abcnovels
Chapter 58: Salgaera (1)
Chapter 58: Salgaera (1)
Chapter 58: Salgaera (1)
On the second day, Henry finished helping Harz with the professional management team for Enkelmann. Von was also ready to depart.
“I’ll leave it in your good hands.”
“We will be back soon.”
Von left the city with the management team, holding the agreement in his arms. All the promises had been fulfilled, and the new plan had been implemented within the agreed timeframe.
As Ten saw Von off, he asked Henry, “Sir Henry, what is the next step?”
“Next step? Aren’t you a little too ambitious?”
“Haha, if you’re going to conquer the continent, every second spent doing nothing is a second wasted.”
Since his status had been elevated from a poor debtor to the future Golden King, Ten’s motivation skyrocketed. Henry laughed and said, “I'm thinking of going to Salgaera for a bit.”
“Do you mean the?Salgaera in the north?”
“Yes, I’m going to look for someone.”
“Huh? As far as I know, only exiles live there… Is there any place on the continent where you don’t know anyone?” Ten’s expression seemed to wonder why such a young man would have so many connections.
“Of course I know that only exiles can enter Salgaera and that in order to get to Salgaera, you have to pass through the Slan Gorge.”
“That’s right. The Imperial Army has set up checkpoints at the entrance to the Slan Gorge and controls all access to it. Since you know so much about the place, how do you plan to enter Salgaera?”
“I’ll use this, obviously.” Henry put his index finger and thumb together to form the shape of a coin.
“You mean you’re going to bribe them?”
“The tougher a workplace is, the looser the discipline. Oh, except for the unit I’m from, of course.”
“Haha, I heard that all people from the Imperial Army say that their unit is the hardest in the world, I guess you’re a perfect example of that.”
“That’s what people who have never experienced real hardship say.” Henry smiled, proud of his former military unit.
Ten nodded half-heartedly and said, “Is that so? By the way, Sir Henry, wouldn't it be more efficient if there were a way to legally enter Salgaera without bribing anyone?”
“Probably?”
“If that’s the case, why don’t you give the Mercenary Guild a visit, just in case?”
“Why the Mercenary Guild?”
“You never know, there might be a commission from someone who is allowed to enter Salgaera. For example, escorting a merchant or something like that.”
It was a pretty good suggestion. Henry nodded in agreement. “That’s a good suggestion. I have to stop by the Mercenary Guild anyway to register the Million Corps.”
“I will go with you, since I have some connections to the Mercenary Guild.”
“Huh? Do you?”
* * *
Mercenary Guild, Vivaldi Town Branch.
The Mercenary Guild was a state organization operated by the empire in order to efficiently manage the new mercenaries and review requests every year.
‘I may be the one who built it, but even I have to admit it’s well done.’ Henry had been the one to suggest that the empire manage the Mercenary Guild.
When they arrived at the Mercenary Guild, Henry and Ten filled out the documents for the registration of the Million Corps.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
When Henry was done filling out the form, Ten grabbed the documents and left. After a few moments, he came back with a smile on his face.
“What were you doing?”
“I met the branch manager.”
“Branch manager?”
“I told you that I knew someone here: the branch manager.”
“Really? You have a good network.”
“Of course.”
“So, how did it go?”
“My prediction was right. They do have a commission that can take you to Salgaera.”
It was good news. The two moved to a quieter place to continue their conversation.
“What kind of commission is it?”
“For now, it’s a simple escort service for a merchant, but the relationship between the merchants and the imperial forces is a little complex.”
“Complex?”
“A private company is requesting the merchant escort service, but this private company is supposedly working for the empire.”
“What kind of work do they do?
“They just transport supplies. Since Salgaera is such a barren place, the empire seems to constantly send supplies to deal with the issues around food, clothing, and shelter.”
“If they have to send them supplies after banishing them, maybe they shouldn’t exile them in the first place…”
“Even prisoners get fed, I think it’s a similar concept.”
He was right, but it was still unpleasant to hear.
“But why does the empire have to entrust a private company to transport supplies? Can’t they do it themselves?”
“I heard that they entrusted it to a small company in Vivaldi close to Salgaera in order to cut down costs.”
It did not make sense at all since they would have had to pay more to commission another company to do their work, not to mention that it was an imperial order.
‘What in the world are they up to?’
It would be more efficient to use the imperial forces to buy and transport supplies from merchants that had signed a military agreement. Going about things in such a convoluted way meant that they had an ulterior motive.
“Anyway, they said they need guards to help with supplies delivery, but apparently they have already selected the guards.”
“What do we do now?”
“Eh, have you forgotten who I am? I’m Ten, the guy who makes the impossible possible. The branch manager said that he would lend us a hand. Apparently, they are planning to leave first thing tomorrow morning, so the timing is just right.”
“Is that so? That’s perfect.”
“Ah, also, I managed to get the Million Corps ranked as Class B.”
“Having a connection to the branch manager sure is good. Class B in just a day. Great work.”
Ten handed Henry the documents that he had received, along with a mercenary card that proved that the Million Corps was a Class B mercenary organization.
“They said that it will take some time to manufacture the mercenary badges, so you can use this temporary card for now.”
“All right, by the way… Painted Merchants? Are they the ones who’ve taken charge of the supplies delivery?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll take care of the preparations before our departure, you let Hagler know.”
“Alright.”
Some aspects of the job didn’t make sense, but other than that, everything else was going smoothly. Henry sent Ten back to the mansion first and then began preparing to leave for Salgaera.
