Chapter 132
“Hey… Kirk, wake up.”
Mercenaries, who appeared to be escorting a merchant caravan, were resting on a mountainside.
Among them, a noticeably large figure was snoring loudly.
The mercenary waking him because the carriage was about to depart wore a troubled expression.
He was worried that if Kirk, startled awake, suddenly moved, he might get hit by that fist.
“What… is it time to leave already?”
“I told you it is.”
“Ah….”
Kirk looked at his comrades, members of the Red Devil Mercenary Corps, who had started moving from Viscount Julio’s castle the other day.
“By the way, is it true that this mission is your last?”
“Yeah. It’s true.”
“No, why would a perfectly successful mercenary group suddenly leave the business?”
“Because I found a place I must go.”
“Where is it?”
“Arthur Domain.”
At his words, the mercenary who woke Kirk looked puzzled.
“I heard that place is barren land?”
“It might be for now.”
“Well, will it change later? Is there anything special in this line of work?”
“No, it’s different. Because Commander Karl is there.”
“Commander? No way? Kirk, you know Count Karl?”
“Yeah, I do. We’ve faced life and death together.”
Kirk recalled the moment he survived the demon Dragul with Karl.
Many comrades had died, but for Kirk, it was also a battlefield where he fought alongside the great hero, Karl Meyer.
“Wow, as expected, you weren’t ordinary.”
Kirk, who exuded overwhelming strength from his massive frame and an unapproachable, mysterious aura, seemed a bit different from ordinary mercenaries.
Before meeting Karl, he was just a somewhat skilled mercenary, but after being with Karl and receiving his teachings, Kirk had grown remarkably.
[Barbarian Axe Technique]
[Barbarian Qi Cultivation Method]
These were the names of two books Karl had suddenly approached and tossed to him on the day they parted ways after everything was over.
Kirk wasn't smart, but he read the books until they were worn out, cramming every single word into his head without missing a syllable.
He hadn't even known how to read before, but he learned to read just to memorize these books.
Perhaps it was the first time in his life he had strived for something with such mad dedication.
Thanks to this, Kirk had reached the Superior rank, a level he thought he could never achieve.
Udeudeuk.
Kirk, who had risen his massive body and was stretching, turned towards the Arthur Domain after the caravan’s procession ended.
“Let’s go, to meet the Commander.”
“Let’s go!”
The rest of the mercenaries had also received teachings from Karl, and having grown remarkably, they set off for the Arthur Domain.
***
“Hmm… what to do.”
“Why are you pretending to ponder again? Isn’t our headquarters going to be wherever Sir Karl is anyway?”
“…That can’t be. We strictly have our own headquarters….”
Anne hesitated for a moment.
Had there been a place recently that could be called a headquarters?
Well, if there was, it seemed to be in the County of Collo.
“Sir Karl will likely be in the County of Collo more often anyway. It’s practically his home there.”
“True, it will take a while for the Arthur Domain to be organized. Still, he’ll be there for the time being. So, it would be good to set up a branch office for now.”
“Again…?”
“Anyway, we need to withdraw all our agents from the Andersen Domain and reorganize them, don’t we?”
“That… is true.”
Sancho had no desire to argue against a decision that was already made.
What meaning would it have for him to oppose what his superior had decided?
He would only get on her bad side.
“So, what I’m saying is, how about we try to build something really proper and impressive this time?”
“The manor we’ve already secured is plenty good enough….”
“Of course, it is. But something more than that. You know, like a real mansion, a mansion-like mansion.”
“…What exactly do you want?”
Anne showed a mysterious smile at Sancho’s expression.
And in her hand, she held several books.
Looking at those books, which contained an unprecedented number of mansion blueprints and detailed information about interior spaces, Sancho wondered why he had to look at such things.
‘What choice do I have… If she says jump, I jump.’
He merely continued to react mechanically to Anne’s words.
***
“What should we do?”
“Do you think Sir Karl will accept us, given what happened in the past?”
“I believe he will.”
The people of Luton Town, who had been confined to a single village for many long years and had not ventured out into the world, rose up.
They were people who had trained for generations to realize a legend, so each one of them possessed considerable strength.
Duke, the village chief and a master of the highest Superior-grade, stroked his beard and surveyed the village.
He had spent a truly long time here.
Recently, they had lifted the village’s sealing restrictions, and some villagers had gone out into the world, but ultimately, they were still trapped in this narrow well.
“After gathering the opinions of the villagers, those who wish to leave shall move together with me.”
Philip recalled Karl’s face from when they drank together at a pub in the past.
He wondered if his own story was also included in the tales of Karl, who had now become a great knight whose name resounded throughout the continent.
‘It’s been a long time, Sir Karl.’
He felt a little excited at the thought of seeing the face of a dear friend after a long time.
Not long after, the entirety of Luton Town set off towards the Arthur Domain.
***
Deep in a sun-drenched forest, a group of humans surrounded by animals existed.
“Are all preparations complete?”
“Yes, everything has been organized.”
Nana, who had become the official chief of the Enchin Tribe of Druids, took a long deep breath as she looked at the assembled people, then conveyed her intentions.
“We don’t know how our situation will change by going to the Arthur Domain. However, Sir Karl said in the letter delivered through Condor that he would be with us. Surely, we too will be able to create our own home.”
“…What if Sir Karl has changed from before?”
“Of course, that possibility isn’t non-existent. Still, we cannot live hidden in the forest forever. We lack food, clothes, and shelter – everything. We won’t survive like this.”
