Ch.117117. But, have I become too comfortable these days?

“All mercenaries have been recruited.”

“Are the recruited mercenaries in good condition?”

At my question, Riden lets out a short sigh.

“About five hundred people have gathered, but it seems like we’ve got all sorts of riffraff among them.”

“Five hundred gathered in Lake Territory?”

“I believe there are three reasons why so many people have shown up.”

“What are they?”

“First, we set the mercenary pay at two to three times higher than elsewhere, so they swarmed in like bees.”

I nodded as it made sense.

“And the second?”

“The Poison Lady’s help was significant again. Hong Hwa-ru traveled to each territory spreading rumors about the mercenary recruitment.”

“And the last one?”

“I think they’re underestimating you, young master. Despite the pay being two to three times higher, which surely must have a reason, looking at those who gathered, it seems they came with casual attitudes.”

“So, they think someone of their caliber would definitely be hired by ‘Selden Alphonse’? That they’ve found an easy mark? Something like that?”

“Well, more or less that feeling.”

I suppose that makes sense. My reputation may have improved within the family, but I haven’t really shown any notable achievements yet.

Of course, that image was partly intentional.

A good-for-nothing from the eastern continent’s edge is looking for mercenaries?

Mercenaries who heard that must find it ridiculous.

They probably think some exiled fellow is just playing commander because he’s bored.

However.

By setting the pay at two to three times the current market rate, the dominant thought in their minds would be, “It’s just Selden Alphonse, someone like me should have no problem getting hired.”

And I just need to find the pearls in the dirt.

I stared at Riden while sitting in my chair.

“But it seems I’ve become quite comfortable lately?”

“…What?!”

“You know, that kind of feeling?”

“I-I’m sorry. The mercenaries’ condition isn’t very good, so I misspoke.”

“Never mind. Anyway, they’re gathered now, right?”

“Yes, I’ve assembled them at the training ground.”

“Let’s go.”

Following Riden into the training ground, the buzzing noise hurt my ears.

I cleared my throat once and shouted toward the mercenaries.

“Quiet!”

Yet the training ground remained noisy.

At times like this, nothing works better than making an example.

I singled out the noisiest one and pointed at him.

“Fireball.”

As the fireball landed on the mercenary’s hair, it burned up instantly with a crackling sound.

“Aaaaagh!”

The training ground fell silent in an instant.

I spoke with an irritated voice.

“I don’t need mercenaries with skills. I’ll select those who listen well to my words, so from now on, anyone who makes noise can go straight back home.”

They exchanged glances, then one mercenary raised his voice.

“Who hires mercenaries based only on how well they listen?”

He sneers with a smug expression.

Without giving other mercenaries time to waver, I immediately continued.

“You, get out.”

“…What?!”

Without needing to say more, I turned my gaze to Riden.

“Drag him out.”

“Understood.”

Now the atmosphere was starting to sink in.

They were even breathing carefully.

“By the way, the mercenary pay I offered you is just the basic salary; there are bonuses separately.”

The mercenaries once again exchanged glances, showing faint smiles.

That’s to be expected.

After all, I’m the first to create this salary system.

“However, the training will be harder than for other mercenaries. Since it’s a profession that constantly requires physical conditioning, anyone who has complaints about that can leave right now.”

The training ground falls silent again.

It seemed like they could be managed even without me now, so I looked at Riden.

“Riden.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sort out the useful ones.”

“How many people do you want?”

“Between one hundred and five hundred.”

“In other words… you’ll hire everyone as long as they’re capable?”

I nodded at the hesitant Riden.

“Yeah, is there a problem?”

“Are you really preparing for war?”

“You wouldn’t believe anything I say right now, but do you want to hear it anyway?”

“…No, I asked unnecessarily.”

“How boring. Just in case, pass the mercenary list to Padericks.”

“Understood.”

Even at a glance, I could see quite a few decent mercenaries.

As I stepped into the study with a somewhat satisfied expression, Padericks followed right behind me, holding the mercenary list he had received from Riden.

Leaning back in my chair, I spoke.

“You’ve worked hard too.”

