Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Meeting Like-Minded Fools. (1)
Just as Ghislaine and Gillian were preparing to head out again, Belinda rushed in, flustered.
“Young Master! What do you mean by clearing the Forest of Monsters? The rumors say you almost caused another accident already!”
It seemed the word had spread quickly. Belinda had come to find Ghislaine as soon as she heard the gossip.
“Oh, Belinda. I was actually planning to come see you. I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Gather some laborers. First, we’ll set up a fortress near the forest. It’ll need to accommodate about three hundred people. Also, order the necessary food and materials. This will cost quite a bit.”
Belinda blinked rapidly, tilting her head.
“Didn’t the Lord say not to do that?”
“Yeah. I’m just planning to do it secretly. Help me out, will you?”
His cheerful smile made her want to smack him. Belinda shouted back.
“No, why would you do it when I said not to? You used to cause small accidents, but why has the scale suddenly grown like this!”
Belinda regretted being pleased that Ghislaine’s ambitions had grown. She never imagined that with a bigger ambition would come bigger trouble.
“Don’t get too worked up. If you don’t want to help, that’s fine.”
Ghislaine shrugged and continued.
“But either way, I’m going to proceed with or without you. You really think I’ll just go into the forest unprepared and die? You really won’t help?”
“What help can I possibly provide? I’m telling the Lord about this!”
“Oh, Homern said that if you cause another accident this time, he’ll really lock you up. If you tell your father, that’ll probably happen, right? Then I’d have to run away. Who knows, I might even get so angry that I cause an even bigger accident. Like… setting the forest on fire or something.”
“Are you insane? What if someone hears that!”
Belinda gasped in shock, but Ghislaine continued nonchalantly.
“If we’re not going to get in there anyway, might as well light it up and have some fun. Wow, that’d be hilarious. Should I bring Skoban and Ricardo along?”
“Are you threatening me right now? Huh? Are you directly threatening me with a disaster announcement?”
“It’s not a threat; I’m just saying it might happen. Isn’t just going into the forest better than that?”
“Ugh! I can’t believe this, truly!”
Belinda flailed around in protest, but after Ghislaine’s repeated ‘threats’ mixed with requests, she seemed to finally give in.
“Fine, are you really going to go through with this? There’s no need to bring danger upon yourself. The Chief Officer is quite serious about this, you know. You could really get locked up this time.”
“It’s necessary. If you help me, I can succeed. Will you?”
Belinda was particularly weak against Ghislaine. Ever since he was young, he could convince her to do anything he wanted.
Knowing she would ultimately relent again, Ghislaine acted even bolder.
As expected, she sighed deeply and nodded helplessly.
“Ugh, truly, your ambitions have grown far too large.”
“Isn’t that a compliment?”
“Do you really think it is?”
Ghislaine pretended not to hear and changed the subject.
“Anyway, please prepare well. I’m off to gather mercenaries.”
“Take care. I’m sad I can’t go this time, but… well, with Gillian here, it should be fine.”
As Belinda saw them off, Ghislaine and Gillian left the territory immediately.
Their destination was the Zimbahr territory, located close to Perdium.
It was where the Cerberus Mercenary Group was stationed, and it had the most mercenaries among the surrounding territories.
The moment the two arrived at the Zimbahr territory, they sought out the mercenary guild and requested to recruit enough mercenaries to fill their numbers.
The guild manager appeared to be a man in his fifties.
When they announced they were looking for people to join in clearing the Forest of Monsters, he tilted his head and asked.
“You’re going to clear the Forest of Monsters in the Perdium Territory?”
“Yup.”
“Why there?”
“Do I have to explain that to get hired?”
“Well, it’s not that, I’m just curious why you’d take on such a dangerous task…”
Working in the mercenary guild, he had surely heard many rumors. Among those were stories about the Forest of Monsters.
Brave adventurers had often entered the forest, claiming they would conquer it, but they rarely reemerged.
