54 – Crudia Mountaineer Mercenaries – 7
Come to think of it, when Charles Jean Rochepol offered Manfred to take over the mercenaries, he offered 5,000 ducats. This was an amount higher than the actual value of the Crudia Mountaineer Mercenaries.
Manfred regretted his complacency. I should have looked at how a mere fallen nobleman could offer a sum of 5,000 ducats.
Manfred conceded. The fact that the man in front of me wasn’t just talking. If he played a big role in the prince’s military campaign, he was obviously a huge figure. And he realized that he had been foolish to negotiate with such a tycoon.
Manfred has dealt with several big names so far. They were mainly nobles and royalty from the kingdom of Swadia, a neighboring country and as rich as Arcadia.
The man in front of me is a similar being. Even if he is only a fallen nobleman, if he has made a name for himself like this, he will be able to raise his family on his own. As proof of that, isn’t he gathering private soldiers like this?
“Lord Rochepole.”
“Father, why are you like this? Even though I played a little in the war, I am still your daughter’s friend. Please feel free to call me Charles.”
“Then I will. sir char. I think I roughly understand why you are gathering soldiers. The Arcadia Empire has been peaceful for 500 years, but now that peace is about to break. Ever since His Majesty the Emperor lost his mind, His Highness the Crown Prince has been openly revealing his ambition for territorial expansion, and numerous nobles have taken advantage of the weakening of the imperial authority to invade neighboring countries with ambition. In that situation, you must be trying to become a hero in a troubled world. Thousands of the past, like the heroes. Isn’t it?”
Exactly, it’s a little different. Charles just wanted to go home. The only means is to conquer the world. Unlike other heroes who want to leave their names in history, Charles will just conquer the world and coolly disappear. However, his desire to conquer the world was the same as other heroes.
“It’s not completely like that, but it’s similar in that I want to build my forces by raising enlisted soldiers.”
“Now I see. How big was this offer for the Crudia Mountaineer Mercenaries? How drastically it will change the future of the mercenaries. I have a feeling.”
“Then you are in favor of the takeover… ”
“However.”
Manfred interrupted Charles. And then he spoke of himself.
“I don’t know yet whether that massive change will be positive or negative. I know you have great talent, but sometimes talent can be poisonous. A bird that flies high falls greatly. You can fly higher than anyone else, so you will make a big fall.”
“So, is it a refusal?”
Manfred thought for a while. Maris and Charles looked at Manfred with nervous eyes. Manfred’s men hadn’t been taught, so I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but I could tell that it was extremely serious. So I kept my mouth shut.
“Hold.”
“Hold?”
“I would like to withhold the answer for a while. The first reason is the lack of information about the musket weapon you mentioned. You have to check how much a musket costs, how long it takes to produce one, and whether the saying that it takes two weeks to a month to master is really true. Even if you’re a war hero, you can’t decide the fate of the mercenaries by trusting only what you’re seeing for the first time today.”
“Yes. This is a wise decision. Then, do you have a second one?”
“It is trust in you personally.”
“About me?”
“Just as you learned about me and Maris, I want to know a little about you. Will you allow me to do this much?”
At that, Charles laughed.
“As much as you like.”
After all, 500 lives are at stake, so it doesn’t seem to come over easily.
—–
“By the way, do you have a place to sleep?”
At Charles’ question, one of Mannfred’s men scratched the back of his head and said,
“I’m looking for a suitable inn… ”
“Everything is expensive in the capital. The same goes for inns. Especially now, because of the festival season, there are a lot of people coming to the capital, so the price of the inn is really expensive.”
“How much is expensive… ”
“Even a low-quality inn will cost at least 12 Grossen per person. Since it’s four people, it will cost you two Talers per night.”
“Two Thalers!”
Manfred’s expression rotted. To Charles, who had 11,000 ducats, 2 thalers was like a small amount of money, but to poor mercenaries in the countryside, 2 thalers was an amount of money that could not be ignored.
Besides, the problem was that since I was going to stay for three days, it was like paying more than one ducat just for lodging. 1 Ducat. It was more than the salary of a mercenary for 15 days.
“In addition, you will receive food and living expenses separately, would that be okay?”
“The system is really scary. If you wait a few more days, it will end up on the street.”
“In that respect, I would like to provide accommodation. What do you think?”
“yes?”
Manfred thought. I didn’t want to stop at Charles’ face, but if he offered me a place to stay for free, there was no reason to refuse. It wasn’t like asking for a price.
Actually, I didn’t care if I slept in the stable, but I wanted to give the subordinates who came to Jedo for the first and last time a good experience.
