Chapter 240 : The King of the North

I followed the soldier toward the ducal mansion.

On the way, I spoke to the soldier.

"Hey."

The blunt northern soldier turned and answered.

"Yes."

"There seems to be a weirdo among the mages dispatched from the Mage Tower."

"A weirdo, you say."

"I'm telling you, there's a lunatic who's fondling the balls of a dead magical beast."

"You must be talking about Adrian."

"That's right. Is he a famous weirdo?"

The soldier answered calmly.

"I'm not sure. Mages always have a peculiar side to them, so I didn't pay much attention."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Still. That guy is fondling the balls of a dead magical beast."

The soldier looked at me.

"Do you like balls, Sir Ashuban?"

"Are you crazy? Why would I like balls?"

"You kept mentioning them."

"I only care about my own stuff, I'm not interested in other people's."

"I see."

How did the conversation end up like this?

All about balls.

It's disgusting. My head is spinning.

The Heavenly Demon got angry.

[Please just shut that mouth of yours.]

"What, are you saying you don't have balls, Master?"

The Heavenly Demon let out a killing intent.

[If you utter that filthy word one more time, I will smash your head.]

No, was this a matter to let out killing intent over?

But an angry Heavenly Demon was truly scary, so I answered politely.

"I will keep that in mind, Master."

[Tch.]

The blunt soldier listened to my monologue for a moment, then explained as he walked ahead.

Seeing as he didn't point anything out, he seemed to be treating me similarly to that multiple-personality demonic swordsman.

"Adrian wears a black robe. He's a black mage."

"So it seems."

"Yes. He's one of the mages dispatched from the Red Mage Tower, and the only black mage."

"Hmm."

"Ah, please don't misunderstand. He seems to be of a different breed from those who cry out for the Dark Heaven. In fact, it felt like he volunteered as a representative of the black mages of this land to clear that false accusation."

"Is that so?"

The soldier continued his explanation in a calm tone.

"I heard that black magic is a school of study that researches the art of controlling souls and corpses. So I showed him the corpses of the magical beasts that hadn't been disposed of yet, but he said he couldn't use them unless they were fresh. He said it wasn't efficient."

"Hmm."

"So I think that's why he's fondling the fresh magical beast that just died in front of the barrier."

I had heard the saying about fondling the balls of a dead child, but to actually witness someone fondling the balls of a dead magical beast with my own eyes was a mental shock of no small measure.

Were black mages such fearsome beings?

I shook my head, trying to shake off the thoughts of balls, and then changed the subject.

If I kept this up, I felt like I would end up talking about balls during my conversation with the duke.

"What did the duke want to see me about?"

"It's a simple invitation to a meal. I don't think you need to worry too much about it."

"He didn't just call me to sit across from him and eat, did he?"

"Come to think of it, that's right."

"So what are your thoughts?"

"I am not a knight."

"What are the soldier's thoughts?"

The bright soldier stated his thoughts plainly.

"Aren't you the captain of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps, Sir Ashuban?"

"That's right."

"Perhaps he wants to request a commission from the Sherwood Mercenary Corps."

"Hmm. That seems plausible."

Come to think of it, that was right.

I had come here as the captain of Sherwood.

"Then it would be beneficial for both me and the duke to determine the price of the commission in advance. We can both save time."

"Yes."

I shut my mouth and thought about the commission I would receive.

Since it was a commission for the Sherwood Mercenary Corps, it wouldn't be an ordinary commission.

Then the difficulty would be high, and the risk would also be great.

If the commission was difficult, it was self-evident that a suitable price would be required.

The scales must be balanced, not tilted to one side.

'What should I ask for as payment?'

The proud captain of Sherwood, thinking about the payment before even receiving the commission, that was me.

It wasn't because I was a greedy captain, but because I was an excellent captain.

Busy, busy.

A captain's work is never-ending.

The captain's ability is also important in negotiating the commission and its payment.

In fact, it is at times like these that a captain's true ability is displayed.

If we were to use our members, would it be okay for the payment to be insignificant?

If I returned with a payment that satisfied our members, I would be greeted with enthusiastic cheers, but if I accepted an insignificant payment, I would be cursed at.

In the worst case, I could be expelled.

That couldn't happen.

Under no circumstances should I be removed from the position of captain.

Come to think of it, it was a life-or-death crisis.

Would I be kicked out of the captain's seat? Or would I be recognized as the true captain of Sherwood?

The possibility had already increased with the addition of that multiple-personality demonic swordsman.

Because that guy was a natural-born reactionary who would even rebel against the captain from time to time.

The captain had suppressed him with force whenever there were signs of rebellion.

But I was still struggling to deal with just one of them.

If several of them came at me, I had no chance of winning.

Then, this commission.

I had to get a payment that would satisfy everyone.

They say there's a fine line between crisis and opportunity.

I decided to consider this crisis as an opportunity to be recognized as the true captain of Sherwood.

I clenched my fist.

"Alright."

"What is it?"

"It's just something."

"Yes. This way."

I entered the ducal mansion and followed the soldier's guidance up the stairs and down the corridor.

I had felt it before, but the traces of luxury that were easily seen in the homes of other nobles were not here.

There was no sense of decoration or ornamentation; it felt like everything was arranged for practical reasons only.

In fact, it felt rather desolate.

I knew that Tundra, the great city of the north, was a rather wealthy place.

Then where was that money being spent?

As soon as I had the question, the answer came to me.

On my way here, I had seen a huge amount of cannonballs and iron crossbow bolts the size of a person piled up like mountains.

And that wasn't all.

