Chapter 54: My Comrade (1)

Chapter 54: My Comrade (1)

Although Henry expected that his plan would need ten days to execute, it was completed in two days.

After finishing his business, Henry rested for a few days before he departed Enkelmann with Von.

As they rode to Vivaldi, Henry asked, “By the way, brother, have you heard anything about the others?” Henry hoped that Von was in contact with the others.

“I’m afraid I don’t know how the others are doing. They all scattered and went into hiding.”

“I see.”

Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone was busy trying to survive.

“But no news means good news, so let's consider it good that we haven't heard from them.”

“I hope so as well.”

“It’s thanks to my lord that we have survived. If my lord had not commanded us to separate, we would have died dreadfully in the empire.”

Following Henry’s orders to leave the empire and go into hiding had turned out to be the best choice. Otherwise, they would have all been purged.

“Aside from those who were close to you, do you know the whereabouts of the people that Master was protecting?”

“They were all banished.”

“What? Banished?”

“Since my lord carried the weight of treason on his own, they managed to survive, but they still couldn't shake off being labeled traitors.”

‘What the hell?!’

It was the first time he had heard about this. The emperor promised to guarantee the safety of Henry’s family in exchange for Henry’s life, but Von was saying that the situation had turned out differently.

“I heard that they were banished to the edge of the continent, because they could never repair their tarnished reputation. I don’t know the details, all I know is that they were sent north to Salgaera.”

“You mean Salgaera, the land buried in snow?”

“Yes.”

‘Those bastards!’

Salgaera was the only place on the continent where it snowed all year long. It was frequently hit with cold fronts, and the terrible changes in the climate made it impossible to live there. Being exiled to such a place was tantamount to being sentenced to death.

‘I’m sure those damned nobles suggested it...’

Henry had never believed that they would keep their promise but this was worse than execution. He decided that he would look into the matter as soon as he arrived in Vivaldi. It was hard to believe that they were still alive, but if even a single person survived, he had to rescue them at all costs.

‘Those fucking bastards...’

After their conversation, Henry was so enraged that he couldn’t even bear to open his mouth during the entire journey to Vivaldi. He was furious at the emperor and the nobles, but mostly, he was enraged by the fact that he couldn’t do anything even though he knew of the situation.

Von seemed to notice Henry’s feelings since he also did not speak a word during their entire journey to Vivaldi.

***

“You live in a nice house.”

“This is not my house, I’m only living in it.”

Once they arrived at Ten’s mansion, Von couldn’t help admiring its size o. It was said that a person's house was a measure of their capability, but the house was much nicer than Henry expected.

As soon as Henry entered the mansion, the servants who saw him hurried to greet him. The servants knew that their real master was now Henry and not Ten.

Ten had been sunning himself, and he hurriedly straightened his clothes when Henry appeared.

“You’ve arrived already?”

“Yes, things worked out more easily than I expected.”

“And who is the person standing next to you?”

“This is Sir Von, he will be the second-in-command of the mercenary corps.”

“Nice to meet you, my name is Von.” Von reached out for a handshake. As Ten grasped his hand, he could not shake off a sense of familiarity.

‘Von? I’ve heard this name before... It can't be the Von from the imperial palace, can it?’

“He is exactly the person you’re thinking about.”

“H-huh? What do you mean?” Ten cocked his head in confusion.

“Due to certain circumstances, Von will be working with us, so don’t show off what you know.”

Henry decided to reveal Von’s identity since it was too much of a bother hiding it, especially considering that they would be staying together anyway.

“I-I apologize for not recognizing Your Highness, Grand Duke Von. How could I make such a mistake...!”

“No need to call me ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Grand Duke,’ please address me in a manner that makes you feel comfortable.”

“B-but how can I dare choose how to address a high-ranking knight from the imperial palace...”

“Stop making a fuss, it's annoying. Anyway, how did the entrance exam go?”

“About that... Apart from Hagler, no one else has passed the first test.”

“Still?”

“Yes.”

“What about the rumors I’ve asked you to investigate?”

“I am digging through the rumors in each region, and most of them are false.”

“There’s no smoke without fire. Tell them to take it easy because it’s not urgent.”

“Alright.”

As Ten updated Henry on what was going on, Von’s curiosity was piqued when he heard the words “entrance exam.”

“Henry, what do you mean by ‘entrance exam’?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds. Those who wish to join our mercenary team must take an entrance exam. Just because we are a new mercenary corps, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have standards for our members, right?”

“Interesting. Do you think I can take the entrance exam too?”

“You want to? I’m sure it would be too easy for you, brother.”

“I’ll think of it as a little game. Plus, I need entertainment to recover from our trip.”

The test wasn’t even good enough to be a game for Von, but Henry still allowed him to try it.

“In the meantime, I will visit Mayor Vant. Ten, you can direct my brother to the first test and prepare a room for him.”

“Alright.”

Henry changed his clothes and left the mansion.

***

Not long after Henry left the mansion, he noticed a familiar group: Hagler’s family.

