Chapter 87: A rock in calm water

Nobody could object to the count. Their castle was in bad shape. The years of war with the monsters cost the count a fortune, forcing him to borrow money from the Donian Merchant Group to hire mercenaries. Any items worthy of value were sold to pay the debt, and the castle had nothing left inside. Nobody knew of such a situation because they had never invited anyone to the castle after that. The rumors of the count being modest was because of this. As such, it was not wise for the count to invite someone over to his castle.

“We will depart as soon as training is over. Send the messenger. The noble will consider my visit an honorable one.”

“Yes milord. I will prepare everything.” Hernan answered politely.

“Oh, and shouldn’t we sell all of these? Check with the merchants if they want it and sell everything except some of the liquor. It should give us some relief.”

*

Hectos rose from his chair and shouted suddenly, “I need to have a drink!”

Jackson, who was busy working, frowned at him.

“Then go ahead. You’ll bother me less that way.”

“NO! I mean I want that whiskey! And the beer from the Ainos! You know what I mean?”

Jackson scowled. Hectos had been mumbling about the whiskey and beer from the feast for the past two days. He refused to drink any liquor from the village and Jackson found it interesting to see Hectos in his sober state.

“Then go to them.”

“Me?”

“Of course. It’s you who wants it, is it not?”

Hectos frowned. His face told that he despised visiting the Ainos campsite by himself.

“Can you go instead? My loving brother-in-law?”

Jackson let out a sigh. He thought of the man he saw at the campsite. Thick eyebrows, two black eyes with black hair, brown tanned skin, and thick lips. The man was about 6’2″ and he seemed to be a well-trained knight.

‘Joonbum Christos.’

He remembered the chill he experienced when he faced him in the carriage. He had a soft expression, but his words were as cold as ice. There was coldness around him everytime he spoke and it made Jackson shiver. He couldn’t even clearly remember how he got out of there.

‘I never imagined that a person could let out that kind of aura,’ Jackson thought as he remembered the chill.

“I am not going there! You should kick me out instead!”

Jackson blurted at Hectos. Hectos flinched.

“O-oh, I’m sorry. Don’t be angry, my brother-in-law. I just wanted to have a drink…”

Hectos broke off as a soldier walked into the room.

“Captain! I have a message from the Donian Merchant Group!”

“What?”

“They’re stopping the donations for village protection.”

“What? Joseph, you son of a…!”

Hectos scowled and Jackson frowned.

“I let those mercenaries go already… ugh. Let’s go!”

“Where are you going?” Jackson asked.

“We gotta ask why he’s doing that!”

“Ugh.”

Jackson let out a sigh as it was obvious as to why they had made such a decision.

“You really don’t know?”

Hectos watched him angrily, then turned away.

“Let them be. They’ll mock us for turning our backs on them if we go right now. We should just wait out. They will restart the donation in no time.”

“You think so?”

“We helped with the feast because of the Ainos. Joseph knows this. We shouldn’t go fight with him when he’s mad. Besides, Joseph is on the edge right now. I think he won’t be in that position for long from what I can see. We don’t have to worry.”

“You’re right! Joseph is done. I didn’t like him from the beginning.”

“I think Norman will be in charge after him.”

“Norman? Oh, I like him. He knows how to treat people.”

‘So you were bribed by him too,’ Jackson thought, but shook it away quickly.

“Anyway, we should patrol more within the village from now on.”

“Huh? Why?”

“The Berdocs will not quietly stay put. They will try to pick on any Ainos they see, especially when they are out at night.”

Hectos thought about what to do as Jackson watched him.

“Should we arrest them again?”

“No, just stay quiet. Or go and have a drink.”

It was not something a subordinate should say to his superior, but Hectos did not seem to be angry. Instead, he blurted something different.

“Ugh! That damned beer! The village beers taste like Duran piss!”

*

“Damn those Ainos!”

“Hectos, that son of a b**ch!”

