Despite his wrinkled face, his eyes sparkled like a young child’s. His passion clearly showed that age was meaningless in front of learning.
“It’s perfect timing too. When I was the master of the magical tower, I had too many things to focus on so I couldn’t give my full attention to magic. I think going through an experience like this right after stepping down from my position is some kind of a sign.”
“I suppose that means you won’t leave your room for a while now.”
“No, I probably won’t do that. Of course, I might need to organize some theories, but I have to experience outside things too. There are experiences and knowledge that I can gain inside my room, but there’s a limit to that too.” Walwiss also didn’t forget to add a characteristically old person line such as, I know young uns these days never like to leave their rooms.”
“On another note, what were you doing?” Walwiss then asked Zich.
“I was on my way to meet my father because he called me,” Zich answered.
“…Weren’t you coming from the mansion?”
“I was, but when I saw Elena’s magic, I became curious, so I turned back. I am going to go though.”
Even Walwiss wouldn’t be able to push back a high-status noble’s call because of mere curiosity. Yet, since Walwiss also knew the general situation between Zich and Count Steelwall’s relationship, he didn’t say anything.
‘Furthermore, Zich is a more important figure than the Count right now,’ Walwiss thought. Zich’s skill, which had suddenly risen during their battle with the dragon, was simply astonishing. When Walwiss was young, as he lectured about, he traveled around the world and accumulated various experiences. At that time, he had the opportunity to meet many skilled people. Yet, there was no one who could compare to Zich. That was how unrivaled Zich’s skills were, and now his name was spreading across lands as the dragon slayer.
‘Even if he officially opposes Count Steelwall, many countries will want him,’ Walwiss thought. Even the Cronon Kingdom that Count Steelwall was part of would risk angering Count Steelwall to reach out to Zich. And above all…
‘If Zich ever fights against the whole Steelwall army, I can’t imagine Zich losing.’ It was truly unbelievable. How could a single individual possess more military might than a noble family’s army? It would at least be understandable if they were talking about a lower-status noble with a smaller estate, but they were talking about the Steelwalls. They weren’t small by any means as the Count’s status wasn’t low at all. Furthermore, the Steelwalls were considered to be the strongest defense among the border provinces, and their military forces surpassed most marquess forces. Thus, it was truly astonishing that such a force could be inferior to a single person.
‘Even though he has his perks, it’s fortunate that Zich isn’t a bad guy. If he was evil with those abilities…’
The word, ‘Demon Lord’ lingered in Walwiss’ mind. It was a title that usually only came out of children’s storybooks, but who could guarantee that a Demon Lord wouldn’t appear when even a legendary dragon did? Nevertheless, it was truly fortunate for many—perhaps, for the world that Zich’s personality wasn’t so bad.
‘Well, there’s that, but I am curious how his skills suddenly surged like that.’ A mage without a sense of curiosity was basically a corpse. Naturally, Walwiss was curious about how Zich gained such a sudden power boost. Zich had told him that it was thanks to an artifact that freed up his hardened mana, but it didn’t fulfill Walwiss’ curiosity.
‘I wish I could do more research about that,’ Walwiss thought again, but he had to give up on the matter since Zich refused it.
“Zich!” Then, they heard a familiar voice. There was an elf running toward them while shaking her hands widely.
“Tsk, tsk! Look at how silly she looks.” Walwiss clicked. Leona arrived instantly, and when she saw Walwiss’ face, she pouted her lips.
“There’s also the mage with a nasty personality,” she said.
“I have learned from my age that the best way to respond to a nasty person is to act the same way they do. I hope you keep this in mind too.”
“You know I am older than you, right?”
“Unfortunately, mental age doesn’t always increase with the passing of time. In human terms, we say that you are someone who doesn’t act their age. You should also keep that in mind.”
The two were acting like usual. It was a wonder how they didn’t genuinely have ill feelings against each other while acting like this.
“Have you been well?” Zich intervened, and Leona turned to him. She made a smile which she would never do when dealing with Walwiss.
“Yup! It’s really comfortable cause the Count took special care of us.”
“That’s good. What are you planning to do from now on?”
“I have to go back home. Of course, not right away since I was asked to help out a bit more.” Both Walwiss and Leona were helping the Steelwalls as they lacked the necessary troops.
“Also, I plan to continue to look around this human city until I return!” Leona added.
“Are you really saying that you are going to play while people are working hard? There should be a limit to how senseless you can be.”
“I am planning to play only after finishing my work.”
The two began to argue again. Hans watched them in amusement but then asked Zich carefully, “Sir Zich, aren’t you making the Count wait a bit too long?”
