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“That is correct. Lord Fairchild will grant Sir Eugene the authority to command fifty troops. Moreover, he will pay five hundred silver coins regardless of victory or defeat.”
It was a greater sum than both of the subjugations combined. And that wasn’t all…
“In addition, the mercenaries under Sir Eugene’s command will be paid their daily wages separately, and you would be entrusted all rights to the loot gained from the battle in case of victory.”
‘It truly is an offer befitting a noble with a title.’
“Sir Eugene! This is a golden opportunity for success! Let’s do it!” Mirian shouted excitedly without hiding her desires.
However, Eugene ignored her and responded to Mills. “How could Lord Fairchild trust me when I’ve never even met him? No, in the first place, how did Lord Fairchild know that I was here?”
“Well, that’s…”
Any other knight would have accepted the offer without hesitation, but it appeared he was truly a bit unique just as the stories had it. Mills continued with a side glance.
“This man informed us about the stories of Sir Eugene.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted, and the other figure slowly raised his hood.
“I-it’s nice to see you again, Sir Eugene.”
The man bowed repeatedly while sweating. It was Delduan, the merchant who recently crossed Mount Marcus alongside Eugene.
***
“Wow, I’m truly speechless. So that man really was a military depot merchant, right?”
“Fucking hell. So he lied to us even though he was actually heading to the Fairchild territory.”
“I am speechless as well. His party was so small that none of us ever suspected it.”
Partec smacked his lips after hearing the words of Lavan and Glade. Perhaps having heard their conversation, Delduan flinched. His head hung low like a sinner. However, he soon crept up to the side of the three mercenaries and gave an apologetic smile.
“I am sorry about that. But didn’t I give appropriate compensation?”
“Ha! Look here! This isn’t about the money…” Glade started to retort, but Partec interjected, “It’s fine. What’s happened is in the past, and he’s right.”
Then Partec turned towards Delduan, “But why did you come all this way?”’
“Because I know what Sir Eugene looks like. They might have just passed by him on the road otherwise, so Lord Fairchild had me tag along. I personally didn’t have any desire to come all this way.”
“Tsk, tsk. Surely you won’t be able to live a serene life because you’re such a blabbermouth.” Partec clicked his tongue, and Delduan laughed awkwardly. Just as he said, he wouldn’t have had to go through the trouble if he had held his tongue in front of Lord Fairchild.
“But how did he end up asking for help from Sir Eugene? Lord Fairchild must have a few territorial knights under his command, right?” Partec continued questioning.
“Well… he has two knights that could step up as commanders. One is just fine, but the other one is… a little problematic.” Delduan lowered his voice for fear that Mills, who was riding ahead with Eugene in the front, would overhear him.
“His name is Sir Robos, and he is Lord Fairchild’s cousin. He is a bit… lacking, and that he served as an aide for nearly 10 years. And Sir Robos also caused a bit of an accident.”
“An accident? What accident?”
“Sir Eugene defeated the mercenaries at Mount Marcus, right? When he heard the story, he became… inspired and led some troops on his own and stormed into Lord Bommel’s territory. The problem is that this was before Lord Fairchild declared war on Lord Bommel.”
“Huh?”
It was commonplace for a knight to be eager to earn some merit. However, it was a different story if the knight stormed into another territory before an official declaration of war.
Of course, it would be fine if they achieved an overwhelming victory by capturing the enemy’s head or their commander, but if they only managed to only destroy one or two villages in an awkward, clumsy course of action, then…
“However, that’s not the main issue. The bigger problem is that he lost all of soldiers and mercenaries in the first battle and was captured.” Delduan continued.
Rather than a ‘bit lacking,’ it seemed the knight was entirely incompetent, but Partec did not voice his thoughts.
“And that is what caused Lord Fairchild to become more agitated. I belatedly regretted bringing up stories regarding Sir Eugene, but what could I do? It’s not like I could hide the truth or lie when the lord asked.” Delduan finished explaining himself.
“Tsk, tsk.”
“Anyways, from how I see things, Lord Fairchild isn’t hoping to win the territorial dispute. As long as a situation can be created where he can save face, he will sign an appropriate agreement. So if you can persuade Sir Eugene…”
“All decisions are made by Sir Eugene. We just follow his orders, so stop with the nonsense.” Partec answered sharply. Delduan licked his lips vainly with a wince. It wasn’t only the knight who was formidable, but the mercenaries with him as well.
