Damn Reincarnation

replying, the warrior just nodded his head and murmured in admiration, “…Just what is it that makes his skill so impressive…? Mhm… I think I’ve got it.”

Although he said this, the wizard definitely couldn’t understand what the warrior meant by this.

That mercenary did seem quite strong, but with just that level of strength, the wizard couldn’t see what made the man’s skills so out-of-the-ordinary.

“It’s still not enough,” the priest spoke up.
She leaned forward, propping her body against the railing, and opened up the small bottle of holy water hanging from her waist as she continued, “Sir Vermouth, I just can’t tell why you would want to accept that mercenary as one of your companions.”

Vermouth Lionheart was standing a few steps behind the rest of the party.
With his gray hair, which was neither black nor white, and golden eyes, which sparkled as if they had been spun out of gold, his face was so beautiful it was hard to believe that it belonged to a man, but at the same time he didn’t appear fragile.

“…I believe he is already perfect for our party as he is,” Vermouth confidently stated.

After bringing the holy water flask she always carried with her to her lips, Anise Slywood took several gulps of the holy water that seemed strong enough to burn her from throat to stomach with just one sip.
She then glanced back at Vermouth with her narrowed eyes.

“Molon alone is enough to serve as our vanguard.
Sir Vermouth, just what is it that you’re expecting from that mercenary? What do you think that mercenary can do for us that makes you so insistent on accepting him as a member of our party?” Anise questioned sharply.

“…I also agree with what Anise is saying.” While righting her hat that had started to tilt forward, Sienna Merdein continued speaking, “I don’t have much skill in melee, but that mercenary doesn’t seem stronger than Molon, though he seems even more barbaric than Molon….
So what help does it serve to add one more idiot?”

“I’m not an idiot,” Molon chipped in.

“If that mercenary isn’t as good at guarding our front as Molon, what is he supposed to be doing? Getting in close? Since we have you, Vermouth, do we really need another close combatant? Or, could it be that, unlike his appearance, that mercenary is also a devout cleric?” Sienna asked with a doubtful snort as she reached her hand out to the holy water flask that Anise had set down on the railing.
“If he’s a priest with more faith than our holy water addict here, and who can work more powerful miracles, then… hehe, it should be fine to accept hi—”

Anise interrupted her, “There’s no way that would be the case, right?”

Slap!

Anise’s hand fiercely slapped away the back of Sienna’s hand as she declared, “I am the Saint of Light.
No priest exists in this world whose faith is even slightly close to mine.
That is why I am the one who was chosen to accompany Sir Vermouth on this journey.”

“Can’t you just give me one sip?” Sienna pleaded.

“No way,” Anise rejected firmly.

Sienna’s shoulders drooped at this resolute refusal.

“…He’s not someone you can look down on,” Molon Ruhr insisted as he stepped down from the railing.
“That man’s attacks and movements might seem crude, but every action flows as smoothly and flexibly as flowing water.
All corners of his martial skills have been polished to the extent that ordinary people can’t even begin to imagine… and it’s not just that.”

“What do you mean, it’s not just that?” Sienna repeated curiously.

“I can’t explain it exactly, but some kind of unique temperament is mixed into that guy’s skills,” Molon confidently claimed.

“Molon, you, by any chance, did Vermouth ask you a favor in advance? Hmm? Did Vermouth ask you to back him up a bit?” Sienna asked suspiciously.

“Vermouth hasn’t asked me to do something like that,” Molon denied.

Of course, she had known that would be the case.
Sienna pouted her lips as she glanced back at Vermouth.

…It was just that this was the first time that Vermouth had shown such confusing stubbornness.
On the way here, they had seen several would-be heroes, and among them, there had also been quite a few who were inspired by Vermouth’s feats and had asked to be accepted as a companion.

‘…But why is he trying to invite someone who’s just a petty mercenary to be our companion?’ Sienna thought to herself with frustration.

She had to admit that this mercenary was also a famous figure among the other mercenaries.
A young mercenary who was able to skillfully wield all kinds of weapons and return alive from even the harshest battlefields.
A ghost of the battlefield who wasn’t part of any mercenary company, who didn’t lead any subordinates, and instead of pursuing the highest pay, he wandered solely in search of battlefields full of demonic beasts.

