The Bothersome Red Roses
A few days after the Red Rose Mercenary Corps took up residence, an unexpected splash of color brightened the mountain stronghold’s main gate, where dust devils usually danced. Instead of the bandits’ typical dull roars, the crisp thunder of hooves shook the earth as a vivid crimson flag sliced through the dawn air. Clatter-clatter-clatter! The group that charged into the courtyard in perfect formation was the empire’s renowned all-female outfit—the Red Rose Mercenary Corps.
The moment the warriors dismounted, silver armor gleaming beneath flowing red cloaks emblazoned with fierce rose crests, the dusty training yard transformed into a dazzling battlefield. “Hey, hey! Gil! Look at that! Rub your eyes and look again—they’re actual women! And they look ridiculously strong!” Dagan shouted, jaw slack.
Gil beside him had completely lost his mind, drooling until he frantically wiped his sleeve across his mouth. “Boss, did I die and go to heaven? Ten years of bandit life and I’ve never seen a flower bed like this! I must’ve burned through every ounce of luck I’ll ever have just today!”
At the head of the column, Commander Rosa removed her helmet and swept her gaze across the stronghold. Every time her arrogant eyes raked over the filthy surroundings, Dagan and Gil flinched yet kept grinning like idiots. “So this is the mountain stronghold Her Highness the Third Princess commissioned? It’s even filthier and more vulgar than the reports suggested. A bandit den indeed.”
At Rosa’s icy assessment, Dagan sprinted forward and bowed deeply. “Aigoo, big sisters! No—Rose Fairies! Welcome, welcome! We’ll carry everything! Please don’t dirty your hands!”
“Big sister?” Rosa’s voice turned lethal. “Watch that tongue, bandit. Before the tip of my blade decides to call your neck ‘big sister,’ you’d better reel that filthy thing back in.” She tapped the hilt at her waist, and a chilling wave of sword energy rippled outward.
Yet even that threat seemed sweet to Gil; he clutched his chest in rapture. “Whoa… scary but so cool! Boss, I’m officially the Red Rose Fan Club’s number one member starting today! I’d die happy just from that glare!”
“Out of the way, I’m number zero! Big sisters, we’ve got premium mountain herb stew waiting! There’s even a fresh cabbage salad!”
While the mountain men spiraled into a frenzy, swallowed by the red wave, the Red Rose Mercenary Corps proudly formed ranks with haughty poise.
From a corridor window in the main building, Veronica watched the courtyard scene with a satisfied little smile. She turned to the mirror and carefully smoothed her slightly disheveled hair.
The last time with the Silver Wolves, Rodin got upset by their rough killing intent and the stench of sweat. Men naturally trigger each other’s wariness.
Veronica nodded, quietly impressed by her own brilliant analysis. This time would be different. An all-female mercenary corps, famous throughout the empire for their refinement. Their delicate discipline would surely soothe Rodin’s sensitive nerves.
“This is flawless. People this beautiful and strong will let Rodin lower his guard and truly rest. The perfect balance of feminine softness and knightly strength—he’s bound to be pleased.”
Veronica’s heart swelled. Just picturing Rodin smiling brightly at these elite warriors and pulling her into a proud embrace made her cheeks glow pink. Their skills are already proven, so defense is no longer a concern. I can’t wait to see his surprised face. How grateful he’ll be… He’ll definitely take my hand and tell me I did well.
The quiet mountain air suddenly warped. Drip… drip… Rodin was watering the tender new cabbage sprouts with painstaking care. The peaceful sound of water sinking into soil should have been the only thing filling the air.
Instead, noises scraped against his hypersensitive ears—clank, clang. Measured, restrained footsteps. The cold scrape of sharp metal kissing metal. The unpleasant ripples rolling in from the main gate made the tweezers in Rodin’s hand tremble faintly.
He brushed the dirt from his palms and slowly lifted his head. A line of warriors stood before him, red cloaks fluttering arrogantly. The moment his eyes landed on the crimson rose emblems carved across their chests, suppressed memory fragments crashed over him like a tidal wave.
The battlefield that day, soaked red with his comrades’ blood. The metallic stench. The arrogant smirks of men who swung blades for coin. “…What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Rodin’s low voice rumbled across the ground. It was no longer the voice of an ordinary farmer tending vegetables. It was the growl of a predator rising from the abyss.
“Rodin! Say hello. This is the most prestigious Red Rose Mercenary Corps in the eastern empire! I invited them especially for your sake, so you could rest.” Veronica approached with a bright smile.
Behind her, Commander Rosa lifted her chin imperiously and studied him. “Hey. I distinctly remember telling you last time. No mercenaries.”
At the flat tone, Veronica panicked and waved her hands. “Rodin, this is completely different from before! These are the Red Rose Mercenary Corps! All women, extremely honorable and disciplined! Nothing like those sweaty men!”
