"Yes. Lord Fairchild said he would grant you the authority to command fifty soldiers, and regardless of victory or defeat, he will pay you five hundred silver coins."
A reward far greater than completing a couple of demon-realm hunts.
And that wasn't all.
"Additionally, the daily wages for you and your mercenaries will be paid separately, and after the battle, all rights to any spoils will be entrusted entirely to you."
So this is what it means for a noble with an actual title…
"Lord Eugene! This is seriously your big break! Let's go!"
Miriam shouted, unable to hide her greed, but Eugene ignored her and spoke to Mills.
"How can your lord trust someone he has never met? No—before that, how did Lord Fairchild even know I was here?"
"Oh, well…"
If it were any other knight, they would have accepted immediately without a second thought. Mills had already heard Eugene was unusual, and seeing it for himself, he glanced sideways.
"It was this man who told us about you."
Everyone turned to look. The second envoy quietly pushed back his hood.
"It's an honor to see you again, Sir Eugene…"
The man sweating profusely and bowing was none other than Delduan, the merchant who had crossed Marcus Mountain with them not long ago.
* * *
"Unbelievable. So that guy really was a main-route merchant?"
"Son of a—so he tricked us even though he was headed straight into Fairchild territory?"
"I still can't believe it. His operation was so small I never suspected a thing."
At Raban and Glad's comments, Partek smacked his lips.
Hearing the conversation, Delduan flinched as he drove his horse with his head lowered like a guilty man.
But soon he edged closer to the mercenaries with his signature awkward smile.
"My apologies. But I paid you fairly, didn't I?"
"Ha! Money isn't the proble—"
"Enough. It's already over, and the man has a point."
Partek cut Glad off and turned to Delduan.
"But why did you come along?"
"I know Sir Eugene's face, do I not? Lord Fairchild sent me so we wouldn't miss him along the way. As for me… trust me, I didn't want to come all the way out here either."
"Tsk. With that busybody streak, you'll never live an easy life."
Delduan could only give an awkward smile. If he hadn't said a word to the Fairchild viscount, he wouldn't be suffering this right now.
"Anyway, why did Lord Fairchild ask Sir Eugene for help? A lord of that level should have at least a few knights under him."
"Well… there are two knights who can serve as commanders, but while one is fine, the other is… not so dependable."
Delduan lowered his voice sharply in case Mills riding ahead overheard.
"Sir Lobos—Lord Fairchild's cousin. He served as a squire for almost ten years. Apparently he's… slow. And then he caused trouble."
"Trouble? What kind?"
"Sir Eugene defeated the mercenaries at Marcus Mountain, yes? When Sir Lobos heard the story, he got excited and marched his troops straight into Lord Bomel's territory. The problem is—Lord Fairchild hadn't formally declared war yet."
"Wow."
Knights causing incidents in hopes of earning military merit was nothing new.
But entering another lord's territory without a formal declaration? That was entirely different.
If he had captured the enemy lord or commander, it might have been fine, but if all he did was burn down a village or two…
"The bigger problem is, he marched in on his own and then lost his soldiers and mercenaries in the very first skirmish—and was captured."
"…"
At that point, "a bit slow" was an understatement; he was useless. But Partek chose not to say it aloud.
"So Lord Fairchild is in an uproar. Honestly, I regret mentioning Eugene at all, but what was I supposed to do—lie to my lord?"
"Tsk."
"Anyway, I think Lord Fairchild isn't necessarily aiming to win the territory war outright. If he can just save face a bit, he'll settle for a truce. So if you can persuade Sir Eugene to"
"All decisions will be made by Sir Eugene. We follow his orders. So stop with the nonsense."
Partek's sharp reply made Delduan flinch and fall silent.
The knight and even the mercenaries around him—none of them were easy to deal with.
This is going to be difficult…
With that thought, Delduan glanced at Eugene and Mills riding ahead.
"…so if you accept, Lord Fairchild will treat you generously."
"I see."
Mills' proposal itself wasn't bad, but Eugene planned to refuse.
His priority was to enter as many demon realms as possible and kill as many upper-rank monsters with red stones as he could. Money no longer mattered.
But he did have a question.
"Why me?"
The Fairchild family was a noble house with an official royal title.
Unlike the newly independent Tiwyn family, they were true aristocracy.
They surely had two or three competent knights and a proper standing army.
Even if Delduan had mentioned him, inviting a complete stranger made no sense.
"Well, that is…"
"If you give me some nonsense excuse, I won't go. So tell me the real reason."
"Yes, sir."
Mills immediately gave up on spinning anything and explained the incident involving Sir Lobos.
"A knight is captured. Shouldn't you pay ransom and bring him back?"
"That would mean acknowledging defeat before we've even fought. Lord Fairchild absolutely refuses that. And Lord Bomel won't release him for ransom so easily either."
"So he wants one proper battle before deciding?"
"Exactly."
"He could simply hire more knights. It's not like I'm the only one in this region."
"That's true, but none satisfy my lord. And in this situation, every knight demands ennoblement, but my lord refuses to grant new appointments for the time being."
For free knights, receiving a title from a noble was their dream.
But for a noble, granting ennoblement was a matter of tremendous weight.
A title involved not just money, but the honor of the family. Granting it to just anyone could tarnish the house's prestige.
"Hm. Sorry, but I have no intention of becoming a Fairchild knight."
