CH 24

“Are you requesting an escort?” Eugene questioned.

Delduan cupped his hands together and gave a deep bow.

“Yes. There are a total of five people, including my group and the three carriages. If you accompany us over this mountain, I will provide you with 20 silver coins. Please, sir.”

“Hmm.”

Eugene wasn’t lacking in money anymore. But since he would cross Mount Marcus anyway, it wasn’t bad to earn some pocket money on the way.

“I will allow it if it’s just crossing the mountain together.”

“Yes! Sir Knight. You are truly gracious. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Delduan quickly retrieved 20 silver coins with great joy.

“Partec.”

“Yes.”

While the two men settled the account, people who had been watching from the side suddenly started flocking.

“Sir, Sir Knight! Can we join in as well?”

“Sir Knight, we would like to accompany you as well.”

“Sir Knight!”

Almost all of them were merchants carrying loads on their backs. Eugene felt a little puzzled by their earnest pleas.

“All of you. Why did you not recruit mercenaries?”

Whether they carried their goods on their backs or on wagons and carriages, almost all merchants hired mercenaries. Even settled merchants such as those that belonged to the Palin Association hired mercenaries when they traveled. It was only natural.

However, none of the merchants gathered in the village had recruited any mercenaries. Something like this would not happen unless all of them were out of their minds.

“Well… That’s because the Bommel Barony and the Fairchild Viscounty have been hiring all the active mercenaries from around this area.”

“People like us usually hire mercenaries after arriving in these villages, but all the mercenaries must have been swept up by the lords already. As you can see, there’s not even a single one left.”

“Hmm?” Eugene expressed his curiosity.

Partec quickly stuck to his side and answered, “Baron Bommel is the lord of this area. I heard that the relationship between the Bommel Barony and the Fairchild Viscounty has been worsening due to their shared territorial border. I think they must be preparing for a territorial battle.”

“I see.”

Unless it was a noble family that everyone knew by name, it was quite difficult to find a lord with a large, proper, standing army.

The reason was, naturally, capital. It was much cheaper to hire mercenaries when needed rather than to organize and maintain an army of more than a hundred soldiers.

In the end, it would have been the same with the lords named Bommel and Fairchild. With their status, they would be in better positions than the Tywin family, but they could not fight a territorial war with only dozens of troops. As such, both sides would have to resort to recruiting as many mercenaries as possible.

As a result, the merchants were stuck in this village.

“Hmm. What should I do?”

His plan was to cross the mountain anyway. He allowed Delduan’s group to accompany him, so he could earn some cheap change. But after witnessing the merchants’ clamor, Eugene noticed that things were about to go out of control. He couldn’t help but worry.

Partec inched closer and whispered, “Why don’t you allow them to come with us? One silver coin per head, and two silver coins for every horse. It will be difficult to take all of them with us, so I think we could take about five on a first-come, first-served basis. We can escort a group of that size easily enough, including that merchant’s group.”

“That’s what we’ll do then.” Eugene gave his permission.

Partec shouted to the surrounding merchants. They appeared quite nervous.

“Everyone, listen carefully! This esteemed figure is Sir Jan Eugene! He successfully subjugated a dungeon in the Tywin family’s territory, and he defeated a group of goblins and orcs in Maren City!”

“Ohhh! That sir is truly…!”

“Sir Eugene!? He’s said to have gutted two orcs with a single strike of his spear!”

“I heard he ripped apart a troll alive!”

Although the stories were exaggerated compared to the truth, Partec felt pleased with their reactions. He raised his voice once again.

“That is correct! The Troll Slayer of the Tywin territory! The Orc Slayer of Maren City! Our! Sir Eugene feels sympathy for your situation and will take you with us on a first-come, first-served basis…”

“Me!”

“We were the first ones to ask!”

“Two! I will pay two silver coins!”

“Sir! Sir Eugene!”

Chaos ensued even before Partec finished speaking.

*** 

In the end, Eugene’s group decided to escort 13 merchants in addition to Delduan’s group. Originally, at least seven or eight mercenaries were required to safely escort such a large group, but with the presence of a knight, the number of mercenaries did not matter.

Bandits, robbers, and even monsters shied away from groups with a heavily armed knight. They could not risk dozens of lives just to kill a single knight.

“How much did you earn?”

“44 silver coins.”

“Wow…”

Lavan stuck out his tongue in surprise. He never would have imagined earning so much money by simply crossing a mountain until today.

“If we follow Sir Eugene, we won’t have to worry about money for the rest of our lives.”

“I told you, didn’t I? Sir Eugene is a very special person, even amongst the knights. But you shouldn’t rely too much on Sir Eugene. You… Are you even keeping up with your regular training?”

“Ah, of course! You saw me dueling against Glade last night, didn’t you?”

“This little bastard, he’s finally worthy as a man now. After surviving the dungeon, he must have come to his senses.”

“Hehe.”

“Is that so? Keep working hard.” Partec patted Lavan’s shoulders reassuringly as the latter flashed an awkward smile.

“Partec” Eugene suddenly called out.

“Yes! Sir Eugene!” The rest of the group hurried forward.

“Those people.”

“Hmm?”

Partec moved his gaze to where Eugene was pointing towards. He flinched. There was a group of about 10 people sitting on a wide, flat area located in the middle of the mountain. Their gazes were fixed in the direction of Eugene’s group.

“Probably mercenaries, right?”

“Yes. From their numbers, they seem to be employed by the lord here.”

Meanwhile, the merchants whispered worriedly with pale expressions after discovering the presence of mercenaries.

“W-what if something bad happens?”

