Chapter 3: Surprised Adventurers

ALL NOBLES WERE THE SAME. DIRTY WHEN IT CAME to money, dirty when it came to women. Nothing but walking wads of arrogance. They all reeked of filth.

I’d gotten requests from nobles before, and none of my “employers” were normal. Maybe they seemed normal in the eyes of their fellow noblemen, but not to me. All the flowery words, all that crap about noble pride—it meant nothing because they always put themselves and their profits first. Citizens and their safety were always left for another day.

The distinction between noble and commoner went far deeper than class.

There was just something off about every single member of the nobility I’d met. They looked down on commoners, especially us adventurers. We knew it, and merchants who dealt with these fat cats knew it too.

“Haah. Babysitting a little noble boy, huh?”

When I first got this request, I wasn’t exactly motivated. Same went for my party. I was planning on being in Lord Fertio’s territory for a while, so I took the job even though I didn’t want to.

The day I met the kid, I was in for a real surprise.

“You’re Mr. Ortho? My name is Van. Van Nei Fertio. Thank you very much for guarding us.”

His polite greeting put me in something of a trance, so I shook his hand like normal. “Oh, uh, yeah. My pleasure.”

The boy named Van eyed us with great interest. “You guys seem super strong. Your roughed-up armor is really cool, and your weapons are so massive. Aren’t they heavy?”

Not sure what else to do, I launched into an honest—if kind of incoherent— explanation. “Yeah, well, uh… Their weight gives them more attack power, so it’s like this…”

Van bobbed his head over and over, looking at the other members of my party. He wound up asking them all sorts of questions, and their composure totally crumbled. Once the shock wore off, I burst out laughing.

Here I’d been bummed at the prospect of working for another noble, but my charge was actually a pleasant, normal kid. That said, I’d have to tell him to quit it with being so polite, or I’d accidentally end up patting him on the head or something.

With that in mind, I joined my new client for the discussion about our journey.

Two weeks went by in a flash. My image of what a noble was had changed significantly. Or should I say I came to realize that there were noblemen like him out there? We’d only been together for a short time, but I was already fond of Van. I liked him enough that if he ever had trouble as the lord, I’d come give him a hand.

But I still didn’t really know the kid.

He was to become the lord of a dumpy little village. It was in territory that formerly belonged to another noble—making it pretty much just extra land. Not a single person wanted to deal with it by becoming its lord. Despite having the job pushed on him, Van put his life on the line to fulfill his duties as a noble. To protect the land and its people, he made a choice that might lead to his death. As if that weren’t crazy enough, he also valued the lives of his knights, his retired butler, his maid, and even his slave.

Once we said we wouldn’t risk our hides for the place, he put forth a plan where nobody would die…except him. It was time to put it into action.

I got into a battle-ready position, muttering, “You’re one hell of a weirdo, little man.”

My buddy smiled. “Y’know, if you said no to his request before, I was willing to risk it.”

“Yeah, he’s a big deal. We can’t let nobles like him die. If possible, I want him to go and become king.”

All my pals expressed similar sentiments, so I smiled and responded in kind with one eye on the village. The elderly butler had already built a defensive wall in a blink; it was about three meters tall and ten meters long, give or take. I couldn’t believe the old guy was such a talented mage. People skilled in one of the four elements didn’t usually become butlers. He probably had quite the story.

Before I knew it, the arrows my friends shot off flew through the air, along with Pluriel’s water spears. Even rocks were part of the assault. This was meant to be a double-layered diversionary tactic, but these attacks alone would be pretty effective.

“Let’s do this!” I roared, kicking off the dirt.

My party followed behind me, and the knights on the other side charged as well.

“What the—?! Th-they’re comin’ from this side too!”

One of the bandits noticed us, but it was too late. The shield in his hand was cheap, so I brought my sword down from above, piercing the material with a slash that opened him up from ​shoulder to hip.

Amid the fresh blood splatter, my allies elsewhere continued to cut down our foes. I needed to get rid of as many bandits as possible, or else we’d have casualties on our side. The archers on both sides were already prepared to fire, so I had to strike fast.

Thanks to our long-range support, we were eliminating the enemy faster than anticipated.

I scanned the battlefield and saw that the knights were in a similar situation. The middle-aged fellow named Dee was swinging a giant sword around like it was nothing. The way it cut through armor would undoubtedly tip the battle in our favor. Case in point, some of the enemies who noticed Dee’s terrifying fighting style turned tail and fled.

