novelraw Chapter 58 : Chapter 58
Chapter 58 : Chapter 58
Chapter 58. It Smelled.
If he wanted the knight position that much, then just give it to him—Simon seemed to genuinely think that way.
It was disheartening.
Someone was on the verge of selling their organs for that one title.
To someone else, it was a matter that could be decided on the spot.
“If he was a knight, he can be used in combat, he’ll be familiar with the geography of the Imperial Capital, and since he has subordinates, he’ll be useful for information gathering too.”
I also knew that there were several advantages to mobilizing Peter.
I just couldn't accept the idea of using a knighthood as a bargaining chip.
And, even if giving him a knighthood became a realistic option, a sense of unease remained.
“I don't know if restoring such a man to knighthood is a wise choice. I'm worried that it might cause problems later.”
“...Why? He seemed like a good person.”
Pol, for a rare occasion, commented on my opinion.
“You just see him in a good light because he bought you drinks.”
“Hing……”
After happily accepting the drinks and suffering from a hangover.
“He is a man who chose to crawl into the back alleys rather than become a mercenary. I don't think he will properly fulfill his duties even if he returns to being a knight.”
A knight was not just about knowing how to swing a sword.
In this world overflowing with monsters, they had to be a shield that protected their territory, and a being that controlled the mercenaries who could turn into criminals at any time.
If a man who could choose to become a criminal at any time for the mere reason of being embarrassed was a knight, that territory could not be a good place to live.
I had said it seriously, but Simon chuckled.
“Haha. Mr. Ben, you don’t know much about knights, do you.”
“Well, it’s not that I know them well.”
Was he going to say that I shouldn't demand that much morality from a knight?
“Knights are usually stripped of their title when they fail to protect their territory. Because the raison d'être of a knight is to stop threats to their territory. Though they make allowances if it's a situation that is impossible for anyone to stop.”
Simon said slowly.
“In any case, there aren't that many threats that a knight must stop—if he failed to protect his territory because he was attacked by monsters or an enemy army, he would have become a mercenary for the sake of revenge, wouldn't he?”
Even if he lost his qualification as a knight, he would have been able to fight again as a mercenary.
But, the fact that he stubbornly refused to become a mercenary—
“His name was Peter, right? It's rare for someone to lose their knighthood, so let’s investigate a little.”
* * *
“...I spoke to Sir Liatro, and he said he would think about it.”
“Uooooh!! Really?! No, is that true?! I knew it!! I wasn't wrong!!”
Peter, who had been fully intending to follow us around today as well, shed tears of emotion as soon as he heard my words.
But didn't this just end up reinforcing Peter's conspiratorial delusions?
“I will serve you as my benefactor for the rest of my life!! Thank you! Thank you……!!”
“First of all, I'll make it clear that I'm not Sir Liatro’s disciple or anything like that.”
I said to Peter, who was repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
“So that’s the setting. Understood.”
Ah- what a pain.
I didn't know.
In any case, after the Sword Saint was released, I would be publicly announced as his disciple, so let's just leave it until then.
...Though, it seemed that even that wouldn't change Peter's mind.
“It's not confirmed yet.”
“That alone is enough. I really don't know how to repay this kindness-”
I stopped Peter, who was about to break down in joy.
You should listen until the end.
“You're not thinking of getting the title for free, are you? You'll have to help me with a few things.”
“Anything!! I'll do anything!! Just leave it to me!! Uoooooooh!!”
The heat was excessive.
Looking at him, my words were stuck.
“Oof……”
Pol clicked his tongue at the sight.
Usually, Pol was also overly passionate, but in front of someone more extreme, he was pretending to be a normal person.
You should reflect on yourself at this opportunity too.
“First, calm down a bit. And the polite language is burdensome, so stop.”
“Ahem. Understood.”
At my words, Peter immediately shut his mouth and nodded.
Now we were finally in a state where we could have a conversation.
I caught my breath and immediately got to the point.
“Recently, has there been anything suspicious around here?”
“I don't know. I was just drinking for a while.”
“……”
It was a prompt reply.
Was he proud of being dead drunk?
“Ah, but the other guys will know! I'll tell them to find out!”
Peter hastily added and then disappeared into the crowd as if he were running away.
Since a title was on the line, he at least wouldn't do it half-heartedly.
“Now, then-”
It wasn't certain whether Peter would bring back proper information.
It was a waste of time to just sit and pray, waiting for someone else to bring information.
“Pol. We will move on our own. Good or bad. If you get a feeling, tell me right away.”
If they had decided to throw the Imperial Capital into chaos, what would they target?
To start a fire, you need ‘firewood’ and a ‘spark.’
Even if the spark was prepared separately, the firewood had to be piled up in advance.
I'm not talking about all the preparation work.
Things like spreading corruption throughout the Imperial Capital to paralyze the ability to maintain public order had a greater intention of reducing the ability to respond to a problematic situation.
It was closer to breaking the fire extinguisher than piling up firewood.
There was something else that fit the meaning of ‘firewood’ better.
To serve the role of ‘firewood,’ it must catch fire well, and after it catches fire, it must be able to continue burning.
Standing on the border between good and evil, they could commit extreme acts without hesitation with just a little push.
Guys who were armed and had the power to fight.
Such guys were already abundant in this city.
“We are going to the Mercenary Guild.”
* * *
The Mercenary Guild of the Imperial Capital was quite different from the Thorn Shield, the Mercenary Guild in Dejong.