The mercenaries of the Berdoc Mercenary Group were showing their rage against the people responsible for their arrest. They took the job to make a mild disruption at the feast, but they were arrested for two days straight before they could even start anything.

“Boss, what are we going to do? Don’t say we’ll just cower without doing anything!”

Baxter, the man who spoke, seemed just as angry as everyone else. They were all drunk and agitated.

“No, we have to regain our honor. We will get our revenge.”

“Oh!”

“Right! What’s the plan?”

Hogg, the leader of the Berdoc Mercenary Group, nodded.

“I talked with Joseph already. We will assault the campsite at twilight, steal all of the middle-grade potions, and hand it over to Donian. We will head over to another country with the money. Are you all with me?”

Everyone looked at Hogg. They to wanted to show what they had to the Ainos, but this was much more than that.

-He’s planning a large-scale robbery.-

Everyone was thinking the same thing.

“There’s a noble there. We’ll be hanged for it.”

It was too dangerous with the presence of the noble. Hogg shook his head.

“We will not touch the noble. We only take the potions and leave the country. That’s all. Who will care about the Ainos anyway? People might say trash about us, but that’s it! They’re just some forest dwellers in the end.”

“Oh! Right. Come to think of it, nobody cares about them anyway! It’s not like we’re stealing from merchants! Do the Donians have our back on this?”

Durtee clapped in laughter as he asked for confirmation.

“You’re smart. Yeah, Donian will take care of it afterwards. They’ll tell the Ainos to look for their lost goods themselves. But what can they do? We’ll be out of the country by that time.”

“So when are we going?”

“We will rest today and hit them tomorrow night. Have a feast!”

“YAY!”

Everyone began enjoying their meat and drinks, waiting for the big day.

*

The feast was a success as it allowed the Ainos to roam freely outside the campsite and the villagers also seem to enjoy the new company. The effect of the feast was great. There were still some villagers who were uncomfortable by the presence of a different race out on the street. It was the same at a saloon, where some eyed the Ainos who visited with interest while some looked at them with cautious eyes.

But there was no outright hostility toward them. Some people even approached them to start a conversation and join in on the drinking.

“How was it?”

“Everyone loves it.”

“Most are friendly.”

“It was amazing!”

“It was hard to walk around with a wig, but it was bizarre.”

Doral, Gazlow, Pree-an, Mayze, and Sunsook spoke out in excitement after returning from the trip to the village.

“Was it?”

“Yeah, this wig is too uncomfortable.”

“But we need to use it while we are here or people will grow suspicious.”

“Okay. I’ll go rest now.”

“Me too.”

Sunsook and Mayze left and the others gathered to share their experiences. They were already in their late twenties, but they were excited like little kids. After a while of busy chattering, Joonbum spoke.

“They were released in the morning.”

“They?”

“Who’s they?”

“The mercenaries. Berdoc?”

“Oh, them. But already?”

Gazlow seemed confused. The Ainos were exceptional warriors in the forest, but their way of thinking or views were too different from the humans. They were not used to human dirtiness or the evilness within them.

“A soldier came to tell me about the release.”

“A soldier?”

“Oh, I never knew there was a human with a good heart like you here!”

‘No, I bribed him to do that,’ Joonbum thought, but continued to explain.

“It looks like the Donians complained about it. The feast was over anyway so they were released. The problem lies with those mercenaries, and the Donian Merchant Group will not stay quiet.”

“Really?”

“Then what?”

Joonbum hesitated before he continued, “I think they’ll attack us directly. They’ll either light our campsite on fire or just hit us directly. That’s the only method they have left.”

“An attack?”

“Yes. We still have our potions. They’ll probably come for from. Donian will buy it from the mercenaries if they succeed in stealing it. I think it’s very likely.”

Everyone seem to doubt Joonbum’s words. But Howen, who had been quietly listening to them, seemed convinced.

“I will talk with the other tribes.”

Joonbum bowed.

The camp did not change much even after Howen spoke with the elders, but they didn’t seem as excited as before. The sun was going down

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