「There are recruitable knights nearby.」

「Number of people: 1」

‘Huh? A recruitable knight?’

Cadel’s head turned at the system window that popped up out of the blue. However, because there were so many people on the street, it was impossible to find out who the knight was.

“What’s the matter, Commander?”

Van asked, wondering at Cadel’s sudden behavior of looking around. Instead of answering, Cadel held onto his arm and began scanning each passer-by with his eyes lit.

The knights in 「Hero of Knights」 were extraordinary in appearance, regardless of their rank. Just looking at Van next to him right away, it was like that. It was natural for such a tall young man to stand out among people, and Cadel was confident that he could guess the name of the knight at once.

Shortly afterward, Cadel found a tall man standing alone among the crowd.

‘Even if you put on a hood, you can’t hide that handsome silhouette. He’s a new knight.’

Cadel, who raised the corners of his mouth slyly, looked up at Van standing in bewilderment.

“I think I’ve found a good place. Let’s go.”

It would have been difficult if the new knight candidate had entered the inn or headed to some back alley, but fortunately, the place he headed was a tavern called ‘Emily’s Hood’. He didn’t know if the food was delicious, but he could see that most of the people who filled this place were knights or mercenaries. If he wasn’t just a regular here, the new knight candidate also seemed to want to get information about Hermel City.

Cadel, who deliberately preoccupied a seat close to him, smiled at Van, posing as an ordinary guest. However, Van’s expression when facing Cadel was not very good.

“Since when did you become a drinker, Commander? It hasn’t been long since you got better. It’s a pub again. In times like these, you need to eat well and healthily.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Originally, wounds are disinfected with alcohol, right? The same goes for the alcohol that enters my body. They’re gonna disinfect me.”

“That logic is more like a drunkard’s.”

It was far-fetched even to him, so Cadel quickly shut up. As he handed over the menu to Van to choose first and leaned on the back of the chair, he saw the face of the knight candidate sitting at the next table.

‘Crazy. His face is glowing?’

He was still wearing a hood, so he couldn’t see his full features, but he could feel his handsomeness piercing through the hood’s shadow. Cadel glanced at him imperceptibly and tapped the calculator in his head.

‘Now the maximum cost for my knight order was 10. Since Van is B-grade, the remaining cost is 7. Until I raise my reputation and increase the cost, I will have to recruit with the awakening of the knights in mind.…….’

The initial cost limit for the game was 10. The cost of D-grade cards was 1, C-grade 2, B-grade 3, A-grade 4, and S-grade 5. All measured at the current level, but if the cost 10 was filled with soon-to-be awakening knights, no one would be able to awaken. This was because when they awaken, their grades went up and the cost naturally increased.

For that reason, at first, he tended to have one middle-ranking knight, one high-ranking knight, and one low-ranking knight.

‘A birth A-grade or D-grade would be appropriate. It would be nice if he was S-grade, but that’s too greedy, and if he’s C-grade, I’ll consider it.’

Just in case, he tried the ‘ability reading’ but failed. It seemed to be because he was not a knight of his order or he did not even know his name.

‘To find out what kind of knight he is, I’ll have to take off that annoying hood first.’

Cadel’s eyes narrowed. He snatched the menu that Van had held out saying he had chosen what to order and slipped away to the next table.

“Excuse me.”

“……?”

He could feel the eyes covered by the hood moving. Cadel said while looking at the handsome lower part of his face, smiling as brightly and innocently as possible.

“We’re new to this bar, so do you have any recommendations?”

“Ask the staff about that.”

There was not a hint of goodwill in the man’s voice. It was a clear sign that no one should bother to cling to him. However, Cadel was not going to give up here.

“In my experience, the staff will recommend the most expensive or easy-to-make food. A regular customer’s recommendation is better than that.”

“……How do you know if I’m a regular or not?”

“I heard that this pub is a restaurant that only people in the know come to. It’s based on probability.”

