Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Mercenary
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The next day.
I visited the mercenary guild again.
"Permission's already been granted?"
"Mercenary guilds are connected through a magic system. It's for quick information exchange. First, please take a look at this paper."
I took the paper from the branch manager.
It stated that operations for a mercenary guild branch were temporarily permitted for one year.
"One year?"
"Normally, there's no such condition, but it's Monster Island, after all. Please keep reading the contents below."
From the part about dispatching an overseer from the central mercenary guild,
to a brief introduction of the manuals that had to be followed while operating the guild.
It was written as 'brief,' but the content was quite dense.
"We have to follow all of this?"
"Haha, it'll be tough at first, but you'll get used to it. And don't worry—the overseer will demand corrections right away."
I kept reading, and the latter part covered expense claims.
"What? We have to pay all this money?"
"Initial setup costs are high, you see. We have to install the magic system."
It felt like I'd been robbed with my eyes wide open.
It reminded me of how Korean franchise companies rake in massive fees while expanding their chains.
"Ha! Annoying, but no choice."
I'm the one in a hurry.
I'd chosen mercenaries as the key to conquering the troll territory.
To handle mercenaries, I needed a mercenary guild.
Because it included everything from mercenary information to systems for verifying their identities.
After reading the paper through, I tucked it into my pocket.
"I want to hire some mercenaries."
"Hoo... Do you have a specific one in mind?"
I stated the conditions I'd thought up in advance.
Mercenary corps.
Established for at least five years.
High reputation.
Wide connections.
The more conditions I listed, the stranger the branch manager's expression became.
"Ahem, it seems the noble lord doesn't know much about the mercenary business. What matters isn't that stuff. It's skill and trust. Five years? Reputation? Connections? Those don't mean a thing for fulfilling requests..."
The branch manager stopped speaking at my smile.
"Actually, it seems you're the one who doesn't know. I'm the customer. Your role is to meet the customer's demands."
The branch manager scowled fiercely.
"Geez, fine. Keep going with the conditions."
Troll hunting experience.
"Oh ho, now you're talking properly."
The branch manager jotted down notes on the paper and fetched some file folders.
He then introduced several mercenary corps.
I listened carefully to the branch manager while scrutinizing the details of each corps.
After five corps had been introduced, the final one came up.
"I hesitated to introduce this mercenary corps, but since it meets the conditions, here it is."
Mercenary Corps Name: Innocent
Leader: Inon
Size: 35 members
"The Innocent Mercenary Corps originally had over a hundred members. But a recent incident caused a mass exodus."
"Recent incident?"
"Well..."
Inon, the leader of the Innocent Mercenary Corps.
He was an orphan raised in a temple.
From a young age, he showed talent with the sword and learned swordsmanship under a temple knight.
However, he couldn't use holy power, so he had to leave the temple upon reaching adulthood.
"He put that talent to use and became a mercenary. That was already twenty years ago."
Perhaps due to his temple upbringing, he was a good person—not just for a mercenary, but for anyone.
He carried out his assigned jobs admirably and often helped others even when it wasn't his duty.
"After a few years, people started gathering around him. That's how the Innocent Mercenary Corps was formed."
Even after creating the corps, Inon didn't stop helping people.
"Then the incident happened. On their way back from a request, the Innocent Mercenary Corps spotted some mercenaries being chased by a Twin-Headed Ogre."
Even the Innocent Mercenary Corps would struggle against a Twin-Headed Ogre.
The prevailing opinion within the group was to avoid it.
But Inon didn't pass them by.
He fought the Twin-Headed Ogre and ultimately defeated it.
"The problem was that over five members of the Innocent Mercenary Corps died in the process."
I could guess the rest without hearing it.
Inon's actions were certainly worthy of respect.
He'd helped those in danger, after all.
But the corps members saw it differently.
Helping others is fine, but only if you're capable of it.
Because of that incident, a large number of corps members deserted, leaving them at their current size of thirty-five.
"We'll go with the Innocent Mercenary Corps."
"Are you sure? It's the weakest in terms of combat power among the ones I introduced."
