episode_0018

“What if you were a hotshot mercenary back in the day! At the end of the day, aren’t you just an old geezer in a 30-man mercenary group! And in a place where a woman is the mercenary captain!”

Kyle had his feet up on the Red Fox Mercenary Group’s table,

Looking like he was picking a fight based on a grudge.

So Kyle’s thug mouth spewed out all sorts of vile words towards Ivan as if he had been waiting for it.

“This guy is really asking for it!”

Slam!

As a result, Ivan, unable to control his anger, tried to get up from his seat,

“Ivan, calm down. You know you can’t get involved.”

Thud!

Sophia grabbed his arm and desperately stopped him.

“Looks like Kyle is having a squabble with the Red Fox Mercenary Group?”

“As expected, he’s picking a fight with the Red Fox Mercenary Group as soon as he gets back!”

Murmur! Murmur! Murmur!

In a situation where two big guys were shouting and growling,

Despite the noisy mercenary tavern interior,

People began to turn their attention to the Red Fox Mercenary Group’s table one by one.

‘Heh heh! As expected, you have to pick a fight with a strong guy to get the effect.’

Hearing the murmuring, Kyle raised the corners of his mouth as if satisfied.

Kyle’s first reason for targeting Ivan,

First of all, visually, it fills the screen and creates a plausible picture,

So he could raise the level of his disruption without much effort.

‘Oh, Ivan was from a Bronze Level mercenary group?’

Eugene, who had been silently watching the rapidly changing table situation, was also affected by this.

Because the unexpected information Kyle revealed was interesting.

Ivan has considerably good manners and even a sense of gravity for a mercenary,

The semi-armor he is wearing is also different from that of other mercenaries.

Wasn’t the Bronze Level mercenary group the one that informant Thomas testified only existed in 10 places in the Empire?

Ivan Igore was from that major corporation mercenary group.

Swish…!

Afterward, Eugene glanced to his left.

“That bad person!!”

“Calm down, Marie! The captain has repeatedly told you not to get dragged in!”

There, the upright young lady Marie was angry at Kyle’s lack of courtesy.

Then Thomas mentioned Jeanne and calmed her down.

“We have information that’s come in. About who snitched to the Administration Knightage.”

Kyle, having completely seized the initiative, glared as if enjoying the situation he had created and began to spout off in earnest.

‘Is what the blockhead is saying the same thing that Thomas told me earlier? That they were sanctioned by the Administration Knightage?’

Glance! Poke!

Eugene looked back at Thomas and poked him lightly in the side.

Eugene thinks that Kyle believes that the Red Fox Mercenary Group reported the White Wolf Mercenary Group’s problems to the Administration Knightage.

Eugene is checking if that’s true.

Shake! Shake!

As expected, the quick-witted Thomas noticed Eugene’s intention

And shook his head coolly without hesitation, conveying that Kyle’s claim was a blatant lie.

“You guys know, right? That our White Wolf is about to rise to Black Stone? Then it will be easier to negotiate with Bronze, and in the end, we can form a powerful cartel in this Atene mercenary residence district. You saw our political power that even lifted the Administration Knightage’s sanctions. Think about it, do you think unit mercenary groups or White Stone mercenary groups that are out of our favor will be able to get decent jobs?”

In that way, Kyle was threatening the Red Fox Mercenary Group through lies.

The reason he put forward as justification was just bait for the mercenary tavern crowd watching the Red Fox Mercenary Group’s table situation,

The key keyword is to show off power against the small-scale mercenary group, Red Fox.

Mercenary groups ultimately need requests.

And most requests are managed by the Mercenary Association under the Imperium Empire.

However, the management field is virtually a semi-legal zone, and because a lot of discretion is granted, the system is not very meticulous.

Therefore, it is largely done with the cooperation of large-scale mercenary groups.

So, if several Black Stone-scale or higher thug mercenary groups collude and act tough,

White Stone-scale and unit-scale mercenary groups will have a hard time.

‘Hmm… There’s a bit of a flaw in our mercenary group composition…’

Watching Kyle’s meticulous troublemaking,

Eugene had a look of realization.

‘There are three user levels, and the atmosphere is very good, so they’ll probably synergize well with each other and do well in completing quests. But our mercenary group is very vulnerable to disputes with these thug mercenary groups.’

The man in front of him seems to be at best a Runner level.

In other words, the Red Fox Mercenary Group, which has three user levels, has the ability to beat up Kyle without difficulty if they put their minds to it.

