—One month later, in the Imperial Capital.
We of the Barbar Mercenary Party successfully escaped the battlefield and safely escorted Crown Prince Muno and his entourage to the Vaffancrow Empire’s capital.
Because we’d saved the Crown Prince, we were granted an audience with the Emperor.
…but apparently, the bureaucracy handling the post-defeat fallout was backed up, so we were told to wait our turn.
In the meantime, Uncle Athos and I went around visiting the noble houses whose sons we had saved—
Ahem! Ahem! I mean, we went around making courtesy calls.
「…Though the situation on the field was dire, we managed to pull your son out safely and bring him home!」
「You have our deepest thanks. The head of our house instructed me to see that you’re properly rewarded.」
「You’re too kind! We’re grateful for your generous thought!」
I stood by with a smile while Uncle Athos spoke to the younger brother of one noble house’s head.
Every noble house we visited, it was the same story and the same exchange. But after that—came the real reward.
My smile was genuine.
At a clap from the noble, a servant appeared from the back room carrying a leather pouch.
「Please accept this.」
「「Thank you very much!」」
Uncle Athos and I gratefully accepted the payment and left the mansion.
Outside the house waited Rosso of the Great Lizard Tribe and the Elven beauty Jessica, who had accompanied us as guards.
「Yo! How’d it go?」
「Did it pay off?」
「Here!」
I handed Rosso and Jessica the leather pouch packed with gold coins.
The weight of it made their arms dip with a satisfying thud.
「「Ooooh~!」」
The four of us walked through the streets of the capital together.
Next stop: our next collection—ahem, our next courtesy visit. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
At the following noble house, we were met by the head’s uncle.
「We heard you endured great hardship protecting our young master and bringing him home safely—」
「You have our thanks. This is your reward.」
「「Thank you very much!」」
Once again, we received a leather pouch heavy with gold coins.
Just like before, we stepped outside and handed it off to Rosso and Jessica.
「Uncle Athos, why do we keep getting met by younger brothers, uncles, or other second- or third-ranking relatives?」
「Hmm. Likely because we Barbar are looked down upon.」
Uncle Athos replied without emotion.
To these noble houses, the Barbar Mercenary Party may have saved their sons and nephews—but we were still just frontier tribesmen in their eyes.
None of the heads of the houses had greeted us themselves.
Instead, they sent second- or third-tier family members to give us tight-lipped smiles and lukewarm thanks.
「All that, and I even bought this toga!」
「Gaia, it doesn’t suit you. Looks lame.」
A toga is a garment of the Vaffancrow Empire—cloth draped and wrapped around the body.
Its design changes depending on social rank.
High-ranking togas have colored stripes or gold ornaments.
Uncle Athos and I were wearing togas one step below the lowest nobility—basically what well-off merchants or educated commoners would wear.
We’d tried to show some respect for Imperial customs, but clearly it didn’t boost their opinion much.
To them, we Barbar were still backwater savages.
Changing that view… might not be possible.
「Well, as long as they’re paying up, I guess I can’t complain. Still… a bit more gratitude wouldn’t hurt.」
In the end, only about thirty percent of the Empire’s forces had escaped the Algeas Kingdom’s encirclement.
The rest were dead—or taken prisoner.
That means our actions—rescuing Crown Prince Muno and the officers from headquarters, i.e. the sons of the powerful nobles—were no small feat.
But Crown Prince Muno—
「They were rude on the road!」
「The food was terrible!」
He’d gone so far as to tell the Emperor:
「Those barbarians didn’t save us! We just happened to go the same direction!」
Do whatever you want, fatass.
Uncle Athos was already slipping bribes along with reports to key officials, so our achievements couldn’t be buried.
Still, Uncle Athos muttered bitterly.
「In the end, it’s always the same—those who rule, and those who are ruled. We shared our food, held the rearguard, gave everything we had… and all we get is a cold ‘thank you’ and some coins.」
I couldn’t blame him for venting.
‘Suffering together creates bonds’—yeah, right.
Rosso and Jessica joined in the conversation.
「Hey, Athos, money’s still important! That’s what we fought for!」
「Exactly! We’ll use the money to buy our comrades back!」
「Yeah… you’re right! If we can bring our people home, it’s all worth it.」
At the mention of comrades, Uncle Athos brightened.
I had decided to use half of our earnings to fund a buyback program for our enslaved brethren.
A lot of our fellow Barbar tribesmen had been taken as slaves.
We’d use brokers in the capital to negotiate and purchase their release.
—Bringing our people home.
It was something no chieftain had done before. But I would.
「Alright then—let’s go!」
「「「Yeah!」」」
And so, we headed for the slave dealer’s establishment.