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Chapter 334: I Really Wanted to Try This. (3)

Maybe Jake just tried bouncing it once. If that’s the case, I can overlook it.

Claude couldn’t hide his frustrated expression as he spoke.

“Why? If you join our mercenary group, we won’t interfere with you much, and we’ll even push a lot of work your way and give you plenty of benefits? That’s a benefit, isn’t it? You won’t lose out. A person should play in a big pond.”

Jake knew there was nothing wrong with what Claude was saying. He had participated in several businesses at Penris a few times.

The pay was certainly more than elsewhere, and it was delivered on the promised days. Yet, there was a reason he was declining.

‘Count Penris is a war fanatic. That’s clear. Plus, when I only heard rumors, he sounded like an abnormal person.’

Count Digald’s Territory, Count Cabaldy’s Territory, Count Desmond’s Territory—he had been through three major wars in just a few years. In other words, he could be called a conquering sovereign.

Moreover, by observing what he did, it was mostly stuff that a sane person wouldn’t consider.

If he were to join such a person’s ranks, his life could be in danger at any moment.

‘And the relationship with the Duke Faction isn’t good, right? No matter how much the Crown Prince Faction supports him, if a civil war breaks out, we’ll inevitably be dragged in as well.’

Although war might provide the greatest opportunity for mercenaries to earn money, there aren’t as many willing to voluntarily get involved in dangerous conflicts.

Even if participating, they align with those likely to win or, at least, those with a chance of victory. However, if he joined Count Penris, he wouldn’t even be able to make such a judgment.

Jake, usually a very cautious mercenary, didn’t want to get involved in such matters.

“We have no such intention. This talk is a bit uncomfortable. Chief Officer.”

“Really? You really have no plans?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Huh… Well, for now, I’ll step back. Let’s meet again next time.”

As Claude willingly stepped back, Jake put on his usual arrogant smile.

“Sorry about this. Next time, we’ll handle the job a bit cheaper, so please refrain from such talks.”

“You’ll see me again soon.”

With that, Claude withdrew, only to return the next day with hundreds of soldiers.

“What is… the meaning of this?”

Jake glared at Claude with displeasure.

He wasn’t particularly afraid. If he threatened with force here, it was clear it would significantly tarnish Count Penris’s reputation. Such an act would make it harder even for other mercenary groups to be swayed.

Jake was experienced enough to understand this. Thus, he continued to show his arrogant attitude.

Claude pushed back his soldiers and spoke.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to threaten you with soldiers.”

“Then what brings you here this time?”

Claude cleared his throat a few times and then shouted loudly.

“I, Claude, request ‘the acknowledgment of Moriana’ from Jake, leader of the Bigfoot Mercenary Group!”

A challenge was being made in the name of the Goddess of War, Moriana. It was the same method Ghislaine used to persuade Kaor by beating him into submission.

Now, Claude was declaring that he would fight the mercenary group leader with his weak body.

First, Wendy looked at Claude with a bewildered expression. The soldiers who followed behind also wore looks of disbelief.

Without a doubt, when it comes to physical strength in the territory, Claude would easily rank among the weakest. So much so that when he was too busy or exhausted, Wendy would even carry him. He was practically at the level of an infant.

Yet, such a person declares a showdown against that rough mercenary? Not just any mercenary, but the leader of a mercenary group.

No matter how small the mercenary group, the leader isn’t just anyone. One must possess at least the bare minimum of strength and experience to attain that position.

While everyone was dumbfounded, Claude stepped forward and shouted.

“What are you doing! Accept the duel already! You can’t just avoid something like this!”

Jake also panicked and stepped back.

“What… what are you talking about? That’s a bet among mercenaries. It’s not something the Chief Officer should do.”

“I am the Chief Officer of the Penris Mercenary Group. If I’m part of the group, then I’m a mercenary too.”

That was a stretch. A far-fetched excuse, yet the justification was somewhat valid. In reality, the Penris Mercenary Group had been formally established and registered with various regional mercenary guilds.

“Uh… um…”

Jake was at a loss. He could easily turn that skinny guy into a puddle of blood.

