Chapter 83: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (2)
The mercenary captain’s claim that ‘there are many magic beasts’ was true.
The definition of a magic beast was, by nature, incredibly vague.
After all, if a dog gobbled up a whole chicken and someone shouted, ‘Here is a wicked, bloodthirsty wolf!’, it would immediately be classified as a magic beast.
His claim that ‘there are many bandits’ was also true.
In this world, any traveler could change their profession to ‘bandit’ at a moment’s notice. The only difference between a merchant and a bandit was whether they offered money or a blade for goods. In fact, since the mercenaries themselves were half-bandits, they didn’t have to look far to find them.
He hadn’t lied about a single thing, which made the mercenary captain a truly honest man.
He continued, his voice full of kindness and consideration.
“You look like travelers. How sad would your parents be if you met a terrible fate, wandering around without a proper escort? We will protect you to prevent such a tragedy from occurring.”
Of course, they weren’t running a charity, so their protection required a ‘suitable compensation,’ but that was a minor detail.
The likelihood of being attacked by either magic beasts or bandits was slim, but that, too, was unimportant.
The same old shabby method.
Listening to the captain’s business pitch, Hindler wore a sour expression.
It wasn’t that he felt any pangs of conscience about this extortion—or rather, this request for escort fees.
He thought it was a roundabout way of doing things, but he also knew that if they tried to take money without such a pretext, they’d be branded as a bandit group and hunted down. It was a necessary evil.
However, the silent knight standing beside the travelers was a major concern.
The knight was clad in full-body armor, not a sliver of bare skin visible. It looked difficult to pierce without using sword energy.
And anyone capable of using sword energy had no reason to be languishing in a mediocre mercenary group like this one.
In adventurer terms, they’d be silver rank. They could receive knight-level treatment in almost any domain, so why would they be here, engaging in such an inefficient shakedown?
“Yeah, yeah! If you come with us, we’ll keep you safe, you hear?”
“Or we could even give you a piggyback ride. Aren’t your legs tired? Huh?”
But Hindler seemed to be the only one worried about a potential fight.
Most of his comrades were busy smirking and admiring the beauty of their prospective clients. It was the very model of street thug behavior.
Hindler had to suppress the urge to ask, ‘If that knight draws his sword, do you think you could even survive a single blow?’
That was the average level of the mercenary group. Voicing such a concern would only make him the clueless one.
“Hmph.”
The black-clad beauty at the front of the group scanned them from head to toe.
Her gaze was anything but kind, yet her uniquely cold aura made even that look like a scene from a painting. In short, she was a feast for the eyes.
“This one is escort enough.”
It was a firm refusal.
Of course, the mercenary captain didn’t back down so easily.
“Haha. Well, Sir Knight over there certainly looks capable. But he’s still just one man, isn’t he? And carrying such a heavy load, too. I’d say he’s a bit short-handed to protect so many people.”
On the surface, it sounded like simple concern, but the underlying meaning was quite threatening.
The captain’s words would hold true even if the threat wasn’t from bandits, but from the mercenaries themselves.
“It’s your loss if you get hurt trying to save a little money. We’ll give you a good price, so why not just hire us?”
“My body is more precious than money, you say. That’s true.”
The woman in black let out a small, sharp laugh.
Sensing that things might be resolved amicably, the mercenaries also began to smile.
The beauty spoke.
“Is it really that dangerous up ahead? Dangerous enough to need an escort?”
“That’s right, that’s right. Very dangerous.”
“Is it dangerous for you, too?”
“Huh?”
The mercenary captain looked as if he’d been caught off guard.
To show confidence, he should say, ‘It’s no problem at all.’ But if he said, ‘It’s dangerous,’ he could demand a higher price. It was a true dilemma.
The captain chose the latter.
“Ahem, yes, that’s right. It’s a place with many formidable foes, even for us. But—”
“In that case, we’ll escort you. How much will you pay? We could use the cash.”
“Huh?”
The mercenary captain stared, dumbfounded.
“Ha, haha. The young lady has a good sense of humor.”
“I’m not joking.”
“…You shouldn’t tease your elders.”
“I told you, I’m not teasing.”
The warm atmosphere vanished, replaced by a chilling cold.
The mercenary captain’s face hardened as he spoke.
“Ha! We’re trying to do you a favor, and you’re being quite rude, aren’t you? An escort? As if we’re weak enough to need protection from the likes of you—Keuk!”
With lightning-fast speed, Hindler rushed forward and drove his elbow into the captain’s side.
Then he finished the captain’s interrupted sentence.
“—We are! Oh, thank you so much for offering your protection!!”
“You… you bastard, have you lost your…!”
The captain’s eyes reddened as he tried to grab Hindler by the collar, but he must have sensed something from Hindler’s desperate glare, because he glanced around.
And then the captain saw it.
The sword energy leaking from the knight’s blade.
The captain’s waist folded in half with a flexibility that would put a flip phone to shame.
“Yes, that’s right! We are, in fact, pathetically weak! In our desperation, we told a lie!”
“Uh, huh?”
“Captain? What are you doing?”
“Hey, you idiots! Can’t you see these fine people have offered to be our escorts?! Show some respect, now!”
The members, still failing to grasp the situation, stammered and hesitated, but as the captain continued to roar at them, they dazedly did as they were told and offered their greetings.
The woman in black, Dorothea, said with a wry smile, “Fine. I accept. Oh, and while you’re at it, could you carry our luggage?”
*
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is puzzled, asking why they don’t just defeat some bandits if they need money!]
To the Tin Knight’s question, Dorothea gave a simple answer.
“First of all, they claim to be a mercenary group, not bandits. And even if they were bandits, isn’t it a bit much to kill them just to take their money?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is puzzled, asking if bandits aren’t just humanoid monsters!]
