Incompatible Interspecies Wives

Chapter 7: Childish Thinking (2)

A few days later, I found myself with Adam Hyung and the mercenary group.

I was calling him Hyung because he was two years older than me.

We patiently waited in a lengthy queue, anticipating our turn for the entrance interview.

"...Humans?"

Soon, it was our turn.

A mercenary member in charge of the entrance came out and waved his to Adam Hyung.

There was a subtle hint of disdain and disregard in his mention of our race.

However, Adam Hyung responded in a resounding voice.

"Yes, that's correct."

"...Well, whatever. It doesn't matter. You pass."

Without making eye contact with anyone, I also faced the interviewer without any difficulty.

I thought it would be something like a physical fitness test or a medical examination. But the lizardman with no enthusiasm explained to us insincerely.

"Step back. There's a seating area; wait there momentarily. We'll inform you about the mercenary group's regulations and training when the time comes."

"Let's go."

I quickly lost interest in the careless lizardman and followed behind Adam Hyung

But it seemed like Adam Hyung also had a feeling about our easy entrance, as he said to me.

"It doesn't matter how we enter anyway."

"..."

"Because this is a place where the game is decided by quantity rather than quality. We'll sacrifice dozens to kill one monster."

Upon comprehending the entrance explanation, his words rang true.

Even to someone like me who didn't know anything, it was clear that the mercenary group had little concern for the well-being of its members.

"Meals are twice a day! The training schedule will be different from day to day!"

It was very different from the great life they promised.

Life as a mercenary was not much different from life in the slums.

While the high-ranking officers of the mercenary group might live a glorious life, those like me and Adam Hyung could only survive well enough to preserve our lives.

Cold nights, meager food rations, paltry pay, and inconsistent training based on the officers' whims...

Nevertheless, the lower-ranked mercenaries clung to hope, dreaming of one-day becoming officers themselves.

The senior mercenaries who had joined earlier would mock other groups, boasting about the true rewards that awaited them after a mission—they could drink and be with women to their heart's content.

Some might have been grateful for such opportunities, but I felt that even at the cost of my life, it was a pitiful trade-off.

Of course, I didn't care because I joined not only with the desire to kill monsters but also with complex circumstances mixed in.

Adam Hyung always told me, "Just hold on a little longer, Berg. Like I said, someday I will form my own mercenary group. And my mercenaries will feel and be very different from this."

"..."

I didn't really care about what he said.

At that time, I had no room for leisure.