“Oh, welcome! I’m Dorf Brams, the one assigned to you, young master Chrome!”
The man, who looked like he’d cheat a protagonist into retrieving a magic lamp in Arabian Nights, continuously bowed and groaned while addressing me, to the point where I worried he might strain his waist.
‘At least it seems I’m indeed a valuable person here.’
Learning that the mother I couldn’t even recall in this life had already been poisoned was a relief. I had worried I might be treated like an unwanted child.
But still, if that’s the case for my father, then what’s with that maid?
‘Are they so close that she doesn’t need to watch her words around me? With that beauty, she wouldn’t be out of place as a hidden lover…’
With those thoughts occupying the corner of my mind about the maid whose name I still didn’t know, I turned to Dorf.
“So, what exactly do I need to do? The head of the family said to observe your work closely.”
I intentionally used a tone fitting my current status, and he responded with a broad smile.
“Haha, it’s nothing much. Just a small charitable endeavor.”
“Charitable endeavor?”
The word felt utterly out of place in this household, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. He continued to explain.
“It’s a simple job of delivering food ordered by a lord from a nearby territory. Come this way.”
‘If it’s delivering ordered goods, then isn’t that a transaction, not charity?’
Despite the inner questions swirling in my mind, I followed Dorf as he guided me. There, I saw several laborers loading numerous sackfuls onto carts.
“Hey, John! Don’t just drop it down roughly because it’s heavy—handle it carefully! Even if what’s inside is your own testicles, would you treat it that way?!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Damn twits! I could bring an old dog ready to die and it’d work better than you lot!”
‘This seems less like charity and more like some grim task to bury someone!’
“Ahem! Ahem!”
As I remarked internally, Dorf began to cough awkwardly, and the man hurling insults finally noticed us and shifted his gaze.
“Welcome, Dorf! The operation is progressing smoothly! We’ll be ready to leave by tomorrow, so don’t worry.”
“Glad to hear that, but is there any way we could conduct this with a bit more dignity?”
“What do you mean by dignity? Specifically, how should we…”
“…No, never mind.”
Dorf briefly stared at the scar running across the man’s face and his muscular, sunbaked arms, then shook his head. It was understandable considering the situation.
“This is Young Master Chrome. He’s the precious son of the head of the family, so make sure he’s not uncomfortable while we’re moving.”
“Nice to meet you, Young Master Chrome.”
“Over here is Clark, the leader of the ‘Brown Wolf Mercenary Group’ that will be joining us. I’ve worked with him a few times, and he’s quite skilled.”
“Nice to meet you. But why are the mercenaries doing the moving?”
“Isn’t it better to earn a bit more rather than just wasting time and food sitting around?”
Well, how efficient of them.
It seemed there wasn’t a mercenary around with pride yelling, ‘We weren’t hired for this! What do you think we are!’
Actually, if there was, they might have vanished in front of that impressive bicep.
“Hm?”
As I stood there dumbfounded, watching the process, a peculiar sight caught my eye.
‘-What on earth is that?’
At first, I thought it was just a sack floating in mid-air.
But upon closer inspection, it turned out that someone small enough to be completely concealed by the sack was actually lifting and moving a bag almost her own size.
The moment her partner set the load down, I finally got a proper view of her.
She appeared to be around my age—a little girl with brown eyes and hair. Her hair, tied back with a string, fell just to her shoulders, and her clothing, reinforced with leather in various places, looked simple yet practical.
The other two seemed to sense what I was staring at and also directed their gazes towards the girl.
Dorf frowned slightly and remarked, “She seems like a new face that I didn’t see during last year’s contract. Could she be one of your kids or a member’s child?”
“Ah, no way,” Clark waved his hand dismissively.
“She’s been with our mercenary group for about six months now. Despite her small stature, she surprisingly has good stamina and skillfully handles menial tasks, so we’ve been bringing her along.”
“Is she joining for this job too?”
“That’s the plan, but…”
“Hm.”
Seeing Dorf’s increasingly uncomfortable demeanor caused Clark’s expression to start clouding over as well.
I too began to feel puzzled. What on earth were they trying to say—
“That girl should be exempt from this job. No, I’d prefer if you could remove her from the mercenary group altogether.”
…What?!
<><><>
The ‘Brown Wolf Mercenary Group’ was a veteran team that had been involved in wars against the Eveshtan Empire during its founding 20 years ago.
Clark, the second leader of the mercenary group, was a man known for his somewhat rough demeanor and his obsession with money; however, he was also known for his undeniable skills and a surprisingly warm personality, earning the trust of many members.
