Chapter 35
My Villains Episode 035
9-2. Request (2)
After thinking for a while, I sighed and shook my head.
“Sorry, but I have work to do right now.”
“…A thing to do?”
” yes.”
I pointed with my chin to the second floor of the Boat Horn Inn, which was scattering ashes.
“I have to avenge myself for this.”
“Revenge? Most of the bandits are already dead. The few who escaped will soon be caught.”
“They are just beggars hired for a few pennies. We have to deal with the people behind them.”
“Behind the scenes? Who are you talking about?”
I hesitated for a moment and looked at the captain of the guard.
You can’t judge by the appearance, but the guard commander is a soldier with an FM-like atmosphere.
Even in the game, since she was an NPC who was loyal only to the castle owner until she died, it is unlikely that she colluded with the back alley thugs.
“This is Ubar.”
To be honest, attacking Ubar was quite hesitant.
I barely read the text while playing The Dark World. Thanks to this, I was barely able to understand the overall flow of the scenario.
What if Ubar was attacked in this situation and the scenario was twisted and the sequence of events completely messed up?
My vague foreknowledge of the future will be completely useless.
But…
“Ubar? You mean a thug?”
“you’re right. I have to deal with him first.”
You can’t ignore Ubar’s threat and go down the sewers. You can’t make such an irresponsible choice.
Fifteen innocent people, including a little boy, died because of me. Revenge for them is also revenge, but it had to be prevented from causing another victim.
Isn’t it a situation where Daria or Ellen might get hurt next time? Rather than trembling with anxiety and guilt, it would have been a wiser choice to strike Ubar first from my side.
“If it is Uvar, I know it well. Why would he raid that poor inn?”
“To be precise, Ubar was targeting me.”
“You?”
The captain of the guard burst out laughing when I explained how he had taken care of Uvar’s men a few days ago.
“You did this for just that reason? Raid the inn to fix one of you? Sounds absurd. Uvar is a scumbag, but he’s not that reckless or stupid.”
“Isn’t it common for thugs to be obsessed with Eun-won?” “That’s about enough. Isn’t it like eating my own flesh to commit an accident like this in the city?”
…pretty convincing, isn’t it?
Come to think of it, I didn’t even kill Ubar’s men, did I? Why does he go so far for revenge?
“This is just an attack by a gang of hungry robbers. It’s a ridiculous speculation that you’re the owner of a thug.”
“…Those beggars say yes. Didn’t you see the corpses in front of the inn? Ubar’s operatives and his henchman, Poison, must have been lying there.” “Poison? You mean ‘cloaked poison’?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The captain of the guard made a surprised expression for a moment, then frowned.
“He is Uvar’s hidden knife. Even in the guards, he barely knows his name. How did you, an outsider, recognize him? Could you kindly introduce yourself?”
…This is an unexpected reaction.
but. This is not the Republic of Korea in the 21st century, where gangsters are publicly wanted by putting pictures in the organization chart.
Still, when he became the captain of the guard, he seemed to know the faces of back alley thugs, but Poison must have been more secretive as an assassin.
“I overheard them talking to each other. And I guessed that it was poison when I saw that it used poison.”
“Hmm.”
Was it a little lax because it was an excuse that I came up with on the spot? It’s not very believable.
“What could it be? I heard your guess.”
The captain of the guard touched his beard for a moment and smiled wryly.
“But you seem to be misunderstanding something
.”
“…misunderstanding?”
“Yes, misunderstood. I thought I explained it in a way I could understand. Let me clarify again.”
The captain of the guard let out a deep sigh and continued.
“For now, you don’t have a choice.”
“What is that?”
“Did you really think you could refuse the Count’s request? You don’t know what’s going on in the city, right?”
“The Count, out of his own consideration, let mercenaries who are acquainted with you accompany you. If you succeed, you will also get riches. Isn’t this a reasonable suggestion?”
But that’s right. It’s obviously a dangerous and important request, but you’re forcibly entrusting it to an outsider?
The lord of the castle in the game seems to be an aristocrat who, though stupid, is thoughtful in his own way.
You don’t even have to worry about the wandering mercenary, is it?
My stomach twisted for no reason, so I asked bluntly.
“It’s an irresistible request. Is that why you said it was an order?”
“Please understand as much as the situation is the situation.”
“What if I don’t accept it?”
“Are you offended? Again, this is not a simple request. The fate of the entire city depends on it…”
It sounds like the fate of the entire city. If it’s such an important matter, the nobles do it themselves. Why pass the responsibility on to someone else?
