161 – Mercenary Captain Martin’s First Departure (1)
As I said that, the man who came to me took out a letter from his pocket and introduced himself politely.
” My mind was focused on what I should have introduced first, so I started with the main topic. My name is Lyon Grandia, inspector general serving the Count of Dijon of the Kingdom of Montmartre. “Originally, this was done by sending a knight, but hiring mercenaries involves a lot of money, so I came here.”
In terms of an inspector, he is roughly equivalent to a high-ranking knight or a baron.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying he’s a very high-ranking person, but in terms of the company, he’s higher-ranking than the managing director, so for someone like him to come here in person… I’m a little touched.
“It is truly an honor for the inspector to come all the way here.”
I usually say this when I have to pretend to be happy when I am not at all, but I am truly happy to see this person.
In my mind, the second time with this person, no, the second time in this world includes drinking and having s*x with a prostitute.
Otto is such a nice person that I want to give him a lot of money and have him take the full course instead of me.
Once I have people who come to me like this once or twice, even if I don’t do a lot of digging, people like this will continue to come asking for work in the future.
“I am just grateful that Captain Martin said so. Enough of the superficial greetings, let’s start the real story. “Could you please read this letter first?”
I very carefully opened the letter the man handed me, opened it, and carefully read what was written inside.
After reading the letter, I was dumbfounded and asked back.
“No matter how much I know nothing about being a mercenary, I think this is a bit too much. The Duchy of Troyes had no successor, so the family was cut off. King Barceló is the 6th cousin of the Duke of Troyes, as his mother, the Queen, is the older sister of the Emperor Montmartre. So, you claim that the Duchy of Troyes is yours?”
It sounds dizzying and complicated just to listen to it, but among the nobles of this world, when there is no one to inherit the territory, there are many people who come up to steal it for all kinds of reasons.
For example, if a person who had no contact with Baron 00 or exchanged letters with him during his lifetime learns that Baron OO has passed away without an heir, he will claim that he is Baron 00’s cousin nephew according to genealogy, and that he has the right to inherit the property. A story that claims to exist, etc.
And this sometimes works, and there are frequent cases where the reishi is eaten without shedding a single drop of blood.
‘It’s not like I’m inheriting a blind inheritance from some conglomerate family…’
What’s even funnier is that a nobleman like the King of Barcelo insists on it without knowing the principle that if there is no heir to the family, all territories will be returned to the King’s hands…
In times like this, it’s best to cater to the feelings of the guy who wants to give me money.
‘If you just flatter someone well, you can repay the debt by a thousand nyang, and if you agree well, the down payment goes up.’
“Huh, King Barceló has finally gone crazy. Unless you got kicked in the head by his horse’s hoof and went crazy, you wouldn’t be able to say such nonsense.”
Inspector Lyon must have been very pleased with my response that sympathized with his feelings, so he nodded his head sharply and his face blushed.
“I hate to say this, but King Barceló was definitely born with a rag in his mouth. “Otherwise, how can you say such a story that is nothing more than bullsh*t?”
“This is a story that I can relate to very much.”
That won’t happen, but to think that after I die, relatives I have already lost touch with will come and take Hilde, Lucia, and Karin’s inheritance, saying it’s their ‘legitimate right’…
Honestly, just thinking about it makes the back of my neck tighten.
‘Of course, I have no intention of dying and leaving those three behind.’
So, over the course of 30 minutes, I countered one by one with the inspector’s behind-the-scenes chatter, which was not only a double insult, but was almost equivalent to double insults.
With a serious expression and voice, he summarized all the facts and asked as if confirming them for the last time.
“So, would you like to know that His Majesty, the Emperor of the Empire of Montmartre, is planning to personally strike King Barcelo for insisting on nonsense that is worse than the doctrine of the Imam spouted by the infidels?”
“Yes, Captain Martin. And Count Dion definitely wants to join the Whitebeard mercenaries in that glorious war.”
You could ask right here, ‘Then how much can you give me?’ And proceed with the story right away.
Before asking such a question, I decided to find a way to increase my value a little more.
To put it bluntly, if you’re going to go through so much trouble anyway, it’s better to get at least one more 10 won bill.
“Thank you very much for coming all the way, but there is one thing I would like to ask. Why does Count Dion insist on taking a lowly bastard like me? “Aren’t there a lot of good mercenaries in Montmartre?”
