156 – Crossroads (2)
A month after returning to Villa Hora Castle, the war was completely over.
Anyway, our army’s victory was virtually confirmed when we returned, so even when I heard that the war was over, I didn’t feel particularly emotional…
There are still events left for us to look forward to.
‘Distribution of rewards for each mercenary.’
Karin came towards me and laughed while poking my cheek.
“Our penniless Centurion Martin, you’re finally going to get out of bed now, aren’t you?”
“Stop teasing me, senior.”
“I don’t like it? Well, it’s Martin’s money, so you’re free to spend it however you choose, but to gamble that you’d spend all your money without hesitation on finding new women rather than anywhere else… It was a lot of money to see that. Right, Lucia?”
When Karin teases me, Lucia is always the one to stop her, but she was a little different today.
She stood with her cheeks puffed out, her tail straightened up, and answered in a sour voice.
“… I knew that even though I had Karin, she confessed her love to me, but I never thought that she would throw away all her money and take another woman.”
Hearing those words, I scratched my head with an embarrassed expression.
If you say things like, “I will love you the same whether there are two of us or three of us,” You will get hit in the back.
“Instead, if you receive this reward, I will buy you a new and expensive senior Karin’s bow and Lucia’s staff.”
“Captain Centurion, this is enough for me now…”
“Now that I am an intermediate wizard, I should use a staff designed for advanced wizards.”
From Noble mtl dot com
If you go to a high-end store that specializes in wands, they will often have one or two wands for intermediate level wizards…
For an advanced wizard’s staff or a highly skilled archer’s bow like Karin, you must go to a professional craftsman and have them make it for you.
The average production period is more than 3 months, so you need to find a good person, entrust the request to them, and take a break until you find them.
On the other hand, Hilde, who was listening to this conversation next to her, felt very sorry and apologized to Karin.
“It’s because of me…”
“Hey, Martin did something wrong, Sir Bauman. No, Hilde, you did nothing wrong.”
Hilde’s expression slightly brightened at those words, and Lucia added,
“My sister Karin and I are in the ranged class, so she can’t help the white captain directly on the dangerous battlefield. “Gyeong is different.”
“Lucia.”
Since Hilde said she would treat me as her lord, Lucia Langkarin said she was just like my wife and she used the word ‘sir’ and used honorifics like that.
It’s not a bad thing because it’s a respectful attitude, but if it continues like that, it’ll make both parties uncomfortable…
‘But that doesn’t mean I can step forward, right?’
Personally, I hope that Hilde, Lucia, and Karin will all become close friends and act like sisters, but it has only been a month since those three met.
‘To be exact, they stayed together after the fall of Villa Hora, but both of them stayed away from Hilde.’
But if I somehow intervene and tell the three of them to get along, the already awkward relationship will become even more awkward.
Hilde is making an effort in her own way, and Lucia and Karin seem to be trying to become closer, so it will be resolved soon.
“So, please take good care of the centurion from now on. “You probably know this well because you have personally fought with swords, but Centurion Martin is the type of person who fights so aggressively that it is not surprising if he gets seriously injured at any time.”
“This is the lord I have chosen to serve. Even if my body breaks and dies, I will protect my master. Do not worry.”
“And please feel free to call me just Lucia, not Lucia. “We’ll continue to be together from now on, right?”
Hilde’s face turned red when she heard that they would continue to be together.
“Yes, I too will one day become your master… No, I have already offered my body and mind, so anytime… Please take care of me, Lucia. And Karin…?”
Karin also slightly raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.
“If you want to become friends, you have to change the formal title first. I also call you Karin-senpai. After all, I’m the senior in the mercenary corps, right?”
When the relationship between the three of us had sorted things out without my involvement, Dalton came into our barracks laughing like crazy.
“f*ck, today is the best day since we founded our mercenary army. Isn’t that right?”
Deputy Commander Heinz behind Dalton shrugged his shoulders and added a word.
“Well, today is the time to finally present the matter to the kids… You can’t help but feel embarrassed, but please control yourself. “If the leader said that, wouldn’t everyone be dumbfounded because they don’t even know what it is?”
Century Schnitzel sighed as if he was dumbfounded.
“Are you telling me to smile unconditionally and have the kids dance to something without telling them anything?”
“Well, I guess I’ll just dance on my own. Isn’t that right?”
I also snorted when I heard that.
“Don’t you know that even clowns who play in front of nobles have to start playing music to start playing? And what on earth is ‘that thing’? Surely you wouldn’t want to hire one more pretty maid?”
