"Kerteum? I remember hearing it. At least it's not bullshit."
Merein acted as if she remembered. And for the Skull Mercenary Group, that was already no different from confirmed information. Merein having a good memory for acquiring and organizing information and nodding her head meant this guy was really the son of the top power figure maintaining local influence in Big Village Dudun's Barrel.
"Was he the second son... or third son?"
"The youngest. You dog-like bitch."
As the alcohol wore off a bit, he spat curses in a sharp tone like a knife rather than curses filled with anger. He was a complete scoundrel. Whether he drank or not, he was a thug among thugs. You could tell how terrible the influence of a local power figure's child was.
'Idiot.'
Whether he cursed or not, Merein remained calm. She didn't even provoke him. She skillfully pressed dried tobacco leaves firmly into a pipe and smoked after lighting it with a spark from the furnace. Smoke rose hazily. Among these people, she was the only one who smoked.
If she decided to kill that stupid guy, she'd make him die anonymously on a quiet day without incident. She lightly passed over the curse and bit down on the tobacco pipe.
'Tobacco smell.'
Rowan was disgusted. He worried from a distance.
'If I mess this up, I'm taking all the blame alone.'
The guys tied up tightly all shouted to be released when Kerteum, son of brewing association boss Galteum, cursed freely.
Eventually they were divided into groups of two or three in private rooms. Because the mother and daughters running the inn had a separate house, this inn was as good as theirs at night.
"Let go! Open it!"
Shield-bulk Keireon's head thrust into the struggling guy's face.
"Let's go quietly. Burying you isn't difficult. Kill one person, leave the village, and that's it."
At the chilling words, the struggling village youth became quiet like a docile hamster. He also released the tension in his body. Keireon tucked the guy under his arm and unhesitatingly went up the stairs and put him in the last remaining private room.
In the quieted first floor, talk went back and forth in low voices about countermeasures going forward. They'd poked a hornet's nest, so they couldn't get stung.
'Damn it.'
Rowan, alone in the corner, closed his eyes and turned his head tensely.
'The best option is to cut off the guy playing king. Should I pin it on him? No, it's difficult... How?'
All sorts of thoughts flowed out. First among them was killing Kerteum and making it the village youths' fault. But blood is thicker than water. The matter could grow bigger, and that wasn't what Rowan or the others wanted either.
It was no different from gambling.
Consensus Yuval gathered people. Like an experienced mercenary, he seemed to have already drawn out one opinion and combined it into one. Actually, Yuval had firmly pushed his own opinion through.
"What are you thinking?"
"We need to flee at night. They definitely won't let it go. A member of a big village got smashed to bits like beating a dog by a member of a mountain village, not even a small village. If we mess up, there'll be bloodshed."
Yuval looked at Rowan as he spoke.
"The pride citizens have according to village size is tremendous. That especially burns when a smaller force attacks."
Weak against the strong but strong against the weak. Even non-existent pride suddenly appears. Also, Merein stepped forward and explained the current situation even more clearly.
"Brewing association boss Galteum firmly holds this big village of 500 to 700 households. The regular army took bribes so they won't help, and he's got connections with the lord through tax collectors. Plus, matters here are likely to be resolved here unless nobles interfere."
Of course, she wasn't speaking from proper knowledge. Because big villages were generally like that, Merein could speak unhesitatingly in a confident tone. This village was surely corrupted to some degree too, but she couldn't know exactly how much.
"Huh..."
She spoke unhesitatingly about the village's corruption as if it were a given. The youth association people were all surprised at that. No one doubted those words because they already considered themselves in the same boat.
Rowan wanted to ask about that too, but it didn't seem like they'd kindly explain to him.
Also, Merein sharply described the big village's local power figure while increasing the persuasiveness that they must follow their opinion.
'These mercenary bastards are only thinking of themselves.'
Rowan hurriedly opposed. He had to say no. If they listened to the mercenaries, Black Mountain Village would shoulder the trouble. Also, if matters grew that big, there was a high possibility Rowan would become the scapegoat.
"If we flee at night like that, Black Mountain Village will still end up damaged."
At his words, Yuval spoke impassively. He skillfully described an even more dangerous situation.
"If we're caught now, someone might die. It's better to repay with money later. Meeting and resolving it village-to-village will be better than facing enraged citizens."
"Would they really come out that fiercely?"
Merein answered that question.
"Galteum owns most rights to the brewery. He's not called the brewing association boss for nothing. Seventy percent of the village's income is profit from selling liquor. At least we should leave this village quickly, before we're discovered..."
Merein trailed off while sighing. She seemed to understand how dangerous the current situation truly was. Of course, it was false body language. The mercenaries just needed to avoid this moment.
Because they could escape from there just by pushing back the troublesome problem.
"Also, if that son says to screw someone over, they'll screw them over somehow. Because this is their land. Legally or illegally. Money or violence. They'll do as they please, so if we want to at least preserve our bodies, I think it's better to meet them after their excitement calms down."
"Even if he's a crazy bastard, to him he's just a lovable youngest child."
It was quite persuasive. It seemed better to apologize to someone whose anger had subsided rather than dealing with excited drunks. But Giten of the fish farm, who was older among the youth association members who'd followed here, didn't think so.
'When we have mercenaries, it's better to settle it.'
