Chapter 32: Courtship
What thoughts did Count Mozak have in providing the banquet? His intentions would soon be revealed. The place where the lord of the county was absent. The veteran rcenaries had not yet forgotten the murderous intent of the knights, so they restrained themselves from drinking too much just in case, when a young man who had not yet washed away his youthful appearance walked into the tent.
"Show respect, Lord Jursi Mozak is entering!"
"Should we stand up from our seats?"
"Read the room, you fool. It's cheap for the price of drinks."
"Ahem, that's true."
Calix stared at him intently. The third son of the Mozak family and the only remaining legitimate heir clearly inherited desert blood. His skin was pure white, inheriting the characteristics of the Astria Kingdom, but his facial features were distinct, with high cheekbones. Also, his brown eyes, long eyelashes, and curved nose bridge suggested his mother's region of origin.
"Pleased to et you. I am Jursi Mozak, one who wishes to lead those who guard the desert."
"It is an honor to et you. I am Royce, and this is Vice-Captain Marik."
"Mm, where is the one who awakened my father?"
And he, as soon as he arrived, looked for Calix first. The head table of the banquet hall. When the heir of the Mozak family sat in the center, Royce, Calix, and Gregor sat on either side of him, and inevitably, all eyes in the hall were drawn to them. The Mountain Rabbits stared at them openly, and the won pouring drinks and the servants carrying food pricked up their ears while doing their work.
"Yes, that's right. You ntioned my father's na, didn't you? Isamar Ten Mozak!"
"……."
"Uhahahaha!"
Without even finding ti to search for sothing to answer, the young man burst out in hearty laughter.
"I was impressed. I should have been there too. Sir Gorik as well, everyone keeps ntioning your story. Did Marquis Hoover secretly send a strategist to the rcenary company?"
"……You flatter ."
"Ah, modesty is a human virtue. But when evaluating soone's ability, the opinion of the person in question is not important. Co, have a drink."
Calix's cautious response was blocked by continuous praise, and he soon picked up his wine cup and stood from his seat. This was to announce the official start of the banquet.
"Welco, strangers! I am Jursi Mozak. The third son of the old man you gave a beating to, and now a youngster who has beco your ally!"
"……."
"The atmosphere here is terribly gloomy. Don't be like that, everyone take a cup!"
Imdiately after, without anyone stopping him, he ca down from the head table and approached the front row. He switched his wine cup with the one placed in front of Zahira and poured it down his throat.
Gulp, gulp.
"Now, you can see that I won't do sothing like poisoning."
"Uh……."
"I know very well how widely the infamy of Mozak has spread! Don't be like that, let's switch cups with the next person too!"
One cup, two cups, three cups. Jursi Mozak drank in order, but with unhesitating movents.
"Well, I'm not good at drinking……."
"Co now, the best hostage is right before your eyes, so is there any need to be tense!"
As bold statents burst out one after another, Zahira, Hadiya, Priestess Ella, and even the newcors. Everyone widened their eyes and couldn't react properly.
"Cook comrade, is that really a noble?"
"……Gregor, you should refer to him as 'that person'. He's the heir of a noble who guards the kingdom's borders."
"I see! Is that kind of person really a noble?"
"……."
To Calix, it seed right. Thanks to this, the veteran rcenaries lowered their guard and began to sip the honey-mixed alcohol.
"You're quite large! Very enviable. I'm this small."
"No, no! My master is even smaller!"
"Anyway, it's true that you're small, isn't it?"
"No, that's not what I ant……. I'm just a big fool! I'm sorry!"
"Uhahahaha!"
Although Volga was sweating cold sweat under the burning gaze of the dwarf Basim, the atmosphere in the room beca much softer thanks to this. Clang! tal cups clashed from all directions, honey wine overflowed and dripped onto tables, and the seductive smiles and dance moves of the won raised the corners of the rcenaries' mouths. Jursi Mozak finally made a complete round of the banquet hall and returned to the head table with a reddened face.
"Hm? You are…… Who were you again?"
"We are……."
"Just a joke, just a joke. Aren't you the Mountain Rabbits? No matter how drunk I am, would I commit such rudeness?"
