Chapter 56 - I'm the Commander, Listen To Me

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

On the morning of the following day, Cecilia kicked open the door to Sean’s room, her small face bearing a ferocious look of rage.

“Hey there, little missy, what’s wrong with you this time?” Sean asked, feigning innocence.

“You liar!” Little Cecilia was looking at Sean with a face full of hatred. If looks could kill, Sean would probably be stabbed dead a dozen times over from the daggers Cecilia was shooting at him. “I knew I couldn’t trust the words coming out of the mouth of a liar like you!”

As she said this, Cecilia’s nose started to twitch, and she looked like she was about to cry. The sight made Sean’s heart hurt so much he felt like it was breaking.

“Okay fine, I admit that I was in the wrong.” Sean could not bear it anymore, so he walked over and hugged little Cecilia. “But I did it for your own good. Even though drinking alcohol feels uncomfortable and painful at first, you don’t suffer from a hangover afterward. Also, didn’t you notice that after you drank the alcohol your Endurance and Will have both increased?”

“No it didn’t! You liar!” Cecilia had started to cry. “The only thing I feel other than pain is just more pain!”

Sean did not comment on this. It was only one additional point in Endurance and one point in Will, so it was a small bonus, and it was a change that nobody would be able to feel. After all, not everyone was like Sean, who could see a person’s inherent character attributes.

However, at this point, Sean could see that Cecilia’s stats had indeed changed.

[Name: Cecilia]

[Race: Human]

[Combat Profession: Apprentice Magician (rank two)]

[Personal Attributes——Strength: 4(13); Endurance: 7(16); Agility: 4(14); Wisdom: 21+12(30); Will: 22+15(29)]

Strength and Endurance had both increased by one point, Will had increased by two points, and the growth limit of Endurance and Will had also increased by one point each. Sean was slightly surprised as he studied the numbers. He had known about the increase in Strength since the time they left the Starfall Forest, and based on his knowledge, ‘Sharp Blades’ was supposed to increase the current attribute and growth limit of Endurance and Will by one point each. What he did not expect was that Cecilia’s Will attribute would increase by two points.

It was something that puzzled him, but Sean reverted to his old habits and decided to ignore the things he did not understand.

As such, he was currently placing all his attention on trying to console little Cecilia. After all, the stabbing pain in the chest one got from drinking Sharp Blades was difficult to bear, especially for one as young as Cecilia. Even Sean himself could feel a lingering pain in his chest. It was not like the muscle aches one felt after exercising, but pain as though one had been pierced through, so it was no wonder that Cecilia was crying about it.

He gently touched Cecilia’s hair as he took the time to do some self-reflection. He did feel that he had gone a little too far this time, but what was done was done, and there was nothing more he could say about it. He could only continue consoling Cecilia, and after making a lot more promises to her, she finally started to cheer up.

In truth, Cecilia did not hold a grudge against Sean. She was just very annoyed because she felt like Sean was messing with her. Since Sean had already apologized to her, Cecilia certainly would not continue harping on about it, as she did not have that kind of personality. When she said those things about Sean being a liar, it was just her childish temper and habits speaking.

After that, Sean brought Cecilia downstairs to eat breakfast. Sean and Cecilia both had materialistic needs, but they did not ask for a lot. Sean had only been in this world for around two months, and before that he was an orphan on Earth, so the scope of things he could desire was also limited. As for Cecilia, because she had experienced a difficult time, the temperament and luxurious lifestyle of someone born into aristocracy had already been long forgotten.

They enjoyed a simple breakfast, but after neither Cecilia nor Sean had any interest in exploring Cyroda Village. They had already seen the flourishing Arthur City, so it was difficult to get excited about a small village like this. More importantly, it did not seem like this kind of village had anything good to see, so the two returned to their rooms. Now, Cecilia took her magic tome and started reading through it while lazing on Sean’s bed without any intention of leaving, so Sean could only accompany her with a wry smile.

This kind of time spent doing nothing but waiting was quite boring. Thankfully, Sean did have something to do during this time, as he repeatedly ran through the details of his next operation in his mind, not daring to leave any stone unturned. Based on his attitude, he was much more serious than he had been with the Starfall Forest and the Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People incidents. Even so, Cecilia did not feel curious about it this time because she knew that the target of their upcoming operation was the Bavarian Armguards, and no amount of caution would be too much.

They waited around until noon before Sean brought Cecilia downstairs again. At this time, they saw that Alfred was standing at the entrance to the inn, but he had not come inside.

Today, Alfred had cleanly shaved his beard, and he had obviously gone to the bathhouse to scrub himself clean, so he looked much fresher. Even though he was close to thirty years of age, he did not look old at all. Though, perhaps because he had gone through more difficult times than most, he had a stern air of maturity about him, the kind of quality one would find belonging to successful young entrepreneurs on Earth.

He was not wearing a studded leather chest plate, nor was his physique as well-built as Hank, but standing at the door, he gave one an impression of being steady and immovable as a mountain. That being said, while the [Hercules] profession did not require one to have a burly figure, Alfred still looked exceptionally plain. He wore a coarse cotton shirt that had been washed so many times it was turning white and a similarly aged but clean set of linen pants. He seemed more particular about his footwear, as he had on a pair of deerskin boots, instead of straw shoes.