It was hard for anyone in the team not to notice the displeasure emanating from Clark’s voice at that moment.
“You lot are acting as part of our Midas Guild this time. We’re processing public business, so having a little kid tagging along would be outright ludicrous.”
“Wouldn’t just excluding her from this job be enough? Asking her to be kicked out of the mercenary group seems a bit excessive.”
“Oh, you really don’t understand, do you? While I’m currently hiring you in the format of a request, I’ll soon be officially asking the head of the family to accept you into our ranks. That means you won’t need to live like a tumbleweed anymore. It’s better to minimize any factors that could be scrutinized.”
“I appreciate the kindness, but—”
One of the members, who was handling the sack filled with grain, turned to his colleague and asked, “What’s up with that? Why is the leader so upset?”
“They’re saying the requestor is annoyed by the rookie, so we should get rid of her.”
“What? Has that fatass lost his mind!”
The member, now aware of the situation, expressed his outrage as if it were a personal matter.
Furthermore, many of those who overheard were sharing similar sentiments.
This wasn’t merely about their strong bonds of camaraderie or loyalty to one another, but rather a matter of pride.
No matter how much someone pays them as a requestor, it was just a contractual relationship; they weren’t subordinates of that individual.
Yet, the requestor was trying to dictate their internal affairs as if they were some sort of hired help?
“I didn’t like Dorf or Torip from the start, just by looking at them.”
“Isn’t that how Midas house staff always is?”
Of course, not everyone held the same opinion.
“Can’t we just swallow our pride? It wouldn’t do us any good to make the employer mad.”
“You’re telling me you’re gonna throw away a deal like this just because of a little brat who’s barely been around? You’ve got to be out of your mind.”
“I heard that once you join the Midas Guild, even a mere warehouse keeper earns more than we do. If things go south…”
Though they couldn’t say it out loud, there were those who hoped Clark would quickly lower his head and appease the situation.
The Midas Guild’s methods may have been ruthless, but they were indeed wealthy, and the power of money was formidable.
Right in front of them lay a sack overflowing with gold coins; did it matter if the one offering it was a villain or not?
Considering they were mercenaries, living day by day, being accepted as part of the Midas Guild was an irresistible temptation.
“……”
The girl at the center of attention initially tried to ignore it and focus on her work, but as the subtle glances and whispers began to pile up, she frowned and halted her movements.
And just at that moment, as she seemed ready to react.
“Hey, could we tone it down a bit?”
Taking advantage of the silence, the boy—Chrome—finally spoke up.
<><><>
“W-What, young master?”
“Dorf, do you have a problem with me?”
As I shot Dorf Brams a piercing glare, filled with annoyance, he looked thoroughly panicked.
“W-Why would I have such a thing!”
“Really? Because it sure sounds to me like you’re using that kid as an excuse to throw shade at me. You say it looks ridiculous to have a child along, or that it’d be better to just exclude her from the start.”
“No, that’s not what I meant at all—”
Dorf was desperately trying to explain himself, but I brushed it off.
I wasn’t genuinely mad; the reasoning I just conjured up was merely a pretext.
Then why did I interject?
Well… the atmosphere was completely awful!
How was I supposed to work with these people moving forward?
And yet here was this guy pouring oil on the fire before we even got started.
Was it like a middle-aged employee venting frustrations on a subcontractor because of a terrible boss?
Seriously, I could barely stand one minute in front of this guy, so how much stress could those working under him be under?
But understanding the situation and letting it slide when I might be affected are two different matters.
“Are you absolutely sure you have no complaint?”
“Of course not! So, please, clear up any misunderstandings—”
Don’t worry, old man. I’m not mad, so stop pouting like a child.
It’s terrifying how the power of money has this towering presence; just moments ago, Dorf was all high and mighty with the muscular guy beside him, yet he’s now bowing like this in front of me.
“Well then, it sounds like there’s no issue. Hey, Clark?”
“You can just call me Clark. Young master.”
“Alright then, Clark. Since there’s no problem, I’d appreciate it if you could manage the cleanup. It seems the members are itching to chat, and we wouldn’t want them to lose track of time while they’re gossiping, would we?”
“Hahaha! Leave that to me! Kicking the lazy slugs into action is my specialty! Hey! You guys, get moving—”
Freed from the grip of the tyrannical Dorf, Clark’s fire returned to his words, and the members began scurrying about as if their feet were on fire.
Great, seems like we’ve smoothed things over for now.
Now, let’s sort out our next schedule.
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