Chapter 146: Suspicious Movement 1
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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A trio of mercenaries sat at an old weathered table: a woman with red short hair, a bald man with a goatee, and a young man with brown shaggy hair.
Seeing all three casually resting their chins on the table, hands idly hovering over their weapons, I sharply slapped a coin onto the table, making a distinct 'clink.'
Naturally, my hand held a single gold coin.
Oh dear, a valuable guest we have.
"What is it? Got a story you want to hear?"
The bald man and the young man turned towards me, chuckling softly, lured by the lustrous gold coin now laid bare on the table.
Simultaneously, their hands moved naturally from their weapons to their drinks.
In the Knights Division, ranks are divided based on swordsmanship and magic skills; for mages, ranks are determined by mana control and magical research achievements; for adventurers, ranks change based on the monsters they can handle.
However, for mercenaries, the standard is straightforward and clear: it's 'money.'
Whether its individual skills or increasing scale, when a mercenary completes tasks, builds trust, and gets their hands on big money, their rank goes up.
Put differently, when a gold coin is offered like this, they are most easily swayed.
Even if a stranger sits at the table or a suspicious person starts a conversation, if a mercenary can grab a gold coin without working for it, theyll gladly give at least a nod of acknowledgment.
There's something I want to ask.
Oh, the rich brother is asking us, mere middle level mercenaries?
You were talking earlier, about a client who disappeared? I want to know where they might have gone and what might have happened.
It's a common story that a mercenary, without enough built trust, takes the money and runs.
Since mercenaries buy their ranks with money and trust, just as novice adventurers might let their guard down and be killed by a goblin, low-grade mercenaries might take the request fee and flee the city without doing the work.
However, it's an almost unheard-of story for a client to vanish while hiring a mercenary.
If someone can afford to hire mercenaries, they are likely to have significant influence.
Such individuals would normally maintain trust by paying a cancellation fee instead of souring their relationship with The Mercenary's Guild.
Ah, that? It was a bit unusual.
It was like gossiping, but speaking would bring in more money than their requests.
Just speaking gave them a gold coin so they had no reason to lie, especially to someone who just gave away a gold coin so casually.
Thus, the three began to freely share their experience.
Originally, the three of us were going to join a merchant caravan headed west. Instead of a large caravan, we decided to take a request from a group of peddlers who were traveling at the same time.
Peddlers?
Yes. Theyre not a merchant caravan, but individuals who have formed a guild. They carry small volume goods like mana stones, jewelry, and accessories for nobles or wealthy commoners. Theres no need to transport them by carriage, so they each carry a pack and travel together.
"Madmen, walking without horses or carriages."
The young man chuckled tipsily, lobbing a casual comment our way while my eyes naturally met with Lily's.
This meant that merchants carrying mana stones, disappeared with word, right?
Much like Lilys teammates.
Where were these merchants coming from?
They were from the west, that is, traveling through Count Morriss territory from the port city to Ertta. Our task was to escort from Ertta to the capital city.
Merchants carrying mana stones, missing, with ties to the western port city and Count Morriss territory.
At this point, it couldn't be a mere coincidence.
We had casually chosen this tavern, a regular spot for Lilys party, and somehow hit the bullseye.
Seeing my expression turn grave, and Lilys eyebrows furrowing in return, the mercenaries promptly pocketed the gold coin on the table.
Hehe, well, if by chance you knew the merchant, I apologize. I, uh, ahem, didnt mean to say it like that.
Seeing our grave reactions to the merchant story, they immediately shrank back.
Even in drunkenness, they felt a pang of conscience for possibly offending a generous benefactor who had just laid down a gold coin.
Seeing the three of them, whose characters seemed decent despite appearances, I casually waved reassurance before returning to our table.
The little one, shuffling his feet, blushed as he hurriedly rushed over with a plate of sizzling sausages.
It seems like he thought wed dashed after only drinking the ale.
Roland, what do you think?
It looks pretty clear that theres a connection. Perhaps those orc brutes have set up in that area.
Then it wouldnt be bad to visit The Merchant's Guild tomorrow. Lets see if there are guild members whose communication was abruptly cut off.
She, clutching her fork backward like a dagger, pierced a hot, oily sausage and chewed vigorously.
Despite the shabby appearance of the establishment, a delicious scent of meat wafted pleasantly through the air.
