The Baeksu Mercenary Corps
I had boldly declared that I would sweep up the entire Baeksu Mercenary Corps and stuff them all into the Equator, but the situation was not nearly that simple. The Black Label server was different from the stories and circumstances I had encountered so far. It all came down to the scale of power. Up through the Gold rank, I could afford to act with the mindset that I would simply clash head-on with the story if necessary. But in Black Label, I needed to move with far greater precision.
Let’s proceed carefully.
Now that I had a rough grasp of the era’s background, it was time to dig up more detailed information. Fortunately, I had already recruited several people from the previous story who were perfect for this kind of work. I summoned Campbell, now my intelligence chief, and his subordinates from their jar in the church courtyard. The moment Campbell stepped out, he offered the same analysis I had reached.
“This place… is medieval, sir.”
“Right. Change your outfits and gear to match the period, then. Firearms are temporarily banned.”
The minority tribes of the Southern Plains who had migrated to the Equator had been given two main choices. One was to undergo chimera surgery. Those with high chimera compatibility could strengthen whichever body parts they desired and become combatants. Most of the warriors chose this path. They had initially been reluctant, but living alongside other races had made them accustomed to physical modification. The other option was to join the intelligence division. The intelligence unit, which handled data processing and field operations, required high intelligence. This work had originally belonged to the temple elves, but once alchemy was introduced and they were reassigned, the division began recruiting from the human population instead. The people now summoned before me alongside Campbell were the newest recruits. I judged the surrounding area to be low-risk and decided to use it as their first field exercise.
“There probably isn’t any faction watching us, but don’t do anything that draws unnecessary attention. Move out.”
“Yes, sir!”
At my signal, the twenty intelligence agents scattered.
Well then, I suppose I should get going too.
I summoned Baengnae. Having finally retrieved the owl, she raised her doll high in triumph.
“Hehe! The owl is Baengnae’s now!”
“Let’s go.”
I headed back into the church to leave the village. Inside, the funeral was still in full swing. More precisely, the church was being used as the village’s communal funeral hall.
“We send them to the Angel.”
“We send them to the Angel.”
Before summoning the intelligence unit, I had conducted a quick survey of the people attending the funeral. Finding the protagonist had not been difficult. The kingdom of Eurexia was currently at war. A weak Eurexia was holding on by pinning all its hopes on a single individual—the Saintess of the Goddess. Eurexia’s miracle.
In the center of the church, instead of a cross, a portrait of a beautiful woman was displayed. The “Angel” who had been reduced to a dismembered carcass hanging from frozen hooks was now comforting the grieving citizens of the kingdom in her living form.
“We send them to the Angel.”
We had come to save that angel.
***
I sold a few low-quality items at the general store to raise some funds. Blending into the village, I gathered all sorts of information. What I learned was not entirely encouraging.
So that’s why the funerals never stop…
The village I was in was quite far from Eurexia’s war-torn border. Even so, the steady stream of regular army casualties was the result of “deliberate unrest.” Eurexia bordered the sea to the east. To the north lay the Laxion Empire, while kingdoms lay to the south and west. The war itself had been started by the southern and western kingdoms. But once the fighting began, bandits appeared from the direction of the empire for unknown reasons, and pirates emerged from the sea. This “deliberate unrest” had spread across all of Eurexia, causing countless casualties.
It was obvious the empire was behind everything. The local medieval simpletons might not realize it, but this was a fairly common tactic. The empire wanted to conquer all the kingdoms, but if it moved directly, the weaker kingdoms would form an alliance to resist. Unwilling to suffer such heavy losses, the empire had sown discord to spark wars between the kingdoms instead. This tangled situation left me unable to act freely. If I went to the kingdom and stirred up chaos, its power would weaken and the empire’s advance would begin. Conversely, if I went to the empire and carried out indiscriminate slaughter, the empire would brand me a public enemy of the world, and the other kingdoms might join the hunt. Waging war against the entire world was not an option.
Thinking about it this way, the Angel really is impressive…
And the protagonist, the “Angel,” was the one single-handedly blocking every bad ending in this world. With her nearly infinite divine power, she was an incomparable buffer and healer. On any battlefield she joined, defeat for her allies was impossible. That was why the current situation existed. From the empire’s perspective, the greatest obstacle to devouring the kingdoms was the protagonist. Whenever their southern advance began, the “Angel” would always stand at the head of the allied forces. But the Angel was only one person. She could guarantee victory in only one battlefield at a time. So the empire had incited discord to pull her away to inter-kingdom fronts while creating unrest throughout Eurexia. In the end, it was a strategy to slowly grind down the Angel—both body and mind—until she destroyed herself. When all the citizens cried out for the Angel, she would be unable to be everywhere at once.
This was clearly a hellish story for the Angel. But because of this very structure, there was something I could do. Going to the western front to find her was pointless. The battlefield she was on would win without me anyway. So all I had to do was fill in the gaps she could not cover.
“I’m going to form a mercenary corps.”
From now on, we would be mercenaries who had come sniffing out profit in a faltering Eurexia. Our role would be to eliminate bandits, pirates, and thieves, thereby lightening the burden on the Angel’s shoulders.
Of course, I’ll make sure to profit along the way.
The path forward had been decided. Until new information surfaced, I would proceed in this direction. It had only been a day since we arrived in this world, after all.
