Chapter 118: The Way of the Desert (3)
Chapter 118: The Way of the Desert (3)
"There aren't many of us, but we don't come cheap."
"I gathered that on the way here, Castle Lord."
Every warrior the recruiting officer had seen in the castle was clearly elite, from their equipment to the air they carried. Their commander was a famous knight and noble lord to begin with.
"No offense intended, but... wouldn't that amount be beyond the authority of one recruiting officer to decide?"
Eugene had almost said "a mere recruiting officer," then softened the phrasing.
"Normally, yes, but in an emergency we're allowed to act first and report afterward. We're given considerable discretion."
"Impressive. Just what I'd expect from a city built on piles of gold."
Such things were possible only because the finances could sustain them.
"There isn't a written rule. I'm following similar precedents. What matters isn't the amount but trust and ability. If those are certain, I won't be punished just for committing the city to a large expense."
Homi, who had been listening, nodded with satisfaction. Her expression said that they had come to precisely the right place.
"So what do you want from us? Surely not to sit in Tripol and serve as a garrison."
Mercenaries several grades below them would be more than enough to defend the city.
Unlike a field battle, city defense demanded less formation training and involved fewer variables. With capable commanders and junior officers, even recruits could put up a substantial defense.
"Sain choose suitable places in the unexplored regions and establish settlements there. Adventurers we hired are searching in every direction now."
"Once you find them, you'll launch a subjugation campaign."
"Yes. Our city won't be acting alone. Several mercenary companies will form a joint front, and joining it will be your main assignment."
In a way, it was similar to the bandit purge they had carried out at Bonyard.
The difference was that both the environment and the enemy were one or two levels more difficult. This time they would face an army of beasts that neither surrendered nor accepted surrender.
"You said that's the main assignment. What are the secondary ones?"
"Normally you'll stay in the city, but you may be asked to take separate missions. Naturally, you won't be expected to stand guard while garrisoned."
Because his duties overlapped with mercenary hiring and operational planning, the recruiting officer knew those matters in detail. Even allowing for that, he seemed remarkably capable.
"You don't determine the actual pay too, do you?"
"Of course not. But I know the customary rates the city offers and the signing fees paid to mercenary companies in the past. You can hear those figures and decide."
The recruiting officer had heard rumors of the Wandering Castle while making his rounds through the villages and had come on impulse, but his thoughts were already organized and he could produce each answer when needed.
'The pay's good enough, but...'
For Eugene, master of the Wandering Castle, trade privileges were more tempting than gold.
For now he lived much like a mercenary captain, but in time his capital would grow and the castle's teleportation range would expand dramatically. He might even travel from continent to continent.
When that happened, rights connected to trade would matter far more than one-time mercenary payments.
When Eugene explained that, the recruiting officer was even more amazed by the castle's power, though he also looked troubled.
"My apologies, but privileges regarding trade lie beyond the scope of what I can decide..."
"I thought as much. I planned to visit the city anyway. Thanks to you, I have enough advance information that the trip won't be wasted."
Seeing that Eugene appeared satisfied, the recruiting officer relaxed inwardly as well.
"Have you eaten?"
"Not yet."
"Good. Then allow me to treat you."
"...!"
That day, for the first time in his life, the recruiting officer ate a meal served by dark elf maids. Given their race's immense pride and arrogance, it was a luxury even most nobles would never experience.
"I'm not sure whether it'll suit your palate. Samur favors strongly seasoned food, and I heard fried dishes are popular in the markets these days, so I had this prepared."
"I guarantee it! I've never tasted fried food better than this!"
Good food was the easiest way to make someone relax. After only a few forkfuls, even the recruiting officer's tense demeanor had melted away.
The food Eugene had prepared was a delicacy of thinly sliced beef, breaded and fried, then topped with cheese, tomato sauce, and spices.
The instant he cut off a piece with his knife and put it in his mouth with the fork—
CRUNCH.
