A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 209
Only Noblemtl
Episode 209. The Beginning
The next day.
I followed the guild staff member who brought Boris’ message, “I’ve roughly selected the people, so come and see.” and headed to the mercenary guild.
As I opened the door and went in, a rather impressive sight came into view.
Some of them appear to be clients, and some of them appear to be mercenaries.
There were also some who were talking to each other as if they were negotiating, talking about this and that.
It seems like only yesterday that it was completely empty, but the change is truly amazing.
“I’ll bring the branch manager.”
“I guess so.”
Boris also rose through the ranks and became the branch manager, the most powerful and senior member of the Milestone branch.
He achieved rapid promotion at a young age.
It seems that remaining alone in a place where everyone else had left and holding on silently has paid off.
He’s really good at his job.
“But wasn’t the branch manager only those who had a gold medal?”
[There seem to be exceptions.]
“I see.”
Let’s wait and chat with Cheonma for a while.
Boris, the leader of our proud Milestone Mercenary Guild, yawned and stumbled out from inside.
“Are you here?”
A simple greeting.
“come.”
Boris appeared with a file folder tucked under his arm like a partner, and guided me somewhere while roughly brushing back his messy hair.
Boris explained as he climbed the stairs ahead.
“I chose the silver level with a lot of experience.”
“There is no gold level?”
“Three people are going from Sherwood? I don’t think gold rank is necessary.”
“That’s right.”
That was right.
The purpose is not to go out with several people to defeat a strong demon, but to safely escort the upper class.
In that respect, experience will be the most important, and secondly, combat ability to protect the top from demons and thieves will be valued.
This means that you don’t necessarily have to be strong enough to carry a gold medal.
The beasts that are strong enough to require a gold badge, that is, those of B rank or higher, do not appear that often.
Even if they raid the carriage procession, there are three Sherwood men who can deal with it.
Boris led me upstairs and handed me the folder he was carrying at his side.
“Here’s the personal information of the mercenaries I’ve gathered. I’ve roughly organized it.”
I didn’t receive it.
Because I didn’t feel the need to see it.
“I bet you’ve chosen it well.”
Boris took back the file, his lips licking.
“That’s true.”
I walked down the hallway following Boris, who was grumbling about cleaning up for no reason.
There used to be a time when no one was looking for me, so I would just lie down and sleep at the reception desk, but now there were so many people that I had to figure out how many people were there.
This can’t help but be a very pleasant change.
Boris suddenly started a fight.
“What are you giggling about? It makes me feel bad.”
“Is there any reason to use a bamboo pole?”
“That’s right. It’s a request from the Saluki Group. It’s quite large, isn’t it? That’s great. Is Sherwood regaining his former reputation?”
“It’s still a long way to go. I just got one Saluki top.”
“That’s true.”
“By the way, when is the platinum medal coming?”
“Well, since the results of the evaluation came out today… I think we’ll have to wait at least two weeks.”
“Oh, what? Did you get the results? Why are you telling me that now, you useless idiot.”
“Now that you’re out, you little brat.”
He nodded.
“That makes sense.”
“You’re going to Milgard? Then you can go and get it yourself. That’ll be faster.”
“Then go and get it, okay?”
“Really? Then I’ll say it like that.”
“Or so.”
As we walked down the hallway, chatting away, Boris opened a door.
Then, everyone inside was seen rising from their seats at once.
I entered the room and looked around them silently.
“hmm.”
At first glance, they were experienced veteran mercenaries with scars from being attacked by demons and other demon-like humans.
I could tell just by looking at your eyes.
While I was checking each of their sharp and experienced eyes.
There was a man who pretended to know something.
“Hey, Ashvan!”
“Huh?”
“It’s been a while.”
The moment I saw him, his name immediately came to mind.
Even Cheonma pretended to know.
[He’s a guy who tells stories quite interestingly.]
That would be the case, since there aren’t many men with one eye covered by a black eye patch.
“… … Camus?”
Hunter Camus came over, chuckling, and tapped me on the shoulder.
“I remember.”
I also raised the corners of my lips and responded.
“I can’t forget it. There aren’t many one-eyed mercenaries who can tell such a delicious story.”
Camus laughed heartily.
“Do you know him?”
A man who appeared to be part of his party asked Camus.
He was a little taller than me, wore a wide-brimmed hat, and looked very serious.
The voice was also very deep.
“I know.”
Then Camus gave a long-winded explanation.
“Isn’t that the one who’s been making a lot of noise these days, the half-sword Ashvan! The new leader of the Sherwood Mercenaries?”
At those words, the man’s eyes widened and the people in the room started to murmur.
“What? The author?”
“You mean you were that young?”
“Hmm. Something about the look in your eyes is unusual.”
“I heard you recently single-handedly defeated a Class A demon hydra?”
“They say he stormed into Count Richielo’s house and caused quite a stir.”
“I heard that the number of requests processed in a month exceeded 150.”
“You’re a monster.”
“How come I haven’t heard of that person before? Did he come back after being abroad?”
It was really satisfying and great to hear about my achievements from other people.
Boris intervened before things got any more hectic.
“Okay, everyone here seems to know me, so I’ll just introduce myself quickly. This crazy guy here is Ashvan. He’s the current leader of the Sherwood Mercenaries.”
Exclamations came from all over.
I smiled pleasantly and commented.
“New – Sherwood’s captain, Sherwood’s secret weapon, the man called the Red-Eyed Demon in the lower town, the man who single-handedly defeated the A-class demonic Hydra army, Sherwood’s Ashvan. That’s me.”
