Chapter 19

"Old man. I'll prepare the money—I want to hire you for a job."

Upon returning from the fortress, the old man told me that Karia Bardonic had taken my place on her own, resigned from the knights, and returned to the Bardonic territory.

Ah, what a hateful woman. What a hateful woman. If that's the case, it's none of my business anymore. I'll just have to take her out of the Bardonic territory on my own.

Even if Karia Bardonic resists, it's none of my business. I hate that woman. I despise her. Therefore, even if I drag her out of the Bardonic territory by force, I won't have any pangs of conscience. Ah, yes, that's all it is.

"I don't mind. If you can prepare a sufficient reward that matches the job, I'll take it on anytime, Louis."

But can you prepare that, he said, as if to say.

Richard's old man, grinning with his teeth showing and his cheeks pulled up, sat across from me at the tavern table.

As a preliminary step, first, I need this old man. Without involving this old man, nothing will work.

To drag Karia Bardonic out of the territory, I can't do it alone, even if I go to the Bardonic territory by myself. If I were a hero or a savior, I might be able to do it alone, but unfortunately, I am neither a hero nor a savior. I'm not the kind of man who can handle everything alone. Therefore, I need to use people. I need to use them.

"...The group of ex-adventurers turned bandits in the northwest. I want you to incite them. There's no need to overdo it, but at least until the lord's private army arrives."

For a moment, Richard's old man's eyes gleamed. A gaze that was probing, pondering.

"Quite an interesting request. I see, I don't dislike what you're trying to do."

His tone was as if he saw through me, as if he knew what I was up to. The old man stroked his chin, adding, "But you're a fool, you know."

"But I don't understand why you're coming to me with this, Louis. It's impossible, you know. A group of bandits? They are free-spirited people. You can't expect me to be able to do it, can you?"

Ah, here it comes. I expected it. Of course, this isn't the kind of job you'd entrust to just any adventurer. Inciting a group of bandits is more like a conspiracy or a plot. But I know, old man.

I can feel Richard's old man's hand slowly touching his waist behind him. His gaze has changed, now judging whether to finish me off or not. I understand, strangely, that one wrong word could cost me my head.

I feel my arm muscles twitch. I try to suppress my quickening breath and maintain my composure. If he realizes I'm forcing myself, it's over. His piercing gaze captures every expression, every movement of mine.

"Of course, I wouldn't come to you for such a reason... I just thought, maybe it's good to do a good deed once in a while, you know?"

After a pause, I open my lips with a joke.

"Hmm. I'm not the type for good deeds. You know that, right?"

I can feel a slight tension in the old man's shoulder. He's about to draw his sword. If he knows too much, he's a danger. A whimsical troublemaker. He would decide that there's no value in keeping me alive. I force my gaze away from his shoulder and open my stiff throat.

"Hey, there's a girl who was taken advantage of by your old misdeeds. I think God wouldn't punish you if you helped save her, you know?"

His cunning eyes tremble. A cruel aura is instantly released from his piercing gaze, and then it turns into a black blade.

--- Screech

Reflexively, my knife clashes with Richard's old man's black sword. I stop a strike that grazes my shoulder, the metal clashing. It's a coincidence, nothing more than a coincidence. I didn't block it; the knife just happened to be in the right place. I won't be able to block the next one. I only managed to read his breathing for a moment this time.

This old man's cunning swordsmanship can't be read like Karia Bardonic's. Besides, I haven't seen him wield his sword in earnest many times.

The black blade, which seems to melt into the darkness, is a clear manifestation of killing intent. I have one knife left. Every stroke will be seen through. After all, I learned the basics of swordsmanship from this old man.

--- Am I going to die?

Just as I was about to sigh in resignation, the old man slowly wavered his black blade and finished his ale.

"---How much do you know?"

He didn't ask where or how. It was as if he was saying that asking those questions would be meaningless, simply asking how much.

"---Not much, just the general idea."

Still feeling the aftereffects of the previous strike, I wipe the sweat from my forehead and answer.

During the great war, the Bardonic family, a high-ranking noble family, missed the assembly due to the confusion caused by the absence of the head of the family. That's the historical fact.

--- So why was the head of the family absent, and why wasn't a substitute appointed?

It's because the head of the family died suddenly before the assembly. Due to a large-scale bandit attack. Of course, the lord's private army wouldn't be so easily outmatched by bandits. But these bandits were, by chance, a collection of elite forces, and they knew the head of the family's route by chance, and they were only after the head of the family, not gold, silver, or food.

"It was a youthful indiscretion, I guess. I don't think it was a bad deed, though. But there is a girl who is suffering because of it. Maybe it's good to help her, don't you think?"

I add, narrowing my eyes and watching the old man's movements.

Snorting, the old man scratched his cheek.

"Hmm. I see, I see. You're not just throwing around half-baked knowledge. And you had some luck."

The black, murderous blade disappears into the sheath. A sigh of relief escapes my lungs, but I can't exhale it yet.

"If you were just trying to trick me, you shouldn't have come here. If you didn't have luck, you would have died before you even got here. That was a possible scenario."

Ah, I understand very well. Because I almost lost my arm that way in the past.

I couldn't say such a thing, so I put my knife back in my waist and wiped the sweat.

"I won't go into details, and I won't ask. But you still have some influence over those bandits... no, that group of private soldiers. I want you to incite them. At least enough to bring out the lord's army."

Richard's old man stroked his beard and sized me up, as if searching for something. As if evaluating my worth. What if this doesn't work? Will I die? Or will I be let off?

The few seconds, or perhaps a few dozen seconds, felt strangely prolonged.

"---At least, when you try to gather others, dress a bit better. You need to show that you have money to gather people."

He muttered, grinning and showing his teeth as he did the first time.

"I'm expensive, Louis. Be prepared."

He patted my shoulder harder than expected, and I ended up face down on the tavern table.