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Gamson was a rookie mercenary, treated like a halfpenny. A country bumpkin who ran away to the city with a bit of money.
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He joined the mercenary band only by sheer luck. Captain Goran wouldn’t have included someone like Gamson if they hadn’t suddenly lost a member.
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What if such a guy suddenly stole a horse? It takes skill to sell stolen goods. A suspicious mercenary would be given a lower price by merchants.
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To sell at a fair price, one needed known connections or a credible identity.
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Gamson had neither.
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“In Marcel city, there are several shops and merchants connected to the Katana Merchant Guild. He must have familiarized himself with them while passing through, so he might try to sell the horse there, making excuses.”
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“. . .!”
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They had passed through Marcel city as mercenaries guarding the Eldans, familiarizing themselves with each other. From Gamson’s perspective, he might think, ‘If I make a good excuse, can I sell the horse at a decent price?’
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“No, even if he’s an *sshole, could he be that stupid?”
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“I think it’s possible. He’s a rookie who doesn’t understand the power of the guild’s connections. He failed to steal what he wanted and his friends got caught. In a situation where the pursuers could catch up any time, he would want to get rid of the conspicuously visible horse as soon as possible. Rather than an unknown distant city, Marcel would be more appealing.”
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Moreover, their group was relatively slow. Gamson, having no baggage, could easily sell and escape.
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However. . .
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“The merchants in the city aren’t that easy to fool, are they?”
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“True.”
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Merchants in the city were not *ssholes. Even if you were a mercenary escorting a merchant, they wouldn’t trust you to come back and sell your horse on your own.
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Would they pretend to be defeated and buy it cheaply, even if they were a bit skeptical?
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That was a delusion only a country bumpkin would have. Such acts were the doing of wandering quacks. The city’s merchants did not sell each other out for a few pennies.
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Doing business in the city meant being intricately bound by the city’s rules.
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And Gamson probably didn’t know this. If he goes on without knowing. . .
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Contact would be made among the trading companies or mercenaries, and Gamson would be caught in a “huh, huh” moment!
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“Interesting.”
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“!”
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Johan, who was listening nearby, opened his mouth, and everyone was startled.
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“Does this mean we can catch him if we go to Marcel City?”
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“S-Sir Knight. This is just a possibility, if he escapes to another city. . .”
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“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
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Johan replied lightly.
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“It would be good if we catch him, but if we can’t, there’s nothing we can do. It seems you were also deceived by him. I have no intention of holding you responsible separately, so rest assured.”
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“. . .!”
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“T-Thank you!”
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The mercenaries felt tears well up at Johan’s words. What a generous act. Though he had a fierce demeanor in battle, Johan had a truly generous heart.
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“Anyway, I’ll receive the compensation in this town.”
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Johan glanced outside the window. Village chief Atanka was seen walking towards them with a tense face.
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🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
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━𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬. . .
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━𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.
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In comparison to Johan, he was a dirty mercenary calling himself a knight, but the equipment itself was decent.
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━𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫?
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━𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡?
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━𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
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When Atanka got angry, the local militia members shut up. Unlike Atanka, the local militia lacked tact.
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‘𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. . .’
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In such a town, selling armor was a task. Without a suitable buyer, it couldn’t be sold. Moreover, Atanka had to sell it secretly from the townspeople.
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But who knew this difficulty would save Atanka’s neck like this?
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As Atanka brought out the mercenary’s armor and weapons with a clanking sound, the local militia asked cautiously.
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━𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?
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━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬?
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━𝐈𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. . .
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Johan’s accent and demeanor exuded nobility. Plus, being on a well-built horse, dressed in armor and surcoat, gave a chilling presence.
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In contrast, the equipment here seemed barely decent, with only the weapons looking intact. The surcoat worn over the clothes looked like stitched old rags, and the armor seemed very uncomfortable, as if iron plates were forcibly inserted between cloth armors.
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━𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬! 𝐀 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞.
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━𝐓-𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞.
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━𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
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🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
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“Sir Knight. How are you?”
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“Not well. Does Rutzbeck steal guests’ properties and take their horses?”
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“I apologize once again for that incident.”
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Atanka bowed his head without changing his expression. He seemed to have made up his mind before coming.
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“As the village chief, I should have managed the young men properly, but failing to do even this and disappointing Sir Knight. . . I am truly sorry.”
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Atanka, lowering his posture and bowing without any excuses. Johan thought to himself.
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‘𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯.’
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The respectful approach of the other party was due to Johan’s strength, but largely due to his status. A village chief might act like a king in his town, but compared to nobility, his status was insignificant.
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Probably, Atanka feared Johan’s family more than his strength.
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“Of course, I don’t intend to just apologize with words. I will properly compensate for the theft of Sir Knight’s horse.”
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“How?”
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“First, I will punish those two men. If Sir Knight does not wish to punish such insignificant men, we will. . .”
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“No. There’s no need. I’ll take them with me and punish them myself.”
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The town’s compensation included those two men. Whether to sell them as slaves or behead them was Johan’s decision.
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Atanka was inwardly disappointed. If Johan had said to handle the punishment himself, Atanka might have secretly let them escape.
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“Punishing the guilty is natural. Surely, you’re not saying that will be the compensation?”
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“No. The theft of Sir Knight’s horse is a grave crime! Punishing those two men cannot make up for it.”
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Horses were expensive property, especially warhorses ridden by knights. Good breeds had to be trained from a young age, unlike the pack horses used by merchants.
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‘𝘏𝘮𝘮. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦?’
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Johan didn’t really know what kind of horse he had. It was a horse secretly obtained by his half-brothers. They seemed to have cared for it quite well, providing a decent saddle and harness. . .
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“Even if we scrape together silver, it won’t satisfy Sir Knight.”
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The suggestion seemed suspicious. Properly compensating for a knight’s horse would be no joke. Such a town might have to gather all its hidden silver.
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Of course, that was the town’s concern, and Johan intended to receive proper compensation.
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“Doesn’t the god say that life must be repaid with life? Although it won’t be as useful as Sir Knight’s horse, we have prepared a slave that might be of help.”
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“. . .?”
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Slave!
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Slaves were common on the continent. Several of the servants in Johan’s fiefdom were slaves bought by Sir Gessen.
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Even the monotheistic church did not particularly criticize slavery. Sinners, losers in war, or those unlucky enough to be captured, were sold as slaves.
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These slaves were utilized in various fields. Those without skills did menial tasks, but those with skills received some treatment.