Chapter 47: Reunion (3)
‘Shit, this sucks.’
Jyakari, a 4th-year Bronze Plate Mercenary, had been in a bad mood all day.
It was because he had unfortunately lost money at the gambling table last night.
The thought that he would have grasped a large sum of money instead of losing if only the last card had been good kept circling his head, and it fueled his irritation.
To the point where he wanted to pick a fight with just anyone.
Of course, he couldn't really do that to just anyone.
Messing with the Silver Plate Mercenaries, who were veterans among veterans, was obviously out of the question, and even the fellow Bronze Plate Mercenaries were not easy targets.
More than anything, if he caused a commotion when he had no money and got kicked out by the client, the situation would become very troublesome.
He could bring about a bigger disaster while trying to vent his frustration, so it was better to suppress it even if his insides were boiling.
It was while he was thinking that.
“That guy, they say he’s a Wooden Plate?”
“Who?”
“That young fellow over there. The one whose hair and clothes are all black.”
“He does look like a Newbie at first glance. But wasn’t this request only for Bronze Plate and above?”
“I thought so too…… Well, I guess they were short on people.”
“Well, it’s not our business who the client hires.”
‘A Wooden Plate?’
Instantly, Jyakari’s face lit up.
He finally found him.
A guy whose skills were so meager that he was incredibly easy to push around, and who probably wouldn’t cause any trouble later because he didn’t know the ways of the Mercenary world.
A guy who looked so clueless at first glance that he seemed perfect for bullying.
His mouth watered automatically.
With a sly smile, he immediately got up from his seat, approached where the black-haired guy was sitting, and said.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
“Get lost.”
“?”
A face full of bewilderment.
Young eyes looking around, not knowing what was going on.
Seeing this, Jyakari smiled again.
This was it.
This was the reaction he wanted.
A young lamb who couldn’t even resist properly and had no choice but to take a beating, who couldn’t say a word back even after fully absorbing his frustration, was the sacrifice he had been looking for today.
Convinced that the young man before him was a ‘Wooden Plate brat who could be treated however he pleased,’ he harassed, mistreated, and handled Harang roughly throughout the first day of the journey.
A guilty conscience?
There was no way he would feel such a thing.
This was venting his anger and, at the same time, a kind of initiation ceremony in the Mercenary world.
It was how he himself had been treated during his Wooden Plate days, and if one couldn’t endure this much, one couldn’t survive here.
That was also why the other Bronze Plate Mercenaries didn’t particularly try to stop him.
Either develop the eloquence to match the other person’s mood.
Or develop swordsmanship skills that wouldn’t be ignored.
Until one achieved one of these two, enduring humiliation and disgrace was the proper attitude for a Wooden Plate Mercenary.
That’s right.
He had definitely thought so…….
“Excuse me.”
“Hmm?”
“Get lost.”
“What? What did you just say?”
“I said, give back the spot you took from me, and go back to your original spot.”
‘What’s with this bastard?’
Jyakari stared at the black-haired brat with a dazed look.
It was absurd.
It was so ridiculous that it took him quite a long time to grasp the situation.
He was speechless for a good while before anger belatedly surged up.
Curses automatically flowed from his mouth.
“This crazy bastard…….”
“I’m not crazy.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I am perfectly normal.”
“Normal? Normal? No, you’re not in your right mind. If you were, you wouldn’t have dared to tell me to move.”
“What does that have to do with me being in my right mind?”
“That’s…….”
“Ah, but I’m not really curious. And I haven’t finished what I have to say yet.”
“……”
“So, it would be better to talk about whether I’m in my right mind or not after you’ve heard everything I have to say…… What do you think?”
“Isn’t this a complete psycho?”
“I’m not a psycho.”
“No, but this bastard keeps…….”
Jyakari’s face turned beet red.
Now, a feeling of bewilderment beyond mere absurdity was blooming.
Just moments ago, he was a guy who couldn’t utter a single word in response to his words, but suddenly he was retorting sharply, as if he had become a different person.
Even though he had put on a threatening expression.
It was as if he was someone who knew no fear.
‘Perhaps, does he have some backing?’
Jyakari frowned.
He thought it might be possible.
Come to think of it, it had been strange from the beginning.
A Wooden Plate Mercenary joining a request that only Bronze Plate Mercenaries could take.
He thought perhaps he might have some backing from the Merchant Guild or the Brokerage.
‘But…….’
However, no matter how much that was the case, he couldn’t back down in this situation.
Even if not as much as gangsters, for Mercenaries too, ‘face’ or ‘acting tough’ was a very important part of the job.
If he showed weakness here, it was clear that his reputation among his colleagues would plummet, going beyond momentary ridicule.
In this industry, the opinions of colleagues were just as important as the evaluations from Brokerages and clients.
Having thought this far, he made an even fiercer expression and thought of curses to pressure the young man in front of him.
But he wasn't the only one choosing his words.
Harang, who had finished organizing his thoughts, spoke up a beat earlier.
“Firstly, I am not weaker than the Bronze Plate Mercenaries.”
“……What did you say?”
