Chapter 157: A Treasure Beside the Commission
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157: A Treasure Beside the Commission
"Monsters? Didn't you say your dream was to become a knight? Then we have to go. This is a no-brainer. Slaying monsters is what knights do, isn't it?"
Krais believed that slaying monsters was the very definition of a knight.
To those listening, however, it sounded quite different. In fact, wasn't that downright insulting to knights? He was treating a one-man army capable of turning the tide of a battlefield as a mere pest exterminator.
"And a village built by commoners? Shouldn't we save them? My sense of justice is boiling over!"
Despite his words, his tone—which should have been filled with concern—was actually dripping with greed. His eyes looked as if they had literally turned into gold coins.
Everyone looked at Krais with the same skeptical thought. But Krais didn't care about their stares. He was focused entirely on Encrid. Only the decision-maker mattered; what did the opinions of the others count for?
"What is it?" Encrid asked, crossing his arms.
"That big-eyed bastard. Always trying to drag us somewhere," Rem said, half-lying on his cot as he watched them blankly.
Sharp as a demon, Krais thought. He pulled out his secret weapon, staring at his commander with wide, sparkling eyes.
See? Aren't my eyes huge? Look into my eyes. Now, you will want to take this commission.
At those clear, massive eyes—so large they almost seemed to have a hypnotic effect—Encrid’s lips twitched.
"Should I spit in them?"
Where does he get off making those eyes at me? Krais read the silent message in Encrid's glare.
Ah, nope. That didn't work.
What was the next move? Krais tried to rack his brain as usual, but quickly gave up. He was clever, quick-witted, and highly perceptive. Krais himself believed this was thanks to the sheer amount of suffering he had endured in his youth. It was all thanks to those hardships.
This kind of trick won't work on the captain. He had a hunch. This approach was a dead end.
So, what was left? A frontal breakthrough. Always straight and direct. Since the captain always treated him and the others that way, he just had to do the same.
His intuition was extraordinary. Krais shifted his stance with astonishing speed. It was like a falling meteor; that was how fast he pivoted.
"About a hundred years ago, there was a merchant named Dolph, one of the wealthiest men on the continent."
The story began in the past. Hooking their interest was the priority. Should it be called the bizarre hobby of a wealthy man? Or perhaps an eccentricity? One of Dolph's hobbies was hiding portions of his wealth and creating treasure maps. It was an unofficial history, the kind of tale one might find while flipping through obscure historical records.
"But did this just end as some unofficial rumor? No, of course not. Why else would I bring it up?"
Krais emphasized certain words as he spoke. He was a persuasive storyteller, his voice brimming with passion. Dolph was said to have been the master of a once-renowned merchant guild. But right before his death, he siphoned off all his wealth and hid it away.
Naturally, his rightful heirs lost their minds. His six wives probably spat fire in unison.
"Why would you do that?!"
Dolph reportedly did not answer. He silently endured their condemnation. He merely said, "If you want my wealth, find the maps." Or so the unofficial history went.
The final record of this history was a question the compiler had asked the merchant Dolph before his death: "Why did you make such maps?"
Dolph's reply was a masterpiece.
"Because it's fun."
There were over twenty maps riddled with codes. The one who unearthed the first map obtained the treasure. It was a man who had been Dolph's carriage driver. Having become fabulously wealthy, the man later organized a merchant guild, only to go completely bankrupt.
The one who decoded the second map was Dolph's first wife. She was greedy. Hiding the fact even from her own son, she sought out the place her husband had prepared all by herself, only to fall into a trap and die.
Indeed, the driver had been a decoy. He was the final safeguard Dolph had prepared. Contrary to what the unofficial history claimed, Dolph hated the idea of his wealth falling into anyone's hands. He especially loathed the thought of giving anything to his family.
"In truth, he was a sterile man. A honeybee unable to sip nectar."
Before they knew it, everyone was hanging on Krais's words. His storytelling talent was enough to put any bard to shame. Yes, Dolph was sterile, yet he had six wives and over twenty children. It made absolutely no sense.
So, he planned his revenge. That was how he ended up hiding all his wealth in various places. A few of them had already been unearthed by a fellow named Kirgon, known as the continent's greatest treasure hunter.
Since the treasure hunter Kirgon had already proven it: "The treasure is real."
