Death Can’t Sleep - Chapter 93

Their journey continued like that. They crossed the wilderness and mountains. After the Griffins, almost no monsters appeared, so it wasn’t difficult.

 

Rather, the hard part was the chores. In the mercenary corps with no workers, there was a lot of work to do. It was here that Victor sewed for the first time and tried tying arrowheads.

 

Naturally, he was terribly clumsy. But for some reason, her heart swelled.

 

Was he like this when she was studying etiquette? Seeing Victor staying by her side, learning things he didn’t need to learn, even trying unfamiliar things, made her heart warm in an incomprehensible way.

 

Amarion spent every day helping him with his work and every night sleeping by his side.

 

Of course, the mercenaries also got closer than before. It was unclear where Tall and Chubby went, but the mercenaries of the ‘Troll’s Right Calf’ seemed to have good sense like them.

 

Among them, Victor became strangely close to Mirage. To be honest, he was a pleasant and nice person. Originally, this wizard, who took great care of them, seemed to have a strange affinity for Amarion and Victor, who knew about magic. He often talked to them and showed them various things. Victor kept his distance, feeling a bit uncomfortable, but before he knew it, he got to the point where he could have a short chat with him.

 

A few days passed, and the village finally appeared.

 

“Whoa, how old is this town?”

 

The mercenaries were excited and ran to the village entrance.

 

But Amarion was nervous. This was one of the villages she had come to during subjugation.

 

“Hey, did the subjugation army pass through here too?”

 

Mirage was amazed to see the traces of battle still etched into the walls.

“I heard that this time, the Grand Duke’s new wife came. She is a great knight.”

 

“…Really?”

 

“I heard that she is a woman from a foreign country, but because of what she did, she has a giant following…”

 

He smiled and warned them.

“You two, be careful. If you say something wrong, you will be beaten with a broom and chased out.”

 

Amarion nodded awkwardly, not knowing how to react. Then she looked around slowly.

 

The village was quite crowded. When she had come before, the only inhabitants were flies, but now the streets and inns are full of people. It was a town that was close to the border and originally frequented by tourists. She was happy to see the return of vitality to the village like this.

 

Mirage, who was carrying the mercenaries money bag, found a place to stay. Contrary to the place the Knights stayed, it was the most dangerous inn in town.

 

“…Are we sleeping here?”

 

Mirage responded to Victor’s question.

“Yes. This is the cheapest inn. Besides, I heard that their fried pork is amazing.”

 

Fried pork?

 

Amarion swallowed her saliva. Over the course of their journey, she missed fried food more than the dessert she ate at the castle.

 

But Victor narrowed his eyes. He examined the worn-out sign and mossy walls.

 

Mirage smiled and patted Victor’s shoulder.

“I know, I know. It’s too messy for our Dog! Be patient though.”

 

“…”

 

Victor shook his head from side to side with a very, very unhappy face.

 

Victor with such an expression!

 

Amarion’s shoulders began to shake as she held back her laughter. Victor’s sloppy appearance was always new. He was so sloppy, that some mercenaries, including Mirage, were convinced that he was a nobleman from somewhere.

 

But they never even dreamed he was the Grand Duke of Morte.

 

Mirage pushed the inn door open.

“Come on, let’s get some proper rest!”

 

They entered together.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

The inside of the inn was lively. Perhaps since the food was delicious, even though the mercenaries had rented all the rooms, the restaurant was full of people.

 

Of course, they were suspicious people, but that didn’t matter.

 

Amarion went to her room and washed up, and then came down to the restaurant. Victor and Mirage were already there, waiting for her.

 

“Hey, here she is!”

 

Mirage brought them the menu.

 

Amarion lowered her head and read the dishes aloud.

“Fried eggplant, fried mushrooms, smoked bacon pie, roast pigeon wings, mutton stew…”

 

“Is it all delicious? Can we eat it all?”

 

“…That’s fine with me, but do you have the money?”

 

“Of course not. Open your pockets.”

 

Mirage and Amarion began to rummage through their pockets.

 

In fact, Diederick gave her a lot of gold coins, but she couldn’t use them in these types of places, so she continued to pay with copper coins.

 

It would be nice to find an exchange office.

 

As she was thinking, a scream came from next to her.

 

“This is nonsense!”

 

Amarion naturally turned towards the noise.

 

In front of some big men, a boy about the age of Mary was crying.

