Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 83: Organizing The Roster (2).

Allen meticulously went through the list of those wishing to transfer from other mercenary groups. There was no need to try too hard to recruit many. Focusing on one or maybe two really useful individuals was much better than recruiting a few mediocre ones. For roles that were lacking, temporary contracts could serve as a stopgap.

He first looked into the Viola-Mercenary Group. At least he could trust her judgment in talent.

There was just one transfer hopeful. A third-tier member, Rugg Underdale.

[Attributes]

Strength: 58

Agility: 42

Stamina: 58

Intelligence: 11

Magic: 9

[Traits]

♦ Talented

♦ Herculean Strength

♦ Troublemaker

♦ Greed

♦ Lazybones

♦ Optimist

♦ Heavy Sleeper

The man of incredible strength wielding an axe and shield perfectly matched the front line that Allen had been looking for, but he was a bit old. However, more problematic than his age was one glaring trait that immediately caught the eye. The [Lazybones] trait that no one would choose to have was very blatantly attached to him.

Viola saw the potential in this giant of a man, but it seemed his innate laziness prevented his talents from fully blossoming. It was probably why he was languishing in the third division, and now nearly equivalent to being released, he ended up on the transfer wish list.

Honestly, Allen had no desire whatsoever to accept such a man into his ranks. Moreover, the transfer fee was a whopping 250 gold coins. …Upon inquiring discreetly, it turns out he also consumes 40 gold coins a month. At this rate, he was no different from a money-eating hippo.

Thus, the much-anticipated first scouting ended without any gains, just like that—.

Next, Group Leader Allen skimmed through the list of transfer hopefuls from another of the Top 10, Gione Mercenary Group. Unlike the Viola Mercenary Group, which had up to three divisions, they were organized into just the first and second divisions.

And this time, too, there was only one hopeful for transfer. A member of the second division, Kienote Osbor. A woman with the sly look of a cat.

[Attributes]

Strength: 51

Agility: 55

Stamina: 61

Intelligence: 18

Magic Power: 20

[Traits]

♦ Talent

♦ Deception

♦ Kleptomania

♦ Greed

♦ Lust

♦ Opportunism

♦ Sensitive

♦ Insomnia

The stats weren’t bad at all, but the issue lay in the troublesome traits. Rumors had it that the scandals weren’t to be taken lightly, and strangely enough, she fit the description perfectly. It seemed almost as if she had been cast out as she had a transfer fee of a mere 50 gold coins. Objectively speaking, for those stats, 50 gold coins was a steal, but for Allen who placed great value on team cohesion, she was akin to poison. While [Lust] might have been tolerable, [Deception] and [Kleptomania] were traits Allen absolutely avoided.

Of course, Kienote found the handsome Allen to her liking, and constantly tempted him to take her with him, but he flatly refused without a hint of hesitation.

Thus, the second scouting ended empty-handed. ……Finding a usable talent was proving to be difficult.

Of course, there was one person among the first-team members who wasn’t a transfer hopeful that caught his eye, but since the other party was among the Top 10, initiating a transfer was somewhat delicate. He didn’t want to be marked for stirring up internal discord. It was a well-known fact that, especially with the Top 10, it was better for one’s own good to be cautious not to get marked. Even children knew this.

After two unsuccessful scouting attempts, Allen turned his gaze to the higher-ranked mercenary groups. Of course, the Top 10’s Dagon-Mercenary Group was also there, but he’d rather not associate with those bastards, so that was a pass.

Regrettably, it was a pity that the top 3 easy marks of Vermandois were absent, if they were present, he could have skinned them a bit.

Iron Man, Donovan-Mercenary Group.

Giant, Alabarest-Mercenary Group.

Mage, King-Mercenary Group.

Madam, Obonne-Mercenary Group.

Mad Dog, Dolph-Mercenary Group.

Due to a large influx of mages from the Magic Tower to Vermandois, there were quite a few well-known mercenary groups as well. There seemed to be a considerable number of those who wished to transfer, taking advantage of their presence here.