* * *
To mark Hagler’s first commission, Henry gave him a good horse as a present. He also enchanted the horse to raise it to his standards, just as he had done with his own.
‘He will be with us for a long time, so this investment should be worth it.’
Henry also purchased all kinds of new armor and weapons, including swords, and gave him plenty of winter supplies in preparation for the cold in Salgaera.
“...Sir, is it okay for you to give me this?”
“Why? Do you need more?”
“N-no! This is more than enough!”
“There’s no need to feel pressure. Good equipment is more important for mercenaries than for any other profession. Plus, I promised that you would get the best treatment in the industry when I recruited you.”
Hagler was once again moved by Henry’s words.It was quite a large amount to spend on just one employee, but to Henry, it was just a drop in the bucket.
After all the inspections were completed, the two were ready to leave through the east gate.
* * *
The east gate was livelier in the morning than Henry expected, with many merchants leaving for long trips.
Henry and his party found the Painted Merchants easily. Henry approached a man lighting a cigarette as he sat in front of a carriage and asked, “By any chance, do you happen to be an employee of the Painted Merchants?”
“I’m the owner, Munke. Who are you?”
“My name is Henry, the leader of the Million Corps. I will be joining you as an escort today.”
Henry presented the guild’s documents, but without even taking a look at the documents, Munke frowned and said, “Is it just the two of you?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I heard that they were short on people, but I didn’t know there were only going to be two…”
Although the branch manager had told him in advance, Munke looked quite disappointed. It was natural since quantity was more important than quality when it came to armed escorts.
“You don’t have to worry too much. I can guarantee that both of us are quite skilled.”
“Your skills aside, you’re not only escorting us; you’ll also be helping us move the supplies. Do you really think that two people will do?”
“Yes, it’s possible.”
“Well… I guess that’ll have to do for now. They’ve already accepted your help, so I can’t refuse. Since we’ve received more help than we expected, the payment will be a little less.”
“I understand.”
Munke then informed them of the little details that they needed to know, including meal times.
Then, he introduced the leader of the mercenary corps that had been joined before they did.
“Introduce yourselves to each other. This is Vilay, the leader of the Hound Corps.”
Vilay was just over the age of thirty, an expert mercenary ranked B. He was a man with ambition who was once a member of a large mercenary corps, but he had immediately set up one of his own as soon as he had reached Class B.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Vilay.”
“My name is Henry.”
“I was quite nervous because I heard that the Million Corps would join us… But don’t tell me it’s just the two of you?”
“And if it is?”
“Haha, I was wondering what kind of amazing mercenary corps they were setting up when they posted such a large recruitment announcement, but I guess the saying that great boasts come with small roasts is true.”
“Hahaha.”
“Did you hear that? It’s only two people.”
“Can you even call that a mercenary corps?”
Thanks to the large recruitment announcement, the Million Corps was already famous, even though they hadn’t accepted any missions yet. Henry quickly glanced at Vilay’s subordinates, who were gossiping in the background. He responded, unfazed, “Didn’t you take the recruitment exam for our mercenary corps?”
“W-what?” Vilay almost choked. Indeed, Vilay and his men were all candidates who had failed the first test.
Henry smirked.?“Oh, was I wrong? Sorry.”
Even without a response, it was clear that Henry was right. As soon as Henry smirked, Vilay’s face turned red with rage.
“Both of you, stop! The contract stipulates that if I’m harmed by any form of internal dispute, I will formally charge you a penalty, so be careful!”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen. Now, why don’t we start moving?” Henry reassured Munke with a steady smile.
‘Ugh! How dare that damn bastard!’?Due to the penalty, Vilay also had no choice but to stand down, but he was fuming with rage.
The merchant carriage then took off for the road.
* * *
“Hey, leader.”
“Yeah?”
“Isn’t that guy the leader of the Million Corps? The Sword Clash champion?”
“What?”
“I think it’s him, especially since his name is Henry.”
“How do you know that?”
“I lost some money.”
During the journey, the merchants talked among themselves, just as the mercenaries also talked among themselves. Vilay managed to learn more about Henry's reputation.
Another subordinate said, “I saw him then too. He was a really good fighter.”
“Sword Clash isn’t real fighting, it’s just clashing swords against each other.”
“Hey, even Sword Clash becomes very fierce when you get to the championship stage.”
“Really?”
Vilay’s subordinates started to become rowdy.
“Everyone, be quiet! Do you think mercenary work is the same as children’s swordplay? Don’t you know that when it comes to mercenaries, quantity is more important than individual strength?”
“Is that so?”
“No, our leader’s right. Three people are always better than two, and four people are always better than three.”
“They’d better not hold us from doing our job.”
“From the rumors I’ve heard, the Mercenary Guild branch manager basically had to beg the merchant manager to let them in as an escort.”
“What? Then the branch manager was their way of getting in here?”
“The Million Corps is associated with the Million Gold battle stadium. No wonder they look shiny on the outside.”
The gossip turned into conspiracy theories, which quickly turned into unverified facts.
Hagler was listening, and he frowned and asked Henry, “Boss, are you going to let them talk like that?”
However, even though he was the main topic of the conversation, Henry did not seem to care much.
“Just let them be. Nothing good will happen if we start another argument; we’ll just incur a penalty. Let’s just go peacefully.”
“But it’s upsetting!”
“They say that empty vessels make the loudest noise. If you’re patient, we’ll have a chance to get back at them soon.”
However, after a few hours, Halger could no longer bear it and beat up Vilay’s men.