Chapter 25.2: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐๐)
Chapter 25.2: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐๐)
Gamson was a rookie mercenary, treated like a halfpenny. A country bumpkin who ran away to the city with a bit of money.
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He joined the mercenary band only by sheer luck. Captain Goran wouldnโt have included someone like Gamson if they hadnโt suddenly lost a member.
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What if such a guy suddenly stole a horse? It takes skill to sell stolen goods. A suspicious mercenary would be given a lower price by merchants.
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To sell at a fair price, one needed known connections or a credible identity.
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Gamson had neither.
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โIn Marcel city, there are several shops and merchants connected to the Katana Merchant Guild. He must have familiarized himself with them while passing through, so he might try to sell the horse there, making excuses.โ
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โ. . .!โ
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They had passed through Marcel city as mercenaries guarding the Eldans, familiarizing themselves with each other. From Gamsonโs perspective, he might think, โIf I make a good excuse, can I sell the horse at a decent price?โ
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โNo, even if heโs an *sshole, could he be that stupid?โ
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โI think itโs possible. Heโs a rookie who doesnโt understand the power of the guildโs connections. He failed to steal what he wanted and his friends got caught. In a situation where the pursuers could catch up any time, he would want to get rid of the conspicuously visible horse as soon as possible. Rather than an unknown distant city, Marcel would be more appealing.โ
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Moreover, their group was relatively slow. Gamson, having no baggage, could easily sell and escape.
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However. . .
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โThe merchants in the city arenโt that easy to fool, are they?โ
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โTrue.โ
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Merchants in the city were not *ssholes. Even if you were a mercenary escorting a merchant, they wouldnโt trust you to come back and sell your horse on your own.
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Would they pretend to be defeated and buy it cheaply, even if they were a bit skeptical?
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That was a delusion only a country bumpkin would have. Such acts were the doing of wandering quacks. The cityโs merchants did not sell each other out for a few pennies.
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Doing business in the city meant being intricately bound by the cityโs rules.
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And Gamson probably didnโt know this. If he goes on without knowing. . .
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Contact would be made among the trading companies or mercenaries, and Gamson would be caught in a โhuh, huhโ moment!
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โInteresting.โ
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โ!โ
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Johan, who was listening nearby, opened his mouth, and everyone was startled.
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โDoes this mean we can catch him if we go to Marcel City?โ
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โS-Sir Knight. This is just a possibility, if he escapes to another city. . .โ
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โThen thereโs nothing we can do.โ
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Johan replied lightly.
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โIt would be good if we catch him, but if we canโt, thereโs nothing we can do. It seems you were also deceived by him. I have no intention of holding you responsible separately, so rest assured.โ
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โ. . .!โ
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โT-Thank you!โ
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The mercenaries felt tears well up at Johanโs words. What a generous act. Though he had a fierce demeanor in battle, Johan had a truly generous heart.
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โAnyway, Iโll receive the compensation in this town.โ
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Johan glanced outside the window. Village chief Atanka was seen walking towards them with a tense face.
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๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
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โ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ. . .
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โ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ. ๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐.
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In comparison to Johan, he was a dirty mercenary calling himself a knight, but the equipment itself was decent.
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โ๐๐ข๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ?
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โ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก?
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โ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ.
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When Atanka got angry, the local militia members shut up. Unlike Atanka, the local militia lacked tact.
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โ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ. . .โ
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In such a town, selling armor was a task. Without a suitable buyer, it couldnโt be sold. Moreover, Atanka had to sell it secretly from the townspeople.
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But who knew this difficulty would save Atankaโs neck like this?
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As Atanka brought out the mercenaryโs armor and weapons with a clanking sound, the local militia asked cautiously.
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โ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก?
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โ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ?
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โ๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ. . .
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Johanโs accent and demeanor exuded nobility. Plus, being on a well-built horse, dressed in armor and surcoat, gave a chilling presence.
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In contrast, the equipment here seemed barely decent, with only the weapons looking intact. The surcoat worn over the clothes looked like stitched old rags, and the armor seemed very uncomfortable, as if iron plates were forcibly inserted between cloth armors.
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โ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ! ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐.
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โ๐-๐๐ก๐๐ญ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐.
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โ๐๐ง๐ ๐โ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ.
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๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
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โSir Knight. How are you?โ
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โNot well. Does Rutzbeck steal guestsโ properties and take their horses?โ
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โI apologize once again for that incident.โ
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Atanka bowed his head without changing his expression. He seemed to have made up his mind before coming.
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โAs the village chief, I should have managed the young men properly, but failing to do even this and disappointing Sir Knight. . . I am truly sorry.โ
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Atanka, lowering his posture and bowing without any excuses. Johan thought to himself.
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โ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ.โ
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The respectful approach of the other party was due to Johanโs strength, but largely due to his status. A village chief might act like a king in his town, but compared to nobility, his status was insignificant.
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Probably, Atanka feared Johanโs family more than his strength.
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โOf course, I donโt intend to just apologize with words. I will properly compensate for the theft of Sir Knightโs horse.โ
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โHow?โ
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โFirst, I will punish those two men. If Sir Knight does not wish to punish such insignificant men, we will. . .โ
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โNo. Thereโs no need. Iโll take them with me and punish them myself.โ
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The townโs compensation included those two men. Whether to sell them as slaves or behead them was Johanโs decision.
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Atanka was inwardly disappointed. If Johan had said to handle the punishment himself, Atanka might have secretly let them escape.
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โPunishing the guilty is natural. Surely, youโre not saying that will be the compensation?โ
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โNo. The theft of Sir Knightโs horse is a grave crime! Punishing those two men cannot make up for it.โ
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Horses were expensive property, especially warhorses ridden by knights. Good breeds had to be trained from a young age, unlike the pack horses used by merchants.
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โ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ. ๐๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ?โ
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Johan didnโt really know what kind of horse he had. It was a horse secretly obtained by his half-brothers. They seemed to have cared for it quite well, providing a decent saddle and harness. . .
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โEven if we scrape together silver, it wonโt satisfy Sir Knight.โ
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The suggestion seemed suspicious. Properly compensating for a knightโs horse would be no joke. Such a town might have to gather all its hidden silver.
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Of course, that was the townโs concern, and Johan intended to receive proper compensation.
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โDoesnโt the god say that life must be repaid with life? Although it wonโt be as useful as Sir Knightโs horse, we have prepared a slave that might be of help.โ
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โ. . .?โ
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Slave!
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Slaves were common on the continent. Several of the servants in Johanโs fiefdom were slaves bought by Sir Gessen.
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Even the monotheistic church did not particularly criticize slavery. Sinners, losers in war, or those unlucky enough to be captured, were sold as slaves.
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These slaves were utilized in various fields. Those without skills did menial tasks, but those with skills received some treatment.