Hard Work Will Never Betray Me - CH 88

” You’ re late!　You’re the new escorts assigned to me, aren’t you?　What the hell do you think this job is?”

” Ugh, ……, this is so early …….”

. The next day early in the morning, we headed to the meeting place for more than half an hour earlier than the planned time, a middle-aged merchant with a small fat face and a nasty personality shouted at us. There were two others, a thin man who also looked like he had a nasty personality, and an older guy who looked like he was half a gangster and had a bad pattern.

I’m tired. I’m not getting paid while waiting for escort, why are you so fucking stupid?”

The older guy with the nasty look was scratching his ear and getting into a fight with us. He was definitely the tallest of all the people here, making him look quite threatening. …… Well, the only thing that is awesome is intimidation. From the way he is covered with muscles and the way he walks, I would guess that he is not much of a fighter. Probably, he would not be able to beat Iris even in a melee combat. It’s just a image of “mere appearances”.

What the hell !?　An old man and two kids escorting me is a waste of money. What the hell are they thinking? That’s why trating guilds are incompetent.

“We can use magic.. We are D rank. adventures ”

General Eulenberg is talking to the Yankee guy as if he was a timid old adventurer. He looks exactly like an old adventurer who has no future in life. He is a very good at acting

“Hey, let’s get the fucking going. We can turn them into a meat wall if we have to.”

“. …… ah, you guys go on foot.”

With that, the nasty merchants got into their carriage. The only one who didn’t open his mouth was the slim man who was. .coachman

“I’m stressed out.”

“I want to punch him. ….”..

” You two, be patient. This is part of the mission.”

To be honest, if General Eulenberg wasn’t there, there’s a good chance I would have beaten the crap out of them. I’m not good at this kind of mission,……, and we young . We looked at each other and sighed.

✳︎

“Hey guys, prepare the food!

“”What?”

“We prepared it .Please wait a moment.”

I can’t help but turn around when General Berg ( an alias) pulls on my sleeve.

This part of mission .

.” Roger”

…… of course I’ll return the favor. (On the menu, of course.)”

“(…… of course they will return the favor………………on the food . ).”

I was so angry, and apparently the general was as well. I felt a little better.

“How can I eat this?”

A few minutes later. What was on table was a mysterious dried-out meat and crushed black bread. The drink was just plain water, which was not very good. General Eulenberg’s revenge was quite impressive.

, “If you don’t eat , you’ll collapse.”

The escort that was before you …… made better meal than you !

“We just need to escort you. We are not good at cooking ”

“……, damn it!”

We have the same food as they are. The merchants reluctantly withdrew and went back into their carriage.

‘…… that went well, didn’t it?

“Yes.”

“Delicious.”

Iris is biting into the dried meat. ……This was not because Iris had a poor meals , but because we really were eating good food.

‘It looks like what we served them, but what’s inside is like something else. Don’t underestimate military prepared food.”

The general was right, our portion of dried meat and dry bread was very tasty. It was the fruit of the hard work of the Transportation Department to make sure that we could eat good food during the mission. The meat we served them, by the way, was cheap meat for novice adventurers sold at a local street stall.

“They will be prepare their meals themself from now on. And we will have even less contact with them.”

“Thank God.”

“That’s right.”

We are now mid-level adventurers. We needed to reduce our contact with them as much as possible so as not to blow our cover .

After a very stressful week, we had finally arrived in Cassandra territory.

We had only a few kilometers to go before we reached the gate. We had several battles with monsters on the way here, but we defeated them all using beginner-level magic and cheap weapons, and hidden our strength so that we would appear to be of D or C rank. Thanks to this, our reputation among them remained low, and we had successfully concealed our true identities.

This kind of experience is quite important.”

‘Yes. ……. I learned that strength alone is not always necessary. ……

I’m starting to enjoy this whole play thing.

Iris is a free spirited person. But that’s what makes her so appealing. I’d like to be as much carefree as I can be.

“Well, I wonder what will happen next.”

“I think they’ re going to take the bribe and that will be the end of it, won’t it?”

“I hope so.”

General Eulenberg’s reply was not so positive. With a look on his face that said, “I can’t help feeling there’s something wrong,” he looked toward the gate. It was as if his long-standing intuition was telling him something was fishy.

✳︎

✳︎

Hey, guys.”

“Yes, ?”

Take this.”

“…… what’s this?”

“Payment .”

With these words, the burly middle-aged merchant handed over several gold coins. For the average D-rank adventurer, it was pretty much worth it.”

“Payment? ……”

“Just shut up and take it. In return, don’t tell anyone about what you are about to see.”

The merchant replied in a casual manner, as if to say, “If you are a D-rank adventurer, it is only natural that you would listen to what I have to say if I give you this much money. The general also accepted the money in a manner that did not seem to cause him any discomfort.

“I see, then I’ll take it gratefully. ……”

Iris and I watched the scene, thinking, “He’s a good actor,”……. A dirty deal was going on there.

After passing through the gate, the village came into view. Around the village, wheat fields were spreading out, and people who seemed to be the local residents were farming with hoes. They were all dressed in rags and looked like the serfs I had seen on a TV program about the Middle Ages.

“They are all so skinny.”

Iris muttered to herself as she looked at the people.

This is definitely something bad going on here. ……

General Eulenberg looks at the wheat fields around him. The wheat fields were full of wheat, and it was hard to believe that the land was so poor that its people had become so skinny.

“The wheat grows better here than it does in my hometown,”

Iris said while looking at the wheat. The yield seems to be quite high.

I wonder how much they are being abused.

The Imperial Tax Law says that the standard is four public and six private sectors. That is not the case if there are special circumstances, but here in Cassandra Territory, that standard should apply.

If this much wheat is growing so well and 60% of it remains to the people of the territory, then the people’s lives should be quite affluent. At least it is unlikely that they will become that skinny.

“……When are we going to …… start working ……?”

The basic plan is that we will not initiate the attack. If we reveal ourselves, it will only be if the other side finds out who we are.

As long as we have the results of the investigation, which we are carrying out under secret orders from the central office, we can mobilize the military without taking the risk of catching them in the act. If this goes well, there will be no need for us to do anything.

Soon after, a convoy of merchants arrived at the fortified town of Cassandra. The walls surrounding the town are quite impressive for the territory’s population. and would likely stand up to an invasion by a monster or army of a certain size.

“The size of the town is not in direct line with the solidity of the city walls.”

Muttered Brigadier General Eulenberg so that the merchants would not hear him.

“This may require a change in course of action.”

The words of the general were placed on the shoulders of both Iris and me with considerable responsibility .