Chapter 66 - Offered a Second Job

"Let's kill them all."

Some had gone beyond merely dropping their weapons and even pissed themselves.

To think Rem said that while holding a blood-stained axe in front of such people.

"P-P-Please spare us."

It was only natural they were terrified.

They had already lost their will to fight anyway.

Rem thought they needed to be killed.

A pioneer from the West, degradingly referred to as a barbarian.

Rem spent his childhood in the West.

The land of pioneers was a world where you couldn't afford to leave future troubles behind.

"It looks like they were the ones who sent the assassins, and what's the point of arguing over who the culprit is here? Let's just slit their throats and be done with it. Isn't that cleaner?"

The terrified men couldn't even open their mouths. Rem, standing between Encrid and the kneeling group of criminals, looked like he could swing his axe at any moment.

They kept their mouths shut.

"Where did you throw your blanket?"

Rem was about to say that if Encrid didn't want to do it, he would step up and handle it himself.

But an unexpected question came back instead.

"What?"

"The blanket."

He had definitely been wrapped tightly in a blanket when they left the quarters.

But at some point, he had ditched the whole blanket.

"Around the entrance to the alleyway?"

It was before they saw the beggars. A unique instinct, the sense of a beast, had prepared Rem for battle.

"Then what are you going to do when you sleep tonight?"

He didn't know why Encrid kept asking such things, but Rem had a plan since the moment he first threw the blanket away, so he answered.

"I can just use the blanket of the guy who stays out every night, so don't worry. I'm not gonna take the Squad Leader's blanket."

"Touch my stuff and you die. No, I'll kill you. I swear."

Jaxon understood and reacted. The guy who stayed out every night at the drop of a hat was Jaxon.

Jaxon had many women he saw. When they entered the city, he frequently emptied out his quarters at night.

"Cheap bastard won't even use it."

"Don't touch it. Barbarian."

"Anyway, you sneaky stray cat bastard, you're so narrow-minded."

Seeing the two starting to bicker, Encrid clapped his hands together with a *SMACK*.

"There's no need for that. Rem."

Encrid had a plan from the moment he first targeted the Thieves Guild.

A slightly more plausible plan than Rem's clumsy blanket theft plan.

Starting this because it seemed they were the ones who sent the assassins was half of it, and the other plan was the other half.

'This is unexpected.'

More than half of him thought they might not be the masterminds behind the assassination.

After all, he already knew Aspen had sent them.

So if someone told him to bet crona, he would have bet on the guild not being the mastermind. Though he would have only bet a few copper coins he wouldn't mind losing.

If they were the masterminds, or if they weren't.

There was a more important plan than any of that.

"It's pretty cold out. Don't you want to stay warm?"

Rem tilted his head. Everyone had faces wondering what he was talking about.

"Huh?"

Only Krais, who had extraordinary tact and a sharp mind, understood.

He blinked his large eyes and looked at his Squad Leader with a look of *'No way.' *

Encrid gave a light nod.

How many years had he spent rolling around in the mercenary world under the pretext of training his sword?

He had learned of the existence of the Valen Mercenary Sword Technique there, but he had learned several times more things outside of the sword.

For instance.

'It is fair to empty the pockets of a thief who tries to rob me.'

Things like that.

Encrid made up his mind.

He didn't think this would affect his dream either.

They were a criminal gang anyway, weren't they?

The wealth they accumulated wouldn't have been gathered through desirable methods either.

Future troubles and other various issues were bound to be a concern, but.

'It doesn't matter.'

As his skills grew, confidence naturally followed in other matters as well. He figured he would be able to handle it somehow.

Exhaling a puff of breath, Encrid continued.

"Let's rob them. Even if it's not a magic stove, let's at least lay down some heating monster skins in our quarters."

Silence fell once again. It was a situation they hadn't even considered.

Soon, Rem burst into laughter.

"That's right, whatever comes from the land I secured belongs to me."

It was a very Rem-like expression.

"Warm?"

Ragna reacted as well. No one liked being cold.

"Haha, for God said, steal from the thief and use it widely for good places."

Was something like that actually written in the scriptures? Or did they teach things like that at the temple?

It seemed likely neither was true.

But Audin conveyed the righteousness of this act by firmly believing his own words.

"Not bad."

Jaxon also nodded his head.

"Are we just going to rob them?"

Krais tossed out an advanced opinion.

"Let's go inside and talk first. It's cold."

It was a temperature that made even the heat radiating from the guts and blood of the dead cool down instantly.

