How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 51: ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐€๐›๐ง๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ (๐Ÿ“)



Chapter 51: ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐€๐›๐ง๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ (๐Ÿ“)

Price was a factor, but it seemed like the option with the least repercussions.

Johan realized this while watching the Jarpen and Abner families fight.

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ.โ€™

Even in a favorable position, the Jarpen family extended their hand first.

The reason was simple.

If they werenโ€™t planning to fight to the death with the Abner family, they had to work together anyway.

Countess Abner, despite feeling bitter and angry, accepted the proposal immediately.

Nobles sometimes fight to the death, but such โ€˜trivialโ€™ disputes were different. Regardless of win or loss, they had to respect each otherโ€™s pride to some extent.

Imagine handling matters well and gaining tax rights. The moment you sell it to someone else, it would eventually reach Ulrikeโ€™s ears.

At that moment, Ulrike would grasp the situation and explode with anger.

โ€œ. . .So the first one to sell to should be Ulrike-gong.โ€

โ€œWhat kind of nonsense is that?! Why would Ulrike buy that!โ€

Stephen was shocked.

Even if Johan was overly confident, he couldnโ€™t force Ulrikeโ€™s twisted personality to change with power.

โ€œShe wonโ€™t buy it!โ€

โ€œWhy?โ€

โ€œBecause Ulrike dislikes me! She wonโ€™t listen to my proposal.โ€

โ€œApart from disliking, Ulrike-gong knows how to see reality.โ€

โ€˜๐˜š๐˜ฐ, ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ?!โ€™

โ€œIf the rights to a fiefdom will complicate things by going to others, sheโ€™ll compromise. Am I wrong?โ€

โ€œUgh.โ€

Stephen couldnโ€™t argue. It made sense when put that way.

โ€œUnless itโ€™s a trade guild, selling it to another nearby feudal lord would give Ulrike a real headache.โ€

โ€œHey, thatโ€™s a bit. . .โ€

Even as a member of the Abner family, Stephen was flustered. That was a bit too much.

โ€œThis is how negotiations are done. Got it? Of course, I donโ€™t want to sell it off like that and create hostility, but. . .โ€

โ€œSo, are you going to negotiate now?โ€

โ€œNo. This is just a scenario if things go well. Trying to negotiate with something that doesnโ€™t exist yet will only lead to mockery. In the worst case, it might even cause interference.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s true. Good point. . .โ€

Stephen mumbled, then looking at Johan, he said,

โ€œBut itโ€™s really good to have a knight like you. I canโ€™t trust the other knight dastards of the family at all.โ€

โ€œI havenโ€™t agreed to do it yet.โ€

โ€œWhat?!โ€

โ€œBring the map. Iโ€™ll decide after hearing the details.โ€

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

Ultimately, Johan accepted Stephenโ€™s proposal.

โ€˜๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ข ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ.โ€™

Although Stephen said it was a small town, that was by Stephenโ€™s standards; it was actually quite a large town. Being over a few hundred in population was considered large.

โ€œAnyway, this map is really. . .โ€

The maps of this era were terrible. Johan sometimes wondered if he was looking at a map or scribbles.

โ€œ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜น ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ.โ€

Having followed Priest Valberga in managing the fiefdomโ€™s taxes and population registry, Johan had useful experience in this area. Stephen, who was without a scribe or priest, looked at Johan reading the documents alone with amazement.

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ช๐˜ตโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜บ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ค๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ. . . ๐˜•๐˜ฐ, ๐˜ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ.โ€™

Having never owned a fiefdom, Johan had developed a habit of contemplating how to develop any fiefdom that came into his hands. If it was something Johan could do, others would have tried it a few times as well.

What Johan was facing now was not a future matter but an immediate subjugation.

โ€˜๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ.โ€™

It was a common occurrence.

If the monsters were defeated and peace returned to the area, it was fortunate, but if not, the fight had to continue. From the employerโ€™s perspective, weighing options was inevitable.

Mercenaries cost money from the moment they are hired.

