Chapter 22

　　Just as Cadel had predicted, the opportunity to enter the temple arrived rather quickly.

　　“Commander of the Red Scale Mercenaries, Cadel Lytos. May the blessings of the legendary knight Roden and the great goddess Depolo be with you.”

　　The bishop’s face was full of benevolence as he bestowed the blessing. Though Cadel didn’t sense any overwhelming divinity from him, his presence carried a comforting stability that put others at ease. Cadel rose from his knee, maintaining a polite demeanor.

　　“Thank you for giving us another opportunity to help the temple, Bishop.”

　　“I am the one who should be thanking you. Wiping out the demon that preyed on our believers was more than enough, yet you are even handling the cleanup.”

　　“Haha, you think too highly of a man who didn’t even refuse a reward.”

　　“I was actually troubled, worried I hadn’t properly compensated the subordinate who came in your stead earlier. I simply wished to convey the believers’ gratitude, even if only like this.”

　　Did Lumen take a smaller cut than I thought? Just the possibility made Cadel feel a little better about his lingering annoyance.

　　Meanwhile, the bishop looked over Cadel’s shoulder, his benevolent smile fading into a quiet gaze. Gathered near the temple entrance were the Holy Knights, the ones who originally should have eliminated the Witch instead of the mercenaries.

　　They had arrived dumbfounded to find their target already dead. But, fortunately or not, another issue required their strength as the forest behind the temple was rigged with traps. The Witch was gone, but the dozens of magic traps she left behind were still wreaking havoc on the believers.

　　The bishop had asked the Holy Knights to disarm them. Yet somehow, Cadel had caught wind of it and come to claim the job. As a mage proficient in trap detection, he argued, he would be far more capable than the knights.

　　It was a difficult choice. Hiring Cadel would wound the knights’ pride, but refusing him would tarnish the temple’s image, especially after officially bestowing a blessing upon his mercenary group.

　　In the end, the bishop chose to side with the temple. Even if the Holy Knights took offense, they would never harm a sacred place dedicated to Roden and Depolo.

　　“If we cooperate with the Holy Knights, we should be able to wrap this up faster than expected. We will do our best to return peace to the temple as soon as possible.”

　　Whether he knew of the bishop’s underlying dilemma or not, Cadel offered a harmless-seeming, polite bow. Hiding his complicated feelings, the bishop nodded. He could only hope that no trouble would break out between the knights and the mercenaries.

* * *

　　“We’ll handle the trap detection, so step back. You’re getting in the way.”

　　Of course there was trouble. Cadel thought as much while looking at Johan, the Captain of the Holy Knights, who was staring at him as blankly as if he were an inanimate object.

　　Well, even in the game, the mercenaries get ignored and disrespected from all sides until they become a knight order. I expected this, but… it still feels like crap to get treated like this to my face.

　　Hardship, adversity, disrespect, and discrimination always found their way to the protagonist of a fantasy game. Cadel had already realized this from Viscount Stra’s attitude, but thinking about the long, distant road to becoming a knight order just made him feel overwhelmed.

　　Even so, fighting back would only double his exhaustion. Let’s just endure it and move on. Averting his gaze first, Cadel opened his mouth to reply as smoothly as possible. But before he could utter a single word…

　　“Are you seriously spouting that nonsense because you can’t tell if the two of us are in the way, or if it’s you lot swarming around like a colony of ants?”

　　Van, who had been guarding Cadel’s side with a deep scowl this whole time, finally snapped. Throughout the search, he had been tolerating the knights’ petty behavior as they subtly ignored the mercenaries and whispered among themselves. He had endured their remarks about him being a lowly commoner, as well as their complaints about mercenaries interfering in temple affairs. Flaring up at every little thing would only put Captain Cadel in an awkward position.

　　But while he could tolerate insults directed at himself, he absolutely refused to let Cadel be treated like an annoying obstacle.

　　Johan furrowed his brow, clearly displeased by Van’s rough language.

　　“Your words are harsh. Why don’t you discipline your one and only subordinate first, Mercenary Captain?”