After scanning through the list, Allen took an interest in two mercenaries belonging to Mad Dog Dolph and Mage King.

First, from Mage King-Mercenary Group – a transfer hopeful, Andy Brewer.

[Attributes]

Strength: 60

Agility: 41

Stamina: 59

Intelligence: 11

Magic: 9

[Traits]

♦ Genius

♦ Avarice

♦ Waterborne

♦ Womanizer

♦ Will

♦ Sensitive

♦ Hatred

♦ Insomnia

This bald giant with dusky skin, seemingly from the west, was clearly suited for the front line. He didn’t seem poised for further development, but he wasn’t a bad choice for a year or two. However, what was bothersome was that [Avarice] trait.

The transfer fee had been 370 gold coins, which wasn’t too bad, but the budget was tight. He was currently receiving a whopping 45 gold coins. It wouldn’t be impossible to offer more with some financial strain, but the issue was that he demanded even more. The salary he proposed was 50 gold coins.

For Allen, whose fixed income was still unstable, it was too much. Moreover, considering he was managing a much stronger Blind Saintess for just 40 gold coins, it was impossible not to feel that it would be a waste. ……Of course, there was a bit of underestimation with her, but since only Allen could see status windows, who would know?

He did try offering 40 gold coins, just in case, but the giant refused without even considering it. So, he made another offer with 45 coins, but this time, it was flatly refused, probably implying he didn’t want to work for a lackluster mercenary group. Honestly, it wasn’t a wrong assumption, so Allen understood and gave up on the transfer.

Next was a transfer hopeful from the Mad Dog Dolph-Mercenary Group, Geese Howard.

[Attributes]

Strength: 58

Agility: 45

Stamina: 61

Intelligence: 15

Magic: 12

[Traits]

♦ Talented

♦ Willpower

♦ Greed

♦ Principled

♦ Calm

♦ Sensitive

♦ Insomnia

The hairy giant from the East had some quite decent stats and traits. He was curious as to why the Dolph-Mercenary Group would want to let go of such a talent, but it turned out that he didn’t get along with the leader, and his salary had also been delayed for several months. Mad Dog Dolph was too impulsive and unplanned, so their financial management was a complete mess.

Finally, there was a talent that caught Allen’s eye. The problem was that the transfer fee had skyrocketed to 430 gold coins. There had already been competition for Geese. Still, it seemed to have settled down a bit as the amount had grown somewhat excessive.

Fortunately, because Mad Dog Dolph was also a greedy one leader and wanted more for the transfer fee, he didn’t quickly grant the transfer permission, which gave Allen an opportunity. …Of course, the transfer fee would be even more expensive, but since the employment cost of Geese wasn’t that high, it was worth a try.

Thus, Allen met with the vice-group leader in charge of negotiations for the Dolph-Mercenary Group. His opponent, with slit snake eyes and greedy jowls, naturally had the [Avarice] trait.

…In such cases, it would be easier to directly entice the vice-group leader in charge rather than negotiate the transfer fee.

Allen first set the direction of the negotiation and exchanged friendly greetings with the vice-captain.

“Nice to meet you, Group Leader Allen.”

“I’m Vice-Group Leader Burgess.”

The two sat side by side at the negotiation table, sipping tea. Burgess, the vice-group leader, did not readily start the conversation. It seemed he was waiting for Allen to speak first.

“…How much do you want for the transfer fee?”

“There was someone willing to offer up to 450 gold coins.”

It wasn’t clear if he was trying to incite a bidding war by not setting a firm price. However, Allen chose a different approach rather than competing.

“Fine. Then 460 gold coins, plus this.”

Continuing in this manner would only gradually increase the price by 10 gold coins at a time, inevitably seering it soar up to 500. So, it was better to make a decisive move early on.

Allen placed a purse on the table with a thud. Vice-Group Leader Burgess looked at him as if to ask what it was.

