I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character - Chapter 159



Side story 4. IF (1)

1.

“It’s annoying.”

Eileen muttered softly, placed her hand on her forehead, and sighed. What a bother. The paperwork she still had to deal with was piled up on her desk, waiting for approval.

Even she, who was called the shield protecting the empire and the black lion of the north by the people, had a hard time taking down the mountain of documents. Even if she swung her sword and cut down all the piled up documents, it was obvious that new work would come to haunt her again.

Eileen, who had been mumbling, looked through the pile of documents with sunken eyes.

“What about the mercenary group… Rather than spending money to hire mercenaries, it would be faster if I went alone.”

“Keep your dignity, Your Highness. You must think of the dignity of the Grand Duke’s family.”

“hmm.”

Instead of answering the adjutant’s words, Eileen hushed and clicked her tongue softly.

“You can think of it as a form of practical training.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but the knights are very tired, even though they don’t show it. Haven’t they already been on three campaigns this month?”

“You’re weak.”

Eileen shrugged and turned her gaze back to the tall pile of documents. After briefly scanning the contents, she brought one document forward and read it, asking with interest.

“Is this the mercenary group that will be signing a contract with us this time?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Anyway, the mercenary group is widespread.

The Esgelant Empire is relatively safe and has troops that constantly patrol the wide roads that run through the entire empire, so monster attacks are rare. Unless you go into a forest or mountain that is completely uninhabited, or even deep in the countryside, it is difficult to see monsters even if you want to.

However, in other countries, the story is a little different. Because of the frequent attacks by monsters and bandits on the highways, mercenaries naturally took on a certain part of the security, and among them, there were also mercenary groups that had been through a lot of real-life experience and were seasoned.

The mercenary group that the Norse Duchy has decided to hire this time is also of that type.

Although condottieri contracts of this kind were rare within the empire, when expanded to other countries, there were many cases where mercenaries were contracted as standing armies.

Moreover, the Norse Duchy is also a front line in a fierce battle with the northern barbarians and monsters across the Great Wall, and it is a difficult terrain among difficult terrains. If this contract is considered as part of that, there will be no problem. Thinking so, Eileen spoke in her characteristically dry voice.

“You even have a wizard. It’s not that common to have a military wizard.”

“If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have even considered him as a candidate.”

Eileen’s eyes lit up, as if she was interested in the adjutant’s assertion.

“Do you think that one wizard is worth hiring?”

“According to my separate investigation… yes. The rest are just mediocre mercenaries that can be easily found anywhere.”

“That’s interesting.”

Eileen snorted.

Of course, she was naturally more of a swordsman than a magician. However, she had seen with her own eyes the divine power of the court magician Lorenzo Tonali, who was dispatched as a form of support when large-scale barbarian uprisings or large-scale incidents such as monster waves occurred.

I would define it as still believing that the sword is more powerful than magic, but not denying the utility of magic when it reaches a certain level.

The adjutant, who had been observing Eileen’s apparent interest in the mercenary group’s wizard, cautiously opened his mouth.

“But Your Highness, that mercenary magician……”

“Is there something wrong with that wizard? Is his skill not as good as expected?”

“There’s no problem with his skills. Rather, if you look at his skills alone, he’s at a level where you don’t understand why he’s a mercenary…”

“If your skills are solid, there won’t be a problem.”

“I am of noble birth.”

The hesitant adjutant answered.

Eileen paused for a moment when she heard those words. It was an answer that was incomprehensible to her way of thinking.

There was no reason for a decent noble, especially one with solid magical skills, to wander around as a mercenary. To borrow the adjutant’s expression, no matter how well-received a mercenary was in the industry, he was nothing more than a ‘mercenary swindler’.

“A fallen noble? Or involved in a crime of treason?”

“That’s not it.”

The first assumption that came to Eileen’s mind was denied by the adjutant. The adjutant’s expression became subtle for a moment, then he paused for a moment before answering.

“He comes from a noble family, but he is of noble birth in his home country. In fact, I have confirmed that the wizard’s family is still alive and well.”

“…….”

