I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 11

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Cousin Flower-Paving Uncle Became a Hero 011
“Where are we going now, Uncle?”
Leo asked, gripping his uncle’s hand tightly.
In Leo’s hand was a Fruit Skewer that Alex had bought him. Of course, Alex had taken a bite first.
‘The fruit here isn’t nearly as sweet as I’d like.’
‘We’ll need to improve the variety.’
Alex answered while easily letting Ibaek’s cryptic remarks go in one ear and out the other.
“We’re going to the Mercenary Guild. Your uncle’s going to become a Mercenary.”
“A Mercenary! I want to be one too!”
Leo’s eyes gleamed, and Alex smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair.
“When you grow as big as your uncle, we’ll talk about it.”
“Will I really grow as big as Uncle?”
To Leo, his uncle had always been a towering, magnificent figure. But could he become like that too? It seemed incredible.
“You’re going to become even more wonderful and remarkable than your uncle.”
That was a certain, assured future.
“Though of course, you’re already a very good and impressive boy right now.”
“Hee-hee-hee.”
At his uncle’s praise, Leo’s cheeks flushed with bashfulness, and he giggled.
‘Sigh.’
‘Who could live in this world without a nephew to dote on?’
With a soft laugh at Ibaek’s sentiment, Alex took Leo’s hand and headed toward the Mercenary Guild.
“What kind of place is the Mercenary Guild, Uncle?”
Alex paused to think.
In the ‘future,’ the Mercenary Guild had occupied a large three-story building due to the influx of refugees and Mercenaries from other regions.
‘It was always crowded and chaotic.’
When he’d gone with ’16-year-old Leo’ to register as a Mercenary for the first time, the place had been sheer pandemonium.
But that was the ‘future.’
This was different now.
Alex reached back into his older memories.
“It’s a two-story building, not very large.”
It had the feel of a remote provincial branch—quiet and peaceful.
“I see!”
After a short walk, Alex and Leo arrived at their destination.
“Right. It was like this originally.”
Standing before the small Mercenary Guild building, Alex murmured to himself. The sight felt both fresh and nostalgic—exactly as he remembered.
“Leo, this is the Mercenary Guild.”
[Pretty plain, isn’t it?]
“Wow!”
Despite Ibaek’s assessment, the unremarkable building didn’t diminish Leo’s wonder—his eyes sparkled as he gazed at it.
Alex ruffled the boy’s hair and reached for the door handle of the Mercenary Guild.
Creak—
A sharp, piercing sound echoed out. The damaged door had never been repaired.
Inside the Mercenary Guild, a few Mercenaries stood about, along with a receptionist.
The moment Wilber, the receptionist, saw Alex, he spoke.
“Nothing.”
Leo looked up at Alex in confusion, but Alex’s expression was equally puzzled.
“No news has come in, no Letters have arrived, no word at all.”
Ah!
Understanding dawned on Alex at Wilber’s continued words.
Before his regression, Alex had made a habit of checking the Mercenary Guild whenever he visited Lord’s Castle during those five years when his sister and brother-in-law had gone missing—hoping word or a Letter might arrive.
For a boy raising a baby alone, it had been the best he could do.
‘I’d forgotten about that.’
Alex smiled wearily.
“That’s not why I’m here today.”
Five years had already passed.
Wilber, who had been speaking coldly in hopes that Alex would finally give up, now looked at him directly for the first time.
He spotted Leo standing beside him.
Blonde hair. Sky-blue eyes.
The boy was unmistakably Serena and Glick’s son.
‘Wilber, you have to take good care of my younger brother when he comes.’
Five years before Serena and Alex settled in Caldis Territory.
Wilber, who had always delivered letters when Serena went out to work, could only let out a groan of recognition.
“So what brings you here?”
At Wilber’s noticeably softened voice, Alex smiled faintly and approached the reception desk.
Leo, who had been quiet for a moment, seemed to sense the tension ease and gazed around the Mercenary Guild with curious eyes.
[Do they sell food here?]
[Mercenary specials, I suppose.]
Ibaek asked if they sold any.
Ignoring Ibaek’s words, Alex spoke up.
“I’d like to become a mercenary.”
“…A mercenary?”
Wilber regarded Alex with an odd look.
‘After the letters, now he wants to become a mercenary.’
It made sense.
This was the boy who used to visit just to hear news of his sister and her husband. Now that he’d grown up considerably, it was only natural he’d become a mercenary to find them himself.
“Are you sure about this? Mercenary work isn’t as easy as all that.”
Wilber couldn’t help but wonder what a twenty-year-old farmhand could possibly accomplish.
Though his heart would ache for it, perhaps giving up on finding his sister and brother-in-law to raise his nephew was the better choice for Alex.
“I’m sure.”
But the determined look on Alex’s face left Wilber no choice except to sigh and nod his approval.
“Right. You’re Serena’s brother, through and through. You know about Mercenary Ranks?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll explain once more anyway.”
Mercenaries started at Rank 6 and went up to Rank 1, with the requirement that from Rank 2 onward, one had to pass an examination to advance.
“If you betray a client or commit a crime, your wanted poster will be pinned up at every Mercenary Guild branch across the continent, so be careful.”
[This mercenary system is fairly thorough.]
Ibaek remarked with interest, while Leo, unable to follow most of it, simply rolled his eyes about.
“That won’t happen.”
“Just fill this out. The registration fee is 1 Silver.”
Alex handed over 1 Silver, then filled out the form Wilber presented to him.
“For the Rank 6 test, you just need to complete one of these commissions. Pick one from here.”
Various Rank 6 Commission Requests were spread out on the reception desk—tasks like collecting medicinal herbs or hunting animals, simple jobs that weren’t urgent, could be repeated, and required minimal effort.