“Tch! I ain’t dyin’ here!”

While I gawked at Dee’s combat style, a big guy who’d been positioned at the entrance to the village spun around and ran—straight toward the spot where our long-range support was stationed.

“Crap! Stop him! Someone stop him!” I yelled, slitting the neck of the bearded bandit in front of me. Nobody was in range to bring him down.

This ain’t good!

Because of the defensive wall, none of our people would notice the enemy until it was too late. If it became a close-quarters brawl, their arrows and magic would put them at a disadvantage.

“Damn it! Somebody, look! The enemy’s closing in!” Frustrated, I parried a sword swinging down on me.

Unfortunately, none of the arrows or spells coming from the wall were aimed at the guy running their way.

Pluriel

AS I CHANTED A SPELL BEHIND THE WALL, I CAUGHT a glimpse of a large man charging in from the corner of my eye.

Enemy!

The word floated to the top of my mind for an instant, but I had already finished my chant and cast the spell. It would take another ten seconds for me to fire off another round. I wasn’t going to make it. The hulking man surged toward us with bloodshot eyes, an axe in one hand.

We’re going to die!

Just as the thought crossed my mind, two small figures appeared in front of me.

“Van?!”

I’d gone and blurted out the boy’s name without his title. This wasn’t the time or place to be thinking about etiquette, yet I couldn’t help but fret.

“This way, you heavyweight wrestler!”

Van shouted out some nonsense and ran low to the ground, practically

crawling. He was followed by the slave boy, who imitated his posture, sword in hand.

This was beyond reckless. The man wasn’t the kind of opponent two children could take on.

Despite my concern, the two cooperated using their well-developed skills to take him on. They rolled out of the way as his axe came down on them, then crawled between his legs and sliced at the exposed backs of his knees. No member of the nobility fought like this, yet their moves were clearly honed and practiced. “Ngh?!”

The man was taken by surprise and cried out in pain as he lost his balance and collapsed, giving the slave boy a chance to strike. He used the axe in the ground as a foothold and leapt up, quickly cutting the man’s neck. His heavy body crumpled to the ground without a sound, leaving me breathless, but Van had already switched gears.

“The enemy might start to turn their attention to us! Everyone, focus on the front!”

We immediately followed the orders of a child not even ten years old.

Who the hell is this kid?

Holding tight to that question, I focused on the battle at hand.

Once the fight was over, Ortho watched the rest of us clean things up.

“Our job here is done. All that’s left is to get the second half of our pay from the butler.”

We all looked at him.

“And? What about it?” I asked.

Ortho groaned in discomfort, casting a glance at Van and his entourage. “I guess I’m kinda curious. This might not make us any cash, but what do you guys say to stickin’ around for a bit?”

The five members of the other party shook their heads. “Sorry, Ortho,” said one. “We have business with the count next door. This request just happened to be perfect since it was on the way. But, hey, we’ll stop by once we wrap things up over there.”

Ortho forced a smile. “Nah, it’s all good. Thanks for the help, and I’m sure we’ll meet again. That said, it’s already late… How about staying the night?”

“Good point. Then tomorrow morning we’ll be taking the surviving bandits.

How’s two silver coins a head sound?”

“Hey now, no carrying or handling fees? What’s up with that? I don’t remember you being so damn nice.”

“Aw, shut up. Next time we meet, you’d better have a good gig for us, got it?”

The two of them laughed and parted ways. Ortho then addressed me and the rest of our party, hoping to get confirmation. “If you guys don’t wanna linger, we can head back. But if you’re up for it, what say we all stick around?” We exchanged glances.

“For how long?” someone asked. “We have money, but we’re gonna run dry if we don’t take jobs.”

“I was thinking about a month.”

“I’m fine with that. But if it starts to look like we’ll be runnin’ long, I might bail.”

“Of course. And no worries, I don’t plan on hanging around the kid forever.”

“Guess we can hunt some monsters and gather materials. There happens to be a pretty big forest nearby.”

“True. Been a while since we hunted outside of a gig. We might actually be able to make some good money,” Ortho replied, happy that the party was on board with his idea.

I was the last to speak. “That Van, he doesn’t really seem like a noble. Not that he comes across as a regular kid either.”

