episode_0093

“I see. Count Alfonso’s territory is being used as such a trade route.”

A few days later, a guest visited the Red Fox Mercenary Group’s warehouse conference room.

None other than the Noble Knights who proposed to join the Tyrannos conflict zone quest,

The vice-commander of the order came to see Jeanne directly.

Jeanne listened to him explain the general situation of the quest and nodded slowly.

“Count Alfonso is highly trusted by the people of his territory. Therefore, the possibility of information leaking is significantly lower compared to other places, and it has been used as an important secret trade route for a long time.”

Alpha-level collaboration quests are of considerable quality,

and their procedures require their own thoroughness.

Of course, depending on the nature of the mercenary group, things may proceed smoothly regardless,

but when requesting sufficient data for situation assessment, it is customary and polite to provide a certain level of information.

Jeanne made such a request to the opposing Knights before making a concrete decision,

and in response, the quest-hosting Noble Knights dispatched a person directly.

Against that background, the vice-commander of the Noble Knights told Jeanne, the collaboration partner, the detailed inside story of the quest.

In knight society, there are two groups of official knights.

The first is the Imperial Knights, and the second is the Noble Knights.

The Imperial Knights usually consist of elite noble swordsmen who have graduated from the academy,

or a very small number of commoners with considerable experience are incorporated.

On the other hand, the Noble Knights include swordsmen from lower-ranking noble backgrounds,

and their main task is to protect the territories of nobles.

The name of the Noble Knights who requested collaboration with the Red Fox Mercenary Group is the Iron Cross Knights,

a Noble Knights order affiliated with nobles close to the Holy See,

and the name of the vice-commander was Davis.

‘Hmm, I was a little scared, but fortunately, he doesn’t recognize me. It helped that I unintentionally didn’t go to social gatherings after puberty.’

Jeanne pretended to read quest-related documents while maintaining the dignity of the mercenary leader, but subtly watched Davis’s reaction.

After all, she wondered if Davis, being a noble, would recognize her, the second daughter of the Grand Duke’s family.

However, since Jeanne’s mercenary appearance debuffed her beauty by more than 25 percent,

it was difficult for Davis, a lower-ranking noble, to recognize her.

Of course, Charlotte, who is famous throughout the entire empire, would have recognized her,

but as Jeanne said, she did not engage in external activities involving nobles as much as Elizabeth,

so few people know her face unless they are nobles of the same level, even if they know her name.

“Is the Tyrannos’ forces that strong? If the Iron Cross Knights were to unite with other Noble Knights, it seems like it wouldn’t be difficult to defend.”

With her worries about her identity being revealed gone, Jeanne began to ask about the specifics of the operation.

The quest is to protect the trade route for a certain period,

so it’s not a very aggressive quest.

That is why Jeanne is curious.

Usually, when knights call on ordinary mercenaries, they often request collaboration for assault troops.

However, in Jeanne’s view, there seems to be little possibility of such a situation occurring in this quest.

Therefore, she couldn’t understand why they had called on them, who are mercenaries from other regions, and not mercenaries near the area.

“It was a decision based on the problem of information leaks. The situation was created because it was leaked that Count Alfonso’s territory was being used as a secret trade route for the empire in the first place.”

Davis’s answer was confidentiality.

In other words, they needed a mercenary group that was not only skilled but also trustworthy enough to prevent information leaks,

and the Red Fox Mercenary Group was a mercenary group that met those criteria, so they requested it.

‘Huh? This is too radical? I’d rather they say it’s because we look incredibly skilled. Has our mercenary group’s good behavior spread all the way to Alexandria?’

Jeanne was rather puzzled by the nuance.

The quest request location is Alexandria, a city far to the south of Pangea,

Skill can be roughly determined by looking at experience and stats even if you are far away, but not reputation.

So Jeanne is suspicious of the Iron Cross Knights mentioning something other than skill.

‘He’s polite and doesn’t have any suspicious eyes. He feels like a typical young master who grew up well-educated and loved.’

However, in Jeanne’s view, who has begun to develop an eye for people as a mercenary leader,

the image of the Iron Cross Knights, with the easygoing Davis as vice-commander, doesn’t seem to be one that engages in scheming.

‘More than anything, I like the quest. There is little chance that Eugene will directly meet a sophist.’

However, it is forbidden to make judgments about people’s hearts.

The reason why Jeanne wants to make the final choice to accept the quest is

because there seem to be few variables that could occur to Eugene since it is not a quest that goes deep into enemy territory.

“Wow~ It’s been a while since I’ve been to Alexandria, right? I couldn’t even go there when I was doing wandering mercenary work.”

As a result, Jeanne eventually accepted the quest.

Because she is a woman who only thinks about Eugene.

As a result, a few days later, the Red Fox Mercenary Group headed to Count Alfonso’s territory in Alexandria.

As the many high fortress walls of Pangea disappeared and the wide plains and fields unique to Alexandria began to appear, Ivan’s face looked filled with new emotions.

“It’s different now that we’re a ‘Plus’ group~ The Noble Knights are treating us so well and escorting us~”

Sophia also got excited.

