Two days had passed since the day Eugene and Galfredic sparred.
During that time, Eugene was able to witness in real time how the people of Rose Castle's attitude toward him gradually changed.
When he first arrived, perhaps because of his status as a knight, the people of the castle simply feared him.
But after he defeated Galfredic in their sparring match, Eugene began to sense a different kind of emotion from them.
And it was very similar to the expression and gaze Felid had once shown him.
"Looks like these humans respect you now."
"Respect?"
At Mirian's words from where she dangled on his shoulder, Eugene frowned.
"Yeah. I heard them talking while wandering around. They're scared of you, but they also say you're really cool. That big bear you knocked the jaw off of must have actually been insanely strong."
At the mention of Galfredic, Eugene nodded inwardly.
'His swordsmanship was no joke.'
Even compared to the holy knights he had personally clashed with in his previous life, Galfredic's skill did not fall far behind.
And just as Eugene had held back his strength, he was certain that Galfredic too had taken into account the fact that his opponent was not wearing armor.
"Anyway, I think I get why you said to be careful around knights. If guys like that swing silver-plated weapons, you could really end up dead."
Of course.
After all, he had actually died at their hands.
Ever since he drank a mouthful of swamp monster blood, even when he was cut or stabbed by ordinary metal weapons, he felt pain but no longer felt like he would die.
But silver-plated weapons were an exception.
Not only was the pain several times greater than what a human would feel, but the wounds also would not heal.
'It all depends on how much the black scales can block.'
At the very least, he had a feeling he would not be killed so helplessly like in his past life.
"Hey! Sir Eugene!"
Just then, Galfredic's booming voice rang out.
"I hear all the mercenaries have arrived. Are you heading there too, Sir?"
"Mm. The eldest son summoned me."
"Heh! I'm telling you this in advance since you don't have any monster-subjugation experience."
Galfredic stepped in close beside Eugene.
Not only had they dropped formalities with each other, but ever since their sparring match, he had been acting noticeably friendly.
"With mercenaries, establishing dominance is important. They may respect knights because of rank, but if you look weak in skill, they'll openly interfere or try to backseat command you. And I heard you haven't really studied military tactics either?"
A knight, even one at the bottom of the noble hierarchy, did not learn only combat skills.
They also learned tactics such as how to handle subordinates and how to form and command battle formations.
But Eugene, being a vampire, knew nothing of military tactics, and he had made excuses that he had lived alone in the mountains training by himself.
"Well, the people you'll be commanding are just those three anyway, but in an emergency, who knows what could happen. So crush their spirit in advance so they'll listen. Or you can just watch how I do it and learn."
"Thanks for the advice."
"Hahaha! Don't mention it between us!"
With his signature hearty laugh, Galfredic slapped Eugene on the back.
Despite the force that would've made an ordinary person—no, even a mercenary—stagger, Eugene did not budge an inch, which only put Galfredic in an even better mood.
Having a strong fellow knight whom he could trust to guard his back during the dungeon-opening subjugation was a welcome thing.
And he also found himself liking the quiet, red-eyed knight whose skills were the real deal.
"Oh! You're here?"
"Sirs."
Kamara and Bertel greeted the two knights.
At that, the mercenaries all rose at once and bowed their heads.
"Greetings, Sir Galfredic!"
"It's an honor to meet you, Sir Galfredic."
Having placed high in the Evergrow Count's tournament meant that he was one of the strongest knights in the region.
As a result, the mercenaries treated Galfredic with extreme caution and respect.
'That knight is…'
'He's slender, and at a glance he doesn't look like much.'
In contrast, there was a hint of doubt in the gazes directed at Eugene.
Even if it had only been a spar, defeating Galfredic was no small feat—but they hadn't witnessed it themselves.
"Alright, let's begin."
Once Eugene and Galfredic took their seats, Bertel looked around and spoke.
"We depart tomorrow morning. The discovered dungeon is about half a day from here, so we'll arrive by noon. I've already sent soldiers ahead, but just in case, we'll sweep the surrounding area before entering. And…"
Bertel's dry voice continued.
"As expected, since it hasn't been opened yet, we don't know what monsters will appear. But judging by the location and the size of the entrance, low-tier monsters are expected to be goblins, gnolls, and kobolds. Mid-tier would be trolls or giant cave spiders. As for high-tier, that is unpredictable."
The mercenaries nodded.
Even among dungeons and labyrinths that had been opened long ago and were regularly subjugated, there were many where the top-tier monsters remained unidentified.
"In any case, rest well today. No alcohol and no women. However, after we return, I promise you a feast. If you want wealth, fame, and a celebration, make sure you come back alive."
Because the mercenaries knew well the weight of a dungeon-opening subjugation, they burned with motivation amid a proper level of tension.
