The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 750

Episode 750. Such a Mysterious Existence. (2)

The reason for their frustration was nothing special.

‘Ah, I should have shown them my sincerity more gently.’

They just wanted to look as cool as possible, so they overdid their imagination a bit.

But apparently, to the spirits, that came off as shock and fear.

Jiselle asked, sounding a bit regretful,

“Could I possibly try one more time? I’m a nicer person than I seem.”

Iraniel shook their head gently but firmly.

“The spirits are already very afraid of you. They say you have a strong smell of blood about you.”

Jiselle lifted their arm and sniffed.

The new robe the elves had given off a faint floral scent.

“I don’t smell like blood.”

“……It’s something they sensed from the sincerity you showed. The seeds of spirits who haven’t grown yet are naturally bound to be afraid.”

“Pfft…….”

Jiselle smacked their lips. They understood what was meant. Having lived their whole life on the battlefield, it was only natural that such an atmosphere would show when they revealed their true self.

Still feeling regretful, Jiselle tried insisting a little more.

“Do spirits not have any ambition?”

“They don’t have such things.”

“I just don’t get it. After seeing such a great and splendid sight, why would they dislike it?”

“The spirits say it wasn’t the least bit impressive.”

“When elves fight, the spirits join in, so why won’t they fight with me?”

Iraniel gave a warm smile, offering new wisdom.

“We didn’t become friends to fight. We fight together because we became friends, that’s all.”

“…….”

This time, Jiselle’s forceful reasoning didn’t work.

Becoming friends with spirits was too difficult for someone like Jiselle.

“Aww…….”

With no choice, Jiselle scratched the back of their head and gave up on befriending the spirits.

They weren’t so pathetic as to cling to someone who didn’t want to be friends.

Still, a bit of regret lingered.

Just as Jiselle had failed, all the other mercenaries also failed in becoming friends with the spirits.

It was understandable. None of them truly wanted to be friends with the spirits; their heads were filled only with thoughts of using them.

‘If I just learn spirit arts, I can make it big too!’

‘Just showing this off would earn me tons of money. I’d get really popular too!’

‘Please, be my friend! Let me live cool for once! I need to turn my life around!’

‘Osval the Man! If I just get myself a spirit, I’ll snag an elf and make it big in this world!’

Everyone was only thinking about the benefits they’d get from having a spirit. Even the sincere temple knight, Lionel.

‘I lost my holy power, but if I learn spirit arts, I can quickly become strong again. Please, join me! Let’s flourish the empire and spread the glory of the Holy See together!’

Kyle even shouted at the departing spirits at the top of his lungs.

“Hey! Why! Where are you going! Dark said I was fine too! Let’s become high-flying nobles together!”

With everyone like this, there was no way the spirits would become friends.

The spirits saw right through their greed and hurried to leave.

A few spirits lingered around Deneb, but whether her holy power was repelling them or she lacked affinity, they wouldn’t come any closer.

All the mercenaries wore crestfallen expressions.

It was a pity they couldn’t learn spirit arts, that effortless power without effort.

All started sticking out their lips and whining.

“Ah, come on. Spirits are really picky. Playing hard to get.”

“Do they choose friends too? Can’t they just be our friends?”

“Is spirit arts a talent-based skill like holy power too? That’s so unfair.”

Iraniel kept emphasizing, time after time, that “character is the most important,” but nobody took those words to heart.

Just when everyone seemed to have failed, the elves watching suddenly widened their eyes.

They were all focused on one person. Even the mercenaries noticed the change and stopped grumbling, turning to look.

Soon, everyone erupted in awe.

“Woooow…….”

Countless fragments of light were floating around Yurien. It looked as though they were desperate to stay by his side.

The small bits of light gathered, drawn to each other, merging into several large clumps.

Even then, the masses of light stayed close to Yurien, continually trying to get even nearer.

Yurien watched with a gentle smile.

When he lifted his hand, the lights flocked to him, and when he turned his head, they followed his gaze.

As if breathing together, a silent connection flowed between Yurien and the spirits.

Even Iraniel watching couldn’t hide her surprise. Yurien was demonstrating far greater affinity with the spirits than even the elves.

She quietly approached Yurien and asked,

“When you reached out to them, what did you feel?”

Yurien hesitated for a moment, then replied cautiously.

“I just… looked at them.”

He had no demands or wishes.

He simply watched the spirits with pure curiosity.

Even so, the spirits approached him.

Like children being cute, they leaned towards Yurien as if trying to reach his fingertips.

Iraniel smiled softly and said,

“The spirits really like you.”

“Why… me?”

“Well, I can’t say for sure. But I can tell your soul is purer than anyone’s.”

Iraniel gave a light wave of her hand. The gathered light drifted slowly toward Yurien.

“Accept them. If you truly wish it, these little ones will become your friends forever.”

Yurien slowly reached out his hand.

The light flowed into his palm, seeping in, while a gentle glow spread from his body then faded.

“Ah…….”

The exclamation slipped from Yurien’s lips before he knew it. He realized his consciousness was now connected with the spirits.

He instinctively understood how to communicate with his friends, and how to call them.

It was a natural, familiar sensation, as if breathing itself.

When Yurien opened his palm, a small droplet of water bloomed atop it.

It quickly took on the form of an adorable child, happily circling around Yurien.

Soon, a fluttering breeze took shape, and a small spark of fire flickered and jumped up.

The earth rustled, and a fairy poked its head out, rubbing at Yurien’s feet.

Before he knew it, spirits of all kinds were dancing around Yurien. All looked cheerful and affectionate.

Yurien gazed at each of them, smiling again.

