novelraw Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Episode 38
"I'm full."
Basilian ate the snack Flora offered, albeit with some unease.
'He probably doesn't get to eat things like this much as a mercenary band errand boy.'
With a slight feeling of pity and a wish that the admirable boy would eat well, she shared her limited snacks.
'Lucifer isn't rich, but it's still better than a mercenary band errand boy.'
She felt a bit sorry for Isaac, who was waiting patiently, but feeding Basilian snacks was more important than getting straight to the point.
After feeding Basilian snacks for a while, Flora snapped back to attention under the gazes directed at her.
"Ahem, ahem. I saw this time that Dad manages the mercenary ajeossis well. The uncles listen to Dad well too. Basi said that mercenary ajeossis live hard lives because they're drifters. But he said they're important for the Empire. Right?"
"That's correct. In areas beyond the reach of the Executor Bureau, the ones to rely on are the local knight order or hired mercenaries."
"Okay, so how about we help those mercenary ajeossis? We could receive work on their behalf, protect them from external dangers, manage them, and create a guild just for mercenaries!"
To begin with, no matter how lowly the mercenary profession was considered, the fact that there was no Mercenary Guild didn't make sense.
If it could accommodate not only those who formed mercenary bands and traveled in groups but also individually active mercenaries, the guild's scale could become quite large.
Flora, having passionately voiced her opinion, let out a rough breath.
She felt proud of her own suggestion, thinking it was a good idea, but for some reason, the reaction she got was lukewarm.
"Hmm, did you really come up with this yourself, Young Lady?"
Feeling the skeptical gaze, Flora thought, 'Oops.' And then she immediately grinned sheepishly.
'Oh dear. Is this method too advanced for a child to have thought of?'
Her eagerness to convey the idea immediately had made her too hasty.
'In that case, I'll have to use a little trick.'
"Actually, I heard the mercenary ajeossis talking among themselves. They said it would be good if they had a leader."
She could feel Basilian's incredulous gaze from the side, but Flora remained confident.
"Hmm, so this isn't your own idea, Young Lady, but you're relaying a conversation you heard among mercenaries to me?"
"My, my opinion is in there a little too. Ah, protecting the uncles. I don't like scary things."
When she pushed forward the most childlike thought among her suggestions, Isaac's eyes narrowed.
A long silence passed, as if he was determining whether Flora's statement was true.
For a moment, a hint of a smile seemed to flicker at the corner of his mouth.
'Did I see wrong?'
As Flora blinked, the smile vanished instantly. Instead, his firmly closed lips parted.
"Certainly, the reason mercenaries have never united until now is the lack of a leader to represent them. His Grace has a decent reputation among mercenaries, and if he provided them with work and protection, there would surely be those who welcome it. It's quite a good idea, isn't it?"
At the positive response, a smile spread across Flora's lips. But soon that positivity sank miserably to the ground.
"However, to engage in related work, we would need to obtain a guild establishment permit from the Imperial Family. Of course, the permit won't be granted."
"What? Why!"
Flora slammed the table and shouted, then suddenly remembered something.
"Because of private soldiers?"
"That reason is also correct. Even if the stated purpose is mercenary management, from another angle, it could be seen as Lucifer's private soldiers. Moreover, it's a group that subjugates monsters, so the image wouldn't be good either."
It felt like anger was bubbling up inside her.
Flora gritted her teeth and downed the now-cooled warm milk in front of her in one go.
Then she put the cup down roughly and shouted.
"I really hate the Imperial Family!"
Basilian, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, started coughing and choking, unable to swallow the milk he was drinking in time.
"Pfft, cough, cough!"
"What, did I scare you? You swallowed wrong. Are you okay?"
"Cough, ah, no."
Basilian hurriedly wiped his mouth with his sleeve and waved his hands, saying he was fine, perhaps out of embarrassment.
"You hate the Imperial Family because they won't allow private soldiers?"
"It's not just the Imperial Family! I hate the Executor Bureau too! Why, why do they only bully Lucifer? I wish they'd just stop bullying my Dad."
Flora sullenly let her shoulders slump and sighed.
Then, in a trembling voice, she posed a new question.
"W, wait. Is there another reason?"
As if waiting for it, the answer came from Isaac's mouth.
"Yes, private soldiers are one thing, but first, the ducal residence doesn't have the money to establish a guild. Even if the Imperial Family granted permission, we couldn't cover the guild establishment costs."
Flora slumped down.
"Right, our territory is poor."
