Hard Carried by My Sword-Chapter 52

Chapter 52
Leon stayed behind to quickly wash up and change his clothes. Unlike Caesare and Karen who helped him train, he was drenched in sweat. It was a clear sign of the difference in capability.
While it made sense for Caesare since he barely moved, Karen had exerted several times more effort than Leon and didn’t even look winded. She had overwhelmed him even when he was giving it his all and still looked completely composed.
Still, she’s starting to show her limits.
Leon was starting to see moves and techniques Karen hadn’t used when they first started sparring. It must’ve become harder to handle him using only the methods she’d shown before.
For example, she stopped using Mirage and started targeting blind spots instead. Since visual tricks didn’t work anymore, she switched to speed and stealth. That, more than anything, proved how quickly Leon was improving.
When Leon entered the room, now freshly cleaned and dressed, Lize, who had been chatting with Karen, stood up at once. The delight on her face was obvious.
“It’s been a while, Leon!” she greeted.
“Sure has, Lize! I haven’t been by the Guild lately, so we haven’t had a chance to catch up.”
This was their first meeting since he left the infirmary. Leon hadn’t returned to the Guild once during that time. He’d already met all the requirements for promotion to B-rank, and he’d gained enough field experience from the raid of Evil, so there was no point in wasting time with minor quests.
On top of that, even solo training was yielding great results. With Caesare and Karen coaching him, he had no reason to be distracted.
“Leon, have you fully recovered? I was wondering if your injuries were still keeping you from getting back into action lately...”
“Oh, I’m fine. I had a small enlightenment during the last raid, and I’ve just been busy training since then.”
“I see! That’s a relief.” Lize pulled out a potion she’d brought just in case and continued, “It’s a gift from the guild. I used my authority to upgrade it to a High Potion. It’s powerful enough to reattach a severed arm—you’ll definitely find it useful.”
“That’s a bit much for a gift...”
“Compared to what you did, it’s nothing. The Guildmaster insisted that you accept it.”
It felt rude to refuse when she was insisting this much. Besides, a High Potion was worth more than its weight in gold. Leon couldn’t help feeling a bit tempted.
When he took the potion, Lize smiled and continued, “Then let’s get to the main reason I’m here.”
A Guild receptionist wouldn’t have come all the way here just to deliver a gift. Though Caesare and Karen were present, Lize continued without hesitation, implying that the topic wasn’t particularly sensitive. As expected, it was all within the realm of what Leon had anticipated.
She placed an object from her coat onto the table and said, “The first item is a reward prepared by the lord.”
“A reward...?”
Leon looked at it curiously. It was a bracelet, round, silver-plated, and not particularly ornate—it didn’t look very valuable. He wondered if it might be made of mithril, but that wasn’t the case.
When he looked at it with a lukewarm expression, Lize smiled knowingly and said, “
Hehe
, that bracelet has a spatial magic enchantment. It’s not very large, but it should work like a small inventory box.”
Karen, recognizing its value before Leon did, exclaimed in surprise, “Spatial magic?! That’s worth at least a few hundred gold! If it had a better design, it could fetch a thousand.”
“As expected of you, Karen,” Lize remarked.
“My ring is the same type. The capacity’s small, so I just use it instead of a backpack,” Karen said.
Only then did Leon realize how she carried dozens of daggers despite her light outfit. It was all thanks to a spatial magic artifact. Without it, even if she strapped weapons all over her body, she’d have run out of space.
It seemed that Count Blaine was far more generous than expected.
“
Ooh
, this is how you use it.”
Leon tried on the bracelet and stashed the High Potion inside. He’d heard about such things before, but it was his first time using one, and it was incredibly convenient. With a whole dimension in his pocket, he wouldn’t need to pack separate bags anymore.
Lize watched him briefly, then continued.
“The second matter is your promotion to B-rank. You’ve already met all the requirements, so if you just demonstrate your Aura Weapon, I’ll issue the B-rank plaque right away.”
So, in under a hundred days, Leon had qualified for B-rank. It was a bit of a shame El-Cid couldn’t see it, but Leon stood and grasped his sword.
Golden Aura surged up the blade with a pleasant hum as a warm glow filled the room from his Sun-type Aura. Lize nodded without needing to see more and pulled out a silver plaque—the mark of a B-rank Adventurer.
On the silver plaque engraved with “LEON,” the letters glimmered in the light of the Aura. Leon, laying down his sword, gently brushed over the four letters with his fingers.
A B-rank adventurer... something I never could’ve dreamed of back at the Academy.
B-rank adventurers were treated with the same respect as seasoned knights. With both experience and power, such adventurers were acknowledged wherever they went—no one dared to ignore a silver plaque holder.
Leon now belonged to that class. Once cast aside for refusing a loyalty oath—barred even from learning Aura—he stood in a completely different place now.
“And lastly.” Lize waited until he stowed the badge before continuing with a warm smile, “The quest you asked us to keep an eye out for has come in.”
“What kind of quest is it, Lize?”
“A merchant caravan escort. Blaine was a stopover on their way to the Titan Mountains, so they’re leaving tomorrow. I reserved a spot for you in advance, but...”
Leon let out a soft “
Ah
,” realizing his mistake. He’d forgotten to account for Karen.
He couldn’t just change the request now and ask for two spots—he’d need to visit the caravan himself to secure one for her.
He gave Lize a respectful nod of thanks and asked where the caravan was staying. Thankfully, it wasn’t far from the Prima District.
***
“Oh, this must be it.”
Karen, walking ahead, came to a stop. Leon didn’t even need to ask why, because what lay before them was a wide clearing lined with a dozen or more wagons.