No one knew what kind of creatures lived there, how dangerous it was, or how the paths were laid out—nothing was properly established about this perilous forest.
Taking on such a task was an uncertain endeavor, likely to lead to hardship with no guarantee of profit.
In a place like Perdium Territory, known for its poverty, no one would even think to attempt such an endeavor.
Without even the confidence that there would be a benefit, no one even proposed trying to develop it together with other territories.
Having been abandoned for decades, it was only natural that a mysterious stranger’s sudden emergence, declaring intentions to develop it would stir up curiosity.
“May I ask who you are…?”
Ghislaine showed him the family crest and said with dignity.
“I am Ghislaine Perdium, Grand Duke of Perdium Territory.”
‘Oh crap, it’s that reckless, trouble-making Grand Duke?’
The guild manager forced a business smile, but inwardly he was already developing a stomach ache at just the mention of his name.
As someone sensitive to gossip by profession, he had obviously heard about Ghislaine, the Grand Duke of the neighboring territory.
‘What kind of trouble is he trying to cause this time by hiring mercenaries?’
He thought Ghislaine was actually doing something quite foolish, but he couldn’t turn away a customer.
What do mercenaries do?
Even if the opponent is a fool, as long as money is paid, they would do as instructed.
Deciding what to do and how the results would turn out was the employer’s responsibility.
The guild manager stroked his beard and casually said.
“I understand. However, since this is unproven work, there will be additional risk pay. Is that fine with you?”
“Yeah, gather them as quickly as possible.”
“It’ll take a few days since we need to gather a large number.”
“Please focus on individual mercenaries rather than whole groups. If absolutely necessary, you can include groups, but make sure they’re under thirty.”
“Understood. You’re quite frugal, I see.”
Ghislaine planned to fill most of the vacancies with individual mercenaries rather than hiring a large mercenary group.
Hiring a large group would cost a lot more money, and there was a higher chance that they would betray him en masse if he ever fell into a dangerous situation.
After setting up the recruitment task, Ghislaine casually asked the manager.
“Do you happen to know where the Cerberus Mercenary Group is located?”
The manager twisted his face at the question.
Just hearing the name made him feel a surge of annoyance and his stomach churn.
“Cerberus… do you mean the Mad Hounds?”
“Yeah, those guys.”
“Why are you looking for those idiots?”
“I plan to hire them too.”
The manager was taken aback and hastily tried to dissuade Ghislaine.
“Oh, that might not be a good idea. You should consider giving up on that. Their personalities are extraordinary. Not to mention, because of them, I ended up with a stomach ailment…”
“Just tell me where they are.”
As Ghislaine showed no signs of backing down, the manager mumbled internally.
‘Sigh, it seems like two fools are about to meet.’
The manager had a vague guess about what Ghislaine was thinking.
The Cerberus Mercenary Group hired out cheaper than their skill would suggest. In the famously poor Perdium, if they could save even a penny, they would want to do just that.
But the low cost implied there might be a catch.
Meeting a fool with fools could be entertaining to watch, but recommending them to a customer felt too unethical.
“I really advise against it. Don’t come to me later to complain.”
After emphasizing that several times, the manager scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Ghislaine.
“They’re staying here.”
“Thanks. Alright then, let’s go meet them.”
The Cerberus Mercenary Group was a rather well-known small mercenary group in the North.
They were famous for their skill but hired out for cheaper than most others. This was due to their low success rate for quests.
Having caused so many disasters and acted entirely on their own, how could they succeed in any assignment?
Thus, they had earned the nickname ‘Mad Dogs.’
Even more so than they were called their original name, the Cerberus Mercenary Group, people often referred to them as Mad Hounds.
Despite their terrible reputation, the only reason the mercenary group could still be maintained was one thing.
Each individual’s skill surpassed that of other mercenaries.
Despite being mercenaries, their skill was comparable to that of knight apprentices, and they would stop at nothing in a fight.
Gillian was aware of this, which is why he worriedly said to Ghislaine.
