101 – Till the dust settles
As the wagon drew closer to the wall, the guards who were joking fell silent.
As his head turned to the carriage in front, the spear he was holding loosely was aimed at the carriage.
It didn’t take long to get ready for the inspection.
“Stop.”
As the wagon pulled up, a guard came forward.
As if the leather armor full of scars was out of shape, he kept an ambiguous distance for the sword to reach, and he said succinctly.
“Reveal your identity.”
“You have suffered a lot.”
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As I smiled and stretched out my arm to show the mercenary card, he said curiously.
“You came unscathed while robbers swarmed everywhere. Who’s in the wagon?”
“I have a colleague who is a mercenary, our client, and a robber.”
The guard’s face stiffened a little when he heard the combination of words that shouldn’t be together.
“Robbery?”
“That’s exactly what it was. The bandits are gone now.”
His eyebrows twitched slightly, and I added quickly.
“Beside me, the morning star of the boss is lying around. Behind me is a robber who will testify.”
“The F-class caught the leader of the robbers?”
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the guards rushed in and surrounded the wagon.
In that attitude full of wariness, there was a sense of tension that seemed like it would be speared in an instant.
At that moment, a girl’s voice came from the back compartment.
“Bring the superiors.”
The mouths of the security guards opened up when they heard the sudden disapproval.
No, maybe it was because of the piece of metal she held out.
As some of them returned to the back of the carriage, the spears aimed at the sky returned to their normal positions.
It didn’t take long for the preparations for the inspection to be released.
Certainly, something more certain than an ID card existed in this other world.
It was a more special status.
Then the security guard who was dealing with me suddenly smiled kindly and said. It was the smile of a salaried worker who received an additional allowance.
“Uh, I guess I’ll need to do some research.”
“What’s wrong?”
“They said they caught the head of a band of robbers who swept around here. You don’t even need to ask?”
I saw one of the guards running into Burinake Castle. Maybe he’s trying to call someone higher up.
“Sorry for taking up your time.”
“Ah. What between us.”
The unknown friend who suddenly became close to me answered in a slightly softer voice.
“Wait a minute and someone will come soon. By the way, my name is Halden, so remember.”
***
Halden’s words were bullsh*t.
Someone wasn’t coming, we had to go.
It was because when the guards reported, they said, ‘There are crazy guys who blew off all the heads of the robbers who have swept around recently and even captured the weapons of the boss’.
For that reason, as soon as I entered the guard’s room, I was somehow disappointed.
However, the more I listened to the story, the more it was worth seeing that the plaintive face gradually widened.
After hearing the whole story, the captain of the guard suddenly began to sigh.
“After.”
And then, he lowered his voice and said.
“I’m saying this because you guys solved it. Lately, tourists have been raided a lot, so we’ve been quite worried.”
It was a textbook answer for build-up.
“It’s not a ghost that disappears when you try to subdue it, and appears when you withdraw again.”
I just nodded my head at the excuse that they had put in enough effort.
Because it smelled like money.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t empty the castle.”
“The captain of the guard must have worked hard.”
“Not quite that much. Anyway.”
The captain of the guard waved his arm roughly, then continued his words.
“There were robbers in that citadel, and I didn’t expect it to grow to the extent of capturing even a noble lady from far away. It’s not under our jurisdiction.”
Mothered in a low voice, “You guys in the central army should do what they do properly,” The captain of the guard raised his pen.
Then we put our names on a piece of paper on the desk and said, ‘Nearby town, strengthen checks on vagrants.’ Written on it, he pulled out a bag of money from a drawer.
Cheolgeureong.
Amidst the heavy metal sound resonating in our hearts.
The captain of the guard said with a sigh.
“I was going to ask for a sweep, but the owner of the money came to me on his own.”
As I thanked him while packing a money bag full of the smell of copper, he looked at the girl and said politely.
“Welcome to Kolhen, young lady.”
The girl whose face was not shown gave a brief nod.
As if you’re useless, and you wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for us.
At the gesture of merely trying to save his prestige, the guard captain’s face slightly distorted.
But it seems like he got used to the behavior of the nobles while he was on the way up to the spot, so he immediately changed his expression and issued a congratulatory order to us.
“Welcome to Kolchen.”
***
Colchen, which I entered through pleasant twists and turns, was quite a lively city.
People’s clothes were also a little more stylish than in the Hebrides, and bright primary colors were everywhere.