The Alexandria expedition is a long journey that cannot be compared to the Dark Forest with Jebo.

In that case, even if the Red Fox Mercenary Group is a 30-person, White Stone-level mercenary group, a considerable amount of expenses will be incurred.

Of course, in this case, the requesting side is responsible for the expenses,

but the Iron Cross Knights went beyond that level and not only lent horses to everyone but also attached camp support personnel.

As a result, the Red Fox Mercenary Group, which is currently on an expedition, has become a truly luxurious mercenary group.

As a result, the secular priest Sophia is filled with the secular honor she so desired.

“How are you, Priscilla? How does it feel to be on such a high-class carriage and going on a long trip?”

At that moment, Marie, with an excited voice, looked back while riding a horse and mentioned Priscilla.

Usually, when the Red Fox Mercenary Group went on an expedition, Priscilla traveled in a cart loaded with supplies.

But not now.

Priscilla is riding on a fairly large carriage and diligently looking at the surrounding scenery.

It is quite a valuable supply carriage, and this was also supported by the Iron Cross Knights.

“It doesn’t rattle, so it’s so good. I don’t have to worry about motion sickness. Marie, come up here too. There are no dangerous elements in this area anyway. *smooch*!”

For Priscilla, an elf who likes to climb out the window or to high places to see the scenery, this is the best travel situation.

Furthermore, it was difficult to sip fruit juice when riding in a cart because it rattled,

but the current carriage has such a good ride that she can sip fruit juice even when she is on top of it.

Therefore, Priscilla, who is very satisfied, suggested that Marie join her.

“The safer it looks, the more we need to strengthen our vigilance, Priscilla-ssi! So I will thoroughly guard Priscilla-ssi so that your enjoyable trip continues!”

“Oh my, that stubborn little kid.”

It was a romantic suggestion, but it was useless against Marie.

“The treatment is beyond imagination. Is it always like this? Is it because we’re a Plus mercenary group, like Sophia said?”

Eugene has little mercenary experience and has no comparison group, so he doesn’t know how great this situation is.

Still, the reactions of the surrounding colleagues are so overwhelming,

he asked Jeanne next to him in a whisper, feeling doubtful.

“That’s impossible. If the opponent is a Noble Knights order, to be honest, it’s already a blessing if they don’t speak informally and treat us as equal colleagues. This level is almost… friends? You should see it as a treatment for friends on the battlefield.”

Jeanne answered Eugene’s question, sticking her tongue out slightly.

Jeanne told Iron Cross Knights Vice Commander David that she would finalize the acceptance and signed the contract,

Then she was dumbfounded by the support details that David began to pour out.

She even felt sorry for thinking that there might be an ulterior motive just before.

“Friends… Jeanne, do you have a friend living in Alexandria? Maybe they recognized you.”

Then Eugene asked additional questions.

In his opinion, it is clear that it is related to someone in the Red Fox Mercenary Group.

In that case, wouldn’t it be a human relationship on a slightly larger scale?

There is a certain amount of unwritten rule, so Eugene did not ask about the pasts of other colleagues.

Based on that, the most likely scenario is that her friend, who recognized the identity of Grand Duke’s daughter Jeanne, is doing this.

“I don’t have any friends. Just that someone I hate lived there for a while? And usually, the relationship between young ladies is not that romantic. How fierce is the battle of wills? No matter how close we are, this feeling is over the top.”

However, Eugene’s assumption was wrong.

Jeanne has never lived a life that would warrant such hospitality.

Of course, Jeanne has something to say.

The noble young lady society itself was too incompatible with her physiology.

That’s why she stopped going to social gatherings since her puberty before becoming an adult.

That unique battle of wits and bragging,

Especially Jeanne was more stressed because she was treated as an oddball when she joined there.

“Someone you hate? Is that person someone I know? It seems like the anger that just surged up wasn’t a joke?”

The moment Jeanne answered Eugene, her eyebrows twitched subtly.

Eugene immediately noticed and dug into it, as it was a question thrown out at a general level of curiosity.

“How would you know? It’s someone I mainly bickered with before you came to our house. Of course, I saw her face and bickered with her a few times after you came, but that was outside, so whatever. So even if I told you, you wouldn’t know, so just don’t worry about it.”

“Tch, that’s a shame…”

However, Jeanne immediately recognized Eugene’s playful tone and cut him off decisively.

Looking at her outward personality, it seems like Jeanne would tell Eugene everything she had suffered and experienced,

But since she was young, she was not the type to tell Eugene what happened outside.

That’s why Eugene felt even more sorry for her, who was suffering from inferiority complex in the midst of a family of geniuses.

It means that she was truly hurt in her heart.

‘But I’m really curious? Who is it that Jeanne hates? Judging from the young lady thing, she seems to be a noble young lady.’

However, Eugene of that time and Eugene of now are different people.

Just Eugene Schneider, a male who is only interested in everything about Jeanne,

It is so fun to imagine Jeanne’s face turning red next to someone she hates.

The expedition to Alexandria began with so many questions rampant,

When they arrived at the Iron Cross Knights camp in Count Alfonso’s territory in Alexandria after traveling for two days, all of Eugene’s questions were resolved.