The bed next to his was for the twins, yet their figures were nowhere to be seen.
As a yawn spilled out of his mouth, he looked around the room only to find the twins huddled together in the corner.
Their eyes were closed shut.
It looks like they havenât woken up yet, their chests were gently raising and lowering as they breathed softly.
The meal put aside for them had been completely eaten.
ăYou ate it allâŚ?ă (Ardis)
They must have eaten it whilst Ardis slept.
The stew bowl was spotless, as if it had been licked clean. There was no mistaking their hunger.
Still, they didnât seem comfortable eating in front of Ardis. Their lack of trust must be due to how they were treated until now.
After washing his face, Ardis went down to the first floor and greeted the owner of the inn. Once heâd received todayâs breakfast from Kashiha, he returned to his room.
Whilst he was gone, it seems the twins had awakened.
However, they stayed in the corner of the room and refused to approach.
ăIâve brought breakfast, arenât you going to eat it?ă (Ardis)
Despite calling out to them, there was no reply. Even after he had started his meal, the twins did not join him.
The situation didnât change even after Ardis had finished eating.
They only started eating after Ardis had left the room.
It seems like the twins refuse to eat whilst heâs there.
After judging that it wouldnât be good to forcibly reduce the distance between them, Ardis decided to visit the tavern to meet with Ted, hiding his anxiety.
ăAh, Ardis! Over here!ă (Ted)
Upon entering the tavern, Ted called out to him.
Ophelia and Norris were already waiting at the table.
ăWhat happened to those children?ă (Ophelia)
After Ardis took a seat, Ophelia suddenly noticed that the children were not behind him.
ăI left them at the innă (Ardis)
ăAre you okay? Did something happen?ă (Ted)
ăWe were driven out of the previous innă (Ardis)
The expressions of the three immediately turned dark.
There is a certain sense of camaraderie between mercenaries.
When you hear someone speak of mercenaries you might think itâs a decent job. However in reality mercenaries are people who could not find normal work, they have low social status and are only slightly better than bandits.
There are some mercenaries who are violent towards the people of the city, make unreasonable demands to express their power, leave without paying for food and drink and rape the townâs women. These types of mercenaries are no different than criminals.
Ardis is different to that of course, he obeys the laws and does not abuse his power.
Despite that, there are also those heroic mercenaries who use their power to help people and the world, there are even those who handle their requests seriously and try not to trouble others.
However from the point of view of the public, the word ăMercenaryă is a negative one.
There is no organization that administers and supervises the existences called mercenaries.
Certainly, if you commit a crime and get caught by the guards you will be judged, but there are places where the guardâs eyes cannot reach.
No matter where you are in the world, mercenaries are treated like barbarians.
There are few inns that would allow mercenaries to stay.
This isnât an issue in Thoria because it is a big city, however in smaller towns they are unlikely to find accomodation.
ăRegardless, I managed to find a place to stayă (Ardis)
Although expensive, Ardis thought with a dissatisfied face.
ăItâs good you found a place to stay, I was worriedă (Ted)
ăWell there are still things to worry aboută (Ardis)
Ardis began to explain, smiling bitterly.
ăThey refuse to move from the corner of the room. They donât reply to me when I speak to them. Even at dinner, they refuse to eat until I go to sleep. It feels like Iâve picked up a pair of stray catsă (Ardis)
ăIs it alright to leave them in the inn?ă (Ted)
ăThe owner already knows about the situation. Besides they seem to be able to look after each other, whilst I was asleep they went to the restroom by themselves. There was also a lot of opportunities to escape yesterday, but they havenât attempted to leave the room. All they do is watch me cautiously from the corneră (Ardis)
ăWell donât worry too much about it. Considering their circumstances itâs natural. Since youâll be sleeping in the same room for a while, their cautiousness will gradually waneă (Ted)
Seeing this conversation was over, Ted spoke up.
ăWell then, letâs talk about work. Norris, will you explain the request to Ardis?ă (Ted)
ăI told you we should have waited until we were all togetherâŚ..itâs a hassle to explain it twiceă (Norris)
My bad, my bad. Ted brushed off Norrisâ complaints.
Ignoring that, Norris began to explain the contents of the request.
ăThe request I received today is another surveyă (Norris)
ăWhat is it this time? Are we surveying an excavation zone?ă (Ardis)
Ardis lightly laughed.
Even for mercenaries, their lives were somewhat peaceful.
Although there may be battles for self defense like last time, those instances are rare.
Short term work which is too much of a hassle to hire people for is often sent as requests to mercenaries.
Clients are generally merchants or chiefs of towns and villages.
Occasionally requests from countries can appear or even military requests.
There are quite a few jobs that knights and soldiers cannot do.
Itâs not unusual for well known mercenaries to be treated very well.
There are occasionally requests handed out to mercenaries that would be too dishonourable for knights to do. Even if the mercenary dies during the request, it is not seen as a problem.
Compared to those requests, investigation jobs are comparatively better.
ăNo, this time itâs a survey of the land. Including the size of the roads, any nearby water sources, drainage systems and any unique geological featuresă (Norris)
The location was about two days away, advancing south towards the border of a neighbouring country.
ăOhâŚ.by the way, whoâs the client?ă (Ardis)
ăIt seems to be a company, butâŚă (Norris)
ăBut?ă (Ardis)
ăThere may be a country behind themă (Norris)
ăWhat do you think about it Ardis?ă (Ted)
Ted asked from the side.
ăIt seems to be a preliminary survey for a new garrison locationă (Ardis)
ăYou truly believe that? Though it does seem to be the caseă (Ted)
Ted also agreed with Ardisâ reasoning.
ăSo the rumor that the war with the Empire is near is true?ă (Ophelia)
Ophelia said uneasily.
ăWhat do you think? The price of heavy iron seems to have settled down, but perhaps we should investigate just in caseă (Ardis) (TLN: éé -> Heavy Iron)
ăWhy would they make a request in Toria? Surely the Imperial Capital is closer?ă (Ted)
Ted agreed with Ardis, but was nevertheless suspicious of the request coming in to Toria.
ăMaybe they are attempting to proceed in secret to be as discreet as possible. Itâs not a request from the city lord or the military, but instead from a company. The contents of the request are also camouflaged as a preliminary survey anyway?ă (Ardis)
ăArdis is right. People would assume the request is in preparation for a pioneering projectă (Norris)
ăPerhaps thatâs right. Maybe a similar request has already been made in the Imperial Capitală (Ted)
Ted nodded with a convinced face.
ăThe reward amount is good, likely because of the proximity to the border. The minimum guaranteed amount is 20 gold coins, but that could raise to 30 gold coins. What do you want to do Ardis?ă (Ted)
Thatâs rightâŚthe request is also fairly short.
ăIâm sorry, but Iâm going to decline this time. If I go to the border, I wonât be able to return to the inn everyday like I had planned toă (Ardis)
There was nobody upset at his decision, they all understood that he wanted to look after the twins.
ăWell thereâs nothing more to say. We can talk more after your day tripă (Ted)
ăSorry Tedă (Ardis)
After leaving behind Ted and his party, Ardis left the tavern and went out of the town alone.
ăFor just a day trip to the forestâŚ.it canât be helped, Iâll have to hunt a beast kingă (Ardis)
Glimpsing at the grasslands in front of him, Ardis took a step forward.