CH 266

“Then, let’s toast to our fortuitous encounter!”

“Um, cheers…”

“………………”

“Hmph.”

In the bar where I was brought, I nervously raised my beer glass, following Gonzo who smiled and lifted his. However, Alexis remained silent, and Rouge, looking bored, just snorted, not even picking up her glass.

No no, two out of four were unresponsive… Well, I was not really toasting with all my heart either, so I was in the majority with three against one. At such a scene, Gonzo pouted in displeasure.

“What’s the matter, you’re not in the mood? Well, fine. So, kid, let’s start the conversation again… But first, shouldn’t we introduce ourselves? I’m Gonzo. As you can see, a martial monk…doing the role of a priest around here. Nice to meet you.”

“Gonzo-san, huh? Nice to meet you… ‘as I can see’?”

“Hm?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”

I can’t find any priestly elements in the bald-headed and dazzlingly smiling Gonzo. But he definitely used healing magic, so there’s no room to doubt his claim to be a priest. He probably worships some kind of muscle god or something.

“Now, next is you, Alexis.”

“Do you need me to introduce myself? As if there are people who don’t know me―”

“You think there aren’t?”

Gonzo’s gaze flickered towards me, and Alexis sighed softly in response.

“Haah… I’m Alexis. I never thought there would be someone in this world who doesn’t know I’m a hero.”

“Ahaha… um… thank you?”

I’m sorry, I’ve just arrived from another world… There’s no way I could say that, so I put on a vague smile and deflect. If I knew the other person was a hero, I would probably have prostrated myself from the beginning. A strong, powerful, famous person, there was no way my rebellious spirit was wild enough to pick a fight with someone who has all of those.

“Now, next is…”

“I’m the world’s greatest grand mage, Rouge-sama. I’ll let you call me ‘Rouge-sama’ especially.”

“Ah, thank you…?”

I have no idea what’s so special about that, but I take another look at Rouge. She’s about a head shorter than me, and from her appearance, she seems younger than me…

“Um, Rouge…-sama?”

“What?”

“Um, how old are you, Rouge-sama? For the record, I’m twenty.”

“I couldn’t care less about your age, it’s less important than the number of rocks on the road. But I’m eighteen. What about it?”

“Oh, so you are younger.”

“…What? You’re not thinking of looking down on me just because you’ve been alive longer, are you?”

Rouge’s slanted eyes glared at me, and I quickly waved my hands in front of my face.

“No no no, not at all! I was just amazed that you’re the world’s greatest at such a young age.”

“Oh, is that so? But that’s to be expected. I can do things in no time that you commoners couldn’t do in a lifetime. That’s why I’m a genius. So you understand that my time is more valuable than yours, right?”

“Ah, well, I guess so.”

If a commoner can learn a skill in ten years that a genius can learn in one year, then that one year is worth ten times more. And that difference will never be filled as long as time flows equally for everyone.

“I see, that makes sense. I’m not good at magic at all, so even my whole life might not be worth a second to Rouge-sama.”

“What, you get it! I hate idiots who don’t realize they’re idiots, but I don’t mind ordinary people who are aware of their incompetence. Fine, I’ll let you call me ‘Rouge-sama’ especially.”

“What’s the difference from before… No, thank you, Rouge-sama.”

“Heehee!”

Ignoring various points I’d like to address, I thanked her, and Rouge happily gnawed on a chicken wing that was on the table. She seemed like a well-behaved noble young lady at first glance, but she’s eating with her hands… Well, anyone asking for a knife and fork in a place like this would be a fool who can’t read the room.

“Now, it’s your turn. Go ahead, introduce yourself.”

“Oh, yes. I’m Ed. Um… just a regular mercenary, rank four.”

The rank of a mercenary ranged from one to twenty, with bigger numbers indicating higher ranks. You might say rank four was nothing to brag about, but it’s not that simple. That’s because individual strength can only raise you up to around ten, beyond that, the ability to command an army was required.

So, a guild leader who leads a large mercenary group might have a rank of fifteen even if they’re individually weak. On the other hand, even the strongest swordsman would be stuck at ten if they’re on their own. So being rank four at the age of twenty isn’t something to brag about, but it’s not something to be scoffed at either…

“A mercenary? What’s that?”

“Eh!?”

As Alexis looked at me with a puzzled expression, I inadvertently let out a dumbfounded voice. The existence of mercenaries is common knowledge. To think he doesn’t know… Ah!?

“If there’s something like a rank, it must be a rather large organization, right? Hey Gonzo, could it be a system from your country?”

“No, I don’t know either. Ed, where exactly were you born?”

“Eh, um…………”

This is bad, really bad. That’s right, this is a different world. Just like I didn’t know about the existence of the hero, this world may not know or even have mercenaries… What, what should I do? How can I smooth this over…

“Ah… uh… I, that, I was born in a remote countryside village deep in the mountains… Ah, that, it’s like… the title we use within our group… sort of bragging, or more like, I accidentally introduced myself with it… so, that, I’m… unemployed…”

“………………”

“You………………”

To my flustered confession, Alexis and Rouge’s cold gazes pierced me. Guh, it’s tough. My heart hurts… but this pain is my own doing. If I knew this was going to happen, I should have prepared a story in advance. Even though I didn’t have the time because I was attacked by the hero!

“Hou, unemployed, huh?”

But contrary to those two, Gonzo, without any mockery, tears a piece of bread, tops it with thinly sliced meat and bites into it heartily before speaking.

“If that’s the case, it’s perfect. Hey, kid, would you consider joining our party?”

“Eh!?”

At this unexpected invitation, I let out another dumbfounded voice. But before me, Alexis had already raised his voice.

“Oi, Gonzo, what’s your intention? Why would you want such a guy…”

“Why, didn’t you say you wanted to hire a porter soon? Based on what I heard on the way, he stopped your attack, even though you were holding back, didn’t he? So he should be capable of defending himself to some extent. Isn’t he just right as a porter?”

“Mm, that is…………”

At Gonzo’s words, Alexis stopped eating and pondered. Then, next to him, Rouge, who had been drinking wine from a mug, spoke up.

“I don’t mind. Anybody can be a porter, and if he gets in the way, we can just burn him at will.”

Scary!? What’s that about? I don’t think she really means to burn me… right? But if I consider Alexis’s actions… eh, seriously?

“Hmm. If Alexis is on hold and Rouge and I agree, there’s no problem. So, how about it, Ed? If you’re out of work, why not come along as our porter?”

“That is…”

Gonzo, with a smirk on his face, extends his big hand towards me. Although it looked like I had a choice, there was only one answer allowed to this.

“…I look forward to working with you.”

“Hm, it’s settled!”

“Hmph. Do your best.”

“Don’t disappoint me, alright?”

“Ahaha… I’ll do my best.”

And thus, I successfully joined the Hero’s party, feeling as if I was being swept away in the grand river of fate.

(T/N: Accidentally deleted them, My Apologies)