The crisp coating shattered lightly against his teeth. Then the tender meat met his tongue with a pleasantly chewy texture.
The tomato sauce's tartness sharpened the flavor, while the cheese gently brought all the flavors together.
It layered textures of crispness, popping, and stickiness with flavors that were nutty, savory, sweet, and tart.
More than a dozen distinct layers came together to complete the dish.
After the meal, the recruiting officer thanked him repeatedly and left for the guest room. Eugene then spoke with his two advisers.
"I've thought this before, but Free City officials really do handle things differently."
Panis of Bonyard had been the same, and so was this recruiting officer. Beyond their competence, they had a certain quickness about the way they handled things.
"It is a thoroughly meritocratic society, so those lacking cannot endure. Moreover, in the Free Cities, someone must always bear responsibility for even the smallest incident. From the lowest officials to the highest offices."
Marbas, seeming to share the thought, responded favorably. As is generally the case with summoners, he was the type who particularly valued the virtue of responsibility.
"But there is the drawback that those in charge change so frequently it often breeds chaos. It is also common for foul means rather than ability to be employed in competition. To my eyes, it seems a system suited only to the scale of a city at most."
Varda, on the other hand, of an extremely conservative disposition, viewed the Free City system negatively.
"Do not the legitimate nobility employ foul means just the same?"
"If both are alike, then the one with less chaos is better. For that, it simply requires giving noble education to the noble born."
Because of her friendship and devotion toward Eugene, it was easy to forget, but Varda possessed a stubborn way of thinking, just like other elves.
"A leader chosen by the amount of sweat they shed rather than the strength of their bloodline? Isn't that the sort of system monsters like orcs and gnolls prefer?"
In her beautiful golden eyes rested an uncharacteristically faint contempt.
"In a sense, my own position is closer to one earned by sweat rather than blood."
"Before the call of destiny, blood is a trivial element, so it is of no consequence."
Of course, where her knight was concerned, she proved to be an elf capable of boundless flexibility.
"You flipped your attitude in an instant."
"I do not know what you mean."
Varda swept her radiant golden hair back over her shoulder.
"In the legends, there appear those who draw a holy sword from a stone and gain the right to kingship. Trace noble blood back to its source, and the starting point is ultimately destiny. It is that blood, steeped in destiny, which becomes noble."
"Wow."
Varda's brazenly smooth delivery left Eugene at a loss for words.
* * *
The armed merchant company, a force composed entirely of cavalry with the addition of tribal merchants and wagons, set out. Apart from finalizing the contract, they needed to visit the city to sell their spoils and trade goods.
"It seems considerable damage has already occurred. What kind of creatures are swarming about?"
As they traveled along the highway, Eugene asked the recruiting officer for a detailed account of the situation.
The term sain broadly referred to beastlike demi-humans close to monsters that formed large-scale societies. Orcs and goblins were excluded, while gnolls were included.
One might ask why they bothered to draw such fine distinctions instead of simply lumping them all together as monsters.
Their keen senses, their own technology, and their tactical ability clearly set them apart from ordinary monsters; in some ways, they behaved more like warlords.
If one tried to fight them as one fought monsters, the subjugation force would be shattered in turn. Hence, this separate classification had been inevitably established.
"The most frequent reports concern the rakshas."
"A breed I've never heard of before. Could you give me an explanation?"
Dense jungle and desert, green plains and beaches. Samur, where every kind of natural environment coexisted, was a treasure trove of an ecosystem inhabited by all manner of races.
-If you ever have business in Samur, hand silver coins to the local adventurers and ask them about this and that. The regional differences are so extreme, you see.
Even Goffrey, who usually explained almost everything, had given up on teaching him about Samur.
"They are fox-men."
"Oh!"
"Whenever outsiders hear that first description, they all react the same way."
The Recruiting Officer smiled wryly at Eugene, whose eyes had lit up the moment he heard it.
"But they are foxes, are they not?"