"Their combat power may be weak, but they fit what I want the most."
"In that case, I understand. I'll ask the Innocent Mercenary Corps if they'll take the request. And the cost is..."
The branch manager scribbled a number on the paper and held it out.
Before I could react, he scratched his head sheepishly.
"Since the request site is so far, there's an additional fee. Travel itself is an issue, but also the opportunity cost of not taking other requests during that time..."
I raised my hand to cut off the branch manager.
I'd expected this anyway.
"I know that much. The cost is fine—just check with the Innocent Mercenary Corps."
"Understood, sir."
**
The Innocent Mercenary Corps accepted the request,
and we departed from the Callas Viscounty toward Monster Island.
Clop. Clop.
Inside the slowly moving carriage,
I sat with Russell and Inon.
Inon was in his mid-thirties.
Yet he looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
A sign that he took good care of himself.
His face was flawless.
Judging by his skin alone, he seemed more like someone who worked indoors than a mercenary.
"The request mentioned subjugating trolls on Monster Island, but could you give more details?"
His voice carried politeness.
It was the kind of tone that put the listener at ease.
'He seems like a hero from a comic.'
I gathered my thoughts and answered Inon's question.
"I recently expanded the Frontier Viscounty. During that process..."
While expanding the territory, we'd encountered trolls.
There had been over ten trolls, and actual combat had broken out with three of them.
Casualties had exceeded a hundred at that time.
The trolls, apparently satisfied with the taste of orcs, hadn't returned to their territory and were instead prowling the orc habitats.
"Subjugate eleven trolls, then."
I shifted my gaze to look out the window.
The Innocent Mercenary Corps had quite a few injured members.
They'd lost five fighting a troll head ogre—no, probably far more injuries than that.
"Think you can handle it?"
"No problem."
With their current forces, the hunt would take a long time.
It wasn't a bad situation for me.
I had things to prepare while the mercenary corps carried out the subjugation.
.
.
We crossed Monster Island
and arrived at River Village.
I handed over a map of the surrounding area and some potions.
Inon accepted only the map and refused the potions.
"Our finances are tight right now. We can't afford to buy potions."
"Take them for now. If you don't use them, just return them as is. Sound good?"
Inon's eyes fixed on the potions.
After a moment's hesitation, he took them.
"If you insist that much, alright."
I also assigned a few veteran hunters to them.
Accidents couldn't be allowed, no matter what.
They weren't just subjugating trolls—they also had to call in other mercenaries.
The Innocent Mercenary Corps and the hunters left River Village.
After they departed, I grew even busier.
Because I had to build the mercenary guild.
As I watched the construction, Russell came and stood beside me.
"Master, are those buildings the mercenary guild?"
"The central one is."
"What about the surrounding ones? Do we need to build them now?"
"We do."
I turned to look at Russell.
Conveniently, he was looking at me too.
"We need mercenaries."
"That's right."
"We have to bring them in and make them settle here."
"Correct."
"That's why we're building."
"Pardon?"
A typical mercenary guild was about the size of an inn.
All you needed was space for people to gather
and a place for paperwork.
But I had no intention of stopping there.
I was going to create a comprehensive service center for mercenaries.
"Look over there—that's the mercenary training ground."
"Do mercenary guilds have training grounds?"
"Even if they do, it's no problem."
"True enough."
I moved my finger to point elsewhere.
"Lectures will be held over there."
"Lectures? Do mercenary guilds have..."
"No problem if they do."
"Right."
I pointed around the guild site, introducing each part.
"That's the clinic. That's the dorms. That's the restaurant. That's..."
Russell seemed to have given up on arguing and just kept nodding.
"We'll provide every service mercenaries could need. That way, they'll stick around."
That's when I spotted Isaac.
"Isaac! Put more people on it! Priority one is the mercenary guild construction!"
Isaac turned to look at me.
Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly.
"Got it!! Master!!"
Day by day, the mercenary guild took shape.
The main central building went up,
and around it, dorms, a clinic, training facilities, and various other service buildings were constructed.
Time passed like that,
and the overseer dispatched from the central mercenary guild finally arrived.