“I heard from Mr. Konjinyu over there. That since Wooden Plate Mercenaries aren’t helpful in battle, they should provide assistance in non-combat auxiliary areas. That they should do their best to curry favor with the senior Mercenaries, accommodate their convenience, and request various combat-related teachings.”
“Aigoo, that tactless bastard is dropping my name here…….”
Bald Konjinyu, who was watching the situation from a short distance, touched his forehead.
He looked extremely troubled.
However, Harang didn’t care.
To be precise, he still had much to say, so he had no time to care about that.
He continued to speak.
“It’s a statement I can fully understand. If a Mercenary hired for escort duty cannot properly participate in battle, it means the burden on the other Mercenaries increases.”
“Right. So…….”
“However, as I said before, I am not weaker than the Bronze Plate Mercenaries. Therefore, there is no need, nor reason, for me to do menial tasks.”
“……”
“I have two more things I’d like to say, may I continue?”
“……Yeah, go ahead and blabber all you want.”
Jyakari answered as if saying, you win.
If he had his way, he wanted to throw a punch right now and shut that brat’s mouth.
But the commotion had grown too big.
Not only the surrounding Mercenaries, but he also saw a few employees who had confirmed the dispute rushing to the person in charge of the Merchant Guild’s escort.
In such a situation, the one who resorted to violence first was at a disadvantage.
In addition, he also wanted to find out a bit more about what this audacious fellow was thinking.
He gestured with his hand as if to say, go on, and Harang, who nodded, opened his mouth again.
“Secondly, even if I were weaker than the Bronze Plate Mercenaries, this is wrong.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that the current method is not a proper form of transaction.”
It really was so.
Harang, who nodded more vigorously as if his thoughts were correct, began his explanation.
It was true that a typical Wooden Plate Mercenary was generally less skilled in combat than a Bronze Plate Mercenary.
It was a plausible transaction for Bronze Plate Mercenaries to provide teachings for them, and in return, to entrust them with various trivial tasks.
Up to this point, Harang also agreed.
However, just because it was a ‘plausible transaction’ didn’t mean there was any reason why it absolutely had to be done that way.
It was natural.
A customer had the right to buy a 20-Copper fish, and at the same time, the right not to buy it.
Similarly, a Wooden Plate Mercenary had the right to do menial work to receive teachings, and at the same time, the right not to do so.
Nevertheless, this Mercenary named Jyakari had forced it upon him, and this was something Harang couldn’t help but detest.
No one in the world could force or pressure him.
“Do you understand? If you want to make a deal, you must first seek the other party’s consent. If you push unilaterally without doing so, it can only be violence.”
“……”
“Why are you silent? Did you not understand?”
“This bastard, but…….”
“It can’t be helped even if you didn’t understand. As far as I can see, your colleague next to you seems to have understood, so I’ll move on to the next point. Thirdly……”
You weren’t aiming for a transaction from the beginning. I know you just wanted to vent your anger.
This was what Harang was about to say last.
How did he know?
He just knew.
He was tactless in other areas, but Harang had a relatively good sense when it came to feeling a person’s ‘malice,’ so he wanted to ask Jyakari clearly about this part.
If it really was like that, then don’t do it in the future.
Intimidating others because of one’s own mood was a really bad act.
But.
“This little bastard who hasn’t even dried the blood from his head!”
Whoooosh-!
Before that question could follow, no, even before he could properly continue with the third reason, the opponent’s fist flew.
In the end, unable to contain his anger, he had caused trouble.
‘This is somehow not fun.’
Watching the fist approach as slowly as a slug, Harang wore a bored expression.
Until this morning, his mood hadn’t been bad.
A different environment from Marzen, different work, different people.
As he thought about himself continuously receiving new stimuli, growing, and becoming stronger within it, even the worry about the ‘village’ that remained in a corner of his mind felt like it was melting away.
But not now.
Only the person was different; he had experienced this kind of thing to a sickening degree.
Swinging fists because they didn’t like something.
Resorting to violence, coercing others because things didn’t go their way.
These…… bandit-like or gangster-like fellows, Harang had experienced far too many of them since coming to the outside world.
‘Perhaps, all the things I’ll encounter in this request will be such obvious things?’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Harang felt a boredom so intense that he couldn’t suppress a yawn.
Of course, even while thinking such thoughts, his head was in the process of moving back to avoid the opponent’s fist.
It was then.
Thwack.
A palm suddenly intervened and blocked Jyakari’s fist.
“My, my, why are you doing this? If you cause a disturbance on the first day of the request, the Merchant Guild Leader will not be pleased.”
“……!”
The voice that followed calmly settled the situation.
It was a surprising event.
Usually, people like Jyakari were a breed who couldn’t control their anger, and couldn’t stop until they broke or smashed something.
To make them hesitate with just a single word like this meant that one had to possess a far superior reputation.
But, what was even more surprising.
“Hello, Harang?”
Was that the person who had intervened between Jyakari and Harang was a familiar face.
Feeling a sense of wonder and delight, Harang smiled.
And he called his name.
“Jack.”
The Newbie Mercenary he had first encountered after leaving the village.
Looking at Jack, who was no longer a Wooden Plate, no, who had advanced to become a proper Bronze Plate Mercenary, Harang once again felt a sense of anticipation that the Mercenary work would become fun again.