*140. Engagent - The Seven rchants*
"I’m sorry. I’ve thought about it a lot, but… that matter is a bit…"
The rchant, just entering his pri, bowed his head. His posture was so subservient that his hands could almost touch the ground between his legs, but the noble in front of him, with his protruding belly, did not hide his displeasure.
His proposal had been rejected.
"Didn’t you understand even after I explained it to you? Disappointing."
The rchant said nothing. The noble frowned at his stubbornness.
"It’s not dangerous at all. I’ve already talked with Baron Sauer and Count Oscar. You just need to bring the goods for the exchange... Foolish. Fine. Do as you please."
"I’m sorry. Is there anything else I can do for you? I’m about to return to Barnaul, so if you have any letters..."
"Forget it. I thought you’d be of help since my father sent you, but tsk."
The young noble waved his hand dismissively. As if swatting a fly, the rchant retreated.
Then he ran. After leaving the lord's castle, he hurriedly gathered his companions.
The six rchants, busy running stalls with their seven wagons, paused their work at their leader's call.
An older rchant asked,
"Did you refuse? What did he say?"
"He didn’t like it. I think we should get out of here quickly."
"Is it that serious? Maybe we should just pay so money as taxes and leave peacefully?"
A rchant with a greasy apron muttered, wiping his hands with a towel, as if he had just co from work.
"We’ve given out a lot of goods on credit... Maybe you’re worrying too much."
In their trade, it was common to give out goods on credit.
Most people didn’t have cash, so bartering was the norm, but even then, many promised to bring paynt the next day or have soone else pay in their na.
"I wish it were that simple, but... I don’t know if they’ll leave us alone. We shouldn’t have accepted their sponsorship in the first place. Now that we’ve heard their demands... I’m sorry for dragging you into this. It’s all my fault."
The seven rchants sighed in unison.
They weren’t originally part of a large trading company. They were small shop owners in Barnaul, the capital of the Kingdom of Astin, who were lured by a tempting proposal.
Vernon, the relatively young leader of the group, had suggested forming a trading company and embarking on a trading journey.
At first, they were skeptical. Vernon didn’t have the resources to form a trading company again.
But it turned out he had received seven wagons as sponsorship in return for fulfilling a favor for Baron Brina.
They didn’t know what the favor was at the ti. They were told they’d find out once they reached the Barony of Brina, and they set out, buying extra horses and hiring drivers, hoping to make a big profit.
Traveling with a trading company was lucrative.
But it wasn’t just about the money.
It was also about the nostalgia for the good old days.
The oldest rchant rallied the group.
"It’s not your fault, Vernon. Let’s leave quickly just in case. Life is more precious than money."
Though they sighed, no one blad Vernon. They all saw him as a son or nephew.
The seven rchants quickly packed up their stalls. They urged the drivers to hitch the horses to the wagons and left the Barony of Brina, abandoning the goods given on credit.
"Not this way. Let’s go that way."
"But that’s a mountain path. It’s a long detour, and with the snow, the wagons might get stuck."
The older rchant lied to the driver.
"I’m curious if there’s a village to sell goods. Rember last ti? We found Avril Castle when you followed my directions."
"Alright. But if the wagons get stuck, it’s not our fault."
He declared he wouldn’t take responsibility but did his job. After discussing with the other drivers, they rearranged the horses, putting three weaker horses on so wagons and two stronger horses on others.
- Clatter.
The seven wagons, with every spare horse hitched, struggled up the mountain path.
The drivers complained about the persistent snow, but the rchants hoped for more snow to cover their tracks.
However, pursuit caught up with them. They had been reassured by the lack of pursuers for over a week when they were suddenly overtaken.
"...Thank you all. eting people like you has been the luckiest thing in my life."
The rchants resigned themselves imdiately. Though only two horses pursued them, they exchanged heartfelt confessions that had been too awkward to express before.
A squire and a knight bearing the Brina Baronial emblem approached quickly. The rchants, apologizing to the bewildered drivers, got off the wagons.
Two horses arrived quickly.
A squire in leather armor dismounted swiftly. He clasped his hands to form a step, and the knight in light armor stepped on his hands to dismount.
"Trying to be clever. You’ll all die miserably."
"W-what do you want? What business do you have with us?"
Vernon tried to make excuses, clutching at straws, but his voice trembled, and the six rchants behind him shrank back like criminals.
The rchants outnumbered the opposition.
Including the drivers and two hired rcenaries, there were sixteen of them.
If they all attacked the squire, they might be able to overpower him sohow, through luck or his negligence, but they would need sothing more. An individual always has a vulnerable spot.
But the knight was different.
