The morning in the forest was tranquil. It seemed as if everyone had fallen into a deep slumber, unmoving even against the biting cold.
Among those with their eyes closed, Seto slowly crept between them.
Swish—
One by one. Gently severing their necks to usher them into an eternal sleep.
“Why must I always be so busy?”
Seto grumbled in dissatisfaction.
“Saving the world without any reward… I’m just too kind-hearted, seriously.”
Achieving the beautification of the world without asking for anything in return—Seto believed it to be his calling.
Seto felt proud of himself for continuing this difficult mission.
Isn’t it splendid? Purifying creatures driven by instinct and liberating souls from their physical forms.
Seto saw this as salvation.
Though the meaning of salvation might differ from what ordinary people think…
For him, that was salvation.
The mercenaries’ heads were severed from their bodies, granting them freedom.
One after another, Seto bestowed salvation upon them.
Freedom from their filthy flesh.
After cutting off about four heads, he occasionally approached a nearby mercenary lying down, raising his dagger once more.
The dagger stood poised, ready to strike the mercenary.
Tch!
The blade froze mid-air, missing its target.
Someone had grabbed his wrist.
“Hoh… interesting…”
As Seto briefly expressed his admiration, the mercenary who almost lost his head kicked Seto fiercely while opening his eyes wide.
Punch! The heavy sound echoed through the forest.
Seto, who had fallen, placed his hand on his side and asked,
“…Didn’t you drink it?”
The oldest among the mercenaries, Hans, calmly brushed the dirt off his armor and replied,
“I swallowed none of it. If merely keeping it in my mouth spread poison, my comrades would’ve collapsed during the meal.”
Hearing this, Seto wore an expression of utter incomprehension.
“If you knew, why did you just watch?”
Seto asked, but Hans countered with another question.
“Do you know what’s most important to mercenaries?”
“…Hmm? Never done it before.”
In front of the indifferent Seto, Hans pinched his thumb and forefinger together and said,
“Money.”
The most crucial thing for mercenaries—money.
People who’d do any odd job for money. People who live and die for money—that’s what mercenaries are.
“Does killing mercenaries bring in money?”
To Seto’s following question, Hans shook his head.
“It doesn’t create money, but the shares to divide decrease.”
Upon hearing this meaningful statement, Seto realized what Hans wanted.
“You’re saying you want to take the entire bounty alone?”
“Seems like you understand well, sir… or should I call you priest now?”
“Rather bold of you.”
Hans glanced at the corpses of his comrades whose heads had been cut off and said,
“Still, less troublesome than you.”
Looking at the cleanly severed heads, Hans instinctively understood that this wasn’t someone who’d done this just a few times.
He was a dangerous man. Hans wanted to avoid conflict with him if possible.
After all, he only cared about getting paid.
“50 silver coins. Just give me the bounty for ten men, and I’ll quietly disappear.”
“And what if I say no?”
In response to Seto’s question, Hans lifted his weapon as an answer.
“If you truly desire blood, then so be it.”
While watching this, Seto scanned his appearance.
Large build, bulky muscles, prominent veins, and the hardened calluses on his palms—all hinted at how strong he was.
Seto dropped the dagger he was holding and raised both hands.
“As a priest weak in combat, I’d prefer a peaceful resolution.”
“That’s what I hoped for.”
Seto and Hans decided to avoid a fight that wouldn’t benefit either of them.
Without knowing each other’s true strength, rushing in like wild dogs would be a ridiculous gamble.
A wise decision made by survivors of a harsh world.
*
The Empire consisted of one royal family and three kingdoms under its rule.
Except for the southern region where the Monster Forest lay,
the eastern arid lands were home to the Seliton Kingdom,
the western fertile lands housed the Flana Kingdom,
and the northern barbaric lands were occupied by the Baytan Kingdom.
Among these three kingdoms, the toughest place to live was undoubtedly the northern Baytan Kingdom.
During winter, snowdrifts piled up as high as an adult male’s waist.
The bone-chilling cold tore at the skin or caused frostbite, resulting in numerous cases of frostbite each year.
Thus, traders avoided the south and the north.
The west had mountains close to the sea, making agriculture flourish, and though the east was dry and unsuitable for farming, its proximity to the East facilitated active trade.
