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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“Oh, welcome, Master Chrom! I am Dorf Brahms, at your service!”
A man with a sly face, the kind that would probably try to trick the protagonist into bringing him a magic lamp in Arabian Nights, kept bowing his head repeatedly before me.
I was worried he might strain his back.
‘Well, I guess I am someone important.’
It was a relief, considering I had been worried about being treated like a nuisance since my birth mother, whose face I couldn’t even recall, had already been poisoned.
But then, what about that maid? Father’s behavior was one thing, but what was her deal?
‘Is she close enough to the Lord that she doesn’t need to worry about my opinion? Judging by her looks, it wouldn’t be surprising if she were a secret lover.’
Making a mental note to remember the maid, whose name I still didn’t know, I addressed Dorf.
“So, what exactly am I supposed to do? The Lord told me to observe your work.”
I made sure to speak in a manner befitting my current position. He replied with a hearty laugh.
“Haha, it’s nothing much. Just a small charitable project.”
“Charitable project?”
I tilted my head at the word that seemed completely out of place in connection with this family.
But Dorf continued.
“It’s a simple task of delivering food supplies ordered by the lord of a neighboring territory. Come this way.”
‘If it’s delivering ordered goods, isn’t that a transaction, not charity?’
Despite my internal doubts, I followed Dorf’s lead. There, several laborers were loading numerous sacks onto carts.
“Hey, John! Don’t slam them down just because they’re heavy! Handle them with care! Would you treat them like that if they were your own balls?!”
“Sorry, sir!”
“Damn it! I could bring in a dog on its last legs and it’d work faster than you lot!”
“Looks more like they’re off to bury someone than do charity work.”
“Ahem! Ahem!”
At my remark, Dorf coughed awkwardly.
The man who had been showering the laborers with colorful insults finally noticed us and turned his gaze.
“Welcome, Master Dorf! The work is progressing smoothly! We’ll be ready to depart tomorrow, so rest assured.”
“That’s good to hear, but, uh, couldn’t you conduct the work with a bit more decorum?”
“Decorum, sir? Specifically, how…”
“…Never mind.”
Dorf glanced at the scar that ran across the man’s face and his bulging, tanned biceps exposed by his sleeveless shirt, then shook his head.
I could understand how he felt.
“This is Master Chrom. He is the Lord’s precious son, so make sure he experiences no discomfort during the journey.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Chrom.”
“This is Clark, the leader of the ‘Brown Wolf Mercenary Company’ that will be accompanying us. I’ve hired them a few times before, and they’re quite skilled.”
“Pleased to meet you. But why are mercenaries loading luggage?”
“Isn’t it better to earn an extra penny during downtime than to just sit around eating?”
How efficient.
There seemed to be no mercenaries who would stand on their pride and declare, ‘We weren’t hired for this! What do you take us for?!’
Or maybe there were, but they probably disappeared in the face of those massive biceps.
“Huh?”
As I watched the work process, a strange sight caught my eye.
‘What’s that?’
At first, I thought a sack was floating in mid-air.
But upon closer inspection, it was someone so small they were almost hidden by the sack, carrying a burden nearly their own size.
Only when they set the sack down and their hands were free could I see them clearly.
It was a girl, about my age.
Brown eyes and hair.
Her shoulder-length hair was tied back with a string, and her clothes, patched with leather in places, looked simple yet practical.
Dorf and Clark, noticing where I was looking, also turned their attention to the girl.
Dorf frowned slightly.
“I don’t recall seeing that child during our last contract. Is she your child, or one of your members’?”
“Nah, no way.”
Clark waved his hand in denial.
“She joined our mercenary company about six months ago. She’s surprisingly strong for her size and quite handy with chores, so I’ve kept her around.”
“Is she participating in this operation as well?”
“That was the plan, but…”
“Hmm.”
At Dorf’s blatant displeasure, Clark’s expression began to harden.
I, too, grew curious. What was he going to say?
“Leave that child out of this operation. No, if possible, I’d prefer you remove her from the mercenary company altogether.”
…Excuse me?
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The ‘Brown Wolf Mercenary Company’ was a veteran group that had even participated in the war against the Ivesthan Empire 20 years ago, when it was founded.