“Being women doesn’t change anything. Anyone holding a blade is the same. The smell might differ, but the killing intent they give off is identical.”
Rodin’s reaction was the exact opposite of what Veronica had expected. Instead of delight, his face showed a mixture of deep disgust and exhaustion as he clicked his tongue. “But you’re clearly overworking yourself! You’ve been tending cabbages night and day while still patrolling—your dark circles have reached your chin. If they just handle the patrols, you can finally rest properly!”
“It’s fine. Just looking at those red cloaks hurts my eyes. Get rid of them.”
“Rodin! Please, at least greet them for my sake! I worked so hard to bring them here…!”
Even Veronica’s desperate plea didn’t move him. Instead, he picked up the rusty pickaxe leaning against the wall and added coldly, “Greeting them? You’ve got three minutes. If they’re not gone by then, I’ll remove them myself.”
A low hum rolled out as Rodin’s killing intent manifested as physical pressure that swept across the courtyard. The mercenaries’ decorated horses whinnied and backed away. Even the elite warriors instinctively gripped their hilts, seized by primal terror.
Commander Rosa felt cold sweat slide down her cheek. What is this pressure? I don’t sense any mana waves… yet I can’t breathe.
The man before her wore a worn cotton shirt and held a rusty pickaxe. Yet her instincts screamed that he was something wearing human skin. An absolute aura only a reaper who had claimed thousands upon thousands of lives could possess froze the entire yard solid.
“So you’re the boss of this stronghold? I’d heard the rumors about your lack of manners, but seeing it in person is truly something.” Rosa raised her head arrogantly.
Rodin narrowed his eyes in clear annoyance. “If you want manners, go play with the nobles at the castle. This is my field. My house. Uninvited guests don’t get to lecture anyone about etiquette.”
“We signed a legitimate contract with proper payment. We are here on Her Highness the Third Princess’s orders to safeguard—”
“I handle the safeguarding. You’re just thick-ankled intruders planning to trample my cabbages. I don’t feel like wasting words, so pack your shit and leave.”
Rodin’s blatant dismissal clawed at Rosa’s pride. Her red cloak trembled with fury. “What did you just say? You insolent bandit dare insult the honor of the Red Rose!”
“Don’t draw that blade. The second you pull that chunk of iron free, that fancy rose flag won’t be a banner anymore—it’ll be the shroud covering your corpse.”
The killing intent flashing in Rodin’s eyes made Rosa’s breath catch in her throat. Veronica turned deathly pale and leaped between them.
“Rodin! Please! Commander Rosa, calm down! This is all a misunderstanding!”
“Mercenaries… Just hearing the word makes me sick. Either vanish from my sight right now, or become fertilizer for next year’s cabbages. Choose. I’ll give you three seconds.”
Rodin took another step forward. Wherever his foot landed, the ground turned white as if all moisture had frozen solid. “Rodin! Please calm down! Everyone’s terrified! This was all for your—”
Veronica tried to block his path, but Rodin didn’t even glance at her. “You think it ends at scaring them? You brought things that reek of corpses into my territory—my sanctuary. How should I make you pay for that sin? My cabbages can’t even breathe through your disgusting aura.”
A crimson light flickered deep in his eyes. It was the gaze of a god of war whose reason had vanished, existing only for destruction.
The atmosphere had become a razor-thin sheet of ice ready to shatter, yet in one corner of the courtyard an entirely different scene was unfolding. Dagan pulled out his treasured premium jerky and offered it to the female mercenaries, while Gil awkwardly held out a bouquet of wild mountain flowers he’d apparently picked somewhere.
“Aigoo, big sisters. Our boss is just a little shy, that’s all. He’s actually really gentle, but maybe the breakfast menu didn’t agree with him this morning.” Dagan smiled obsequiously as he offered the jerky.
Gil glanced nervously at the mercenaries and added, “That’s right! Especially with cabbages—he’s practically an angel! If you saw his face while watering them, you’d be shocked!”
One of the female warriors stared at the murderous aura pouring off Rodin with a dumbfounded expression. “Angel to cabbages? What the hell is that aura? My spine just went ice-cold.”
“Ah, that’s just our stronghold’s local specialty—‘killing intent.’ Once you get used to it, it feels refreshingly cool even in midsummer. Want to experience it?”
At Dagan’s shameless joke, the mercenaries shook their heads. “There’s no talking to these people. Are all these bandits’ brains completely filled with cabbage?”
“Hehe, big sister. Try this jerky. I dried it myself—the more you chew, the more ‘honorable’ it tastes! It’s infused with the energy of the legendary Mercenary King… I mean, our boss!”
The mercenaries awkwardly accepted the jerky, gradually getting swept into the bizarre atmosphere of the stronghold even as the deadly standoff continued.