episode_0031

Libra and I approached the two people arguing in front of the village of Leden.

“What’s going on?”

“Kuhaha, are you a noble? Oh, right! Will you listen to me?”

The mercenary let out a sinister laugh.

He called me a noble, but… looking at his eyes, it seemed like he really didn’t think that way.

The escort was also a woman named Libra, and since the only formal weapon was a sword, it seems that they were considered to be only nominally noble among the lower-ranking nobles, including the eldest son and below.

Mercenaries would tease them behind their backs, calling them “young gentlemen”, and in front of them, calling them “noble gentlemen”, as they lived ignorant of the ways of the world and were kicked out of their families when they got old.

Having dealt with aristocrats who are crazy about politics, I don’t really care about this much.

Because I haven’t even revealed my identity yet.

This is something that can be resolved later with a cursory apology.

I first heard the story of the man dressed as a mercenary.

To summarize the content, they arrived at Leden Village yesterday at the request of the village chief’s son, who asked them to solve a dungeon in the forest as mercenaries.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, we were delayed by about a day from the dungeon, but we felt sorry about this and tried to make sure things were done properly.

They say that they defeated all the skeleton soldiers at the entrance to the dungeon located in the forest, but their weapons’ blades went out and they could not continue fighting.

However, they say that the village chief is angry at them without even understanding their circumstances…

There are many strange parts in the story.

“Lies! Guys, the sword was weird yesterday too! It was like that before I came to the village!”

“How dare this little kid talk to the adults!”

“I saw it! Me! Wow!”

“Calm down a bit. How are you? Explain what’s going on.”

“… … I am Dominus, the village chief of this Reden village.”

Dominus briefly explained what had happened since yesterday.

According to his story, the mercenaries arrived around lunchtime yesterday and spent the whole day drinking, continuing to drink until lunchtime the next day.

Even if it’s a low-level dungeon, you drink alcohol right before going into battle?

Don’t do that even when entering a dungeon that is several levels lower than your level.

I looked around at the mercenaries.

It doesn’t look like he has any outstanding skills… … .

“How much is the salary?”

“Three silver coins…”

I should have received at least ten silver coins or one gold coin, but I only received three silver coins.

After hearing this, I could immediately picture what was going on.

These three mercenaries only came to plunder the village of Leden, and had no intention of clearing the dungeon.

Even if it’s a lower level dungeon with skeleton soldiers, the rewards are too insufficient.

If your weapon’s blade goes out during battle and needs to be repaired like it is now, three silver coins will be used as is.

Their weapons were too old to fight off a few skeleton soldiers.

This is a technique often used by mercenaries who carry out repairs on worn-out weapons.

The weapon was originally sharp… Perhaps what the child, who appears to be the granddaughter, said is true.

“The sword is really rusty. You neglect to take care of it.”

“Your Majesty, mercenaries are always busy. Are you doubting us too? Just by listening to that brat?”

The mercenary shouted and ran wild, saying, “The thief is numb to his feet.”

“There are definitely some parts that don’t seem right for a mercenary. What is their affiliation?”

“… Hey, your highness. Don’t act like you’re being such a nice person. It’s none of your business. ”

“Well, I think anyone would have questions about this. But more importantly, what is your affiliation? There are only two mercenary guilds that can operate here.”

“Ha, that’s why nobles. They have no duty to speak to outsiders. If you’re going to meddle when you don’t even know the details, then just get out.”

The largest mercenary waved his hand.

Hmm. I tried to hear as many bad words as possible before revealing my identity and use that as an excuse, but it wasn’t easy.

But it can’t be helped that I’m not revealing my identity right now.

“Then you should tell me too. I am also involved.”

“Your Majesty, you are a resident of this village? If so… I see you have a weapon, so why didn’t you handle it yourself? ”

“Not a villager.”

“Then who are the related parties?”

“Of course… … This is my territory, so I am also a person involved.”

“… … … … … … … What?”

—

Village Chief Dominus doubted his ears at the words of the nobleman before him.

Is this your territory? There is only one person who can say such words.

Isn’t that Gin Calderon, the head of the Calderon family?

He is clearly a man who has long since passed the age of 40… … .

Oh. Could this person be the newly inaugurated head of the household?

Arrogant and selfish… … ?

Dominus found it hard to believe that the nobleman in front of him, who looked much younger than he had thought, was the head of the Calderon family.

What should I say… I imagined something a bit more vile and greedy.

“Joe, it is an honor to meet you… … .”

Dominus, who had sensed the mood, quickly bowed his head to Kane.

Seeing him like that, Dominus’ son Lohar and granddaughter Mary also bowed their heads.

“The greetings are done. More importantly, a mercenary. Are you still affiliated with the company?”

“No, I… That, that… … .”

