A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

"Commission! I'll hire you!"

The rain had stopped, but the damp air remained. Every morning, waking up was unpleasant due to the sticky, heavy sweat clinging to the body.

By midday, the discomfort only worsened.

As the sun reached its peak, the humidity thickened, mixing with the subtle heat that seeped into everything.

Under the muggy midday sunlight, drenched in sweat and heavy, oppressive air, the village chief shouted in desperation.

"I'll pay whatever you want!"

The bandit leader scoffed, letting out a derisive laugh.

His expression clearly said: "Go ahead, try it."

When the mercenary captain remained silent, the village chief's face twisted. He looked like he was about to cry.

"Please..."

A few of the tense villagers gazed at the mercenaries with pleading eyes.

But still, no answer came.

The captain let out a short hum.

"Not accepting?"

Enkrid's gaze also turned toward him.

Their original contract had ended that morning. The mercenaries were free to leave.

At that moment, however, a sharp-eyed mercenary noticed movement and caught a scouting bandit.

There was no need for interrogation—the bandit immediately spilled everything, revealing their numbers and location.

They weren’t infamous bandits, but they had numbers on their side.

More than a hundred of them.

Even if all the villagers and mercenaries combined their forces, they barely had thirty fighters at best.

That was more than double their numbers.

The mercenary captain hesitated.

"Mercenaries sell their swords for gold. We don’t fight without a contract. This isn’t a commission—it’s a plea for rescue. And we don’t have that kind of honor."

By mercenary standards, he was a man of principle.

And as their leader, his decision was reasonable.

There was no reason to risk their lives.

"Wise choice."

The bandit leader let out a sigh of relief.

How could he not?@@novelbin@@

If the mercenaries had decided to fight, his gang would have taken heavy losses.