Eugene said it expecting to shut the discussion down, but Mills replied instantly.
"Lord Fairchild also has no intention of granting you a title."
"What?"
"Please don't misunderstand! Lord Fairchild said he would write a recommendation letter for you to your father-in-law."
"A recommendation letter?"
"Yes! A recommendation to Count Winslon! If you take it to him and prove your bravery in front of the count, he may grant you a title there. You know of Count Winslon, of course?"
Mills puffed his chest proudly, as if he personally served the great count.
Unfortunately for him, Eugene had no idea who Count Winslon was and needed a moment to figure out how to react.
Then—
Impossible! What kind of knight aims this high!?
Misreading Eugene's reaction, Mills was utterly shocked.
To hesitate when he had a possible chance at receiving ennoblement from Winslon—one of the kingdom's Four Grand Nobles!
'Just how ambitious is he? I can't believe this.'
Mills, who had never experienced anything like this in his life, was thrown into shock and confusion.
But he couldn't just sit still and do nothing, so he hurried to speak.
"Sir Eugene. Count Winslone is known to favor brave knights. He treats them well, and he doesn't demand much from the knights he ennobles. He merely hopes they will bring glory to the Winslone crest."
"..."
Eugene still looked indifferent, making Mills even more desperate.
"Furthermore! If a knight subjugates a dungeon or labyrinth that belongs to him, Count Winslone grants him rights to the by-products as well—"
"The Count owns magic zones?"
Eugene, who had been listening half-heartedly, suddenly grew interested. Mills, caught off guard for a moment, quickly nodded.
"Yes! Two within his own domain and two more owned by his vassal houses. In total, four."
Eugene couldn't even imagine how large a territory one must have to possess four magic zones.
But the size of the county wasn't what mattered to him.
A noble who doesn't interfere much with his knights… And four magic zones?
"Does Count Winslone do business with the Pailin Trading Company by any chance?"
"Uh, I can't say for sure, but…"
Seeing Eugene's slight disappointment, Mills quickly continued.
"Pailin Trading mainly sets up branches along the coast, does it not? But the Winslone County is inland, so I doubt they have any particular dealings."
"Is that so… I see."
It wasn't confirmed, but Pailin Trading likely had access to around five or six magic zones they could connect him to.
If he added four more to that?
But this is a territorial war.
Eugene was confident in fighting alone or in small skirmishes within dungeons, but he knew little about territorial warfare, so he hesitated.
"What are you hesitating for? You can enter more dungeons! And a count is a super high-ranking noble, right? Oh—wait—is it because you'd have to fight humans?"
As expected, the spirit of desire, Mirian, latched onto something again.
"The seniors used to say there's no need to kill everyone in a human war. Just cut off the head and it's over. And sneaking in and taking out one person is what vampires are best at."
"...!"
Mirian's last remark snapped Eugene back to attention.
She was right.
The enemy wouldn't be monsters—they were humans. Words and threats worked on humans. He didn't need to fight or kill everyone.
"I'll meet Lord Fairchild first before I decide."
"Thank you, Sir Eugene! A most excellent decision!"
Mills, who had been anxiously watching Eugene, broke into a wide smile.
"Kiieeek! Nice!"
So did the spirit of desire.
"From here on is Lord Fairchild's territory. Whew…"
As Mills exhaled softly before a small river, Delduan cautiously spoke.
"Butler, before crossing the river, perhaps we should rest?"
"No. Baron Bomel's troops might be patrolling the area. We cross first, then rest."
There were no villages or even farmhouses nearby, but this land still technically belonged to the Tiwyn family.
However, unless something happened in one of their actual villages or settlements, the Tiwyn family neither cared nor had the capability to manage anything happening elsewhere in their domain.
Because of that, mercenaries hired by other nobles could walk through their land without permission, and there was nothing they could do about it.
Even if something happened, as long as it wasn't murder or robbery, it would be settled with compensation. That was the way of the noble world.
Thus, even if Baron Bomel's forces were wandering nearby, the Tiwyns wouldn't know—and even if they did, they'd just accept some silver and let it go.
"Would they really come out this far? Didn't they gather mercenaries at Langbon?"
"Langbon is less than half a day from here. If we're unlucky"
"Looks like we're unlucky."
Eugene's words made Mills jerk in surprise.
"Those men look like mercenaries. Are they Fairchild's?"
Mills whipped his head around in the direction Eugene indicated.
"Oh no! They are not ours."
Mills' expression darkened as his hand gripped the hilt of his shortsword.
As expected of a butler from a noble house, he was apparently quite skilled in swordsmanship.
A group of over ten armed men was moving quickly toward them along the riverbank.
Two of them even had crossbows loaded and ready.
With tension filling his eyes, Mills muttered,
"We should try talking first… but if they were hired by Baron Bomel—"
Hrrrriiiih!
Suddenly, Sillion bolted forward.
"Lord!?"
"Sir Eugene!"
Everyone, including Mills, cried out in shock.
"What!?"
The approaching mercenaries panicked even more.
A warhorse in full barding charging straight at them was intimidating enough.
But riding atop it was a knight clad in full plate armor.
And in unpredictable situations like this, someone was bound to make a mistake.
"Hiik!"
One of the mercenaries holding a crossbow lost his nerve and accidentally pulled the trigger.
What the—? Are they insane?
Eugene's brow twitched. He had been planning to intimidate them a bit and then talk.
(To be continued in the next chapter)