Chapter 8

The next day, Aldis woke up later than usual.

With sleepy eyes, he looked at the bed next to him, but there was no one there.

Yawning, he scanned the room and saw the twins in the same corner as yesterday.

They were still huddled together, but their eyes were closed.

It seemed they were still asleep, and their bodies were gently swaying with their breaths.

The food that had not been touched yesterday was now completely gone.

"They must have eaten while I was sleeping..."

The bowl of stew was as clean as if it had been licked clean. They were definitely hungry.

Still, the fact that they didn’t start eating in front of him suggested they were still on guard. Perhaps the harsh treatment they had received in the past was the reason.

Aldis went downstairs to wash his face and greeted the innkeeper, then took the breakfast from Kasuha and returned to the room.

By then, the twins had woken up.

However, just like yesterday, they were huddled in the corner of the room and didn’t try to come closer.

"Here, it’s breakfast. Are you going to eat?"

There was no response, and even as Aldis started eating, the twins didn’t touch their food.

Even when Aldis finished his meal, they still hadn’t moved.

In the end, they didn’t eat until Aldis left the room.

It seemed they couldn’t eat while he was in the room.

Deciding that it was better not to force a closer relationship with the twins, Aldis suppressed his unease and headed to the tavern where he would meet with Ted and the others.

"Hey, Aldis! Over here!"

As soon as he entered the tavern, Ted waved him over.

Orphelia and Norris were also at the table.

"What about those kids?"

As soon as he sat down, they asked about the twins, who were not behind him.

"They’re back at the inn."

"Is that okay? Won’t the inn say something?"

"They already did. In fact, we were kicked out of the previous inn."

The three of them looked disappointed, as if they had expected it.

Being a mercenary was already a difficult life.

While the term "mercenary" sounded good, many people saw them as outcasts who couldn’t hold a steady job, and their social status was low. They were slightly better than outlaws, but not much.

Mercenaries were often seen as violent, making unreasonable demands, forcing themselves on unwilling girls, and skipping out on their bills. There were plenty of lawless individuals who were no different from criminals.

Of course, Aldis and his group were different. They followed the law and didn’t misuse their strength.

There were heroic mercenaries who used their strength to help others and the community, and many who completed their tasks diligently without causing trouble.

However, in the general public’s view, all mercenaries were lumped together.

After all, there was no one to regulate and supervise mercenaries.

While they could be arrested by the guards for breaking the law, the guards’ authority didn’t extend to places they couldn’t see.

In the end, mercenaries were often treated as rough, violent, and destitute.

There were few inns that would willingly accept such troublesome guests.

Tria was a large city, so it was still manageable, but in smaller towns, it was not uncommon to find no place to stay.

"But we did find an inn that would take us."

Though at a very high price, Aldis added with a frown.

"At least you found a place. I was worried."

"Yeah, that’s good, but they’re still on guard."

Aldis explained the situation with a wry smile.

"They stay huddled in the corner of the room and won’t come closer. They don’t respond to my questions. They didn’t touch their dinner while I was there, but they ate after I went to sleep. They’re like stray cats I picked up."

"Is it okay to leave them at the inn?"

"I asked the innkeeper to keep an eye on them. They seem to go to the bathroom on their own while I’m sleeping. They had plenty of chances to run away yesterday but didn’t leave the room. It’s just that they’re still wary of me."

"If that’s the case, there’s no need to worry. Given their situation, it’s natural they wouldn’t trust you right away. If you spend some time with them, their guard will probably come down."

With that, Ted wrapped up the conversation.

"Alright, let’s talk about the job. Norris, can you explain the details to Aldis again?"

"But I said it would be better to go over everything later... It’s just a waste of time."

Ted laughed and apologized, and Norris, still complaining, began to explain the job they had taken that morning.

"This time, it’s another investigation."

"What? Are we looking for heavy iron again?"

Aldis chuckled.

Even as mercenaries, in a peaceful world, this was the kind of work they did.

While there were occasional battles during investigations, as in the last job, they were generally treated as jack-of-all-trades.

Short-term and sporadic jobs were often given to mercenaries.

The clients were often merchants or the leaders of towns and villages.

Occasionally, requests came from the government or the military.

There were many jobs that knights were not good at or that didn’t require long-term commitment from soldiers.

On the other hand, being mere mercenaries, they were often treated poorly.

Sometimes they were given dishonorable tasks that knights wouldn’t do, or used and discarded because their deaths wouldn’t cause problems.

Compared to those, an investigation was a relatively decent job.

"No, this time it’s a land survey. The width of the roads, water sources, drainage, and geology of the designated land, among other things."

The locations to be surveyed were multiple, but all were in the hills south of the Kossus Forest, about one to two days’ walk from the border with the neighboring country.

"Interesting... Who’s the client, by the way?"

"Officially, it’s a certain merchant guild..."

"But?"

"Probably the government is behind it."

"What do you think, Aldis?"

Ted asked from the side.

"Preparatory survey for a garrison or supply base, I’d say."

"Really? You think so too?"

Aldis’s reasoning made Ted nod in agreement.

"Then, is the rumor about the war with the Empire true?"

Orphelia asked, looking worried.

"Maybe not. The price of heavy iron has stabilized, so it might not be. It could just be a precaution."

"But why would they send the request from a merchant guild in Tria? The capital is closer."

Ted nodded in agreement with Aldis’s reasoning but was still suspicious about the request coming from Tria.

"Maybe they want to keep it as low-profile as possible. Using a merchant guild instead of a request from the lord or the military is probably a cover. The request probably says it’s for a settlement survey or something."

"Aldis is right. They said it was for a development project."

"That makes sense. Maybe the same request has been sent to the capital as well."

Ted nodded in agreement.

"The pay is good because the government is behind it. The minimum guaranteed amount is 20 gold coins, and the commission for the survey report is 30 gold coins. What do you think, Aldis?"

Aldis thought for a moment and said,

"I’m sorry, but I have to decline this time. Going near the border will take a lot of days, and I want to return to the inn every day for a while."

No one asked for a reason, as everyone understood it was for the twins.

The unspoken thought that he needed enough sleep for camping didn’t reach anyone but Aldis.

"Well, I can’t force you. I’ll let you know if there’s a one-day job."

"Sorry, Ted."

After parting ways with Ted and the others, Aldis left the tavern and headed out of the city alone.

"One-day jobs... The Kossus Forest is too far. I guess I’ll hunt a beast king around here."

Looking at the vast grassland before him, Aldis muttered to himself and took a step forward.

2019/07/22 Typo correction: "unrest" → "unease"

*Thank you for reporting the typo.