With no inns nearby, dozens of temporary tents had been set up on the outskirts of the city. The sun had already begun to sink, and campfires lit up the dusk across the field.
Finding the caravan leader was easy. They just had to head toward the largest tent in the center of the crowd.
When Leon showed the silver plaque he’d received earlier that day, a man—presumably the caravan leader—greeted him warmly.
“
Oho
, you must be from the Guild?”
Capable adventurers were always welcome. Though the boyish face made the leader hesitate slightly, he had no complaints if the youth was skilled enough. At the very least, an adventurer with a silver plaque wouldn’t be a liability.
“Yes. My name is Leon, a B-rank adventurer. My primary weapon is a sword, no other specialties to note.”
“I see. I’m Arnold, of the Storm Caravan. We’re still just a modest group, but I look forward to working with you.”
As they exchanged introductions, the two shook hands. There was an old saying that the palm revealed a person’s life. And Leon understood something about Arnold just from that handshake.
That’s a curious callus... must’ve gripped a pen a long time.
It was entirely different from the kind of calluses that came from gripping a sword. Arnold’s hand, deformed from long hours of writing, suggested he’d once spent at least six hours a day scribbling.
That sense of diligence sparked a strange but real trust in Leon.
“But Mr. Leon, who might this be...?” Arnold asked, looking at Leon’s companion.
“Oh, apologies, Mr. Arnold.”
Snapped out of it, Leon turned to introduce Karen as an A-rank adventurer.
Arnold’s eyes widened at the unexpected heavyweight.
“
Hah
! I’ve failed to recognize someone important! What kind of merchant can I claim to be with such poor judgment—clearly, I’ve still got a long way to go!”
Though he seemed delighted, Arnold also looked a bit awkward. Leon couldn’t quite tell why, but Karen seemed to understand and spoke up first.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m only here to accompany him. You can compensate me at B-rank rates.”
Arnold smiled wryly at that.
“
Ah
, thank you, and I apologize. Truth be told, we’re not in a financial position to pay an A-rank’s full fee. I’ll have to rely on your generosity this time, Ms. Karen. But next time, I’ll be sure to pay proper A-rank compensation.”
“Oh, please. I should be the one apologizing for barging in like this.”
A-rank adventurers came at a high cost. They weren’t just a little more expensive—they were extremely expensive. Hiring one usually started in the hundreds of gold, and hazard bonuses could multiply the cost several times over.
It would’ve been an overwhelming expense to shoulder on short notice. If Karen hadn’t volunteered her compromise, things might’ve gotten awkward fast.
Right... can’t exactly turn down an A-rank to their face, but hiring one out of the blue like this is too pricey...
Leon realized he had put the man in a tight spot without meaning to. Thankfully, he didn’t need to feel guilty. In the end, Arnold had secured an A-rank escort at a bargain, and Leon and Karen would likely be treated favorably because of it.
Arnold not only gave them the most comfortable wagon but he also agreed to cover all travel expenses during the journey. It was hard to tell who the client was in this situation.
“It’s only fair. I’m A-rank, after all.”
Karen, unlike Leon, was unbothered. She’d been A-rank long enough to be used to this kind of treatment.
After exchanging farewells with the ever-polite Arnold, the two strolled through the caravan grounds. Leon saw horses being groomed in the stables, men replacing wagon wheels, people cooking stew over fires, and more, and these were all unfamiliar sights to him.
Hm?
One group, in particular, caught his eye. Karen followed his gaze and chuckled.
“What, never seen mercenaries before, either?” she teased.
“I’ve seen them from afar, but never this close.”
During the raid of Evil, their duties were separate, so he hadn’t spoken a word to any. Even before that, as an adventurer, he hadn’t had cause to interact with them.
Leon’s eyes scanned the mercenaries curiously. Unlike adventurers, mercenaries carried multiple types of weapons and frequently used heavy armor and shields.
They all look pretty strong.
According to Arnold, there were four B-rank mercenaries, but even the others didn’t seem like easy opponents. They carried themselves like people who had seen many battles and at the very least, they looked reliable in terms of strength.
“
Hm
.”
Still, Leon felt a vague discomfort. It wasn’t something he felt toward them, but something he felt from them.
There was no friendliness. There wasn’t malice or hostility either, but there was definitely no warmth.
They must have heard about him from Arnold, given they were on the same job. Yet none seemed pleased to see him. Maybe it was that rumored bias mercenaries held against adventurers.
Well, doesn’t matter.
It really didn’t. As long as they didn’t get in each other’s way, there was no need to act friendly. He wasn’t the type to go out of his way to win people over anyway—he just had to do his part.
Leaving the Storm Caravan camp with Karen, the two strolled back into Blaine’s city center. They would be saying farewell to this city soon.
I wonder if I’ll ever come back.
Blaine was where he first spread his wings after leaving the Academy—a gilded cage. Even if he forgot every other place, he doubted he could forget this city.
El-Cid, hanging at his waist, clanked lightly against his thigh. It almost felt like the sword was chiding him for being sentimental. Leon let out a quiet laugh.
Still got a week before you wake up, huh.
He would’ve preferred to leave after El-Cid woke, but he couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity. Jobs heading straight to the Titan Mountains were rare, and more than anything, he couldn’t let himself grow dependent on El-Cid.
Even if the final battle of the raid had been inevitable, sitting idle just because El-Cid wasn’t around wasn’t something a Hero should do.
“Starting all over again tomorrow...”
Watching the sun sink into the western horizon, Leon could feel his heart beating fast with excitement for the next journey to come.
Roughly seven months remained until the day of the prophecy.