The mercenary felt things were going wrong.

There are currently two mercenary guilds that bear the flag of the Calderon family.

Such mercenary guilds sign contracts with lords, receive various commissions, and arrange work for appropriate mercenaries.

So this is where taxes come into play.

Of course, most mercenaries do not only accept work from the mercenary guild, but also prefer to receive requests through private meetings.

Just like this time, the village chief’s son personally asked them for a favor.

There are more cases than you might think of signing a contract without being part of a guild.

Even though the mercenary guild and the lord knew about it, they just let it slide.

There are too many of them for them to catch one by one, and the cost is small.

But that’s only when you don’t know… and when it happens on site, it’s a different story.

It’s possible to dismiss it, but there are too many suspicious aspects to do so.

You would also be suspicious of someone who says they can solve a dungeon for just 3 silver coins.

However, if you mention the name of the mercenary guild like this, you will no longer be able to work as a mercenary.

If the fact that it was the head of the Calderon family, and not someone else, that reached the ears of the Mercenary King… … .

The assassination squad may immediately come for their necks.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty! We will take responsibility for the dungeon and resolve it.”

“… With that sword?”

“It’s okay! Even if it takes all night, I’ll definitely fix it.”

“No.”

The man who introduced himself as Gaju continued speaking in a cold voice as if he was handing down a death sentence.

“Answer my question first. Lastly, I’ll ask you. Which mercenary guild are you from?”

—

I pushed the mercenary who took responsibility for clearing the dungeon.

This is the dungeon I came to wake up in, so I can never leave it like that.

They don’t seem to have any intention of clearing the dungeon, but if I were to readily offer to clear the dungeon for them, they might smell money.

Because that’s the kind of job a mercenary is.

Well, what could happen if Libra is here? She said she wouldn’t kill anyone.

It’s also a bit strange to kill someone just to get one item.

So naturally, I thought about chasing them out.

Of the five mercenary guilds spread across the empire, only two were allowed to set foot on the Calderon family.

There are only two mercenary guilds, ‘White Lion’ and ‘Iron Lion’.

I have never allowed anyone to act as a mercenary without a guild behind them.

If we took issue with this part, it seemed like we could give them up cleanly.

In addition, they were asking about their affiliations because they were planning to extort some money from the mercenary guild they belonged to under the pretext of a fine.

The mercenaries hesitated for a long time, perhaps because I said that this would be the last question, and then continued speaking with an expression that suggested they had given up.

“We are mercenaries of the Iron Lion Guild… …Please give us one more chance!”

“It’s an opportunity… That’s what they say, Chief. What do you think?”

“We, we… … .”

Dominus, the village chief of Reden Village, stuttered with a puzzled look on his face at my sudden question.

Hmm, that’s weird. He seems to have a similar personality, so I thought he’d immediately try to chase away the mercenaries if I asked.

“Does the village chief trust them?”

“… … .”

There is no answer in return.

Perhaps because he didn’t know my truth, he didn’t make a hasty choice.

Or maybe you think that you can’t find anyone else who can solve your dungeon problems other than these mercenaries.

There are probably only so many people who can be fooled by just three silver coins.

At that moment, the village chief’s granddaughter, who had been quietly holding her breath, shouted loudly.

“Excuse me, your highness!”

“Mary! What are you doing!”

From what I heard from the village chief, it seems like her name is Mary.

I continued speaking, gesturing to the Dominus who was trying to stop Mary.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Those people are really bad people! They even bully my dad and stuff… ”

Mary, who was quickly blurting out what she wanted to say, soon began to have tears in her eyes.

Because children are not good at controlling their emotions.

Tears like chicken poop, filled with resentment and anger, fall one after another.

“Do you trust those people?”

“… … No.”

“Then do you think those people need a chance?”

“… … .”

Mary just shook her head.

He bowed his head deeply as tears welled up again and said nothing else.

“That’s right. Do you have anything else to say?”

The three mercenaries bowed their heads and remained silent.

I drove them out of town.

“There are things to do in the village right now, so let’s go to the iron lion later.”

Still, I have to say what I have to say.

The faces of the three mercenaries twisted in fear at my words.

If you do something bad, you should be punished.

Even if they don’t catch you right away, you’ll live in fear of the fact that you might get caught by the mercenary king, the master of the Iron Lion, at any moment.

Until we are properly punished, we will always live in fear.

It was a fitting punishment for those who preyed on the weak.

Of course, I will also make a formal complaint to the Iron Lion Guild.

Because I’m going to eat everything that I can.

“Did you say Dominus?”

“Yes, that’s right… … .”

“I saw the petition that was brought up in front of me.”

“… … !!”

“I’ll solve the dungeon problem. Don’t go in. I’ll have to listen to the story myself.”