However, clashes between mercenaries are not such an arithmetic area.

‘Jeanne is stepping up directly? Then it’s an all-out war. But if Ivan steps up, Kyle will laugh even if he gets beaten up. The key isn’t who wins or loses, but how much of a mud fight he has with Ivan.’

Justification and appearance are important.

Even if you win the battle, if those two areas are damaged, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

If such injuries accumulate, the reputation will worsen, and there will be significant restrictions on request fulfillment.

Furthermore, other mercenary groups will slowly start to look down on them.

Because of such a structure, it is natural for Jeanne, the mercenary captain, to keep her seat unless the other party’s captain comes out,

And if Ivan, who has an excellent career, reputation, and character, gets involved with a thug like Kyle, it’s a minus for the Red Fox Mercenary Group in itself.

That was the second reason why Kyle kept clinging to Ivan from the start.

‘Based on positions, Thomas or Marie should step up, but they are both Walker level.’

Thomas is not only a Walker level, but also an assassin class unsuitable for one-on-one combat,

And if they send out the 20-year-old swordswoman Marie, it will be a structure in which the Red Fox Mercenary Group will be treated as a laughing stock in the world.

‘Our mercenary group doesn’t have a charge leader.’

In other words, the Red Fox Mercenary Group, which Jeanne d’Arc d’Essel Oblean of the Grand Ducal Family has diligently cultivated,

Does not have a so-called hustle play charge leader.

‘But, why is that blockhead bastard going to such lengths against our mercenary group?’

In that way, Eugene analyzed the reason why the Red Fox Mercenary Group continued to maintain caution to the point of foolishness,

And the reason why Kyle was running wild with self-importance in his own way.

But wouldn’t a thug ultimately act tough only if there is something to extort?

However, in Eugene’s view, there is nothing to take from the Red Fox Mercenary Group.

Because he heard from Jeanne in advance that there are no separate connections, they don’t periodically receive lucrative quests,

And because the accounting management is meticulous, they have never revealed their financial situation to the outside.

Therefore, Eugene doesn’t know what the thug Kyle wants.

But at that moment, Kyle, who thought he had sufficiently seized the atmosphere,

Soon revealed what he wanted himself.

“I don’t want anything else. What is there to take from this small mercenary group, damn it. However, I would like the captain of the Red Fox Mercenary Group to sincerely apologize in this place for my pure heart that she trampled on. If she creates a direct line with me to promote friendship between mercenary groups afterward, there will be no more problems.”

At the end of last year, Kyle went after Jeanne and was dumped like a dog.

A phoenix among chickens,

Jeanne has beauty that shines especially among noble young ladies.

Therefore, when mixed with ordinary people, Jeanne can be seen as being at the level of a slaughterer.

At least she doesn’t dress up on purpose,

And she is ruining herself instead of decorating herself.

So, she has been demoted from a slaughterer to a phoenix among chickens.

In other words, for the thug Kyle, Jeanne is currently the spoils of war that he not only wants to take the most, but also wants to possess.

‘That tomboy?’

Eugene, who noticed that, looked at Jeanne and had an expression that he couldn’t help but be shocked.

The proportion that imagery occupies in judging a person is beyond imagination itself.

So, even if you have extreme beauty,

If you’ve seen all the unsightly things at home, it’s only natural to feel like an enemy.

That’s how Jeanne was within the Oblean family to Eugene.

In other words, it doesn’t register with him at all that Kyle is going crazy trying to get his hands on someone who is being treated that way.

But soon, Eugene’s thoughts underwent a change.

‘Huh? What is that expression?’

Eugene Schneider’s eyes widened slightly,

He saw an expression on Jeanne that he had never seen before.

“Calm down, Marie. Trust me. Can you do that?”

“But Captain, that guy is so rude!”

It was Jeanne calming down the frustrated Marie.

‘Our precious mercenary group, I have to protect this mercenary group.’

The woman in front of him was not Eugene’s sister, Jeanne d’Arc d’Essel Oblean,

But Jeanne d’Arc Oblean herself, the captain of the Red Fox Mercenary Group.

‘More than my greed. The future of this mercenary group is now more important to me.’

Jeanne, who was patting Marie, looked at Kyle.

A look of determination in her eyes,

‘If the thought that I want to walk the path as Jeanne d’Arc, not the young lady of the Grand Ducal Family, becomes an obstacle to my friendship with my comrades, I can throw that away too.’

