Chapter 38
The mercenaries glanced over Kain and the children, then chuckled.
"Surely those little mages they were talking about who'd be joining as extra escorts aren't these guys, are they?"
"Huh. These kids who haven't even lost their baby fat are going to be escorts?"
"At this rate, isn't it more like we've just got more people we have to escort?"
Hearing that, Bolio and Anias, who had been fighting tooth and nail just moments ago, stopped simultaneously.
"What?"
"What did you just say...?"
Anias's expression twisted fiercely, and the mercenary leader at the front grinned, gesturing towards the back.
"Hey, guys. Still, they're supposedly disciples from a Fire-element magic clan. And they're even supported by the Bederman clan. You shouldn't just openly say such rude things."
Then, he slightly bowed his head towards Kain, who was standing right in front of him looking up, and apologized.
"Sorry, young masters. As you can see, our guys didn't learn any manners and just grew up rough. As their leader, I apologize on their behalf for the impudence of us mere mercenaries."
Judging by his tone and expression, Anias didn't think his apology was sincere and couldn't hold back any longer.
"Just nodding your head like that doesn't mean..."
"Stop it, Anias."
It was Kain who stopped Anias.
"Why are you stopping me? They're openly..."
But soon, Anias looked into Kain's eyes and involuntarily gasped.
'Wh-what is this? What's with this look?'
Even when Hayden had openly provoked him in the dueling arena, Kain had maintained a nonchalant expression.
But now, Kain's eyes were shockingly ice-cold. Just looking at them sent a shiver down her spine.
Gulp.
While Anias swallowed, Kain looked straight at the mercenary leader and said,
"I accept your apology. But I hope you will be more careful with your words and actions in the future."
Kain's words themselves were also polite, but his tone and expression held a strong warning.
Even the mercenary leader flinched at Kain's gaze, then shrugged and forced a smile.
"Haha, thank you for your understanding. Alright guys, let's do a final weapon check and get ready to leave."
"Yes, sir!"
"Aye, Captain!"
As the mercenaries moved towards the escort wagons, Kain looked towards his disciples.
Anias, Bolio, Edward, and Fohn, whose breaths had been held, now exhaled as Kain's gaze returned to its usual calm.
Bolio smacked his lips slightly, looking a little disappointed.
"We should have just shown them a real taste of our power. Why did you just let it go? This is our clan's territory, and since they were rude, we'd have the advantage if things escalated."
It was Anias, who had calmed down the fastest after seeing Kain's eyes, who answered.
"No, Kain did well. I was a bit worked up just now too... Anyway, we're leaving the clan soon and won't be back for a while. But if we can't even resolve a conflict with mercenaries before we even depart and have to involve our superiors, what would the Minister, the Clan Head, and the Elders think?"
Then Edward, who had been listening, said,
"Hmm, at the very least, they wouldn't think we're trustworthy."
"Yeah, the mercenaries might bow their heads for now, but they'll look down on us in their hearts."
"Exactly. They'd definitely think, 'As expected, they're just kids who can't do anything without their superiors.' So it's better to warn them at this point and stop. That's why you stopped me, right, Kain?"
Anias looked at Kain with a triumphant expression, as if she had perfectly understood his intentions.
"It doesn't have such a grand meaning. Since they apologized formally, even if just superficially, the disadvantages we could inflict aren't that significant, so I just judged that dragging it out wouldn't be worthwhile."
Anias looked deflated as Kain shook his head.
"...Still, you must have felt bad that they looked down on us."
"It doesn't matter what preconceptions the mercenaries have about our abilities. We can just show them."
"That's true, but your gaze just now was seriously intense."
"That was..."
For the first time, Kain trailed off.
In fact, the reason Kain's gaze had turned cold wasn't to give a warning.
It was closer to an involuntary negative reaction to the fact that the mercenary had referred to the Siers clan as a 'Fire-element clan supported by the Bederman clan.'
'Really, I still can't get used to it.'
He had thought he had adapted to some extent.
The clan's estate in his past life, so vast that he would take a carriage to reach the furthest entrance from the Clan Head's residence.
The numerous entry-level disciples training in the expanded common training grounds, which weren't even enough, so they trained in the open fields.
The research institute where precious materials and magical tools were bought in bulk and piled up so he could explore ice magic more deeply and conduct various experimental research.
He had thought he had now adapted to and completely accepted the fact that
What the disciples needed to feel right now wasn't a sense of loss, but a desire to improve their magic and a healthy competitive spirit.
So, Kain spoke.
He was about to gloss over the meaning of his gaze just now.
"That was probably just him trying to set a serious mood to warn the mercenaries. I saw that mercenary captain flinch when he looked Kain in the eye earlier!"
Just then, Edward chimed in.
Then Fohn, who had been hiding behind Edward, quickly nodded his head.
"Y-yeah. The other mercenaries hesitated too."
"Honestly, it was so satisfying. Such big guys getting intimidated by the glare of a sixteen-year-old. Pfft."
Bolio looked towards where the mercenaries were, a smug look on his face.
Then Anias also chuckled.
"That's true. Whatever the intention, if the effect was good, then that's all that matters."
Thanks to Edward, the somewhat stiff atmosphere quickly melted away.
Kain also nodded, his expression having softened.
"Don't worry. If they ignore the warning, it won't end with just words then."
"...Wait a minute. That's a bit concerning, isn't it?"
***
All preparations were finished, and the wagon received a final inspection from the Finance Minister.
"No problems here. Then, before we depart, let me explain one last time..."