That mercenary was Hamel Dynas.

“…This is my first time making such a request,” Vermouth finally spoke up.
He stepped closer to the railing and continued, “But from now on, I won’t be making any similar requests of you.”

“…Sir Vermouth,” Anise hesitantly called out.

“Anise,” Vermouth responded.
“You asked me what that mercenary can do for us and what exactly I’m expecting from him, right?”

Down there, the fight was already over.

All the seven knights who had surrounded Hamel had one of their limbs broken and were now sprawled across the ground.
Hamel was gathering the swords that the knights had dropped and examining them.
Even though he was stealing their weapons so openly, none of the onlookers attempted to stop him.

“…I’m not sure what he’ll be able to do either,” Vermouth admitted.
“However, he definitely has something that I want.”

“…Huh?” Anise grunted.

“I want him to fight alongside us,” Vermouth said with a faint smile.

Anise’s eyes widened into circles at this smile.
Anise wasn’t the only one showing such a surprised expression.
Even Sienna, who had stealthily been creeping closer to Anise’s holy water flask, froze in mid-action, and Molon, who had been traveling with Vermouth for the longest time, felt his jaw drop.

“Currently, his skills might not be reliable enough.
However, he will be able to catch up to us very quickly,” Vermouth promised.

“…It’s not enough just to catch up with us.
Vermouth, you know that as well, right? We’ll be going to Helmuth soon, and from there, we’re going to slay the Demon Kings,” Sienna argued once she had calmed down from her surprise and stretched out a finger to point at Hamel.
“That guy who just blatantly knocks out a bunch of young knights and steals their swords… there’s no way that he’ll be able to fight alongside us—!”

Vermouth interrupted her, “He’ll fight, and he’ll be able to stand at our side in no time.”

“…Sir Vermouth, did you receive… an oracle?” Anise asked in a trembling voice.

At this, Vermouth just shook his head slowly and replied, “It’s not a prediction.
It’s just my… stubborn insistence.
I intend to make him my companion somehow, so I’m doing what I can to try and convince you.”

“…Aaargh!” Sienna suddenly groaned and shook her head as she felt her chest constrict in annoyance at Vermouth’s frank admission.
“So what? Are we just going to stand here watching him? If you’re going to make him our companion, shouldn’t we just go over there and talk with him!”

“Let’s go and say hello, shake hands, and test our strength against each other,” Molon proposed.
“Then let’s raise a glass to our fallen foes.
If we do that, we’re sure to become friends.”

“…I really didn’t want to make any more barbaric and foolish friends like you,” Anise sighed, still unconvinced and appearing dissatisfied.

However, since Vermouth had already gone so far to make such a request, she didn’t want to refuse him anymore.

The same went for Sienna as well.
Among the members of their party, the only one who had accepted Vermouth’s insistence from the start without any complaints was Molon.

‘…What exactly does he have?’

That idiot, Molon, had said that he felt something.
However, Sienna and Anise didn’t feel anything from Hamel.
Was there really something that could only be seen by warriors?

A low-class mercenary with a rough demeanor — that was all that they could see in Hamel.
Nothing more, and nothing less.

“And who are you lot?”

Or at least, that had been Sienna’s impression of him when looking from afar, but would things really change when looking at Hamel from up close? Sienna glared down at Hamel with a doubtful expression.

“I’m asking you, why the hell did you suddenly fly over just to fucking glare at someone?”

Wasn’t he being too cheeky with people he was meeting for the first time? Sienna’s eyes twitched in irritation as she continued glaring at Hamel.

He had a large scar on his left cheek.
In addition to that, there were several other small scars on his face.
His upturned eyes were hostile enough that you could tell he had a dirty personality from just a glance.

“Hamel Dynas,” Vermouth said as he was the first to float down from the sky and land in front of Hamel.
While pressing down his gray, windswept hair with one hand, he approached Hamel and asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

Hamel and everyone else’s faces went blank in surprise at Vermouth’s sudden question.

“…What?” Hamel just grunted.

“It seems like you haven’t eaten yet, so why not have a meal together with us,” Vermouth said as he spun around on the spot.