“50 gold coins. A service fee for you, if the transfer goes through.”

—!

Even if the negotiation was completed, there was no money that would actually return to the Vice-Group Leader. Of course, if he were to sweet-talk the group leader and get some money, that would be another story.

However, giving a secret reward like this meant the money would go directly into the vice-group leader’s pocket. …In fact, it wasn’t like there weren’t attempts to give bribes in other mercenary groups, but they wouldn’t have given as much as 50 gold coins. At most, it would be around 10 or 20 gold coins.

And Allen was ready to cleanly withdraw if this was rejected. It was already too high a transfer fee as it was. If Allen lost this man too, it would be a bit troublesome, so he decided to spend more than he had planned. If it hadn’t been for that, he would have already dusted off his hands from the deal, considering it too expensive.

Still, this offer seemed to definitely pique the vice-group leader’s interest. He couldn’t easily refuse, causing his hesitation to grow longer.

Allen gripped the money pouch he had set down again to drive the final nail in the coffin. It was a take-it-or-leave-it situation.

“If you don’t like it, then forget it.”

“Wait…!”

That’s when the vice-group leader suddenly grabbed Allen’s hand.

“…Could you possibly spend 10 more gold coins? As a transfer fee. With 470, I think I could persuade them…”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Alright then. 470 it is. No more than that. …And this, I’ll give it to you if the transfer goes through.”

Allen put the money pouch back into his bosom. And right there, the vice-group leader immediately headed towards Mad Dog Dolph. After all, he needed the group leader’s approval before they could start personal negotiations.

And after a while, Vice-Group Leader Burgess reappeared with Geese. Judging by the smile on his face, it seemed the talk with Group Leader Dolph went well. …He probably did his best to convince him that it would be hard to raise the price any further.

“Nice to meet you, Group Leader Allen.”

“Yes, it’s nice to see you again.”

Having met once before the transfer negotiations and left a good impression on each other, they exchanged a light handshake and sat down at the table. The vice-group leader then gave up his seat for a moment.

Geese, who hoped to leave Mad Dog’s group quickly, had no intention of bargaining at all. The wage was the same 34 gold coins he had received before. Honestly, it was quite cheap compared to his stats. Of course, there were quite a few transfer fees and bribes involved, but even considering that, it wasn’t too bad. ……And surely, he just needed to milk it for what it’s worth.

Thus, having safely concluded the personal agreement, Geese Howard became a member of the Allen-Mercenary Group. The contract was initially for one year. It was better to start with one year and then renew the contract if things went well, rather than ambitiously locking in two years.

It was a long journey that took a whopping two weeks from the start of searching for members until now. Just one person in two weeks. …Still, it was a worthwhile one.

With this transfer, the first row had been firmly reinforced, so now the overall balance seemed roughly established. After all, the training junkie Victor seemed a bit more suited for the second row than the first, so there had been some unease.

With the Blind Saintess and the Itty Titty Swordsman firmly holding the second row, honestly, there was nothing to meddle with there, so the next role to reinforce would be the third row, the rear support. Currently, it seemed a bit tough for the Milk-jug Mage alone.

Whether it was a mage of the same class or an archer, both were not bad, but if he could choose, Allen was more drawn to the latter. Also, if a mage came, the third row could become too vulnerable, causing a potential weakness to arise. If it were an archer, they could guard the third row while also providing rear support.

Of course, finding a skilled archer was as difficult as finding a mage, meaning recruitment wouldn’t be easy. Even if such a talent were to be found, there wouldn’t be any reason for them to join the Allen-Mercenary Group. …Or perhaps he would convince them by splurging money, but honestly, Allen didn’t have that kind of financial leeway.

Already, just breathing meant a fixed monthly employment cost of over 150 gold coins. After adding various living expenses to that, Allen had to budget for at least 200 gold coins.

“Ugh—.”

Just thinking about the money going out made Allen’s heart hurt.

“My sex….”