“Listen to the barely-human lunatic talk.”
In truth, Dorothea had noticed that this self-proclaimed mercenary group was quite suspicious.
She also knew they had approached with less-than-pure intentions.
The reason she didn’t crush them was simple.
“They didn’t draw their swords.”
If they had openly attempted to rob her, Dorothea would have retaliated without mercy. But they had merely engaged in a bit of wordplay on a very fine line, never crossing it.
She had decided to exact payment for their wordplay in the form of manual labor and a ‘protection fee,’ so from her perspective, there was no reason to kill them.
Shit, we were almost done for.
Hindler, who had been eavesdropping from a short distance away, felt a chill run down his spine.
He could only hear Dorothea’s side of the conversation, but that was enough to guess what they were talking about.
He swallowed hard, thinking that if he had been even a moment later in stopping the captain, his own head would have rolled along with everyone else’s.
What was even more infuriating was that his comrades still hadn’t grasped the situation, even after all this.
“Hey, Captain. Are we really paying them an escort fee? Is this right?”
“Dammit. It’s not your personal money anyway, it’s coming from the company funds and my own pocket. Stop your whining!”
“Ugh. This stuff is so damn heavy. Why are these people carrying around a bunch of wood and rocks? Can’t we just throw it away?”
“Don’t you ever, ever dream of it. Think of that luggage as your own life!”
“Hehehe. You stupid fools. Still don’t see the captain’s grand plan? Once the sun sets and it gets dark, we’ll have some fun—Keuk!”
“Just shut the hell up, you bastard!”
Hindler shook his head.
Watching the captain’s usual antics, Hindler had often thought, ‘I could probably do a better job than him,’ but right now, he couldn’t be more relieved that he wasn’t the captain.
It was a sentiment the Tin Knight would have agreed with, knowing it’s always easier to be a team member than the leader of a group project.
“Excuse me. May I ask you a quick question?”
Just as he was praying for this uncomfortable journey to end, one of the party members, a green-haired woman, spoke to him.
“Ah, yes! Of course. Ask me anything. I’ll answer to the best of my ability. Hehe.”
Hindler quickly rubbed his hands together and bowed repeatedly.
Who knew? If he could get on friendly terms with one of them, maybe when another idiot caused trouble and got them all sentenced to death, she might speak up for him. ‘Well, that one was decent enough, let’s spare him.’
“Do you all operate in this area?”
“Yep.”
“Then do you happen to know what that dust cloud over there is?”
“Yep?”
Hindler was confused.
A dust cloud? He’d never seen anything like that around here.
But then…
“What is that?”
Far in the distance, beyond the horizon, a cloud of dust was indeed rising.
The other members of his group had noticed it too, and began to murmur amongst themselves.
“A herd of magic beasts in heat?”
“Isn’t it those bandits from the Federation?”
It didn’t take long to confirm that all their guesses were wrong.
As the distance closed, the figures at the head of the dust cloud became visible.
Armor that glittered in the sunlight. Magnificent capes. Large, high-quality warhorses.
They were clearly not magic beasts, and there was no way bandits would be wearing such shiny equipment.
The approaching party seemed to have spotted them as well. They altered their course, which had been slightly off, and turned their horses toward them.
Heeigh!
“Whoa, whoa.”
About twenty young men reined in their horses nearby. The man at the very front looked down on the group with an arrogant gaze.
He spoke.
“You don’t look like a merchant caravan. What’s your business here?”
It was a sudden, condescending, and out-of-place question.
But his tone and attitude were so natural that Hindler and the other mercenaries couldn’t easily talk back.
From their clothes to their fine complexions, they looked every bit like nobles.
The mercenary captain glanced at Dorothea for a moment, but when she remained silent, seemingly observing the situation, he cautiously spoke up.
“We’re the Iron Stake Mercenary Group. Is there something you need?”
“A mercenary group? What’s a mercenary group doing in a place like this?”
The man didn’t answer the captain’s question, instead continuing his one-sided interrogation.
The faces of the mercenaries showed a hint of displeasure.
“We’re on… an escort mission.”
Perhaps finding it awkward to say they were being escorted, the captain’s voice trailed off as he answered.
The man’s gaze shifted to Dorothea’s party, then swept back over the mercenaries.
He spoke to his companions.
“Hmm. They look suspicious, no matter how you look at it. What do you all think?”
“We think so too. We’ve never even heard of an Iron Stake Mercenary Group.”
“It seems even woodcutters are calling themselves mercenaries these days.”
“Well, what can you expect from a backwater like this? The talent pool is bound to be shallow. Farmers doubling as soldiers, street thugs lording it over everyone as adventurers, that sort of thing.”
A chorus of loud, blatant laughter erupted.
The faces of the listening mercenaries turned beet red.
After sneering at the men, who were trembling and swallowing their humiliation, the leader spurred his horse forward.
He approached Dorothea and said, “Are you the one who hired these men as your escort?”
Dorothea replied with a bored expression.
“I’m the one who was hired, not the one who did the hiring.”
“What? Hahaha! You’re not just pretty, you’ve got a sense of humor too. I like you even more.”
Thinking her answer was a joke, he laughed heartily.
The man said, “As a gentleman, I cannot simply pass by and watch a single flower walk through such a wasteland. Follow me. I’ll give you a special escort.”
He held out his hand.
He looked as if the thought of being rejected had never even crossed his mind.
Dorothea closed her eyes and tilted her head from side to side, as if stretching.
The next moment, she opened her clear blue eyes and spoke.
“If you want a flower, go to a flowerbed. You rude, clueless man without a shred of common sense.”