The only thought that came to mind when looking at him was ‘clean’.

If it was not for the battle halberd he wielded in his hand, at first glance one might think Alfred was an ordinary person.

A battle halberd, also known as a spear-ax, was a weapon suited for striking, stabbing, slashing, sweeping, and so on, and could be used in many different ways in combat. The shaft of the battle halberd was 1.6 meters long and was a dark black color. It was topped with a threaded clamp joined to a single-bladed ax, which had a silvery sheen, and the ax was topped with an equally shiny, sharp spear tip, bringing the full length of the battle halberd to 1.8 meters. Sean scanned the weapon with the eye of a professional blacksmith, knowing that the materials used in its construction were not run-of-the-mill and that it was at least a top-quality grade weapon with the ability to do decent damage.

Also, he had already seen Alfred’s personal attributes last night.

[Name: Alfred]

[Race: Human]

[Combat Profession: Hercules (rank three)]

[Personal Attributes——Strength: 27(34); Endurance: 30(32); Agility: 17(22); Wisdom: 22(24); Will: 32(35)]

Perhaps it was because Alfred had not been in a fight for a year, but his current Strength stats were lower than those of a normal Hercules. However, his growth limit was very high, only slightly below that of Hank’s, who was like a cross between a man and a bear. There was not much difference in his Agility limit, though his current attributes were one point higher. Then again if it was just one point it would not make a big difference. On the other hand, it was his Endurance, Wisdom and Will attributes that had undergone an abnormal increase, possibly because of what he had suffered over the past few years.

Just from looking at these attributes, Alfred could already match up in strength to any normal upper bronze (rank four) combatant. Furthermore, because his Wisdom and Will attributes had increased, Sean began to wonder if Alfred could use magic or manipulate the elements. If he could, there was the possibility of him taking up a new profession as a magic warrior or a construct warrior, which were extraordinarily overpowered professions.

Thus, Sean had no reason to be dissatisfied with Alfred. If there was anything to criticize, it would be his choice of weaponry, as it was not very suitable for the upcoming battle.

As for Cecilia, she was quite fond of this middle-aged man with a sorrowful past, even feeling compassion for his plight. Earlier in the morning when they had had their free time, Sean had roughly explained what kind of person Alfred was to Cecilia, and naturally, he also included details about his background story. In this era, while cases of wives remarrying were not commonplace, there were still several such incidents, and especially to the aristocracy, it was seen as a very normal affair.

What Cecilia felt sympathy for was the fact that Alfred could not be together with his daughter. While she did not think well about his wife’s remarriage, she would not look down on them for it.

“Why don’t you come inside?” Cecilia quickly ran over to him, warmly greeting Alfred.

Alfred was quite fond of Cecilia as well, mainly because she was a small girl that was roughly the same age as his own daughter. With regard to this, Sean had some deep-seated suspicions that maybe Alfred did not just have a daughter complex, but a full-blown Lolita complex. The thread about Alfred from the forums back in the day must have been wrong somehow.

Faced with Cecilia’s question, Alfred only offered a smile and did not open his mouth to reply. However, with their sharp intellect, Sean and Cecilia quickly deduced in a few moments that the owner of the inn must have been afraid of disobeying Sir Fregan, which is why he did not allow Alfred to enter the premises. Still, the afternoon sun was blazing hot, and Alfred must have been feeling quite uncomfortable standing outside the inn in the heat for so long.

Thus, Sean got Cecilia to ask the inn’s owner for a few glasses of water, and if the owner refused them this request, he would allow Cecilia to perform some of her ‘magic tricks’.

“Commander, actually… it’s not necessary.” Alfred looked on as Cecilia ran back into the inn, and he could not help saying quietly, “They don’t have a choice. After all, Sir Fregan is in control of this village.”

“Since you’ve already become one of my men, if they dare to refuse you, it’s the same as them looking down on me,” Sean snorted coldly, raising his voice a few decibels.

When he heard this, in truth Alfred was quite moved, but his outward expression did not change in the slightest. “Commander, how do you intend to test me to see if I pass?”

Pass?

How ridiculous. Once Sean had seen Alfred’s personal attributes, he had not only passed, but he had aced the test.

However, just as Alfred had kept his poker face on, Sean used his acting skills and furrowed his brow. “The test is very simple, but first you should go change your weapon. With this battle halberd you can’t use your full potential, change it to something like a push dagger.”

Unable to use his full potential?

Alfred blinked in surprise. Although the [Hercules] had no restrictions on the types of weapons they could use and were also able to use their skills with weapons like push daggers, the [Hercules] had a passive skill that increased their combat ability with polearms – [Polearm Mastery]. Yet now, Sean was telling him that he could not unleash his full fighting strength with a polearm. He could not help but get a little suspicious. Did this rascal Sean know what profession he was?

“I’m a Hercules,” Alfred tried to stress.

“Yes, I know you’re a Hercules,” Sean acknowledged, nodding his head with conviction. “But with this battle halberd you won’t even be able to use 10% of your full power. I’m the commander, so listen to me and you won’t go wrong.”

Alfred held his peace.