The morning in Koatotemites… Never mind.
“Sophia, please wake up. It sounds like there’s a commotion outside.”
“Ugh… If you’re going to disturb me, I’ll split you in two…”
Is she serious?! Is she still half-asleep? I wouldn’t put it past Sophia to actually do it. I gave Sophia a wake-up kiss, then got dressed and went outside. I’ll have to get Orietta to fix the door.
When I got out into the hallway, Alana was also outside, looking worried. We went outside to check on the town, but honestly, you could show a little more concern. At least wake up.
Journeymen were bustling about town early in the morning, armed and in a hurry. I didn’t even know Koatotemites had a festival. I hope I’ll be able to run this time and get a kiss of blessing from Alana using my Godspeed.
When I grabbed one of the journeymen to ask for directions to the reception area, I got a surprising answer.
“You don’t know anything?! Monsters are attacking!”
Oh, is that all? We have business to the north, so we decided to move on without getting in the way of everyone else. This town has more than enough adventurers, so twenty or thirty monsters shouldn’t be a problem. However, I failed to notice Alana’s worried expression.
“Apparently, monsters are attacking,” I said.
We discussed it over breakfast in the inn’s dining hall. As expected, the reaction was indifferent. If someone had said Rothfar was attacking, they might have shown some motivation.
“So…”
“That’s it. It doesn’t concern us, and there are plenty of adventurers, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“But why did they know the monsters were going to attack?”
Come to think of it, that’s true. Monsters don’t issue declarations of war or sign treaties. I guess I was also indifferent.
“Well, an ogre brought the head of an adventurer to the North Gate.”
The innkeeper cut into our conversation. According to the innkeeper… The story was long-winded, so to summarize, it was just as he said. An ogre bringing an adventurer’s head and then attacking seems like an overreaction.
Indeed, there’s no reason to go out of your way to bring a head. If you’re killed by an ogre, you become food, leaving nothing but bones. So, the story is that they’re attacking just because only the head was brought. Isn’t that a huge leap?
“That’s strange…”
Yes, something felt off. As expected of Priscilla.
“Hey, old man! Is this spoiled? It tastes weird.”
Right. I knew it would end like this. Can’t I have a little hope?
“It is strange.”
Sophia is more on point. Priscilla can argue with the innkeeper. We’ll discuss the current situation.
An ogre brought an adventurer’s head. How should we interpret this? Should we see it as the start of a war, a declaration of war? If so, Koatotemites will prepare for war. Those who returned from the bull-chasing festival and adventurers planning to collect magic stones will prepare for defense.
Did they bring the adventurer’s head knowing we would prepare? That would be a foolish strategy. If they were going to do it, they should have launched a surprise attack on the day of the bull-chasing festival when there would have been fewer adventurers.
“Could it be a decoy? They gather people in Koatotemites and then attack elsewhere.”
That’s a possibility, but Koatotemites is a key transportation hub to Rothfar. I can’t think of a more strategically important place to attack nearby.
…I don’t understand. Do ogres even have a motive? I wish I could think of it like they just dumped their leftovers in front of the castle gate.
“Maybe it was bad, so they didn’t eat it.”
Uh oh, I had a similar thought to Priscilla. But I really don’t understand the reason. There’s not enough information.
“So, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing. We’re not doing anything. The money for magic stone collection is two days away, so we’ll depart after we wait for that.”
“Could Koatotemites be a decoy?”
“We’re the decoy. They wouldn’t gather enemies just to attack us.”
So she’s finally joining the conversation, this gluttonous girl. It’s true, it’s so obvious that it doesn’t look like a decoy. There’s no reason to choose the castle gate as just a dumping ground.
“If it’s a full-scale invasion and a decoy, they probably wouldn’t attack Koatotemites, but nearby towns and villages. They’d then pick off the adventurers who pursue them individually. If the royal army appears, they’d pass through the deserted villages and annihilate the supply lines. I’d besiege Koatotemites, if I were them.”
“What happens if it’s not a decoy?”
“In that case, ‘not attacking’ becomes an option. It might have just been an act of intimidation. Or perhaps there’s another reason.”
“This is annoying! If they come, we’ll just kill them.”
Yeah, that’s clear. That’s exactly right, but let’s think before we act. Make sure not to slip up. In any case, we can’t move until we get paid, so we’ll have to rely on the adventurers to do their best.
“If it’s a decoy, what about Zivil Village? My village…”
It would be attacked. Being so close to Koatotemites, it wouldn’t be spared. While cat demi-humans are strong, they wouldn’t be able to avoid destruction.
“Captain, I want you to take the White Lily Corps to Zivil Village. We’ll feel safer with the White Lily Corps there.”
That’s true. I think it’ll be fine here with the adventurers, but can they handle a group fight? We can’t predict the enemy’s numbers.
“Hold on, Alana. Did you just say the White Lily Corps? We’re mercenaries. We fight for money. If you want to move the corps, you’ll have to pay.”
Whoa, I heard something unexpected. I didn’t expect her to ask for money. Priscilla is as blunt as ever with her words.
“I have money. I’ll use the money I gave my parents when I went home.”
Alana put a pouch full of money on the table from her pocket. Damn it! She’s richer than me. I should borrow from her next time.
“This isn’t enough. You know how much the White Lily Corps charges, don’t you?”
Alana looked down. The money on the table was a large sum, but it wasn’t nearly enough to hire the White Lily Corps. Should I offer a helping hand now?
“Priscilla, what did you do with the magic stones you received in Zivil Village? I believe those would fetch a considerable sum as well.”
“I sold them. They’ve already turned into drinking money.”
“…I’m lying. I gave them to Alana’s parents.”
“Christine, you…!”
“Everyone except Alana knows. I thought it was unlikely that someone who would give away such valuable magic stones would say such a thing.”
“Hmph!”
“Let me add one more thing. Alana, you probably understand this too, but farmers can’t fight. If they can’t fight, they should run, using the magic stones Priscilla gave you to make money.”
“As usual, she’s bad at speaking.”
“I’m bad, so bad~”
“Alana, Priscilla wants her parents to escape. This might become a battlefield. Even if she had a million gold here, Priscilla wouldn’t accept it. She’d say to use that money to escape.”
Damn it! Sophia stole the spotlight again! That blunt, decisive woman!
That’s the truth. Priscilla is clumsy. She’s the type of person who lives life at a disadvantage. But I’ll stick with a Priscilla like that.
“Alana, we are mercenaries. We fight for money. So, from now on, I will be hired by you for one gold.”
I took one gold from the pouch Alana had placed on the table. It’s cheap money, not enough to risk my life for.
This is heavy money, not bad for risking my life.
Sophia extended her hand. I flicked her fingers and threw the one gold coin. To Christine, Rufina, and Orietta as well.
“What about you, Priscilla?”
I asked a little mischievously.
“I’ll take two gold! I won’t work for less than you.”
Don’t point at people! Honestly, this stupidly loveable high-paid mercenary.