Even the leather armor of the soldier walking in front of me didn't look like an ordinary item.

In Maia, where they had to hunt magical beasts, leather armor like this was preferred over iron armor, which hindered movement, and among them, this was high-grade.

It seemed the duke was investing the funds he earned only in the maintenance and inspection of the barrier, and the training of his soldiers and knights.

This was not a quality that could be seen in any other noble.

Was that why?

While cleaning up the first wave, I had noticed many excellent knights.

It was as if all those who should have been in the Royal Knights had flocked here.

Even without me and the Sherwood members, it would have been cleaned up quickly.

It seemed the saying that the knights of the north were excellent was not a lie.

Not only the knights, but also the soldiers were impressive, not even blinking an eye at the threat of the magical beasts.

Were they truly the brave men of the north, forged by blizzards and iron?

The reason they were so united was because of their leader.

They say a wise leader does not force loyalty.

As I let my thoughts flow downstream, I followed the soldier...

Soon, the soldier who had stopped in front of a certain door glanced back at me and knocked on the door concisely.

"Sir Ashuban has arrived."

A blunt voice came from inside.

—Come in.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

Inside, there was a dining table with a lit candle and a large man sitting across from it.

"Have a seat."

He said plainly.

I did as he said and sat down in the chair across from him, then looked around the room.

Like the other rooms, it was a room where it was hard to find any particular decoration.

The dining table had no particular pattern, and there were no sparkling jewels.

There was no servant waiting to pour drinks either.

If not for the man in front of me, I would have thought it was an ordinary inn room.

As I looked around the room, my drifting gaze stopped when it reached the man across from me.

A gray lion was looking at me with gray eyes.

Even though he wasn't taking any particular action, even though he wasn't saying anything.

Just by looking at him, I felt overwhelmed.

I felt a pressure that was hard to describe in words.

Another pond was in front of me.

A black pond whose inside could not be seen.

How deep was it?

He was a man with a different atmosphere from the Knight of Frost and Guston of the Greatsword.

A man forged by the rough winds of the north.

He was a man with a rough, wild beauty.

Even the beast-like Hartz would feel like a feisty cat in front of this man.

The absolute ruler of the north, a man also called the king of the north.

The master of the Turquoise Sword among the Eight-Bladed Masters, the guardian of the northern wall who protects Maia from the pouring magical beasts.

Duke Giyer Elsbears spoke.

"Eat. It will get cold."

* * *

The meal resembled his mansion.

Meaning, it was practical and simple, without any empty formalities.

In front of each of us was a hot tomato soup with white steam rising from it, and in the center of the table was a large piece of roasted meat.

Judging by its size, it seemed they had caught a wild boar from nearby.

The duke, without a word, took the lead and tore off a pig's leg, and I followed his lead and tore off a front leg and brought it to my plate.

"Hmm."

It was surprisingly chewy and salty, and delicious.

Perhaps because I was hungry, it went down smoothly.

And so, we focused on our meal for a while without a word.

Only after we had filled our stomachs to some extent did the duke open his mouth.

"Ashuban Sherwood. The new captain of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps."

"Yes."

"Have you met Guston?"

"I have."

"What did he say?"

"He said he was retiring."

"And Scarlett?"

"She said she wanted to focus on her research."

"Hmm."

The duke ate his soup silently for a moment, then asked.

"Do you think they will come?"

I answered honestly.

"I wonder. I'm not sure either."

I had heard that Boris, the branch manager of the Milestone Mercenary Guild, had gone to persuade them himself.

I had no way of knowing.

Poor Boris.

From his perspective, it must have felt like entering a tiger's den.

I could clearly picture him trembling as he entered the tiger's den.

"I heard the rest of the Sherwood members will also be coming here."

I nodded.

"They will be here soon."

It was just that the monster wave had started earlier than expected.

It wasn't that they were late.

The duke nodded, as if he were a little relieved, and then.

He looked me straight in the eye and said.

"First, I want to thank you for not turning a blind eye to the crisis facing the north and for rushing here. Tundra will not forget this."

"Don't mention it."

"I have a favor to ask."

Straight to the point.

How refreshing.

"A favor, you say. Do you mean you want to formally commission our Sherwood Mercenary Corps?"

"Something like that. It's a commission that only you guys can do."

"I'm listening."

"We need reconnaissance to gauge the scale of the enemy."

"So, you mean you want us to go beyond the barrier and check on the enemy's movements?"

"That's right."

I swirled the wine in my glass and said.

"To go beyond the barrier where the blizzard, called the white hell, rages relentlessly, and to navigate through the dangerous magical beasts. It's a high-difficulty commission."

Since I had to check on their movements, I would have to go much further than when I went to catch the mad demonic swordsman.

It was a much more dangerous and difficult commission than I had expected.

"Is there something you want?"

"Hmm."

I immediately took out a formal request form and a fountain pen from my clothes, scribbled down the items, and then handed it to the duke.

"Please check and sign."

The duke's eyebrow twitched as he took the request form and read it carefully.

It was the first change in expression I had seen from him during our meal.

The duke looked at me.

"...Are you serious?"

His gray eyes were slightly trembling.

"Of course."

"I'd rather give you gold."

"I don't need it."

"Umm."

I said in a public tone, devoid of emotion.

"I am the one who represents the will of Sherwood. I am Sherwood, and the will of Sherwood is my will. Our will is clear. If you wish to borrow our hands, please sign."

"Keung..."

The duke pondered for a long time, then finally signed.

"...The payment will be made after the work is completed."

"Of course. You won't regret it."

"I'm already regretting it, so be quiet."

"Yes."

(End of Chapter)

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