The movement changed from simply rolling one's eyes to checking out of curiosity to urgently searching for the source of the commotion. The wide-open eyes clearly illuminated the gate spitting out monsters near the castle gate. That alone is reason enough to move.

"... Damn it!"

Even though it was obviously a long distance away, he made eye contact with Didi as if in passing. If he turned around and went down, he would be late. Raven gritted his teeth and immediately jumped down the cliff. It was so high that if a person fell, they wouldn't even be able to recover their bones, but it wasn't a problem.

"Brother!"

[Guardian spirit ??? responds to the call.]

A man with black hair and green eyes immediately appeared, calmly catched Raven and disappeared. Thanks to this, he safely landed on the ground, spat out the blood that was welling up in his eyes, ran straight up, threw his body away, hit the head of the monster that was about to attack him with his knee, and called out the guardian spirit again.

"I'll ask people for help."

Chwaaak!!

As if to prove acceptance, the surrounding monsters were cut down all at once. After checking that far, Raven moved towards the Gate without even looking around.

Passing by the people who are struggling and Eckhart holding Didi, he walked straight and unwavering through the pouring blood and flesh. The strange green eyes, shining vividly with magical energy, were looking straight at the Gate that anyone could see.

The sight of Eckhart walking alone among the evacuating people was so strange that Eckhardt's eyes fell on Raven as if he was mesmerized, but he soon came to his senses and urgently called out to the other person.

"...Captain! Don't enter! The people manning the gate will be here soon! There's no need to gamble with your life!"

"..."

Did he know when that 'soon' will be and wait for it? Even at this moment when he hear those words, the gate is steadily emitting energy and trying to create another Gate somewhere in the world. Therefore, Raven did not respond and just entered the gate.

***

Eckhardt was taken aback.

It was disconcerting that Raven had suddenly summoned a suspicious being presumed to be a guardian spirit, and the current situation in which the suspicious being was chopping up the monsters that came out every now and then was puzzling, but more than anything, the fact that Raven had entered the gate made him panic.

"What are you doing!"

Why on earth did he trust him and go in there alone! The Gate staff will be here in a little while anyway!

"Your body is not even fine!"

On the way here, he saw a stalker who was an assassin, glancing at Raven's leg. The smell of blood reached his nose every time he moved. There was no way Eckhart didn't know that even the young child Didi seemed to have noticed.

Captain, Raven hurt his leg.

"I can't believe you jumped into the gate like that!"

Was he out of his mind!

What should they do?! Is it okay to just wait for the gate staff to come?

Wouldn't the captain die before then? He is a suspicious person in many ways. Not only did all the past stories end with him killing the other person, but he was also an unknown person with whom there was no time to build trust since they had only just met.

But he still remembered the sight of him running straight this way without any hesitation and the scent of blood passing by. After ripping his head off with a hand that did not hug Didi, but eventually clicked his tongue and handed the child over to the soldier guarding the castle gate.

"?"

"I'm going to be there for a while, so please take care of my child."

"Yes? What's going on in this situation... No, wait a minute, if it's 'over there'... Isn't that the Gate?!"

"Yes, yes, if you think I am dead, please hand her over to her guardian as appropriate. Probably within the capital. I also came to the capital to meet her guardian."

"Huh... excuse me... !!"

He hurriedly walked towards the gate, ignoring the voice calling me. The guardian spirit sensed Eckhardt's presence, but did not bother to stop him. Anyway, soon-- 

Kuung!

"Ugh?!"

"...What?"

─Because the child will come out.

Someone fell on top of Eckhardt, who was trying to jump into the gate. He skillfully stepped on his opponent's chest, slid a little on the floor as if he was riding a board, then checked the teeth under his feet and made a subtle expression.

"Why are you here?"

"Cap, Captain... ?"

Black hair that goes down to above the waist and strange green eyes that can never be confused. This is Raven. A mixture of relief and confusion appeared on Eckhardt's face as he looked so neat that one could not believe he had entered and exited the gate alone.

'I'm glad you got out safely, but...'

How did he get out so quickly? Did he run away because he couldn't do it alone? He was sure he couldn't get hurt in that short period of time.

'...No wait.'

If he escaped, doesn't that mean the gate is still open?!

Eckhardt, who had been checking Raven for any injuries, stopped and quickly raised his head to look behind Raven. The feeling that he must have gone crazy to have a still open gate behind him soon turned into confusion when he saw that the gate had disappeared completely without a trace.

"What, why isn't it there?"

"What."

"The gate... you really closed it?!"

"So?"

"This is crazy!"

Close the gate by yourself? So quickly? 

Raven's irritated reprimand asking why he was swearing was not heard. Eckhart quickly raised his hand and grabbed Raven's leg, which was still stepping on his chest. To be precise, he traced what he believed to be the injured area.

"The injured area, the injured area is okay... No, do you have any?"

"...I don't have any, so take your hands off me."

"I can't believe there isn't one! If that's the case, then your real skills are no joke! How could you not be known until now?!"

"I told you to take your hands off me."

"Wow, now I see that your leg muscles are no joke!"

"...."

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. He had a vague idea that the captain's skills were good, but he never thought it would be this good.

He can once again feel the muscles of my legs beneath his hands. Muscles as hard as a rock, clearly trained in combat.

'If it's not a well-grounded blade, it won't even get stuck.'

Even if he somehow managed to insert it, it would be difficult to pull it out again with normal strength.

On the outside, he seemed to have an ordinary body type that only looked a little slimmer, more like a scholar than a warrior, but these muscles were hidden under the clothes.

