Chapter 6

Chapter 6

6. Louiswell (2)

The gold coin was stolen.

And that, only 5 minutes after entering the village.

When and how it was stolen, he had no idea.

As a common-sense intellectual, Benrik never even dreamed of it.

That no matter how much of a city it was, there would be unassociable breeds who would pick the pockets of a filthy kid.

‘Scary guys!’

Just where did they look at Benrik and judge that he had money.

Skin filthy from not washing for over a fortnight and matted ashen hair, fur clothes mended several times, just where did they look!

“What’s wrong?”

“···I’ll tell you later.”

Anyway, he couldn’t keep standing in the middle of the street, so Benrik started walking following the two people.

Except for Hodge and Jenkinson, the other mercenary members scattered to the gambling den, tavern, and brothel.

While moving his steps, Benrik retraced the memories of just before with his head.

‘The collisions···.’

He couldn’t even count them.

In that short time he collided countless times. Benrik was small, people were swarming like ants, and the alleys were narrow.

‘Something, there must be some characteristic. Some clue···.’

Even while grinding his teeth, he chewed over the memories.

In the meantime they arrived at the inn.

The two who booked three rooms including for the members first ordered a meal. Benrik, who took a seat at the table, only then spilled the whole story.

“Kahahaha!”

Upon hearing the story, Jenkinson immediately burst into a big laugh. Since he had been stuffing bread soaked in soup into his mouth to the fullest, fragments flew in all directions.

Benrik crumpled his expression at once.

Even Hodge, who had been advising to treat it as life experience, couldn’t hide his chuckles.

Laughing? It’s annoying. It’s because it’s not their own business.

“Don’t laugh.”

“Don’t want to? I’m going to laugh? Why should I listen to the words of a kid who’s not even from our mercenary group?”

“······.”

Giggling, the laughing appearance couldn’t be more annoying. Still, when he first saw them they clearly acted like somewhat weighty adults. How does the mental age now not look similar to the third who is only ten years old.

“Don’t be like that too much.”

Hodge said. He was unsure if he was stopping or teasing. Seeing the corners of his mouth twitching, it seemed the latter. Benrik felt the urge to snatch the beer glass in his hand and throw it.

‘I endure because he’s the person buying the meal.’

Anyway, Benrik had his money stolen and became a penniless empty-handed person. These are grateful people who provide him with food and a place to sleep.

‘I have to come up with some means.’

For now it’s fine, but in this state even if he arrives at Bromwood only a bleak future is waiting.

He needs at least some money to endure until he finds a job.

‘Crisis Sense isn’t much help.’

Demian’s Crisis Sense was a passive privilege. It doesn’t activate unless it’s a situation where his personal safety is threatened.

Like it didn’t activate for property damage.

Now the one thing Benrik could use was one.

<​Edgar's Secret Hand (B)>

─The legendary pickpocket of the Dark City Northford was secretive even in death.

As a common-sense intellectual, Benrik honestly didn’t want to use this.

Of course it’s saying he doesn’t want to use it if possible, not that he absolutely won’t use it. If a situation where he really starves to death comes, then it can’t be helped.

It was then that Jenkinson grinned and proposed.

“That’s right. If you say you’ll join our mercenary group I’ll give you a contract fee. How about it?”

He was already dying from anger anyway, really···.

Benrik no longer endured.

“How much will you give.”

“Don’t be like that and think about it, uh?”

“How much will you give. What about the contract period? It’s not a lifetime contract, is it.”

It was not the time to distinguish cold water from hot water. Right now he has not a single penny in hand. The dizzying sensation of having no back brought up a greater sense of crisis than when being chased by a magical beast.

“···Uh?”

Jenkinson, who thought a rejection would come back as usual, was flustered.

Benrik, who didn’t budge at any persuasion, changed his mind! The guy who didn’t even fall for the mana operation method of incalculable value!

Instead of the dumbfounded Jenkinson, Hodge who had been sipping beer next to him stepped forward.

“The pay for a Bronze Badge mercenary usually starts from ten silver coins.”

Whether it was little or much didn’t come to him readily.

“It tends to change according to the danger. In the case of this request, the difficulty is considerable and the period is long, so we decided to receive twenty gold coins.”

Since the mercenary group is seven people, then is it close to three gold coins per person?

One hundred silver coins have the same value as one gold coin. When calculating earlier, one room with three meals required three silver coins.

‘Bromwood’s prices will be more expensive, right?’

While Benrik was calculating, Hodge added.

Two of them go out as the adventurer guild fee, the mercenary leader and Silver Badge mercenary Jenkinson takes six gold coins, and the vice-captain himself takes four again.

Then the money falling to the remaining Bronze Badge mercenaries is less than two gold coins.

‘Working nonstop for two months, two gold coins.’

As expected, low pay.

If the reward for a request where one has to risk one’s life is this much, there was no need to look at low-risk missions. It’s as obvious as seeing fire that it will become a life of earning a day and living a day.

‘Independence isn’t easy.’

As Benrik’s expression rapidly darkened, Jenkinson hurriedly proposed.

“Uh, um, I’ll give one gold coin. Of course the reward is paid separately for each request!”

After a short consideration, Benrik said.

“You don’t have to take care of the request reward separately.”

“Huh?”