At those words, Lyon looked disappointed and asked back.
“Are you saying you don’t trust me and the Count?”
“That’s not true, I just wanted to know what happened because it was such an honor. To be honest, the Whitebeard Mercenary Unit is not a very large mercenary unit, nor is it a great mercenary unit, is it?”
Our mercenary corps may be in a fairly high position from the top, but if you ask whether they are so great that the Count directly nominates them… There is a bit of an ambiguous aspect.
A mercenary unit directly designated by a great noble such as a count is usually a large and powerful mercenary unit with over 1,000 members, whereas ours is only about 500.
“The Whitebeard Mercenaries are certainly top-notch, but in terms of size, they are a bit small. However, with only 500 mercenaries, they defeated the former Baron Maurer’s army of 2,000 men and took about 700 prisoners.”
Hearing those words, I obviously pretended to be humble.
“It is Deus’ bowhasim.”
“Deus does not bless the incompetent. And what on earth could an incompetent mercenary leader do to rise to the rank of nobleman?”
The inspector looked me in the eyes and made a suggestion.
“Count Dion believes that although the Whitebeard mercenaries number only 500, they can be active as more than 2,000. So he set the down payment very high.”
The income of mercenaries is largely divided into three categories.
One is a down payment divided between signing and completing a mercenary contract, and bonuses given by kings or lords depending on performance in war.
And the ransom of knights and nobles captured during the battle.
The bonus is the most lucrative among these, but the down payment is also very important.
“How much did you set?”
“8,000 Gold coins. Bonuses and ransom are separate.”
The down payment we received before Dalton became a baron was about half of that, and it seems that making the ‘former mercenary leader’ a baron made our value jump significantly.
So, if we receive just this amount of down payment, all of our mercenaries will shout “Long Live Deus”…
I muttered in a slightly disgruntled tone.
“Well, 8,000 gold coins.”
“Honestly, this is an extremely large down payment for a mercenary unit of 500 people. Isn’t it? “The ransom and bonus are separate!”
They definitely give a lot,
To put it bluntly, with this money, even if we end this war and do nothing until next year, we can cover the salaries of mercenaries and all other expenses.
If you include the bonus and the ransom, you will be able to play for two years just with this one.
But what’s urgent are those bastards, right?
“I was also touched by the Count’s generosity. However, as the leader of a mercenary company, I had an obligation to grow my mercenary company larger. So, for this amount, I have no choice but to decline this contract. “If you participate in another war, you will receive more money.”
After saying that, I actually tried to get up from the desk.
“I am truly grateful for Count Dion’s favor. “I will send you a polite thank you letter later.”
Then the inspector looked at me like I was crazy.
“It would be difficult to find better conditions than these.”
“The Whitebeard Mercenary Corps is a small but strong mercenary unit. And a civil war will soon break out in the Rhine-Palatinate Empire.”
From Noble mtl dot com
There would be no noble who would not know that a civil war would soon break out in the Rhine-Palatinate Empire.
The empire is in such a dangerous state that rumors are already spreading.
“There is not much time left until His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire passes away. “Then, the nobles of the empire will open the family treasury to gather mercenaries, distribute their fiefdoms and interests, and use their skills to gather ‘famous mercenaries.'”
Dalton caught the trend and became Baron Maurer, right?
“Isn’t that why you came here yourself? “I want to take all the best mercenaries from the empire and quickly contract them before the price of mercenaries skyrockets.”
At those words, the inspector’s mouth opened cautiously.
“I will use my authority to the best of my ability to get the number to 9,000. It doesn’t get any higher than this.”
The inspector’s eyes are not fluttering, but are rolling back and forth.
In other words, there is room for acceptance even if it costs a little more.
“11,000 Copies.”
“11,000 Is not enough. Let’s make it 9,500 sheets. “I really can’t upload any more!”
I raised just one finger and grinned.
“Let’s be a man and make it 10,000 copies. “How neat and nice is it?”
The inspector sighed as if the floor was sinking.
“Okay, I can’t upload any more. “10,000 Copies!”
“Thank you. Thank you very much, I will fight like a mad dog in the war for you. And when the war ends, I will perform so well that it will be regrettable that we were not able to give out 20,000 tickets instead of 10,000.”
lmao