Chapter 59
Kyden had made it to the capital. The checkpoint was crowded with all sorts of people, making it as hectic and irritating as ever.
The thought that Roel might be in such a wretched place was horrifying. He worried she might have encountered strange people or been dragged into some criminal den.
‘Idiot.’
He cursed himself. It was his pride that had botched things up. He had wanted to make her regret leaving, not for her to completely disappear. He never wished her more pain.
Her suffering weighed heavily on him.
Roel could be wandering the capital with her injuries. He needed to find her before something worse happened. He had heard she was looking for work through the capital’s employment offices.
Since she was warned about the places to avoid, he planned to check each reputable office one by one.
‘It might take too long.’
The capital had a population exceeding two million, and the number of employment offices was overwhelming.
Kyden decided to focus his search around the employment agencies near the Pumpkin Blossom Guild, considering she might not have found a job yet and could be looking at inns as well.
Naturally, this would be tough to do alone. He needed help. Although Kyden was a knight from a far-off earldom and knew few people in the capital, he couldn’t afford to be picky.
‘Those fools.’
During his wandering days, he had made acquaintances in several mercenary bands. The infamous Kyden, who was known for being impotent and now chasing after a woman, would surely be the butt of their jokes.
But now was not the time to worry about pride. A delay could lead to irreversible consequences.
Kyden headed straight for the Wild Dogs Mercenary Band. They were known for their ruthlessness and dirty deeds. They often took the jobs no one else wanted and had connections in the underworld.
He approached the band’s headquarters, which reeked of u*ine due to the members’ habits of drinking and relieving themselves in the open. He despised working in such conditions.
“Hey.”
He called out as he entered.
“What do you want, you bastard?”
Kyden clenched his fists as he was greeted with aggressiveness typical of the ruffians here. They pretended to be tough not to show they were intimidated by Kyden’s size and reputation.
“Call your leader.”
“What? Who the hell are you to order us around?!”
One of them snapped, charging forward only to receive a punch in the nose from Kyden. It was a common greeting for newcomers here, where he had to rough up the lower ranks to get the attention of the lazy boss.
“Who’s looking for me?”
The band leader finally appeared.
“It’s been a while.”
“What, who are you?”
Pretending not to recognize him, or genuinely forgetting, the man seemed oblivious. Could he already be senile?
“It’s Kyden.”
“Eh?”
“Kyden. I worked here two years ago.”
“Oh, sh-t! Kyden?!”
Kyden’s brow furrowed as the leader’s shock turned into alarm. The leader of the Wild Dog Mercenary called his men.
“Hey! This guy is Kyden!”
At that, a bunch of burly guys came out surrounding Kyden.
When Kyden had left the Wild Dogs Mercenary Band, he had roughed up the leader but hadn’t done anything severe. Why this dramatic reaction? Kyden looked at his surroundings nervously.
“This bastard is Kyden? That beast Kyden?! Was this good-looking guy really him?!”
“No way, impossible. He doesn’t even have a beard!”
“How could that crazy bastard have turned into this handsome? It doesn’t make any sense!”
There seemed to be some big misunderstanding.
Survival of the fittest. Strength as power. The strong survive. During his wandering days, Kyden had quickly learned the rules of the Wild Dogs Mercenary Band and acted accordingly.
Being a knight, his combat skills were superior, naturally making him stand out among the mercenaries. Furthermore, Kyden had been a promising knight. He could easily handle these mercenaries.
He had only mimicked their rough and dirty ways to blend in and work with these barbaric mercenaries. Therefore, being called a madman or a beast was unjust.
“Enough joking around, I came here because I have a job for you.”
The leader of the Wild Dogs looked uneasy and took a step back.
“…What is it? We don’t do stuff like rebellion or killing nobles.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? I’m looking for a woman. She’s in the capital.”
As the leader picked his ear, the surrounding mercenaries began to stir.
“A woman?”
“Am I hearing this right?”
“Yes, a woman.”
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