In a situation with no end in sight, pouring money into it rather than withdrawing could be more beneficial.

But Johan was different.

โ€œIt would have been easier if it was just one strong monster causing the failure. This seems easy but is actually difficult.โ€

Still, Johan decided to go ahead with it.

A significant factor was that all the money would come from Stephenโ€™s pocket.

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

Countess Abner looked at Johan and Stephen as if amazed.

โ€œAlthough I granted privilege out of respect for honor. . .โ€

Countess Abner felt a headache coming on at the sight of the knight who brought a strange plan after seeking reconciliation.

โ€˜๐˜•๐˜ฐ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ.โ€™

Johan is an outsider. It was unlikely that he would have led such a plan. The cause was clearly Stephen.

A last desperate attempt to avoid going to the monastery!

It was both annoying and pitiful.

Still, she was the most cherished child in her youth. . .

โ€œHeincut town has failed thrice in subjugation. Some priests say the land is cursed, as itโ€™s infested with monsters. Do we really need to hire mercenaries and ensure its subjugation?โ€

โ€œYes. Please trust and leave it to me. I have already agreed with Sir Johan.โ€

โ€˜๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ.โ€™

Sincerity was felt in those recent words. โ€˜๐˜‘๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ.โ€™ Of course, Stephen didnโ€™t notice at all.

โ€œThere will be no support from the family. Do not ask for any help if the mercenariesโ€™ wages are delayed.โ€

โ€œI am doing this to elevate my honor! How could I ask the family for help!โ€

Stephen exclaimed, pounding his chest. It was a knightly attitude, but no one in the room took him seriously.

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ.โ€™

โ€˜๐˜‘๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ดโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ.โ€™

โ€˜๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ? ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ.โ€™

โ€œ. . .If anyone here wishes to join this honorable expedition, speak now. I will consider it.โ€

Silence followed Countessโ€™s words. It signified their unwillingness to get involved in trouble with Stephen.

โ€œCountess, please give me and my son a chance!โ€

โ€œSir Inno. Is Sir Gerdolf fully recovered?โ€

โ€œHe wasnโ€™t injured at all! Give us a chance, and we will redeem ourselves.โ€

โ€œGranted.โ€

โ€˜๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณโ€™ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต, ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ. ๐˜™๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜œ๐˜ญ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ-๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ตโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ.

For them, with neither a noteworthy fiefdom nor family, The Countess was the only reliable entity.

โ€˜๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ.โ€™

Johan clicked his tongue at the Countessโ€™s effort to include and help the knight. Nobilityโ€™s rule might be heartless and tearless, but as humans, itโ€™s not always possible to be that way.

โ€œWith the Butcher. . . Cough. Sorry. I should have stopped it.โ€

โ€œ. . .What nonsense are you talking about?โ€

โ€œ???โ€

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

Nearly two hundred mercenaries were hired. Considering Stephenโ€™s finances, it would be a disaster if the campaign wasnโ€™t concluded within half a year.

Count Jarpenโ€™s emissaries, particularly the knights, regretted not participating in Johanโ€™s expedition. It was thanks to Johanโ€™s reputation and connections.

โ”๐’๐ข๐ซ, ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐š ๐ค๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ. ๐ƒ๐จ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ . ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐›๐ž ๐ฐ๐š๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ .

Count Jarpen might understand, but he couldnโ€™t be kept waiting for too long. For both Johan and Stephen, time was of the essence.

โ€œSo thatโ€™s why you called me?โ€

โ€œYes, Suetlg-nim.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re undervaluing a wizardโ€™s worth.โ€

โ€œHow can I equate friendship with gold?โ€

Suetlg looked incredulous at Johanโ€™s easygoing response.

โ€œThis monster hunt desperately needs your experienced advice, Suetlg-nim.โ€

โ€œ. . .You seem to think my magical secrets are akin to a hunterโ€™s experience, but I assure you theyโ€™re not.โ€

If you want to know how to deal with a monster hunt, summon an experienced hunter or a mercenary captain. Itโ€™s like using a catapult to hunt goblins.

