Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 3: The Young Master (3).

Allen went to visit the injured victims of the monster attack, bringing gifts. Of course, on the surface, it appeared as a visit to the sick, but in reality, it was to gather information about the monster. That way, he could write a detailed hiring plan.

– It ran on four legs. Looked like a puppy, but…, oh, sorry, it looked like a dog, but had multiple eyes. The eyes were also blood-red. …and were there four of them?

– It resembled a burnt stray dog. It was as big as a wolf. Its skin was shiny, and it had no fur at all. It was so grotesque that I almost peed myself at the sight.

He quickly deduced the identity of the monster from various eyewitness accounts.

The monster Nasmoon, also known as the Demon Hound—

It was a low level monster but usually moved in groups and also had a somewhat high intelligence, making them slightly annoying to deal with. Especially since they can’t resist human flesh, once they target their prey, they rarely give up… One of the particularly troublesome monsters when standing guard at night in the Demon lands. Ji-hoo had even reduced the night watch of the mercenary group to a minimum to conserve energy, but unfortunately, they were completely wiped out by these creatures.

Still, Allen considered it fortunate that the identity of the monster was a demon hound. The level of mercenaries he had seen wandering around the city wasn’t exactly impressive. If it had been a stronger monster than a demon hound, they would undoubtedly have struggled.

That doesn’t mean dealing with a demon hound is easy, but since it’s a monster often used in the early development of mercenary groups, if you position yourself well, even a D-rank mercenary could handle it.

‘Now that the monster to be dealt with has been identified, it’s time to hire mercenaries.’

Following the customs of this region, one would typically form a mercenary group through recommendations from the head of the Berge branch of the mercenary guild, but of course, Allen didn’t do that. He tended to avoid recommended hires whenever possible.

Of course, there are cases where one is recommended based on skill, but in the southern region, where the level of mercenaries is generally poor, recommendations are mostly based on connections. In such cases, the failure rate is usually extremely high, which means that some useless brat ends up eating up a ton of money.

Anyway,

Having completed the plan, Allen spread recruitment notices throughout the city. And the mercenaries were freshly shocked by it.

In fact, there was nothing particularly unusual about the recruitment announcement itself. The real shock was in the contract details.

– At the time of contract, half of the employment fee is paid in advance.

It was unheard of for anyone but high-rank mercenaries to receive half of the employment fee upfront upon signing the contract, rather than after completing the mission. Nobles generally didn’t trust low-rank mercenaries much to begin with. Especially not for short-term employment, let alone long-term.

In that regard, the contract details Allen had laid out were certainly groundbreaking. Naturally, it was enough to attract the attention of the mercenaries.

And it seemed that the contents had also reached the ears of Baron Pomwell, as not long after Allen had posted the recruitment announcement, he soon received a summons from the baron.

…I knew it would come to this.

Allen, having anticipated this, headed to the baron’s study as if he had been waiting for it. After all, the baron, who was obsessed with money, would not just sit idly by and watch his son’s foolishness.

As soon as Allen entered the study, Baron Pomwell threw the recruitment notice he was holding towards his son and scolded him in a stern voice.

“What on earth is this nonsense—!”

“What are you referring to….”

“The contract you put out.”

“…You mean the advance payment.”

“Yes—!”

Allen smiled leisurely even under his father’s fierce gaze. It was an action that Allen, no, Ji-hoo, could never dream of if he were his usual timid self.

“I thought it would be more efficient.”

“Efficient? What efficiency? Did you not think that those people would just take the money and run?!”

“They won’t. I will personally select those who won’t. Don’t worry.”

“No. I can’t just watch when it’s clear we’re going to take a loss.”

It was the expected response. So, Allen brought up the words he had prepared.

“I’ll cover the advance payment with my own money. If there’s a problem, I’ll handle it on my end.”

The baron’s eyes narrowed further. Conversely, his son’s smile deepened.

“Father, you’ve entrusted this matter entirely to me, have you not? Then please trust me until the end. It won’t be too late to make a judgment after the results are in.”

“…I absolutely hate knowing I’m being taken advantage of.”

“I understand. Whatever the outcome, I will take full responsibility.”