She had conceived a business idea to make money, but to start the business, she needed money.
"What about a loan from the Imperial Bank?"
Elena, who had been quietly listening, offered an idea, but the reaction to this was also skeptical.
"They won't give it to us. They've probably already heard the news that businesses in the north are shutting down one after another."
At Isaac's skeptical words, Elena also fell silent.
It was a hopeless situation.
"Unless we discover a gold-laden vein, it will be difficult."
The remark Basilian tossed out struck Flora like a dagger.
"Our one copper mine is blocked too, so be quiet."
'Strange. Why do I feel like crying?'
A palpable sense of anxiety washed over her, the feeling that poverty would never end like this.
"Still, it seems like a good idea. How about submitting a guild establishment application to the Imperial Family, just in case?"
At Elena's words, Isaac pondered for a moment and then nodded.
"It's better than not trying at all. I think it's best to discuss it with His Grace first and then decide how to proceed."
"What about me?"
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Athanas had finished his work and came looking for Flora.
When he asked what was going on with their conversation, Flora's eyes suddenly began to well up with tears.
"Flora?"
A flustered Athanas approached, wondering if his daughter was hurt somewhere, and Flora immediately spread her arms.
Taking the signal to be picked up, Athanas indulged his daughter's whim and scooped her up.
Burying her face in his broad shoulder, Flora began to whimper.
"Waaah, I really hate the Imperial Family."
"The Imperial Family?"
For a moment, Athanas seemed taken aback, then cautiously admonished her.
"Flora, we are a house that has sworn loyalty to the Imperial Family. Saying such things about the Imperial Family is the crime of disrespect."
"But the Imperial Family bullies Dad. The Imperial Family is bad."
"...Dad is fine."
"No. You're not fine. My Dad works too hard."
Don't raise private soldiers, don't expect help from the Executors.
Yeah, the bank won't give us a loan.
This business isn't allowed for this reason, that business isn't allowed for that reason.
If businesses are blocked, they should at least provide subsidies to help revitalize the local economy, but they won't do that either. Aren't they treating us too much like an abandoned child?
Seeing her openly express her sorrow, Athanas finally started comforting her with a helpless expression.
And after hearing about the earlier conversation from Isaac, a look of surprise flashed across his face before quickly subsiding.
"Flora, do you remember who said that? I'd like to hear it directly."
"Hmm, don't know."
Flora turned her head away as if she didn't want to talk anymore. Just as Athanas was about to ask again, Isaac intercepted his remark.
"Who said it isn't important. What's important is whether we can use this effectively or not."
Despite his words downplaying its significance, Isaac's gaze remained fixed on Flora. Athanas, who had worked closely with him for over 20 years, immediately understood the meaning behind his action.
'Judging by Isaac's reaction, it seems she claimed a mercenary told her, on the surface...'
It was such a good idea that it was hard to believe a 4-year-old came up with it, but as Isaac said, implementing it was difficult.
However, he couldn't outright say it was impossible.
Failure was a familiar experience for Athanas, but wasn't it an emotion his young daughter hadn't yet experienced?
As a father, he didn't want to be the one to hand his child her first failure.
'Since she was born a Lucifer, she'll experience it her whole life, but there's no pain as sharp as the first failure.'
He hoped the young Flora wouldn't have such an experience, but unlike him, the clever child seemed to understand everything about the foreseen future and was grieving.
"I'm really fine."
He felt proud of his daughter for worrying about him, but also guilty that she was having such thoughts at a young age, making it hard for him to lift his head.
Athanas made eye contact with Basilian sitting on the sofa and then concealed a wry smile.
"This father will somehow make sure you can have and live with anything. I promise."
Recalling the words he had spoken when he brought her from the orphanage, Athanas soothed the very angry Flora.
'Silly Dad. At a time like this, you should get angry and tell me to stop saying childish nonsense.'
Even though it was an absurd business plan and it was making him newly aware of how much the North's prestige had fallen, Athanas didn't get angry at all.
He only comforted his daughter's heart, which had been hurt by this matter.
No matter how you looked at it, Athanas Lucifer was just a big, gentle bear with a large build and a fierce impression.
"Just wait. I'll definitely make Dad rich."
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The mercenary band was thrown into chaos by the unexpected appearance of a high-level monster, but they still completed the subjugation excellently under Athanas's command.
Now that the Red Serpent mercenary band had finished their assigned task, they should return to the Count's territory to receive their pay and set off to find new work.
Yes, that's what should happen.
"What is going on, Leader?"
"How should I know?"