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There was very limited information about Amela, the great mercenary of Gaifa islands, despite her reputation as one of the Three Great Mercenaries.
Everyone praised her anonymity, and special articles about Amela were published every year without fail.
Amela took on at least one commission related to war every year and always delivered 'remarkable' results as a matter of course.
However, these pieces of information were superficial. Amela rarely met with journalists in person, and she rarely revealed herself in public occasions, so it was safe to say that the articles were purely imaginary.
In Jin's previous life, he had also learned about Amela through such articles.
But just once. His teacher, Valeria Hister, had spoken about Amela.
-Amela wears the skins of the people she's killed? I often feel that way, but there are certainly some strange stories about this person.
-Doesn't she bother to correct the journalists who are making up false stories?
-That's true. However, she doesn't know at all how these articles affect her image among the people, and the fact that journalists write these stories about her.
-Completely unaware?
-Yes, she was the kind of person who didn't care much about how the world worked. At least, from what I observed. And she was incredibly pure.
-...Pure? Even I find it hard to believe that she wears people's skins, but it's undeniable that her abilities in combat are outstanding. But can someone like that be pure?
-Being pure doesn't necessarily have only positive connotations. Anyway, once you've finished your tea, you should start your training.
In their previous life, one day they had breakfast together and discussed while looking at newspapers.
At that time, Jin didn't think much of Amela, so he didn't attach any special meaning to her.
'Being pure doesn't necessarily have only positive connotations...'
Now, looking back, the meaning of those words was clear.
Amela is a human with a very blurred sense of good and evil.
"Why do you think so?"
Valkas asked the last question. He wanted to know the reason they needed to recruit or keep Amela in check.
"It's because of the alliance I made with the Black King Corps and the Ghost Mercenaries."
"It's not an alliance but rather a lord and vassal relationship; you don't need to be so careful with your words while considering our feelings."
"Now the whole world knows about this fact. I wanted to keep it hidden until our power was even more solid. Anyway, now the two biggest neutral powers left in the world are Amela, the great mercenary, and the Hidden Palace."
"That's true."
"The fact that the Hidden Palace is my ally hasn't been revealed to the world yet, but the major factions must have some suspicion."
"Well... I think the people of the world are likely to consider them not just as allies but as potential family members. The rumors about the marriage between you and the lady of the Hidden Palace have been circulating for quite some time, my lord."
"The only one left is Amela, and anyone, it will be difficult for me to recruit her. I haven't been active recently, so it's only now that I'm getting involved, but I'm sure other factions have already attempted to make contact with Amela. If luck is not on our side, she might have already joined someone."
Recent actions by Jin have changed the course of the world.
The forces that had been neutral for a long time joined Runcandel's 12th flagbearer, which further heightened the tension among the major factions.
Those who were in the gray area had to make a choice. Which side should we align with? The neutral forces were disappearing one by one.
"She might not be affiliated with someone, my lord. She's quite an elusive character," Valkas remarked.
"Do you know her?"
"Maybe we are quite close considering Amela's standards. In general terms, we have crossed paths a few times on the battlefield and had a meal together a couple of times."
Given that both Amela and Valkas were famous mercenaries, they had received different commissions and had found themselves on the same battlefield a few times.
Valkas forehead narrowed as he recalled those moments.
"You know, my lord. Amela doesn't have her own mercenary unit."
"Yes, she operates alone."
"Even so, I've never beaten her once when I faced her on the battlefield."
"Are you saying there's such a gap between Amela and you?"
"Not between Amela and me, but between the Black king mercenary corps and Amela."
Jin's eyes widened.
"What...?"
"I hate to admit it, but at least in terms of war abilities, Amela has the upper hand compared to me and Black king mercenary corps. It might be a different thing in a one-on-one duel, even though she has the potential. But we never had a chance to test it."
Valkas looked Jin in the eye as he continued.
"So, it means we must recruit Amela. It's entirely different when you're temporarily fighting on different sides due to different employers and when you become outright enemies. Personally, I think you should consider the possibility of having to kill her if you think she might become an enemy."
Jin nodded decisively in response to Valkas's resolute tone.