As this trade was crucial, Todd once again explained the route through the swamp in detail to the existing escort mercenaries and the disciples who were joining as additional escorts.
"Understood."
"Don't you worry about a thing."
The mercenaries nodded.
At first, the mercenaries had voiced their complaints about changing the route to the dangerous swamp area.
However, once they heard about the Bederman clan's toll increase, they immediately changed their attitude.
This was because the tolls were not paid by the client but by each individual.
They were all doing this to make a living, so they wouldn't welcome an increase in expenses coming out of their own pockets.
Furthermore, if they were to hunt any monsters in the swamp, the byproducts would belong to whoever caught them, so they also factored in the potential for additional income.
"Go and come back safely, Kain."
"Yes, Clan Head."
"Edward, Fohn. You two be careful and come back without getting hurt, okay?"
"Don't worry, Father."
"E-everything will be alright."
Clan Head Blake Siers and Elder Wayne Siers also came out to see their children off right before departure.
However, Anias's father, Cristan, did not appear.
"......"
Anias and Bolio stood silently, then their eyes met.
"What are you looking at?"
"You looked first."
"No, I didn't."
"Just get in first."
"You get in first."
They bickered with each other as they boarded the wagon.
"Then we will depart!"
And so, the merchant caravan, loaded with goods and people, left the clan estate.
***
Clunk, clunk.
"......"
"......"
In the awkward silence, Bolio spoke.
"Kain. Do we really have to do this now?"
Bolio, Edward, and Fohn were maintaining small Fireball spells inside the swaying wagon as Kain had instructed.
"Is there a problem?"
Kain tilted his head, and Bolio lowered his voice.
"No, it's just that the atmosphere is a bit..."
Perhaps because his attention was elsewhere, Bolio's Fireball flickered out.
Bolio glanced at the inside of the guard compartment.
The mercenaries were sitting there silently gathered together.
Although five additional escorts had joined, there was only one escort wagon, so they had to spend time in the same space.
Fortunately, the guard compartment was spacious enough that there was enough room to stay apart, but since there had been friction just before, the air was inevitably heavy.
In this situation, Kain was calmly making the three of them practice magic.
-It's the optimal environment for training magic casting accompanied by real combat movements. This is the first step, a process to minimize the mental energy consumption when the environment changes irregularly without actually moving.
"Even if there hadn't been any friction, it's not like we'd be laughing and chatting with them. We have things to do."
"...Right. You're not the type to care about the atmosphere."
Bolio sighed softly.
Then he cast Fireball again.
This time he held it for quite a while, just about to set a new personal record.
Clunk!
Due to the rough terrain, a wheel hit a rock, and the wagon shook violently.
"Agh! It went out again!"
"...Mine too."
"Ha, of all times..."
The magic the three were maintaining helplessly flickered out.
"Kain, can't we just make it a little bigger and maintain it? I think I could do well then. It's too small, so it goes out right away if I make even a slight mistake."
"No. Maintain it small and steady, even if you have to put in more mental energy. That way, it won't waver later when you make it bigger."
"Ugh. Alright."
"Ugh, here we go again!"
Edward, Fohn, and Bolio gritted their teeth and summoned their magic again, soon reaching near their best records with slightly more practiced skill.
And then.
"Alright, just hold it a little longer...!"
Clunk!
"......"
***
It wasn't an area where dangerous monsters frequently appeared, but still, the disciples took sufficient rest between training sessions in preparation for any possible combat.
After several such cycles, the wagon stopped.
"We will rest and resupply here before departing again!"
The disciples finally got out of the guard compartment and stretched.
"My butt was about to fall off!"
"If we just hold out until the flatlands, it'll be much better, right...?"
Everyone had been sitting in the guard compartment, but they looked tired.
Even Anias, who hadn't trained, bit into her bread with slightly weary eyes.
After the meal, they conducted a search within a conservative radius to check for any threats in the vicinity.
'At this radius, I could detect enemies with my sensory perception without even moving, but...'
As a 3rd Circle Fire-element mage but already a 5th Circle Ice-element mage, it was unnecessary movement for Kain, but he couldn't reveal that, so he patrolled and searched the surroundings with the disciples for now.
'It's also important to familiarize the disciples with the correct search procedures.'
After explaining the standard procedures and giving instructions for regrouping after the search, Kain also moved towards his assigned area.
'As expected, no particular problems.'
While walking through his area, Kain slightly expanded his hearing to check if the disciples were doing well.
"...that's what I'm saying."
"...there's no way that could be."
Unexpectedly, voices were heard from the mercenaries' search area.
'Two, three... No, they're moving around in a whole group. What are they doing?'
Concentrating his hearing in that direction as he approached a little more, the voices became clear.
"Let's just kill some time and head back."
"Ugh, actually, I was just going to take a quick break, but then that crazy Young Master Kain or whatever his name is insisted on doing a search..."
Kain frowned at the comment that disregarded the procedure.
And then the mercenary leader's voice was heard.
"Haa... That brat. I politely apologized earlier, saying he was a disciple of a prominent clan, and now he's looking at me like he's something special."
"That's right. What's with that young punk's scary glare?"
Someone else quickly chimed in.
"I'm telling you, he's definitely crazy. You can just tell by his face."
"His face was pretty decent though? I'm so jealous."
"Hey, it's not about being handsome or ugly. There's a certain creepy look he has. I just don't like his eyes anyway."
Then the mercenary leader chuckled and said,
"That's what I mean. Judging by his attitude, you'd think he was from some prestigious magic clan. In reality, they're just a Bederman lackey clan putting on airs."