“Agreed,” Ortho said, nodding deeply. “That’s the number one reason I wanna stick around. A kid his age with guts like that? And he’s a quick thinker. I’m sure some of that has to do with his noble education, but he’s still an odd duck.”

During this conversation, Ortho gazed at Van in the distance. At first glance, the boy had the aura of a high-class nobleman. But the second he opened his mouth, that image fell to pieces. He possessed a relaxed vibe, but he was as polite as a normal child. He showed no signs of looking down on commoners.

And then there were his words.

“I feel like I finally saw that ‘noble determination’ they’re always prattling on about.”

Unsure of how to sum it up, Ortho settled on that descriptor, and the rest of us nodded in agreement.

“Right?”

Once one person said as much, the others followed suit.

“I heard his magical aptitude isn’t even suited for offense.”

“In other words, he was willing to go die for us. A child his age?”

“Goodness, what a strange boy.”

As the others swapped comments on Van in their excitement, I uttered my thoughts in a hushed, humbled tone. “When I was in danger, he saved my life. I have to return the favor,” I whispered, and one of the men who’d seen that incident agreed.

“Right! He didn’t move like no kid! I bet he’s at least as good with a sword as your average knight.”

“But he’s not even ten!”

“Ain’t got nothing to do with it.” The discussion heated up.

“What a mysterious child,” someone said.

Ortho folded his arms. “He is. But he’s more likable than any noble I’ve ever met.”

“Damn straight. If that kid ever became the lord of a huge territory, I’d love to see what kinda place it’d turn into.”

Ortho smiled in response. “Right you are. So, how about it? What say we give the kid some help for a bit?”

The four of us responded immediately.

“I’m game.”

“No objections here.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Now that’s a good plan.”

Ortho looked proudly at us and smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

Something had been on my mind for a time, but I was too busy mopping up in the aftermath of the battle to ask. I told my party I had something to deal with while they moved the corpses and restrained the prisoners, then ran off to where Van was. He was in the middle of talking about something with his maid and slave.

“Lord Van, next time I’ll risk my life first, then Khamsin. Okay?”

“Yup, sure. Uh-huh.”

“You’re not listening, are you? Lord Van, please!”

“Er, okay, I get it. C’mon, don’t cry.” Van grew flustered as he tried to console the girl.

Meanwhile, the slave boy stared sullenly at his own hands. “I need to become stronger,” he whispered, clearly unsatisfied with his current self.

He was still only a child, but due to the influence of his master, it seemed like he was living on the edge. These kids wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice themselves for Van.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?” I said, causing the three of them to look at me. The maid hurriedly turned her face away. As she wiped her tears, I smiled at Van. “You’re so young, yet you’re already making the girls cry, huh?” That was my attempt at a joke. Van gave a conflicted smile and shrugged.

“I make it a point to try and be sincere to the women around me. Especially the ones who matter most.”

Hardly the words you’d expect from a child. The maid’s face went bright red, so she clapped both hands over it. Even her ears were red, so there was no hiding her embarrassment.

Meeting Van’s gaze, I asked, “Lord Van, are you actually an elf? There are

times when you don’t look like a child at all.”

This kind of question would normally be rude to ask a human noble, but Van didn’t seem to mind at all. His smile widened. “Till has been taking care of me since I was a baby, so I think I’m most definitely a human.”

I nodded. “Where did you learn how to swing a sword?”

Again, I’d neglected to use a title with him, and again, he didn’t seem to care. He sighed, lips turning down in a grimace.

“See that old knight over there? His name is Dee, and even compared to his peers he’s a super strong fighter. He trained me personally. Even though I’m not getting much bigger, he’s been training me, saying he’s gonna make me stronger than him. He’s a real demon, you know?” Though he was openly complaining, it wasn’t long before his smile returned. He clearly thought highly of the man he was talking about.

“Then I take it your knowledge and attitude come from that butler, Esparda?”

“Yeah. But, well, Till definitely had an influence on me too,” he answered, tilting his head to one side. I could see in his eyes that he was wondering why I was asking so many questions.

I stood tall and dipped my head respectfully. “My life was saved thanks to your quick actions and sword skills. Thank you so much. I will never forget what you did for me.”

When I looked back up, Van was grinning. “It’s all good. Forget about it!”

My eyes flew wide. If this was noble charisma, it was powerful stuff. Why, it had already grabbed hold of this poor adventurer’s heart.