Clark, the second leader of the company, was somewhat rough around the edges and obsessed with money, but he was undeniably skilled and secretly quite sentimental.
Many of his members trusted him.
So very few failed to notice the displeasure in Clark’s voice now.
“You’ll be acting as members of our Midas Trading Company on this trip. It wouldn’t look good to outsiders to have a child tagging along on official business.”
“Then wouldn’t it be sufficient to exclude her from this operation alone? Asking me to remove her from the mercenary company seems a bit excessive.”
“Oh, you misunderstand. While we are currently hiring you as contractors, I plan to formally request the Lord to incorporate you into our ranks soon. Then, you won’t have to live like wandering mercenaries anymore. It’s best to minimize any potential blemishes.”
“We appreciate the offer, but…”
One of the members carrying a sack of grain asked another,
“What’s that about? Why is the captain so pissed?”
“The client wants the newbie out because she’s an eyesore.”
“What? Is that fat bastard crazy?!”
The member who grasped the situation was indignant, as if it were his own affair.
And many others who overheard shared the same sentiment.
It wasn’t necessarily because they were bound by strong camaraderie and loyalty, but rather a matter of pride.
Even if the client was paying them, it was based on a contract, not an employer-employee relationship.
So what gave him the right to interfere in the internal affairs of their mercenary company?
“I didn’t like that Dorf or Torif or whatever from the start.”
“They’re all the same, those who work for the Midas family.”
Of course, not everyone shared the same opinion.
‘Can’t we just give in? It’s not good to antagonize the client.’
‘We don’t have a better client than this, and we’re going to lose them because of a kid who just joined? That’s insane.’
‘I heard even a warehouse worker for Midas earns more than us. If this goes wrong…’
Though they didn’t dare voice it aloud, some hoped Clark would just lower his head and appease the client.
The Midas Trading Company’s methods were ruthless, but they possessed immense wealth, and the power of money was undeniable.
If a bag full of gold was placed before them, what did it matter if the person offering it was a villain?
For mercenaries who lived day to day, the opportunity to work for Midas was a significant temptation.
“…”
The girl at the center of the discussion initially tried to ignore it and focus on her work, but as the subtle glances and whispers continued, she frowned and stopped moving.
And just as she was about to react,
“Excuse me, but could you tone it down a bit?”
The boy who had been silent until now…Chrom…spoke up.
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“M-Master?”
“Mr. Dorf, do you have some kind of complaint against me?”
As I glared at him with a clearly disgruntled expression, Dorf Brahms seemed utterly flustered.
“N-no way!”
“Really? Because it sounds to me like you’re using that child as an excuse to insult me. Saying a child tagging along is unsightly, or that it’s better to leave her out from the start.”
“That’s not it! I didn’t mean it like…”
Dorf stammered out excuses, but I ignored them.
I wasn’t actually angry. The reasons I had given were just an excuse.
Then why did I step in?
Because… the atmosphere was a mess!
These were the people I was supposed to work with.
So why was this man pouring gasoline on the fire before we even started?
Was he like a mid-level employee taking out his frustrations from a nasty boss on a subcontractor?
Even I, who had only known him for less than a minute, found the Lord annoying. Imagine how stressful it must be for those working under him.
But understanding his situation was different from allowing him to potentially harm me.
“You really have no complaints, right?”
“Of course not! So, please, clear up this misunderstanding…”
It’s okay, mister, I’m not angry. You can stop making that crying face.
It was fascinating how this man, who had acted so haughty towards the burly mercenary captain, was now groveling before me.
The power of money was truly terrifying.
“Well, then there’s no problem. Hey, Captain Clark?”
“You can just call me Clark, Master.”
“Okay, Clark. Since there’s no problem, please take care of the rest. It looks like your members are itching to talk, but make sure they don’t chatter so much that they can’t finish on time.”
“Hahaha! Leave it to me! Kicking lazy asses into gear is my specialty! Hey! You good-for-nothing bastards, hurry up..”
Freed from the tyrannical Dorf, Captain Clark resumed his fiery pronouncements, and the mercenaries, yelping “Ouch, hot!”, started moving as if their feet were on fire.
Good, it seemed like things had worked out smoothly.
Now, I could finally move on to the next item on the agenda.
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