It was a secret history, and Krais knew quite a bit about this sort of thing. And why wouldn't he? It involved Krona. Rumors were rife that if one found and followed these maps, real treasure would be waiting.
But, well, look at this. Could anyone be this lucky? The Goddess of Fortune must have left a kiss on his cheek while he slept. When they swept the enemy camp in the previous battle, Krais had managed to pocket a few items. This was one of the things he had pulled out from beneath a tree back then.
"Hmm."
It was a map that reeked so foully one might wonder if it had been kept in someone's crotch. It made him want to throw it away the moment he picked it up, but Krais had kept it because he instinctively knew it was no ordinary item.
Treasure maps were common items floating around. There were countless fakes. But the Gilpin guild had someone who could recognize the real deal—an appraiser, or in back-alley slang, a fence. After all, you need an eye for treasure to sell it.
"This looks like the real thing."
That single sentence from the fence was enough. It was from a whopping hundred years ago. Because the language was different, the appraiser couldn't read the words. Krais couldn't read ancient texts either. He had racked his brain trying to decode it, but surprisingly, the answer came from Frok.
Luagarne had called herself a scholar.
Frok?
Contrary to his inner thoughts, Krais didn't give him an insolent look. Instead, he asked him to decode a few random characters, and by piecing them together, he got his answer.
Dolph's sixth map.
"There will be treasure. A massive one," Krais delivered his passionate speech in the center of the quarters. His face was flushed red, a result of speaking non-stop without pausing for breath. "It's been so long that none of the traps will even work properly. This is basically like picking up a jewel dropped on the road. It's just that someone got some dirt on it. All we have to do is brush it off and take it."
The story was quite interesting, but Encrid was not swayed by Krais's passion. He didn't give a definitive answer about going to the location specified on the treasure map either.
He merely thought, We're heading out anyway.
Whether it was monsters, demonic beasts, or war, his hands were itching. He wanted to see if what he had learned would work, whether the path he was walking was correct, and whether the things he had gained through training, sparring, and lessons were indeed steps toward his milestone. It was human instinct to want to test one's own abilities.
"Commission accepted."
At Encrid's words, Krais was overjoyed.
"Stopping by the treasure site is undecided."
Krais looked immensely disappointed by the follow-up. He opened his eyes so wide they looked ready to tear, muttering, "No, how could you..."
Seeing this, Rem cackled from the side.
Encrid didn't know, but from the moment Krais realized the map was real, he had been plotting how to exploit it. Going to find the treasure alone? That was no different from telling monsters to enjoy a feast with his flesh and blood as bread and wine.
Then, with the guild kids? That would just turn into a banquet hosted with his and his guild members' corpses. He needed a group that was highly skilled and wouldn't care about the threats of monsters, demonic beasts, and bandits.
But hire mercenaries? He would have to hire at least a squad-sized force. The cost would far outweigh the benefits.
So, his first target had been Rem.
"How about a commission?"
"I only take assassination requests. Limited to three targets: the sly stray cat, the picky-eating sluggard, and the god-obsessed lump."
Rem had no intention of even listening.
Would Ragna or Sachsen be any different? He hadn't even tried with Audin. The man barely even stepped onto the battlefield in the first place, so treasure hunting was out of the question.
"If our big-eyed brother swears to offer it all as a tribute to the Lord..." Audin would probably just say something like that.
As for asking the platoon leader, hadn't he been swinging his sword like a madman for nearly three months? It was hard to even approach him to strike up a conversation.
"I'd even take your help."
When he had tried talking to Esther for no good reason, "Kyah!"
Esther expressed her displeasure with her entire body. She looked ready to scratch him with her claws if he took another step closer. Ever since the day he first saw Esther and lightly touched her to find out her gender, she had intensely disliked him. No, she loathed him. Though she was a spiritual beast, it was simply baffling how a mere panther could express such vivid emotions.
It was just when he was about to give up. No matter how much he loved Krona, he wouldn't risk his life for it. That was Krais's philosophy. Wasn't that why his dream was to open a salon and live the rest of his life without ever worrying about money? Living in the middle of a safe territory, moderately enjoying the nightlife. Of course, running a salon wasn't completely risk-free, but that was just the perfect level of thrill to enjoy in life.