“Your Highness, do we really have to use them? Wouldn’t it be better to hire a more reliable and proven mercenary group? I really think they’re not the right choice.”
“To hire a group like that would require more money than we currently have. I need to get laborers, food, and materials first.”
“But their reputation is too dirty. There’s a good chance they won’t be properly controlled. I’ve also heard rampant rumors about them being from a bandit background.”
“It’s fine. They’ll be up against monsters anyway. It might actually be better for them to be rougher. Don’t worry too much.”
As Ghislaine cut him off decisively, Gillian reluctantly stepped back. It was only right to follow the decision made by his Lord.
However, if they were to betray Ghislaine or cause an incident, he had resolved to deal with it himself.
Shortly after, Ghislaine arrived at the spot where the Cerberus Mercenary Group was staying, and he clicked his tongue at the surroundings.
“Wow, this place is truly filthy.”
They had merely set up a few tents on the outskirts of the city to live in.
Some were gambling, while others were simply lying around sleeping.
It looked like they hadn’t washed in ages, each of them with disheveled hair, and their yellowed clothes smelled foul just to look at.
One mercenary lying down spotted Ghislaine and Gillian, then began picking his nose and asked,
“Who are you?”
At least they looked noble in their attire, and it was nice that they maintained some semblance of etiquette.
“We’ve come to ask for a commission. Where is your captain?”
The mercenary, still lying down and looking annoyed, replied without getting up.
“The captain is busy, so come back tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
Without a further word, Ghislaine turned to leave.
After all, they would have to wait a few days for the mercenary recruitment anyway, so he decided to step back for now.
The next day, he visited the Cerberus Mercenary Group again.
“I’m here to see the captain.”
The same mercenary who had been picking his nose, chuckled as he said,
“The captain is busy again, so come back tomorrow.”
“Understood. Must have a charmed life, huh.”
Without issue, Ghislaine walked away again.
Gillian was beginning to boil with rage. He sensed that they were toying with them.
“Your Highness, those guys are doing this on purpose. They know we’re in a desperate situation and are just messing with us. They’re trying to establish dominance over the employer.”
“I know. But for today, let’s just back off.”
Ghislaine calmed Gillian as if it didn’t bother him and returned to their lodgings.
The next day was the same, and the day after that, it continued in the same vain.
Each time, the mercenaries merely sent Ghislaine back with mockery.
Then, on the fifth day.
When Ghislaine arrived, the mercenary remarked while curling his finger into a circle.
“If you want to meet our captain, I think you’ll need to show a bit of sincerity… he’s a very busy man, after all.”
Ghislaine nodded and tossed him a gold coin.
Suddenly, the large sum of money caught the mercenary by surprise, making his eyes go wide as he gulped.
The noble customer was much looser with their money than expected.
So he decided to push his luck a little more.
“Ahem, I think this is a bit short. You seem not to have grasped the situation very well, so you should come back tomorrow. Perhaps age has made your perception dull.”
The surrounding mercenaries snickered, finding it amusing to toy with a naive noble.
Just as Gillian couldn’t hold back any longer and was about to step forward, Ghislaine lightly held him back.
“Today is the last time I’ll extend the courtesy of a guest. I’ll be back tomorrow. This is your last warning.”
“Yes, safe travels. Make sure to come prepared tomorrow.”
The mercenaries chuckled as they waved goodbye, and Ghislaine departed.
The next day, the same mercenary’s mocking grin greeted him alongside demands for money.
Ghislaine simply nodded slightly and said,
“I think this holds enough courtesy. For now, just one leg.”
Thud.
Gillian gritted his teeth and grabbed the mercenary by the throat.
“Hey? What’s going on? You won’t let go? Do you want to die, you bastard?”
At that moment, the mercenary hurriedly drew a dagger from his pocket to stab Gillian.
Crunch!
“AAAHHH!”
A sound of something breaking echoed, followed by a pained scream ringing out loudly.
