/
C490: The Great Mercenaries
When I contacted Fugaku, I got a reply that Jean was in another country with Musashi.
“Why are they going there?”
“To look for evidence of enemy subterfuge. Dhahran is Jean’s hometown, so he is the right person for the job. What’s so urgent?
I explained the situation to Alana in a few words, as it was also relevant to her and she was not so surprised when she heard what I had to say.
The quality of gladiators has changed. I can’t believe that these windbags, who believe in freedom, would go out of their way to become employees of a crippled organization.
“I agree. What do you think, Alana?”
“I think you should answer that we don’t have money to hire that many gladiators but we can hire a few after they go through rigorous testing.”
I had similar expectations as Alana. However, the reality was very different.
“What? You can hire everyone who wants to join!”
“Gladiators are more promising than regular soldiers of a small country. With our rider enhancement program, they will be a force to be reckoned with in no time.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but is the money going to be enough?”
“The Elysian Empire’s invasion has caused major conflicts all over the continent. It’s easy to get big jobs, so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to it if the money wasn’t a problem

.”
Jean makes an immediate decision to purchase magicrafts, ride carriers and increase the number of riders, as well as to supplement the maintenance staff and ship’s crew.
I wonder where such money will come from, but he talks as if he has something to count on apart from the group’s funds. I was impressed to see his skills as a former merchant being put to use in such a situation.
Jean, who is in the Republic of Dhahran, is also heading to the Kingdom of Meltaria, so the Iron Knights will be gathering there.
In the meantime, we are going to recruit new members and purchase magicrafts and ride carriers at the same time. A new Iron Knights mercenary group might be born in Meltaria.
“Geneige, were you also an applicant?”
It seems that Geneige, who came to visit me as a representative of the gladiators, was actually a prospective member of the Iron Knights.
She was the first to line up at the reception desk for those wishing to join the group and when I found her I called out to her.
“Of course, I am one of the gladiators who admire Alana-sama and Yuta-sama, so I do not intend to miss this opportunity to be able to fight alongside the two people I admire.”
If she is a representative of gladiators, her ability must be considerable. While I feel reassured, I also feel a little fear as I look into her glazed eyes when she talks about such things.
I had heard that there were about 100 people who wanted to join the group, but when I opened the door, I found that the number had increased significantly to 250.
We had told them that we would accept all who wanted to join, so we couldn’t just reject them because there were a few too many.
We would have to purchase more magicrafts and inevitably we would have to hire more maintenance staff so I was beginning to worry if the funds would really be enough