“Not at all. Here’s the mercenary list.”

I needed to check if there might be any characters I’d seen in the original work.

If any of the protagonist’s companions or villains existed, I would need to weed them out early.

By the way.

Why did I think about recruiting mercenaries so late?

Or is it fortunate that I’ve recruited them now?

I would need to train the mercenaries, but they should already be fairly well-equipped.

Unlike the knights who were lazily working at Lake Territory when I first possessed this body, most mercenaries are professionals who have lived by the sword somewhere.

Moreover.

Each family must maintain the number of knights set by the imperial family.

However, mercenaries who wander from place to place could avoid watchful eyes to some extent.

It was Padericks who casually suggested it, but it seemed like a useful idea after a long time.

After checking the list and finding no familiar names, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hmm, checking all five hundred names is making my eyeballs fall out.”

“Since Riden will be selecting them anyway, why are you checking the list one by one? You could just look at the final list after they’re all selected.”

“I have my reasons. What about Lord Leonard?”

“He said he was returning to the family because Lady Seri would worry if he stayed away too long.”

“Haha, he’s become a proper person since getting married.”

As I laughed heartily, Padericks cautiously continued.

“Young master, the separate task you instructed me to do is almost at the final stage.”

“What else did I instruct you to do?”

“Well, you know… about finding a husband for Lady Miria.”

I perked up at Padericks’ words.

“Are you saying there’s actually an idio— I mean, an innocent, angelic man in this world who would marry my sister?”

“…There are more than you might think.”

“H-how can such a mysterious thing happen?”

I stammered in surprise, and Padericks gave a slight smile.

“She’s just a bit older than the average marriage age, and Lady Miria’s beauty is rumored to be unmatched throughout the eastern continent.”

“Yes, I acknowledge that, but what if they run away after seeing her personality?”

“That’s actually the biggest problem. Most of the men have never even seen Lady Miria once.”

“Sigh… still, since we’re introducing them, I hope it goes well, but will it be difficult?”

“Well, if you’re worried, perhaps it would be good to look among people around us first?”

People around us…

Everyone would know Miria Alphonse’s personality—wouldn’t they try to kill me if I suggested introducing them?

I continued with a voice full of concern.

“Who among the people around us?”

“Well, haven’t you made new connections at the imperial court?”

“I do have one. Rohan Bricks.”

“Oh! If it’s the Bricks family, they’re famous for their iron mines. Baron Byron would probably approve as well.”

“Sigh… I can’t sever ties with a friend I worked hard to make because of my sister. Let’s pick the best candidate from the potential husbands you’ve found.”

Padericks stroked his chin, seemingly anticipating this would be a difficult decision.

“What criteria should we use?”

“From what I’ve seen, my sister seems to like men who are just handsome.”

“…You’re referring to yourself, aren’t you?”

“Ahem! Find someone who’s handsome but preferably innocent.”

“Innocent… for example?”

“Someone who wouldn’t notice if they were being robbed right in front of their eyes?”

“I get the general idea. And…”

“And what else?”

Padericks, who had been trailing off, takes a long, deep breath.

“While we’ve certainly gained enormous profits from the Pale Fruit, we’ve already contributed some to the family, and the money going into building defenses and paying knights’ salaries and bonuses is not insignificant.”

“It should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

“On top of that, we’re now planning to pay at least a hundred mercenaries monthly at two to three times the rate of other places. It might be possible for now, but at this rate, our finances will hit bottom.”

Seeing how he keeps bringing up finances, Padericks must be quite worried.

With the monster wave coming in three months, what could we do to make money?

After carefully recalling the original novel, I nodded.

“Castleton, what’s he doing these days?”

“Castleton? You mean the one who lost the magic stone to Tras Cardrian?”

“Yes, him.”

“Following your orders, he finished the Pale Fruit business and is currently studying finance.”

Castleton.

He’s the guy who managed to get investments even from complete strangers.

Having studied finance as well, his business acumen should be even sharper now.

With momentum, I slapped my palm on the desk and smiled triumphantly.

“Where is Castleton now?”