Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Sea in My Mouth
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The Sea in My Mouth
‘The Inner Wall...’
I smacked my lips as I left the Outer Wall Guard headquarters. It was unfair, but what could I do? When they say jump, you jump.
The main gate to the Inner Wall was at the far end of District 3. I marveled at the clean road, paved with neat, orderly stones, as I made my way toward the Inner Wall. But despite its clean appearance, the faint smell of shit wafted through the air. Is shitting on the roadside an unavoidable instinct for these people?
‘They built it high.’
The Inner Wall was more than half again as tall as the Outer Wall. And I could see a guy dozing off atop the ramparts.
‘The pay's probably good, but it must be boring.’
The greatest perk of being a guard was the pleasant interaction with people. Sitting up there, you'd just become a lonely lighthouse, cut off from the world.
Four men stood before the Inner Wall gate. Two of them held spears, standing at attention with tense expressions, while the other two stood a little behind them, one leg casually bent.
Unlike my leather armor, theirs was overlaid with iron. The uneven coloring suggested it was cheap iron, carelessly slapped on.
The area in front of the Inner Wall was quiet.
I didn't recognize the two guys in front, but the ones in the back looked familiar. I waved and approached them.
"Halt!!!"
The one on the right of the front pair bellowed, leveling his spear at me. He was so wound up that the spear nearly poked me in the neck.
The guy on the left jumped in surprise, and a man with a bushy brown beard from the back, Reyam, came rushing over.
"State your name and purpose... Ack!!"
"Rookie! I told you not to shout. How many times do I have to tell you! Hah... this blockhead."
"B-But you said to do it like this..."
The man who'd been smacked on the back of the head muttered resentfully before another man grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away.
"Reyam, it's been a while."
I greeted him, taking my hand off my sword hilt. If he'd come any closer, I might have drawn my sword without thinking.
"Oh, hey, Aron. Isn't it still before the end of the month?"
"My captain told me to come here."
I replied, scratching my beard, feeling a bit awkward. It felt just like being called to the teacher's office back in school.
"What? Ah, so you're the one who beat the shit out of those mercenaries... Hahaha! Then again, who else but a brute like you would pull such a stupid stunt! Hahahaha! Jace! Get over here! Turns out Aron's the Outer Wall guard who pissed off Nova!"
Being called stupid by a stupid medieval man was unpleasant, but I held my tongue since it was Reyam, the man who'd helped me settle in at this castle. I figured I could put up with it maybe two more times.
"...Ahem."
Jace pointedly turned his head away, pretending not to hear. He was clearly still sulking about what happened before.
"Those guys were real pieces of shit, I'm telling you."
"Haha! I'm sure they were! You might make up reasons to beat people up, but you don't do it for no reason! Ah, Nova is in charge of the mercenaries, so you should go see her."
"What? Nova? Nova manages the mercenaries, too?!"
I flinched at the name 'Nova' coming from Reyam's lips.
Nova was originally the daughter of the head handmaiden, but because she could read and write, she worked under the Lord.
Her skills were so exceptional that the Lord entrusted her with all the minor tasks he didn't have to handle himself. As a result, Nova's eyes were always bloodshot, and she was perpetually irritable and prickly.
She was a woman I'd rather avoid if possible...
"So... Jace, don't you feel suffocated just standing guard at the Inner Wall? Don't you want to wander the wide world, feel how small a man truly is, and enjoy your freedom? Like, say, going to Bolt Castle?"
"...Cut the crap, commoner."
Jace replied without even turning his head. Jace was the bastard of a noble's bastard—a bastard squared, to put it simply—but he still believed himself to be a noble, not a commoner.
He used to call anyone who wasn't a noble a peasant, but thanks to my tutelage, he'd switched to calling them commoners. Of course, his tone was the same, so it didn't feel much better.
"Don't worry! As scary as Nova is, it's not like she's going to eat you alive."
"She'll stab him to death."
I wanted to plant my fist in Jace's smirking face, but I took a deep breath and held back. This wasn't the right place to start throwing punches.
"Hah... Alright. I'm going."
"Let's have a drink when you get back! I got my hands on some good stuff."
I waved back at Reyam's words.
For some reason, Reyam's offer of a drink felt like a distant promise.
***
*Knock, knock, knock.*
I knocked as gently as possible, infusing the sound with politeness. The rhythm was so precise it overflowed with courtesy.
"Come in."