However, the north lacked any significant advantages.
It was freezing cold, had only one season for farming, and the only developed industry was hunting—but during winter, most animals retreated deep into the forests to hibernate.
Moreover, compared to the other two kingdoms, the average income was lower, so even traveling merchants rarely bothered to visit.
Naturally, the large trading companies established themselves in the west or the east—or perhaps they could exist because they were there.
Then, were all merchants heading to the east or the west? Well, not exactly.
Competition was fierce where there were many people.
Due to the numerous established trading companies, new ones opted to go to the north instead of the renowned east or west.
This was partly due to losing out in the competition for space, but also because recent evaluations suggested that the north had potential.
Gordon Trading Company, expanding its influence in Garcia, was no exception.
Entering the east or the west required substantial capital and high costs, making it incredibly difficult, but the north was different.
There was plenty of available land, and prices weren’t high.
President Asman wanted to secure a spot for the future.
Since the north had vast land compared to other regions, he needed to secure as many prime locations as possible for future prosperity.
Therefore, he had to personally inspect the land.
He needed to determine which places would facilitate active trade in the distant future.
Hence, he sought help from the Mercenary Guild.
Mercenaries, who were willing to do countless tasks at low prices, were undoubtedly cost-effective resources from a merchant’s perspective.
“That said…”
Asman looked at the three standing in front of him and spoke.
“Aren’t they too young?”
A girl and a boy who looked barely adults, and next to them, a kid who looked even younger.
Even if they were cheap labor, it was obvious they’d struggle to take care of themselves.
“Don’t underestimate us just because we’re young, we’re silver-ranked mercenaries.”
The man introducing himself as Rick proudly displayed the silver medallion hanging from his necklace.
Mercenaries were typically ranked as bronze, silver, or gold.
Silver rank wasn’t bad at all. Moreover, achieving silver at such a young age implied success in several high-difficulty quests rather than just quantity.
“Silver rank…”
Asman’s pupils flickered slightly.
With a silver-ranked mercenary, things should be fine.
Although there were bandits in the north, this guy should be able to protect himself and the carriage.
However, there was only one silver-ranked mercenary—Rick.
“What about the other two? Aren’t they useless?”
Asman looked at Dana and Sirius with a clearly unimpressed expression.
“Dana will soon take her promotion exam. Among bronze-ranked archers, no one matches Dana’s skill.”
At Rick’s explanation, Asman nodded slightly.
An archer capable of attacking from near the carriage would likely handle their part competently.
That left one person.
“What about the kid? Is he planning to become silver-ranked soon?”
Asman asked, looking at Sirius.
“Well…”
Rick hesitated. They had pretty much dragged him along due to the request.
Seeing this, Asman sighed deeply and gestured.
“Leave. I’ll wait for another mercenary. This feels off.”
Offended by this remark, Rick shrugged dramatically.
“Well, we can just go back, but other mercenaries might take at least over a week to arrive?”
“What?!”
Asman looked at him as if asking what he meant by that.
Seeing this, Rick coolly continued,
“Most guild mercenaries are currently on missions, so it’ll take quite some time for them to return. Quests are piling up as we speak. Besides, aside from us, there aren’t many mercenaries who’d take on a quest of this difficulty.”
“Hmm…”
Asman mulled over Rick’s words.
For merchants, money was the most important thing, but closely tied to that was time.
“A week…”
Having already been anxious due to the lack of updates for three days since the commission, the prospect of waiting another week was akin to a thunderclap for Asman.
Though Rick’s words could be lies, the risk of letting them go if they turned out to be true was far too great.
After pondering for a while, Asman finally spoke.
“The two are fine, but the kid is unacceptable. Go find someone else to replace him. I’ll pay generously.”
Asman pointed at Sirius while speaking.
Though merchants may seem obsessed with money, he didn’t want to put a child around his daughter’s age in danger.
“Hmm…”
Just as Rick was about to reluctantly detach Sirius,
Thud-
Suddenly, Sirius, who had silently observed the situation, took a step toward Asman and picked up an apple next to him.
Confused by this unexpected action, everyone stared at Sirius.
Crunch. Juices gushed out richly from the apple.