At that moment, he became closer to nature than anyone.

The mercenaries stared blankly at the sight.

“Whoa……. The captain actually learned spirit arts.”

“So jealous……. How does he have so many spirits? He took them all for himself.”

“What is it? What’s different about the captain and us?”

Voices of awe and confusion mixed, spilling from every direction.

Iraniel cast a fond look at Yurien.

“Now the spirits are your friends. Your growth will be theirs as well, and they’ll share your joys and sorrows always. So treasure them dearly. They’ll treasure you more than anyone else in the world.”

“Yes. I’ll remember that.”

Yurien too bowed deeply, wearing a beaming smile.

His heart was full of emotion at having formed a bond with the spirits, and of deep gratitude for Iraniel, who had made it all possible.

Just as the ceremony was about to end on this warm, uplifting note, Osval suddenly shouted loudly.

“This rotten world!”

“……?”

Everyone looked at Osval. He shouted again, face flushed with indignation.

“I figured it out! Why the spirits only like the captain! What makes him different from the rest of us!”

He jabbed his finger at Yurien.

“You wanna know what’s different? It’s! That face!”

“…….”

“Seriously, you don’t get it? Spirits are shallow too, just going for the looks! What a filthy, looks-obsessed world! We need a revolution! Looks need to be redistributed!”

That triggered Kyle and Lionel, who also failed to make spirit friends, to protest.

“For the record, I was the second best-looking guy in my village?”“It might sound strange coming from me, but I was actually in charge of official protocol at the Vatican. It’s a job you can only get if you look proper and neat.”

At those words, Osbal snorted.

“But boss, you’re the epitome of dangerous good looks! Just your appearance alone wounds the hearts of people around you! That’s exactly why spirits flock to you!”

“…….”

Everyone was left speechless, but Osbal took it a step further and questioned Elaniel accusingly.

“Chief! Didn’t you always say we should look at a person’s inner self, not their outward appearance?”

“Well… I did say that…”

“Then why do the spirits only care about appearances? Huh?”

Elaniel let out a faint sigh, glanced back and forth between Yulien and Osbal, and spoke quietly.

“Spirits don’t look at such things. Neither do we elves. Outward appearance is like a mist that dissipates as time passes. Beauty is nothing but a momentary illusion; the true light of the soul shines even through a wrinkled face.”

“Huh? The soul gets wrinkled… what?”

It was too advanced a lesson for Osbal. He didn’t understand a thing.

Elaniel, a great and genuinely “grown-up” person, tried again, gently adjusting to Osbal’s level.

“To my eyes, there’s barely any difference between your appearance and that kid’s. So don’t get too hung up on what you can see. What matters is what kind of person you are.”

At those words, Osbal’s jaw dropped in shock.

Anyone could tell Yulien was strikingly handsome. As for himself, his beard was wild and ragged, and his features were rough and intimidating.

“But… there’s barely any difference?”

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense. But there was no way the great elf chief would lie about something like this.

So he asked cautiously.

“Chief… you look young, but you’ve lived a really long time, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Then maybe you have presbyopia or something? Your eyesight’s not as good as it used to be, is it?”

“…….”

At this point, the Yulien mercenaries, unable to take any more rudeness, rushed in and covered Osbal’s mouth.

“Mmmp! Why are you covering my mouth?! I’m right, aren’t I?!”

“Oh, please shut up! Osbal!”

“Mmmph mmmph! This dirty world! Revolution!”

“Shut it!”

Osbal was thoroughly subdued and dragged away.

While Osbal was getting smacked around in the back, Giselle looked at Yulien and gave a wry smile.

She suddenly remembered something she’d forgotten—the figure of the hero she’d seen in her dream.

Hadn’t Erenes said so as well? The hero was someone beloved by the world.

If the saintess received the love of the goddesses, then the hero received the love of all creation.

Yulien definitely had something special.

Outstanding looks were just an attractive feature among humans.

What really mattered was this.

Just like in the dream, it was the will of the world itself that accompanied Yulien.

‘So… were the spirits that appeared in the dream the very same spirits he’s earned just now?’

She vaguely remembered seeing Yulien fighting alongside spirits in her dream.

Those spirits weren’t cute like now. They really became “the world itself” and gave their strength to Yulien.

It was an unexpected gain. She had requested to learn spirit arts herself, but in the end, it was Yulien who gained that power.

‘No, from the start, maybe it was always meant for Yulien.’

She didn’t know how the hero obtained spirits in the real past. But it was probably through the elves, too.

Just like how Deneb got the necklace.

While Giselle was lost in thought, the ceremony had finished entirely.

Everyone, though a bit disappointed they hadn’t received spirits themselves, sincerely congratulated Yulien.

Giselle let go of her regrets. Instead, she decided to ask Elaniel something she’d been curious about for a while.

“Can you take a look at this guy for me?”

Giselle summoned Dark. Even before the fight was over, Dark had hidden away of his own accord.

—Elves are uncomfortable. Something about them is just uncomfortable.

Grumbling that way, he refused to come out and locked himself away in Giselle’s consciousness.

Normally, he’d show up any chance he got and act cocky in front of people.

But if Giselle forced him out, he couldn’t really resist. Reluctantly, Dark appeared, with a sullen expression.

Looking at Dark, who looked like a plump sparrow, Elaniel showed a look of intrigue.

“This is… quite an interesting being.”

“I’m the king of spirits!”

Dark declared imperiously, glaring at Elaniel. He was clearly ready to pick a fight over pride.

“…….”

After a brief silence,

Elaniel gave a look of utter disbelief.