I stared at the number 110.3ppm and then lowered the paper.

"...What is the royal family's response?"

"They're demanding a re-examination, saying the numbers must be wrong."

"And the result?"

"Every time they re-examine, the numbers just keep going up."

"So?"

"So now they're insisting that the measuring device is broken. They're about to demand re-measurements until they get normal numbers."

"They don't disappoint."

"Always."

I crossed my arms and tapped my forearm with my fingers.

"Is an S-rank magical beast coming?"

"We can't ignore that possibility."

"Damn..."

The appearance of an S-rank magical beast.

It's no exaggeration to say that this is truly unprecedented.

Suddenly, the last words that Mr. Jeffrey had uttered as he was dying came to mind.

—The monster wave in the north... soon... keuk!

"...Damn it."

I don't know for sure, but those damn Dark Heaven Cult guys must have done something.

Was that doctrine of the demon god real?

I thought all they did was process the blood of magical beasts to make potions.

Is that doctrine so great that it can trigger the appearance of an S-rank magical beast?

Come to think of it, I remembered how they had made the magical beasts more ferocious and how they had controlled them.

'Even so. An S-rank magical beast!'

"The royal family is turning a blind eye. They've even issued a royal decree not to frighten the good people by creating a sense of crisis."

"What's the point of creating a sense of crisis when everyone's about to die?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Venter said, tapping the end of his blue-burning cigar on the ashtray.

"The Grand Duke personally requested help."

"The king of the north himself?"

Venter stared at me blankly.

His gaze seemed to say, 'Weren't you being disrespectful just now?'

I shrugged.

"After hearing what the royal family is doing, the Grand Duke seems like the true king of Maia."

"...."

"He's taking responsibility on his own and guarding the northern wall like an iron fortress, even though no one asked him to."

"Disrespectful."

"Let it be disrespectful."

Venter grinned with a cigar in his mouth.

"In this respect, you're like Gustan."

His friendly tone, as if he knew the leader well, made me ask.

"Were you close with the leader?"

"That's all in the past."

It seemed it wasn't a topic he wanted to talk about, as Venter let his answer drift away with a long puff of blue smoke.

"An official document has already been sent to each branch of the mercenary guild. We're tracking down the whereabouts of the platinum tag holders and delivering it to them directly. By now, an official document must have flown to Sherwood too. You're just hearing about it now because you were on your way."

"Aha."

Venter let out another puff of blue smoke, like a sigh.

"Since the damn royal palace is responding like children, the nobles and their knights probably won't step up. So we have to try to get some mercenaries somehow."

"What about the magicians?"

"I heard they asked the magic tower for help too... but we don't know how those reclusive people will react."

"Hmm."

I stroked my chin and was lost in thought for a moment.

Come to think of it, a once-in-a-lifetime crisis was striding down from the white frozen land.

B-rank magical beasts are classified as being able to destroy a village, and A-rank magical beasts are classified as being able to destroy a city.

Although it's a very rough and not very strict standard.

S-rank magical beasts are classified as being able to destroy a country.

A disaster was coming south.

The good thing is that we also have a living disaster on our side.

And with the mission of being the guardian of the northern wall.

Thanks to him, the Maia Kingdom has been safe from being engulfed in a white winter until now...

But will that be enough this time?

An S-rank magical beast will not come down as a single entity.

Hundreds, thousands. Or maybe tens of thousands of magical beasts will come down with it and knock on the city walls.

Judging by that unrealistic number of 110.3ppm, it's highly likely that a lot of high-risk magical beasts of A and B rank will also flock.

'Then...'

Suddenly, I met Venter's eyes.

"Have you met Gustan?"

I nodded.

"I heard he's staying in a remote village called Salos."

"He opened a restaurant there."

Venter's brow furrowed at once.

"...A restaurant? That's not funny."

"That's what I'm saying."

"What do you think? Do you think he'll move?"

"Did the Grand Duke ask the leader for help too?"

Venter nodded.

"He specifically mentioned Gustan. He said to stop talking nonsense like retiring and come right away."

"That's a very polite request for help."

"As soon as the news reaches, the nearest branch will dispatch an employee. They may have already departed."

The nearest branch...

Isn't Milestone the closest?

Since the opponent is that Gustan of the Greatsword, I think the top guy will probably go.

"Hmm."