People nodded at Nana’s words.
“Sir Karl is someone who embraced even the followers of Gullveig. So let us trust him once. If we don’t trust the benefactor who risked his life to save the young druids without asking for anything in return, who can we trust?”
At her final words, the look in their eyes changed.
It was a druidic principle to repay kindness several times over.
They had not yet repaid his kindness.
Yet, to shamelessly go seeking help again while harboring doubts was not like them.
Thus, the druids who had received his grace also set their course for the Arthur Domain.
***
“Mommy… if we go there, can we really eat lots of delicious bread? Can we eat meat too?”
“Yes, of course. Our Sonya knows the story of the Knight of the Lighthouse, right?”
“Yes, he’s a cool knight who punishes bad people and helps those around him!”
“That’s right, we’re going to where that knight is. So we’ll be able to eat warm bread and delicious meat stew too.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
As Karl became the Lord of Arthur Domain, many people across the continent who heard the rumor that he was gathering domain residents began a desperate migration.
Most people on this continent, which had a worldview similar to the Middle Ages, were often homeless or slaves.
Since the Arthur Domain had announced that it would accept people as domain residents regardless of their status, it was worth risking their lives for them.
In this world, freemen constituted only about 10% of the total population, so this was a revolutionary announcement that could turn the world upside down.
If there had been an emperor or other administrators, they might have imposed sanctions on Karl’s unconventional actions, but now it was a situation close to anarchy, so no one could step forward to stop Karl.
There was only criticism that his actions were like those of someone from a lowly family because he himself came from such a background.
“Slave hunters! Everyone scatter! Survive somehow! Good luck!”
The procession, which had been moving smoothly, scattered in all directions in a panic at someone’s shout of “slave hunters.”
Thanks to the ripple effect Karl had created, as the population fleeing to the Arthur Domain from all over the continent increased, lords began to hire people who specialized in capturing slaves.
Initially, mercenaries took on these requests, but as the number of clients increased and the rewards for capturing them became substantial, people who made it their profession emerged, and their scale began to grow.
At some point, people started calling those who made a living capturing slaves “slave hunters.”
“Hahaha, Commander. I’ll go that way!”
“Darn, I was planning to go that way too. Since you’re going, I guess I’ll have to go the opposite way, then.”
They bared their teeth and laughed while watching the people fleeing in panic, as if something was incredibly exciting.
“Well then, let’s make a bet on who catches more!”
“Sounds good! A bet for drinks!”
The group of about sixty men led by the two split in half and began to chase the fleeing people.
Before long, quite a number were injured, and quite a number were captured by them.
And a short while later, the slave hunters departed with those they had captured towards their client.
Sasasasak.
About an hour after the slave hunters had left, those among the scattered people who had hidden without being caught resumed their journey towards the Arthur Domain.
***
Ever since the news of recruitment for Arthur Domain residents first spread across the continent, the Arthur Domain had been bustling with a continuous influx of people.
The Order and priests who arrived first were already proceeding with the construction of the Essus Order branch headquarters.
Thanks to the Essus Order, some of the newly arrived people found employment.
Next to the Essus Order, the Mercenary Guild’s second headquarters was being established, and Guild Master Verpin himself had come to supervise the site.
“No, Master, just go back, will you.”
“It’s the construction of the Mercenary Guild’s second headquarters, no less. I have to be here.”
“Then do it properly! Does anyone not know you’re busy drinking with Sir Karl every evening?”
“Ahem, is it just drinking? It’s a meeting to seek advice on the future direction of the Mercenary Guild.”
“Hah, what kind of advice do you get by drinking all night for a week?”
“You fellow, do you know who is present at those gatherings? The Saintess Isabel is there, and oh! Commander Owen of the Alcantara Knights is there, and oh! Sir Daniel Lugetti, the 3rd Holy Knight Commander, is there. Do you call such a gathering merely a drinking party!?”
“…”
The mercenary in front of Verpin fell silent upon hearing the roster of those gathered at the said meeting.
However, his eyes did not concede to Verpin’s words.
“Ahem! Your eyes are irreverent!”
The mercenaries shook their heads as they watched Verpin shouting.
“Is Sir Verpin always like that?”
“Hmm, I don’t know for sure either, but well, they seem to get along well, and it’s a good sight, isn’t it?”
The two people looking at Verpin were Owen, who had come to see Karl’s domain after stabilizing Alcantara, and the Saintess Isabel, who had personally come to establish the Order’s branch.
As they calmly observed the Arthur Domain while drinking warm tea, many of the previous terrible memories seemed to have faded.
“I didn’t expect so many people to come, but Sir Karl truly seems to be an amazing person.”
“If he had the ambition, he’s someone who could even aim for the emperor’s throne.”
“Sir Karl and the emperor. It’s truly an unfitting picture.”
The two simultaneously nodded at Isabel’s words.
It was when they were busy classifying the newly arrived people and organizing the surroundings.
From afar, a considerably large procession was approaching the gates of Arthur Domain’s castle.
Dududududu.
As a few knights at the head of the procession quickly neared the castle gate, the Lily Emblem engraved on their bodies became clearly visible.
“Marquis Bastien and Marquis Nigel have visited, bringing support supplies from the central administration.”
Although they were said to have retired from the front lines, the two nobles, who still possessed an immense presence, had unexpectedly visited the Arthur Domain.