'This... I have to catch him!'

He closed the gate alone and very quickly in front of everyone and came out.

If someone with undeniable skills, even witnesses, joins the mercenary guild, the mercenary guild will not be able to easily disband him, even if there are only two members. This means that this one person can extend the duration of the mercenary group.

Eckhardt, who was looking at Raven with his chin shaking, opened his mouth again.

"Captain, I'm saying this with the utmost sincerity, but..."

"No."

"Very, very seriously, my everything...Even if it's not until then, I'd like to ask you to go right before that, but..."

"I don't like it."

"Please join the mercenary group!"

"...."

Why do you listen to people? Where did did pass off the story of how he killed good people? Raven, who had been looking down at him with pitiful eyes while he was holding his leg and doing something stupid, quietly put strength on his feet.

"I refuse."

"Cough, cough! Captain, I'm out of breath... ! The only one who has more strength than that is the mercenary statue... Keoheog!"

...He thought it would be quicker to just ignore him. Raven, who once again covered Eckhardt's mouth with force, stepped back with a tired look on his face. As soon as he got out of the way, Eckhart suddenly raised his upper body as if to grab the opponent, but the guardian spirit approached him before he knew it and stepped on his chest again.

"Bwak! No, what is this... !"

"...."

"...I'll lie down quietly."

Judging by the dull gray eyes that seem to have lost color, it seems like they are blind, but their gaze is pointed precisely in this direction, which makes it even scarier.

Eckhardt, who was about to protest, found his mouth stiff with murderous intent, and calmly folded his hands on his stomach. The guardian spirit, who was quietly looking down with a cool face, slowly removed his feet as if warning him, and Eckhart rolled his eyes while lying down, and soon began to whisper quietly.

Because he never said he would keep his mouth shut.

There was no way he could easily give up on something that depended on the survival of the mercenary group.

"Still, leader...."

"I'm not your leader."

"It's not just anything else, it's the position of general manager. Are you really going to refuse it? An opportunity like this may come only once in your life..."

"That one chance, if you meet a better guy later, give it to him."

"No, I don't want the captain to keep it, or I'll keep it."

"Then you take it."

"No, I'll give you the captain title."

"... just knock this out..."

Raven, who was so dumbfounded that he reflexively spit out his inner thoughts, let out a sigh-like laugh. He should ignore it, but it's strangely difficult to ignore. The answer seemed to come out before he even thought about it. Maybe it's because he's a fair-minded guy.

...He didn't know why there is such earnestness in that straight face. He have no obligation to care.

'Rather than that... Fainting, yes, fainting...'

Since it's already been said, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do it.

He was a little concerned that the temporary guardian's position to hand Didi over to the guardian would be empty, but it looked like he handed it over to the gatekeeper on his own.

At a time when Raven narrowed his eyes and assessed his opponent, Eckhart, who felt threatened, raised both his hands and hurriedly shouted.

"Now, you keep trying to show force, but you won't be defeated easily! Even though I look like this, I'm called a reserve fighter!"

It was quite funny to see both hands raised while lying down, but Raven focused on the other side rather than that. One of his eyebrows rose slightly as if he had heard an unexpected word.

"...You?"

This guy is already on the verge of becoming a fighter? Well, his skills seemed to be quite useful. Looking at him, if he does well, he may be able to step into the realm of a fighter before he turns 30.

"That's a bit surprising, but...."

"It's surprising, that hurt—"

"If you have that kind of skill, why bother me?"

There's no need to cling to me like this, right?

"You can find another guy. Considering the name value and history of 'Lofty' and the presence of a talented team leader, recruiting members will not be that difficult."

If he keeps operating, someone will come in. No matter how faded it may be, the reputation of Mercenary King Lofty does not go anywhere.

...He knew that.

Eckhart opened his eyes wide as if he had heard something surprising. After a short silence, self-deprecatory self-talk flowed out between the two.

"It's not all that has faded...."

"?"

"Well... No matter how urgent it is, I don't want to get into trouble. As I said, my name is 'Lofty'."

"...."

"In that sense, have you ever thought of joining Lofty?"

It's obvious to the eye that something is being hidden, but... That's not important now.

'It looks like someone came just then.'

Raven sighed as he saw that a new gaze had been added to the startled stares he had felt since he left the gate.

"Get up first. How long are you going to lie down?"

"It looks like my ribs went out... I heard something really hurt when the Guardian Spirit stepped on it."

"...."

"I think it would be okay if the captain became the leader...."

Raven silently walked over and lifted his foot. Eckhardt was startled and jumped upright.

"You are heartless, Captain!"

"...in the capital."

If he left him like this, he'll start whining again. He'd already wasted a lot of time, and there was no reason to stall any longer. It's not that difficult to make a meaningless promise to someone who will forget anyway. So Raven opened his mouth and spat out something he rarely said easily.

"If that feeling doesn't change even after I finish all my business in the capital."

And if you still remember me then.

"Even if I can't be a member or leader, I will provide at least the equivalent amount of help."

"!"

"That's enough now, right?"

Maybe it's because it's a lie told to a guy whose words and actions are transparent, maybe it's because he caught a glimpse of his earnestness, or maybe it's because it's the first real lie he's told in 10 years. It's difficult to make eye contact. Raven turned his head slightly.

Eckhardt's face, which had been blank as if trying to understand what he had heard, slowly filled with joy. With a smile on his face, he seemed to have forgotten the pain and ran towards Raven with his arms wide open.

"I love you! leader!"

"I'm not your leader. Get off me."

"Leader!"