Ch.34Dark Elf Mercenary Red Hood #5

“Market research…?”

“That’s right! I know that nobles and those fighting wars look down on us, but we’re doing this out of our own desperation. Still, I haven’t been charging excessive prices.”

At the checkpoint of Margus County, which I reached after crossing mountains and waters, I was engaged in pleasant conversation with the guard.

It was to calm his vigilance and avoid suspicious glances.

Originally, this Margus County territory was somewhat off my intended path, requiring a detour to reach.

If efficiency were the only consideration, it would have been right to follow the road straight to Exus, the territory of the 1st and 3rd princes. However, I had my own reasons for doing this.

The reason was that I had sold grain in the 4th Prince’s territory.

A merchant seeking war profits has no need to choose sides.

I thought it wouldn’t matter which faction I dealt with as long as they were customers willing to buy goods.

Nevertheless, I felt strangely uneasy.

I was concerned I might be picked on for supplying grain to the 4th Prince’s side.

Anyway, it was good that I made it this far… but this place was currently under strict travel restrictions.

To put it simply, it was like a civilian arriving at a military base.

If asked whether entry was completely prohibited, that wasn’t exactly the case either.

Merchants who came to sell goods were allowed in under supervision, and there were also those who regularly brought in supplies from other territories.

“So… you came to sell twenty swords?”

“Well, they didn’t want to send me back empty-handed, so they dumped these weapons on me to make some money. Not much of a selection.”

To continue my act as an ordinary merchant, I had brought weapons dropped by bandits. I thought it might ease suspicion if I claimed to be selling goods while conducting market research.

Also, with a battlefield so close by, I didn’t think bribes would work.

I thought they would only raise unnecessary suspicion.

“Hmm… the goods are just about suitable for common soldiers. But since you have the transaction certificate for the previous grain sale…”

The guard thoroughly examined everything from my cargo to the documents I presented.

It took quite some time, but I was eventually granted passage.

“Here’s your permit. Don’t lose it or things will get troublesome. Conduct yourself properly.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I took the entry permit the guard handed me and carefully tucked it away.

While I had now gained the right to enter, I still had a long way to go.

I needed to separate from the soldier who had been assigned to guide and monitor me.

However, I couldn’t rush to escape, nor was there any need to.

The soldier would naturally leave once the transaction was completed.

Until then, I didn’t want to arouse unnecessary suspicion.

As it was, soldiers patrolled the village in formation, and it was so bleak that all you could hear was the sound of weapons and armor brushing against each other.

It was a situation where I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.

“Will this do?”

“Oh, yes. That’s plenty.”

After moving near the supply warehouse, I smoothly completed a transaction with a man.

Since profit wasn’t my original purpose, there was no need for complicated negotiations.

Thanks to that, I was able to receive payment and leave quickly.

“By the way, where do merchants who come here stay?”

“Some pay to stay in people’s homes, others find abandoned buildings whose owners have fled. Most stay in inn stables. That’s common for people like you who come with wagons.”

Afterward, I stopped a patrolling soldier and asked various questions.

Of course, it wasn’t free—I slipped him two silver coins for the information, and as a result, I was able to hear useful stories.

“Thank you. Sorry for taking your time when you’re busy.”

“It’s fine. Just take care of yourself.”

“Yes. You too, soldier.”

Immediately after parting with the soldier, I headed straight to an inn.

Although not operating as usual, the stables were open by order of the lord, making them popular among merchants who briefly passed through the area.

And I found that statement to be completely accurate. The number of merchants I passed and observed was quite substantial.

Because of this, I had to spend considerable time finding a suitable inn stable.

“Well now, such a young fellow coming all the way here to do business?”

As soon as I parked my wagon, a man lying down next to his own cart in the adjacent stall greeted me warmly.

Judging by his empty wagon, it seemed he had just completed a transaction with someone.

“Yes. That’s how it turned out. Our trading company has rather rough principles, and I’m just following them.”

Although I unintentionally started a conversation, it wasn’t a bad development.

Hoping I might gain even small bits of information through dialogue, I continued speaking, pretending to be someone trying to gain merchant experience.

“Ho ho. How rough must they be to send someone as young as you to a place like this?”

“It’s awkward to say it myself, but I think it’s because they have high expectations of me. My own ambition also played a part in coming here.”

“So you partly came of your own accord? My, what an impressive young man despite your age. I’d like my son to learn from you.”

The merchant’s eyes sparkled with genuine admiration.

I felt almost guilty for lying so calmly.

“It’s not worthy of such praise. In truth, my purpose is more about reconnaissance.”

“Reconnaissance? Interested in the battlefield, are you?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not. Even selling just a portion of the supplies consumed on a battlefield could generate continuous profit.”

Rations, weapons, daily necessities, and so on. Ordinary wars are acts of consuming such supplies.

And I’ve heard that when such consumption becomes excessive, national power tends to decline.

Of course, they say the economy can also be stimulated by producing military supplies, but I’m not sure about that.

“You’re quite a cold-headed fellow.”

“In my limited thinking, it’s something that can’t be sugarcoated no matter how you put it.”

“Yes… ultimately, profiting from someone else’s war is like that. As long as it’s a transaction rather than support, it can’t be seen as good. Well, even support often doesn’t come with purely good intentions.”

The merchant sighed, suggesting that support could be used as a pretext to extract benefits.

I nodded in agreement, thinking his words were correct. It seemed entirely plausible.

