Episode 18: Let’s See, Any Decent Fellows… (2)
A smile appeared on Hardin’s lips as he coolly handed over 100,000 gold to the employee.
In such a small village, there probably weren’t many people who would casually put down a sum as large as 100,000 gold.
With this much money, he could have easily swept away all the rcenaries in this office and still had plenty left.
That was why even the act of offering this check carried its own aning.
‘Because I’m a big spender. They’d better take the hint.’
If he clearly showed he had the will to spend money instead of hesitating and testing the waters, the treatnt he received would naturally be different.
Hardin slowly lifted the corners of his mouth and stared intently at the employee’s face.
‘Alright, let’s see how sincere you can be.’
It was then.
“Huuuu……”
……Huh? A sigh?
The employee standing in front of him let out a sigh, openly showing an annoyed expression.
“So, with 100,000 gold, you want as many 1-star mana users as possible, correct?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“What type of soldiers do you want? You don’t care about their record, affiliation, or race?”
“Ah, well, it’s not like I’m going to ignore their skills completely……”
“Please be specific.”
There was sothing rather cold about that tone.
I blinked and replied.
“Uh…… as long as they’re at a decent level. Anyone who can use a spear or a sword……”
“……You should’ve said that from the start. I’m busy to death here.”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“It’s nothing.”
Was this bastard… actually annoyed with ?
While I tilted my head in puzzlent, the office employee leaned his body back and gestured behind him as he spoke.
“Jenkins, Wehas, Larkin, Tolyn, and Balkan! All five of you, co over here!”
“Kuh-hum! Alright!”
“Well, that was quick.”
At that, five n who had been sitting slouched in a corner of the lobby sluggishly got to their feet and shuffled this way.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
‘……What are these guys supposed to be?’
The rcenaries approaching looked like they didn’t have a shred of muscle on their scrawny bodies.
Were these bastards really mana users?
I opened all my senses for a mont and tried to feel their energy.
‘They are, technically.’
Mana was indeed faintly seeping out of their bodies.
But the size of the waves and the way it flowed were pathetic.
Beginner level, who had only just barely awakened their mana—no, honestly, it felt like even calling them that was too generous.
“Greetings.”
“Kuh-hum, our employer is quite a handso fellow.”
The mont they stood right in front of .
Tadadak! Tadak!
The employee started tapping on the abacus and spoke.
“The five of you—this gentleman here wants to hire all of you for a total of 100,000 gold. Are you fine with that?”
“Eh? 100,000? At least pay us 110,000.”
“That’s what they say… so, what will you do?”
This ti, the employee looked straight at and asked.
“What?”
“These five say you’ll need to at least pay 110,000. If you’re short on money, you could just leave one of them out.”
What the hell was this bastard saying?
I asked again, doubting my own ears.
“What are you talking about? You’re saying you want 110,000 to take these five?”
“Yes.”
“You’re… joking right now, aren’t you?”
“Joking? Why would I?”
The female employee replied again with an expression full of annoyance and a tone dripping with irritation.
I looked over the rcenaries standing in front of once more.
“Sir! If you take us with you, you won’t regret it!”
“That’s right! In tis like these, rcenaries like us at this price are an absolute bargain!”
Seeing these rcenaries babbling away, a bitter expression naturally crept onto my face.
High-class personnel? Did all the real high-class personnel freeze to death or sothing?
If these guys were considered high-class… then my old subordinates must have been practically gods.
A vein bulged on my forehead as I asked again.
“Why are these guys so damn expensive? Just by looking, anyone can see they’re beginner level.”
“Haaa… Sir.”
The employee’s expression grew even worse.
Though she didn’t say it, it was written plainly on her face.
‘This guy… what a nuisance….’
On top of that—
“What did you say?”
“Beginner level? You got a problem with us being beginner level?”
“Don’t tell you’re pulling tricks to haggle down our pay? Tsk, a noble acting so petty…”
Hearing this, the rcenaries all bristled and fired off complaints one after another.
‘Unbelievable.’
I let out a deep sigh and clutched my head.
‘What the hell is wrong with these idiots?’
They were just 1-star beginners, so why were they strutting around like they were so kind of unit commanders?
I felt my fist clenching, heat rising up from inside my chest.
While I, the rcenaries, and the employee were all growing increasingly frustrated with each other, it happened.
“Excuse , are these rcenaries already hired?”
From behind , a man with a mustache wearing a uniform leaned his head forward and asked.
The office employee turned her head to look at and asked.
“So, are you going to hire them or not?”
“……You’re really asking 100,000 gold for that?”
“I said it’s 110,000. Decide quickly so I can answer this gentleman.”
No…
I turned my head and looked at the rcenaries’ faces for a mont.
Their flimsy muscles, their vacant eyes.
And the aura so faint, it made question whether they were even mana users at all.
