Chapter 21: One×One④
“It seems like they’re in trouble.”
I sensed Sena’s presence behind me.
“Ah, by the way, where exactly are they?”
I was too busy with my work to stop.
“About the Sixth Station.”
Sena let out a big sigh.
“Ah, I can’t leave my hands off this right now. Is it okay if I leave it to you?”
“…Understood.”
Though she nodded reluctantly, she used a Short Warp to head towards her destination.
I had been getting better at sensing presences, and if I focused enough, I could at least grasp Sena’s location. Her presence stopped just beyond the Sixth Station. I could vaguely feel two other presences as well, so it seemed they had just regrouped.
Originally, the base of the Berserga Mercenary Corps wasn’t in Bordaf but in a town far enough away that they traveled using Eagle Dragons. Even though the base was different, the influence of the border town of Bordaf could not be ignored. It was likely that jobs would be requested via Bordaf, and if they needed personnel, it would be quicker to recruit from there.
For that reason, a certain number of members from the Berserga Mercenary Corps were always stationed in Bordaf.
Whenever I descended from the mountains and strolled through Bordaf, I would run into a member about one out of every three times. I had grown so accustomed to being called things like “Bro,” “Brother,” or “Weniki” that I had stopped correcting them altogether.
Whenever I met them, they would invariably say something like, “The boss is here too, so I’ll call him right away,” or “The leader said to bring you if he finds you,” and before I knew it, I would end up drinking with Saga either that day or the next.
Additionally, every time I met them, they would casually invite me to go hunting, as if they were asking me to join them in a monster-hunting game. There were even times when Miro and Deete directly asked me to take them into a nearby Labyrinth.
In that way, my relationship with the Berserga Mercenary Corps was quite good.
With Sena joining them, their speed towards me increased tremendously. It wouldn’t take them more than half an hour to reach the hut. On another note, there was still about an hour left until our meeting time…
To distract them from their hunger until they returned, I prepared some nuts, walnuts, and biscuits.
When the day came to meet them, I always found myself reminiscing about the time I spent with them in the Royal Capital.
If I could, I would prefer not to remember it ever again, but still, I had to carry the weight of that day with me for the rest of my life.