He was a thorough adjutant in everything. The fact that he thoroughly investigated the origins and background of even mercenaries who signed a short-term condottieri contract is proof of his temperament. Knowing this, Eileen listened quietly instead of interrupting the adjutant, and the adjutant spoke with a subtle expression.

“To put it simply… he is just a noble young man who doesn’t know anything about the world.”

“……hmm?”

At the completely unexpected answer, Eileen’s expression became strangely frowning.

2.

“It’s cold in the north.”

Every time I exhaled, white puffs of breath rose up. The North, which I had only heard of through rumors, had a different air. Every time I breathed, it felt like my lungs were being stabbed by cold icicles.

Of course, this was no problem for Ludrick. The thermal magic enchanted into his cloak was already gradually warming his body.

And there was a pair of eyes watching Ludrick anxiously.

“……Master Ludrick, this time you absolutely must not cause trouble. Even if they pick a fight, you must resolve it amicably. If you fight with your employer like last time, you will be in big trouble. This time, the Norse Archduke is coming with you, isn’t he?”

“Captain, what on earth do you think I am?”

First of all, he was the captain of a mercenary band, but there was a difference in status between the nobles and the commoners.

As soon as the mercenary captain, who had been watching Ludrick anxiously, spoke to him out of concern, Ludrick snorted. In Ludrick’s opinion, what happened with his last employer was an unfortunate accident. It was an accident that happened when he kept coming and picking a fight, and he couldn’t help but lose his temper.

In reality, Ludrick was somewhat different from the ‘noble young master who was ignorant of the ways of the world’ that the adjutant had described to Eileen.

This is my second time in life.

Although he has not yet completely abandoned his identity as a modern person, he has adapted to a certain extent to live in this world where the roles of men and women are reversed and common sense is lacking. In the end, he ran away from his family when Count Weiss, unable to bear his father’s nagging, sought a marriage partner for Ludrick.

Thanks to that, he was now living the life of a mercenary that was not in his fortune, and Ludrick thought to himself.

‘A person should stretch out while looking at the place where he is going to lie down.’

The previous employer was a merchant who hired a mercenary group to escort the upper class. He kept picking a fight with him on such a topic, and he sent sly glances at Ludrick, but eventually crossed the front line and got into a big fight. This time, the employer was none other than the famous Nord Grand Duke.

“Yes,” Ludrick answered, shrugging his shoulders.

“Even so, you’re not the type of person who would think twice about going up against the Black Lion of the North, are you?”

“……That kind of personality seems to suit you.”

The mercenary captain turned around and looked at Ludrick with suspicious eyes.

She too was a victim who had no choice but to accept Ludrick because of his skills. A poor soul who suffered from stomach ulcers and indigestion in exchange for having a skilled magician in her mercenary group.

“Whether or not,” muttered Ludrick, his cloak tightly closed with a warming spell.

“Are we going to fight the barbarians from beyond the mountain range that I’ve only heard of? This is my first time casting magic at a person. I hope I won’t get hit by a blind arrow?”

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

A human doll suddenly appeared behind Ludrick, who was closing the hem of his clothes.

Ludrick looked back in surprise at the sight of Eileen, who had literally appeared out of nowhere like a ghost, out of Ludrick’s awareness.

“……who are you?”

“The introduction is late.”

Eileen, who responded with her characteristically dry tone, quickly looked Ludrick up and down. In the short time she had spent looking over Ludrick’s appearance, Eileen thought.

‘Your skills are not as bad as I thought.’

To begin with, he was a rare magician in the mercenary world.

According to what I heard from my adjutant, he was a rare magician in the mercenary world, a handsome young master of noble birth, and was quite famous for his magical skills that were not befitting his age. Rumors tend to be exaggerated, but the boy in front of me seemed to be quite far from the exaggerated rumors.

Besides, there was no one in the North who could say, “Who are you?” to the great Norse Duke.

“Who are you…?”

“Eileen Nord.”

Eileen, realizing that she had been lost in thought without answering, replied curtly.

As shock slowly began to spread across Ludrick’s expression, Eileen raised the corners of her lips without realizing it. Even though they had just met for the first time, it was quite an amusing reaction.

‘… … I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just sign an exclusive contract.’

Ludrick was so taken with Eileen that she even thought about it.