“So, what happened here?”

Lumen asked, examining the traces of summoning magic.

“Didn’t Mr. Luman hear the scream? It was very loud.”

“I did hear a similar sound in the distance. The situation was already over when I came here following the sound.”

“That’s too bad. Missing an interesting scene.”

Cadel smirked. Lumen made a subtle expression at the attitude of not wanting to tell him what the ‘interesting scene’ was.

‘I thought he was the naive type because he couldn’t hide his expression. Unexpectedly, he behaves like a serpent.’

The way he smiled and whispered something to his subordinate was completely different from his appearance. Lumen turned his gaze away from Cadel to examine the huge circular soot mark.

There was no way the bare ground just burned up. Looking at the circle, there was no remnant that could have been used as an ignition agent. The only thing that was a little unusual was a small pit dug in near the circular mark. Judging from the smoke still rising from the top of the pit, it was likely created at the same time as the circular soot.

‘Where’s the person who screamed?’

The source of the soot, the cause of the pit next to it, and the owner of the scream were unknown. He felt suffocated when he had a few holes in his reasoning. Cadel must have witnessed an important scene, but judging by his attitude, he didn’t seem to want to share that information.

It seemed like I needed to get closer.

Lumen stepped in front of Cadel. Then, his small head, a hand shorter than his, moved and his deep brown eyes turned this way.

“You don’t want to explain the interesting scene?”

“Umm……? Of course!”

It was a clear answer that did not match the intention of the question. Lumen was a little dumbfounded, but Cadel continued.

“Didn’t Mr. Luman also come after hearing the rumors about the temple? Before the temple officially requests the knight order to put an end to the source of the vicious rumors, it’s a ploy to strike first and demand a reward.”

“That…….”

“Don’t tell me you’re not. In a situation where you barely make ends meet by managing incoming requests.”

He had nothing to say. Cadel’s speech was both meaningful and direct, and he was adept at seizing the opponent’s excuses in an instant and jingling them in his grasp.

Lumen hated Cadel like that, but he also thought it was good. Being able to see through his own position so accurately meant that Cadel was also in a similar situation. He laughed lightly and shook his head.

“Shouldn’t we, who are in the same boat, help each other out? You never know. I wonder if I’ll be of great help to you.”

“Nope. It won’t work at all.”

“……I’m pretty strong. You can stick with me if you want.”

“Oh, no. That’s not gonna help.”

His sneer cracked Lumen’s laid-back expression. As he had lived as a distinguished Young Lord for a long time, he had strong self-esteem. He pretended to be a wandering swordsman, and when he needed money, he sometimes took requests like a mercenary. He never stooped to enter even once when he lived such a life.

Maybe that was why even though he behaved quite humble, seeing Cadel’s attitude as strong as a fortress made him feel quite sick to his stomach. Could he act like this when I reveal my true identity? Lumen had such an arrogant thought.

But apart from that, Lumen’s current situation wasn’t very good.

The funds were almost exhausted, and it had been almost a month since he had been plagued by the family pursuers from time to time. Hearing the threatening appeasement from them, saying, ‘If you don’t come back soon, your position in the family will be in jeopardy’, the stress reached its peak. He couldn’t even show his face carelessly, so his nerves became sensitive because he was wearing a cramped hood.

If he didn’t produce noticeable results in a short period of time, he would have to return to his family without achieving any of the grand ambitions he had when he left home. Such a shame. Rather than suffer such humiliation, he would rather bow his head a little at the little man in front of him. If he bowed down, his head would still be on top of him.

“I need your help. That’s how much I intend to help you. If the temple is serious enough to invite the knight order, you two can’t handle it alone. Am I wrong?”

Lumen’s eyes were proud when he said that, and his square shoulders and beautiful appearance were also very attractive. Had he been someone else, he might have passed on the information, pretending to be enthralled by Lumen’s appearance.

But Lumen’s opponent was Cadel. There was even a loyal dog behind Cadel who would snort and be displeased with anything Lumen said.

“It seems you didn’t understand what I meant.”

Cadel drooped his eyebrows regretfully. Then he sighed openly and folded his arms.

“Mr. Luman. Our goals are the same as yours. That’s why we can’t work together.”

“What does that mean?”

“I have no intention of sharing the credit with you. All credits will be taken by our Scarlet Scales Mercenaries. And right here, in the city of Hermel, the name ‘Scarlet Scales’ will be properly known.”

Lumen’s eyes narrowed. Cadel seemed serious. He did not simply come to demand enormous rewards from the temple, but to raise the name value of his mercenary corps.

‘I’m in trouble.’

For this purpose, it became more difficult to extract information from him. Moreover, even if he stepped down today, he would continue to bump into the Cadel’s party in the future. Unless either of them stopped digging into the rumors of the temple.

“However…… It’s not that there’s no way for us to collaborate.”

While Lumen was contemplating a way to break through the bleak future, Cadel began to slowly look at him with a friendly gaze, unlike the first time. Then he made a completely unexpected statement.

“Join the Scarlet Scales Mercenaries. If you become a member, there will be no reason to hide information.”

* * *

Earn the loyalty of that arrogant nobleman in this short period of time during the quest?

‘That’s ridiculous. It’s impossible.’

Then, by taking advantage of the identity of the worldview, which is a female-oriented game, gently melt Lumen into the beauty world?

‘Are you crazy? Physiologically impossible.’

Neither this nor that, but it was practically impossible to get Lumen Dominic to join through a normal procedure. So Cadel chose to ‘induce him to join based on the actual profit’.

Loyalty? All you have to do is tie it up and build it up.

As long as Lumen stayed by his side, there were many opportunities to show the commander’s side, even in an artificial way.

Now, Cadel didn’t need a loyal subordinate, he needed power to safely complete the quest. The power that moved according to one’s own intentions.

“……Commander.”

“Huh?”

“I respect Commander’s choice, but I don’t trust him at all. You said it was a fake name. Besides, he doesn’t show any loyalty to Commander.…….”

Van, who had been whispering right next to Cadel, glared at Lumen who was following them from behind. It was a stinging gaze, but Lumen didn’t give him a glance as if he didn’t care.

“Oyy, Commander, are you sure there’s a witch nearby who used the summoning magic?”

Lumen, who was looking around, raised his voice. Van gritted his teeth at the informal tone.

“Look, that arrogant way of talking. Doesn’t he call you Commander this, Commander that, and speak informally? Of course, he could have judged that Commander was younger than him by guessing because Commander was young in anyone’s eyes. I don’t like everything about that guy, including his hasty judgment.”

“Haha…….”

“Nobles can’t be trusted. He will definitely move for his own benefit.”

“I was also a former noble…….”

“Commander is always an exception.”

Cadel patted him on the shoulder as if to soothe the pouty Van. Unfortunately, he was the one who moved for his own benefit. Until he offered to join, Lumen would never have imagined sharing information like this.

It was an inevitable choice to increase power before a big fight, but from Van’s point of view, it will be awkward. A man with aristocrat-phobia and a man of noble birth. It would be a miracle not to collide.

‘But I need to fix that gradually, too. As members of the same order, they would fight life-and-death battles over and over again. Isn’t it hard not to develop strong feelings between comrades like that?’

Cadel decided to think positively. Although the profile he checked as soon as Lumen joined was a bit intrusive…….