But should he really turn him into blood?

‘Sure, there’s justification, so no one can say anything…’

If he requested a duel and ended up getting killed, the one who died would simply be the laughingstock. No one could be blamed for that.

Yet, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. Jake waved his hands dismissively.

“I’ll decline.”

‘Declining won’t lower my reputation, right?’

Avoiding the duel wouldn’t be particularly shameful. Who would dare bet the mercenary group on a match against someone like him?

But Claude was more persistent than expected.

“Do you think I won’t make a huge fuss about this? Your followers might understand, but what about everyone else? They’ll definitely pick a fight or laugh at you for it! If you move to another area, I’ll follow and gossip about it.”

“Profit…”

Jake gritted his teeth. Claude’s words had some merit. Rough mercenaries wouldn’t consider the opponent’s situation and wouldn’t hesitate to mock or pick fights.

‘If there’s a chance to poke fun, they won’t pass it up. They could easily use that as bait to start trouble.’

Moreover, those who didn’t know Claude well would genuinely think he was afraid and thus avoided the fight.

If that were to happen, it was clear that his reputation would drop and job opportunities would diminish.

That’s how rumors work, after all. It’s easy to spread false information, but it takes far more effort to correct it.

This meant that he’d have to waste energy and suffer pointlessly.

‘Is this guy really insane…? Should I kill him?’

As the murderous intent began to glimmer in Jake’s eyes, Wendy grabbed Claude’s sleeve and said,

“What are you doing? You can’t fight; what kind of duel is this?!”

“Oh… Are you worried about me? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so riled up.”

“Are you kidding? Cancel this at once.”

“There’s no canceling in a man’s duel. I’m not a gambler who fights to lose.”

Slave Claude, who had been a slave for 278 years, spoke grandly and swiftly yanked his sleeve away. Then, striding confidently forward.

In an absurd situation, Wendy could only stare at him in shock.

As everyone else watched with their mouths agape, Claude extended his hand and said,

“What are you doing! Hurry up and bind our hands!”

The mercenaries approached and clumsily shackled Jake and Claude’s hands together.

While they looked as if they were thinking, ‘this isn’t quite right,’ the atmosphere began to shift oddly.

The two stared at each other with daggers drawn.

There was almost a two-fold difference in size. Jake looked to be about a head and a half taller than Claude.

‘Seriously! Why is it always like this!’

Wendy reluctantly drew her dagger. If the attack began, she planned to forcibly rescue Claude.

Regardless of what, he was the Chief Officer of the territory and an important person. Without him, the territory wouldn’t function properly.

Jake glared at Claude while fiddling with the dagger.

‘What should I do? I should inflict just enough pain to make him surrender, right?’

Since he couldn’t back out of the duel, stabbing him a few times wouldn’t hurt. Though he really did want to kill him, he didn’t have the confidence to truly do so.

If he killed the Chief Officer of a great territory, it was clear he’d lead a tiring life even if he won.

‘Sigh, getting caught up with such a strange guy…’

Even if he inflicted wounds, he had to be careful. While Jake was gathering his resolve and measuring where to stab, Claude whispered softly.

“Jake, 38 years old. Leader of the Bigfoot Mercenary Group.”

“…?”

Why was he suddenly calling his name? Confused, Jake tilted his head as Claude continued speaking.

“Though you pretend to be a boisterous man, it’s all an act. In truth, you have a very cautious and careful personality.”

“…?”

“At the age of 15, you worked as a leather craftsman in the East and became deeply infatuated with leather.”

“W-wait, no way….”

Jake’s complexion turned pale. Claude was spilling out secrets about him.

“From then on, you loved leather so much that you once only wore underwear made of leather… and you tried to have that girlfriend beat you with a leather whip you made before she dumped you.”

“W-wait a minute!”

“When the rumors came out, you fled to the North and plunged into the mercenary world. After that, each night, you would secretly go out and offer money to have someone hit you with leather… You became a mercenary because you felt good when beaten… The whip you made was called ‘Lilith.’ The place you hid the whip was… just two weeks ago… Ah, for a ‘man among men’? Always acting cautiously around others.”

