49: Knight vs. Adventurer
“I am truly glad to see you return safely.”
“Hmm. You have done well.”
The next day. Despite the fact that I had told him to prepare a carriage to bring back some goods and a barrel of wine, Jarnar came back with a large amount of victory spoils instead. I chuckled at his actions, but I decided to accept it, figuring that he wouldn’t have been able to prepare a carriage otherwise.
In the reception room, Zeel and the maids were lined up, and even Romero and Eldred, whom I had summoned, were watching Jarnar and me.
Buying goods from there would be impolite, or rather, I hadn’t brought any with me in the first place, so after some small talk, I got down to business.
“By the way, Jarnar, I have a small favor to ask of you.”
“Anything.”
“Hmm. I would like to ask for something like this. I have also noted down the quantity.”
I handed him the paper I had set aside. Incidentally, this was just a spare, and I had already shown Jarnar the same thing yesterday. Rather, this was something I had revised at that time.
“May I ask what this is for?”
“Hmm. I am planning to have a drink with the people of the mansion with the wine that His Majesty the King has bestowed upon us. However, there are a lot of us. So I thought I would do it in the garden, but it would be boring if there was nothing to eat.”
“I see.”
What I am asking Jarnar for is a stand that can hold the wine barrels at a high position.
In addition, I am also asking for a considerable number of assembled cooking utensils, such as a stand with space for firewood underneath and an iron plate on top.
I named it simply a barbecue cooking set, since it is mainly intended for grilling meat and other things.
If we place these at equal intervals in the spacious garden, everyone will be able to grill whatever they like, and if they want a drink, they can simply pour as much as they like directly from the wine barrels, which will also be placed at equal intervals.
Anyone who sees the shape I want them to prepare will be able to guess what kind of cooking they are going to do and what they are going to eat. However, I will not say anything about what I am going to grill and eat at this point.
The rest is a preparation that says, “We’re going to have a bit of a luxurious party from now on,” such as a large number of cups, plates, knives, and other things necessary for eating, as well as outdoor chairs for everyone to sit on.
“What do you think? Can you get it ready?”
“Yes, I can. If you give me about seven days.”
“Well, that’s about right. Hmm, I’ll leave it to you.”
“As you wish.”
“Later. Romero and Eldred, this concerns you as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jarnal, on that occasion, I intend to serve alcohol to everyone in the mansion. I’m thinking of hiring adventurers (Adbel) to guard us during that time, or perhaps until morning. Can you arrange that?”
Yes, I had decided to celebrate our victory with everyone in the mansion, but the biggest problem that arose was the mansion’s security. I had thought of using my guild and my acquaintances from ‘Liliano’ and ‘Grieg Mercenaries’ instead of the guards and direct subordinates who usually handle that duty.
My guild is still newly established, but thanks to me, who had raised my adventurer rank (Adbel rank) during the incident in the Jibril territory, and Jarnal, the Garland branch manager of the Bernard Trading Company, our guild rank is not low. And ‘Liliano’ and ‘Grieg Mercenaries’ are major guilds famous in this city. They would be fairly reliable as guards.
“I can handle it, but…”
Jarnal then glanced at Romero and Eldred.
“Romero and Eldred, what about you? About using adventurers?”
“It depends on the adventurers’ ranks… Either way, as members of the Imperial Guard, we can’t agree to it right away.”
“I agree with Plum. It depends on their ranks. However, I do wonder if it’s worth hiring them. Normally, the mansion is guarded by ten Imperial Guards and twenty-five direct subordinates, thirty-five in total. If that’s the case , we could just reward them on another occasion or separately.”
“I want to raise a glass with everyone, both of you.”
I looked at the two of them, my expression unchanged.
“So how about this? Have the adventurers come here once, and if the two of you acknowledge their abilities and character, then we’ll hire them. Jarnal. Are the adventurers you have in mind trustworthy?”
“I will ask several affiliated guilds, but I have complete trust in the guild master of one of them, ‘Mimirila’s Cat Ears (Cutie Cat Ears).’ “
I almost laughed at the cute guild name. Judging from the fact that Romero and Eldred didn’t react in particular, perhaps such names aren’t uncommon.
“Hmm… If His Royal Highness insists.”
“I agree.”
“Then it’s decided. Jarnal, bring them here. It would be difficult to bring everyone, so just the guild master and sub-master will be fine. There shouldn’t be any problems if they’re members of their guild. Is that okay?”
When I looked at Romero and Eldred, they nodded. When I looked at Jarnal, he nodded as well.
Well, even if they said no, I would force it through, but I’ll ask the head servant (boss) of this mansion just in case.
“Zeel, do you mind?”
“Yes, sir.”
Huh? I thought he would say something, but he agreed without hesitation. It’s helpful, but somehow it makes me uneasy…
*
The next morning, I came to the Crown Prince’s Mansion as Jasper, bringing Mimirila with me. The location was the training ground. Around us were Nail, the guild master of ‘Liliano,’ Keith, the sub-master, and Grieg, the guild master (and someone I was meeting for the first time) of ‘Grieg Mercenaries,’ and Mash, the sub-master.
When I asked them to join me on this guard duty, they happened to be free, and they jumped at the chance, especially since it was a request from me, who had been asked by Jarnal, and above all, because it was a request to guard the Crown Prince’s Mansion.