I secretly expressed my condolences to Boris.

I heard that when I fell from the cliff, he was dragged all the way to Salos by the leader, who had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"So?"

"I don't know either."

At Venter's question, I could only shrug.

What I can say for sure is.

The members of our Sherwood Mercenary Corps are not such idiots who are boiling with patriotism and will readily roll up their sleeves at the crisis of their home country.

Before they even talk about patriotism, they are not good people who feel joy in helping people.

Rather, they are close to evil.

How can monsters who eat with swords and kill people without batting an eye be called good?

What patriot.

Rather, they are closer to cunning villains who will quickly grab what they can and flee to the neighboring country while the country is being destroyed.

Like most people, whether the country is destroyed or the neighboring town is destroyed.

They are guys who are fine as long as they themselves, and furthermore, the inside of their fence, are safe.

They don't have any great beliefs.

Mercenaries are especially individualistic, so there's no need to say more.

A platinum rank is no different.

They are also people.

It means that being born and dying someday is the same.

The leader's fence now is probably the remote mountain village of Salos.

Even at this moment, the powerless and pitiful commoners who couldn't enter the city are probably being torn apart by magical beasts or bandits.

You can't be sad every time.

That's what it means to live in a world where death is common.

"I see..."

Venter let out a long sigh.

He had sighed so many times that blue smoke had already accumulated on the table.

If he let out a few more sighs disguised as cigarette smoke here, I would mistake him for sitting on a cloud.

Is this the mysterious world, the Peach Blossom Spring, where the immortals that the Heavenly Demon told me about live?

I lightly wrapped the wind of the Floating Step around my fingertips and then poked the table.

And then a weak whirlwind rose from my finger and scattered the blue smoke.

Venter, who was watching the scene with surprise, asked me.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I have to go."

There was no hesitation.

"The scent of death is waiting for me."

The damn royal family and nobles deserve to be torn apart by magical beasts, but what sin have the good citizens who will be torn apart before them committed?

The powerless are always the first to face misfortune.

There are no noble intentions or ideals.

I'm just doing what I can.

When I was powerless, I couldn't do what I wanted to do, but in this life, I'm going to do whatever I want.

Because I have power now.

Venter's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Really?"

"I, Ashuban, am a man who does not speak lies."

"That's different from what I heard. Boris said you're at a level where you adorn yourself with lies."

"...."

Did that bastard Boris talk behind my back?

It seems his life is tough because he's buried in paperwork.

I'll have to take him to see the sky with my new martial art sometime.

I said in a nonchalant tone.

"Well... I have someone to meet in the north. It's on the way."

"That's good news. I'll contact the Grand Duke right away."

I scratched my cheek.

"That guy probably doesn't know who I am."

"If he doesn't know, he'll find out this time. The new owner of the platinum tag and the new leader of Sherwood."

"Hmm."

"By the way, are the other members of Sherwood busy? It's a time when every hand is precious."

"Those two who are having fun running a restaurant, I can't do anything about them. Instead, I'll tell the guys in Milestone separately."

"What?"

"To stop what they're doing and all come to the north."

Venter blinked his eyes.

"...You'll do that much?"

"If we can't stop it, it's destruction."

"That's true."

"We have to stop it somehow. It's not someone else's problem. Besides, the Grand Duke will have a hard time leaving the city walls to command. It takes several platinum rank holders to have a chance against an S-rank."

"Sherwood. Aren't they very selfish? Will they obediently follow your command?"

Gustan was the free-range type.

You crazy bastards. At least show your faces once a month.

That was about it. He was the type to let them roam free.

What would the leader have done?

Even if the worst crisis had come, would he have let them do as they pleased?

Or would he have forcibly gathered them and marched north?

Whatever he did.

It's not very important now.

Whatever anyone says.

Because I'm a leader who does as I please.

Our proud members of Sherwood will have to put up with a guy like me.

"The leader of Sherwood now is me. If they don't like it, they can be the leader themselves."

Venter chuckled with a cigar between his fingers.

"A new era has come."

I shook the platinum tag and said.

"So, I'll take this."

Venter nodded.

"Take it. Consider it a gift to the hero who saved the country. It's late, but congratulations. On becoming the owner of a platinum tag."

"Don't mention it."

I put the platinum tag in my bosom and looked at Venter.

"How much time do we have?"

