Ch.52Hunting #2

In the Kingdom of Soter, or even beyond its borders, there are those who guard the frontiers.

Whether protecting against fellow humans or various monsters, they faithfully perform their duties in the current situation.

Among these threats, the vast forests and mountains teeming with monsters have always been particularly menacing.

It was like facing an army constantly preparing for war, sharpening spears and swords, maintaining military discipline, and keeping their senses razor-sharp.

Though monsters were said to form their own ecosystems, one never knew when they might suddenly appear in unexpected places and become a threat.

Thus, it was inevitable to keep vigilance tight.

Monsters don’t wait for humans. Nor can their thoughts be read.

While they might have something resembling thoughts, being half-beast creatures, they acted more on instinct.

“Ellen, have you ever been to the Riesling Border Marquisate?”

“Hmm. I wouldn’t say I’ve never been there, but I might as well say I haven’t. They primarily focus on monster hunting and handle matters themselves, so they rarely hire mercenaries for requests. That said, it’s not that mercenaries don’t exist there. Mercenaries don’t just fight in human wars; some actually specialize exclusively in monster hunting.”

Helena passed the time chatting with Ellen, who was driving the wagon beside her.

I simply listened quietly without adding a single word.

There was no need for me to join the conversation, and the atmosphere was pleasantly mild.

Combat mercenaries, huh.

From my perspective, mercenaries were primarily those who fought on battlefields, but thinking about it, there were quite a few who specialized solely in monster hunting.

The starting line seemed incredibly distant, requiring both equipment and skill, but I could understand why people said it becomes addictive once you start seeing results.

Not all monster materials are expensive, but it’s clear they’re worth money.

That’s why many strive to hunt monsters, improve their skills and equipment, and then hunt even stronger monsters.

In the process, many die or become disabled.

“If they specialize in hunting, how are their skills against human opponents?”

“Those who’ve been in the profession for a while naturally possess excellent skills. You seem concerned about potential conflicts, but to be frank, I don’t think there’s much to worry about. This industry lacks a systematic training process, so one must rely solely on personal experience and talent to grow stronger.”

“I’ve heard that they’re quite strict about skill transmission and training.”

That makes sense, I thought, nodding inwardly as I understood the coldness of the mercenary ecosystem.

For them, skill was their lifeline and source of income, and furthermore, it served as a promotional tower that increased the value of their name.

Teaching such skills to others? They clearly wouldn’t do that, even out of stinginess.

Especially in the mercenary world, filled with rough and self-centered individuals, it went without saying.

“Indeed. So it’s natural they wouldn’t carelessly pass on skills they’ve risked their lives to learn. Some even said they’d rather take certain valuable techniques to their graves than see them used by someone else if they couldn’t use them themselves.”

“Is that the greed of mercenaries?”

“It might be greed, but couldn’t it also be considered natural? It’s human nature to dislike seeing others succeed when you can’t.”

The saying “When your cousin buys land, your stomach aches” didn’t emerge for nothing.

Of course, such a proverb doesn’t exist in this world, but similar sentiments were widely known across the continent.

Helena, having grown up hearing such maxims symbolizing societal attitudes, nodded in agreement without showing any resistance.

After all, she was born as a duke’s daughter and had grown up under envious gazes.

It’s just that the gap between her and ordinary people was so vast that she became an existence above the clouds, reducing such envy. Still, she occasionally received jealous glances.

This was due to her perfect environment, straight out of a fairy tale, and her near-perfect human qualities.

It’s just that her obsession with me detracted from all those merits.

“Lady Helena. I think we should find lodging for tonight.”

I spoke while gazing at the afternoon sun gradually turning red.

I saw no need to go through the trouble of camping when there was a domain right before us.

“Shall we? What do you all think?”

“That works for us. We’re not in a rush to reach our destination in a single day, so there’s no need to exhaust ourselves by hurrying.”

“Then we’ll rest here today… Jion.”

Helena suddenly called my name and brought her lips close to my ear.

Sitting side by side on the wagon seat, she could close the distance with just a slight tilt of her head.

“Yes. What is it?”

“If people learn I’m a duchess, it might cause unnecessary commotion, so I’d like you to handle the identification instead.”

“That’s fine, but… what will you tell the guards at the checkpoint?”

I inwardly tilted my head, wondering if there was really a need for whispering.

We were still some distance from the city gates, so there was no need to lower our voices. Hence, my confusion was justified.

“I’ll say I’m Jion’s knight escort. Honestly, Ellen’s mercenary group alone would probably get us through smoothly, but just in case.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and this is a personal request… could you pretend to be a bit rough and arrogant?”

Rough and arrogant, huh. She probably meant for me to act like a nobleman or someone of equivalent status, or someone with wealth.

I understood that part well enough, but the question was why I needed to do it.

When I asked for the reason, Helena’s response, delivered with a blushing face, was quite something.

“I just… want to be dominated by Jion even in public. Is that not okay?”

It was such an absurd answer that I wondered if she had developed some masochistic tendencies.

To put it plainly, she wanted to be pushed around by a bad boy, but since when?

I felt like I had tasted a deep darkness with no clue as to its origin.

“…Alright.”

Well, it wasn’t a proposal I couldn’t accept, and if I truly disliked it, she would have retracted her words immediately. So my reason for accepting Helena’s request wasn’t due to pressure, but simply because of an optimistic thought that it might be okay, along with a bit of curiosity.

