Chapter 124. Mercenary's Village (3)
It wasn't that they weren't so wary of outsiders from the beginning.
However, as the lack of mercenaries flowed in from the outside, it was inevitable that they were somewhat closed.
However, there is no way that any village can live properly if only the door is locked.
They, too, were choosing their own way of interacting with the outside world and living.
They are excellent mercenaries.
Thanks to the skills handed down from generation to generation and the unique qualities of the tribe, they boasted a skill that was not lacking even when competing with others in combat.
“We made a living through mercenary work like that for generations of our ancestors.”
In those words, there was pride in the family business that had been passed down from ancestors.
They settled in Ernesia Kingdom about 50 years ago.
Having passed through countless battlefields, they continued to roam various countries like nomads, and when they settled, they sold their skills to make a living.
“Fifty years since I settled here. For quite a long time there has been no ill feeling between us and the nobles.”
Some countries did not welcome them very well.
It would be difficult to look at them with a kind eye as mercenaries who make a living traveling from country to country to sell their skills.
In that respect, the kingdom of Ernesia, which did not particularly discriminate, might have been a good environment to settle down in.
“But that is a thing of the past.”
Avenna's voice has a gentle rage.
I don't know what happened, but he was getting angry somewhere right now.
“Does the prince know well about the undead?”
“I have a bit of knowledge. ....
Huh? undead? no way?”
Come to think of it, the villagers were somewhat over-vigilant.
Were they overly wary of outsiders?
What were they really looking out for?
“Right now, that undead is giving me trouble.”
undead?
It was a fairly nonsensical story for me.
I didn't expect the undead to pop out here.
“Did you know that the undead continue to appear near the border recently?”
“No, I didn’t know.”
Of course, this is not my territory.
In other words, it may be natural that I do not know because it is not my jurisdiction.
“Did you really not hear even though there were about a thousand undead?
It doesn't sound like a rebuke, but I also felt a bit resentful.
Perhaps these words are what I, a member of the royal family, are asking?
Of course, as a member of the royal family, I don't have much standing, and now I'm just the lord of another territory, so it wouldn't be meaningful to say this to me.
but.
Not just one or two undead, but a thousand, but no one else and I didn't hear anything?
“...Who is the lord here?”
“Recently, the lord has changed. I am a cousin of the former lord, Countess Ketil Loubet.”
“Why is he?”
There is a reason why I ask who the lord of this place is.
Even though there were as many as a thousand undead, as far as I know, that fact never came up at the Kingdom Council.
If so...
“Why does he hide it?”
No matter how much I think about it, I can only come to the conclusion that I did not report it intentionally.
“It must be because we are the only ones who have suffered yet.”
And his answer was something I couldn't understand.
“Would you like to hear the circumstances? It would be a very boring story.”
“It doesn’t matter, just listen.”
All the conflicts between the lord and the villagers I heard from Avenna were the first I had ever heard of.
It seems that the former lord of this place was a person who did not work properly.
“We need to hold a banquet, but the safe is running out of money.”
It seems that he was a typical vicious lord whose daily routine was to squeeze the villagers while saying that - but the problem was that he didn't stop at squeezing.
It is natural that nothing will come out if you squeeze it.
One year, there was a village that could not properly pay taxes due to insufficient crop production.
The lord was furious with the village, claiming that not paying taxes was a disgrace to himself, and sent private soldiers to wipe it out.
“...are you crazy?”
Upon hearing the story, I was dumbfounded and honestly expressed my impressions.
The anecdote stopped coming into my ears because someone who was active as a mercenary in the area at the time opposed it.
“He is my son and Seina’s father.”
Seina's father worked as a mercenary.
And as soon as he heard the story, he resolutely opposed it.
The lord didn't even listen, but he went to the knights he was close with and appealed, and the knights, who were stabbed by conscience, petitioned the lord directly.
As a result, the village, which was about to be annihilated due to Seina's father's opposition, passed the crisis.
But the lord did not leave him alone.
Thinking that his pride had been crushed, he asked Seina's father for the crime.
And at that time, Seina's father, who was seriously injured by the interrogation, passed away.
that's the story
I closed my mouth.
After hearing it, I have no choice but to admit that even if Avenna expresses distrust of the nobles, it can't be helped.
“So what happened to the lord?”
“The embezzlement I committed two years ago and the incident at that time were eventually caught and I paid the price.”
“And his cousin took the place of the lord instead?”
When I heard it, I was really dumbfounded.
How did you get the job done?
Putting the cousin of the one who committed corruption and was punished to be the next lord?