The difference between having and not having force is huge. Giten had seen crisis come to the village several times, so thoughts about combat power had grown considerably in his brain. Especially after watching his younger brother Kiten's death, he could awaken an important awareness of power.
"I think anger at deserters will be even greater. It'd be better to come clean in the morning."
Rowan reacted most sensitively to the words "come clean." If they just surrendered like this, what the guys who got beaten by him would do to him was obvious as day. Yuval felt the same.
Every piece of the mercenary group's equipment was something that turned into money. Just because it had wear and tear didn't make it look cheap, but even the leather armor had very thin, properly worked iron plates inside, fitted to the body's curves.
Except for some consumables, everything was custom-made individually.
"Combat could break out."
Yuval spoke threateningly. But Giten wasn't swayed. His thinking was that when they had the mercenaries' force, they should settle things or compromise.
"If damage occurs to both sides, they'll resolve it with words."
Saying that, Giten also said what he shouldn't have. He gave off a nuance aimed at Rowan.
"Whether paying money or whatever, somehow resolving the problem should work, right?"
At those words, Rowan's eyebrows twitched.
'This bastard is also talking like making me take responsibility?'
There wasn't a single trustworthy guy. Life alone, going solo—it didn't seem like empty words.
The mercenaries said they had to flee at night only for themselves, and the villagers wanted to surrender so as not to make the current situation, where Rowan was clearly the perpetrator, more difficult going forward. The underlying thought of saving themselves was already established.
Of course, there was a high probability all the money they had would be taken, but it couldn't be helped. Because it was a world where fines were arbitrary, surviving and returning was more important than great anger.
'Even if the problem blows up big, I think I'll survive.'
Giten also considered the mercenary force. Just here there are ten people. They won't want to make the problem big either. Because it seemed plausible, Giten had long since won over four youth association people while Rowan worried alone.
A brief silence descended. The mercenaries' and youth association's eyes coldly glared at each other. It was fortunate for Rowan.
If there were no mercenaries, if opinions didn't clash with each other, he would've been caught alive and roasted.
'Force is really gangster-like, huh.'
Force or Rowan—who would they choose? The answer was decided. They had no choice but to choose the local power figure of Big Village Dudun's Barrel. This was their territory. Because they gave liquor to soldiers daily while formally putting it on credit, the regular army couldn't mediate responsibly either.
Regular army tied up with money. Rowan didn't know those inner workings but thought they were corrupt soldiers.
'The patrol had proper discipline, but the guards at the village entrance didn't.'
Also, Rowan couldn't help but be unfamiliar with the powerful term "local power figure" and the force that couldn't be seen on Earth.
Political thugs and whatever—back home, they'd been beaten down and locked up indiscriminately, and even innocent victims had appeared, so local power figures shoulder-to-shoulder with the law couldn't exist. If they did, it'd be on islands or in small country villages no one goes to.
'I was complacent. I moved too recklessly.'
The big bear hide theft incident. Combined with this time, he'd responded emotionally. He should've been cold.
Even regretting it, the bus had already left. Water had been spilled on the ground.
To bitterly realize the power of the mountain village's youth association—since he was already a youth association member, it didn't hit home much, and it wasn't that impressive either.
Brewing association boss Galteum handled the big village approaching 4,000 in population as his own by feeding bribes to the regular army, starting from the economy, and maintaining close relationships with tax collectors.
'Damn it.'
Confirming that individual grudges and such were bullshit compared to force, Rowan had no choice but to step to the forefront here.
"...I have a good idea."
Opening his mouth slightly while catching something flashing through his mind, Rowan spoke.
"What kind?"
Rowan swallowed once. It was a situation created by his own mistake.
'Who knows how many years I'll live as a serf.'
He might have to hold a pickaxe instead of a bow for someone else. Or squander all the silver coins he'd saved up.
"In the end, doesn't it work if Kerteum doesn't jump up and down?"
"Would that be easy?"
Rowan nodded.
"Yes. It's easy. We just need to make his friends who knew him betray him themselves."
"Kerteum is the youngest. He grew up getting quite a bit of allowance, so he's never gone without. He's big-bodied too, so who would try to betray him? No matter how much you talk, he won't listen. Didn't you see when we gathered them at the table earlier?"
They were the ones who couldn't do anything even when Kerteum cursed loudly without much injury.
Because they feared the aftermath.
"We drill holes in the private room wall, put a gag on Kerteum in the next room and make him listen. And we call them one by one to play tricks."
Yuval showed interest.
"If they tell us the ringleader, we'll quietly release them without any trouble and won't say anything. While saying that, we also talk about Kerteum—that he's from such a great family so we already released him."
"That could provoke jealousy. Also, since Kerteum already left but they're caught, some anxiety will arise too."
Yuval answered. At those words, Rowan nodded greatly as if agreeing and quickly continued speaking.
"If we say we already released the others too, they'll become urgent. Jealousy, anxiety, urgency. It'll be difficult pressure for youths who aren't even mature yet."
"If everyone says Kerteum's name..."
Rowan looked around while trailing off, then smiled.
"Kerteum will act like he doesn't know the injured ones. Because he'll be greatly disappointed in those bastards instead. He'll crush those bastards before crushing us."
Finishing speaking, Rowan carefully asked.
"What do you think?"
"Making Kerteum abandon his own gang himself, huh..."
Yuval muttered. For an impromptu plan, it was quite good.
"Let's try it once."