The flowers planted sparsely along the avenue were fresh and not too fresh, and the fruit display stand was full of sweet fragrance.
If the Hebrides in the north are gloomy gray, then Colchen in the south is bright yellow.
It seemed even more so because he had received a money bag full of coopers, which he didn’t even need to change.
After seeing the city this far, I looked around the back compartment.
The girl in the robe sat quietly with her head bowed.
“Customer?”
“Why but?”
Only then did she raise her head and look at me.
“Where can I take you?”
The girl stopped her words for a moment and hurriedly stretched out her robe in a certain direction.
“You can go that way.”
The place we arrived after being guided by the girl was a street lined with quiet-looking mansions.
I wondered if nobles were of such a different class that even from far away they would catch a place like this.
“Is this right?”
“That’s right.”
The girl who got off the carriage handed me something.
“Come on.”
It was an antique gold brooch with an eagle engraved on it.
She looked back and forth between me and Miss Prianian.
“If I sell this, I’ll more than pay for you guys. Treat the rest as a favor to me.”
Ah. Is this noblesse oblige?
To be honest, I was worried that I would eat and run because I looked like a broke person. It was quite exciting.
Feeling that my liking for the girl in the robe grew within me, I bowed my head as politely as possible towards the former client.
“Customer. Please enter carefully.”
“May the sun god bless you. Mercenary.”
As she headed toward the gate, she didn’t look back.
I felt confident that I could afford to spend that much, and that was enough to rent the entire mansion.
Prianian whispered quietly.
“As expected, aristocrats seem to be nobles. This brooch, even if it’s not good enough, will be quite expensive.”
“That’s right.”
As a final favor from her, we decided to watch her carefully enter her mansion.
The girl carefully opened the gate and entered her mansion.
After several knocking movements.
Soon, a person who appeared to be a servant came out.
“……!”
“……”
She didn’t go inside the mansion and had a long conversation with the servant.
Maybe there was a bit of a scuffle, but for now we decided to watch.
In the meantime, the servant lowered his head.
The girl quietly closed the door.
Kung.
And then, the girl trudged out of the mansion and crouched down on her wall.
Anyway, I thought something was wrong.
I approached her cautiously.
As I got closer, I heard the girl’s muttering.
“…What should I do? I don’t have any money anymore.”
I stood quietly and listened to the complaint about the subject that everyone is worried about from birth to death.
“Shouldn’t have given me the brooch? No. I don’t know what would have happened if I had.”
Fingers protruding from the sleeves of the robe were touching each other and wiggling. Like trying to create a method for something.
“Now. It was good to point this way, and it was good to go inside naturally. Now let’s think. Think.”
It was good to try to find a way to survive, but people couldn’t create something out of nothing.
In order for her to achieve anything, she must have the bare minimum, but she was impossible for a poor young lady.
“I can’t go back. If I go back, maybe-“
“Maybe?”
A voice that came out unintentionally, her words stopped.
And the transformation began as the hood of the robe turned toward me very slowly.
First her squatting knees straightened.
Her waist is straight. At the same time she raised her torso and neck proudly.
Her fidgeting hands slipped back into the baggy robe, and her narrowed shoulders began to straighten.
It was a change of attitude that reminded me of the old saying that a woman’s transformation is innocence.
Our former client, a poor lady, started treating me like a noble again.
“Hmm, haven’t you gone yet? Came out to get some fresh air, nice to see you again.”
I could feel her voice suppressing her tremors.
There is a difference between a solemn voice and pretending to be solemn.
And showing that one-sheet gap is revealed in the situation she finds herself in.
“Ah. Yes.”
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The poor young lady looked at me and said confidently.
“Originally, I would have served you a cup of tea, but the maid at the house I rented hadn’t finished tidying up yet. It’s a pity.”
That’s not your house.
I suppressed the words that came out in an instant.
A person’s pride is not to be touched carelessly.
Because doing that to someone who was prepared to starve and even gave them gold is nothing to do.
So I just smiled.
“I see.”
“It’s real. I’m not lying.”
The evening play began to color the streets.
Only then, did I see that the tip of her robe was slightly stained.
Covering it with her grace, the girl still pretended to be solemn.
“Why are you not talking?”
“Cleaning the mansion will surely be full of dust, which will be bad for you.”
“Huh?”
“And now that the sun is setting, the client is outside as well.”
She listened to what I had to say.
I invited her as politely as possible.
“Why don’t we rest at the place where we are staying until the dust settles and then go?”