They immediately entered the mansion. Krais urged the ones who were hesitating and glancing around to go in, so the remaining men entered as well.

Because there were those left behind with two broken legs.

"Support them all and bring them inside."

At Krais's words, they looked at each other's faces, checking the mood.

Wouldn't it be better to just run away like this?

Their contemplation was plainly visible on their faces.

"We'll chase you. Either the guy holding the axe earlier. Or the guy whose hobby is breaking legs."

Ragna and Jaxon fought well too, but in the gang's eyes, the most terrifying ones were Rem swinging his axe and Audin striking legs with his clubs.

It was sheer terror.

"Do you think you can avoid the eyes of the standing army within the Border Guard? Or are you going to explore the end of the season where beasts roam this night? You'll either freeze to death or become beast food. We won't kill you, so come inside."

Krais was a genius at persuasion.

Encrid listened to Krais's words as he went inside and offered a compliment.

"You would've been good even if you pulled off scams."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think it is."

Upon entering, there was a fire burning in the fireplace. Feeling the warmth of people here and there, it seemed the dead guy had lived here.

Above the fireplace hung two blunt unsharpened swords crossed with a shield, and a few paintings were hung on both walls.

"Are they expensive?"

Encrid asked, glancing at the paintings. Krais spoke as if there was no need to look closely.

"No. They're cheap trash. I wonder who would've bought such garbage."

It looked that way even to Encrid, who had no artistic refinement.

"I could draw better than this with my feet."

Rem seemed to share the same opinion.

As everyone stood close to the fireplace, long shadows formed behind them.

"Light the torches. It's dark."

Encrid spoke while warming himself by the fire among them. He wasn't addressing anyone in particular. No one moved.

Encrid added to his words.

"Since Gilfin is dead, the next guy in charge should step up and do it."

"Gilfin isn't dead."

Then, one of the guys with intact limbs stepped forward. He was a fellow who had a white sandy beach on his head instead of hair.

If seen during the day, it would have been blinding.

He had a long scar above his eyebrow, but even the combination of a scar and a bald head couldn't change his impression.

With drooping eye corners and thick lips, he didn't look the least bit intimidating.

But what did he say?

"Gilfin isn't dead?"

Don't tell me he had regenerative abilities like some monster?

So he could come back to life even after his neck was sliced?

The guy who was currently a corpse in the clearing in front of the mansion?

There wasn't the slightest sign of that.

The sandy-beach bald guy opened his mouth.

"Because I am Gilfin."

What the hell was this situation.

"That guy wasn't the Captain? Ah, it's that, isn't it. Like a lizard cutting off its tail?"

Krais asked, pointing outside, and then answered his own question.

At those words, Encrid recalled the chatter that went back and forth at drinking parties while rolling around in the mercenary industry.

["It's something criminal guild bastards do sometimes, naming their gang after one of their subordinates for no good reason."]

["Why?"]

["If things go south, they sell out the subordinate and run. It's a cheap trick used when the army suddenly barges in to wipe out criminals or something."]

["Why do you know that so well?"]

["I was in that line of work for a bit. Anyway, guys who go that far aren't common, so he must be a total son of a bitch."]

Encrid had actually never seen a guy pull off something like this before.

Because it was far more common to use their own name for the gang's name, if only out of a desire for fame.

Putting a subordinate's name upfront meant that the guy who died outside was an incredibly insidious bastard.

"He was a son of a bitch."

Encrid said, having understood.

From behind, Ragna asked what this meant.

The quick-witted Krais roughly explained the situation.

Encrid's plan was plausible, but simple.

Strike the Thieves Guild, and if they cooperated, receive a suitable token of sincerity and return.

If they resisted, beat them up, receive a token of sincerity, and return.

Of course, provoking the Thieves Guild for no reason would bring future troubles.

He was confident he could suppress even that with force.

He and his squad members would be enough.

But it turned out they really were connected to the assassins who targeted him.

So what of it.

'Why does that matter.'

"Are you really going to make us warm?"

Rem whispered from behind. It was unpleasant because he shoved his face way too close.

"Piss off."

Encrid whispered back and looked at Gilfin. Gilfin, having stroked his sandy-beach head once with his hand, gauged the mood before speaking.

"If you're going to kill, just kill me and spare the rest. Among them are people struggling to live while taking care of sick old mothers."

"It's not a sane thing to rob other people's pockets just because you're struggling."

Just because you take care of a sick old mother doesn't mean you have the right to point a knife at someone else's chest for profit.

