Chapter 46: Reunion (2)
Harang had undergone many changes since being freed from the village.
The most intuitive change was the rise in his martial prowess.
This was because he had learned much from meeting the beggar old man, teaching the Eddy Family, and being exposed to various environments and people he could not have experienced in the village.
However, there was another area where he had achieved even greater growth, and that was ‘social skills’.
It was the same even now.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
“Get lost.”
“?”
Harang, who heard the absurd words from the fierce-looking Mercenary.
If this had happened right after he left the village, he would have immediately replied, ‘I don’t want to’.
Perhaps he might have subdued the opponent without even exchanging words.
‘Coercion’ was the second thing Harang hated most in the world.
The first was, of course, the ‘village’.
However, he was different now, having been released into the world for half a year.
Common sense, and tact.
The black-haired young man, now equipped with two things he previously lacked, racked his brain.
‘Seeing him act like this out of the blue, could it be that I made some mistake?’
Perhaps he had sat in a spot that Mercenary had claimed first.
Harang asked.
“Perhaps, did you claim this spot first?”
“What? You? Pfft, puhahaha!”
“?”
The Mercenary who suddenly burst into laughter after hearing Harang’s words.
And it wasn't just him.
The one next to him, and the other Mercenaries who were watching the current commotion.
Every single one of them was looking at Harang with smirking faces.
Of course, Harang wasn’t the type to get upset by such things.
But he couldn’t help being curious, so he asked again.
“Was what I said funny? What part was funny?”
“Pfft, puheup! Puhehehahaha!”
“Haha, haha, euhehehehehe…… This bastard, for what he is, he’s trying to act tough, huh? Giving way without a reason would make him lose face, is that it?”
“Hey, hey, what are you doing saying that to his face? Consider the kid’s dignity too.”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t think of that! Haha. Sorry, kid!”
“?”
What are they talking about?
Another question popped into Harang’s mind.
Why did they suddenly say he was acting tough, and what was this about justification?
He was about to ask again, but the other Mercenary spoke faster.
“Yeah, I claimed it first. Happy now?”
“Ah, I see.”
“If you get it, then get lost. Don’t be a nuisance.”
Pat, pat.
Unlike his harsh words, the Mercenary patted his shoulder gently, softly.
That gap was what made people even more furious, but Harang didn’t know that far.
He merely nodded and quietly moved to another seat.
Towards his retreating back, the Mercenary’s gruff voice was heard again.
“Hey, Wooden Plate kid! Don’t try to save your pride and end up in a sorry state, act with some tact from now on. Got it?”
‘……Act with tact?’
Harang’s face showed shock upon hearing the Mercenary’s words.
He couldn’t help it.
He had thought he’d gained quite a bit of tact by interacting with many people over the past six months.
Even now, although he hadn’t fully grasped how the situation was unfolding, he was feeling proud that he could act according to the mood, thanks to his improved tact compared to before.
But, act with tact?
Did he still look like a tactless fellow to them?
“……”
Harang, who had frozen for a moment, moved and settled in another suitable spot.
Then he looked at the Mercenary who had spoken to him.
He carefully observed the colleague laughing and chatting beside him, and the other Mercenaries as well.
He still didn’t get it.
Why they laughed.
Why they said those things to him.
‘I want to ask them right now, but…….’
He felt that he wouldn’t get a proper answer even if he did.
He might even be called a tactless fellow again.
‘That can’t happen. Absolutely not.’
Harang nodded.
That shouldn’t happen.
He was no longer a ‘villager’.
He was an ‘outsider’ who had spent six months in the outside world and could naturally interact with people from the outside world.
‘Let’s think about it alone. While observing a little more, analyzing their words, expressions, and actions.’
Having thought this far, Harang gave a faint smile.
He was pleased at the thought that he had found something to enjoy while traveling to his destination.
In addition, he felt even better thinking that all of this was because he had left Marzen and encountered a new environment.
‘Experiencing the wider world is indeed a good thing.’
From assassin to beggar, from beggar to a gangster’s friend, from a gangster’s friend to a Mercenary.
Harang, feeling quite satisfied with his continuously changing profession and his freely flowing path, grinned.
Seeing him, a few Bronze Plate Mercenaries also smiled, but their meaning was entirely different.
Theirs was filled with bewilderment and ridicule.
He didn’t care.
Feeling the gradually intensifying sunlight, Harang muttered.
“The outside world is indeed fun.”
* * *
“It’s frustrating, and not fun.”
Time passed quickly, and that night.
Harang, who had finished preparing to sleep outdoors, muttered with a sullen expression.
It couldn’t be helped; the Mercenaries were still busy ignoring or ridiculing Harang, and even exuded an atmosphere as if they wanted something.
But Harang still hadn’t realized why they were doing so, so he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
“This won’t do.”
Shaking his head, Harang got up from his spot.
