Chapter 47
“Captain!”
One of the mercenaries approached Abel and blocked my way.
“What’s this?”
This is such an important moment—when the female protagonist and the hidden male protagonist meet in the game.
And someone is interrupting it like this?
I glared fiercely at the man who blocked my path from behind.
“Hurry up and move aside.”
Just as I was about to pass him, the man bowed his head toward Abel and shouted loudly.
“I want to spar with the captain!”
Despite his bold voice, his hands trembled slightly from nervousness.
“Spar? But Abel is supposed to meet me right now…”
Abel raised one corner of his mouth, as if considering whether to accept the man’s request.
“You want to spar?”
His voice was surprisingly soft and not what you’d expect from a mercenary captain, but there was a certain strength in it.
“Yes. I want to learn a move or two.”
The man still bowed deeply and shouted in a loud voice.
“Oh! Jason!”
“Wow, Jason! That’s some courage.”
“Captain, please teach Jason a thing or two!”
The other mercenaries cheered excitedly at Jason’s bold proposal.
The clearing quickly became noisy, as everyone anticipated an entertaining spectacle.
The big guy who had been sparring with the blond man earlier joined in and shouted loudly.
“Alright.”
He strode confidently toward the center of the clearing.
The brown-haired man standing behind Abel shook his head as if troubled.
“Oh no…”
I watched Abel walk away with a faint feeling.
Jason took a few deep breaths to hide his nervousness, then followed Abel and stood before him.
“Wow!”
“Jason, do your best!”
“Give it your all, Jason.”
“Jason, hold out at least a minute!”
Even though the spar hadn’t started, the mercenaries cheered as if they already knew the outcome.
“Sword.”
At Abel’s word, Jason drew his sword from its sheath.
His hands were sweaty from nerves, and he gripped tightly several times before exhaling deeply.
“Go ahead, attack first.”
Abel looked relaxed, not even having drawn his sword yet.
“Aaah!”
Jason shouted and charged at Abel, sword in hand.
Clang!
At an unbelievably fast speed, Abel drew his sword and blocked Jason’s attack aimed at his shoulder.
“Jason, your footwork is still too slow.”
Jason, outmatched in strength, stepped back.
“Thank you.”
Jason thanked him and charged again.
This attack was different from before but was still easily blocked by Abel.
“You have to put instant power into the sword. Not constant force.”
Abel leisurely blocked Jason’s strikes while giving advice.
“Wow, so cool.”
Instead of heavy swordsmanship, Abel moved lightly, like dancing.
Watching Abel’s movements, I was stunned.
His skill was on a whole other level compared to the sword training the mercenaries had done so far.
“Definitely the new male protagonist.”
Good looks, great skill, excellent swordsmanship.
Seeing his talent and appearance, I nodded again with certainty.
Jason kept attacking without giving up, and Abel smoothly dodged every attack.
Then, Abel attacked once, his sword stopping right in front of Jason’s neck, ending the spar.
“This is a good opportunity.”
Watching Abel leave, receiving respectful looks from everyone, I recalled a scene from a drama.
A heart-fluttering moment where the male lead shyly hands a towel to someone after gym class.
Luckily, I had a handkerchief in my pocket.
Though I had only learned romance from dramas, now was a perfect chance to approach naturally.
I took out the small handkerchief from my pocket and approached Abel.
“Here, a towel.”
I passed through the crowd and shyly handed Abel the handkerchief.
“Then Abel will thank me, right?”
“……”
Contrary to my expectations, Abel just stared blankly at the handkerchief, showing no intention to take it.
“You’re not sweaty… I mean, you don’t seem sweaty. Haha.”
“What? You didn’t even sweat?”
How could someone spar and not sweat a drop?
Abel’s face looked fresh as if he hadn’t even moved.
This wasn’t good…
I awkwardly withdrew my hand with an embarrassed smile.
“Who are you?”
At that moment, the brown-haired man standing behind Abel approached with eyes full of suspicion.
“Ah, I’m Riche, working at this inn.”
Though he asked me, my gaze was fixed only on Abel.
Abel stared at me intensely, and our eyes met in the air.
“Hurry and open the route.”
Had I ever awaited a pink-colored screen indicating rising affinity like this?
I silently prayed with my eyes toward Abel.
“Do you have business with the captain? But… you…”
The brown-haired man’s sharp tone repeated his question, then he tilted his head suspiciously at me before suddenly widening his eyes in surprise.
Without taking his eyes off me, he hurriedly added,
“That woman is a mage with powerful mana.”
Abel’s eyes sparkled upon hearing this.
“What brings you here? Who sent you?”
In a sharper voice than before, Abel asked me while drawing his sword from his waist.
The brown-haired man behind Abel raised his right palm, assuming the basic attack posture of a mage.
“What?”
“Who sent you? The Duke Spencer family? Or the Kingdom of Terence?”
His words made me flustered.
“What’s going on here…?”
Why did they assume I had mana…?
Right in front of me was Abel with a sword drawn, the brown-haired man gathering mana in his right hand as if ready to attack with magic.
And mercenaries slowly approaching with weapons raised.
“Could it be… they think I’m a spy?”
Why is this suddenly turning from a romance into a spy action story?
I glared at the ferocious device in front of me.
“So this is the lie detection magical device?”
I had seen it in the game, but seeing it in real life was even more terrifying.
Supports for hands and arms, restraints, and a powerful magical stone emitting strong energy.
“So if you lie, you get electrocuted?”
Remembering others using this device in the game made my lips dry up.
“Uh… won’t the device malfunction or anything?”
I asked cautiously. Toby gave me a contemptuous chuckle and looked at me with disdain.
“Who suggested doing this now? And you don’t trust the device?”
“Well, that’s because the sword was right at my neck then.”
The situation where Abel’s sword seemed ready to attack me was when I thought of the lie detection device.
Fortunately, the mercenary group had that device, and I was now sitting in front of it to prove I wasn’t a spy.
“As long as I prove I’m not a spy, that’s what matters.”
What matters now to them is whether I’m a spy or not.
Not the reason I came to this mercenary group or inn.
I organized my thoughts about what to say once more, took a deep breath, and looked again at the device.
The lie detection device emitted a blue light and strange sounds, looking terrifying no matter how I looked at it.
“Well… can we test it at least once…?”