“For now, how about having a probation period? Since it’s one gold coin··· set it at twenty silver coins per request and based on solving five requests.”

So, is it that he’ll join temporarily only while solving five requests?

“It’s to have time to get to know each other. You never know, Jenkinson might regret accepting me. The number of requests can be appropriately reduced according to difficulty through discussion.”

Jenkinson, who had been silently listening to the child’s words, asked.

“Reduce, where did you learn such a word?”

It was not a word that a child who lived his whole life in a mid-slope village would use.

“From Mr. Oswald. Anyway, let’s decide whether to formally join or not after that. How about it?”

Rather it was a situation where this side should beg to be taken in, but Benrik consistently maintained the initial arrogant attitude.

The first thing to do in negotiation is to gain the upper hand over the other party, Oswald said so.

Instead, he did the self-appeal firmly.

“Even if I can’t fight, I’m somewhat of a talent? My body is also agile···.”

Benrik paused for a moment and placed a coin pouch with shiny leather on the table.

Seeing it, Jenkinson’s expression became bizarre.

‘That looks familiar from somewhere···.’

Soon realizing that it was his own, he stood up abruptly from his seat.

“When did you take it···?!”

Immediately the fierce gazes from other tables gathered, then subsided upon seeing Jenkinson’s large frame.

Benrik shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“My hands are also on the fast side. It will be helpful in various ways.”

Jenkinson seemed unable to believe that even if he let his guard down he didn’t feel even a hint, and Hodge, while making an unexpected expression, seemed to find this situation interesting.

“An unexpected, an unexpected move hidden, huh.”

Jenkinson, while making a puzzling expression of ‘Hmm, is this right? Is this the right thing?’, eventually nodded his head.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because it was embarrassing that he was thoroughly teased and then pickpocketed.

***

Separately from accepting Jenkinson’s proposal, he did not give up on recovering the stolen gold coin.

Last night Benrik dug through his memories all night long.

Jenkinson’s snoring from the left and Hodge’s curses from the right became stimulants.

As a result he was able to pick out a few suspicious people.

The young merchant he collided with right after exiting the checkpoint,

The ill-looking man he collided with in front of the leather armor shop,

Lastly the young woman who exuded a fragrant powder scent.

The woman remained in impression because of the scent he was smelling for the first time in his life, and the fierce man remained in impression because he apologized unfittingly.

The merchant he doesn’t know well. It just came to mind.

‘Is it because he collided first?’

Anyway, excluding the merchant whose impression is blurry because too ordinary, all of them he can recognize if he sees their faces again.

The period decided to stay in Louiswell is four days.

Within that he catches the guy who stole all his property.

Benrik revealed such an ambition at the breakfast seat, and

“No.”

Jenkinson cut it off in one stroke.

“Yes?”

“Too dangerous. Those kinds of kids usually don’t move alone.”

He put down the fork and continued.

“There will be an organization backing them. Beggars, pickpockets, gambling dens, brothels, thugs, bandits, they are originally all one.”

Benrik gently tilted his head.

“An organization backing them?”

“Yes. Ones who protect each other, divide territories, receive tributes, and clean up instead when problems arise. Guys who decide whom to touch how, and whom not to touch.”

He said that not only Louiswell but most cities operate this way. With the common sense of the intellectual Benrik, it was something hard to readily accept.

“There is a guard, right, do they just leave such an organization alone?”

“Uh, originally the ecology of how the world turns is like that.”

Instead of Jenkinson who was roughly crumpling it as if annoying, Hodge opened his mouth.

“Rather, the larger the city scale, the stickier the collusion between the guard and criminal organizations. Because according to the city’s scale the criminal guild’s scale also grows. Even if you put in effort and remove them, anyway a new guy will soon fill that spot, so better to embrace them.”

No matter how clear the water, there can’t be no muddy water. Because of this, most choose coexistence instead of eradication.

“That way is also beneficial from the guard’s position, if you just exercise a certain degree of flexibility you can prevent the water from getting muddier anymore, fill your pockets, and also prevent big accidents.”

Jenkinson added.

“I don’t know but there will be a collusion relationship with Louiswell’s guard too? Even if it’s a village one passes through, there’s no need to make enemies for nothing.”

“We are only seven, and there are injured too. Even if it’s a probation period, Benrik you are now belonging to our mercenary group.”

Benrik completely understood.

It was a story that while trying to catch the bedbug one might burn down the whole thatched house. One might get stabbed and die without anyone knowing, or friction with the mercenary group might occur.

“I understood.”

“Fortunate. Thanks for understanding.”

“No, I myself learned something new again. I’ll be more careful in the city.”

Hodge made a proud expression. It was a child who knows ten if told one. It was tasty to teach.

“In Bromwood you don’t have to do that. From the start there won’t be a chance to get pickpocketed. I said it? In Bromwood we do quite well.”

While Jenkinson was confidently chattering, Benrik thought.

In short, as long as one doesn’t clash head-on it’s fine, isn’t it?

The things the two people would worry about wouldn’t happen.

It’s not that he’s going to catch and do something, just steal back what was stolen.

He had a privilege.

The privilege left by the dementia elder who wrote a legend in Northford, the hotbed of the empire’s crime.

© Burrito#1y0o9

Author’s note

Receiving title recommendations