　　“I’m not just harsh with my words. I’m rough with my hands, too. Care to experience it, Knight Captain?”

　　Sparks flew between the two men. Suppressing a sigh, Cadel stepped between them. He always thought this, but playing mediator was truly a miserable job.

　　“Sir Johan, I’m aware that Holy Knights know how to use magic. But they fall short compared to a true mage. Isn’t that right?”

　　“We are superior to mediocre ones.”

　　“Of course. But I am far from mediocre.”

　　Softly, speak softly. Cadel reminded himself, practically brainwashing his own mind as he maintained a friendly tone.

　　“I’ll leave the trap detection to you. But let us handle disarming them.”

　　“No, there’s no need for that. We will handle both the detection and the disarming—”

　　“If you insist on doing things the hard way when you have an outstanding mage right beside you… I won’t stop you. But we didn’t come all this way just to watch you work at a snail’s pace. If you refuse to cooperate, we’ll move separately from here on out.”

　　Johan’s expression hardened. He knew perfectly well that no one was more efficient at disarming magic traps than a mage. But it seemed his pride wouldn’t let him admit it so easily. Cadel stared at him, as if piercing right through his inner thoughts. When Johan ultimately kept his mouth shut, Cadel sighed and turned away.

　　“It seems we’ve just wasted our efforts for nothing. What a shame.”

　　If Johan couldn’t be reasoned with, it was better to split up early on rather than stick around and endure the discomfort. Having made his decision, Cadel tapped the arm of the still-fuming Van.

　　“Van. Let’s head the other way.”

　　“Yes, Captain.”

　　Johan watched Cadel walk away without a hint of hesitation, then clicked his tongue in annoyance.

　　“Why do you fly off the handle like that sometimes? You could have just ignored him and moved on.”

　　“I’m sorry, Captain. But that lanky bastard dared to look down on you.”

　　“Lanky bastard… Just hold it in. When we take on bigger requests in the future, that level of disrespect will be considered relatively mild. Are you going to lose your temper every single time? Don’t you know I’m the one who has to clean up the mess?”

　　Having split from the Holy Knights, Cadel and Van were on their way to search for traps. Cadel was currently scolding Van, who was drooping like a disheartened mutt. On one hand, Cadel felt proud and reassured that his subordinate would fiercely step up whenever he was disrespected. But if he didn’t correct this habit now, he knew it would lead to even more exhausting situations in the future.

　　“From now on, count to ten in your head before you blow up. Think carefully about whether it’s a situation where it’s okay to lose your temper.”

　　However, seeing Van’s pitiful expression after being scolded for defending him, Cadel couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. I guess it’s true that you always favor your own. Letting out a deep sigh of resignation, Cadel gently ruffled the sulking Van’s hair.

　　“Once the mercenary group grows in size, we won’t face blatant disrespect like that anymore. Let’s just endure it until then. Okay?”

　　“…Yes.”

　　At Cadel’s touch, Van’s sullen expression slowly softened. He even lowered his head to give Cadel a better angle to pet him. He looked so much like a tame puppy that Cadel forgot his nagging and chuckled. In many ways, the guy really was like a little mutt.

　　Anyway, since we walked off so confidently, I absolutely have to disarm more traps than the knights just to save face. I wonder if I’ll have enough mana left.

　　He had declared independence since cooperation was out of the question, but detecting and disarming traps required more effort than expected. In the game, you searched for traps by releasing mana into an area to detect foreign magic, and you disarmed them by disrupting the magic circle’s flow with the player’s mana. On a screen, it was a simple task that ended with a few taps.

　　Of course, he knew reality wouldn’t be so easy. Feeling fatigue already creeping in, Cadel closed his eyes for a moment.

　　At least it’s a good thing I unlocked the wind attribute. Wind magic is perfect for searching.

　　Slowly lifting his eyelids, he found a suitable spot and stopped.

　　“I’m going to start the search. Keep an eye on our surroundings, Van.”

　　As Cadel reached his arm out straight ahead, a breeze as soft as silk began to swirl around him.