Chapter 201 : The Story Continued Late into the Night

Bang!

As I kicked the door open and entered, a familiar fat noblewoman was pointing her finger at Schmitt.

"...!"

Schmitt's face brightened as soon as he saw me.

It seemed he had been struggling to deal with that fat woman.

She couldn't have understood sign language, so it seemed he had been trying to communicate by writing.

Judging by the way she was shouting and pointing her finger, it seemed that the communication had not been going smoothly.

Come to think of it, if Shushruta and I left, only Miho and Schmitt would be left in the hideout.

Miho couldn't speak at all, and Schmitt couldn't speak, so it was a very awkward situation.

The noblewoman's eyes widened as soon as she saw me, and she immediately pointed her finger at me.

"You...!"

"Ma'am, shut up for a moment."

I glanced upstairs and asked Schmitt.

"Is Miho still sleeping?"

Schmitt nodded.

I said to the speechless noblewoman.

"Fatty. You're lucky. Miho hasn't woken up yet."

"What did you say?"

"If you had woken her up, you'd be in another world by now. Well, I guess that's why you're still alive."

The timing was good.

If I had come back a little later, the sleeping magical beast would have woken up. Then I would have had to clean up a very heavy corpse.

"My lady!"

At that moment, the soldiers who had been lined up outside, having finally come to their senses, rushed to the door.

The noblewoman, as if she had found an opportunity, pointed at me and shouted shrilly.

Her thick chin jiggled like a wave.

"That's him! The crazy guy who dared to threaten me with murder, even though he's just a lowly commoner! Make him obedient and bring him before me."

Screech—

The two knights who were lined up on either side of the noblewoman drew their swords.

The soldiers outside blocked the door at the knight's gesture.

I scratched the back of my head with a troubled expression.

"...Ah, what should I do about this?"

Anyway, she was a guest who had come to the mercenary corps, so I couldn't just kill her.

At that moment, Hud, who had been watching the situation from behind me, stepped forward.

"Baroness Montgomery? May I have a word?"

At her appearance, Schmitt's golden eyes widened.

I crossed my arms with a triumphant face.

'Yes, I brought the smart Hud, I'm telling you.'

When Schmitt looked at me with wide eyes, I nodded and smiled.

"Schmitt, it's your brother."

"...!"

I could feel Schmitt looking up at me with infinite respect.

Hud came to my side with a rather old-fashioned gesture and greeted the noblewoman, and then she continued in a calm tone.

"It seems there was a misunderstanding due to a lack of smooth communication. Excuse me, but for what reason have you personally come to this humble place? Ah, before that, may I ask if you knew where this place was before you visited?"

Although I noticed that Hud's tone had become slightly sharp in the last sentence, the noblewoman answered in a still arrogant tone, as if it were no big deal.

"Isn't this the Sherwood Mercenary Corps? I heard it was a useful mercenary corps, so I came here myself. As expected of a place where foolish and filthy commoners gather, they can't understand words."

Hud muttered softly.

"What, she was just a fool who didn't know anything?"

Her voice was so low that only I could hear it.

And then she glanced at me and said, so that only I could hear.

"To think that the name of Sherwood has fallen this far."

I also shook my head with a grave expression and sighed.

"The authority of Sherwood has fallen to the ground."

When Gustan was around, even the empty-headed nobles didn't treat them so carelessly.

Because this was the Sherwood Mercenary Corps.

No matter how much they distinguished between upper and lower classes by status and bloodline, and separated commoners, nobles, and royalty, the world, in the grand scheme of things, ultimately follows the logic of power.

If you peel away all that miscellaneous stuff and look at the world, Sherwood was not a group that even the most successful nobles could ignore.

Not only were there plenty of platinum-rank mercenaries, but above them, Gustan of the Greatsword was standing firm.

It's not that I acted that way towards the baroness because I had no thoughts.

In other words, if the leader lost his temper and attacked a noble family without thinking, and the members agreed and rushed in as a group, that domain would disappear from the map.

Even the royal family was wary of Sherwood.

For a mere baroness to be so arrogant...

I could feel the current position of Sherwood, which was close to collapse.

"Huu..."

As the leader of the New Sherwood, it was a sigh-inducing matter.

There was a long way to go.

The noblewoman's brow furrowed.

"What are you whispering about?"

Hud stepped forward calmly.

"Ma'am, put away your sword. Let's talk."

"Hmph."

"To think that the noble Baroness of Montgomery has come all this way to this humble place to entrust us with a request. It is an immense honor for us humble people, and we are extremely grateful, to the point where a thousand words are not enough."

