The Vagrants
"It appears the vagrants snuck in over the wall."
The mercenaries who had searched the house delivered their report. Their voices trembled faintly, though they themselves couldn't tell whether it was Rophen or Joseph that unnerved them.
"How did they get inside?"
"Well... during the shift change, another vagrant was loitering near the mansion. They seem to have used that opening to climb over the wall."
"Even so — that easily? Does that even make sense?"
The mercenary swallowed. He was so tense that cold sweat had beaded along his jaw, visible even in the dim light.
"One of them may have known the mansion's layout."
"And that one?"
"...He's dead."
The mercenaries dragged the corpses out of the warehouse. Every body had a broken neck, twisted limbs, flesh torn open — not a single one left intact. One of them was missing a wrist. That, apparently, had been the one who knew the house.
Joseph let out another sigh.
What the hell is this, in the dead of night.
Honestly, he hadn't expected thieves to show up at this hour at all. He was well aware by now that he'd become fairly well-known in the city. A mansion where a mage lived, guarded even by Veteran Mercenaries — and yet there were lunatics willing to risk all that to rob the place.
People with nothing left to lose are the scariest of all.
It was absurd, and yet he was somewhat relieved they'd only been after the warehouse. If they'd had other ideas, they might have burst straight into his room.
In that sense, maybe this was lucky...
Joseph turned his gaze to Rophen. The beast was still sitting in the corner, licking blood from its fur. He had no idea why it had been there, or how long it had known about the intrusion — but at the very least, with Rophen around, it didn't seem like he'd ever be attacked in his sleep.
A guard dog... no, a guard panther? Whatever it is, anyway.
He shifted his attention to the surviving vagrants. Normally they'd be begging for their lives, but they seemed so shattered they could only tremble, staring at Rophen.
"What happens to people like that in this city?"
"Usually, you deal with them however you see fit."
Givra arrived with a cup of warm tea as he answered. He and Toban had been staying at the mansion as well, so they couldn't very well have slept through this. Toban himself was nowhere to be seen — he'd likely gone to check on the workshop.
Joseph took the tea and drank. The shock in his body seemed to slowly settle.
"Deal with them however I see fit — meaning?"
"Exactly as it sounds. You can behead them on the spot, or turn them over as criminals."
"What do other people usually do?"
"Usually they sell them off to a slave trader."
Like the Malacca Mercenary Troop that had raided the Cerbe Merchant Guild, it seemed captured men could be disposed of however one pleased. Of course, unlike those mercenaries, even if these ones were handed over to the Commercial Union as criminals, they'd still end up hanging from a noose.
"What do you think we should do?"
Givra seemed to ponder the question for a moment before speaking.
"How about handing some over to the Commercial Union, and beheading the rest to dump in the back alleys?"
"...Huh?"
Coming from the timid Givra, it was a startling suggestion. When Joseph looked at him in surprise, Givra explained further.
"Sending them to the Commercial Union would be a way of asking them to pay more attention to the security around here."
Joseph was now paying a not-insignificant amount of tax in Caladon. It wasn't like his previous life, where taxes were slapped on everything — this was closer to a resident's levy. And that tax included a portion for public security.
"If you were an ordinary merchant, it might be different, but you're someone the Commercial Union already knows well, aren't you? They won't just let this slide."
"I see. Put a little pressure on the Commercial Union, and while we're at it, give them a justification they can use."
"Exactly."
The Commercial Union, upon receiving the criminals, would certainly hang them in public. It would serve as a warning to the surrounding area that criminals wouldn't be treated gently, while also demonstrating that the Union's security wasn't to be taken lightly. Handing over the criminals would strengthen relations with them besides — that was the thinking.
"And the other half?"
"That's a warning, plain and simple. I don't know the full details yet, but someone must have instigated this. Kill that one and dump the body in the back alleys, and at the very least, no one will loiter around here until the year is out."
Vagrants typically didn't last more than a few years at most, and every year new ones filled the ranks. Long-term safety couldn't be guaranteed — but those who witnessed the corpses and lived would stay well away from the mansion for a while.
"Same as with the Commercial Union — a chance to show the power of a mage?"
"Precisely."
Joseph nodded. Givra had lived in Caladon a long time, and he was sharp — solid ideas came flowing out of him.
"There are already some dead by Rophen's hand, so we can just send the rest to the Commercial Union."
"A good idea. Shall we send them right away?"
"When it gets light. Auk, come morning, take the mercenaries and hand those men over to the Commercial Union."
"Understood."
The mercenaries, who had been listening while moving the corpses, stared at Givra and Joseph with incredulous faces. Especially the one who'd recently seen Givra awkwardly conversing with Davie's servant — he looked even more dumbfounded.
A mage's subordinates are all weird, every last one of them.
The private soldiers who seemed to have far more combat experience than their age would suggest. That servant whose mind worked with startling sharpness. There wasn't a single ordinary person among them.
Of course, Joseph was unaware of their thoughts, already considering what came next.
I do need to hire more people.
Even without tonight's incident, he'd been feeling lately that Givra was taking on too much. He'd been thinking of finding servants to assist him, and after tonight, it seemed better to do so as quickly as possible. If there'd been live-in staff, the intruders would likely have been spotted the moment they stepped into the hallway.
"Givra, I think we need to find people to help with your work."
"Sir?"