“I should be grateful if you do, but… ”
“Then I’ll call a carriage right away.”
In fact, even before he became close with Maris, Charles had thought that Manfred would visit the island once. He makes Maris make a lot of money by inventing it, and makes Manfred come all the way to the capital to check the source of the money. Because this was Charles’ strategy from the beginning. So, they prepared accommodations for them in advance.
And again, the carriage came. The carriage headed by Charles and Manfred was a luxurious villa.
—–
“You have a special guest today.”
Saying that, Isabel de Poitiers greeted us at the front door of the villa. He was Princess Leonia’s right-hand man and Charles’ junior. Now, though, there was a feeling that Charles was becoming more of a tycoon than Isabel, who was behind him.
“Charles Jean Rochepole, and Manfred Vietsi, the mercenary commander of the Crudia Mountaineer Mercenary Corps. It is an honor to serve two famous people for a few days.”
Isabel greeted them according to the Arcadian manners. Charles didn’t say a very stiff greeting, but he slightly bowed his head in response.
“No, no, I am really happy to be invited to such a nice villa. But what about your name… ”
“There have been many mistakes. My name is Isabel de Poitiers. A small baron in northeastern Arcadia who serves Her Highness Princess Leonia.”
“ah… ”
Manfred did not know Isabel’s name. Of course, Manfred’s activities were in two countries: Krudia and Swadia. As such, I knew little about Arcadia’s aristocratic lineage, but the fact that she had a villa like this in the capital city itself made it possible to guess that this woman was extremely wealthy.
“It’s a shabby villa, but please think of it as if it were your own home.”
“How shabby is this wonderful mansion! We are the humble mercenaries. I would appreciate it if you would just let me sleep in the stable.”
“You are joking. Manfred will be staying in the best room. That would be the case, since he is an acquaintance of my close friend, Charles. Right, Charles?”
“Of course, Isabelle.”
Charles and Isabel smiled at each other. Of course, this was to show off their closeness to Manfred, and in reality Charles and Isabel were not that close.
Meanwhile, Maris was feeling a little lonely. He was grateful that Manfred and the other fathers were staying in a nice house, but he was lonely that he had only one friend, Charles, who seemed closer than himself.
“I don’t come to the villa very often because I attend the academy. The villa will only house Manfred and a few of my servants. And this is Albert, my butler. If you have any inconvenience, please tell Albert.”
“Take good care of me.”
Manfred bowed his head to the butler. Manfred’s subordinates wondered what kind of butler he was going to be so lowly, but Manfred was the third son of an aristocratic family, so he knew it well. In the case of a noble family with a long history, there were cases where the butler also used a noble from another family. In a powerful family, even the butler had strong power.
‘Anyway, I guess Charles is really a big man.’
It was Manfred who thought he shouldn’t look down on Charles, to be friends with someone who had a villa like this.
After a while, Manfred finished his two-week trip at the villa under the guidance of his butler.
And the next day, Charles came to visit Manfred. When I asked what was going on, they said that we were going to a festival in addition to taking a tour of the capital.
Manfred tried to refuse at first. It was because he thought he had to leave soon since he had not come here to play in the first place, but to see Maris’ face.
However, looking at the earnest expressions of his subordinates, even that seemed a little difficult.
For three days, Manfred and his men enjoyed the festival and witnessed the splendor of Archipelago Arcadia, the largest city in the world.
“Wow… It can’t even be compared to the mountain valley of Crudia.”
“I have to go back to Crudia in a few days, right?”
“What do you do with money? It’s useless in the mountain valley of Krudia.”
“I wish I was born in a place like this.”
Each of the mercenaries said a word. Manfred was saddened to hear that. The people of Arcadia live a prosperous life just because they were born in Arcadia, but those who were born in Crudia have to spend their whole life tending sheep in a mountain village where there is nothing to enjoy, just because they were born in Crudia. Where is this inequality?
The moment I thought so, Charles said.
“If I take over the mercenary corps, the main arena of activity for the Crudia Mountaineer Mercenary Corps will be Arcadia. So, to put it simply… ”
Charles smiled and said.
“It is said that when there is no request, you can station yourself at the Dunyeong near Arcadia, and only gather and carry out the request when there is a request.”
Doesn’t that mean that you can enjoy a day like today in the capital anytime without a request? At those words, Manfred was stunned for a moment, but then came to his senses. I didn’t become a mercenary to live a luxurious life. Manfred had a dream. His dream is to raise a noble family with his own power. Because of this, Manfred tried hard not to fall for Charles’ words.
“Is that really!?”
The subordinates didn’t seem to like it.
Hahahaha