Alhad Bandits (1)

"…?"

"Just now, did the cat…?"

Upon hearing Lulu speak, the guests were all startled.

They all just assumed that the cat was a pet, which was brought along.

Cat's tend to follow humans, and Orcs or Druids. I want to touch the cat too.

That was what the people thought while looking at the black cat.

However, when they realized that Lulu was no ordinary cat, the entire dining hall was shocked.

However, only one wasn't.

Only the large man who accepted the advice of his colleagues and started walking back to his table was unaware of the situation.

Because he turned away, he couldn't see Lulu talking.

While standing, he slowly turned.

As he turned back around, blood rushed to his face as he was drunk.

The blood which rose to his eyes was saying the man's emotional state.

"These bastards are trying to pull…"

"No! Trent! It wasn't that person…"

"Then who said it? The Orc? After all, one of the two must have changed their voice and said that for me to hear!"

"Neither of them!"

"Then who?"

"The, the cat…"

Trent's colleague pointed to the table.

A cat with dull eyes, which just woke up.

It made eye contact with Trent, tilted its head, and went back to sleep.

"Have you gone mad? What? The cat talked?"

"No, just now it really…"

"No matter how drunk I am, I'm not stupid. You think I'll stand still and listen to that bullshit?"

"…"

"Ha, the cat spoke? If such a cat was there, I'd bet my hands."

Angry, Trent strode towards the sleeping cat.

No matter how many people were there, it didn't seem like he would stop.

Irene looked at Lulu.

'She was sleeping one moment, then got up, said something like that and…'

He didn't think what Kirill said was wrong.

To block unnecessary quarrels in advance, Kirill's opinion had some truth.

It was just that Irene wasn't the kind of person who could do that.

But there was no more time to think about that. The situation has changed.

To say such a thing to a person who just left was like riling them up.

'Did Lulu do that while sleeping? Even if I wake Lulu, what if she forgot what she sai…'

Irene looked at the one called Trent.

The misunderstandings seem to have piled up. No, it wasn't a mistake on his side.

And what he was talking about was different from what the man understood.

He felt bad.

But Kuvar was different.

He looked at Trent and very calmly said.

"Hey, big man."

"What? Are you suddenly scared, Orc?"

"Of course I am. I'm a fortune-teller who has no intention of fighting a mercenary like you."

"That so? But what can you do? I want to fight no…"

"Are you serious about what you just said?"

"Huh?"

"That if the cat spoke, you'd bet your hands."

"Ha, what happened suddenly…."

"Should we place a bet?"

Trent's face turned redder.

He thought that the Orc, who was scared of fighting, was trying to twist things around.

He took a deep breath.

However, Kuvar spoke before he did.

"If this cat can't speak human language. I will apologize right away, in any way you like. If you want me to get on my knees, I will. If you want money, I will give you money…"

"What are…"

"On the other hand, what if the cat can talk? Losing your hands would be too much. Instead, you will pay for our dinner today. How is that? It's okay if you want to back out. There's nothing that can be done if you're scared."

"… this jerk! Right, okay! Let's seeit!"

Trent said in a loud voice.

He threatened to kill the man if he tried to perform ventriloquism or something.

However, no one was worried about that.

The same was the case for the guests in the inn, the innkeeper who was frightened by the commotion, and the mercenaries with Trent.

Seeing that, Trent realized that something was odd.

'What? No way…'

Kuvar smiled at his stiff expression.

He turned and smiled at Irene, cleared his throat, and shook Lulu, who was sleeping.

"Lulu, wake up. Now isn't the time to sleep."

"…"

"Lulu! Lulu!"

Perhaps she fell asleep after the brief moment she was up. Lulu didn't wake up despite the violent shaking.

But when Kuvar lifted her, Lulu couldn't help but wake up.

Trent, with a serious expression, asked.

"Yah. You… can you speak?"

"… who? Is this ugly person?"

"…"

While watching the black cat rub its eyes with its paws and talking, Trent looked stiff.

Kuvar was still smiling.

He said to Lulu, who was confused.

"Lulu."

"Yes."

"You can order whatever you want for dinner tonight. Go ahead and ask for whatever you want."

Irene and the others managed to escape a fight because of Kuvar's bet.

However, after waking up, Lulu went to see Trent and his group and bowed.

It wasn't because of Kirill's words that she repeated, but because of the 'ugly' remark she made.

"You're Trent? Sorry! I suddenly woke up and was shocked to see a person's face so close to mine."