[That’s incredibly easy.]
It was only natural.
Who would become a mercenary if the test were difficult?
Yet even with such an easy test, some people found it bothersome or exhausting and simply left.
“What I’d recommend is herb collection. The timeframe is generous, the habitat isn’t far, and you can even bring the child along.”
Knowing that Leo was with him, Wilber suggested the easiest commission. His tone seemed a bit cold, but he was a considerate receptionist.
Alex was listening to details about the herbs to be gathered when—
Dong-dong!
A bell somewhere in the Lord’s Castle rang out in a steady rhythm.
[What is that? What’s happening?]
[It sounds like a disaster alert notification sound.]
[A monster? Bandits? Could it be…a dragon?!]
A dragon wouldn’t come to a backwater place like this.
“Uncle, what’s going on?”
Leo, hearing the bell ring for the first time, clutched at Alex’s leg with some fear. Alex gently stroked Leo’s head.
“It’s all right, little one.”
To that, Wilber spoke without much concern.
“This bell rings when the Lord’s Castle comes under attack or something serious happens, but if it’s ringing this slowly, it means it’s not that grave.”
“Does this mean a Lowest-rank Dungeon appeared?”
“A new dungeon? Should we go take a look? Could be monsters worth money.”
The mercenaries in the guild didn’t seem particularly tense and chatted casually among themselves.
“If it’s just Lowest-rank, the soldiers will handle it fine, Leo.”
“Okay!”
Just then, someone entered the Mercenary Guild and spoke.
“A dungeon appeared in front of the South Gate. It’s Lowest-rank.”
“So it was Lowest-rank after all. Wonder what monsters will come out.”
“But you said in front of the South Gate?”
Wilber’s and the mercenaries’ expressions grew noticeably more serious.
Isn’t the South Gate where we came in?
“Uncle, that’s where Cain was, right?”
Ibaek and Leo caught on too—they knew exactly where the South Gate was.
“There would’ve been so many people there. A dungeon opened up there?”
“Yeah. Everyone standing at the entrance got pulled inside. The soldiers too.”
If we’d arrived just an hour later, we would’ve been sucked in as well.
The mercenary drained the cup of water someone had given him and continued.
“And apparently the Minor Lord who happened to be passing nearby got caught up in it too. That’s why soldiers are gathering now to mount a rescue.”
“What about mercenaries?”
“They said soldiers alone should be enough since it’s a Lowest-rank Dungeon.”
Wilber and the other mercenaries nodded as if they understood.
Everyone except one.
Alex stood with a rigid expression.
A dungeon opening today—was that really when it happened?
The South Gate Dungeon.
That was the Corrupted Dungeon that “Hero Leo” had ventured into in the “future.”
Despite being Lowest-rank, one of the Goblins inside had transformed into a Mid-rank Magical Beast that wielded magic.
A gap of two entire ranks.
Which meant that without a Knight to handle it while protecting the townspeople, neither soldiers nor mercenaries stood a chance.
A Knight was essential.
One with experience fighting mages.
Alex recalled the history—people had underestimated it as a Lowest-rank Dungeon and died. Those first pulled in, those sent to rescue them, all had perished.
The Minor Lord and the townspeople who’d been pulled in, and the soldiers about to rush to their aid—they were all doomed.
Should he go rescue them?
Alex wrestled with the question.
He’d planned to seal off the Corrupted Dungeon for Leo’s sake, but that was a goal for when he was stronger.
Right now, Fire and Fireball were all the magic he could muster. His Swordsmanship was barely at the foundational level.
…
So many lives hung in the balance, yet Alex couldn’t afford to move recklessly.
“Uncle?”
Because he had Leo.
If he threw away his life saving others, what would become of Leo, left behind?
My goal is Leo’s happiness.
Call him selfish, call him a coward—he didn’t mind.
Alex refused to repeat the “future.”
“Fortunately, the medicinal herb gathering is in the Western Region. Don’t go south for a while.”
Wilber, having said as much, then explained what herbs Alex would be collecting.
“…Yes, I understand.”
Alex forced the words out through heavy lips.
Too bad.
If it really were a Lowest-rank Dungeon—F-rank—you’d be more than capable.
At Ibaek’s words, Alex managed only a bitter smile.
If it truly were the lowest rank, he wouldn’t be agonizing like this. Hell, he wouldn’t need to worry at all.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Commission Request in hand, Alex left the Mercenary Guild building with Leo and headed toward the Lake House Inn.
The town streets felt unsettled.
Families and acquaintances had been pulled into the dungeon—that much was clear.
“Uncle…”
In that tense atmosphere, Leo, holding Alex’s hand, gripped it tighter still.
“It’s all right, Leo.”
As Alex squeezed Leo’s hand in return, he found something strangely familiar in this oppressive mood—something that calmed him.
It felt like stepping back into the Age of Destruction.
Though admittedly, compared to those days, this was nowhere near destruction.
Threading through that anxiety, Alex and Leo returned to the Lake House Inn.
But the atmosphere at the inn felt decidedly wrong.
Sophia, the innkeeper’s granddaughter, was weeping uncontrollably, while Haron, the innkeeper himself, was nowhere to be found.
“Sophia? Why are you crying?”
Leo, startled as if just realizing he’d been afraid, scrambled down from his uncle’s arms and rushed to Sophia, gently trying to console her.
“L-Leo…! Waaah!!”
At the sight of Leo, Sophia’s wails only grew louder.
Alex asked the clerk, Matthew, what had happened. Matthew was nearly on the verge of tears himself.
“Matthew, what’s wrong?”
“You know that dungeon that appeared at the South Gate? Cain was on duty there, and he got pulled into it….”
This was bad. Very bad indeed.
Alex swallowed hard.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————