I was so annoyed that I hardened my expression.
“I asked what you would do if you couldn’t do it.”
silence.
Facing his unblinking eyes, the guard captain swallowed a dry saliva.
Then, after wet his dry lips, he answered in a small but determined voice.
“…I bet you’re going to die.”
“Is that so?”
“okay. All the troops except the garrison will try to kill you, even the guards guarding the salt castle. Because if you turn a blind eye to one person’s deviation, the whole city will collapse. We also have to keep the secret that the secret passage is real.”
silence again.
If you fight against the castle lord’s army, will you be able to survive?
Of course it would be impossible.
The minors wouldn’t pose much of a threat, but under the castle lord’s command, there must have been several more people with the level of skill as the captain of the guard in front of him. The captain of the guards, the commander of the training camp, and the military officer must be strong, and there must be a few magicians. There must be a lot of crossbows and archers.
…I’m even more upset when I think about it. Why do you fuck with me when you have a lot of subordinates?
“Think carefully. Either die miserably in the pursuit of the army, or make a contribution by following the order. There are only two options.”
At that clear announcement, Ellen, who had been silent until now, spoke in a cold voice as if spitting out.
“I don’t think so.”
“……2”
The captain of the guard looked back at Ellen with a puzzled expression.
Despite Ellen’s cute appearance, his eyes were shining with deep alertness. It seemed that he knew that he was a wizard.
Ellen’s eyes met mine, her blue eyes twinkled for a moment, then she turned to the captain of the guard and smiled.
“There are only two options?”
“…exactly.”
“That’s what you guys think. We have a third option.”
“A third option?”
“okay. Kill you and all of your men, burn the inn along with it, and run into the sewers.”
…can’t this guy speak nicely?
When Ellen purses her pink lips and utters harsh words, ‘I can’t just watch as an adult!’ The sense of duty keeps springing up.
Is it because everyone is becoming a kkondae like this?
Even though I thought so, I didn’t bother Ellen. I also had no desire to be taken by force because I couldn’t withstand the threats.
I put my hand on the pulse and measured the estimate just in case.
The captain of the guard and the two soldiers, Grania and Arnal… I think it’s worth trying with Ellen’s support.
As I exuded the momentum that I would draw my sword and wield at any moment, the commander of the guard stiffened his face with tension. He looked at Ellen on the road and asked calmly.
“…Calm down. Unless you intend to stand against His Excellency’s army.”
“You don’t have to face an entire army. Are there about 30 soldiers nearby
? All you have to do is wipe it away and run away.”
“Do you know what your poi nickname is? Because it’s a bloody test? Why don’t you try it?”
“o uh……”
—— TU .
While the guard captain was sobbing, Grania stepped back and raised both palms to me.
“for a moment. All we were told was to deliver the request to you and move together. If you refuse the request, we quietly back off
. ” If you don’t want to break the back of the head.”
Ellen responded coldly and moved on naturally. The guy who had stepped back to my right was gathering wind in the palm of his hand before he knew it.
Grania and Arnal stopped with hard expressions, and the guard captain dissuaded Ellen with an urgent voice.
“Wait a minute, wizard. Why use magic on something that can be easily solved by talking?”
“You say it can be easily solved by talking? Did someone who thinks so
believe in my master and threaten me?” “You are making the threats right now, aren’t you? I just know the facts-”
“Oh yes. I’m just telling the truth I was notified that, if necessary, I would choose the third option.”
Saying that, Ellen created a transparent sphere of mana above her fingers, but showed no sign of launching it.
Seeing that he was only trembling with power, it seemed that he had no intention of attacking. Not yet.
hmm. For now, let’s tune in to Ellen’s rhythm.
“Do you really think you can live by running away like that? If you don’t know where the secret passage is, you’ll just die wandering in the sewers. Or get caught by the pursuers!”
At the guard’s bluff, Ellen responded with a smile.
“Do you think we will move without a plan? Did you roughly figure out where the secret passage was?”
“…Those bluffs don’t work. I wouldn’t call it a secret passage if people who have been in the city for less than a month can find it.” Ellen shut her mouth at the captain’s confident words.
A very troublesome sight. It’s my turn to step out.
“It’s hard to imagine that such a huge crypt exists under the sewers of an ancient empire.”
MI”
Of course, I don’t know exactly where the secret passage is. But if you recall the information you got from the game, you can make a rough analogy.
In the Dark World, the sewer is a kind of mini-dungeon with a minimum of 5 floors and a maximum of 8 floors, and is divided into a surface layer and a deep layer.