It was a look that she was willing to change even her existing position.

It’s easy to cut off Kyle’s head with the power of the Grand Ducal Family and erase the White Wolf Mercenary Group.

But because she doesn’t want to rely on that power, Jeanne has been trying to solve it in other ways.

A mercenary group that harmonizes with unity rather than power,

That’s why Jeanne wants to achieve her dream.

That’s why she spent that year and a half in all the abysses of the mercenary world.

But now that method seems to be selfish stubbornness.

Because her precious comrades who trust and follow her are being humiliated so much.

So, Jeanne is trying to bend even her beliefs.

She will beat up Kyle directly, and if the matter escalates into a political fight between mercenary groups, she will use the power of the Grand Ducal Family to protect her comrades.

‘Jeanne is serious.’

Jeanne’s sincere heart for the Red Fox Mercenary Group,

It was also projected in her eyes.

So, it was also shown to Eugene, who was looking at Jeanne.

So, his eyes, which had been dumbfounded just before, had changed.

Mercenary Captain Jeanne is a cool and attractive woman even to him.

“I’m great! A promising mercenary who achieved Runner at the age of twenty-five! Just watch! I’ll be the powerhouse of this Athens mercenary residence district soon!”

So, against Kyle, who was more outspoken with his spirits up,

“You…”

At the moment when Jeanne, who had made a decision, was about to show her actions,

“That blockhead bastard obsessed with women is ruining my appetite.”

Eugene Schneider started with a coarse curse and cut in.

“!!!???”

Eugene Schneider’s raw curse, who had been in transparent human mode all along,

Because the timing was so unexpected,

And because the sound quality and word choice of the curse were so rich,

Kyle, who had been in a good mood, had a brain freeze.

“!!!????”

Furthermore, the other comrades of the Red Fox Mercenary Group were also surprised,

“!!!???”

Jeanne, who was preparing to scold him, was also stunned.

“…..??”

Swish…!

Kyle, who had barely escaped from the brain freeze situation,

Slowly looked down at Eugene, who was sitting right in front of him, without being able to do anything about his expression.

‘My stomach feels a little better after spewing out curses from my past life?’

Silence,

Silence fell on the mercenary tavern where Eugene’s sudden curse performance took place.

Kyle had implemented a build-up with all his might and created the aggro,

Eugene Schneider stole it with a surprise attack.

Feeling the atmosphere to the fullest, Eugene expressed his deep satisfaction.

The words of the mercenaries he has heard so far were definitely sassy.

But the richness of the curse was lacking.

Eugene had tried to avoid mixing the slang from that time as much as possible after recalling his past life memories,

But in the current situation, he felt that he needed to show the power of advanced civilization.

‘Jeanne is so sincere, so I have to help her.’

Eugene knows very well how much his sister Jeanne suffered from inferiority.

So, Jeanne’s dream of wanting to lead the mercenary group without the afterglow of the Oblean family,

Eugene Schneider had already sympathized with how important that dream was to Jeanne herself.

But now her determination to give up even that for the sake of her comrades was beginning to unfold.

In other words, Jeanne has grown.

Because that is clearly a concept that has deviated significantly from her inferiority complex.

Therefore, Eugene wants to protect the path that Jeanne wants even more.

“Who are you? Who are you, you bastard! Looking at you, you seem like a newbie, but this bastard can’t tell where to butt in and spouts off? The Red Fox Mercenary Group is a complete mess!”

Kyle, who had finished recovering his mentality, immediately started responding.

Anyway, even when Kyle thinks about himself, he is a well-known thug in this area.

There is no image that can get worse.

Rather, he likes such a thug reputation.

Why? Because he’s a real piece of trash.

On the other hand, the Red Fox Mercenary Group is a mercenary group with a good image, mainly with Ivan.

In other words, Kyle is now trying to regain the initiative by driving it as Eugene, who is just a new mercenary, rebelling against the mercenary group’s keynote and running wild without roots.

“Me?”

Thud…!

Then Eugene stood up from his seat.

His expression was calm.

A look that wasn’t shaken at all by Kyle’s trick,

Eugene had fully expected Kyle’s response

And he had also considered a defense method accordingly.

“I’m the husband of that woman you’re obsessed with like a bitch. We know each other very deeply, you blockhead bastard.”

The defense method that Eugene prepared,

It was to claim the position of the male who had possessed Jeanne.