An expert. A superhuman with a body filled with mana.
Though there were differences among knights, they could easily break a person’s neck with their bare hands and leap from three-story buildings without a care.
Moreover, they possessed weapon skills that ordinary civilians could never hope to matChapter Unless everyone present was a trained soldier, they had no chance against a knight.
"Shut up. How dare you lie. The young lord has ordered all of you to be executed."
The knight pointed a finger with a cold expression, and Vernon spoke desperately.
"Why? We are all free citizens. We have docunts to prove it. If we have done anything wrong, please allow us a trial. That is the law."
"Hah! You know one thing but not the other. Anyone who insults a noble is executed on the spot. And that judgnt is made by the noble and his knight. I’ll add the cri of flapping your mouth to a knight."
"That’s…"
Despair filled Vernon’s eyes.
Realizing that no excuse would work with this knight, he knelt down. He prostrated himself on the snowy ground, marked with wagon tracks, and begged.
"We did not insult the young lord. Truly. If we did... please only kill . The others have never even t him."
"Insolent. Who are you to decide who dies? I’ll kill all of you…"
"Hey! Over here! They’re over here! Leo, you were right. This really is a shortcut, isn’t it?"
Just then, a small cart approached from the opposite direction. The horses of the cart neighed, and the two horses pulling it neighed back in response.
"Uncles! We did it! Rember the beast we saw? We caught it! Look at this!"
Ran Avicker stood up on the cart and waved her hand, but Vernon did not acknowledge her.
"...Are they with you?"
"No. We don’t know them."
"How touching."
The knight’s lips twisted in a sneer. He watched the situation with amusent.
"Uncle Vernon! Grandpa Ron! Why aren’t you answering? What are you doing there?"
"Sis. Stay still."
The cart arrived.
Ran and Anne got off the cart and were about to greet the rchants when the trembling driver shouted.
"Spare ! I don’t know anything!"
It wasn’t clear if he was talking to the sisters, but the driver prostrated himself towards the knight. The other drivers and the two hired rcenaries also cried out.
"We are rcenaries. You may know, we’re from the ‘Dexter rcenary Group’ in Barnaul. We only contracted to guard the caravan. Spare us."
"What’s going on? What is all this?"
Lena, who had been sitting on the cart, asked.
Leo, who was driving the cart, shrugged as if to say he didn’t know, then dismounted the horses.
The knight of Baron Brina nodded with satisfaction. At his gesture to step aside, the drivers and rcenaries sighed in relief and moved, but...
"I will interrogate you separately, so stay put."
The knight’s words drained the color from their faces.
Interrogation in this world was not a polite affair.
"What’s happening? Why is a knight here?"
Ran’s expression hardened. She couldn’t reach Vernon, who was prostrated, so she asked the older rchant, Ron.
Without answering her, he spoke up.
"Sir Knight. These children know nothing. We parted ways at Avril Castle and just t up again. Please show rcy. I’ll give my life if you wish. Just don’t hold them responsible..."
"Enough. This isn’t even funny anymore."
The knight cut off the older man, who was old enough to be his father.
"Do you think your lives an anything? Berun, strike."
"Yes, sir!"
"Hey! What are you doing? What did they do wrong?"
The squire nad Berun drew his sword. As he was about to strike Vernon’s back, Ran spread her arms to block him.
Berun glanced back at the knight, asking what to do, and the knight gestured with his chin.
"Sister!"
- Clang!
Anne barely deflected the sword aid at Ran’s neck. But the squire quickly recovered his sword and swung it down.
"Anne!"
Ran pushed her sister away.
Anne, holding an axe, fell, and the sword missed its target, slicing through the air.
Berun glanced at the knight’s expression. Seeing his disdainful look, he gritted his teeth and swung his sword again.
A brief clash ensued.
Though the sisters were skilled, the squire could not quickly take their lives, and Lena, unable to bear it, joined in, deflecting Berun’s sword and shouting.
"Stop! Whatever they did wrong, this is too much!"
"...Berun, step back."
The knight, recognizing Lena’s skill, intervened. He decided it was better to handle it himself rather than let Berun waste ti.
Leo Dexter, who had been watching, realized he could no longer stand by.
There was no reason or justification for him to intervene, except for his slight acquaintance with Ran and Anne.
‘Is this also an event? But why? There’s nothing to gain from fighting a knight from a noble family...’
Wondering what Minseo would have thought of this situation, he shook his head to clear his doubts.
He could easily guess what this damned ga was trying to do.
It was trying to drag them into another pit.
‘That won’t happen.’
Determined, Leo stepped forward.
The slightly lted snow stuck to his feet, but his resolute steps quickly shook it off.
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