There was no reason to refuse. I was happy to receive a direct request from Jarnal, but it was a request to guard the Crown Prince’s Mansion. If I played my cards right, my credit rating could go up by one level. And it was a raid with my well-known acquaintances. It would have been harder to find a reason to refuse.
And so, the seven of us, including Jarnal, visited the mansion, first encountered the main body (me) of the mansion, and then immediately moved to the training ground.
Grieg, whom I had met for the first time yesterday, had the physique and appearance befitting a mercenary guild master (boss), and yet he had a personality that made me think, “So this is Mash’s superior.” I didn’t mean It’s in a bad way.
Speaking of Grieg, when he heard that he would be meeting the Crown Prince (me) this time, he was very excited. When I asked him why, he said that he had participated in that battle. He was apparently moved by my speech at that time and by the fact that I was the first to cut off a knight’s head, so he was a so-called ardent supporter.
Speaking of which, I remembered for the first time that Mash had said he was going to participate.
When I asked him why he had come back so quickly, he said that his contract had ended when the battle was over. He said that he had withdrawn as soon as I had won.
Huh? Does that mean that most of the mercenaries had already left at that point…? What would have happened if my grandfather hadn’t come back?
Also, please stop saying things like, “I don’t understand how someone so incompetent could be royalty.” If possible, I would like to go through life without ever understanding.
Even though it hasn’t been that long, perhaps my visual record hasn’t been distributed to the mercenaries.
Anyway, we had to fight the soldiers they had prepared in order to confirm whether we were suitable for the job.
I smiled wryly when I saw the opponents they had prepared.
After all, there was Romero and Eldred, the deputy captains of both teams, and the most outstanding soldiers among the rest.
In particular, I had a strong memory of one of the Imperial Guards. He was one of the guards who had protected me during that battle, and he had made the enemy soldiers who approached him suffer a horrible fate.
He had picked up a spear with an enemy soldier still impaled on it, thrown it, and knocked down an enemy soldier who was standing in front of him. It was all sorts of strange.
Is this really a place to test our strength? I couldn’t help but wonder. Or rather, those guys definitely intend to crush us adventurers. And they have no intention of providing protection on the day.
Is it their pride as the Crown Prince’s personal guards and direct subordinates? That’s all well and good, but…
“Then we’ll start with this one first. You may choose as you like.”
“Days.”
The man who stepped forward was the one who had been guarding me. Hmm, scary. But out of the six of them, the only ones who are relatively weak are this guard and another direct subordinate.
“May I send someone from our side?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“I don’t mind.”
I announce my name and give Mimirila a push. I feel bad for everyone else, but I think Mimirila is cute.
“Mimirila, go get ’em.”
“Yes.”
While my hand is still on her back, I cast powerful support magic (buff) on her—[Shell], which increases strength, speed, and resilience, and [Sherry], which increases mental and magical resistance—and then I watch her go.
I’ve seen Mimirila fight a few times before, and as she says, she seems to prefer fighting indirectly rather than directly. However, that doesn’t mean she’s weak in a straight fight.
So as long as I cast support magic on her, I believe she won’t lose.
However, if she loses badly, my evaluation of Sagara will go down. Whether she’s cute or not is one thing, but whether she’s useful as a subordinate is another.
“Now, let the first match begin. You may do whatever you want as long as you don’t kill your opponent.”
With that, Romero stepped back and raised his voice.
“Begin!”
“Hyaaa!”
A deafening roar.
Those words flashed through my mind. That was a blow that was clearly intended to kill. And he wasn’t using a wooden sword, but a real live blade.
Mimirila dodged the blow with a light movement of her body and jumped back, observing the situation from there. Normally, she would move around quickly from there and deal damage little by little, but what will she do now?
And then, the next moment. By the time Days had taken a step forward with his sword drawn, Mimirila’s body was already in front of him, and her fist, which she had swung back, pierced his abdomen through his armor.
It all happened in an instant.
“Whoa…”
He flew backward, his armor dented, and finally came to a stop when he hit the wall. It was clear. The atmosphere in the room had completely frozen. Even Romero was staring at the scene, his eyes wide. No wonder.
After checking on Days, who was still motionless, Mimirila returned to her seat, bowed to the Crown Prince (me), who was watching the scene, and then returned.
As she approached me, her tail wagged and her ears twitched. I said nothing and just stroked her head. Her ears twitched even more, so I guess I was right.
A medic, who had been called in advance, approached Days, who seemed unable to move, and began to treat him.
The atmosphere in the room remained tense for a while, but it was Eldred, who had been standing with his arms crossed, who broke the silence. He turned his sharp gaze toward his subordinate, the direct subordinate, and then silent toward us.
The soldier nodded and approached us with a look on his face that suggested he was about to go to war. It seems that we’ve made them serious, as if we needed any more proof.
Well, we’re in front of our master (me). They can’t afford to embarrass themselves any further.
“Then it’s my turn.”
With those words, Mash stepped forward, cracking his neck.
As I watched his back, which was filled with confidence and the surge of his soul, I prayed that he wouldn’t die.
Seriously, if he dies here, the Crown Prince’s side (the one who killed him) won’t be punished, right?