WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Asakusa

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◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈

Chapter 32: Thugs and Shepherds (3)

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After rescuing Kane, I was returning to the fortress with the soldiers when Peiron, who had been thoroughly beaten, came to.

“Gasp!”

“You awake now?”

Clutching his head as he sat up, he cautiously asked me,

“W-What are you planning to do with me?”

“Planning?”

“...What are you planning to do with me, sir?”

Perhaps because the law of the strong had become ingrained in him through his life in the underworld, he quickly realized I was above him and began speaking respectfully.

“What do you think I’m going to do? I’ll drop you off with Merchant Lord Kane at a village near the fortress, so go get treated.”

“B-But before, you said you wanted to meet me... weren’t you trying to recruit me?!”

He looked desperate.

I could understand why he was acting this way.

He had been wandering the back alleys, then received a summons from a noble and thought he had been given a chance to rise in the world. He was probably anxious that it would all come to nothing.

Fortunately, what he feared would not happen.

‘Do you think I’m crazy enough to let you go?’

Still, considering his personality, it would be better in many ways to take a slightly different approach rather than make him a direct offer.

I stroked my chin and looked at him with an indifferent expression.

“I heard all sorts of rumors about your skill, so I thought I might bring you in and see how useful you were. It’s true that the fortress is short on people. But now that I’ve seen you...”

I glanced at Marcus and trailed off. Peiron’s face reddened.

“I-I can win if we fight again. And Lord Ubel too...!”

Marcus shook his head at Peiron’s protest.

“Even if we fight again, you cannot defeat me. And you stand even less chance against Lord Ubel.”

“You heard Marcus.”

Peiron tried to argue, but soon shut his mouth tightly and drooped his shoulders.

He knew it too.

His skills were still below mine and Marcus’s.

I inwardly chuckled at the sight of him looking so dejected.

‘The stick should be enough.’

Now it was time for the carrot.

“Well, you are better than the usual riffraff... This is a difficult decision.”

As I deliberately drew out my words as if I were considering it, Peiron abruptly raised his head like a puppy spotting a snack.

‘Simple fellow.’

He was nearly convinced, so it was time to drive in the final nail.

“Marcus, what do you think? Do you think he could be useful?”

I winked at Marcus.

Marcus caught on to my intent and cleared his throat as he played along.

“Ahem. He has many things to correct, such as his violent temperament and conduct, but if he is properly taught, he will do his part.”

“Is that so? If you say so.”

I turned back to Peiron.

“Peiron.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“If you truly believe you can change, prove it.”

“Prove it...?”

“Take charge of guarding the Camellun Trading Company. I’ll place you under Kane and see whether you truly change.”

The test was only an excuse. I was actually assigning him as Kane’s guard to prevent another kidnapping like this one.

But Peiron believed my words completely.

“Leave it to me! I’ll show you that I’m useful!”

“I’ll trust you, then.”

Leaving Peiron rejoicing like a child behind me, I approached Kane and patted his shoulder.

“Please take care of him. As you know, Merchant Lord Kane, his skills are exceptional, so there should be nothing to worry about.”

“I welcome it. Going through this incident has reminded me once more of how important guards are.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. By the way, how did you find him?”

Peiron had no fixed residence and wandered from place to place, so he could not have been easy to find.

When I asked, Kane scratched his head awkwardly.

“I was lucky. He had recently heard a rumor that some suspicious man was looking for him, and he was considering leaving for another territory. I happened to meet him at a tavern.”

“A suspicious man?”

“At first, I thought the rumor referred to me, but it did not. He said the man was part of one of the underworld gangs, but I could not learn any details.”

“...”

There was only one underworld figure who would be looking for Peiron.

‘Arhan, that bastard.’

Was this around the time he was supposed to meet Peiron?

‘If I had been even a little later, he might have gotten to him first.’

I breathed an inward sigh of relief, but then the changed future suddenly weighed on my mind.

‘But if I take Marcus and Peiron, what will happen to Arhan?’

For one thing, there was almost no chance he would distinguish himself as a ruler because of the butterfly effect.

Marcus and Peiron had played a major part in helping him establish his foundation.

The overall flow of the story was bound to change as well.

‘I may not like the future changing, but what can I do? I just have to account for it and prepare accordingly.’

I could not simply pass over talented people right in front of me just because there might be unforeseen variables. Right?

I had unintentionally put Arhan in an unfortunate position.

‘Still, it will be better for the two of them to come with me than with you. Don’t be too upset.’

Originally, Arhan was supposed to become one of the rulers dividing the Empire between himself, the Iron-Blooded Lord Jeg, and the Pirate Empress Yulia.

But I had taken Marcus and Peiron, who were practically his right and left arms. From now on, he would never come to be called the Wise King of the East.

As soon as I returned to the fortress after rescuing Kane, I immediately began handling the aftermath.

The first thing to deal with was the merchants responsible for this incident.

Max, who had gone to arrest them, greeted me.

“We have arrested all seven merchants involved in this matter. They are currently locked in the fortress’s underground prison.”

“Good work.”

“What should we do with them?”

“Well.”

I already had some ideas, but I pretended not to know because I wanted to assess Dihelm’s abilities through this opportunity.

“Dihelm, what do you think we should do with them?”

“I would not dare force a choice upon you, My Lord, but if you ask for my opinion...”

“The introduction is too long. Get to the point.”

Perhaps he liked that I ignored empty formalities unlike other nobles. He gave a faint smile and bowed his head.