Looks like there's a reason it was popular.
Should I call it a game patch?
Even the sausages of such a cheap inn contained a bit of spice to neutralize any off flavors, and for that, I was immensely grateful.
If this were some typical fantasy novel with lukewarm beer and rubbery chunks of meat, I might have turned the whole world upside down.
Thinking like so, I swigged down some cool ale to wash away the oily residue in my mouth as Han Se-ah projected the quest window on her stream.
[Having listened to the complaints of a drunken mercenary, it seems that a group of peddlers has gone missing.]
[Merchants dealing in jewelry, accessories, and mana stones, who even set up requests...]
[The teammates of the woman who was transporting the mana stones also went missing in the same place...?]
Ah? It seems like the quest got updated! Is it from Rolands side or maybe Irene's?
-You know well that 0% chance it was found by you.
-Forbes #1 Gamer in figuring out the answer
-Isnt it Rolands side? They have a 6 and someone familiar with the city, right?
-Forbes #1 mosquito that sucks the NPCs dry.
-I think the northern brat's just wandering around while Irene takes care of her
Han Sa-ah's chat is causing a ruckus in the corner of the view.
Its not even been an hour since we all scattered, and yet its become even more chaotic.
Since the quest window has been updated, we can fill our stomachs and head back.
Casually glancing around, Lily, who had been observing my face from across the table, threw a question my way.
Did you hear something from the mercenaries at that table as well?
Hmm? No, I just listened out of curiosity, but it doesnt seem particularly relevant.
Being a high-level adventurer, she seems to catch everything, from the rolling of my eyeballs to the shift in my gaze.
Still, she does not know of the system holograms or the stream.
Ill turn off the stream and we can return to the inn.
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Raei Translations
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[Daily Life Knowledge donated 10,000 won!]
In the back alley of the Rusty Horseshoe Inn in the small city of Ertta, there are prostitutes known for their excellent service.
Did you know about that?
"Hey, you really... Roland, come quick! Did you hear something?"
After gorging on sausages, the already-gathered party members were waiting at the inn.
Han Se-ah and Grace seemed to have asked traders at the stalls, while Irene and Katie went and asked priests and believers at the temple.
I shared the story we heard in the inn with the ladies, who hadnt found out anything particularly valuable.
"Merchants coming from the west with mana stones have put out a request for escort, but then contact was lost with them. It seems like the orcs are ignoring larger caravans and targeting smaller merchants and travelers."
Even though orcs attack mindlessly, they have enough intelligence to count numbers.
They might charge when they simply outnumber the opponent but, they can distinguish between large caravans and small-scale merchants.
If theres a strategist among them who knows how to flee from the Obernu forest, they might be gathering mana stones.
Though its unclear what orcs would use mana stones for, but still.
Everyone nodded at the suggestion to head to the Merchant's Guild tomorrow to hear more from the merchants.
No one seemed to have heard any related stories, so there were no opposing opinions.
"So, we'll head to the Merchant's Guild tomorrow morning."
Since the keyword that updated Han Se-ahs quest window was mercenary, both she and I know the answer.
Everyone nodded without complaint and headed towards the floor with the bedrooms.
Being the only man, I took the 1-person room, Grace and Han Se-ah whispering, took the 2-person room.
Kind Irene took Lily and Katie into the 3-person room.
-Hmm Grace in pajamas or Irene in pajamas
-Might need to think a lot about where to place the camera
-It takes only a moment to fall into hell, behave yourselves
-Curious about what the northern brat is doing, show us the 3-person room
-What? You think she's bouncing around on the bed?
Nope, absolutely not showing. I'm ending stream and starting it back up when we proceed with the quest tomorrow~
[Streamer of this era, God Se-ah donated 10,000 won!]
Teacher, may I confess that Ive always admired you?
Ahh, it's a confession! Domhwangcha*!
With Han Se-ahs playful shout and gesture, the stream turns black, and the viewers, unable to accept the situation, flood the chat with chaos.
Of course, the person who should listen to those complaints has already disappeared, so the chat's fervor quickly fades.
"So, today..."
"Ah, Roland... beside..."
Regardless of the viewers venting their fierce anger into the void, Han Se-ah reveals her innermost desires immediately upon ending the stream.
...Even though there are cleaning magic tools, the soundproofing is terrible.
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