As beasts, foxes were popular among noble ladies for their beautiful fur, and many nobles kept them as pets for their elegant appearance.
"Rakshas survive the harsh desert by hardening themselves and competing with monsters. There isn't a shred of cuteness to them. Apart from walking on two legs, their bodies are far removed from humans too."
Beastkin like Homi, aside from a few distinctive features, weren't very different from humans. Sain, however, were said to look far more beastlike.
"For example, in what way are they different?"
The Recruiting Officer held his open palm below his chest.
"The rakshas have four of these."
"Oh..."
The Recruiting Officer smiled faintly at Eugene's appalled reaction.
"Did I not tell you? They are creatures closer to beasts than to men. They mature quickly, are ferocious, and breed abundantly on top of it. Even when you think you have swept them away, they frequently swell their numbers again without warning."
"Any other differences?"
"Sain have fur almost without exception."
"They must boast a degree of protection even without separate armor."
"Yes. That's why they despise smooth-skinned beastkin as weaklings—or like them because they look easy to eat."
After that, Eugene listened further about the indigenous species.
Lizardmen that lived only in the Samur Desert, and the small-folk that lived only in the jungles. They were all troublesome enemies that actively exploited their racial characteristics and environments.
Rui Amor and the Ancient Kingdom had struggled especially to subjugate Samur, and these native monsters must have played their part in that.
"It is now two days' distance. From here onward, you may rest easy."
On the highway where only Eugene's party had been visible, other caravan groups gradually began to appear.
The carts carried ordinary goods such as wool and hides, along with meat from large rodents and lizards that people in Roman would have considered barbaric. There were dates, of course, and even exotic fruit like bananas (!).
Instead of deploying more scouts, Eugene allowed his subordinates to break ranks and trade with the merchants.
He could afford that consideration because he trusted them to reform ranks instantly if danger appeared.
His men bargained on every side and delighted in unfamiliar food. Eugene found himself smiling too.
But the warm, peaceful journey changed abruptly when caravans came racing toward them from the opposite direction.
"Save us!"
The merchants had abandoned even their wagons in their flight and were drenched in sweat. The guards who collapsed beside them were badly wounded in several places.
"What has happened?"
When Eugene stepped forward to ask what had happened, an elderly merchant answered with a hollow, shell-shocked expression.
"Rakshas! The rakshas have fallen upon the highway!"
"W-we barely escaped, but I don't know what happened to the people left behind."
Had he jinxed it?
"That's impossible! We're only two days from the city."
"What is the point of arguing about whether something already happened?"
Leaving the incredulous recruiting officer behind, Eugene urged his horse forward.
"Everyone, prepare for battle! This is an enemy unlike any we've faced before! Stay alert and keep your distance!"
His men took one last bite of their bananas or meat skewers, threw the food aside, and cursed.
They had finally been enjoying some foreign food, only for these tactless bastards to ruin the mood.
Some of the land south of Gord had originally belonged to gnolls until humans drove them beyond the Shield Mountains and settled it.
Samur, by contrast, had once been entirely under sain control.
Humans descending from the north and crossing the sea had settled there and gradually carved away territory until the present day.
Driven from their homes, the sain retreated into jungles and deserts beyond civilization's reach, but they were never exterminated.
They struggled to survive there and, whenever their numbers grew large enough, returned to their old lands to raid humans.
"Damn it! What happened to the requests for help?"
Under fierce attack by hundreds of rakshas, they had already sent light cavalry for help three separate times.
"It failed! Those damned things stop attacking long enough to send pursuit parties the moment they see a messenger ride out!"
The warriors fighting behind overturned wagons used as barricades spat curses.
That kind of coordination was possible precisely because they were cunning, intelligent sain rather than ordinary monsters.
"They're coming again! About fifty from the north!"
"..."
He had heard that Samur was becoming dangerous, but this was worse than he had imagined. Faced with an organized assault that already resembled a battle between armies, the warriors went pale.