“Ah, that’s right.” Zich had forgotten that they were on their way to see Count Steelwall. He wasn’t in a rush, but he also had no reason to continue lingering here.
Thus, Zich said to the two, “Then, I will be on my way.”
“Oh yes, you said you were on your way to see the Count. Please go on.”
“Yeah, let’s look around the city together next time!”
Walwiss and Leona said goodbye to Zich, and soon afterward, the two went back to what they had been doing. After also receiving Snoc and Elena’s farewells, Zich turned around and headed to the Count’s mansion again. After entering the mansion and walking toward the Count’s room, Zich saw Til on the opposite side of the hallway.
“Hello, Mr. Til.”
“Greetings, Sir Zich.”
“How have you been these days?” Zich immediately began chit-chatting with Til. Hans sighed beside him, but Zich didn’t show the slightest care.
“I have more free time these days, so I have time to play with Walter and Ellie now.” Til smiled. His son Walter and the daughter of his dead friend were basically the meaning of his life; thus, the fact that he had enough free time to play with them gave him tremendous joy.
“How was the reorganization of the mercenary group? I heard that there have been significant damages.”
Compared to the mercenaries, the mages and the elves who primarily fought from the rear were protected and suffered little damage and few casualties. Unlike them, the mercenaries had clashed head-on with the allied forces, and as expected, they suffered a lot.
“We make money by putting our swords and lives on the line, so this is something that always happens. You don’t have to worry about that,” Til said, but there seemed to be some sadness in his voice. Zich couldn’t say more though after what Til said and changed the topic.
“It seems like you are coming from my father’s office. Is there something going on? If he is trying to lower his payments for your service, please tell me. I will give that Count an earful.” It sounded like an exaggerated joke, but having experienced Zich’s temper and military might first-hand, Til thought it was possible.
“No, he clearly gave us our payments and offered to give us bonuses. What I talked to him about this time was a completely different matter.”
“Is it all right for me to hear it?”
“It’s nothing secretive. He wanted to employ our whole mercenary group for the long term.”
“As soldiers?”
“Yes. He even said that including me and some others, he will offer us knight titles.”
“Those are some bold decisions.” But they weren’t a bad idea. Many Steelwall knights and soldiers died in the war. If the Count took in the Wolf’s Canine mercenary group as part of his troops, he could immediately fill up the vacant power gap. If they had been normal mercenary groups, the Count wouldn’t have been able to easily make the decision no matter how desperate he was due to issues with their credibility and reliability. However, there was nothing to worry about for Wolf’s Canine in this regard.
“What are your thoughts, Mr. Til?”
“I told him that I’ll think about it.”
“It seems to me that you are leaning toward accepting his offer.”
“There are many who felt disillusioned about being a mercenary from the last incident,” Til answered.
“Did they find out about what happened with Nick?”
“No, but it’s true that Nick’s death had an effect since he was an influential figure in our group. But the real issue is the guys who joined our Wolf’s Canine in our attempt to expand the group. Although we got rid of all of them after the incident, because of them, many felt that they were the same as the other mercenaries even after going through all that work to gain credibility.” Their last incident had been shameful for Wolf’s Canine as they held great self-respect even if they were mercenaries.
Til continued, “Furthermore, I have to think about raising Walter and Ellie. Rather than going to places and constantly traveling, it would be better for the children’s growth to stay in one place. Thus, the Count’s offer was very appealing to me.”
“Then, can’t you just accept the offer?”
“This decision is something that could completely change my life. I need to think about it a bit more.” It seemed like Til felt really conflicted about this matter since he talked for so long, even though he was usually a quiet man.
“I can’t intervene since this is a matter involving you and the rest of the mercenaries, but I can offer you my two cents. If it’s the Steelwalls, they will not treat you badly.”
Til looked a bit surprised. “I thought your relationship with Count Steelwall wasn’t good, Mr. Zich,” he said, aware of what had happened between the two.
“My relationship with that man and the way he will treat you all are separate matters. Objectively, he isn’t a bad man, especially to his subordinates and estate residents. He’s a good lord. The problem with him and I simply arose from a plethora of issues such as my mother, her family, the heir position, and so on.” Then, Zich snorted, “Even with all that considered, there’s no way I will be laughing shoulder-to-shoulder with that guy any time soon.”
“I see. Thank you for your advice.” Til took Zich’s advice to heart, and the two separated after exchanging a couple of more words.
Then, Zich finally arrived in front of the Count’s office.
Bam! Bam!
“Who’s there?!”
“It’s me!” Zich shouted back upon hearing the Count’s voice. It was a cheeky line that neither revealed his name nor anything else but clearly stated that it was Zich who was standing in front of the office door. Knowing this, the Count said, “Come in.”