A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Chapter 2: I'll Earn My Keep (1)

“Hey there, what are you doing so late at night!”

“Huh? What…….”

“It’s time to sleep, why are you wandering around! Aren’t you moving tomorrow? Stop messing around pointlessly and lie down before you stay up all night!”

“No, it’s not even that late yet…….”

“Enough! If you’re not on night watch, hurry up and sleep. Don’t be disruptive. Can’t sleep? Just lie down! You’ll fall asleep eventually!”

“Ha, really! What’s this all of a sudden…….”

“Stop, stop. I’m sorry. We’ll just finish drinking this quickly, really quickly, and then go into the tent.”

A good-natured bald mercenary stepped in front of his comrade and spoke.

Seeing his smiling face, the merchant guild employee cleared his throat a few times and turned away.

The bald man let out a sigh of relief.

It was fortunate he had greased the wheels beforehand; otherwise, he might have gotten a serious scolding.

However, the mercenary with the scar on his face was still angry.

He flared up at the bald man.

“Shit, even if he’s the employer, isn’t this too much? This isn’t some Great Forest teeming with monsters, are they really giving us such a hard time for having a drink at night?”

“Quiet, quiet. Lower your voice. He’ll hear you.”

“Am I wrong?”

“You’re right, you’re right. But try to understand today. That guy had reason to be in a bad mood.”

“Reason to be in a bad mood?”

“Yeah. What happened was…….”

The bald man began to explain in a calm voice.

About two hours ago, some riffraff had secretly infiltrated deep into the merchant guild camp, yet the mercenaries responsible for guarding the perimeter hadn't noticed for quite some time, and because of that, the merchant guild employee in charge of escort duties and mercenary management had been thoroughly chewed out by the Merchant Guild Leader.

Hearing this much, the scarred mercenary nodded.

It made sense that his nerves were frayed.

“Damn it, which bastard was on watch?”

“Probably Hanker’s guys.”

“Those bastards, I knew this would happen with how carelessly they do things.”

“Their attitude is terrible in that regard. Though they’re decent with a sword…… Anyway, let’s just finish drinking quickly and get some sleep. Don’t want to get yelled at again for wandering around pointlessly.”

“Damn it, they can’t say a word to the Carlson Mercenary Corps guys…….”

“If you don’t like it, go join a group led by a Silver Plate Mercenary.”

“Forget it. I became a mercenary because I hate belonging somewhere.”

Gulp

The scar-faced man downed the lukewarm beer in one go and walked towards the camp tent.

His bald comrade was right.

Unless he had the backing of a Silver Plate Mercenary Corps, there was no need to go out of his way to get on the middle manager's bad side.

However…….

‘The guy who appeared suddenly, what kind of guy was he?’

Curious about the face of the bastard who caused this unpleasant situation, he focused his eyes for a moment and looked around.

But he couldn't find him.

Tsk, he clicked his tongue, and his companion urged him on.

“What are you doing?”

“No, that guy…… Forget it. I’ll check him out tomorrow.”

It wasn't like he was unbearably annoyed anyway.

Shaking his head, he soon entered the tent, and the bald man followed him.

A few members of the Carlson Mercenary Corps remained behind, chatting lightly, but that too didn't last long.

Thus, darkness fell upon the merchant guild campsite.

And Harang, whom the scar-faced man couldn't find no matter how much he looked around, appeared like a ghost right near where he had been talking.

No, actually, the expression 'like a ghost' wasn't quite right.

This black-haired young man had no intention of hiding himself.

He was simply wandering the campsite as he pleased.

The strange part was that despite this, everyone, including the night watch, failed to notice Harang, but that wasn't important.

Right now, his attention was entirely focused on the conversation the mercenaries and the merchant guild employee had just had.

‘It’s fascinating.’

He thought it was understandable that the two mercenaries, who seemed to be subordinates, would try to argue back.

It had been like that at first in the village where Harang was confined too.

The thousand children gathered from all over the continent had personalities as varied as their appearances, and some peculiar children showed signs of not following orders.

‘And they died.’

Died for not stopping crying.

Died for not being able to stop hiccuping.

Died for failing to follow orders.

They truly died so easily.

Despite that, he himself had survived, but that wasn't important right now.

‘A superior who can communicate.’

Even a superior who accommodates opinions to some extent!

It was beyond shocking; it was revolutionary.

It was the first time.

At this very moment, Harang truly realized for the first time that the outside of the village was a completely different world.

“Hmm.”

Harang, who had been sitting, stood up.

The surroundings were quiet, and thus, the young man's voice should have been relatively easy to hear.

But once again, no one perceived it.

Looking around, he moved his body as his feet led him and began to look around at the various aspects of the outside world, completely different from inside the village.

‘Hmm, so this is what’s in the wagons.’

Observing the items in the cargo bed one by one.

‘This place feels different somehow.’

Peeking into the sleeping quarters of the Merchant Guild Leader's family, which were more luxurious than the other tents.

Besides that, he eagerly scurried around, trying to identify any other interesting things among the items placed throughout the campsite.

But there wasn't much.

To be precise, even if there were interesting things, he lacked the discerning eye to recognize them.

It couldn't be helped.

Just a day ago, the closed village was Harang's entire world.

Continuously staring at objects whose purpose he couldn't even guess was unlikely to spark interest.

‘People, on the other hand, are different.’

Yes.

He nodded his head.

People are different.

Unlike objects that maintained silence like the quiet darkness, people didn't hesitate to express their thoughts through words.

Harang liked that.

