[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 124 - A Slap for Every Penny Found (6)
I could hardly believe my ears at what ca out of the branch head's mouth.
"On the verge of bankruptcy? The Reblanc rcenary Group?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Are you saying they’re practically bankrupt?"
"That's correct."
It was unbelievable. The Reblanc rcenary Group was far too large for bankruptcy to even be a consideration.
They started as a small rcenary band made up of thugs operating around the Reblanc region, taking on all the dangerous and dirty work others refused. Through this, they grew steadily, and during the Four-Year War, they expanded trendously.
Now, they had branches everywhere, and everyone knew their na.
And yet, here they were, on the verge of bankruptcy. What had happened?
"Please explain the situation in detail."
"Recently, a major territorial conflict broke out in one of the Imperial regions. The two noble families involved decided to fight to the death, and our rcenary group got involved too. It was a massive contract, with almost everyone mobilized, leaving only the minimum essential personnel at each branch."
It's not unusual for a rcenary group to get involved in a territorial war.
Not many nobles in the Empire can afford to maintain large standing armies. Most rely on a handful of knights and retainers, supplented by peasants who know nothing of warfare when the ti cos.
So, as the branch head said, they sotis hire rcenaries to bolster their forces for big territorial disputes.
"But did they lose?"
"Yes, we lost. The client family was completely shattered and scattered. And most of our rcenary leadership was taken prisoner by the opposing side."
"Taken prisoner? Why take rcenaries as prisoners? Who would pay the ransom?"
"Obviously, our rcenary group would. Who else?"
Suddenly, my eyes fell on a small frad plaque hanging on the wall.
It read, .
"Hah… So you’re telling all your funds went into raising ransom money?"
"Yes, it's embarrassing, but that's the truth…. Headquarters took every last bit of funds from all the branches. It's absolute chaos right now."
"I see…."
"You idiots!"
Hindrasta suddenly burst out.
"Dragging even the branch mbers into a contract like that?! And the leadership, too? Don’t tell even the boss and his sons got involved?!"
"The client family promised to cede part of their territory to us if they won the territorial war. That family had staked everything on the war, just like we did. But who would have thought they’d lose so miserably? Honestly, I still can’t believe it. Not Reblanc rcenary Group, of all places…."
The branch head leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. This truly seed like a dire crisis for the rcenary group.
If what he was saying was true, then there was no way they could return the money Hindrasta had accumulated.
Moreover, since Hindrasta was technically affiliated with headquarters rather than a branch, it made it even more impossible.
"What a load of crap."
Hindrasta snorted.
"Did you really pour every last coin into paying the ransom? You must have kept at least enough for food and a roof over your heads, right?"
"The money we have now is just enough to cover the living expenses of the people here. We can't afford to pay you the wages you saved up, Miss Sophie. If you really don’t believe , I can open the safe for you. But I need you to promise sothing."
The branch head looked back and forth between Hindrasta and .
"It’s not much at all. Nowhere near what you’ve saved, Sophie, but it’s the bare minimum to keep the branch afloat…."
"Understood. I’ll make sure Sophie doesn’t take any of it."
I intervened, and the branch head, relieved, stood up to open the safe.
Inside the safe were a few gold coins, about twenty silver coins, and so coppers. It was practically empty.
I could now understand why the branch head hadn’t wanted to open the safe for Hindrasta earlier.
If even this much were taken, they might very well starve.
If he had opened it earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to stop Hindrasta from taking the money, but at least now I could intervene.
That being said, I also understood Hindrasta’s side.
The headquarters in Reblanc was too far away for Hindrasta, trapped in her polymorphed state, to easily reach, and with the branch unwilling to open the safe, it had naturally left her filled with doubts.
Considering she’s a dragon, it was impressive she’d shown this much restraint.
"Is the rcenary group really going bankrupt…? I can’t believe it."
Hindrasta muttered, staring at the empty safe.
To be honest, I could hardly believe it myself.
The Reblanc rcenary Group was a famous large guild in the Empire, known for their strength and even having direct contracts with the Imperial Army.
For them to lose an assignnt with their full force mobilized—who on earth was their opponent?
"The survivors say that a naless swordsman single-handedly turned the tide of the battlefield."
"A naless swordsman? Alone, you an?"
"Yes. A young man wielding a greatsword, fighting so well that whenever he showed up, people were torn apart like at through a grinder."
The branch head shook his head.
"If he’s that skilled, soone should’ve recognized him, but no one knew who he was."
A swordsman of incredible skill that even lifelong rcenaries had never seen before… This was getting suspicious.
"Anyway, I’m very sorry, Miss Sophie. It would be best for you to go to headquarters. Even there, I can’t make any guarantees…."