Boris tapped me on the shoulder.
“Hold your peace, you idiot. I’m explaining.”
“hmm.”
Boris continued his explanation.
“This mission is an escort mission led by this guy. You can see his personality, right? There will be a lot of hardship and adversity. I can’t give up on him because I’m the person in charge of this mission. If you don’t want to do it right now, you can just leave.”
A burst of laughter gently swept through the room.
Of course, no one went out.
“No? Really no? This is your last chance. You’ll regret it.”
“I said there isn’t any. Stop it.”
“That’s weird. If it were me, I would have kicked the door open and run out.”
Boris, who had been tilting his head, continued speaking.
“This one is a bit big.”
Camus asked.
“How big is it?”
Boris looked at Camus and answered.
“It’s a bit big. Have you heard the approximate cost?”
The mercenaries in the room nodded.
“I forgot to mention this, but that is a down payment. If you successfully complete the escort, you will be paid twice that amount.”
“… … !”
The mercenaries’ eyes widened.
Looking at his expression, it seemed like he would participate even if the destination was hell.
Camus asked with a slightly dazed expression.
“Who is the client? Is he a large company?”
There aren’t many people with that much capital.
A noble or large-scale upper class.
Among them, the nobles usually do not use mercenaries because they usually hire knights.
That’s why the question of whether it’s a large top came up.
As it turned out, it was correct.
However, it is not possible to reveal the client before the request is officially accepted.
Boris continued, skillfully avoiding the question.
“I can’t tell you that yet. Other than that, I’ve gathered people you all probably know, so you probably have an idea of what roles they’ll be taking on, right?”
The experienced mercenaries nodded.
Boris nodded his head in satisfaction and finished speaking.
“Then I will skip the detailed explanation. I don’t think it is necessary.”
Then he winked at me.
It means to check if the people you have gathered are okay.
There were ten people in the room.
There will be no one with a dirty back.
Boris, who is very meticulous when it comes to handling his work, must have foolishly chosen him.
I trust Boris.
No, I believe in his near-perfect work ethic that leaves no room for error, to the point of paranoia.
When it comes to work, it’s hard to find anyone more trustworthy than Boris.
Still, I checked each and every one of the mercenaries in the room once again and nodded.
Only then did Boris begin to give a detailed explanation of this escort request while handing out documents to each person in the room.
“As you all might have guessed, there is a confidentiality agreement that must remain confidential until the end of the mission. I will give you one copy, so please sign it… and listen while you sign. Our escort is the escort for the Saluki Caravan’s goods.”
“… … !”
Everyone’s eyes widened at Boris’ bombshell announcement.
* * *
The preparations were completed quickly.
Because I left all the annoying things to Boris.
Instead, I persuaded Boris to give me some of my share of the commission, since I didn’t need the money that much.
Boris, who already had a deep grudge against the tax collector, quickly accepted my offer.
Prepare food and necessary items, and then meet the client above.
Without much delay, the upper column headed for Milgard set off two days later.
There were twenty carriages in total.
There was a reason why two Platinum Plates were hired.
If we lose twenty carriages, the loss will be enormous.
Since I was the leader and general manager of this convoy, I led the line at the very front.
A total of ten mercenaries were hired, with one mercenary assigned to each of the two wagons.
At the very back we placed our trusty platinum-clad master, the quiet Schmidt.
And in the center… … .
“lol.”
“Mommy.”
“huh?”
“I told you to stay in the center, so why do you keep coming?”
Linda smiled brightly.
“Because I want to be with the devil.”
I pointed to the back and spoke firmly.
“Go back.”
“huh!”
Linda hopped on top of the carriage and went back.
Every time that happened, the mercenaries riding beside the carriage would watch her movements with curiosity.
By the way, that guy’s movements have become a lot more nimble.
It wasn’t ordinary when I first saw it, but it seems I’ve become accustomed to it after hanging out with Shushuruta.
Of course, it is not as good as Shushuruta, but the fact that Shushuruta is being compared to it in the first place means that it is excellent.
Camus, riding a horse next to the carriage, laughed heartily.
“It seems like my younger sister follows my brother around a lot.”
“What do you mean follow?”
I sighed only after I confirmed that Linda had returned to the center of the line.
“Ugh. I should have just brought Shushurutana.”
As the third member of Sherwood to participate in the escort mission, I chose Linda.
The reason was simple.
Because I hate seeing you just lounging around with nothing to do.
This guy was just lazing around, mixing poison here and there, and then he drank the wasp wine I brought and got sick and fell asleep.
Of course, it wasn’t a lie that he had learned medicine from his older sister, so he mixed the poison here and there and drank it, but he recovered quickly.
So, Linda’s role in this escort mission can be seen as my right-hand man and doctor.
Because it is a long journey, it is inevitable that there will be injuries.
I brought you here to show off your skills… … .
“Devil! I’m back again!”
“… … .”
I’m already starting to regret it.
* * *
Somewhere dark where no sunlight reaches.
I caught a glimpse of a figure moving in the darkness.
“They said they have departed.”
“I see.”
The person opposite him took his words.
“Are you ready?”
“of course.”
“I don’t need to tell you how important this is.”
“We might be able to bring forward the plan considerably.”
A brief silence darkened the darkness even further.
And then, an eerie slogan echoed through the darkness.
“The blue sky is already dead.”
“The dark sky will come.”