Of course he had never heard of such a thing. Van also had a puzzled look on his face as he glanced at the shabby meal the other guests were eating. But Cadel was prepared to stand and sneak a peek at his face, pretending it was a mistake, to find out who this man really was.

The man was silent for a moment. After a short silence that created tension, he seemed to be thinking about something but then spoke in a low-pitched voice.

“Are you the one sent by Brother? Your level is too low for that……. It seems that Brother has lost his eyes in seeing people.”

The man who replied in a low voice slowly took off his hood, revealing his bare face. Cadel, who was embarrassed for a while because he didn’t know the trick would be caught right away, swallowed dry saliva involuntarily as soon as he saw his exposed face.

‘That face……!’

The antique black hair, which seemed to have been carefully ground and drawn with great care, one strand at a time, and the deep blue eyes that clearly contrasted with it. The clear features of the line, the stubbornly closed mouth, and the fierce eyes shone brightly in the heavy atmosphere. As if looking at a classic masterpiece, that face with an elegant beauty…….

“Apologies if you’re not the pursuer. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a dark ulterior motive so obviously like that, so it’s kind of funny.”

While Cadel was shocked to discover the man’s identity, Van glared daggers at the man.

“Smile later, apologize first.”

He didn’t seem to like the stranger who was making rude remarks to Cadel, and one of his hands was already on the greatsword that had been placed next to him. The man took a glance at Van and made a sighing sound. The silent behavior of turning his head gave the impression that he was ignoring Van.

“Apologize to Commander for your rudeness.”

“Commander? You are a knight?”

The man suddenly showed interest and raised his handsome eyebrows. Cadel, who realized that he was mesmerized by the approaching gaze, hurriedly composed himself.

“I’m a mercenary. We are not your pursuers.”

“Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

The corners of his lips twitched. Cadel held back the sly smile that kept coming on, and he tried to touch the corner of his mouth pretending to be nonchalant.

“By the way, you seem to have quite a lot of people bothering you.”

“……That’s how it is.”

“Because you’re handsome?”

The man himself shrugged lightly as if he knew he was handsome. Rather, Van looked shocked, his eyes were moist as he looked at Cadel like an abandoned puppy. Cadel ignored Van’s gaze and gave the man a sly eye smile.

“Or, is it because your family is outstanding?”

This time the man’s brow twitched. While the man was speechless, Cadel called the staff to order the menu that Van had chosen, one of the best menus here, and two beers. Then he faced Van as if nothing had happened. Van was busy glancing at the man with an upset look as if he was quite offended.

“I guess he threw his manners in the dumps. If you look at the way he overreacted when you asked for a recommendation menu.”

“I guess he’s in a position where he has no choice but to be sensitive.”

“……Commander, a person’s face isn’t everything.”

What are you talking about?

Of course, a person’s face isn’t everything, but he didn’t want to hear it from a handsome man whose face was glossy, not oily, even if he couldn’t wash it for a few days. Cadel ignored Van who seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason and whispered in a low voice.

“That man is Lumen Dominic.”

“Lumen Dominic……?”

“The second son of the Dominic family.”

Van’s expression was distorted at once. The Dominic family was a distinguished noble family belonging to the Kingdom of Mainue. A Marquis family was not royalty but had the same power, wealth, and power.

He knew it as soon as he saw Lumen’s face. He had the most handsome face ranked at the top of the popularity ranking among the knights in 「Hero of Knights」, and his performance was also at the top. In fact, Cadel’s final deck included Lumen Dominic.

‘What a windfall gain! Lumen’s final awakening grade is S-grade, his birth grade is A-grade, and he’s a god character with an enormous amount of basic damage! I can’t miss it. I’ll definitely have you, Lumen Dominic.’

His enthusiasm flared up.

The fact that his personality was arrogant or that it was difficult to meet his recruitment conditions and manage his loyalty had been put aside. What was the point of all that? If Lumen Dominic joined the mercenary corps, the road ahead would be solid.