"What kind of nonsense is this? I thought you were broke because I couldn’t complete the assignnts and had to pay a penalty or sothing."
"Isn’t that a bit arrogant? Our rcenary group isn’t so fragile that losing one person would bring it down."
"What did you just say?!"
Once again, I had to step in and break up the brewing fight.
# # # # #
After roughly wrapping things up at the rcenary group, we stepped outside.
Hindrasta wore a vacant expression, muttering quietly to herself.
It seed she’d taken a heavy blow after expecting to get her money back right away and finding out it wasn’t possible.
"Let’s eat first. Then we can think about what to do next."
"Okay…."
Isra, Olysia, rilda, and Knightley ca running over from where they had been waiting outside.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. We’re fine. Sophie’s okay too, without a scratch."
"That’s a relief. So, Sophie, did everything get resolved?".
Sophie shook her head weakly at rilda's question.
"Far from resolved. Looks like I’m going to be stiffed on my money."
"Let’s talk about it over lunch."
I was starving from trailing Olysia around all day, so we all headed to the restaurant we had originally planned to visit.
As we ate, I explained what had happened at the rcenary office.
"This whole situation is a ss. It doesn’t look like you’ll get your money."
Knightley said, and Hindrasta massaged her neck as if she were suppressing her anger.
"Those idiots… What were they thinking, burning the whole rcenary group over one contract."
Suddenly, Hindrasta began to cry, tears falling like a stream.
"Ugh, my money… If I’d known, I would’ve taken it bit by bit…."
And there she goes, crying again.
"Now what…? I don’t even have money for cake… It’s the money I earned with all that hard work…."
"Wipe your tears, Student Sophie."
Hindrasta wiped her eyes with the tissue Isra handed her and then suddenly looked at .
"Help ."
"?"
"You promised to help . You said after the competition, you’d help get my money."
"Yeah, I rember. I think I heard that too."
" too."
rilda and Knightley agreed.
I was already thinking about what I could do to help Hindrasta get her money back.
The first step would be to visit the headquarters in Reblanc.
I needed to hear more details there to determine if we could get her money or if we needed to explore another option.
After all, Hindrasta was one of my students, and I had to help her resolve her difficulties.
Though she did attack first, I still brought her to the academy, so I had a responsibility here.
"Let’s eat, and then we’ll head to Reblanc. Sound good?"
"Really!? Wait, um…."
When Hindrasta trailed off, I realized what she ant and chuckled.
"This ti, it’ll just be you and ."
She was probably scared of running into Linus again, like last ti.
This seed to make her feel a little better, as Hindrasta stopped crying and started eating.
rilda, who was watching her with a satisfied smile, suddenly asked.
"But Professor, why are you and the Vice-Headmaster out here together?"
"Yeah, I’m curious too. You don’t usually wear clothes like that, do you?"
Knightley said, pointing at Isra’s dress.
"We ca to buy Miss Olysia a gift."
Isra answered without hesitation.
"During the competition, she prepared vegetarian late-night snacks for every night and helped in various other ways. Miss Olysia’s contributions were a big part of why our academy won first place. Since Professor Dian and Miss Olysia were already planning an outing, I decided to join them."
"Oh, I see. Now that I think about it, I should do sothing for Olysia too."
Knightley nodded, quickly accepting Isra's explanation.
But rilda simply stared at Isra without saying anything.
# # # # #
After lunch, Hindrasta and I decided to head back first.
The others said they’d stay a while longer and buy Olysia so more gifts.
I headed to the faculty’s single dormitory and pounded on Orendi’s door with my fist.
"Orendi! Are you in there?!"
After a mont, Orendi opened the door in casual clothes.
"Professor Dian? Sophie? What brings you here on a weekend afternoon?"
"Take us to Reblanc."
"Huh? Reblanc? Why do you need to go there all of a sudden?"
"We have to collect so money from the Reblanc rcenary Group."
"What…?"
Ignoring Orendi’s confusion, I pressed him to open a dinsional gate to Reblanc.
Having a mage around to use as a ans of transportation was certainly convenient.
As we landed right in front of the Reblanc rcenary Group’s headquarters, I thought as much.
"Open up!"
Sophie ran up and pounded on the front doors.
"It’s Sophie! Give my money!"
Soon, the door opened, and a young woman appeared.
"Sophie…? You traitor! Didn’t you run off to the academy?!"
"Traitor?! Who ran off?! Ask Dian over here!"
The woman, bewildered, looked down at Sophie and then turned her gaze to .
After staring at for a while, her eyes widened, and she let out a startled shout.
"Brother Dian?!"
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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