episode_0013

The afternoon after successfully finishing the bazaar,

Eugene and Joan of Arc, dressed in everyday clothes, headed somewhere together.

“Joan of Arc d’Orléans?”

In the meantime, Eugene was told Joan of Arc’s other name, and his eyes widened.

“Oh, that’s what they call me among the mercenaries. There’s no reason to start from the bottom if you live as a mercenary with the d’Orléans name. I also raised my age by three years, so I’m 25. I couldn’t bring myself to make it any higher than Charlotte unnie.”

Joan of Arc was wearing a combat uniform similar to the leather combat uniform she was wearing when she reunited with Eugene.

This is because she is taking steps as Mercenary Commander Joan of Arc, not Noble Lady Joan of Arc d’Orléans.

Having been born with the title of noble lady, it is impossible to be completely self-made without taking advantage of it.

However, Joan of Arc wanted to get out of that shadow as much as she could.

Her family members have talents that are so outstanding that they are called legendary,

Jeanne had a sense of inferiority to them,

She thought that the only way to create her own color among them was through clear independence.

So, the mercenary group registration was done as Joan of Arc d’Orléans, not Joan of Arc.

Accordingly, the funds used were not family funds, but

It was paid with her trinkets that she had saved little by little over 10 years.

“Hmm, then it’s a bit burdensome, isn’t it? Taking off your armor, I mean. I’ll just buy it with my own money.”

“No way? I feel like I have to repay you for yesterday’s debt, or I won’t be satisfied.”

The two are heading to the mercenary street on the outskirts of Pangea, one of the four major cities of the Elysium Empire, to purchase Eugene’s armor.

Jeanne received help from Eugene at the bazaar yesterday,

She made it clear that she would cover the bill by getting armor made,

And Eugene accepted it.

But she said she would pay with her own money, not family money,

Eugene had heard a lot of information about knights and mercenaries during his pilgrimage, so

He immediately waved his hand, saying that he would have to invalidate this deal because it was burdensome.

Then Jeanne cut him off with a firm expression.

“It’s much better than getting caught by a fraudulent blacksmith and being late to join. Especially since your greatsword armor requires special attention and remanufacturing, it’s not a problem to be careless about.”

The armor or combat uniforms in the d’Orléans main house

Most of them are too expensive or represent status.

Also, since Eugene’s physique exceeds the standard,

Jeanne, who has already taken care of mercenaries, felt the need to order separately.

“Oh, it’s Red Fox Mercenary Commander! Welcome!”

After that, Eugene and Jeanne headed to the blacksmith shop located near the entrance to the mercenary street in the mercenary residential area.

Then, the chief blacksmith woman there greeted Jeanne with a broad smile.

Red Fox is the name of Jeanne’s mercenary group.

‘Wow… I definitely feel like I’ve entered the mercenary street. The visual feeling of the people is completely different.’

The moment she saw the chief blacksmith woman,

Eugene couldn’t help but admire it.

Even though the districts are different, the mercenary residential area and the Grand Duke’s territory are clearly in the same city.

However, the force emitted by the people of the mercenary street

It was on a different level from that of the Grand Duke’s surroundings or general residential areas.

‘She’s not wearing any underwear at all?’

What is most noticeable externally is the amount of exposure.

As witnessed in the street scene before entering the blacksmith shop, there are many topless people everywhere.

Furthermore, the commoner dresses of the women also reveal quite a bit of their breasts.

Men tend to have a lot of display and intimidation purposes, and

In the case of women, excluding those who have mercenaries or adventurers as their jobs,

Most are prostitutes or similar service industry workers.

The blacksmith who greeted Eugene and Jeanne also boasted the same level of exposure.

In the case of blacksmiths used by nobles or wealthy merchants,

To protect their dignity,

Even in that hot place, they wear work clothes made of special materials created through alchemy.

But mercenary street blacksmiths don’t care about dignity.

