“Ninety-eight goblin hides, one goblin general hide…….”
Astan had brought back only the goblin hides that had not been badly damaged.
The damaged ones would hardly fetch any money.
Rina brought over a magic tool to measure the magic power concentration in the stones and wrote something down.
“One hundred and twenty-seven two-star magic stones, and a three-star…… Huh? A four…… a four-star magic stone?!”
With a shocked expression, Rina checked the number displayed on the tool.
It had certainly been far too strong to count as three-star.
Its fighting aura had come close to that of a top-level Expert.
How could a monster like that be a three-star magic beast?
“That stone is four-star?”
Rina nodded once at Gunt's question.
“It only just reaches the four-star threshold…… but it is not something a high-level Expert swordsman could defeat.”
Gunt turned to Astan.
“That is what she says.”
He looked as though he expected an explanation. Astan sighed softly.
Then Astan took up one of the wooden swords kept in the yard.
Gunt went on guard.
Swish-
Ignoring Gunt's caution, Astan wrapped the blade in the Sword Aura of a top-level Expert.
'Wh…… what?!'
Gunt trembled all over in shock.
How was this possible?
Only a few days ago, the boy had been a high-level Expert……!
“Would this…… be sufficient proof?”
“…….”
“I lowered the level I claimed to have because I wanted to try working as a mercenary without drawing too much attention…….”
“Then you could have hidden your level by taking only D~C-grade requests…….”
“The pay was a little lower than I expected. Besides, this B-grade request was an extermination job. I could sell the byproducts separately from the magic stones and earn more…… That made it very appealing to someone who needs money. I did not know the goblin general would be quite that strong, though.”
“……I can scarcely believe it even after seeing it. Are you truly twelve?”
“That much is certain. Nobles register births, as you know. Check my birth record, and you can confirm it immediately.”
Still bewildered by Astan's Sword Aura, Rina frowned and looked up at Gunt.
“What…… are you talking about?”
“That boy can wield the Sword Aura of a top-level Expert.”
Gunt gave a hollow laugh as he spoke, and Rina's face filled with surprise.
Working at the Mercenary Guild had taught her how remarkable a top-level Expert was.
Not a single top-level Expert mercenary had ever visited Cielo Village.
Even finding a high-level Expert would be difficult.
And top-level Experts were routinely recruited by high-ranking houses or the imperial court to become knights.
'That…… that boy has abilities comparable to an imperial knight?'
Then again, as the son of a count's family, perhaps he had been born with some talent.
But even so, to wield the Sword Aura of a top-level Expert at twelve…….
Gunt seemed to read the thoughts on Rina's face and gave a faint laugh.
“A magic swordsman who can use the Sword Aura of a top-level Expert and second-circle magic is rare even in the empire.”
“Ah…….”
“See to the byproducts. I will report to the lord myself.”
“……Yes, understood.”
Rina glanced at Astan, then lowered her head to examine the goblin bones.
Goblin ribs were weak and had no value as merchandise.
That was why Astan had brought back only the parts that sold for the most, such as spines and teeth.
“It has not even been a week. Just how much are you planning to earn……?”
Rina looked overwhelmed as she calculated.
“I am sorry, but…… could you help me move these into the warehouse?”
“Of course.”
Does the guild have no other staff?
“We used to have two more employees. One is away on a long business trip, and the other is on leave for personal reasons…….”
“Ah…….”
“Most mercenaries who live in or visit Cielo Village are F~D-rank. There have been far fewer of them lately, too, so I was able to manage the work alone.”
“Ha ha…….”
“Of course, I do not mean I dislike your bringing in so many byproducts. You are practically a VIP to our guild, since you raise our performance figures.”
Apparently, good performance earned the guild subsidies from the central…… that is, the capital's Mercenary Guild.
Thump.
It took twenty minutes to move all the byproducts into the guild warehouse.
“Whew, thank you so much. If I had carried them alone, it probably would have taken another hour. Please wait in the waiting room for a moment.”
While Rina calculated the payment at the counter, Astan sat on a wooden chair in the waiting room.
“Mr. Astan!”
Astan rose at Rina's call and went to the counter.
“The total is 7,238,000 wid. Please check it.”