“They were hired to fight in the territorial battle. They wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Right. And Sir Eugene is protecting us.”

Merchants were well aware that mercenaries unrelated to them could turn into robbers at any time. Their gazes naturally turned towards Eugene.

“All of you can wait here for a moment.”

“Yes, Sir Eugene.”

Clop, clop.

Partec and the rest of the party followed behind Eugene, who rode forward on Silion.

The group of mercenaries rushed up.

“Who are you?” Eugene questioned.

“We belong to the Red Scorpion Mercenary Corps. We were hired by Lord Bommel, the lord of this area, to protect this road. Please excuse me, but which family do you stem from, Sir?” After coming face-to-face with a knight adorned in a plate coat, a sharp-looking mercenary wearing two swords politely asked. 

Partec stepped up in Eugene’s stead, “This esteemed person is Sir Jan of the Eugene family.”

“…..!”

The mercenary bowed deeply with a startled expression, “So it’s Sir Eugene. I heard about your great contributions in the City of Maren. I am Mashburn of the Red Scorpion Mercenaries.”

“Mashburn, I see. Good job protecting the road. Anyways, you wouldn’t mind if we passed, would you?”

“Of course not. However, what is the relationship between those people over there and yourself, Sir Eugene?”

The mercenary pointed to the group of merchants. Partec stepped up once again.

“They are merchants that Sir Eugene and our group are escorting. They were stranded in the village at the mountain foot because they could not find any mercenaries to escort them across the mountain. Sir Eugene decided to help them out.”

“Hmm. Forgive me for saying this, but even though we can let Sir Eugene and your group pass, we cannot let those merchants pass as well.”

“What?” Partec’s eyes narrowed into slits.

The mercenary continued talking, stealing glances at Eugene, “After passing Mount Marcus, you will find a road that leads to the Fairchild territory. Some of those merchants could be heading to Lord Fairchild’s castle to sell war supplies, and Lord Bommel doesn’t think too kindly of it.”

“Ha! How ridiculous. Are you really treating those people as military depot merchants? Do you not see that they are carrying their luggage on their backs?”

“I never said that they were military depot merchants.”

“Anyway, let’s say, although not likely in the slightest, that those merchants did head to the Fairchild territory and conducted business. Is it not customary to leave merchants untouched even if there is a territorial dispute?”

Merchants were motivated by money. Even if they sold supplies to one lord yesterday, they could trade with his rival lord tomorrow. Although nobles despised the merchants’ attitude, they did not escalate the issue in consideration of practicality and face.

“I never said I would touch them. There will be no issues if they do not cross Mount Marcus.” Mashburn’s attitude remained uncompromising.

“Huh!”

Partec was speechless. Mashburn was acting far beyond his place. A mere mercenary could not act as such in front of a knight. Moreover, it was clear that he knew of Eugene’s reputation.

‘Is he acting like this because of the Bommel family?’

It became certain from the attitudes of the other mercenaries standing behind Mashburn. They were hired by the lord of the land. Who would raise an objection when they were simply carrying out the lord’s orders?

The mercenaries were surely having such thoughts.

Eugene stepped out, “I have been commissioned by them and I am determined to complete it. If you want to stop me, go ahead and try it. I cannot take responsibility for whatever comes next.”

“A-are you meaning to go against Lord Bommel?” Mashburn could not hide his tension as he retorted.

“I only said I would cross this mountain with the merchants. How is that equivalent to going against Lord Bommel?”

“But we were ordered by Lord Bommel to…”

“If I kill all of you here and explain the situation to Lord Bommel, I think he will understand me, wouldn’t you agree? Those merchants over there will stand witness for me.”

“…..!”

The eyes of the mercenaries became filled with disbelief. They were members of the Red Scorpion Mercenaries, and they had experienced all sorts of hardships and battles. How could this man try to threaten them in such a casual manner?

Eugene flicked back his robe to show the mercenaries that this was not an empty threat. A short sword was hanging next to the saddle at the side of the plate armor. The mercenaries stepped back with a nervous expression upon seeing it.

‘T-that is!?’

Mashburn became startled after observing Eugene’s armor. Right beneath the pitch of the helmet, there was an engraving of Maren’s symbol.

‘He has a close relationship with the City of Maren? I thought he was simply recruited to fight against the monsters.’

Mashburn became conflicted.

Even though Lord Bommel was a noble with a title, he could not become enemies with a large city like Maren. As such, if the knight did kill them all and explained the situation to Lord Bommel, the situation would most likely be resolved with a little compensation from Eugene considering the knight’s relationship with Maren.

Realizing the difficulty of the situation, Mashburn hurriedly spoke, “Well...”

“Whether it be a knight or a mutt, it’s all the same in front of numbers. Fucking hell…" someone commented.

Mashburn jerked his head around.

‘That crazy bastard!’

He was a newbie from the countryside. He had been recruited because he possessed some skill, but since he was from the countryside, he was completely oblivious as to what a knight was truly like. Even in the past, he often uttered similar nonsense.

“S-Sir Eugene! That bastard is…”

Kiek!

Eugene raised his hand to silence Mashburn, then slowly turned his head. The rookie flinched after meeting the red gaze coming from inside the helmet. However, he shouted loudly after looking around at his colleagues.

“Ah, don’t you agree? Let’s just kill him! We have more heads and with our skills, a single measly knight…”

Thuck!

A dagger pierced the forehead of the newbie who shouted with excitement.

“Russo!”

“Dammit!”

The rookie fell stiff to the ground like a log, his eyes still wide open. The rest of the Red Scorpion Mercenaries were startled and pulled out their weapons at once.