First of all, in terms of size, unlike the Thorn Shield which was only about the size of a decent tavern, it occupied an entire huge building.
With a little exaggeration, it was almost on the same level as Simon's mansion.
The splendor was a bit lacking, but it was full of people coming and going both inside and out, and a considerable sense of pressure was felt in a different way.
The inside of the guild was bright.
It wasn't that the windows were made large.
Several chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were shining brilliantly.
It was not an amount of light that could be produced by something like candles.
I could only carefully guess that perhaps magic had been used.
And the most important difference was that there was a bulletin board.
In Dejong, the illiteracy rate among mercenaries was so high that a bulletin board was meaningless.
The existence of a bulletin board in this guild meant that in the Imperial Capital, you had to be able to read to work as a mercenary.
“Something—it's amazing.”
Pol muttered with his mouth agape.
This time, it wasn't a matter of chiding Pol's dazed reaction.
It must have felt like visiting a department store for the first time in his life after only knowing a neighborhood convenience store.
I suddenly felt like a country bumpkin.
“As expected of the Imperial Capital. The level of the mercenaries is high too.”
Mercenaries equipped with flashy gear were not an uncommon sight.
They were probably 2nd-class or higher famous mercenaries.
But that didn't mean that there were few ordinary mercenaries either.
“Is there enough work for this many people in the Imperial Capital?”
“Of course not.”
Separate from the fact that people gathered here, the Imperial Capital could be said to be the most peaceful city in the empire.
At the very least, there was no chance of an external enemy reaching the heart of the empire, and the monsters were cleaned up by the knight orders that came and went frequently.
So why were there so many mercenaries in the Imperial Capital?
It was because there was ‘opportunity’ here.
“‘Exceptional requests’ from all over the empire gather in the Imperial Capital.”
Why didn't I forget information like this?
What a biased memory.
“Exceptional requests?”
The frequency of monster appearances didn't change much, and after the empire had almost unified the continent, it was an era without any decent wars.
The demand for mercenaries was almost constant.
Since it was an industry where they shared a single pie, if the number of mercenaries exceeded the demand, there would be mercenaries who couldn't earn money.
Such guys would fall into being bandits and other criminals, so the number was naturally maintained.
“To sum it up in one word—it’s when the client is greedy.”
But humans are creatures of desire.
That's why there were times when additional mercenaries were needed.
Things that couldn't be handled just by scraping together the mercenaries of that region, such as disputes that arose for various reasons like wanting to expand their land into monster territory, or a lord getting into a squabble with another nearby lord.
A matter that couldn't receive support from the imperial knight order because it was a matter born of greed.
Since there were only ‘as many as needed’ mercenaries in the vicinity, the only place to find mercenaries was the Imperial Capital.
And since it was an unusual demand, the pay was also more expensive than a typical mercenary request.
“The requests handled here are a good deal even including the cost of traveling from the Imperial Capital to various parts of the empire. It’s also good for building a reputation. If you’re aiming for a promotion, you have no choice but to come to the Imperial Capital.”
Who would recognize you for fighting monsters like goblins or Hond Wolves day in and day out in a peaceful city?
The standard for a 2nd-class mercenary was 'one of the top mercenaries in a city,' and to become a 1st-class mercenary, you had to secure a 'national-level reputation.'
It was a foolish thing to endlessly wait for a big problem to occur in your own region.
If you were confident in your skills, the fastest way was to take on requests that matched your level in the Imperial Capital and travel all over the country.
“The proportion of people among the mercenaries in the Imperial Capital who are full of desire to climb up is bound to be high. If I were them, I would have used that psychology.”
These were the most passionate mercenaries in the empire.
It was clear that they would move easily with just a little push.
Of course, making their emotions explode was also simple.
“You, go and see if there are any suspicious mercenaries. I'll check the requests.”
At my instruction, Pol nodded and naturally separated from me and blended into the crowd of mercenaries.
I scanned the request forms that filled the large wall with my eyes.
The requests could be divided into two types.
Relatively ordinary requests that required a 3rd-class mercenary or higher, and dangerous requests that required a 2nd-class mercenary or higher.
“Hmm.”
With one request form, dozens, hundreds of mercenaries could be moved.
Hundreds of such request forms.
It meant that tens of thousands of people's worth of work was on display on one wall.
Even now, the guild staff were busy taking down completed request forms and putting up new ones.
‘This is a strange feeling.’
It was similar to when I saw statistics like how many people die each day, or how many eggs are sold every hour.
It was the moment when my vision, which had been limited to my surroundings, expanded to the national level, the world level.
I realized that the empire was a huge country.
And, that there were that many people who could run wild when the empire collapsed.
It was impossible to check all the requests.
Instead of scrutinizing them one by one, I observed the overall flow.
‘There are requests that are going out unusually fast.’
I felt a sense of unease.
In an instant, mercenaries swarmed in, accepted the request, and the request form was taken down.
And a new request form was put up.
Looking over their shoulders, I saw that the requests that were being competed for had similar pay to other requests, but the content of the request was simple.
Naturally, it was a beneficial request for the mercenaries.
It wasn't strange for people to flock to it.
That, that was true, but.
‘Do overly well-rewarded requests come out this often?’
The clients weren't fools either.
There was no reason to give a lot of pay for a simple job.
Such requests should be a rare stroke of luck.
It smelled fishy.