“Am I you? “Century Martin Mayer, who spent all his money to receive an advance salary in order to hire one female knight as his subordinate?”
“……”
I was really angry when I heard that.
But since I was criticizing the dark history I had committed, I had nothing to say to refute it.
Maybe that’s why the back of my neck feels like it’s being pulled, no, it’s actually pulled.
Dalton looked at me and laughed, and then he suddenly spoke in a solemn voice.
“First of all, today’s reward announcement is on hold. “Something more important than that has happened.”
Our mercenary soldiers protested at those words.
“No, f*ck! “What is so important that the announcement of the reward is on hold?”
One guy put his hand on the hilt of his sword and started talking excitedly, as if he was threatening him.
“We risked our lives on Centurion Martin’s crazy plan to make money. What kind of nonsense is this? Depending on what you say next, I could stab you with a knife!”
In an atmosphere where everyone was seriously upset, Dalton handed over the letter he had received to another platoon leader next to him.
“This is a letter containing crazy content that will make you mercenaries sell out. Platoon leader Saltz, please read this.”
Saltz received the letter almost ready to throw it or tear it up…
Suddenly he started wandering like a crazy person.
“What the f*ck? Captain Dalton, this isn’t a lie or a forged letter, is it? “If that’s not the case, I don’t understand it?”
“I’m good at playing around with other things, but I don’t play around with your salaries and issues that affect your life. And the person who brought this was a high-ranking knight of the ‘Count’ of the Rhine-Palatinate Empire.”
It’s an agenda that the earl’s senior knight personally came and handed over a letter, and since the ‘war’ is now completely over, there’s no chance it’s a ruse or bullsh*t.
Saltz returned the letter to Dalton, trembling, and laughed like a madman.
“Captain Dalton has become a baron! Count Kraut of the Rhine-Palatinate said he had made Captain Dalton an offer to become a baron, you bastards! And since he is a knight and vassal of the baronial domain and there is no one, he said to give us a place each!”
The guys who had just been attacking Dalton as if they were going to hang them cheered.
“Is that true? Long live Deus!”
Some people even pinched their own cheeks.
“…… This isn’t really a dream, is it?”
Some of the guys who were close to each other even faced each other and hugged each other.
“It’s done now, it’s time to sell!”
“I did it, I did it.”
The common goal of all mercenaries is different depending on their abilities and rank, but they all have similar directions.
Save a lot of money to retire and live comfortably.
However, if I were to talk about a higher goal, it would be to rise to a high position where I am socially recognized and live comfortably while rubbing the breasts of beautiful women.
However, it is very difficult for mercenaries to reach a ‘high position’, so most of them realistically aim to retire.
But what happens is that Dalton becomes a baron and takes away all of the Whitebeard mercenaries…
Dalton chuckled at the guys who were excited with anticipation.
“Children, are you that good?”
At those words, most of the mercenaries, including me, began to shed tears.
After saying that, Dalton looked at me and smiled.
“Of course, there are some who will refuse even if you give them a high-level knighthood and half a territory. “Anyway, I leave it up to you guys to decide whether to follow me or not.”
The one over there who will reject me will definitely be me.
And I, who had refused Margrave Estelle’s offer to give me the title of baron, am now a high-ranking knight under Dalton.
No problem, cancer.
Dalton then took out another document instead of the one that stated how much his reward was to be paid and how his promotion would be, and began to read it.
“If followed, I, Baron Dalton von Prime, will divide the titles, fiefs, and lands roughly according to these criteria. He distributes fields to knights of centurion and higher rank, to knights of lower to intermediate rank according to their performance so far, and to knights of platoon leader and higher, according to their respective positions. “I’m going to give it to you very generously, so whoever accepts this offer will not receive compensation for losing in this battle.”
You may not think that giving away a field is a big deal, but even if you are a lowly soldier, if you accept that offer, Dalton will be given enough land to live on just by providing tenant farming from the baronage he received.
In terms of Korea, you could think of it as handing over small buildings one at a time.
‘Of course, when Dalton became a baron, he received the entire city and the surrounding area, so he could use generosity.’
“And since Vice Commander Heinz and the other centurion commanders accepted my offer and said they would become senior knights, if Martin does not accept my offer, the mercenary leader of this mercenary unit will be Martin Mayer.”
Then Dalton cheered and came toward me, leaving the guys crying with emotion.
“Hey Martin, let’s have a drink. “There are many stories I want to tell.”
At this moment, I answered seriously without any hint of playfulness.
“Yes.”