"More precisely, people for you to command."
"...Sir?"
Givra's eyes went wide. It wasn't simply because they were hiring more people. It was because of the words people for you to command.
"Sorry, but you'll still need to keep looking for artisans... still, once you have people under you, things should get a bit easier, right?"
"W-well, of course."
The sharp, clever manner of speech from moments ago vanished in an instant, and Givra was back to his usual timid self. Joseph let out a slight wry laugh at the sight, but continued.
"Once we've dealt with these men, recruit servants for the mansion, separate from the artisans. You'll screen them first, and I'll just take a look at their faces at the end."
In effect, he was handing over all hiring authority, just as he had with the artisans. Flustered, Givra mumbled something before nodding vigorously.
"U-understood. I'll make sure to find good people."
"Good. And..."
Joseph scratched his cheek. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure if this was the right place to say it.
Ah, well. It should be fine.
Unfortunately, Joseph was not a man well-versed in etiquette.
"...?!"
Givra drew in a small breath.
"You don't mind, do you?"
"O-of course not!"
Honestly, it would be a lie to say he hadn't hoped for this. He'd been a low-ranking mercenary guarding a warehouse, and now he was handling every miscellaneous task in the mansion. But in Givra's own estimation, he was still nothing more than a clumsy country bumpkin. He'd assumed that once new people were hired, a superior would naturally be placed over him...
Head Butler? Me?
He'd nodded on reflex, but he wasn't sure this was right.
"I don't know if I'll be able to do it properly..."
"You will. Better than most, at any rate."
He meant it. Of course, if they searched, they'd find someone more experienced and more competent than Givra. But that alone wasn't enough. Joseph wanted someone he could at least trust watching over the mansion — and Givra was exactly that person. That was how Joseph saw it.
"If you're unsure about something, just ask. In fact, it might be good to hire someone well-versed in estate management."
"Uh... a-alright."
Those watching the scene — private soldiers, mercenaries, artisans — exchanged glances with peculiar expressions. Then someone started clapping, quietly at first. The applause gradually grew louder.
"Congratulations."
"Well done."
"Th-thank you."
Mangled corpses. Vagrants still out of their minds with terror. Frightened guard mercenaries. Toban and Auk wearing expressions of sheer disbelief. Even Derik and Jiren, who didn't seem to be thinking much of anything at all.
And so, amid the congratulations of everyone(?), Head Butler Givra was born in the most slapdash fashion imaginable.
Joseph decided not to hold the mercenaries accountable. Not stationing guards inside had been his own decision, and he didn't think he'd find better men by sending these ones away.
"Thank you...!"
The mercenaries kept glancing at Joseph, but fortunately none of them offered to take responsibility and resign. After all, the pay here couldn't be compared to an ordinary contract, so it was a relief for both sides.
When morning came, Auk took the mercenaries and dragged the remaining vagrants off to the Commercial Union. Jiren and the other mercenaries loaded the torn-apart corpses onto a wagon.
Derik, Givra, and Toban groaned as they scrubbed the bloodstains from the warehouse and hallway. The artisans who arrived at the mansion later that morning somehow ended up joining in as well.
"No matter what... no matter what, hire people who are good at cleaning."
"I said I would..."
Meanwhile, Joseph took Rophen back to his room. The beast's fur had already turned pure white again — whether from licking off all the blood or some other magical effect, he couldn't tell.
A Sacred Beast is a Sacred Beast, I suppose...
Rophen was sprawled on the dedicated bed that had been made for it over the past few days, looking ready to fall asleep.
"Rophen."
When Joseph called, Rophen swished its tail in lieu of a reply.
After a few days together, he was starting to get it. This thing really was just a giant cat. Just an extraordinarily, monstrously strong one.
"Rophen, listen."
Grrrng—
When Joseph spoke again, Rophen finally lifted its head. Joseph looked at it for a moment, then spoke.
"Thanks for catching the ones who snuck in. But you can't just kill them all like that."
At Joseph's words, Rophen's tail slapped the floor with a sharp thwack. It looked rather displeased.
"I'm not saying don't do it at all. If possible, just wake me up."
He couldn't know whether Rophen had dealt with the intruders for his sake. But if this happened again — if Rophen went down first — Joseph would be next, naturally.
More than anything, I'm worried about whether I can control Rophen once it gets worked up...
He still didn't fully understand Rophen's temperament. At best, he knew it was well-disposed toward him and generally listened. But when he'd seen Rophen covered in blood in the darkness, he'd felt it vaguely. Once Rophen got excited, things would get truly exhausting.
"So. Next time something like this happens, call me first."
Rophen kept slapping the floor with its tail — thwack, thwack-thwack. The silver lining was that it only expressed that much discontent and nothing more.
"If you want to stay with me, you have to at least follow this much."
A mage's familiar. After tonight, word of Rophen's existence would spread through the city even faster. He was already attracting attention, and adding a variable this large was a headache.
"I haven't even put a collar on you. Keep at least this much."
Joseph finally said, frowning, and Rophen stared at him for a moment.
Grrrngh...
Then it flicked its tail back around and turned its head away at the same time. Whether that meant it understood or not, it at least seemed to have given up on complaining.
Joseph let out a small sigh.
"You... if you kill people on your own again, I really will put a collar on you."
Grrn—
Rophen promptly turned its head away completely.