They just wear clothes that allow them to work comfortably.

The chief blacksmith woman in front of me is wearing only shabby work clothes over her naked body.

‘Wow… this is romance… that’s why I didn’t think about the academy.’

Smirk…!

Eugene showed a subtle smile as he looked at her.

The romance of fantasy mercenaries in his past life memories,

It was definitely a dark feeling.

That’s why Eugene didn’t really want to walk the path of the sword through the academy.

That’s why he accepted Jeanne’s offer.

The chief blacksmith in front of him is clearly a woman, but

Through the thick macho smell emanating from her, Eugene

He felt that his choice was definitely not wrong.

“It’s been a while, Mina. I’m using the items you made for me last time really well. The quality is really good.”

“Haha! I made it with all my heart!”

Bow! Bow! Bow!

Black Hair Blacksmith, a famous blacksmith shop,

It is a blacksmith shop that Jeanne has mainly been trading with since she created the mercenary group.

From the blacksmith shop’s perspective, unless they are dealing with a very large-scale mercenary group,

Rather, when they start trading with a newly formed mercenary group that is busy equipping themselves, they can generate a decent income.

Therefore, from the perspective of the chief blacksmith here,

At this point, the biggest big-handed customer is definitely Jeanne of the Red Fox Mercenary Corps.

According to that understanding of interests, Mina, the chief blacksmith of the Black Hair Blacksmith,

She repeatedly bowed her head to the point of showing the top of her head in order to win the heart of her best customer.

“I’m from a humble background, so I have to be good at my skills! And I’m proud these days to meet someone like Commander Joan of Arc who recognizes those skills!”

“What are you talking about? That kind of perception should disappear now. How many positions need talent, why should we limit ourselves to background until when?”

“Haha! Mercenary Commander Joan of Arc, you really speak your mind!”

Mina is from an underground city that is treated more poorly than the slums, which are villages of vagrants.

The ways to escape from there are to have the talent to succeed as a mercenary, to be a special criminal,

Or some technical jobs.

In the case of women, other than having outstanding beauty and becoming a merchant’s concubine,

It is common to be sold as a seed-bearing high-class slave.

Sophia was lucky enough to learn blacksmithing skills and even had talent, so she flowed into this huge city, Pangea.

“But the man behind Joan of Arc is…”

At that moment, Mina carefully asked with eyes that mixed curiosity and wariness.

When Joan of Arc comes to the Black Hair Blacksmith, she usually comes alone, or

If she brings someone, she always brings a designated mercenary subordinate.

Since a giant man who she had never seen before came with her instead of that subordinate,

Chief Blacksmith Mina is showing a careful reaction to understand what kind of person the man in front of her is.

To put it nicely, it’s romance, but to put it bluntly, the job of a mercenary is to live by the sword.

Adventurers only deal with monsters, but mercenaries also kill people.

So, those who make money by being involved with them will reflexively try to protect themselves.

In other words, Sophia can be said to be protecting herself because an existence outside of the information she knows has appeared in this field.

“Let me introduce him. He’s a new member of our Red Fox Mercenary Corps. His name is Eugene, he’s a younger brother from my hometown, and he doesn’t have suitable armor, so I brought him here.”

Joan of Arc had also experienced such physiology of the mercenary street for about a year and a half, so

She created a false story to introduce Sophia so that she could fully trust Eugene.

“Oh, I see! I thought it was unusual for Commander Joan of Arc to bring him here herself, but he’s a younger brother from her hometown!”

As expected, nothing beats school ties, regional ties, and blood ties.

Mina, who had achieved sufficient understanding, was joking around with a look that had melted away her wariness.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Eugene.”

Chuck!

“What should I do… I was just working, so my hands are covered in soot…”

“It’s okay.”

“Th, then nice to meet you too, Eugene-nim, I’m Mina.”

Squeeze…!

Eugene introduced himself by extending his hand first,

Mina, who was in the state of coming out from work, hesitated.