Claude was revealing Jake’s embarrassing secrets one after another.

Jake felt dizzy. If that rumor spread, he would never be able to show his face around here again.

‘I have to kill him!’

Before Jake could even move with his pale complexion, Claude spoke quickly.

“I’ll keep all this documented. I even told a little brother of mine. If I die, the rumor will spread by the end of today.”

That little brother was Lowell. Left with no choice, Jake whispered urgently.

“Chief Officer! We could have just quietly spoken separately!”

Claude replied with a bright smile.

“I really wanted to try this in front of people. That’s why I brought a lot of soldiers to watch.”

‘Ah, this guy is really insane?’

You brought hundreds of soldiers for this kind of thing? Just to show off?

Jake gritted his teeth. He was out of breath, and cold sweat poured down his entire body. It seemed he really stumbled upon a madman.

“What? Want me to spill more? I have plenty of entertaining stories. Oh, you’re such a fascinating man…”

“Ehehe…”

Jake awkwardly laughed and shook his head. If the rumor spread, he would be socially buried.

Onlookers wondered why the two weren’t fighting while they were flapping their gums like that.

A mercenary who had been a bit far off raised his hand and shouted once it seemed the two had stopped talking.

“Start!”

Under normal circumstances, both would have already moved their daggers. However, Jake’s dagger-holding hand was trembling uncontrollably, unable to move.

Claude, while striking a ridiculous pose, remarked.

“Not coming? Then I’ll go first. Hyah!”

As he lunged forward with the dagger, his movements were embarrassingly slow and clumsy.

However, Jake couldn’t dodge that attack. It simply stabbed into his chest.

Thud!

It was shallow. The force was so weak that the dagger didn’t even penetrate Jake’s chest muscle properly. A single drop of blood was all that came.

If Jake swung his dagger in that state, Claude’s neck would be sliced in an instant.

All were tense, watching the two. Wendy rushed out immediately. Yet, Jake, whose lips were merely trembling, suddenly shouted.

“Ugh, aah!”

With an awkward scream, Jake fell to the ground. Then he spoke again.

“I-I concede! Stop! How can you be this strong! I feel like I’m going to die! Ah! A Swordmaster indeed!”

Everyone stared with their mouths agape, dumbfounded. Why did he surrender so easily after taking such a feeble attack?

But Claude, with an arrogant expression, spoke as if it were only natural.

“Hah, that was so boring, I want to die.”

Then, he put in considerable effort to break the rope that bound his hands. However, no matter how hard he tried, the rope wouldn’t break.

Wendy quickly approached, sliced the rope, and asked.

“What on earth happened?”

“I’ve done this more than a hundred times.”

“…”

It was well-known that Ghislaine had said that when he fought Kaor. Claude was imitating him. He really wanted to try it.

Having freed himself from the tangled ropes, Claude crouched in front of the fallen Jake and said.

“So, we’re part of the same group now, right? I won’t steal your mercenary group. All you need to do is come under the Penris Mercenary Group. I’ll give you lots of work, so just make sure to send your tributes on time. And also share information around.”

“Of course. Since I lost, it’s only natural that I should do that.”

The onlookers watched Claude curiously. No one had imagined that such a weak person could defeat the leader of a mercenary group.

The members of the Bigfoot Mercenary Group thought the same. They believed their leader had deliberately lost.

After all, since Penris was in the process of swallowing the North, there was no point in resisting. They thought Claude was merely trying to establish a justification.

The truth was known only to Claude, Jake… and Lowell, the informant who gathered a heap of information.

And that’s how Claude absorbed mercenary groups operating in the North.

“Phew, that was too easy. I wonder how our Lord is doing?”

Claude wore a relaxed smile.

Since most of them were small mercenary groups, proper persuasion and intimidation worked incredibly well.

If they didn’t listen, all he had to do was whisper a shameful secret. That was Claude’s specialty.

While everything was going smoothly in the North, Ghislaine entered a city in the West with his close associates.

 

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