A sigh escaped me at the voice, which was thick with irritation despite the simple words.
[How to win a woman's favor? Compliments, of course. But you can't just praise her blindly, or you'll get the opposite reaction. Women, you see, are incredibly perceptive. Your compliments have to be based in fact, but exaggerated several times over... like a fancy cookie, so to speak. For example, to that witch of a captain... Eek!]
I wracked my brain, trying to recall a compliment that would get a good reaction from a woman. But nothing suitable came to mind.
A compliment based on fact...
I muttered quietly.
"I said, come in."
Hearing the irritated voice again, I forced the corners of my stiff mouth into a smile and opened the door.
Beyond a desk piled high with yellowed paper, I saw Nova. Her glossy, dark orange hair was tied back tightly, not a single strand out of place, which spoke volumes about her personality.
Her irritated gaze glared at me. Even so, her quill, nearly bald of its feathers, moved busily.
Her eyes, fixed on me, narrowed, and the quill stopped moving. I swallowed without realizing it.
"It was you again?"
At her exasperated voice, I quickly scanned Nova for details.
‘A compliment based on fact. But exaggerated, like a fancy cookie. Based on fact...’
I desperately racked my brain, searching for any pretext for a compliment. Finally, I managed to pinpoint a distinct feature of Nova's.
"Ah, Nova. Your hair is so orange, it's like a perfectly ripe orange. If I planted it in the ground right now, it would feed ten grown men with some to spare..."
"...What?!"
Nova's expression instantly relaxed. Although the emotion on her face seemed closer to bewilderment and disbelief than joy or appreciation, the rage that had been about to erupt was gone. I considered my initial goal more or less achieved.
"Talking to you gives me a headache, so just listen. The mercenary you beat down was hired by us as a guard and porter for a carriage heading to Bolt Castle."
Nova sighed quietly and pressed her temples as she spoke.
"This might sound like I'm shirking responsibility, but those mercenaries were of pretty poor quality to be sending to Bolt Castle. If they'd gone as planned, there definitely would have been an incident. In a way, you could say I did a good deed..."
"I told you to shut up and listen. I didn't call you here to argue about who was right or wrong. It's not like you're cultured enough to listen to reason anyway."
"Cultured?! Hah... This woman. I've had a higher education and even attended a university, the so-called ivory tower of knowledge..."
"Shut up! Anyway, you're going to take the place of the two mercenaries you knocked out. If you complete the job, I'll give you their pay."
My mouth was itching to say more, but I forced myself to hold back, feeling like that quill would come flying at me if I uttered another word.
What could I do, even if I was in the right? Social life meant accepting it when everyone else said you were wrong. The timing wasn't right to stand up for justice.
"Fine. When do we leave?"
"Today."
"...?"
Nova, apparently considering her business with me concluded, went back to looking at the yellowed paper, her quill moving busily.
‘Stupid, shortsighted medieval bastards.’
I was so dumbfounded my mouth hung open, but I gave up, realizing that saying anything more would only earn me another earful in that irritated voice.
‘I'll just think of it as getting some fresh air.’
The timing was a bit sudden, but a trip to Bolt Castle wasn't a bad thing.
Plus, she said she'd pay me for two mercenaries, so it seemed like a decent deal.
***
"...Hehe."
"Hey, Weasel."
"I'm not Weasel... I'm Dylan..."
"Hey, Weasel."
"...Yes!"
"You called yourselves the 'Three Axes of Steel,' but what kind of steel shatters from a few playful punches and kicks?"
"Th-That's right! Weaklings!"
Weasel revealed his missing front tooth in an awkward smile.
"Where are those bastards? If I hit them from the other side, they should be fine, right?"
"What?! Ah, those guys were taken to the Lord's castle for breach of contract..."
Weasel's voice trailed off, but I realized I wouldn't be seeing those two again. That's how contracts with nobles worked. It didn't matter what happened along the way, even if you were hit by a natural disaster. If you didn't complete it, you were done for. All you got was a grave with an excuse.
‘Stupid medieval bastards.’
I clicked my tongue and looked around. The carriage was ready to depart. Around it stood about fifteen mercenaries—a decent number.
‘What in the world is this about?’
It was strange enough that they'd hired separate mercenaries in the first place, but there were far more people than I'd expected. Counting the soldiers and laborers, there were almost thirty people.
No one in their right mind would mess with a carriage bearing a noble's crest. Besides, the road between Bolt Castle and Casedic was cleared periodically, so there weren't even any monsters. There were almost no threats.