But Johan, undeterred, asked,

โ€œWhat do you think is the reason for the endless appearance of monsters?โ€

โ€œThere are various reasons. . . maybe we havenโ€™t found the breeding dens. Creatures like goblins, known for their fertility, often do this. Theyโ€™re adept at hiding their dens. Though different, ghouls are also troublesome if their source isnโ€™t found, continually rising from the dead.โ€

โ€œGhouls? How do they usually come about?โ€

โ€œWell, everyone says something different. . . I think they emerge when a corpse with a strong grudge is buried improperly, but priests believe they arise from committing sacrilege. . . Iโ€™m not sure. Itโ€™s not my area of expertise. What else could there be? Ah. In the case of clever monsters, some flee when the hunters arrive and then return.

Beasts as clever as wolves youโ€™re asking about are good at detecting human presence. If the hunt has failed a few times, there should be records of what kind of creatures appeared.โ€

โ€œMostly goblins. Apparently, theyโ€™re particularly clever and even control boars.โ€

โ€œThose pests are surprisingly skilled in that regard.โ€

Suetlg clicked his tongue. Goblins, being monsters, were inherently brutal and cruel, but that didnโ€™t necessarily mean they were stupid. Depending on the tribe, there were plenty of clever ones.

โ€œNow that I think about it, thereโ€™s one more possibility.โ€

โ€œWhat is it?โ€

โ€œMercenaries pretending to work, failing to hunt, and then embezzling the money. Itโ€™s surprisingly common.โ€

โ€œLooking at the Countess, anyone doing that would have met a gruesome end.โ€

โ€œYou know well. Indeed, Countess Abner is famous. Once, she hanged a group of mercenary captains.โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

Johan was relieved to meet Countess Abner as a knight, not a mercenary.

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

โ€œNo, captain. Youโ€™ve received such a large sum of money and still not resting? You keep working.โ€

โ€œWhen did I tell you to come? If you want to rest, go and rest.โ€

โ€œHow can I be absent where the captain goes?โ€

The mercenaries grumbled but their faces were very bright.

Thanks to Goran and Khanโ€™s choice, they had earned several yearsโ€™ worth of salary at once.

At first, when they heard that Goran and Khan were involved in a complicated matter, they were horrified.

โ”๐€๐ก, ๐œ๐š๐ฉ๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง! ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐ซ๐š๐ณ๐ฒ? ๐“๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐ก ๐š ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ !

โ”๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Œ๐ซ. ๐Š๐ก๐š๐ง?!

Such reactions changed to the opposite after the reward they received upon arriving at Count Jarpenโ€™s territory.

โ”๐€๐ฌ ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ฉ๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง. ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐œ๐ž๐ง๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ.

โ”๐‡๐ž๐ก๐ž, ๐ˆโ€™๐ฏ๐ž ๐ง๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐›๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐Œ๐ซ. ๐Š๐ก๐š๐ง. . .

The soldiers currently escorting Johan in the punitive force were the mercenaries they had hired when they left the city.

It was much more reliable than hiring new mercenaries.

When they heard about the punitive mission, the mercenaries unanimously decided.

They wanted to follow this fortunate employer and earn even bigger!

Who would be crazy enough to step back from such a golden opportunity to rest? The same went for Goranโ€™s mercenary group.

โ€œStop! We rest here today. Summon one sub-captain each!โ€

โ€œIs that Heincut town over there?โ€

โ€œSeems like it. Itโ€™s gloomy.โ€

โ€œAll abandoned towns are gloomy.โ€

The punitive force set up camp a little away from the town. It was risky to enter the monster-infested town, especially as the sun was setting.

โ€œPlease give my son a chance, Sir Stephen.โ€

โ€œ. . .Youโ€™re asking for a chance for your own son, what do you think, Sir Johan?โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

Although Inno brought it up himself, he regretted participating here with Gerdolf, wondering if it was a mistake.

Itโ€™s hard to find a knight as unreliable as that!


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