It was fine that he was the last to receive his meal, that he received less food than others, and that the spot he had picked out for sleeping was taken again.
If only there was a reason.
The problem was that he didn’t know the reason, and it seemed impossible for him to figure it out on his own, no matter how hard he tried.
To say it again, Harang had definitely grown.
His ability to grasp the atmosphere had improved a lot compared to before, and thus, he had also developed an eye for discerning who would answer his questions well.
He let out a deep sigh and, with a look full of defeat, approached a Bronze Plate Mercenary.
The man in question was a middle-aged man with a smooth crown, who, unlike the other Mercenaries, hadn’t sent him a mocking gaze.
“Mr. Bald Mercenary.”
“……Don’t call me baldy.”
“Mr. Mercenary whose hair is a little sparse.”
“……Are you making fun of me now?”
“Ah…… That wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry. Then what should I call you?”
“Call me Konjinyu.”
“Mr. Konjinyu. I have something to ask.”
“Alright. What is it?”
“Why are the Mercenaries bullying me?”
“Hmm. You, is this your first time doing Mercenary work?”
“It’s my first time since receiving my Mercenary plate, but practically, it’s my second.”
“And yet you don’t know the reason, you’re quite tactless.”
“……Am I really that tactless?”
Harang asked back with a surprised expression.
It was a shock.
He had been confident that he had gained quite a bit of social experience, but to be treated like this as soon as he left the Eddy Family.
He couldn’t believe it.
But things didn’t change just because he didn’t want to believe it.
The bald Mercenary Konjinyu nodded as if stating the obvious and continued.
“Of course. Other Wooden Plate Mercenaries aren’t as stiff as you. Even before participating in a request, they worry, and worry, and worry again about how to curry favor with the senior Mercenaries.”
“Curry favor with them?”
“Yes. Like getting meals for the senior Mercenaries, finding them a camping spot, or passing on information obtained by getting friendly with the Merchant Guild workers……”
“Why do they do that?”
“This fellow, he’s really tactless.”
“……”
The very sad story he was hearing again.
Now he had no choice but to admit it.
He was still a tactless fellow, and he was sorely lacking when it came to blending in with people from the outside world.
He just hadn’t realized it because kind people like Eddy, Pale, or Glen had taken care of him; it seemed natural to be treated like this when he was on his own.
‘It’s sad.’
He was a little sad.
Actually, he was quite a bit sad.
But he couldn’t remain submerged in sadness forever.
Harang, who shook off the unsettling feeling with a deep sigh, looked at Konjinyu with much clearer eyes.
And he asked. Politely.
“I apologize. It hasn’t been long since I came out into society, so I don’t know much, and I lack experience and common sense. That’s why I still don’t quite understand why I have to attend to the senior Mercenaries, so I would be very grateful if you, Mr. Konjinyu, an experienced Mercenary, could tell me.”
‘Is this bastard messing with me?’
Bald Konjinyu frowned.
Harang’s tone, which seemed polite yet was strangely grating.
For a moment, anger and irritation surged up.
However, being gentle and good-natured for a Mercenary, he chose to speak frankly about what the black-haired young man was curious about, instead of snapping at him.
“To be honest, Wooden Plate Mercenaries aren’t helpful in battle, you know.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“Then what does that have to do with this?”
“It has to do with it. The Wooden Plates are the ones who get paid but don’t properly earn their keep. Since they can’t pull their weight alone, others have to cover their share. And there’s a lot to teach them too.”
“Hmm……”
“Of course, Mercenaries, as you’ve experienced, aren’t that kind. They’re not the type to fight for you, teach you, and take care of you without anything in return. So they expect to receive a price.”
“A price?”
“Yes, the things I mentioned earlier. Getting meals for them, finding camping spots, fetching information, or if there’s nothing else, at least livening up the mood by telling interesting stories, and so on…… You have to show such effort to avoid unnecessary hassle and be favored, even if just a little.”
“Ah, so that’s what it was.”
Harang nodded.
Now he understood.
The Harang of the past wouldn’t have understood even if it was explained like this, but not now.
To say it again, his current self had considerably developed social skills, common sense, and tact.
However, even so.
Harang hadn't transformed into a completely different creature.
He was still Harang.
Having shown his respect to the bald Mercenary Konjinyu, he strode off somewhere.
It was towards the Mercenary who had stolen his sleeping spot.
“Excuse me.”
“Hmm?”
“Get lost.”
“What? What did you just say?”
“I said, give back the spot you took from me, and go back to your original spot.”
Hearing those words, the fierce-looking Mercenary made an even fiercer expression, and the surrounding Mercenaries, including his colleagues, showed a reaction that was nothing short of intrigued.
And the bald Mercenary Konjinyu, who alone perfectly understood the series of events, let out a deep sigh and said this.
“That bastard with no common sense, no tact, and no social skills……”