"Is this the first time you've seen someone die?"
"No, sir!"
Snapping back to his senses, Pellid answered while desperately holding back the urge to wet himself for reasons he didn't understand.
"But what should we do about the bodies? Ah! Shouldn't we notify Brams Village? Or maybe"
"Just throw them somewhere out of sight. It's not as if there are only one or two scum like this in the world. Even if someone finds them, they'll just shrug it off."
Having seen and lived through that kind of world for half a year, Eugene spoke calmly.
"Yes, sir. Then I'll take care of it quickly."
"Wait."
Just as Pellid, still forcing back the urge to vomit, was about to approach the corpses that were still spurting red blood, Eugene stepped forward.
"They might have something useful. Search them too."
"Ah… yes!"
Though Eugene felt very different from the knights he had heard about, Pellid obeyed without protest.
They say knights live by honor and die by honor…
But just like Eugene, Pellid only knew fragmentary truths about knights.
He didn't yet know that a knight's "honor" was only upheld in places where many eyes were watching.
That after victory in battle, knights and mercenaries alike plundered without distinction.
Brams was a fairly large town.
Its communal farmlands and pastures were incomparably wider than those of Breedwin, and unlike Breedwin where only about a dozen households huddled together this place had dozens of proper buildings.
So this is my first time here.
During his past escape, he had passed through large villages in other regions, but this was his first time within the Tywin territory.
"Wow! Wow! Wow!"
Unlike Eugene, who thought this with little emotion, Mirian standing on his shoulder burst out in constant exclamations of awe. Even Pellid, who had been so composed until now, looked a little excited at visiting a large town after so long.
Walking straight along the main road, Eugene stopped in front of a place where piles of beast and monster hides were stacked.
Approaching a middle-aged man wearing a round hat and sporting a thick red beard, Eugene spoke.
"I'd like to sell some hides."
"Huh?"
Seeing Eugene in his dark mask and reddish eyes, the hide merchant flinched briefly.
But the moment he saw the heap of hides on Eugene's pack, his eyes lit up.
"You mean all those you're carrying? Are they all hides?"
"That's right. The chief of Broadwin Village said the red-bearded hide merchant was trustworthy."
"Oh, Mr. Geb?"
The merchant's expression relaxed a little when he heard the chief's name.
The chief, the only person in Broadwin who regularly went outside, had told Eugene about the hide merchant, so this was the first place Eugene had stopped.
"That's him."
Eugene set down the hides of the beasts and the two black wolves he had diligently hunted before leaving Broadwin.
"Oh ho, these were skinned well. Did you do it yourself? You're skilled. But the black wolf hides are badly damaged, so I can't pay much for those. The rest are excellent. Altogether…"
The hide merchant stole a cautious glance at Eugene.
But with the mask, he couldn't read any expression at all. And those red eyes, so hard to read, were quite burdensome.
Tch. Judging by the vibe, he's a very experienced hunter. And he even came with an introduction from the Broadwin chief.
Finishing his calculations in an instant, the merchant deliberately spoke boldly.
"Twenty-seven silver coins of the kingdom, and fifty copper coins! You won't get more than that anywhere."
"Deal."
Knowing that a meal with a mug of beer cost five copper coins, Eugene nodded.
"Ha ha! You hide your face, but you're refreshingly straightforward. Here you go."
Soon, dozens of thumbnail-sized coins and silver coins several times larger were poured into Eugene's money pouch.
Relieved that he no longer had to avoid silver because of the black scales, and satisfied at holding such a large sum for the first time in his life, Eugene felt pleased.
"This is our first deal, but you've got good skills, so come by often. I take pride in being the best with hides around here."
"Hmm. Then do you also handle leather robes? Ones that completely block sunlight, preferably black."
"Robes? Ah, those…"
After glancing at Eugene's crudely stitched robe made by roughly patching leather together without proper tanning the merchant quickly rummaged through his stock and held something out.
"By coincidence, we just got a very rare item in. It's made of cowhide reinforced with lycanthrope leather. It's waterproof and completely blocks sunlight. It's expensive, but it has better defense than most light leather armor, so it's well worth the price."
The long cloak-like robe, decorated with multiple tassels and cords, was so well made that comparing it to the one Eugene wore would almost be embarrassing.
"I'll take this."
"Ha ha! You're a truly bold customer. All right! Since it probably won't sell in a small place like this and I was planning to ship it to Maren anyway—and because I like your attitude—I'll take just eight silver coins for it."
"Here you are."
Though it was a fortune that could buy dozens of ordinary outfits, Eugene handed over the silver coins without hesitation.
"Come again!"
Leaving the hide merchant's voice behind, Eugene headed next toward the sign bearing a sword and shield.
"What are you doing? Let's go."
"Oh, yes!"
Pellid, who had been staring blankly at Eugene, hurriedly followed after him.
Amazing. Even the chief couldn't bargain this easily…
Comparing the chief's flustered figure when dealing with caravan merchants to the smooth transaction Eugene had just completed, Pellid's admiration deepened.
After spending an hour circling the market and buying what he needed, Eugene left Brams.
With his new robe, sturdy cowhide boots and gloves, and a helmet that fully concealed his face, Eugene now looked completely different.
Anyone would take him for a seasoned mercenary or a wandering free knight.
"Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Still, when you think 'vampire,' you think silk. But this isn't bad either."
Though Eugene didn't know what silk was, judging by how Mirian spoke as if she wanted to realize her own desires through him, it was clearly very expensive fabric.
But for Eugene, clothing that blocked sunlight well and was durable was best.
They say I need to go to a city to get dwarf-made weapons. I'll make do with this for now.