Usually, it was just a few soldiers, a coachman, and some laborers, but this time, the force was several times larger. Something was definitely up.
"Hey, Weasel."
"Yes?! I... I definitely wasn't cursing!"
Weasel yelped, startled. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him, amused by how he trembled.
"Do you know what's in that carriage?"
"W-Well..."
I'd asked casually, not really expecting him to know, but Weasel hesitated strangely. Could this useless oaf actually know something?
"Seeing how tight the security is, there must be something important inside, right? Aack!!"
I couldn't help myself and smacked Weasel on the back of the head.
‘No, wait.’
Just in case, I hit him again from the other side.
Weasel's mouth twitched with indignation, but he quickly swallowed it and looked away.
"Move out!!"
A booming voice came from the front. Two soldiers on horseback on either side of the carriage raised flags emblazoned with the Casedic family crest.
The horses hitched to the carriage began to move, pulling it slowly forward. A cart with laborers and luggage followed, with the mercenaries at the very back. I was at the rear of the mercenary group.
We passed through the Inner Wall gate, entered District 3, and soon passed through District 5. People on the street knelt and bowed their heads as the carriage passed. Among them, I saw a familiar face.
"Enjoy the grind!"
It was the guy I'd teased during the shift change, shouting with a wide grin.
‘Is this why they say you should live a good life?’
My stomach churned with pointless resentment.
***
The soldiers, being on horseback, maintained a fairly brisk pace. As a result, the mercenaries had to keep up at nearly a running pace.
Just as Weasel was starting to gasp for air, the carriage stopped. The sun had passed its zenith and was beginning to dip.
If there was one thing these people knew, it was mealtime. They knew it like clockwork. Whenever they were doing something and suddenly stopped, it meant it was time to eat.
The soldiers checked on their horses while the laborers bustled about, starting a fire and placing a massive pot over it.
The mercenaries either helped the laborers or were dragged off by soldiers to patrol the area. Weasel and I squatted out of sight beside a cart, catching our breath.
Soon, a delicious smell filled the air, and one of the laborers called everyone over. Just then, I saw two women who looked like handmaidens carrying stew on expensive-looking plates toward the carriage.
‘So it wasn't cargo, but a person? If it's a person, a reason to mobilize this many people would be...’
I smelled the distinct, fishy odor of a secret and scratched under my nose.
"Boss, shouldn't we go get some food too?"
Seeing the mercenaries crowding around the giant pot, he seemed worried there wouldn't be any food left if they were late.
"You go ahead."
At my reply, Weasel glanced at me nervously before getting up and running to the serving line.
"Hah... that bastard Brick."
I pulled the bread Brick had given me from my pocket, and the overpowering fishy smell made me curse instinctively. Brick's mother was from the Brington Kingdom across the sea, which was why she cooked mainly with fish. The people of the Brington Kingdom must have had no sense of taste. Or it was broken.
The appearance of the bread, generously stuffed with salted fish, was truly wretched. It looked like something demons in hell would feast on.
Worse, I'd experienced it once before, so I knew what it tasted like. Just as they say a familiar taste can be dangerous, I feared this bread.
I took a deep breath and took a large bite. A thick, fishy stench, so strong I worried the fish might still be alive, instantly filled my mouth, followed by a sharp jab of saltiness. Quite literally, the sea unfolded in my mouth.
‘...That fucking bastard Brick.’
Tears welled up in my eyes. My body violently rejected the horrible thing, but I swallowed it with superhuman endurance. I felt full after just one bite.
"Boss, did you see this? Wow... In all my twenty years, I've never seen a stew with this much meat. And it smells so fragrant... Ugh! What is that smell?!"
Weasel, who had returned with a beaming face, sniffed the air, then suddenly screamed and stumbled backward. He glanced at me, then plopped down about three steps away and started eating his stew.
He shoveled it in so deliciously that I was tempted to knock out another one of his teeth to balance out his smile.
"I've never had such a delicious stew in my life. I heard things weren't going well for Casedic Castle, but I guess it was just a rumor."
"Don't other places just toss you a piece of bread? If Casedic Castle ever goes to war, I'm definitely joining."
‘...Fucking medieval times.’
Listening to the exclamations of the nearby mercenaries, I took another large bite.
Once again, the sea unfolded in my mouth, and a tear trickled down my cheek. I made a firm vow to myself never to go to the Brington Kingdom.