On the surface, he seed like a completely different person from his father. He casually placed his hand on Commander Royce's shoulder, constantly played jokes, and begged to be told interesting stories. His speech and behavior were closer to those of street ruffians than nobles.
'This is why Count Mozak was worried.'
Calix understood at least part of the old man's feelings about facing death. He was anxious because his only heir, his youngest son, showed behavior so different from his own. But on the other hand, he knew how to utilize the advantages he possessed.
"Ho, you ca from the north? I hear there's a lot of work there. I've heard about it."
"Yes. Since it's an unstable region……. There are quite a few requests."
"This person has a talent for beating around the bush. You could just say it simply. The noble bastards are too busy fighting each other to think straight, right? Like this."
"Hehe……."
"Speak comfortably. Between us."
Although it wasn't clear what kind of relationship Jursi Mozak ant by 'between us', Royce's stiff expression softened at the other party's attitude full of goodwill. To put it nicely, he wasn't soone who would stab you in the back, and to put it badly, he got the intuition that he wasn't capable of doing such a thing.
"Hm? Leader comrade, have we t this young man before?"
"We just t, old man!"
"I see! Really shaless!"
"Uha, my face is naturally thick. Won't you have a drink!"
"Mm mm, a very well-raised friend."
Since he laughed off even Gregor's rude remarks with hehehe, Calix couldn't refuse the wine cup that ca to him either.
"Yes, Calix. You should wet your throat too. When you think about it, aren't you the one who led
to this place?"
"Yes."
Glug glug glug-
Transparent liquid flowed from the wine bottle and filled the cup. The sweet scent tickled his nose tip, seeming to have quite a lot of precious honey mixed in. Calix carefully drank this, then imdiately choked and coughed. Since it was his first ti drinking alcohol, his throat felt like it was burning.
"A bit strong? It's made by neutralizing Jukat's poison, so it's like that."
"Jukat?"
"It's a monster that roams the desert. It has six legs, and at the end of its long tail is a poison stinger. Hundreds of them move together in groups, and when they find prey, they all rush at once. But don't worry about it. Honey wine isn't harmful to the body. If it were, I would have died long ago."
Should he have just pretended to drink? Just as he was regretting it a little, Jursi Mozak suddenly waved his hand.
Rustle!
Servants approached and set up a canopy around the head table, blocking the noise of the rcenaries' chatter and creating instant silence.
"Shall we have a more serious conversation now?"
"Ho, this is fascinating! To beco so quiet with just a piece of cloth!"
"It's not ordinary cloth, old man."
"Is this also made from those monster bastards living in the desert?"
To Gregor's question, he answered with a small smile instead of words.
"Yes, we took it from the monster bastards. Since everything is full of sand, that's the only way to give gifts to my people."
The main point ca after that. Jursi Mozak's servant placed a prepared box next to Calix.
"This is……."
Clunk.
Soon a wide, flat box opened, and inside was reddish-brown, smooth leather.
"It's sand worm leather. Unlike the central region, desert knights cannot wear heavy armor. If you wore tal armor, wouldn't you get thoroughly cooked? So we process sand worm leather and use it. It's light yet tough. It's a specialty of Mozak."
"Is this a request?"
"A request?"
"Yes. Like a transport request……."
He seed to find Calix's answer very amusing, as he hit the table and laughed.
"You could call it a request. It's that precious an item. Right now it's just soft leather, but after processing, when you embed magic stones in it, it becos completely different. It's a treasure you can't obtain even with money."
However, the laughter quickly disappeared, and its place was filled with aningful eyes.
"Look here, Calix. Won't you stay with ? If you accept the proposal, I'll give you even greater treasures than this."
"……."
The second recruitnt offer. It was an uncomfortable mont. Perhaps intoxicated by just one cup of alcohol, he couldn't think of a way to refuse without offending the other party. Above all, he was bewildered that his heart was secretly shaken by the words that he could beco a knight. If Gregor hadn't intervened at the right ti, the silence would have lengthened.
"Cook comrade, that bastard seems to favor n. Recomnding sharing a bed! What should we do about this!"
"……Old man, that's not what he ant, you know? How can you interrupt when he's being all serious!"
"No way! I'm old! I'm wrinkled and my skin has sagged, so I'm not a target you'd covet!"