Seeing his son’s unwavering stance, the father eventually stepped back.

The baron backing down so easily was quite an unusual occurrence. Even Allen, who had anticipated a lengthy persuasion, found this reaction unexpected.

“…Fine. I’ll watch. You may leave.”

“Yes.”

Exiting the study, Allen heaved a sigh of relief. He had struggled quite a bit to calm his inherently timid and faint-hearted nature.

Still…, things went smoother than expected.

Convincing the baron this time was crucial for the future of the mercenary business. …Fortunately, persuading the fastidious baron turned out to be much easier than anticipated.

Nevertheless, with the baron’s permission now secured, Allen had nothing to worry about.

…And as expected, the number of mercenaries applying after seeing the recruitment notice increased exponentially.

…Advance payment?

Upon seeing the notice posted by Allen, Charlotte, the granddaughter of the count, furrowed her brows in a peculiar way.

She never imagined that the contract would include an advance payment… No, to begin with, she had no idea that Allen, that coward, would take on this job. Especially since he was a complete outsider in this field, yet he dared to recruit directly.

‘Hmph, acting all high and mighty.’

No matter how she thought about it, there weren’t any benefits. She thought the advance payment appeared to be nothing but an unnecessary show of bravado.

‘It’s not even for long-term employment. Who gives an advance for short-term employment? Especially to low-ranked mercenaries who can’t even be trusted!’

From the perspective of someone in the mercenary business, she could clearly see his failure looming. The problem is that this failure won’t just end with that bastard.

This subjugation mission was a task jointly undertaken by the owners who held a certain percentage of the mine’s ownership. This meant that if the Pomwell family, who held a significant share, failed to properly handle the task, it would result in losses for everyone involved.

‘That would be intolerable.’

Thus, Charlotte found herself rummaging through papers to write a warning letter to that timid fellow Allen, telling him to stop messing around and handle things properly, when suddenly a thought struck her.

‘…No, wait. Let’s think this through….’

Perhaps this was an opportunity for her. An opportunity to stand out among the subjugation team!

In the peaceful city of Berge, without any significant conflicts, it was not easy to showcase one’s talents as a commander or strategist. Here, the use of mercenaries was mostly limited to occasional subjugation missions, and frankly, that alone was not enough to stand out.

However, it was a different story when the other subjugation teams were incompetent. If her mercenary group performed well while the others did poorly, it could definitely prove her talent to be exceptional. With a better reputation, she could hire more skilled mercenaries and even expand her business to neighboring cities. After all, it wasn’t easy to find work in her hometown of Berge.

With that thought, she decided against writing a letter to that timid guy.

‘…It seems you’re underestimating the mercenary business, let’s see if it’s as easy as you think.’

In fact, the mercenary business was one where almost all nobles jumped in, unlike other ventures. Especially in the conflict-ridden eastern and northern regions, unlike the relatively peaceful western and southern areas, the mercenary business was practically akin to war. The difference in power depending on how many good mercenaries you had was stark, and a misstep could decide the rise or fall of a family. There was even a case where a dispute over a single mercenary led to a territorial war.

In that regard, Charlotte was not pleased with the indifferent attitude of the Count’s family towards the mercenary business. A great mercenary group was both the military strength and the pride of a Count’s family, but with such lukewarm investment, the quality of the mercenary group that could represent them was bound to be subpar.

Even now, despite offering to treat them well at high prices, capable mercenaries would be reluctant to come. They probably didn’t want to waste their careers by joining a third-rate mercenary group. Rather, the preference of the majority was to join a first-class mercenary group, even if it meant being in the reserves, and add another line to their splendid careers.

Therefore, if she demonstrated her excellent leadership and strategic talent in this mission, there was a high possibility that it could serve as an opportunity to overturn this miserable reputation to some extent. Then, the Count’s family would recognize the potential and invest more actively.

‘Yes, let’s do that.’

Charlotte resolved firmly.

‘Let’s take this opportunity to make a great leap forward using the subjugation team as a stepping stone.’

To widely promote her talent.

And thus, become the owner of the greatest mercenary group that the whole continent envies.

Her goal was big.

…Quite big.