‘You want to pay money for that?’
No way, even if they put a blade to my neck, that was never happening.
I forced an awkward smile and spoke.
“Those guys… I don’t think they’ll do.”
At that, the rcenaries’ faces imdiately twisted with displeasure.
“What did you say?”
“…Tsk, didn’t expect you to be so rude.”
“Peh, fine. We don’t wanna work with you either.”
What the hell were these bastards babbling about?
My whole body started trembling.
“Kuh-hum! Then, would it be alright if I hired these excellent rcenaries…?”
While this was happening, the man standing behind smiled brightly and asked.
Excellent rcenaries…? Did the aning of “excellent” change when I wasn’t looking?
I was too tired to even argue anymore.
I shut my eyes tightly and waved my hand dismissively.
“Yeah, sure… Do as you please.”
“Oho, thank you! Hoho!”
When I stepped aside, the man happily slapped down 110,000 gold without hesitation.
My eyes were filled with a mix of confusion and irritation.
‘Is that guy… just an easy mark?’
With that kind of money, he could have hired a proper knight, so why was he bothering with worthless rcenaries?
While I was briefly dumbfounded, the contract was swiftly prepared, and the uniford man led the five rcenaries out of the office.
“So, are you hiring any rcenaries or not?”
“No, I am… planning to…”
Her sharply pressing tone made instinctively more polite.
“Then, what exactly are you going to do?”
“Aren’t there any cheaper rcenaries? I need at least twenty mana users… no, at the very least ten. I’d prefer ones a bit better than those guys…”
“Then, how much money do you have in mind?”
“How much…?”
The employee sighed again and said.
“You have to tell how much money you have, or I can’t match anything for you.”
“I told you, 100,000 gold is everything I have.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“No? For a 1-star user, shouldn’t I be able to hire them for 2–3,000 gold a month? Isn’t that right?”
“Haaaaaaaa……”
At that, the female employee propped her forehead on her hand and waved the other hand dismissively.
“Sir… just go.”
“…Pardon?”
“Leave.”
“…But.”
“Stop interfering with business. If you don’t have money, get out. If you keep lingering, I’ll call soone.”
Ssssk.
She picked up a bell and stared coldly in my direction.
If I didn’t leave, she’d ring that bell, and then nine tis out of ten I’d be thrown out of here.
What the hell was this…
“Alright, alright. I’ll leave, so put that down.”
I waved my hands and slowly backed away, then slumped into a chair in the lobby.
Leaning back weakly, I let out a deep groan.
‘What the hell is this situation?’
Why were rcenary wages like this? Did this make any sense?
Those worthless bone-bags were seriously that expensive?
I lifted my head and stared straight ahead.
“Alright, everyone, form a proper line!”
“If you’re not ready to sign a contract right away, move to the back! Only those who have confird the terms and prepared paynt should be standing here!”
The lobby was packed full of people all clamoring to hire rcenaries.
My expression slowly grew more complicated.
‘…This whole thing feels off sohow.’
In this tiny backwater town, why were there so many people trying to hire rcenaries?
Just as a sharp sense of unease prickled in my chest at the bizarre sight, a voice ca from beside .
“Hey, it’s not easy trying to find people, huh?”
“You are… who exactly?”
I turned my head, and a chubby-cheeked young man was sitting there grinning at .
“Hoho! Na’s lbourne. Like you, I just ca here to find so people… but your face looked so troubled I thought I’d say sothing.”
“…Troubled?”
“Yeah, it’s written all over your face. The word ‘troubled.’ Isn’t it?”
“Hey, can I ask you sothing?”
“As much as you want.”
When lbourne shrugged his shoulders, I scratched my forehead and asked.
“So… have rcenaries always been this expensive?”
“Right? What about it?”
“It just feels a lot more expensive than I rember…”
At my question, lbourne nodded and replied.
“Well, a few years ago, it wasn’t quite like this.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, in the past few years, a lot of things have been happening inside and outside the Empire. rcenary prices shot up several tis over.”
“What sort of things…?”
“In the north, monster waves are pouring in. Inside the Empire, territorial wars are breaking out practically every other day. With the whole region in chaos, rcenaries are in high demand, so the prices rise.”
“But… wasn’t it always like that?”
Prices skyrocketing just because of that? When has the Fabian Empire ever been peaceful?
No, in the old days, even the demons were running rampant—if anything, things had been worse back then, not better…
Seeing my expression grow more doubtful, lbourne laughed and added an explanation.
“Hohoho. Well, that’s true, but there’s one thing that’s different now.”
“What exactly is different?”
“The Seven Great Houses are in the middle of fierce competition.”
“The Seven Great Houses?”
I furrowed my brow slightly and asked again.
“Huh? You don’t know the Seven Great Houses? Ignima, Shader, Bower…”
“Ah, no, I know them… but isn’t it the Six Great Houses now?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Daphne fell out of the Seven Great Houses. Doesn’t that make it six now?”