"I understand what you mean. Our top priority is to understand what Amela wants. Do you have any specific information?"
"Exploration."
"Exploration?"
"Amela has been wandering and exploring the world her whole life. I asked her about it when we shared a meal after a battle. She seemed to have a strong desire to find something, but she didn't tell me exactly what it was."
If I can figure out what that something is, it will be easy to recruit her. An intense intuition crossed Jin's mind.
'She doesn't seem to be seriously interested in how the world operates. Perhaps that's why my teacher described her that way in the previous life; maybe she's entirely devoted to her goal.'
Jin realized that he might need to ask the current Valeria if she knew anything about Amela. Bringing Valeria along with him might be a good idea too.
"In any case, I should meet her and have a conversation."
"Indeed, my lord. And it might be helpful to bring the Proch siblings along."
"You mean Lata and Faye?"
"Amela seemed to find those two strangely cute when they crossed paths on the battlefield. Lata didn't seem to appreciate it, though."
It was hard to imagine someone finding Lata cute, but taking them along wouldn't hurt.
"Understood."
"In that case, I'll return to supervising the construction. If Amela cooperates, please pass on my well wishes."
As Valkas left, someone was already waiting for Jin – Gilly.
"Young master."
"Yes, Gilly."
Jin had noticed for some time now. Or, more accurately, Gilly had been trying to initiate a conversation with him for a while, especially recently.
He had been waiting to have her thoughts all sorted out.
'She had been uneasy due to the situation with Dox.'
The McRolan family hadn't sent any greetings when he became the flagbearer and Dox, who had been rescued by Jin, had left without a word (in fact, from Jin's perspective, it felt more like he had given him a message to be even more vigilant).
Gilly behaved as if she had committed a sin.
"Orabeoni…. No, the Black knight. I'm worried about what to do if he doesn't complete your orders, young master."
"Why are you worried about that, Gilly?"
"My family."
Gilly paused for a moment, and she continued in an uncertain voice.
"Because he is from my family….."
"The family doesn't mean anything to the Black Knight. And as I said last time..."
He paused for a moment, suppressing the rising anger. Of course, the anger wasn't directed at Gilly, but at McRolan, who made Gilly feel small.
"I won't hold any particular grudge against McRolan. As long as they don't harm you directly. So don't worry, Gilly."
When it came to Gilly, Jin had trouble controlling his emotions. He told her not to worry, but his eyes were filled with an intense desire for revenge against McRolan, enough to kill them out instantly.
Gilly couldn't lift her head as she was troubled by the situation, and Jin realized the situation a beat too late.
'Ah…'
His priority should be Gilly's feelings, not his anger. He had always known this but found it difficult to put into practice.
However, Jin understood this because he remembered clearly.
In their previous lives, McRolan didn't extend a helping hand to Gilly when she, too, faced the same fate as him and exiled from the clan.
McRolan's position in Huphester was significant, so they could have done much to help Gilly if they had wanted to.
Of course, it was impossible for them to make her an active flagbearer again, they could at least prevent her from dying a lonely and miserable death.
That was the reason for Jin's anger towards McRolan.
"Hmm, whether the Black Knight obeys that order or not, I will get significant information. If he doesn't obey, we can assume that all active Black Knights are involved with Rikalton. If he does obey, he'll reveal Joshua's secret to me."
Jin spoke again, suppressing his anger.
"Furthermore, Joshua will stop trusting that Black Knight, and it is highly likely that he will become my person before I become the patriarch, as long as he doesn't get killed by Joshua."
"Oh..."
"I'll save him."
"What?"
"If Dox is in danger of being killed by Joshua, I'll save him. As I said, he's not just another member of the McRolan clan, he's a Black Knight. He's one of the most important members of the clan, so I won't just let him die pointlessly. I saved him this time for that reason."
Gilly nodded, and Jin shrugged his shoulders.
"You have nothing to worry about now, Gilly. I'll be leaving for the Gaifa islands soon, so please prepare my things. I want to go with the feeling of being taken care of by you after a long time, Gilly."
"Understood, young master. I'll prepare right away."