"Uh, we'd just be thankful if you spared us."

Encrid crossed his arms and looked at Gilfin while standing up straight.

This fellow had some backbone.

Saying to kill only himself was also quite impressive.

Then, why didn't he attack earlier?

When asked.

"Why would I for a bastard who sold my name and would run away if things went wrong."

The two who were the escorts of the unnamed guild master nodded from behind.

Those two were also on the side that barely survived.

Looking at the state of things, it was clear what the dead guy had done.

Seeing how all his subordinates universally hated him like this.

"Are you going to spit out what you've hoarded? Do that and we'll leave peacefully."

Encrid moved forward with his plan.

"Right, no need to kill if they spit it out."

The ideology of a pioneer couldn't be compared to the cold. Rem agreed.

Would the others be any different?

"Yes. But that dead bastard hid the safe key."

"Ah, that's fine."

Because we have a magician here who can open locked doors just by knocking.

A safe box or whatever, it's a piece of cake.

Gilfin was wise. Upon hearing that no one would be killed, he spat out all the wealth he had accumulated over time.

"Oh, heating skins!"

"If you take them all, the guys guarding the road will all die."

He was talking about the beggars guarding the road inside the alleyway. Those beggars they had already killed on the way here.

At the mention that they had lined the inside of their shabby clothes with monster skins, Krais spoke up.

"We can't use these if they get blood on them."

They wouldn't be able to take from the dead beggars.

Anyway, Encrid looked at Gilfin in a new light again.

'He even took care of mere subordinates.'

Given the situation, it seemed he had a better heart than the original guild master, despite just lending his name.

Seeing how everyone covertly followed Gilfin's will, the same went for the two escorts who looked like they knew how to handle a blade.

"Leave some behind."

Encrid stopped them appropriately.

Fortunately, none of them were materialistic.

No, one person shouldn't be.

Krais was a squadmate overflowing with materialistic desires.

But for some reason, he only checked the items and didn't even pretend to take them.

"Aren't you packing any?"

"No, ah, Squad Leader. Actually, I have something to tell you."

Encrid had something to tell him, too. These guys had already heard the information and prepared.

There was only one place the information leaked from.

It wasn't within the unit. There were only two people who knew they were coming here.

'The Company Commander and the Platoon Commander.'

Did those two receive crona bribes from the criminal guild?

'That doesn't seem likely.'

If so, that left one place.

'Vanessa's pumpkin soup.'

When Krais whispered with the waitress, he let slip that they were going to wipe out the Thieves Guild, pretending it was a mistake.

"The waitress, did you do it on purpose?"

"Ah, you noticed? You're pretty smart, Squad Leader."

He wasn't bad.

How many years had he relied on his wits to survive in this harsh world?

"That's right. Because there are a lot of guys feeding info to this guild, knowingly or not. That waitress was probably an exclusive informant. A cheerful inn waitress, she'd be perfect for gathering this and that info. Wow, how scary. To think that innocent-looking girl is an informant for thieves."

Scary? You seem a lot scarier.

Didn't you make full use of that while knowing it?

"I wasn't completely sure either. I figured it out through this."

He should have told him beforehand. That it was a pointless trick.

Realizing his mistake, Krais rattled off excuses.

"Enough. Let it go. But from next time, you better tell me beforehand."

It was probably a stunt pulled with the squad members' skills in mind. Encrid himself thought this way was easier too.

Normally, even after striking the main base this time, they would have had to chase and track down the rest of them.

Come to think of it, Krais definitely had an ulterior motive too.

What could he gain from gathering the Thieves Guild's forces and smashing them all.

"Hey Squad Leader, do you not need crona?"

Krais abruptly asked Encrid, who had shown generosity. Blinking those large eyes.

Pretending to be innocent and opening his eyes like this was a sign that he was pulling another trick.

Because Krais was a guy who knew how to use his looks.

On top of that, he was clever.

But that didn't mean it worked on Encrid.

"Let's hear what kind of trick you're pulling."

Opening his eyes prettily didn't work, but what Krais said hit home.

Since the imperial currency, crona, was used interchangeably with the word for money, Krais's words just now were equivalent to asking if he didn't need money.

He always needed money.

Because he had blown all his reward money buying a single sword, it was tough to equip himself with other miscellaneous gear.

He had put out the urgent fire for now with what he just robbed, but wouldn't he steadily need money in the future anyway?

"Let's take this place for ourselves."

Krais said calmly.

Just like that, he offered Encrid a second job.