He received only two silver coins for all the mercenaries' weapons combined, as most were crude and cheap.
Still, because there were quite a few, it added up to two silver coins, and Eugene spent one more silver coin to purchase a usable short sword.
This sword, also called an arming sword, was originally meant to be used with a shield and was practically the symbol of mercenaries.
To look like a knight, a longsword would be best, but those cost far too much, and I don't even know proper swordsmanship. More importantly, once I have more money later, I should buy a horse first.
Nine times out of ten, a knight owns his own horse.
But even after selling all the hides he hunted and the mercenaries' weapons, Eugene had only earned twenty-nine silver coins while even the cheapest horse cost over fifty silver coins.
And that wasn't even a warhorse for knights, just an ordinary riding horse.
"By the way, Sir Eugene, won't you be hiring other mercenaries?"
Pellid asked after hearing somewhere that knights usually hired other mercenaries for combat support and menial work.
Eugene's skill was beyond doubt, but still
"I'm not particularly inconvenienced, and I'm short on money. Paying a silver coin just to hire two idiots is ridiculous."
"Oh… that's true."
Swallowing the thought that if he were truly acknowledged as Sir Tywin's illegitimate son, he might be able to compensate that much easily, Pellid lowered his head.
"Let's go."
"Yes, sir."
Following the road to Sir Tywin's castle, Eugene and Pellid began walking again.
"That is… Sir Eugene is the amazing one."
The dirt ground beside the crackling campfire was filled with traces of letters that had been written and erased over and over.
"Me?"
"Yes. It took me two full days just to memorize all the letters and be able to write them. And grammar and all that… it took me over half a month to get the basics down. But you, Sir Eugene you mastered everything in just a few hours. That's incredible."
"Is that so? Hmm."
A sense of satisfaction welled up inside Eugene.
He hadn't been completely certain, but he had already suspected that he might be quite intelligent.
When he first fled in his previous life, he had been desperate just to escape to places where there were no people.
But after a couple of months, he realized that places crowded with people were actually better for hiding.
Living among humans like that, he survived multiple crises through situational judgment and quick thinking.
That was, until the holy knights about whom he had almost no information appeared.
In any case, Eugene believed that if he had been stupid, he wouldn't have lasted even a month, let alone half a year.
And now that he had learned to read so quickly, it wasn't just that he was decent—his intellect was truly exceptional.
"Just one more time, write it just one more time! Just once! I think I can memorize it if I see it one more time! Just onceee!"
While Eugene had already mastered even the basic grammar, Mirian caused a ruckus because she still couldn't memorize all the letters.
"Aren't you cheating? I haven't even memorized all the letters, and you're saying you know all of them and can even write them? I don't believe it. No way I believe it!"
"Oh, really."
As something occurred to him, Eugene searched inside his clothes and took out the rolled parchment.
It was the letter the village chief of Broadwin had written to Sir Tywin.
As Pellid watched with curious eyes, Eugene read the contents aloud.
"To my lord, Sir Tywin. First, I bow my head in apology for having to deliver such news due to my own failings. The truth is…"
Listening to Eugene's voice while confirming the chief's letter with his own eyes, Pellid kept nodding.
"…Therefore, I have entrusted the escort of young master Pellid to the knight named Yan Eugene. Though I have never heard of the Eugene family, judging by his appearance and abilities, he seems to be a knight or a descendant of a fallen noble house. Though I dearly wished to hire mercenaries separately, I ask that you please take into account the circumstances of our impoverished village. From your loyal subject, Geb."
"Splendid. It's perfect."
Pellid rejoiced as though it were his own achievement.
"Is it?"
"Yes. I think it also sounds better because Sir Eugene's voice is so good. And the letter itself is very neat. The chief writes extremely well."
"Is that so?"
Since Eugene had only learned to read moments ago, he had no way of judging whether the letter was well-written or not. He just accepted Pellid's word for it.
That aside…
Eugene stared at Mirian, who was floating in front of him with her mouth wide open.
"…Oh!"
Mirian, who had been staring blankly like she'd lost her country, fluttered her wings in shock.
"As expected, all vampires are born con artists! If I'd forgotten for a second, I might've been fooled too! Wow! You even made up a story like that in such a short time. You're definitely going to make it big, Eugene."
Chattering away with a forced smile as if she wasn't flustered at all, the spirit earned a curl of Eugene's lips.
"Huh!? What's with that rotten smile? And that look from top to bottom—what is that supposed to mean!? Do you think I'm funny? Am I a joke!? Kyaaaah!"
Like catching a flying insect, Eugene casually grabbed Mirian and stuffed her into the leather pouch.
"Oh, is there a mosquito? How foolish. To buzz around right next to Sir Eugene of all people."
"No matter where you go, there are always idiots."
"Kyaak! Kyaa!"
After closing the pouch and cutting off the crushed spirit's screaming, Eugene suddenly lifted his head.
"What is it?"
"Someone's coming."
With his five senses sharpened even further by the night, Eugene detected something.
The sound of wagon wheels. Six sets of footsteps. The smells of metal, leather, and oil… mercenaries?
Moments later, the group that had triggered Eugene's senses arrived.
Two loaded wagons, and just as expected, six men who were clearly mercenaries.
"Well, well. Didn't expect to find earlier guests here. Greetings, friend."
The large man leading the group raised one hand in greeting.
He wore tightly fitted leather armor, a belt laden with many pouches, and was armed with a short sword and a round shield.
He's wearing chainmail underneath too. He's no amateur.
Since leaving Broadwin Village, this was the first time Eugene had encountered "real mercenaries."
(To be continued in the next chapter)