, she looked at me with a pitiful look in her eyes, as if she didn’t have the courage to properly order even the food she liked.

“I want to eat something sweet today. Owner here, please bring me plenty of peach pie and cookies.”

Upon hearing her words, Lucia expressed her feelings by wagging her tail as if she had been waiting for these words.

“I accidentally wanted to eat something sweet, so I ordered it. Maybe you like something like this?”

She looked like she was remembering something missing.

“Yes, in my orphanage, no, in my hometown, we often baked a pie made with peaches on St. Nicholas Day and shared it with everyone. Whenever I have a chance to eat it, I think about it every time and I really like it, but it’s expensive so I haven’t had a chance to try it…”

I already know about that kind of background, but I pretended not to know and answered.

“Really? I also ordered it because I accidentally remembered it, but I’m glad that it was your favorite dish. And what’s your name?”

“Lucia, this is Lucia. I graduated from Bluewind Academy last year.”

Blue Wind Academy, in Korea, is a prestigious academy for training wizards, even if it is not an ultra-prestigious university like Seoul National University or Yonsei University.

If I hadn’t noticed, I would have asked why I wanted to become a mercenary after leaving such a prestigious academy.

The reason why she came all the way here seems to have a deep story to anyone, but digging it up here at will is a waste of money.

And I walked towards Karin, who was drinking beer by herself while I was gone.

“Captain Martin Dec. You just left me and said you were going to find a wizard. So, is this the child you brought?”

It’s not just the two of her and me, but it’s the first time I’ve met her successor, so my tone was polite.

There was a playfulness in his voice, as if he was making fun of me.

“As soon as I saw it, I had a hunch that this child would be of help to our ten ligaments, so I brought it. I just asked, and he said he graduated from Blue Wind Academy.”

Karin seemed startled, and at that moment she slammed her desk hard, then she put her face towards us.

“Blue Wind? It’s a pretty popular place among wizards there. Aren’t guys from that kind of academy usually going to a much bigger place, not a small place like our mercenary corps?”

When Karin suddenly closed the distance, Lucia answered in a cautious voice, perhaps feeling burdened.

“That’s because I’m in such a hurry for money that I’m not in a position to cover up work. I happened to see an announcement looking for mercenaries, so I applied right away…”

Among those who start mercenaries, there is no crazy person who starts with a pile of money, except for those who have a business mind and create a new mercenary army.

Thus, the majority of mercenaries are those who don’t have money, so they earn a living every day and then apply.

Even if it’s a wizard, a knight, or a new recruit called a meat shield.

“Among those starting out as mercenaries, who honestly isn’t in a hurry with money? I also didn’t have money, so I starved for a few days and signed up here. Isn’t Karin-senpai like that too?”

“Less than Captain Ten, maybe? That’s our tenth leader. He had a knighthood in the countryside, but he beat everyone for wanting to get ahead and came into our mercenary corps with only his body.”

Lucia looked at me this time with a little bit of wonder and respect in her eyes.

“Really? Really, did you abandon your knighthood and become a mercenary?”

At those words, my shoulders shrugged in an instant.

Even so, a man must brag if necessary to impress a pretty woman, and I am the one who swore to create a harem in another world.

‘I can’t retreat from here like this.’

“If you do something like a knight in the countryside, you will never see the light of day. So I thought it would be better to throw away my family and start as a mercenary in order to properly prove my abilities.”

Lucia listened to me and looked at me with the eyes of someone she truly admired.

“Awesome… Will I be able to become a great mercenary like Captain Ten someday?”

From her words and expressions, I didn’t feel any favor as a member of the opposite s*x, but I could tell that she had a good image of me to some extent.

“That would be up to you, Lucia.”

“I see. I will work hard, work hard and save a lot of money for my family…”

When she refers to her family, she must be referring to the members of her orphanage.

The reason Lucia became a mercenary in the original work is that she couldn’t find a job because she was an orphan, but she also wanted to earn money as quickly as possible to send to the bride and children of the orphanage who were in difficult financial circumstances. Did it

And just in time, the peach pie and biscuits I ordered came out.

She looked at me once and asked for her permission with her eyes. When I nodded her head for permission, she began to eat with her cheeks puffed out while munching like a hamster or squirrel. .

The tail on her back was also wagging like a dog’s tail.

As we watched this, Karin looked at me and whispered in a slightly displeased voice just for the two of us to hear.

“Martin, from the first time I met you, you said you wanted to make a harem. Are you flirting with such a cute girl already? Do you like that type?”

If Karin was in a relationship where she showed favor to me as a member of the opposite s*x, I would have complimented her by saying, “I like Karin unconditionally, Karin is the best.”

The relationship between the two of us seems like a love affair, but it’s not something.

“It’s not necessarily like that, senior. And the sunbaenim is cute enough.”

If I had said this before, the atmosphere would have been very serious.

When Karin heard me, she blushed happily, though a little embarrassed.

“You speak dirty well, Martin.”

And the next day, I received a total of eight recruits, including Lucia.

As expected, except for Lucia, all of them were half-death recruits, but that’s okay.

I’ve corrected quite a few lungs in Korea with training and grinding, so it should be possible here as well.