...What is she talking about?

On the other hand, the fat noblewoman seemed to like this unnecessarily long greeting, and she looked Hud up and down and then said, covering her mouth with her fan.

"Hmph. This one is a bit more talkative. Put away your sword."

The knights sheathed their swords.

"Let's sit down and talk. I'll bring you some tea."

"...Hmph."

I was looking forward to seeing how Hud would deal with this fat woman whose self-esteem was piercing the sky, so I decided to stand behind her like her subordinate and watch the situation.

Schmitt quickly brought tea and then stood next to me, and Shushruta also quickly took Linda and sat next to me.

Hud led the conversation skillfully while drinking tea.

She loosened the atmosphere with words of praise for the noblewoman's family, her clothes, accessories, and appearance, and then she cautiously brought up the main topic.

"May I ask for what reason you have personally come all this way?"

The noblewoman snapped her fan shut and pointed it at me.

"I came here before to bestow my grace. At that time, that red-eyed one. That guy dared to threaten me with murder, even though he's just a lowly commoner. I came here with soldiers to give him a suitable punishment."

Hud sighed as if she understood.

"I apologize on his behalf."

"Hmph, I didn't come here to receive such an apology."

"Is there something you want?"

"If I had my way, I'd have to cut off his head to feel better."

Chak—

The noblewoman opened her fan and covered her mouth.

"Because I am merciful, I will give you a chance."

"A chance?"

"Kneel and beg. And solve my request as a top priority as soon as possible. If you do that, I will overlook it once for your sake."

Hud turned her head and glanced at me.

"Want to kneel?"

"No."

Hud sighed and said to the noblewoman.

"Before that, may I check the request details first?"

The noblewoman handed her a small note.

"...."

Hud's eyes closed and she took a deep breath as she read the request details on the note.

"...I was trying to handle this nicely because it's the first time."

She muttered softly, and then she said to the noblewoman with a smiling face.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I don't think this will work."

"What did you say?"

The noblewoman's eyebrow twitched.

Hud still said with a smiling face.

"The way you think. It's disgusting. You're a disgrace to the nobility. Isn't it because of people like you that Ashuban hates nobles?"

"...!"

The noblewoman shot up from her seat.

Her chin jiggled like a wave again.

"What did you just say?"

Hud also stood up without losing.

"It's disgusting. You're just fat. Your face is so big that the fan can't even cover it all, so why do you keep opening and closing that damn fan? It's distracting."

Her chin trembled.

'Ah, that damn chin. It keeps catching my eye.'

[Because of you, I'm also getting distracted. Just shut up.]

The noblewoman pulled her arm back.

"How dare this bitch—"

Slap!

The noblewoman touched her cheek with a startled face.

I was also a little surprised. I thought she was trying to handle it amicably. But she suddenly slapped her?

"H-how dare you, in front of whom!"

Clang!

The knights on either side drew their swords.

Hud still said with a smiling face.

"You said you were the Baroness of Montgomery, right?"

"Yes! I am the noble Baroness of Montgomery! Someone that a lowly commoner like you can't even dare to look at—"

"Let me introduce myself formally. I am Hudmilla Richtiello, the young lady of the Richtiello family."

And then she showed the crest of her family, and the baroness's face turned pale.

"R-Richtiello?"

I don't know much, but it seems that Richtiello is a rather famous family.

As famous as it is, its power must also be strong.

"I heard that Baron Montgomery is in the strawberry business..."

"...!"

"You wrote a promissory note from the Richtiello family to expand your business, right? You also asked for cooperation."

"Th-that's...!"

"But you dare to threaten and shout at the young lady of the Richtiello family... Ah, you also tried to slap her. No matter how much you separate public and private matters, isn't this a bit much?"

Hudmilla, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly wiped her smile and said in a cold tone.

Her two eyes emitted a brilliant purple light.

"Kneel. If you don't want your precious family to be ruined."

***

After the fat noblewoman left in a hurry with her subordinates, I asked Hud with a slightly empty heart.

"You. Have you been doing this all this time?"

Then why did she chase me and the other guys away?

Hud sipped her tea elegantly and answered.

"Would I have done that? There have been almost no such incidents until now."

"So there have been some?"

"Depending on how the opponent comes out, I have to go out differently. No matter how precious a guest is, I can't just let them walk all over me, right? The customer is not the king."

Clink.

Hud quietly put down her teacup and added.

"And I was a little angry about this."

