Chapter 125. Mercenary Village (4)
“I need your cooperation. Can you think of giving me a favor for that?”
“Cooperate... that's what Seina said before.”
Avenna already knows that I want to hire mercenaries here because Seina told me instead.
“Right now, we can't accept that request.”
But I have no choice but to refuse.
It was because it was difficult for them to defend the village from the undead right now.
On the contrary, they almost came out with admiration that they managed to maintain the village even though thousands of undead were wandering around.
It's a shame that people with that level of skill disappear elsewhere.
We need to be more persuasive.
“Hey. Wouldn't you like to think about which one is more advantageous?”
“Which way... What are you talking about?
“If you guys could move to another country, would there be any guarantee that you would be able to make a decent living?”
“That's...
“The reason for moving the village is that the undead are also a problem, but the recent request keeps decreasing, right?”
These days, the demand to hire mercenaries has greatly decreased.
In the past, they were also hired to maintain public order and exterminate monsters. Now, most of the lords have organized private soldiers, and most of the problems are solved by them, so there is no reason to borrow the help of mercenaries.
The rest of the job was to escort a merchant at best.
Of course, it will be difficult to eat.
“After the undead problem is resolved, if I hire you guys, I intend to buy your skills at a fair price rather than being hired by a prestigious family.”
I am confident that if I hire you, the treatment will not be bad.
“So, isn’t it a waste to go somewhere else like this?”
I suggested to him to consider which one would be advantageous.
“…Let me think about it for a moment.”
Avenna is no bigoted old man pushing his own point.
Above all, he must be worried because he prioritizes the future of the villagers over his own ill feelings.
You won't be easily seduced by my suggestions.
“Take it slow and think about it.”
? ? ?
Avenna decided to step away for a while to give me time to think about my proposal.
....To be honest, it's a bit frustrating to sit face to face with an elderly old man for hours, so it's an excuse to get out.
“Seina.”
“Sena? Are you listening?”
I called Seina, but she didn't seem to hear what she was thinking.
“I will call you.”
Dia, who was worse than her, tried to call Seina, but I shook my head and I sneaked behind her instead.
Then, he blew lightly into Seina's ear, who still didn't notice.
In fact, a little bit of mischief kicked in.
No, for some reason, when I see someone blankly, I want to play a joke.
This is my instinct.
What? ！”
Surprised, Seina shrugged.
Well, you're screaming more like a girl than I expected.
“Oh Arell?! What are you doing?”
“I want to ask. What do you think?”
” ah??????
It was only then that Seina realized that she hadn't heard when I called, and felt embarrassed.
I didn't mean to blame her, so I grabbed Seina's arm and pointed out to quickly switch to another topic.
“Please guide me through the town for a while so that I can take a walk.”
* * *
With Seina's guidance, I walked around the village slowly.
Dia also said that she would come along, but it was a little cumbersome for the three of them to come together, and she asked Avenna to come and let her know when she was done worrying, and left it at Seina's hometown for now.
Dia also obediently listened to my words and quietly followed.
“....Right. Was it because of the undead that were wary of us in the first place?”
“yes. It is said that it is because an outsider who entered the village a while ago suddenly collapsed and turned into an undead and ran amok.”
Seina explained why the locals were so wary when we first came to this village.
Do you want me to not misunderstand you?
It's not that I'm particularly offended or offended by that... However,
seeing that most of the villagers were so vigilant even though they had fighting power comparable to that of active knights, it seemed that they were being harassed by quite a few undead hordes.
After hearing it, I also thought that Avenna was not considering leaving this place for nothing.
So let's go around the town.
I happened to see the children of this village running around.
No, should I call it play or training..... I
don't know what to say when I see them playing hide and seek or wielding wooden swords while climbing a hill made out of rocks. Oh...
that's right, since I was young, I've been playing and training like that.
“huh?”
I looked at the children without much thought and was a little surprised.
If you observe the movements of children, you can see their hands or feet. And a very faint blue light occasionally twinkled on the back of the wooden sword.
‘As expected... Is it a lineage that is naturally prone to awakening to Aura?'
Is it innate? Or is there a secret recipe that comes down to the village? It's a bit interesting.
It is probably because of these characteristics that they have been able to make a living from mercenary work.
‘Certainly, it's a waste to let a stupid lord suffer.'
However, I was the only one who felt this way, and to Seina, it seemed like an extremely natural sight.
After all, this is her hometown.
So, is Seina really that big when she was young?
Ugh... It's a pity that photography hasn't been invented yet in this world.
Seina's childhood... well...
I can't imagine.