“Come to think of it, you seem to have been trading here for quite some time? From what you say, you appear to be familiar with the situation here.”

“Well… this civil war has continued for several years, and I’ve been taking advantage of the situation for about two years now.”

“Oh. That’s not a short time to have been trading.”

Two years. I looked at the merchant with amazement, considering he had been regularly visiting this place for that long.

He said he maintained continuous trade with the 4th Prince’s faction because it was close and the conditions weren’t bad, which explained why he was so familiar with the general situation—perhaps even more so than those directly involved in the war.

In fact, he could almost be considered a party to the war himself.

After all, he had been frequently visiting this place closest to the battlefield.

“Hmm. So I have a vague sense of how and when they’ll fight in certain cycles. I suppose other merchants feel the same way.”

Moreover, this man seemed quite knowledgeable about the supply situation.

While it’s natural to learn more the longer one stays in this territory, it was hard to deny that he had a keen eye for observation.

“…Among everything, food supply is particularly difficult. That infamous Dark Elf tries to burn everything down one way or another. It’s the most dangerous mission with the most casualties. About half of those who go don’t come back.”

Dark Elf. The moment I heard those words, lightning flashed through my mind.

It was such an intense feeling that I almost thought my brain would burn out.

It was good that I had come this far, but I had been wondering how to approach the situation—and now an excellent method had presented itself.

“By any chance, do you know any supply soldiers or their supervisor?”

◎◎◎

Supplies here are delivered at night.

Initially, they supplied the front line base during the day, but after Ellen’s supply raids, they changed the time to night or dawn.

Even so, not all supplies were being delivered intact.

If the total supplies were 10, normally about 5 would be delivered, and with luck, about 8 would make it through.

Despite this situation, supplies were necessary, and they tried increasing escort soldiers to reduce casualties, but it was all in vain.

Ellen’s mercenary band, operating as a separate unit, interfered at every turn.

I heard these circumstances from a supply soldier introduced to me through the merchant’s mediation.

As someone who directly ventured into dangerous territory, his story was vividly detailed. It would have been easier if I had known the supply officer, but connecting with a supply soldier was fortunate enough.

“Hide in the supply wagon… you say?”

The supply soldier wore an incredulous expression.

It was surprising enough that a merchant he was friendly with was mediating, but having a complete stranger make such a request was bewildering.

But from my perspective, and likely from the soldier’s as well, it seemed like it could be beneficial, so I spoke without hesitation.

“Yes. Please, I really need this favor.”

“You know this is absurd, right? If we’re caught, it could mean execution.”

Bringing an outsider into a war zone? It could certainly warrant execution.

While I didn’t know Blue Nail’s military law well enough to be certain, it was plausible that it could be punishable by death as the man suggested.

So his immediate rejection was understandable.

However.

“Isn’t this a mission with a high probability of death anyway? Of course, no war is without danger to life, but I’ve heard that supply missions strangely have more casualties.”

“That’s…”

A supply mission where one in two dies. Its cruelty was no less than the front lines, and the soldier clearly knew it, his expression hardening.

It was natural that he couldn’t continue speaking.

“I’ll tell you something I haven’t told anyone else—I came here to divert Red Hood’s mercenary band.”

“What?!”

When he heard that my target was Red Hood himself, the soldier’s eyes widened.

It was surprising that someone who appeared to be an ordinary merchant would say such a thing.

“W-why?”

“I personally need their strength for something urgent. I need to approach them to talk, but I couldn’t think of a good way to do so.”

It was natural for him to be curious about my purpose, but I brushed it off by saying I had personal reasons.

It wasn’t something I wanted to explain in detail to someone I had just met, and moreover, the story was too long.

And if I revealed the story, there would be no point in using a false name, and it would be troublesome to create a new coherent narrative.

So I tried to gloss over it.

Fortunately, the soldier didn’t press the matter further.

He had come out briefly and needed to return soon. While it wasn’t a crime like desertion, he needed to rejoin his patrol formation soon.

For reference, I had given appropriate bribes to this soldier and the others on patrol to let things slide.

“But it’s still dangerous…”

“I know. It’s dangerous. But if you let me sneak in, I’ll at least ensure that Red Hood or his mercenaries can’t harm you. That way, you’ll have one life secured in your pocket. And if I succeed in persuading them, the supply lines might become much more stable in the future as the mercenary band withdraws. Don’t you think?”

“My life…”

It’s a mission so dangerous that death seems almost certain.

So I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let me sneak in and take a chance at survival.

It was just my opinion, but I would have done the same in his position.

After all, superiors don’t tend to value the life of a single soldier that much.

Unless the scale of damage increases significantly, it was natural for them to take a passive stance.

At least, that’s how the commanders in this land were behaving.

The soldier seemed hesitant, knowing this, but I showed a confident attitude to try to change his mind.

Even while inwardly gripped by anxiety that the odds might be slim, I calmly delivered my deception.

“Yes. And even if I can’t persuade them, I’ll buy you time to escape. I promise.”

I had long since abandoned the thought of coming out of this unscathed.

I was prepared to take a few sword wounds, relying only on my body’s toughness.

Though I’d never been stabbed, I had experienced having my internal organs twisted by poison. Thanks to that, I thought I could endure.

Anyway, that was the end of my speech.

In response, the soldier silently let out a low groan.

Judging by his evident look of contemplation, he seemed undecided.

However.

At the end of that silence, the soldier gave a very satisfactory answer.

“Let’s do it. Since it’s already a gamble with a high chance of death, what’s one more gamble?”