"No……. I said that's not what I ant!"
After being shaken by the veteran rcenary's blow for a mont, the heir of Count Mozak belatedly composed his expression and continued speaking. He had read the hesitant look in Calix's expression.
"Ahem, it seems my gift doesn't appeal to you. It's quite a precious item……. Well, you can't value sothing without using it directly."
"I'm sorry."
"Ho, is this a firm refusal?"
"That's……."
"But my pride won't allow
to back down like this. Is there sothing else you want? Ah, how about Mozak cals? They have the stamina to arrive anywhere in the western region without rest. Or do you want money? Gold coins and leather, or even silk. Anything is fine. Feel free to speak. Even if you refuse and leave, I won't ask for them back."
In truth, there was nothing particularly desired among what he ntioned. Nevertheless, there was one thing he wanted to ask for, so Calix sought permission from the captain with his eyes and slowly spoke.
"I would like to have a sparring match."
"Sparring?"
"Yes. On the way here, I heard various stories about the desert cavalry. That they are excellent warriors. If you give
the opportunity, I would like to fight against them."
At this, Jursi Mozak stared intently at the person's face. He had offered all kinds of wealth, yet Calix did not desire material things. And he was very pleased with such an attitude. To think that what he wanted to have couldn't be bought with money. Since this was unfamiliar to the heir of the Mozak family, his desire to make Calix his person surged fiercely instead.
"Hehe, of course. That much is certainly possible. I'll arrange it for you tomorrow if you want."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank . Anyway, my proposal is still valid. Who knows if you'll want to beco a knight of the Count's house after the sparring? Don't forget that fact. If you change your mind, tell
anyti."
"……Yes."
"Now, have another drink."
Though different in personality from Count Mozak, he possessed the sa aristocratic eccentricity, so he arbitrarily reached a conclusion and imdiately changed the conversation topic. He promised to pay additional compensation to Commander Royce for diating the conflict, and to Gregor he spouted nonsense like 'Perhaps a man liking a man is the most courageous act'. Even after that, he listened to stories about rcenary life and exclaid in admiration, and when the alcohol reached the top of his head, he even shared stories about his deceased brothers. Of course, even during all this, he didn't forget to look at Calix.
'His greed for talent is exactly like his father.'
Commander Royce occasionally responded while inwardly feeling relieved. He judged that it was okay to lower his guard by now. The Mountain Rabbits were scheduled to return with the envoy as soon as negotiations ended, so interest in Calix would naturally decrease as well. Before that, he would need to talk with the person in question about 'whether he had thoughts of remaining in the county'.
'But I feel like I've forgotten sothing…….'
Then suddenly, he looked around with an uneasy feeling. But no matter how many tis he retraced his thoughts, there was no danger signal. The count's heir was quite drunk and couldn't control his body, and his retainers were coming to the banquet hall to exchange greetings.
'Was I also unable to let go of tension all this ti? I'm worrying too much. It'll be fine as long as I don't get excessively drunk.'
Yes. There was nothing more to be problematic.
***
At the sa ti, the outskirts of the county.
"Boss bastard, when the hell are those guys coming?"
"……They'll co soon. The promised ti is almost here."
"Almost here my ass, damn bastard. It passed long ago, you know? Who do you take for a fool?"
Joltan showed signs of impatience while burying his body behind the sand dune. From 'our captain' to just 'captain', then through 'that captain', to 'captain bastard' - as the ti waiting for the Mountain Rabbits lengthened, the mouths of his so-called subordinates grew rougher.
"Keep waiting? The moon has even risen over the sand dune."
"Ah, shit. Why so much nagging? Then will you run away? If you betray twice, then you'll really be treated like a fool! Complain after it's all over. Then I'll stick out my belly first without you even asking! Got it?"
"Well……. That's enough. Everyone heard, right? That bastard promised."
"……."
Bad bastards. Bastards with no respect or trust for their captain whatsoever. Grima's rcenary captain shed tears in his heart and prayed for footsteps to be heard. However, contact from the Mountain Rabbits ca three hours later. It was when the word 'captain' had completely disappeared and he was being called a 'moron' by his subordinates.
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