Can you imagine a young active athletic girl?
....Somehow I want to see it.
No, not just Seina, but if possible, I want to see the cute days of other aides too. Is there any way?
Should we make it our next research topic?
“Are you thinking about something strange?”
“Oh no. Isn't it like that?”
For some reason, I changed the topic to avoid questioning.
“Come to think of it, you said that this place has been making a living from the mercenary business for generations, right? Then, will those children also become mercenaries in the future?”
Yes, but.”
Seina nodded as if it were natural.
“Hmm... But Seina, you became a knight. Doesn’t it matter if you don’t carry on the family business?”
I understand that Seina enlisted in the Knights immediately after turning sixteen.
In other words, it means abandoning the family business and going out into the world.
“Ahahaha.... At that time, I had a bit of a tree frog temperament.”
Seina started talking as if she was a bit embarrassed.
“At the time, I thought I would do something other than mercenary, so I had various accidents.”
He continued talking with a slightly vague gaze, perhaps recalling the past.
“I thought I had a talent for working hard, so I volunteered for the knights with my father’s advice.”
“Right.”
“That's why I enlisted in the Knights. ....Well, it didn't work out well after that.”
As for Seina's whereabouts after enlisting, I already know about it because I received a report when she joined as an escort knight.
“Still, the decisive reason why I joined the Knights was because of my father.”
“father? Ah...”
I blurted out.
I heard about Seina's father from Avenna a little while ago, so I couldn't bear to say anything.
It may have nothing to do with me, but he died because of the nobility of the kingdom.
“It's not something that Arel-nim should be concerned about. Isn’t it Arel-sama’s fault in the first place?”
“Still, if the central government properly managed the local nobility, that wouldn’t have happened.”
This is as sincere as it is.
I have no intention of caring about what happens in a place I don't know about.
cuz it's cumbersome
However, since he had already heard the truth right in front of his eyes, it was useless to just pretend he hadn't heard.
“Next time something like this happens, tell me properly. Rather, it is better for me.”
Perhaps Seina didn't bother to talk about the town in order not to bother me.
Pretend it's not, but it's because there's no trick.
“And I'm not trying to help the people here out of sympathy.”
But the reason I want to help them is because it's worth it.
“There is also a perfect opportunity.”
I don't know what to say to Seina.
The fact that they are an armed group that is out of the reach of other lords means that they are exactly what I need.
What I originally wanted to ask the people of Seina's hometown was the security of the bank that would be established later, as well as the escort of cash.
If necessary, you could borrow the knights in the kingdom.
Most of the existing knights have been touched by someone.
It's embarrassing to use a troop that's under the influence of other nobles as a vault keeper when a large amount of money comes and goes.
Wouldn't it be better if the knights that Kania is currently trying to establish are complete?
Now, my sister also leads the knights, but it's unreasonable to leave it to her because she's having a hard time.
There, I remembered the people from Seina's hometown.
A group of competent mercenaries and most of the villagers are innate users.
There is also no connection to any particular nobles.
From my point of view, it's really hard to understand why the nobles didn't try to recruit them.
I think it's probably because they didn't rate them highly because of their unique pride and sense of privilege.
‘That's something I'm grateful for.'
If you coax them well, you will be able to use them to your advantage.
If I can capture them here, they will be just the power I need.
There are a few such calculations.
“...Arel-nim is too nice of a person.”
“Didn't you hear I said that I'm all going to the checkout now?” I was dumbfounded by Seina's words and wrinkled my forehead.
What is he really talking about?
I was just reaching out for my own gain.
“It’s just a sword that people say they like.”
....So even if it's not.
After that, we were taking a leisurely walk when Dia came to call us.
Looks like you've made your decision now.
When I return to Seina's hometown with Dia's teleport magic, Avenna is looking at me with a hard expression.
“Is it really possible to solve it?”
He asks me for a final check.
And also seemed to be worried about something.
Maybe he's worried about what I'm asking for?
I smiled and said calmly.
“Relax. I don't mean to help for free, but I have no intention of asking for anything ridiculous.”
To put it bluntly, it's to gain trust.
The other nobles have lost all trust, so I must make them believe in us.
There's nothing wrong with trusting me as an opportunity to reach out to me.
“I will hire you guys without any regrets. I promise.”
Not a bad suggestion in my opinion.
This is because the mercenary business is also slowly falling behind the times.
Gradually, as time goes by, you will trust the formal army more than a single armed group.
“Wouldn’t it be better to take this opportunity to secure a proper money line?”
GOLEM FACTORY
lllust by ANGJI
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