At that moment, a shaved-headed mercenary raised his hand high.
"Sir! I have a question."
"What is it?"
Despite Bertel's sharp gaze, the bald mercenary spoke without shrinking back.
"How will the unit be divided? It's not a labyrinth, but there should still be branching paths inside the dungeon, right?"
"That would be…"
Bertel's gaze shifted toward Eugene and Galfredic.
Galfredic stepped forward.
"How units are divided depends on the situation. But one rule is absolute: it will always be split into two. If it's split into three or more, it becomes hard to deal with sudden emergencies."
"So Sir Galfredic and… Sir Eugene will be commanding?"
"Why? You got a problem with that?"
"No, sir. It's just that while Sir Galfredic is well known, Sir Eugene is somewhat… unfamiliar. And a dungeon opening isn't exactly a common mission…"
"Oh? So you don't trust knights? Should I take your guts out and see just how bold you really are?"
As Galfredic grasped the handle of his randel dagger and rose, the bald mercenary's face went pale.
"No, sir! I spoke out of turn!"
The bald mercenary hurriedly bowed his head to the floor.
But Galfredic continued to look over the mercenaries with his hand still on the dagger.
"Listen carefully. If even one more of you doubts Sir Eugene and me or challenges our authority, I'll check what's inside your belly before we even talk about subjugation
* * *
After finishing the meeting, Eugene returned to his room with Partek, Glad, and Raban.
But he noticed someone standing in front of his door.
"Huh? That girl— no, that person."
"We'll go rest first, Sir Eugene."
Having recognized Felid, Partek quickly led the two mercenaries away.
"What brings you here?" Eugene asked as he approached Felid, whom he hadn't seen in a while since Felid had been staying only in the castle's main building for the past few days.
"Have you been well, Sir Eugene?"
"So. Hm? Did someone hit you?"
Eugene narrowed his eyes as he looked closely at Felid's face, which was mottled with reddish bruises.
"Well, my second older brother said he would teach me swordsmanship…"
"Swordsmanship training?"
Something felt off.
Felid was a boy who had farmed and raised pigs back in Broadwin. Suddenly giving someone like him sword training?
"Out of the blue, as soon as you arrive at the castle, they start training you in swordsmanship? Have you met Sir Tiwyn? Did he give permission for this?"
"I haven't been able to meet the lord yet. They said his illness is too severe for him to see anyone. And as for the sword training…"
Felid bit his lip for a moment, then spoke in a trembling voice.
"My second brother told me to join this dungeon subjugation as a porter. Since it's a family matter, he said at least one person of our bloodline should participate…"
"Wow! What a cold-blooded bastard! Sir Eugene! Isn't that basically sending the poor kid to die outright?"
As Mirian said, she was right.
Sending a boy whose only experience with monsters was seeing a few goblins sneaking around villages to steal pigs and chickens into a dungeon-opening subjugation?
"Let's go inside and talk first."
"Yes…"
Once inside the room, Felid continued his story in a quiet, gentle voice.
"…So they told me that after the subjugation is over and we return, they'll let me meet the lord."
Felid's story was shocking.
For the past two days, he had been sleeping only three or four hours a night while doing all kinds of menial labor in the main building.
Whatever Bertel may have said, the servants called him "young master" only in words, while freely ordering him around without hesitation.
As if that weren't enough, they even openly ostracized him because of his different status.
"I was prepared to endure being worked hard and excluded. But no matter how I think about it, I really shouldn't be part of the subjugation force. So… the only person I could talk to about this was Sir Eugene, which is why I came to see you. I'm sorry."
Watching Eugene's reaction, Felid bowed his head deeply.
"Eugene, the kid may be a bit strange, but he's not the type to be lazy or do anything bad. I should go right now and strip every last ear of corn from the bastards who bullied him— gack!"
Caught by Eugene's lightning-fast hand, Mirian was forcibly shoved into the leather pouch.
Since his head was lowered, Felid didn't notice that, and Eugene spoke.
"I'm only telling you this now, but the mercenaries who went to pick you up weren't sent by Sir Tiwyn. They were probably sent by one of your brothers."
"What?!"
Felid snapped his head up.
"You know that Sir Tiwyn collapsed half a year ago, and since then your two brothers have been handling the territory's affairs, right?"
"Yes. I heard that from the people at the castle."
"Then those mercenaries were sent by one of the two. And those guys— eight of them couldn't even properly kill two black wolves and all died."
"What? What do you mean by that…?"
"The black wolves were actually killed by me. They were wiped out because they couldn't handle even two of them."
"…!"
At Eugene's words, which cleverly mixed truth and lies, Felid's eyes widened.
"If it had been Partek's group, they would've handled it with minimal losses. So the ones who came to get you were third-rate drifters who don't even deserve to be called mercenaries. Now