𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (3)
“Don’t be fooled, young pagan noble!”
The mercenary cheered for the opponent without realizing it. Saying the wrong thing here could cause trouble for the family’s future.
Of course Johan wasn’t the kind of narrow-minded person who would drastically reduce the family’s status just because he heard a few words of dissatisfaction. But the mercenaries didn’t know that.
To the mercenaries, the young noble had just dipped his toe into the abyss of hell.
“Whether you believe in one god or two gods, what does it matter! It’s our nobles who rule these countries, not the priests!”
Johan’s words seemed to have struck the young noble’s pride. Because the countries were mixed with all kinds of races flowing in, religion was also quite diverse.
From the monotheistic denomination on the continent to the polytheistic religions of the East, and the old indigenous faiths that were hard to find on the continent. . .
On the outside, they would believe in polytheism according to the previous Count’s religion, but according to their roots, some nobles still believed in the indigenous gods. To these nobles, the priests of polytheism were quite annoying.
Those who carry gods on their backs and strut about!
“Why are you getting angry?”
“Ahem. It seems His Excellency is a little drunk.”
A servant quickly interrupted. The noble also realized he had made a mistake and shut his mouth. It wouldn’t be good to let everyone know he didn’t have faith.
“Um. . . And the rumors that he is cruel and greedy are false. He has shown such mercy to his enemies, how can he be called cruel?”
Johan was surprised by the unexpectedly favorable evaluation. He got a better reaction than he expected. He had thought there would be an uproar, shouting ‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯!’ But. . .
In addition to Johan’s patience shown in the countries, his reputation as a knight also played a big role.
Although reputation had no substance, its power was formidable.
Once built, that reputation carried over to foreign lands.
“And aren’t you warriors working under the new Count? Is it okay to insult your employer like that?”
“To be precise, we are looking for a new master now, so no.”
The noble’s expression was contemptuous at Johan’s words.
He was going to treat them as mercenaries working under the Count, but it turned out they were deserters running away like stray dogs!
If he had known from the beginning, he wouldn’t have treated them this way. He whispered to his servant.
After that, no more alcohol or food was refilled. As the bottom became visible, the banquet also ended. The mercenaries left, grumbling.
“No, you should have just kept saying you were working under Count instead of denying it for no reason. . .”
No mercenary disliked good alcohol and food.
Besides, if the truth came out later, that noble would probably cry and give them silver too.
“But you are working under me, no?”
“. . . . . .”
“I’m kidding. I just wanted to see a proper reaction for once. You probably become more careful with your words in front of mercenaries working under you too.”
“Are you satisfied?”
“To some extent. The people who sent the report didn’t lie.”
At Johan’s words, the mercenaries nodded in satisfaction. Although they didn’t get good alcohol, food, or soft beds, they were still happy that their master was building a proper reputation.
Mercenaries who covet gold also have their pride. They were sensitive about what their superiors or masters said about others.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
𝘢𝔴𝙚𝕓𝐬𝔱𝕠ʀ𝙞𝔢𝚜.ᴄ𝙤ᴍ
After that, Johan visited several more families. Thanks to his experience, the mercenaries also became skilled at acting.
━𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬.
━𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭. . .
━𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞? . . .𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞?
Most showed satisfactory reactions. They were friendly, pledged loyalty. . .
It was encouraging that they at least showed neutral reactions. It was enough if they said they would judge based on future rule.
In fact, those who were hostile enough to rebel had already rebelled and been suppressed by Johan. But still, this was something.
Seeing the situation, they didn’t seem to dream of a new rebellion. It was fine to allow them to complain behind his back to some extent.
“The weather is quite hot.”
“Do you want to rest for a bit?”
“It’s not that bad.”
The sunlight was quite hot, but the air was not humid so it was bearable. When you ride along the forest, it cooled down immediately.
“I heard that vampires don’t feel the heat, is that true?”
“Our blood is rather cold.”
The thin, pale skin of the vampires maintained its coldness no matter how hot it was outside. They claimed it was thanks to their cold blood. Johan wondered if that made sense, but. . .
“Thanks to that, it’s quite easy to endure even when the weather is hot as long as we avoid sunlight.”
“I see.”
“It is said that if you hug a vampire lover to sleep on a hot day, you can sleep well until the next day.”
“. . .Are you joking with me now?”
Johan was confused by Fahid’s words. It was a bit surprising to hear such words from a vampire knight who looked so sincere. Mercenaries love vulgar jokes very much, but. . .
“I-I’m sorry.”
“No, it was funny. You can talk about Eastern stories anytime.”
Fahid’s facial expression brightened at Johan’s words.
Despite his fierce combat power, Johan had a talent for listening to others’ words.
When talking in front of him, people would casually reveal what was on their minds, forgetting about status and position.
Johan’s sincere interest in Eastern stories moved the Mulc family knights.
“I said it because I thought you would enjoy it, but it’s not a joke. Vampires, or vampyrs in the Empire language, right?”
“That’s right, just speak however you like. I don’t really care.”
“Right now, the Sultan’s most favored concubine is also a vampyr.”
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯.’