Hearing how people living in a world much wider than the village he lived in were similar to him in some ways, what the differences were, how they differed from his peers…… Listening to these things made his anticipation for the future grow uncontrollably.

‘Watching people is indeed the best.’

Harang nodded his head once more.

With a look of realization, he tidied up the merchant guild's items he had been rummaging through and moved towards the only place where people were awake.

It was the merchant guild's night watch.

Crackle, crackle.

The two guards on night watch, armed with torches and swords, were exchanging idle chatter, as they usually did.

“So, I should have tried talking to Dorothy back then.”

“Heh heh, as if a shy guy like you would have done that.”

“Bullshit…… Ah, I want a drink.”

“I have some whiskey, want some? It’s cheap stuff, though.”

“Forget it, what kind of lecture will I get if I get caught drunk? It’s better to be careful, at least for today.”

“Then I’ll just drink alone.”

“Ah, damn it…… Then just give me a sip.”

Talk about women, talk about alcohol.

Besides that, trivial stories constantly came and went.

Among mercenaries, these were uninteresting, truly repetitive conversation topics.

But to Harang, every single one of those trivial contents was intensely, intensely interesting.

So much so that he deviated from his plan to just listen silently and suddenly interjected into the conversation.

“That thing called whiskey, is it really that delicious?”

“……?”

“……?”

“Huh? Is it not? Does it taste bad?”

Immediately after, quite a commotion ensued.

* * *

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

“Ca, calm down Jack. He said he didn’t know.”

“What does it matter if he knew or not! Because of this bastard, we got chewed out big time by the middle manager!”

“That’s…….”

Matthew trailed off.

It was just as Jack said.

Because of Harang, who had already slipped past the night watch twice, they had earned the charge of ‘failing to properly supervise subordinates.’

Of course, it felt incredibly unfair.

How were they supposed to manage a guy who seemed determined to wander around at night?

“Why on earth did you startle the night watch?”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”

“Not intentional?”

“Yes. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to wander around at night…… I’ll be careful from now on.”

Harang spoke with utmost sincerity.

This person was someone who not only communicated with subordinates but even accommodated their opinions to a certain extent.

There was no reason not to listen to such a good superior.

He intended not to wander around at night no matter what happened from now on.

“Haah…… Forget it. I’ll take this guy. Alright?”

“Yeah, okay. You probably have a lot to do, so it’s better if he sticks with you.”

The lanky Matthew replied with a ‘hehe’ smile, and Jack nodded.

Glaring sharply at Harang, he said in a growling voice.

“Hey, worker.”

“Yes, senior.”

“What do you mean senior! You’re a worker, and I’m clearly a mercenary!”

“Are the two different?”

“Of course, they’re different!”

“But, aren’t we going to be doing the same work now?”

“……Shut up and follow me. And don’t you ever talk back to me again. If you don’t like it, quit right now. I won’t stop you.”

Jack barely managed to suppress his anger, wanting to shout loudly.

His temper wanted to grab him by the collar, but he couldn't with so many eyes watching.

He was also very conscious of the merchant guild employee staring his way with narrowed eyes.

‘Damn it, someday I’ll escape this odd-job worker status and become a real, proper mercenary!’

Making another vow inwardly, Jack walked away briskly.

His back, carrying an armful of dishes for the morning chores, was filled with anger.

‘This person is a good person too.’

However, Harang's feelings, following behind Jack, were quite favorable, unlike Jack's.

He knew he had made some kind of mistake.

He might lack common sense, but he wasn't entirely clueless.

Yet, he didn't resort to violence.

He showed no signs of starting torture.

He was trying his best to guide him with words.

Harang felt a shock as great as when he first heard the conversation between the bald mercenary and the merchant guild employee.

‘Moreover…… he even suggested I could quit if I didn’t want to.

It wasn’t coercion, but an offer.’

This point was the most surprising part.

How had he been treated inside the village?

Which of the managers had ever asked for his opinion, or respected it?

There was no one like that.

Whatever they ordered, he had to do it.

No exceptions.

Neither Harang, nor his escaped peers, nor those who had been culled before them and faded into pools of blood, none had been able to express their own opinions.

But Jack was different.

He made an offer, not a demand.

And he himself could freely decide whether to accept or refuse.

‘It’s not just about Jack and me.

Come to think of it, the relationship between the merchant guild and me is like that too.’

It really was.

At the time, he hadn't thought deeply because he was too hungry, but right now, he and the merchant guild had formed an equal relationship where neither side forced the other.

Would he perform the tasks the merchant guild assigned and receive stew, or would he refuse, clutch his hungry stomach, and leave this place?

That depended entirely on his own judgment.

Harang, trembling for a moment from the surprising sense of happiness that fact gave him, suddenly said to Jack.

“I’ll work hard.”

“What?”

“I won’t quit. At least for a few days…… Anyway, I’ll work hard!”

“What is this nonse—……”

……Jack was about to spit out the curse ‘—nse’.

But his words didn't finish.

Trying to turn around to glare at Harang, he missed his step and lost his balance.

Crash!

“Aah! No!”

Jack let out a short scream.

Most of the dishes were sturdy, so it didn't matter, but the problem was that the expensive glass tableware used by the Merchant Guild Leader and his daughter was included.

Thinking about the items, as expensive as his weekly wage, shattering into pieces, Jack felt his vision go dark.

But strangely, he didn't hear any unpleasant shattering sounds.

“……?”

He looked up from where he had fallen flat on the ground.

Then, the face of the worker guy, holding all the dishes in an incredibly safe posture, came into view.

‘What? How?’