However, at Eugene Schneider’s appearance of not caring,

Mina became embarrassed and eventually grabbed his hand for a handshake.

“Does she look innocent?”

Mina temporarily went inside the blacksmith shop to start setting up for armor-related conversations in earnest.

While looking at such Mina, Jeanne said quietly to Eugene behind her.

“She looks like it, but why?”

She was more macho than a tough woman, but the shy appearance shown in the handshake situation,

Chief Blacksmith Mina of the Black Hair Blacksmith Shop also seemed innocent to Eugene Schneider.

However, Eugene is showing a puzzled reaction because of Jeanne’s somewhat sudden question.

“Once the mercenary group is more established and we secure a solid source of capital, I’m thinking of creating a mercenary group village where our mercenary group members live. Then, I think we’ll need a village blacksmith, and Mina seems to be the most suitable.”

Jeanne’s dream is not to become the best mercenary or the best swordsman.

She wants to create a close-knit community under her command.

So, rather than periodically accepting freelance mercenaries, she is adopting a method of raising mercenaries on her own,

And she is increasing the sense of belonging through that.

However, it was difficult to go through such a process in the field of technicians, so she was deeply troubled.

In the meantime, Sophia has built up a deep trust by trading for a year and six months, and it is considered that she knows enough about her character.

“Oh… a mercenary village.”

Eugene reacted with a look of ‘Will that really work?’ to Jeanne’s audacious goal that he learned about in that way.

A community that forms cohesion with the heart of a true family, not just tied by money,

Jeanne’s creation of a mercenary group is great as she declared in her childhood, but

I think it’s an area that can’t be done with just drive.

“A greatswordsman???”

The three people started consulting inside the blacksmith shop after setting up.

Mina was surprised to hear about Eugene Schneider’s class.

“He said that his physique and tendencies are like that, so he chose a greatswordsman. I don’t think it’s for him, but it’s his choice, so there’s nothing I can do. Still, I have to do my best, and it’s not an easy class, so I brought him directly to Sophia.”

Jeanne leaned against a wooden chair with a nonchalant feeling and

She indirectly explained the process of Eugene choosing the greatswordsman class.

Her expression was quite grim.

“You chose a class that’s not easy to equip…”

Touching, touching, touching…

Chief Blacksmith Mina also seemed to agree with that expression

She pondered deeply and stroked her chin.

“Is it that bad?”

“Did you choose it without knowing?”

“Hmm… uh…”

For Eugene, the reaction of the two women was unexpected.

Greatswordsmen are definitely rare, but there are many mercenaries and adventurers who wield heavy weapons.

So, he thought it wouldn’t be that difficult, but

The reality is not like that.

There were no blacksmiths among the people Eugene met on his pilgrimage.

“In the past, there wasn’t much difference. But mercenaries’ skills have improved, so the details of the equipment have become important. So, blacksmiths also have to be aware of the special characteristics of the class to some extent. But greatswordsmen are… literally a really rare class.”

Mina explained the situation to Eugene in detail.

Types with good strength are usually short and stocky.

They mostly use maces, clubs, and axes.

Greatswords are suitable for a physique that is tall and has both thickness and a frame.

Also, even if they have such a physique, they don’t necessarily choose to be greatswordsmen.

“There’s also the point that Mina mentioned, but more than anything, the perception…”

“That’s right, because of the image of the dragon-slaying demon greatswordsman…”

The reason why they don’t choose it even if they have the physique or abilities,

It is because the perception that it is a class that symbolizes demons is strong.

‘Hmm… that’s why I chose it…’

While listening to Jeanne and Sophia’s back-and-forth mumbling,

Eugene Schneider was embarrassed.

As expected, people’s perceptions vary widely.

However, after some time,

‘What are those two doing now…?’

It was Joan of Arc d’Orléans, the second daughter of the d’Orléans Grand Duke family, whose pupils were shaking beyond embarrassment.