Of course, if the next lord had been a well-informed fellow, there might not have been a problem.
But the world just doesn't turn that nice.
arms bent inward
Naturally, the next lord has no choice but to side with his cousin.
However, since there are sins committed, you can't openly defend them.
However, the human mind is truly blatant.
If you can't express it openly, you can secretly vent your anger.
“He keeps ignoring the undead gun.”
“Right.”
understood.
The lord's method was blatant disregard.
Despite being damaged by the appearance of undead hordes, he pretends not to know just because the damaged village is the hometown of the person who gave the opportunity to ruin his cousin.
Because they are ugly people, is it because they don't want to help?
“Of course I don't think he caused this.”
Anyway, that would be speculation.
Which lord is insane and unleashes the undead on his land?
But it's true that he doesn't know about this situation.
“Is that okay? Didn't you protest before that?”
“We are in no position to protest. It’s a position where you can’t hear even if you shout.”
It seemed that the position was somewhat different from other villages because it was a village built by those who wandered here and there.
‘This is blatant retaliation.'
That is the current situation.
It was only natural that they looked at the Ernesian nobles in a disrespectful way.
It's strange that he doesn't have any complaints.
“He is truly a fool.”
Dia also was dumbfounded after hearing it, and Seina was making a bitter expression.
Naturally, he couldn't feel good when his hometown was being treated like this.
‘Did Seina not want me to know this?'
Even though he looks easy-going on the outside, he has a corner where he secretly notices people.
Eventually I figured out why they couldn't do business with me.
“Umm… I understand the situation. Then, can I solve the lord's problem?”
“...I didn't say it specifically to seek help, but...
‘No, this is definitely what happened out of the nobles' indecent behavior. Of course, the position of the royal family... No, even as a lord, I can't just leave it alone.”
“...I'm just glad you said that, but it won't change even if the prince helps.”
However, even if I revealed my intention to help, somehow Avenna's reaction was lukewarm.
“what do you mean?”
“We intend to leave here.”
“???? what?”
It seemed he had made up his mind before I came.
It was none other than the decision to abandon the village that had been settled for the past 50 years.
“If it's simply that the lord is bothered, even though I can help?”
Avenna shook her head.
“…is it because of the undead?”
“That's right. No matter how much we do, we can't stand it any longer.”
Unlike other villages, all the villagers are guaranteed basic armed forces to some extent, as they are the ones who make a living by mercenary work.
Even if there were about a thousand undead hanging around right next to them, they could only survive if they stayed strong.
However, if you continue to live like that, there will be a limit.
In the end, they had no choice but to abandon the village because of the undead.
However, if I simply moved the village, I wouldn't speak the same way I just did.
It didn't mean simply going to another territory.
Even if he applied for relocation, it was clear that the current lord would not allow it, and other lords would not be interested.
Because it's someone else's business anyway. Besides, accepting a village where most of the villagers make a living as mercenaries would be difficult.
If they really want to go somewhere else.
“Are you going to go to another country?”
“Anyway, since we’ve been moving from one village to another from generation to generation, there shouldn’t be anything strange about it.”
I heard that Avenna also moved to this village when she was young, so she must have had the experience of moving and settling down in this village.
So it seemed that even now he was considering a plan to lead the population to relocate.
“But times are different now. They won’t accept it even in other countries.”
I pointed out coolly.
Fifty years ago, things are very different now.
Not only these, but even the wandering nomadic tribes in the past are now mostly part of the state.
I was afraid that I would not be accepted anywhere.
No, even in the kingdom, there was no way they would readily allow them to leave.
Eventually, new conflicts arise.
As if admitting that I couldn't deny that my point was completely wrong, Avenna also cleared her throat in silence.
But the reality is that there is no way.
“Then it's okay if we solve the undead problem, right?”
The reason they wanted to abandon the village was nothing else, but that they couldn't live because the undead kept coming.
Then we just need to get rid of the undead.
extremely simple.
“There are many.”
“There is a way, so don’t worry about that.”
It's about a thousand. It's an amount that I can handle without having to devise any other method.
There was no need to go back to the territory and devise countermeasures.
Well, one of the other solutions is to take care of my back so that I can settle elsewhere in the kingdom with my own power.
It would be okay to leave the undead alone, such as telling them to settle somewhere else and fuck the lord here. I had no intention of doing that this time.
“I can't let the undead go anyway.
Even if the lord is offended, the people of the territories feel sorry for him. And isn't it a waste to abandon the village you lived in? So let me help you and take care of it.”
“I'm sorry, but why is Allel-nim trying to help us?”
Avenna asks as if she can't understand.
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