"Hmm."

"If you cut things like this off decisively, similar things won't happen in the future."

I thought for a moment and then asked.

"But is it okay to use the name Richtiello like that? I don't know much, but didn't you leave the family completely? I heard something about being expelled from the family."

"What. You heard that?"

"It just happened."

"...You've gotten sharp ears."

Hud shrugged her shoulders.

"What does it matter? As you said, I'm no longer a Richtiello. The family will take care of it."

"...You're really going all out."

Schmitt sat next to Hud and moved his hands wildly.

Judging by the speed, I could tell he was very excited.

Hud smiled faintly and patted Schmitt's head.

"Yes, you little golden one. It's nice to see you too. You seem to have grown up. Have you been well? I heard from Ashuban that you were the first one to find him."

While the two Sherwoods were having a pleasant conversation, a white fox came down the stairs, sniffing.

Her eyes were hazy, and it seemed she had just woken up.

"I smell a familiar scent. Has Hudmilla come?"

"Miho!"

What's surprising is that as soon as Miho appeared, the spirits that had been positioned around Hud quickly ran away.

—Aaaah!

—Run away!

Seeing that, I tilted my head.

'Are spirits afraid of magical beasts?'

I had a brilliant idea that if they clung to me too much, I could just hold Miho.

Anyway, at this time when the magical beast and the spirit user were reuniting.

—Knock, knock.

A knock was heard on the door.

Shushruta said.

"Someone's here."

"I'll get it."

As I strode to the door and opened it, a brown-haired girl was standing there hesitantly.

It was an unexpected guest.

It was a girl I also knew.

"...Mary?"

"Um... Mr. Ashuban, may I come in?"

Her tone was very cautious, so I let out a small laugh.

"Is there any reason why you can't?"

Linda and Shushruta greeted her more warmly than I did.

"It's Mary!"

"Mary has come! I knew it was you from your footsteps and breathing."

I asked Mary.

"What brings you here?"

"Ah, well. It's nothing much... I wanted to be of help."

"Help? What kind of help?"

"Ah. It's definitely not a big help, but I'm good at housework. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, anything."

"What?"

My eyes widened automatically.

Because she was the most needed talent in Sherwood right now.

The current state of the house was a disaster.

It was only natural, since only guys who only knew how to fight were gathered, and one of them was a fox.

Mary, who was fidgeting with her hands, looked at me with a sullen expression.

"...Is it not okay?"

Grab

I immediately grabbed Mary's hand.

"Let's go."

"Y-yes? Where?"

"Where else? The mercenary guild. Hud!"

Hud, who was holding Miho in her arms and fiddling with her, looked at me.

"Why?"

"Strike while the iron is hot. Let's go to the guild."

"Alright."

Hud, who had understood my intention at once, stood up from her seat, holding Miho.

"Linda, you come too."

"Okay!"

Although I had called three, all of them followed me out.

I took the guys and immediately broke into the mercenary guild.

Bang!

"I'm here for mercenaries!"

Boris, who was writing documents behind the reception desk, sighed.

"Ah... that tax collector-like bastard. He's been quiet for a while."

"Three mercenary corps application forms. Give them to me."

Boris, cursing, first proceeded with the mercenary registration, saying that you have to be a registered mercenary to join a mercenary corps, and then he completed the Sherwood Mercenary Corps registration.

Of course, since Hud was already a platinum-rank veteran mercenary, she just filled out the mercenary corps application form.

And so, the members of the New Sherwood Mercenary Corps were me, Shushruta, Schmitt, Miho, Linda, Hudmilla, and Mary.

Our ace, Mary, fiddled with her wooden tag and asked cautiously.

"Um... is it okay for me to join a great place like the Sherwood Mercenary Corps?"

I said the truth with a solemn face.

"Mary, there is no member more important than you here."

"...!"

Mary made a moved expression, and then she clenched her small fists and answered with determination.

"I-I'll do my best...!"

Whatever.

I led the guys and broke into Sven's restaurant.

Although the sun hadn't set yet, what does it matter?

The sun will set as we eat and drink.

Of course, I also dragged Boris along.

"Ah, you asshole. I have something to submit by today!"

"You ungrateful bastard! The spirit user who brings disaster, the mad Linda, and Mary are all gathered in one place, and you're going to miss it? No way, you bastard."

"Ah, damn..."

We all ate pig's feet together at Sven's restaurant.

It was especially delicious today.

"For Sherwood!"

"For!"

The story continued late into the night.

(End of Chapter)

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