The people of South Harbor think that the surface layer, the sewage system of the ancient empire, is everything.
But in fact, there is a deep crypt under it.
As he obtained information from the talkative guard guarding the sewer system, he confirmed that the sewer system of the ancient empire stretched all the way to the 4th basement level.
Then the crypt would start on the 5th or 6th floor underground.
And the secret passage to the outside is always located on the first floor of the crypt.
“The terrain suddenly changed, so I don’t know exactly how many floors to say. Should it be on the 5th basement level?”
Seeing that the captain of the guard’s excited eyes shook greatly, he must have been right.
After struggling for a moment, he let out a sigh as if he had lost and let his shoulders droop.
“Whoa, yes. I’m well aware that you and your party… can make drastic choices. Now tell me what you want. I will listen to the best of my authority.” done. I was worried that our attitude might be a little excessive, but fortunately we got some concessions. It seems that the situation in the city is more urgent than I thought.
Well, by the way… What is the authority of the captain of the guard?
“…I will hit Ubar, so please support me. After I deal with them, I will go down to the sewers.”
“The Count wants you to start doing this right away. No time to waste wandering the back alleys.”
“Then can you subdue Ubar from the guards while I work?”
“We can’t put our men in danger without hard evidence. Besides, didn’t I tell you that the reason I asked you in the first place was because I didn’t have enough troops?”
Damn what the hell are you gonna do?
As I was about to retaliate, the chief of the guard jumped at me.
“How about this? I will definitely protect you while on the ground.”
“…What kind of small grain is that?”
“Aren’t you worried that Ubar will attack again? While we’re on the surface, we’ll make sure you’re not threatened by them. Yes, if you do your job well and the situation improves, I will definitely investigate this raid and take revenge on Ubar.”
At first glance, it seems okay, but…
Wait a minute.
“Don’t let the thugs set it up and properly investigate the raid? Isn’t that what the guards should do?”
“…that’s right.”
this gentleman. Where are you trying to fill it with words?
“Don’t play with words like that- yeah. Please protect the boat horned inn here.”
“An inn?”
“yes. It’s also where I’ll be staying, and wasn’t there a raid today? I can’t let the little people get hurt.”
At my words, the captain of the guard nodded calmly.
“Um, I see. Then, let’s double the patrolling in the area.”
“No, not to that extent. Please keep the soldiers stationed. Well, about twenty people should be enough.”
“twenty? That is too much.”
Afterwards, a similar process of bargaining ensued, and we reached an agreement to use the Baeggo-dong Inn as a temporary patrol post.
Twelve soldiers will be stationed at the Hornet’s Inn until the threat of Uvar is completely eliminated.
In addition, the headquarters of the guards planned to send six shifts every two hours to patrol the area around the inn.
hmm. With this, I won’t have to worry about being attacked while sleeping. The thugs won’t attack the guard post unless they’re crazy.
“Then write the contract.”
“…a contract?”
what is this reaction
Could it be that he tried not to write a contract while taking on such an important request? It’s a big deal.
Ignoring the guard’s reaction, I divided the parchment given to me by Ellen into three parts and started writing things.
I don’t know much about contracts in this world… but wouldn’t it be okay to use it like a service request?
“Simply put only the most important points.”
“Do you know how to write?”
“Yeah what. What should be included-hmm down payment, remuneration, safety guarantee after death, information related to the support of the secret guard…” In
my mind, I wanted to fill the parchment full, but it might go against the castle owner, so let’s just do this. . It’s a bit embarrassing to see the guard chief’s expression become strange.
“I think this should be enough.”
“O uh ”
After looking through the completed contract, the guard frowned as if he had a headache, so he expressed his doubts.
“But why is the contract three? Wouldn’t it be fine if you had one and I had one?”
“for a moment. I thought Seongju-nim was the employer, not the guard captain.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. The Count will hire you.”
“Yes? The Count and I plan to share one copy and entrust the other to the notary and church.”
“Notarization?”
The captain of the guard muttered that and opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.
“yes. Notarized. Uh, do churches not notarize things like mercenary contracts?”
“…Well, if you donate properly, there’s nothing that can’t be done.”
“Then no problem. ruler. Hurry up and check it out and get the Count’s seal.”
“I see.”
The captain of the guard with a bewildered expression accepted the roll of parchment. Then, as I was about to turn around, he suddenly asked me a question.
“But you. Are you really a mercenary?”
I smiled slightly and shrugged my shoulders.