“Ellen. Until we reach the Border Marquisate, please don’t show courtesy to Lady Helena.”

Having accepted Helena’s request, Ellen needed to know as well.

So after separating from Helena, I immediately approached Ellen and made a simple request.

To treat Helena like one of their mercenaries or a free knight.

“Me? What are you suddenly talking about? I don’t understand at all…”

“I don’t understand either, but it’s Lady Helena’s request. She probably wants to avoid standing out as a duchess. I completely understand your bewilderment, but…”

“Ah, I see. In other words, she wants to shed the shackles of her status and relax her shoulders. Understood. Since she seems to want to enjoy a kind of game, I’ll fully accommodate her wishes.”

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, Ellen seemed to accept the flimsy reason I provided, adding her own interpretation.

Whether it was due to her quick wit or rich imagination, I wasn’t sure… but I was relieved we could handle it smoothly.

It would have been distressing to expose the duchess’s secret fetish.

“Next!”

Shortly after, having coordinated our plan and waited in line, we slowly drove the wagon forward when our turn came.

“A real dark elf.”

The guard revealed a stern expression as he looked at the women standing in a row behind the wagon.

He had been surprised since we entered his field of vision, but now he seemed somewhat adjusted.

“Yes. We’re Ellen Redhood’s mercenary group.”

“Redhood…! Why have you brought those infamous women all the way here?! There’s no war here!”

Even so, the moment he heard the name Redhood, his stern expression crumbled.

It was commendable that he tried to maintain his composure, but it was sad to see it disappear so easily in the face of Redhood’s infamy.

“I brought them for monster hunting. The Riesling Border Marquisate is our final destination.”

I raised my chin high and gave a sardonic smile, acting like a spoiled brat who grew up in a decent household without knowing the world.

Doing something so unfamiliar and awkward made my facial muscles tense and cold sweat flow.

“S-so you’ve hired the mercenary group?”

“Yes. As you know, I used my connections to bring in those staying in the Krauser Duchy. So let us through quickly. Don’t be a nuisance.”

“B-but I need to verify the identity of you and the person beside you…”

Young master, he said. It wasn’t wrong, but hearing it while giving such a bad impression made me feel sick.

Even though it was Helena’s request, I felt self-loathing to the point of wondering if this was really necessary.

The sight of the guard cowering as a result of my consistent arrogance was also pitiful.

Self-loathing soon turned to anger, and I began to question why I had to do such unnecessary things.

Of course, the answer was obviously because of Helena, but seeing her sitting comfortably made me feel frustrated.

I wanted to vent a little, even if mildly. It would make me feel better.

“Ah…!”

I demonstratively pulled Helena’s waist with one arm and gently caressed her firm lower abdomen in circular motions.

If I really wanted to act like trash, I should have groped her chest, but that seemed too exaggerated, so I refrained. It would be too humiliating for Helena herself.

But seeing her happy to be forcibly embraced and fondled by my hands… it was truly absurd.

“This woman? She’s my plaything. I picked her up by chance and gave her a sword to protect me, but she’s not particularly skilled.”

“I’m… sorry…! Ah…!”

I moved my hand to where her waist and pelvis connected, gently rubbing while spewing words that only thugs would use.

Even though I was acting like a thug and had to use thug-like language, my last bit of conscience was not letting my hand slide lower.

The upper pelvis was my limit for overt fondling.

Still, seeing her happy at being called a plaything… it was truly complex. I felt more complex because I enjoyed it.

“B-but…”

“Hey, do I need to call the lord of this place to settle this? Is that what you want?”

“Eek?! N-no, that’s not necessary!”

Calling the lord for such a matter is absurd. Moreover, it would only tarnish Helena’s face and serve no helpful purpose.

In other words, it was a kind of bluff to intimidate the man before me and make him back down.

I couldn’t think of a suitable false identity, so I simply tried to resolve the situation by pressing him with authority.

“Then clear the way. Isn’t Redhood alone sufficient for identification? Right?”

After the whip comes the carrot. With that in mind, I took out a few silver coins from my pocket and waved them in front of the guard.

While offering a bribe here might raise suspicion, judging by his frightened appearance, he had been intimidated by my bluff for a while.

Still, just in case, I added a plausible excuse.

“This money is a gesture of goodwill. I got a bit excited because it seemed like you were challenging my authority, but as a guard, that’s understandable, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes…! Of course!”

“Good. So take this money. Just record us as porters attached to Redhood. That’s enough, right?”

I added a tone that suggested this was my final warning to the trembling guard.

I narrowed my eyes, implying that if he wasted any more time, I would get very angry and make his life as a guard extremely difficult.

At that, the guard looked back and forth between the money and my face before snatching the silver coins from my hand.

Judging by the flash of greed in his eyes and his current fear, he seemed to have decided it was better in many ways to take the money and let us pass.

“T-then please enter carefully.”

The guard gave a brief greeting and stepped aside to open the way.

“How much better if you had done this from the start. Good. Take care.”

I drove the wagon forward, leaving a light admonition to be careful in the future.

It was fortunate that he didn’t question why a nobleman-like person was driving a wagon himself.

Of course, if he had asked, I was prepared to say it was my family’s tradition and act irritably about it.

I would have added that my house is so damn annoying, and so are you.

Anyway, it was good that we passed safely by leveraging Ellen’s reputation, but…

“Mmm…”

The problem is Helena, who’s not only rubbing my thighs and fiddling with my hands but also letting out sweet moans.