‘This will be difficult.’ With such thoughts, Delduan turned his eyes to Eugene and Mills. The butler was diligently explaining something to the knight.
“…As such, if you agree, then Lord Fairchild will treat you very well.”
“Hmm. I see.”
The offered conditions were fine, but Eugene intended to refuse. His purpose was to kill as many high-ranked monsters as possible in the evil lands to gain the red mana stones. He currently had no need for money.
But he was curious about one thing.
“Why me?” Eugene asked.
The Fairchild Viscounty was a noble family with a bestowed title from the kingdom. They were on a completely different level compared to the Tywin family, who had barely gained independence after serving under the Evergrove County for a long time.
They would possess two or three knights and a decent standing army. Even if the lord did hear about himself from Delduan, it was still strange to invite a knight when they shared no relationship.
“Ah, that’s…” Mills hesitated.
“If you try to give an absurd answer, I will immediately refuse your offer, so you better tell me the real reason.” Eugene interjected before anything else.
“Alright.” Mills quickly gave up on racking his brains and explained the incident related to knight Robos.
“A knight was captured? Would it not be better to pay his ransom and get him back first?”
“That would be tantamount to acknowledging defeat even before a real battle. It’s an undesirable outcome for Lord Fairchild. Lord Bommel would also not consider releasing Sir Robos for a ransom right away either.”
“So they want to consider it after they’ve had a go.”
“That is correct.”
“Then Lord Fairchild just needs to hire more knights, right? It’s not like I’m the only knight in this area.”
“That is also correct, but there is no one my master is satisfied with. In addition, due to the situation, all the candidate knights are asking to be sworn in, but the lord has no intentions of accepting territorial knights for the time being.”
Most free knights dreamed of being sworn in to titled nobility. However, noblemen with such capabilities were very stringent when it came to choosing their knights. It would cost a lot of money, but more importantly, for a noble to appoint a knight required them to put forth their ‘name.’
Moreover, If they appointed random nobodies as territorial knights, the honor of the noble family in question could be damaged.
“Hmm. I apologize, but I have no intentions of becoming a knight for the Fairchild territory.” Eugene spoke as if hinting at his refusal.
Mills responded as if he had been expecting Eugene’s words. “Lord Fairchild has no intention of swearing you in as well, Sir Eugene.”
“What?”
“P-please do not misunderstand. Lord Fairchild said he would write a letter of recommendation for Sir Eugene to his father-in-law.”
“A letter of recommendation…”
“Yes! He will write a letter of recommendation to Count Winslon. If you bring the letter to the count and prove your courage in his presence, he might appoint you as his knight on the spot. You know well about Count Winslon, right?” Mills spoke proudly with his head held high as if he were the butler of Count Winslon instead.
Unfortunately, however, Eugene had no idea who Count Winslon was. As such, he briefly contemplated how he should respond.
But Mills took Eugene’s reaction in a different sense.
‘No way! How far is this knight looking?’
He was truly shocked. How could he mull over the chance to become sworn in to Count Winslon, one of the four great nobles of the kingdom?
‘How grand are his ambitions? I truly cannot believe it.’
Mills could swear to God that he never experienced such a response before. He was shocked and confused. However, he could not simply sit still and watch. He quickly continued. “Sir Eugene. Count Winslon is known to favor brave knights. There is no need to mention the treatment you would receive, and he does not expect much from the appointed knights. All he desires is for the knights to display their martial prowess and honor under the banner of Winslon.”
Even after hearing the explanation, Eugene remained impassive. Mills became even more urgent. “Moreover! Count Winslon declared that if a knight successfully subjugates a dungeon or a labyrinth in the lord’s possession, the rights to the materials obtained from the…”
“Count Winslon has evil lands in his possession?”
Eugene had been listening with an apathetic expression thus far, but suddenly showed interest. Mills nodded in a hurry. “Yes! There are a total of four evil lands in his possession, including two in the county, and two located in the vassal families of the county.”
It was hard to understand how vast a territory was to possess four evil lands. However, Eugene wasn’t interested in how large the county’s territory was.