 

One of the men shouted.

“What’s wrong? You lost the bet.”

 

“I brought the goblin teeth as promised! So why did I lose?”

 

“You should have brought it sooner. We said the deadline was this morning!”

 

“When did you say that…?”

 

The men giggled and counted the coins in front of the bewildered boy.

 

‘What?’

 

Mirage frowned and muttered.

“He’s a bettor.”

 

“A bettor?”

 

“Yes. They are bad guys.”

 

He clicked his tongue.

“Both sides place a bet. They entice people by saying that they will give you money if you win. Of course, even if they do what they ask, they don’t pay properly.”

 

“Why do people…”

 

“Because it’s hard to make a living.”

 

Mirage exhaled. Victor, who had been silent, frowned. The wizard explained.

“The northern part of Morte suffered from monsters, so now it’s barely worth living in, right? Everyone is short on money, so it’s easier to work for those guys. They target the poor.”

 

“…”

 

“Anyway, it’s mean. I don’t want to see those guys walking around saying they’re mercenaries.”

 

Mirage shook his head and flipped through the menu. He was acting according to the unwritten rules of a mercenary.

 

Don’t interfere with things that don’t affect you.

 

In order not to get involved with others, mercenaries had to act that way.

 

But as a knight, she couldn’t do that.

“Hey.”

 

She got up. Victor raised his head, and Mirage opened his eyes wide in surprise. But she went to them without hesitation. The men looked at her.

“What?”

 

“You. Make a bet with me.”

 

“What?”

 

They burst into laughter.

 

But when they saw she was serious, sharp glances flew between them.

“You look like a mercenary, are you going to pay attention to other people’s business?”

 

“What? I just want to try it too.”

 

She smiled coldly. Then she took a sack out of money and threw it.

 

They did not take their eyes off her as they opened the sack. One of the men took a startled breath.

 

“It’s gold. Stamped with the emperor’s seal. If you win, it will be yours.”

 

The man’s eyes glistened with greed. He wanted to run away with it in his arms, but he was holding back because there were a lot of eyes around. The man asked in a sharply lowered voice.

“…What is the bet?”

 

“You decide. Anything with a sword is fine.”

 

“I’m confident!”

 

The men giggled.

“Then, if you win, what will you take?”

 

Amarion looked at them quietly and answered.

“I’m going to cut off your fingers. Two per hand.”

 

The inn became quiet, as if it had frozen over.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

After a brief conversation, Amarion finished the negotiation. When she returned, Mirage looked at her as if she were ridiculous.

“B*tch are you crazy? Why are you doing something like this?”

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask for help.”

 

“It’s not like that… Hah, this ignorant knight…”

 

Mirage touched his forehead. Amarion just turned away.

 

She knew it was incredibly noticeable to do this, but she couldn’t stand it. Because this was Victor’s land, and the town she saved. She had a duty to protect the weak.

 

Victor didn’t say anything. He didn’t know if it was because of his promise to do what she said or if he felt a responsibility similar to hers. He only said a few words.

“There shouldn’t be many Orcs around here these days.”

 

“Don’t worry, I know a place.”

 

“Hey, what are you talking about? Are you really going?!”

 

Mirage screamed in shock.

 

She nodded.

 

The wizard cried painfully.

“This is crazy! How can you catch an Orc by yourself? You don’t have magic…”

 

“I told you, I don’t need help.”

 

Amarion attached her sword to her waist and stood up. Close by, the bettors were screaming, confident of their victory.

 

The condition of their bet was to kill an Orc alone.

 

There were a lot of Orcs in the village. The last time she came, she had killed quite a few. So they demanded she go and kill Orc alone, taking the White Knight’s* story as an example.

[*E/N: White Knight is the nickname given to Amarion after subjugation.]

 

The time limit was midnight. If she was a minute early, their fingers would fly away, and if she was even a minute late, her gold coins would fly away.

 

She gladly accepted their terms.

 

“Think about it, do you really think the Grand Duchess was able to keep up with the Knights? I’ve seen a lot of people die trying to be brave like you!”

 

Mirage warned her again.

 

There was some laughter.

 

They must have assumed that she was not a mercenary.

 

The wizard shouted in shock.

“What are you laughing at? Are you out of your mind? Where did our leader go at this time…?!”

 

“Don’t worry, really. I’ll be right back.”

 

Amarion said polite goodbyes and left the inn.

***