"…"

"You aren't ugly! But you're not handsome, just normal."

"…"

"You're still angry? What should we do? Shall I give you a massage? As an apology, I can rub everyone's shoulders."

"What? Nice. It was Lulu? I accept your apology, start with me…"

"What! I haven't accepted the apology yet!"

"Trent! So what if you don't accept it? You didn't listen to me and made that bet, losing all of our money. Do you really want to argue now?"

"…"

"Don't act cocky, and let it go. I want to get a massage from the cat. Lulu! Trent is okay now. So, start with me!"

"Understood!"

"Ohhh, ohhhhh… nice…. Ahhhh."

Thanks to the soft paw massage service, peace came to the inn, and Irene sighed in relief and went to bed.

'We're not going to see each other anymore, so there won't be any problems.'

He was wrong.

Was it because their destination was the same?

Or was it a coincidence?

They visited the same village the next day, and the next and the next day too. They even stayed at the same inns.

And Trent always looked at them with distasteful eyes.

Fortunately, there were no more quarrels, but the gaze alone was uncomfortable.

It was the same today and a week later.

Seeing the mercenaries walking ahead, Irene asked Kuvar.

"It looks like we are heading to the same place again."

"Looks like it. I'm not sure if their destination is Derinku, but it sure looks like they have something to do beyond the mountains."

"They are coming with us until the end."

"Maybe?"

Kuvar nodded.

They were currently moving through a city near the Alhad Mountains, and to get to Derinku, the mountain had to be climbed.

However, since there was news about a large group of bandits on the way, traveling in large numbers seemed better.

That was the reason Irene and his party wanted to join others.

"There's a simple test, but I'm fine with you."

"I have no problems either!"

"Uhm, I don't think the cat needs to be tested…"

"Cuba, are you confident?"

"For the last time, it's Kuvar, the Orc fortune teller. Orc fortune tellers are symbols of good fortune. And anyone is welcome."

Lulu shook her head at Kuvar's words, and Irene smiled.

Light meaningless conversations.

However, Trent, who was walking ahead, didn't like it.

He would always frown at the actions and words of Irene.

'Damn it. That bastard!'

He didn't like the group.

And among them, he especially didn't like the one called Irene.

More than the Orc, who made the bet, and the cat who called him ugly.

Because he was a swordsman.

To be precise, it was because this guy called Irene wasn't even a swordsman but pretended to be.

His skin didn't seem like it suffered before.

He wasn't even carrying a sword despite being a 'swordsman.'

And he also hated how he spoke about Ian, the best swordsman.

In any case, to Trent, Irene was a rookie.

It was clear that Irene was drunk on the title of swordsman and didn't even try.

'It's annoying to think about. How can he talk about Ian so easily?'

Trent, who remembered that, frowned.

That guy probably doesn't know.

What a great person Ian is. He was a commoner who rose to the top.

And how much hard work Khun had to do to reach that level.

Just how many commoners gained hope through Ian.

If Irene really knew that, he would never compare Ian to a shopkeeper.

Of course, that was Trent's personal opinion.

Irene never spoke lightly of any swordsman.

Rather, he tried to deeply understand how hard they had to work to reach the level they were on.

However, in his drunken mind, Trent saw Irene as an idiot who took swords lightly until a week later.

Because of that…

'I need to show off properly this time!'

Trent decided. In the Upper Level Escort test, he would show the difference between his level and Irene's.

"Hmph!"

Swoosh!

Standing in front of the guard, he swung his sword with all his might.

He tried his best from the first time he held a sword till the moment he received his mercenary badge, and even now too.

Through his skills, he wanted to mess up the expression on the blonde kid's face, who was taking swordsmanship too lightly.

Was it conveyed?

The head guard looked satisfied.

"Uhm. Nice. You look young, but your swordsmanship skills are great."

"You're exaggerating. I just worked a little harder than others."

Hearing the praise, Trent bowed his head.

And looked at Irene.

It was as if he was asking Irene to listen to what was being said.

However, the boy didn't show any reaction.

With his usual expressionless face, the smiling Orc by his side, and the unlucky cat on his shoulder.

However, it didn't matter.

Since the test would only take a moment.

And then he would see how differently the head guard treated him and Trent.

Rather than getting hired as an escort and getting paid, he would be ashamed at how he had to pay to be escorted by someone despite being a swordsman.

From now on, Irene would truly know the diff…

"Whoa! A silver card, you look very young… that's amazing. There's no need for you to take the test."

"Is that so? Okay."

"…?"