‘A nobleman who does not meddle in the knight’s affairs. Moreover, four evil lands?’
“Does Count Winslon deal with the Palin Association?”
“Uh, I do not know for sure…”
Eugene seemed slightly disappointed at his response. Mills quickly continued. “But the Palin Association usually operates their branches on the coast, right? Since the Winslon County is located in the inland of the kingdom, I think they would have little to do with the Palin Association.”
“Really? So that’s how it is…”
Eugene wasn’t completely sure yet, but there were about five or six evil lands that the Palin Association could arrange subjugations for. So what if he could acquire four more?
‘But it is a territorial war.’
Eugene was confident in fighting alone or in small groups in the dungeon, but he was ignorant to the matters of a territorial war. He contemplated.
“What are you worrying about? You can get into more dungeons! If he’s a count, isn’t he a really high-ranking noble? Ah, is it because you have to fight with humans?” Surely enough, Mirian, the spirit of desire, was hooked on something.
“My seniors told me that when humans fight a war, there’s no need to kill everybody. All you have to do is to take their leader down. And it’s a vampire’s specialty to sneak in and take down one person, right?” She continued.
Eugene came to his senses at Mirian’s words. She was right. The enemies this time weren’t monsters, but humans. Words and threats were effective against them. There was no need for him to fight and kill all of the enemies.
“I will decide after meeting with Lord Fairchild,” Eugene answered.
“Thank you, Sir Eugene! You made an excellent choice!” Mills had been anxiously waiting for a response. His lips curled up into a huge grin after hearing Eugene’s answer.
“Kihehehehehe! Great!”
The same was true for the spirit of desire.
***
“From there onwards is the Fairchild territory. Phew.” Mills gave a sigh of relief in front of a small river.
Delduan spoke carefully. “Senior, what do you think about taking a break before crossing the river?”
“No. Lord Bommel’s troops may be on patrol. Let us take a rest after crossing the river.”
Although there were no villages or even houses in the vicinity, technically, they were still in the territory of the Tywin family. However, the Tywin family turned a blind eye to occurrences in their territory unless it involved villages or hamlets under their possession. They had no interests, and they had no ability to handle such issues.
Therefore, mercenaries hired by other nobles could cross their territory without prior notification. There was nothing to be done. Even if they were caught causing an accident, they would be released after having paid an appropriate compensation and the Tywin family would turn a blind eye unless it involved robbery or murder. Such actions were customary to the noble world.
As such, even if Baron Bommel’s hired mercenaries were wandering the area, the Tywin family would have no knowledge of it. Even if they did, they would come to an arrangement with some silver coins.
“Do you think they would send troops all the way here? Didn’t you say they were gathering their troops in Langbon?”
“Langbon is less than a day’s distance from here. If we are unlucky…”
“From the looks of things, it seems we are indeed unlucky.”
Mills became startled at Eugene’s words and looked up.
“I think they are mercenaries. Were they hired by Lord Fairchild?” Eugene pointed with his chin, and Mills turned his gaze at the speed of light.
“Oh no! Those men do not belong to us.”
Mills’ expression quickly turned grim, and he grasped the handle of his shortsword. Perhaps because he was the butler of a titled nobility, but he possessed a rather good understanding of swordsmanship.
There was a group of about ten people quickly approaching them along the riverside. All of them were armed, and their gaze was fixated on Eugene’s group. In addition, two of them were loading bolts onto their crossbows.
Mills looked toward the mercenaries with tense eyes.
“We should try to talk to them first, but if they were hired by Lord Bommel…”
Neiiigh!
Suddenly, Silion charged forward.
“S-sir!?”
“Sir Eugene!”
Everyone became shocked at the sudden turn of events, including Mills.
“W-what the!?”
The approaching mercenaries were even more startled. The sudden charge of a fully-armed warhorse was enough to create huge pressure on anyone. Moreover, it went without saying if the person riding the horse was a heavily armed knight with plate armor.
In the face of such a situation, there were bound to be people who made mistakes.
“Hiek!”
One of the mercenaries holding a crossbow was unable to overcome his fear. He pulled the trigger of his weapon.
‘What? Is he insane?’
Eugene’s forehead creased in annoyance. Though the mercenaries would not believe it, Eugene had been planning to merely talk and perhaps threaten the mercenaries if required.