“If that is your wish, I will begin with the conclusion. I believe they should all be executed.”

“Executed?”

“Yes. If possible, I think it would be best to arrest the direct blood relatives of the merchant company heads as well and hold them accountable.”

For reference, the Empire had a system of collective punishment.

“Their families too? Is there a reason to go that far?”

“There is.”

Dihelm’s eyes curved like crescents.

It was such a chilling smile that even I flinched for a moment.

“If the merchant company heads and all their blood relatives are removed, would that not allow you to take all their property, My Lord?”

His scheme drew an admiring exclamation from me.

Under Imperial law, unless the criminal had committed certain offenses such as rebellion or inflicted financial harm on others, their property would normally be inherited by their family.

But what if the entire family was arrested?

Naturally, the property would become ownerless, and I, who had handled this incident, would take it over.

I would have to ask headquarters how the merchants’ assets should be disposed of, but judging from their attitude so far, they would likely leave it to me and assign the merchant companies’ property to the fortress.

“So you are saying we should use collective punishment to arrest the merchant company heads and all their blood relatives, then pocket their wealth?”

“Pocket sounds somewhat improper. Think of it as receiving consolation money or compensation. They were the ones who plotted against Camilla Fortress from the beginning. Should you not receive at least that much compensation to heal your wounded heart, My Lord?”

I burst out laughing at the words compensation and wounded heart.

“Hahahahaha!”

“If my opinion displeased you, I apologize.”

Displeased?

Quite the opposite.

“Yes, it is only natural for them to pay for their crimes. The compensation they owe me is a separate matter.”

It was somewhat ruthless, but I liked the calculating logic behind it.

“Max.”

“Yes!”

“Bring those bastards out of the prison.”

“Understood.”

Max headed for the underground prison with the soldiers. Soon afterward, they dragged out the imprisoned merchants in a line like sausages.

The merchants had bruises across their faces and split lips. It seemed they had resisted while being restrained.

“Are they all here?”

“Yes.”

I lined them up at the place where Perez had been executed and asked with a sly smile,

“So, all of you were making some amusing plans behind my back?”

Sensing the killing intent in my words, the merchants turned pale and begged for mercy.

“P-Please spare us!”

“It was all Ribal’s doing!”

“That’s right! We only joined because we were threatened!”

“If you spare us, we will give you all our property. So please...!”

“Why go through all that trouble?”

I could simply take it.

“You and your families will soon be arrested. Naturally, the merchant companies’ assets will also be confiscated by the state.”

Strictly speaking, they would not go to the state treasury, but into the fortress’s storehouses.

There was no need to tell them that.

“T-That...”

Only then did the merchants realize their situation. They collapsed to the ground with blank expressions.

Leaving behind those who looked ready to wet themselves at any moment, I shifted my gaze to Ribal, the ringleader of this incident.

Did he think he still had a way out?

Rather than giving up, he glared at me with anger in his eyes.

“I understand what you are saying, Lord of the Fortress. However, we are subjects of the Empire!”

“Huh?”

“We have the right to stand trial! That is what I mean! Therefore, I demand that you release us and treat us properly according to Imperial law!”

Ribal’s face was filled with the determination to survive and make plans for the future.

Seeing through his thoughts, I sneered.

“Pfft!”

“W-What is so funny?!”

“It seems my subordinate did not explain things properly. Hey, Max!”

“Yes!”

“Didn’t you tell them when you arrested them?”

“They caused a commotion like guilty thieves, so I was busy subduing them and had no time to explain.”

Yeah, that figured.

Since Max had not properly explained the situation, I had to do it for him.

“Hey, old man. See this?”

I took out an appointment letter from headquarters and held it before his face.

“That is...?”

“It is an appointment letter granting me the authority of an inspector.”

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Inspectors had several powers, but the greatest of them was the authority to impose measures according to their judgment without a trial, as long as they had evidence proving the charges, and report afterward.

“Even if I chop off your head here, there will be no problem. Do you understand what that means?”

“...”

“I have already received testimony from the mercenaries we captured in the village that you hired them, and we confirmed that you paid them an advance. Do you have any last words?”

“W-Well...”

“Looks like you do not.”

It did not matter if he could not accept his situation until the end.

The conclusion had already been decided.

“Peiron.”

“Yes, sir.”

I decided to let Peiron wield the blade.

In a way, he was one of the victims of this incident as well.

I gestured toward Ribal with my chin, and Peiron raised his halberd with a disdainful expression.

Then,

Slice!

In the blink of an eye, Ribal’s head fell to the ground.

The merchants who had begged for their lives were no different.

“Deal with them all.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

“Eek!”

“P-Please, just spare my life... Urk!”

The merchants fell with brief dying cries.

It was a fitting end for people blinded by greed.

“Max, Marcus. The two of you will seize all their assets with Raul. Arrest the merchant company heads’ families and turn them over to the Enforcement Office.”

“We accept your orders.”

That settled all the aftermath.

‘There was an unexpected incident, but I ended up with some easy money because of it.’

I did not know the details, but the merchant companies were fairly substantial operations in the area, so their assets would not be small.

‘As soon as headquarters gives permission, I’ll turn all of it into wheat.’

I offered my thanks to the dead Ribal and the merchants.

Thanks to their dirty work, I had gained easy money and recruited Dihelm and Peiron without much trouble.

‘Is this what it feels like to find a bar of gold while walking down the road?’

I had never experienced it, so I was not sure, but it probably felt something like this.

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