"The fields are turning yellow and the leaves are burning red, so we're in the late autumn... At the earliest, 1 month, at the latest, 3 months."

"It means we have at least a month's leeway."

"That's right."

A month.

It means there's enough time to take care of business here.

"I guess I'll have time to see the autumn leaves."

I muttered softly and stood up from my seat.

Venter looked up at me with indifferent eyes.

"Are you looking for that guy?"

"That's right. The guys in our mercenary corps are guys who don't pay much attention to rumors. I have to go find them one by one and slap them on the cheek to get them to listen a little."

Venter chuckled.

"Good timing. A crazy guy who declared he would steal the queen's tiara the day before yesterday just appeared."

I raised the corners of my mouth and answered.

"Such a crazy phantom thief is rare."

"It is rare."

"As far as I know, there's only one."

"It's a coincidence. Me too."

I exchanged a fierce smile with the old but still sharp-eyed mercenary for a moment, and then I walked to the door.

The moment I grabbed the doorknob, Venter hurriedly called me to a halt.

"Hey! Just a moment!"

It was a very urgent tone.

When I turned around, wondering what was going on, Venter took out a new cigar from the box and asked me.

"Just light one more of those blue flames for me."

"...."

***

Squeak...

"Wow, he smokes so much."

I waved my hand and scattered the cigarette smoke that was clinging to my body.

I escaped the room with the blue smoke and my gaze was drawn.

Everyone who was passing through the lobby stopped what they were doing and was looking at me.

'Was my entrance that spectacular?'

I tilted my head from side to side and then opened my mouth.

"What are you looking at?"

At once, the gazes that were looking at me scattered.

There were people who cleared their throats, and people who quickly left the place.

I walked out of the room and looked for my party.

Linda was already half-lying on a long chair, sleeping soundly.

Schmitt was loitering around the bulletin board where requests were posted.

And, two women were waiting for me, and they stood up as soon as they saw me.

I blinked my eyes and asked.

"Why didn't you go first?"

Ophelia smiled like the sun and said.

"I wanted to say goodbye."

Only then did I realize that the two of them had no intention of going for a drink.

I smiled slightly and said.

"You seem to be in a hurry. So, did you find a house to live in together?"

Arthur looked at me.

He was still wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

"I'll have to look for one slowly. I'm thinking of staying at an inn for the time being."

"Hey, groom. Are you going to leave the bride in an inn room?"

I took out a jewel from my bosom that I had brought from Ophosis's tomb and threw it to him.

Of course, it was wrapped in cloth.

Because there's no need to attract flies by showing off that you have a jewel.

Arthur, who had slightly unwrapped the cloth, stared at me with wide eyes.

"This is..."

I said with a playful smile.

"You have to have at least that much to save face as a groom. Don't you think?"

"...Leader."

Ophelia also looked inside the cloth, following her groom, and then she blinked her eyes at the dazzling light and looked at me with a dumbfounded face.

"Consider it a wedding gift. As a leader, I have to give at least that much to save face."

Arthur looked at me with his hat off.

"So, when are you going to have the wedding?"

"...That's."

"You're not thinking of not having one, are you?"

Arthur said, as if making an excuse.

"I don't know any priests..."

"Shut up. Have it. I'll officiate."

"...The leader?"

"I'm actually a follower of the night. I've memorized the doctrines of the night."

"Is that really true?"

"Actually, it's a lie."

"...."

"The part about being a follower of the night is true. Ketel's gaze is upon me. Do you know the legend of the blind saint?"

"I don't."

"Anyway, I'll bless your marriage, so find a house first and set a date for the wedding as soon as possible. At the latest, within a month. Got it?"

"...Alright."

I nodded with satisfaction.

"Then go. I'm busy too."

Arthur stared at me with his hat off and then muttered softly.

"Thank you, leader."

Although his face was still blunt, his voice trembled slightly, unlike him.

I chased the two of them, Ophelia who was bowing her head repeatedly with teary eyes, and the uninteresting man who couldn't find anything else to say, out of the building.

I quietly watched the backs of the two people who were walking down the street, holding hands.

—How about, I officiate...

A small laugh escaped me.

Why did those words come to mind now?

I'm going to have to officiate a wedding that's not even in my fate.

"Damn it."

The reason to go to the north has increased by one.

(End of Chapter)