At that, lbourne let out a dry laugh and asked.
“Daphne? Did you spend your life shut in so dusty library?”
“Why?”
“Daphne being called one of the Seven Great Houses—that’s sothing people said over fifty years ago. Of course so other house took that seat long ago.”
“Took over? Who?”
“Why, the Duke of Rainfall, obviously. You don’t even know that?”
Rainfall? That Rainfall Marquisate?
A deep wrinkle ford on my forehead.
If it was that Rainfall, they were one of those insignificant marquisates in the western part of the Empire.
Back in Varlach’s ti, they hadn’t even stood out in the slightest, but now hearing that those bastards had stolen the seat among the Seven Great Houses… it made my insides churn.
Well, that wasn’t the important point right now.
“Huuu… so what about the Seven Great Houses? What did they do?”
“These days, the Seven Great Houses are in a scramble to recruit mana users.”
“And why is that?”
“I don’t know the exact reason either.”
lbourne shrugged again.
“But what’s certain is that thanks to their competition, there’s hardly a mana user left in the market. That’s why rcenaries who can use mana can na their own price these days.”
“……”
So that was how it had turned out.
A long sigh slipped from my mouth.
‘Those bastards… even now, they’re no help whatsoever.’
Not satisfied with helping, leading my house to ruin, and now their influence was screwing over in this way, too.
Crack.
If I could, I’d love nothing more than to track them all down and smash them each over the head with a club.
‘Enough. What does any of this matter?’
The mont a resigned look ca over my face.
“Here! Two-star Expert-class rcenary, Wagner! Available for hire—fifty thousand gold per month. Is there any custor who’d like to sign a contract?”
“Oh, ! I need him!”
Springing to his feet, lbourne raised his hand and then glanced at , speaking casually.
“Brother, I’ll be off first. Hope you find so good rcenaries.”
“Ah… sure.”
Then he went over to sign the contract, handing the employees a thick stack of vouchers.
I remained sitting in my seat, quietly observing the office for a while.
“One-star Expert-class, single rcenary.”
“I can offer him twenty thousand gold a month.”
“Can you lower that a bit?”
“If you insist, I might be able to negotiate it down by about five hundred gold.”
All around , people were visibly signing contracts with mana users.
I let out a deep sigh over and over again.
‘…In the old days, you wouldn’t even bother using guys like that, and now you’re telling to pay over twenty thousand gold?’
Were these people all philanthropists? Or did they have gold rotting away sowhere?
How could they seriously hand over that kind of money to hire those worthless scraps?
‘Damn it.’
rcenaries, my ass.
At this rate, I’d end up fighting those Calpion bastards all alone.
But even if I decided to throw my money into this, I’d barely be able to get four or five first-stars.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do?’
While I was uselessly scratching my head again—
“Alright! All mana user contracts are finished for today! Only non-mana rcenaries remain, so anyone still waiting, please take note!”
An office employee rang a bell and shouted in a loud voice.
“Damn it, another wasted trip today.”
“Aah, I’m ruined! If the caravan’s delayed again, I’ll have to pay a penalty…”
The fools—no, the custors—who hadn’t managed to make a contract drooped their shoulders, all wearing miserable expressions.
Of course.
‘Damn it…’
At this point, wouldn’t it just be better if I did rcenary work myself?
My own face probably didn’t look much different from theirs.
---
A short while later, outside the rcenary office.
“…What now.”
Dragging my feet, I walked out with my shoulders hanging and my face shrouded in gloom.
‘I need so sort of plan…’
No matter how I looked at it, hiring four or five first-stars with 100,000 gold wasn’t going to pay off.
Even in the best-case scenario, that wouldn’t be enough to dramatically turn the tide of a territorial war.
If that was the case, it would honestly be better to invest the 100,000 gold in myself.
But… if I did that, the overwhelming victory I’d envisioned was impossible from the start.
“Haaaa, damn this world.”
All this hardship—because of the Seven… no, Six Great Houses.
Those bastards had never been of any help my entire life.
‘Thanks a damn lot. Thanks to you, I’m about to lose everything. Damn it…’
And not even to so powerful house, but to Calpion, that worthless vassal house.
“Ugh.”
Thunk!
Kicking a rock in frustration, I watched it tumble away, feeling strangely empty.
“Geez, scary fella.”
“Savage, really savage. Why’s a guy like that lurking around here?”
…What?
Blinking, I noticed a crowd gathered by a bulletin board on the roadside, chatting away.
Their eyes were all wide as if they’d seen sothing shocking.
When I drew closer and peered past them at the board, I spotted a single posted notice.
And the mont I absentmindedly read it—
“Oh?”
This… might actually be pretty decent.
A faint light of hope began to flicker on my face.
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