“Are you coming back from a vacation?” Henry greeted them since he noticed them first.

“Oh, aren’t you the leader? I didn’t know you were already here.”

Hagler quickly bowed and greeted Henry as soon as he realized who it was. Nia, who was holding a strawberry skewer, did the same thing.

“Hello! Oh no, my strawberry!”

As soon as she bowed, the strawberry fell to the ground. “Waah... My strawberry...”

The strawberry that had fallen had Nia’s little teeth marks. It seemed that she had been savoring it. In order to cheer Nia up, Henry jumped off Jade and lifted Nia up in his arms.

“Nia, have you been listening to your father?”

“Yes... But my strawberry...”

“Should I get you a present, something even better than strawberries?”

“A present?”

“Ta-dah.”

His present was half of a Whispering. It was attached to a silver chain that he’d purchased in Enkelmann to turn it into a pretty necklace.

“T-thank you, sir! You don’t have to do these things...”

“This is the daughter of someone on my team, how can I not take care of her? Don’t feel burdened, it wasn’t expensive.”

As soon as Henry put the Whispering around Nia’s neck, the blue gem started to glow as if it were alive. Henry had injected mana into the necklace since Nia was still too young to handle mana herself. He continued to whisper in Nia’s ear.

“Nia, if you hold this necklace in your hands before you sleep, you might be able to hear the voices of fairies.”

“Fairies?”

“That's right, Nia, but the fairies are very shy, so if you hold on to the necklace for too long, they’ll run away. You have to listen to them in secret, okay?”

Nia nodded in excitement. She was young and innocent enough to still read fairy tales.

As Henry lowered Nia back to the ground, he spoke to Hagler, “If you go back to the mansion, you’ll see that I brought someone. He will most likely become the second-in-command, so introduce yourself.”

“Okay.”

“Well then, I have business to take care of, so I’ll be on my way.”

Henry got back on Jade after saying his goodbyes and headed toward Vivaldi Tower.

***

“Open the door.”

The gatekeepers at City Hall had a vague idea who Henry was, and when they saw him, they lowered their heads and quickly opened the door.

Mayor Vant and his secretary were inside the office, filling out paperwork. “What’s going on? I thought you said it would to take ten days,” said Mayor Vant when he noticed Henry’s presence.

“That’s the third time someone has asked me that question today. Everything worked out well, so I returned early. Anyway, have you been collecting the taxes?”

“There have been some changes, but there is still a steady stream of profit.”

“How much have we accumulated?”

“It’s a little over 110,000 gold.”

“That’s not too bad. In a few days, we will take down the recruitment announcement, so let’s work hard in the meantime.”

“Well, that's not something to worry about... Anyway, what brings you here? Do you have something to tell me?”

Although he didn’t have anything to report or apologize for, Mayor Vant nervously put down the files he was looking at.

“I’m here because of the agreement.”

“Agreement? What agreement?”

“It’s just a simple agreement between the cities. Up until now, weren’t the free cities all fending for themselves? Through this opportunity, the cities can exchange information and form a solid relationship.”

“What? Is that necessary? Vivaldi Town has been running just fine without such agreements.”

“There may not be a benefit right away, but there’s also no harm in making an agreement.”

“I don’t think that’s true, there's a reason why the term ‘joint responsibility’ exists.”

“If I have to take responsibility one day, I certainly will. However, as long as I’m alive, that won’t happen. Don’t you trust me?”

“I-it’s not that but...”

Henry had proven his abilities, but Vant still didn’t trust him to handle a large task like an inter-city agreement.

“Then it’s confirmed. I’m telling you in advance to let you know that I will be coming to discuss the terms of the agreement soon.”

“...Alright.”

Vant did not have a choice, and he let out a big sigh, as if to say, “How did my life end up like this?” Unfortunately, Henry was indifferent to Vant’s expression.

“Take care, then.”

After Henry was done with his business and their meeting was over, he smiled lightly and left quietly.

‘I’ll check out the testing arena while I'm here.’

Henry headed to the first test site behind the city instead of the mansion.

***

‘There’s fewer people now.’

As the end date approached, the number of challengers waiting also decreased significantly. These were the sincere ones—despite their lack of ability, they did not give up on their dream of joining the team.

As Henry watched from Jade’s back, the exam conductor announced, “Someone passed the first exam!”

‘Passed?’

“Wow!”

“Is it the second person to pass the exam?”

“Lucky for them!”

“But they look kind of old.”

The successful candidate appeared proudly, surrounded by envious expressions and cheers from the other candidates, but it was none other than Von.

Von drew his sword, showing off to the other candidates.

‘W-what the...!’

Henry was a little embarrassed by Von’s uncharacteristic behavior. He approached Von and quietly asked, “...What are you doing, brother?”

“Oh, you’re here, my brother. I heard that doing this would help you, so I’m helping right now.”

“Who said that?”

Von pointed at Ten in the distance. Henry made eye contact with Ten. Ten waved with a big smile, looking like a dog wagging its tail and waiting to be complimented.