Clang—
Baengnae and I headed for the adventurers’ guild. Though the village was shabby, the guild that essentially split the local military power in half occupied a rather grand building. The other half belonged to the regular army. The adventurers’ guild held influence comparable to the regular army because of Eurexia’s unique circumstances. With various “unrests” breaking out, the current king—who had once been a mercenary king in his youth—had granted the guild significant authority. As a result, any armed group not registered with the adventurers’ guild was designated for subjugation. Thanks to this system, Eurexia was still holding on, propping up its shaky nation with the strength of mercenaries.
The moment I stepped inside, countless gazes flew toward me and stuck. In such a small town, the active mercenaries all knew one another to some degree. Even though they had never seen my face before, they glanced once at my forearm and returned to their own business. A short while later, Baengnae entered after lingering at a fruit stall to buy an apple. One hand held the apple, the other the doll. The mercenaries who enjoyed breaking in newcomers immediately reacted to her appearance.
“Well, well. What’s a delicate little lady doing in a place like this?”
“Kekeke. Want big brother to play with you? There, there.”
“Did you get lost? Uncle can help you find your way.”
Hmm… Do they have a death wish?
I needed to maintain the image of a respectable mercenary corps for now, so I decided not to kill them. Yet.
“Hey, you lot. She’s with me.”
But the idiots went so far as to reach for Baengnae. A situation where they could be devoured in an instant.
Ah, what a nuisance.
I moved quickly and grabbed the man’s arm. The mercenaries who had momentarily lost sight of me drew their weapons and backed away.
“Hrk… When did—!”
Just then, a voice called out from the counter. It belonged to a frail-looking young man.
“Creating corpses on guild grounds will result in a hefty fine. Of course, if you have money to spare, that’s another matter.”
He appeared to be a guild employee. At his words, the men clicked their tongues as if they had no choice and sheathed their weapons. I decided to let it go for the sake of appearances as well. Ignoring them, I approached the counter and stated my business.
“I want to form a mercenary corps.”
The employee looked at me curiously. He was probably wondering how someone of my apparent skill level had no affiliation. But he soon wiped his expression away and presented the documents. In this world, it was common for a mercenary corps to disband and leave skilled individuals on the market.
“Can you read?”
“I can.”
The employee’s face brightened considerably at my answer. In this backward medieval setting, a mercenary who could read was rare even in a rural village like this. Favor bloomed in his eyes. I, in turn, raised my evaluation of him.
He looks scrawny, so I thought he was nothing special… but now that I think about it, you’d need to be literate to work the counter.
Perhaps because of his goodwill, the employee handled the paperwork smoothly and even made several concessions. “We’ll need to verify your abilities, but I’ll substitute the movement you showed earlier. To establish a mercenary corps, you need at least five members, but… someone who can read wouldn’t lie about something like that, would they?”
It seemed rather slapdash, but my ability to read had apparently earned me considerable trust. Finally, the employee handed me a document and asked me to fill in the mercenary corps name and my own name.
I took the pen and wrote the appropriate words.
“My name is Baek Suhan. The mercenary corps will be called the Baeksu Mercenary Corps.”
“Hmm… An unusual name.”
The man soon retrieved an iron plaque from a drawer and engraved the mark proving our registration. A faint trace of mana flowed from his fingertips.
Ah. So he was a mage.
Not a high-ranking one, though. Working the guild counter, he was probably the illegitimate child of some local noble. The completed iron plaque was handed over. [Baeksu Mercenary Corps] was engraved in the center.
“As you already know, you are currently Iron rank 3. You may accept requests up to the Iron rank.”
Mercenary ranks were divided into Iron, Bronze, Gold, and King. Given Eurexia’s special circumstances, even reaching Gold earned treatment comparable to minor nobility. Without delay, I headed for the request board. Raising my rank was the priority right now. In a small village like this, even high-difficulty requests would only be at the same level as the local standard. While that might sound manageable, it was only manageable by my standards. Generally, same-rank requests were crises that could determine whether a small village lived or died. And the fact that there were a full seven such requests showed just how chaotic the current situation was.
For now, since I’m only Iron rank…
Out of the eighty-five Iron-rank requests, I tore off the thirty-two with the highest performance scores. Completing all thirty-two would immediately qualify me for the Bronze-rank examination. Baengnae also tore off one Iron-rank request.
“Baengnae will do this one.”
[Iron-rank Request: Subjugate the Man-Eating Boar]
Even without any special explanation, I could clearly understand why she had chosen it. Baengnae wanted pork today.
“Fine. But once we start working in earnest, the playing around ends.”
“Got it.”
We left the guild and headed into an alley. The agents who had been waiting approached and took the requests we had torn off, dividing them appropriately among themselves. I handed out portable jars to each team according to their assignments. Each contained a Ghost Shaman and a chimera—items perfectly suited for dispatch missions.
“Then make sure you finish everything by tonight and report back.”
At my command, the agents scattered. The moment they disappeared, a voice called out to us from a dark back alley.
“Hehe. Hey, you there.”
“That’s the guy. See the girl next to him? Kiki.”
When I turned, the men who had been hitting on Baengnae earlier had brought their “big brothers” along. A group of about twenty rough-looking thugs brandished sharp weapons and snickered among themselves. The one whose arm I had grabbed earlier sneered at me from the front.
“What do we do now? This isn’t guild grounds, is it?”
I let out a laugh of disbelief.
“You’re right. This isn’t guild grounds.”