Anyway, it was something he had half-abandoned, but what if the platoon leader went? How was Encrid's skill lately?
"No chance. Even I can't beat him." Those were the official words of the border guard captain.
"If you gave me five marksmen and two mages, I might stand a chance." Those were the words of Platoon Leader Torres.
With five marksmen and two mages, even Krais might be able to take down Encrid. Even without himself, wouldn't the rest of them be more than enough?
"It's starting to get interesting," even Rem had acknowledged it.
"I want him," was a phrase the elf company commander practically lived by.
What did all of this mean? It meant that an ordinary pack of ghouls wouldn't even be able to touch a single thread of the captain's clothes.
Is our platoon leader actually a genius?
There was no doubt. He had already seen him fight Frok with his own eyes.
"Ah, why not? Let's go. Please, let's go!" Krais pestered, and Encrid ignored him.
"I'll go with you," Frok joined in the meantime.
"Great. Wonderful!" Krais brightened up.
"Should I tag along too?" Finn raised her hand. She was a ranger—a highly exceptional one at that. While she wasn't quite at the level of a Pathfinder—a walking mapmaker—she was great at finding paths and knew how to fight.
"Exceeeellent!" Krais chimed in again.
Encrid let out a chuckle as he watched them. There was no need to stop the two of them. If the commission had reached him, and the battalion commander had personally pointed it out, it was a dangerous task.
It was precisely because it was dangerous that his heart raced and he accepted it. But since reducing risk was always the right answer, the more people, the better. Monsters forming a colony, protecting a pioneer village, temporary command authority, and Frok as a companion.
What if he brought Rem or another squad member along?
"Want to come along?" Encrid asked without much thought—or rather, with some expectation that they would join.
"Ah, don't you know how busy I am?" At the reply from Rem, who had already crawled into bed and wrapped himself in a blanket to laze around, Encrid thought once again how typical of Rem that was.
Busy? You're just busy idling because you have nothing to do.
Thinking he might bring Ragna instead, he asked him.
"I don't feel like it."
You don't feel like it? Do you want to slack off? Have you not slacked off enough lately? Ragna was also glued to his cot. He answered without even turning his head.
"The Lord does not grant me guidance," Audin refused as well.
Sachsen was nowhere to be seen. He heard Sachsen was performing his duties properly, but he didn't seem to have the leisure to stop by the quarters.
In the end, it meant he couldn't bring anyone else. Encrid accepted it. In reality, if there were a massive threat, they would have sent an entire unit. They wouldn't have singled him out to go. That was his reasoning.
Confirm the monster pack forming a colony near the pioneer village, and defeat them if the opportunity arises.
Since the order sheet stated he would have command over the village's forces, if there was a village vigilante group, they wouldn't be too short on numbers. Then all he had to do was prepare thoroughly for the departure.
This world was not easy on travelers, so it was only right that one wouldn't even dream of setting out without thorough preparation. Normally, a group of four suddenly setting off would raise some eyebrows, but they had a ranger and Frok with them. Furthermore, by the standards of the Naurilian Soldier Grading System, their commander was a swordsman on par with a special-grade soldier.
They were not a group that would fall to ordinary threats. Though it was a world rife with bandits and monsters, this lineup could be considered more than enough. So, it didn't matter if none of his platoon members came along.
"We depart in a fortnight," Encrid said. Krais, still reading the room, spoke up.
"Are we really not going there?"
"We'll see."
Encrid was always sincere. Since he didn't know how the assigned task would play out, he would have to assess the situation on the way there and back.
For Krais, it was a matter of desperate urgency. Coincidentally, the treasure cave he had found was in that direction. It was only a day's distance from the pioneer village.
"Fine. Great." Krais knew there was no point in pestering him further.
And so, the group began their preparations. In this world, a journey was truly no simple matter. It was a world where the minimum requirement for those called peddlers was martial prowess. Even peddlers traveling from territory to territory moved in groups of at least ten to maintain their fighting strength. This was why mercenaries and the soldier mercenary system practiced in Naurilia were so highly welcomed.
In such a world, a mere group of four was setting out. They had no worries, but that didn't mean they could afford to be lax with their preparations.
Encrid decided to head into town for the first time in a while. There were a few items he needed to get from the market.