/
The Mercenary King was dead.
The Lion King, one of the Twelve Superhumans, formally announced it, and the tumultuous news spread across the continent like wildfire—a testament to the significance of the war between Duke Pontier and Marquis Crombell.
Akshuler, the new leader of the mercenary guild, then made an announcement:
“The mercenary guild admits that it was contracted to Marquis Crombell. No mercenaries will remain within the Avalon Empire. In addition, all requests will be issued a 50% discount for the next two years.”
He went one step further by writing a letter of apology to all the most important countries and organizations. The speed and tact with which he handled the situation astonished the rest of the mercenaries.
It had to be stressed how important the Marquis’s contract was. No matter how you looked at it, it couldn’t have been done without the Emperor’s approval. If people began to believe that the Emperor had a special relationship with the mercenary guild, no one would hire them. Emperor Marcus’s rule had earned him more enemies than allies.
Even with that in mind, a 50% discount on all commissions was a difficult pill to swallow. The guild usually only made a 50% profit margin to begin with, meaning it wouldn’t be making any profit at all for the next two years.
Akshuler also promised that the commission fee would be split 7:3 between the mercenaries and the guild after the two years were up. On top of his earlier promise to cover the damages with the guild’s money, he’d earned himself a nice popularity boost.
There was more to it that nobody else knew about

“I said no.”
“I told you I didn’t want it, either.” Akshuler frowned. “I didn’t fight him so I could take his job.”
“It was for the downtrodden mercenaries.”
“Precisely.”
“It’s easy to understand from what Iceline’s doing.”
“This isn’t the same.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Akshuler sighed. “Is it so difficult for you to help a dying man?”
“Imagine a dying old man asking for help from a literal child.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, cause if a child doesn’t listen to his elders, he might end up with bad luck.”
“If you think there’s anything an 80-year-old man can learn from a kid, I suggest you give up now. If you care about the mercenaries, then don’t cause a fuss.”
“Hmph!” Akshuler shook his head in frustration. “Imagine you were an already-established mercenary. Then you go out and beat the Mercenary King—think about what it would do for your reputation. You’re the right person to be the new leader, especially with that skill.”
Akshuler was pressing Joshua to take charge of the new and improved mercenary guild.
“With a little help from me, the mercenaries will also—”
“If I were to agree, for whatever reason, then I’d be the first person in control of both the free knights and mercenaries at the same time.”
“What?”
“Since the Lion King agreed to act as notary, I took his place.”
Akshuler’s eyes widened. If this was true, the continent would be thrown into chaos again. Joshua would not only lead an entire country, but also a continent-spanning guild. Nobody had ever held the reigns of both the mercenary guild and the free knights’ alliance at the same time.
“I have some conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“If all you need is a figurehead, I’ll do it.”
Akshuler’s face lit up. “Then—”
“But, only if you’re by my side the whole time. I don’t have enough time on my hands to take out other people’s trash.”
“Hmm
” Akshuler nodded. He never intended for Joshua to take the position in totality. What he was really worried about was Joshua taking revenge for the mercenaries raising their swords against him. If his anger was directed at everyone in the guild
 Akshuler was loath to admit it, but there was no way they could stand up to that spear. Joshua’s power spoke for itself.
In the midst of his worry, Akshuler stumbled upon a fantastic idea: make Joshua the new leader of the mercenary guild.
“That’s fine, but
 am I going to be the only one responsible for cleaning up the crap?”
“I can’t be the only one to suffer.” Joshua smirked. “Also
 didn’t you need to take out the Mercenary King anyway?”
Akshuler gave him a puzzled look.
“You took the Moon Gate’s offer, didn’t you?”
“You knew?” His expression stiffened. Moon Gate had strict privacy standards.
“That’s all I know. I know where to find the things she needs1, so she wants me to be a little more sensible. I suppose that’s why I made you agree to my terms.”
Akshuler pondered for a moment.
“
Are you curious? About what she promised me if I helped you and became guild leader.”
“No
”
“Someone’s been trying to swallow up the guild for a while now. Barbarian knew about it too, of course. Nobody cared, and I couldn’t deal with him on my own. He already had other plans, as you could see,” Akshuler said, ignoring Joshua’s refusal. “It was the same person that gave the Lion King the first beating of his life.”
Joshua’s eyes widened.
“He’s one of the Nine Stars and one of the few people who could challenge your father, Duke Agnus, in a one-on-one battle. He’s one of the most powerful beings in Swallow right now.” Akshuler locked eyes with Joshua. “He goes by the name ‘Lucifer.’”
The traitors were holed up in the half-burned ruins of Pendra Castle.
“The Mercenary King and Joshua Sanders went head-to-head in the Battle of Superhumans
 and the Mercenary King didn’t even land a single blow.”
Baron Ashval’s face crumpled like the notice clenched in his hand.
“Do you actually believe this nonsense?”
“It was witnessed by the Lion King! And Marquis Crombell is nowhere to be found—”
“SHUT UP!” Baron Ashval shouted. “They must have used nullification magic on our communications
”
After a moment, a different nobleman cautiously spoke up. “By the way
 did the Lion King help him? Because there’s no way Baron Sanders could win against the Mercenary King, no matter how you look at it.”
“It doesn’t make a difference right now,” Cox, the real leader of this place, said, instantly dousing the traitors’ mood. “Right now, we should discuss where we’re going next. If it’s true
 They’ll be coming soon.”
They shivered. Joshua scared them more than the Grim Reaper coming to drag them down to hell.
“I
 I’d rather
” The nobleman that Baron Ashval had shouted at squeezed out his words. “Wh-Why don’t we just surrender?! The Marquis already gave up—and the Princess is in charge now. How hard could it be to fool her? Even the soldiers were sent home unharmed.”
“Hmm
”
Buoyed by their reactions, the nobleman pressed onward. “It’s only a step back. One step back, three steps forward, as they say. We plan for the future.”
“That seems reasonable
”
“It makes sense.”
The nobles nodded along, to the speaker’s satisfaction.
“Impossible.”
“Eh?”
“The Princess has already resolved to eliminate us. There are rumors that the enemy is making for Eiden Gorge—our only way out.”
“Well, that’s just—!”
“Crazy bitch
”
“She’s already acting like the head of the household, isn’t she?”
“Is that true, Count Cox?” Baron Ashval inquired, watching the nobles carefully.
“I have eyes and ears in Peril Castle.”
“Hmm
” He let out a deep sigh.
“One of these things is true. Shall we just act on blind faith, then? Or shall we take our chances and flee? Baron Sanders can’t stay here forever, after all, and all we have to do is kill the Duke and the Princess.”
Cox was certainly living up to the callous remarks he’d made. He was too late, though. His enemies were already there.
“Sir Cain
”
“Princess, give me your orders.”
Charles gazed at Pendra Castle with cold eyes. Thousands of weapons gleamed in the rising light of the chilly morning. From beside her, Icarus nodded to Charles, and the Princess sharply raised her hand.
“Get rid of what’s left of the enemy,” she said.
Cain placed his hands over his heart with a smile.
“Upon my heart, it will be done.”
ED/N: It’s the D. She wants the D, and she already knows exactly where to find the D. ↩