volume 2 - Chapter 63 (1/2)

Chapter 63 – Eke

“I’ve got to the bottom of things, these adventurers were already here even before one week ago. No, to be more precise, they are actually mercenaries.” Amandina spoke without rus.h.i.+ng her answer.

Brendel looked at her with surprise.

The young woman found a sliver of satisfaction as she noted his surprise.

“My lord, is it unexpected that an aristocrat’s daughter who doesn’t venture out of her home would be able to handle a situation like this?”

“I’m just curious where you learned all these negotiation skills. As you well know, it is necessary for a Highland Knight to learn how to negotiate like you did, but it is impressive that a n.o.ble lady like yourself can conduct yourself so confidently.”

Brendel patted Romaine’s shoulders to prevent her from losing herself in the scenery, but she unexpectedly turned her head back to a.s.sure him.

“Don’t worry Brendel, I won’t lose my way.”

Brendel was speechless for a while. He could only look at her with a distressed gaze as he wondered.

[Just what exactly is stored in your head…]

It was fortunate that Amandina solved his crisis.

“Negotiating has always been our forte, my lord.” Amandina spoke humbly, but it was not difficult to discern that she was secretly delighted.

Brendel raised his eyebrow and laughed in spite of himself: “Not every n.o.ble lady is willing to put down their social status and talk to country b.u.mpkins.”

It was indeed true. In Aouine, the mountain folks were considered as uncivilized boors. Even if their status were raised to lords, they might not get along with the imperial lords in the north.

[It was said that two important ministers during King Ansen’s rule frequently squabbled in the court, giving many headaches to the king…] Brendel remarked to himself.

“That’s because I’m different from them. I’m merely a poor n.o.ble lady, my lord.”

Brendel shook his head with mirth.

“If these mercenaries come at this point of time, I think they are here for the bandits in the forest. The various regions in Aouine frequently hire mercenaries to destroy the bandits’ territories nearby the village, and it has become the norm.”

He walked past a masonry workshop, and brought the topic right back to their current problem: “In a place with a dense population, the people who hire these mercenaries would either be the local security forces or the militia. But in a remote location like this, it is the entire village’s citizens who pool all their money together to pay them.”

Amandina paused for a moment. She had never read what Brendel described in her books.

“Something like this happens—?” She asked.

“Bucce in the past also did the same thing, I also paid for it~” Romaine excitedly poked her head out from the narrow alley and stared at the inter-crossing street roads, and answered Amandina without turning her head back.

“Only places with a garrison will eliminate the bandits on their own. The Royal Faction places much hope on this ‘new forces’ for a good reason. While it is true that the garrison forces represent a new type of strength for Aouine, but no one knows if this strength has the opportunity to become bigger.”

“Even if they do become a force to be reckoned with, their strength is merely a generation long.” Brendel said with many thoughts in his mind.

Amandina lowered her head and started to reconsider a number of things.

Suddenly Brendel and the others heard a violent yell behind them: “Stop right there!”

The three of them were shocked and turned their heads back, only to discover that the voice was not directed at them. They first saw a panicking young man parting the crowd with his arms to run past them, but he did not take many steps before he was stopped by the two mercenaries in front of him.

The two mercenaries pulled out their swords and blocked the youth’s path. They roared loudly:

“Eke, where the f.u.c.k are you running to?”

“You f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d, have you forgotten our rules?”

The youth’s eyes widened slightly and he glanced in every direction, and he discovered there were even more mercenaries with leather armor and s.h.i.+ning swords pulled out to surround him. Brendel and the others were at the edge of the surrounding encirclement, and he was glad that no one else noticed them. He pulled Romaine back and took a few steps back in order to avoid this strange situation.