Astan counted the 723 ten-thousand-wid notes and eight one-thousand-wid notes himself.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“We can pay the request reward after the inspection team returns, so please visit the guild in five days. Oh, I will give you a cloth pouch for free.”
Astan put the notes in the complimentary cloth pouch.
“Thank you. I will be going.”
“Yes, have a safe trip back!”
After Rina saw him off, Astan returned to the inn, showered, and lay down on the bed.
“As soon as I receive the reward, I should stop by Rabin Village. Then I can go to the small city and…….”
He rested while making plans in his head.
His earnings from three days of requests exceeded ten million wid.
At this point, surely he could afford to rest for about five days.
As he drifted off to sleep, Gunt asked the lord, Viscount Grant L. Rodban, to send an inspection team.
“A B-rank mercenary destroyed a goblin settlement on his own?”
Viscount Rodban frowned as he read the details of the request.
A mere mercenary had done something even the knights of House Rodban could not?
Was there a mercenary that skilled in Cielo Village?
It would be impossible unless Gunt, the Mercenary Guild's master, had taken action himself.
“I checked the mercenary in question…… and I am told he is a boy who turned twelve this year.”
The chief steward's words left the viscount looking dumbfounded.
“……Is this a joke?”
“I confirmed it again with the Mercenary Guild in Cielo Village.”
“A twelve-year-old was issued a B-rank mercenary badge and then wiped out a goblin settlement? Hah…….”
Now was the time to send an inspection team to verify the facts.
Thinking about it any further would accomplish nothing.
And if it was true…….
'I must bring that boy into House Rodban.'
Even if he had to pair him with his daughter.
'If he destroyed a goblin settlement, he must possess abilities comparable to a high-level Expert.'
If he had reached that level at twelve, he might become a Swordmaster one day.
“Send an inspection team to Ruel Forest at once. And bring me more detailed information on that mercenary.”
“Understood.”
As soon as the chief steward left the office, he sent five knights to Ruel Forest and two to Cielo Village.
'It is absurd for a B-rank mercenary to destroy a goblin settlement. All the more so if the mercenary is a twelve-year-old boy…….'
He could understand the viscount's interest.
At the same time, he suspected the story of the settlement's destruction might be false.
But what would anyone gain by filing a false report?
The chief steward sighed softly and shook his head.
***
Rodban's knights arrived at the site of the goblin settlement in Ruel Forest.
Blood that had congealed.
Chunks of butchered flesh.
Collapsed huts, and even the greatsword believed to have belonged to the goblin general.
“He…… really did this alone?”
“Why did he leave the greatsword?”
“Maybe it was not worth much for its weight.”
“Y…… yes, that makes sense. More importantly…….”
Judging by the size of the settlement, there had probably been about a hundred goblins.
“The report submitted to the knight order said there were about a hundred, too.”
“I just find it hard to believe one twelve-year-old child killed them all.”
“……Our job is to verify that the settlement was destroyed. Let us head back.”
“All right.”
The knights recorded the settlement's condition in detail on parchment and returned to the Rodban mansion.
Meanwhile, the knights who had reached Cielo Village went straight to the Mercenary Guild.
“Our lord ordered us to investigate the mercenary who destroyed the goblin settlement in Ruel Forest…… Could you tell us about him?”
“P-please wait a moment!”
Rina hurried to fetch Gunt.
“It has been a while, Master.”
“Yes. The lord sent you?”
“Yes. We have orders to investigate the mercenary who destroyed the goblin settlement.”
“Ugh…… Every time someone capable appears, he takes them away…….”
“Ha ha…….”
One reason there were no mercenaries of C-rank or higher in Cielo Village was the lord's recruitment.
Most mercenaries moved on to cities, but quite a few took jobs as knights for lower-ranking noble houses in search of stable employment.
“It is for the safety of his house and lands…… please try to understand.”
The two knights visiting the guild had once been C-rank mercenaries working in Cielo Village themselves.
They knew Gunt's abilities well and had little choice but to approach him carefully.
“Well, you will not be able to take this one anyway.”
“Pardon?”
“That boy…… is a noble, for a start.”
“What do you mean……?”
He was a noble who held a hereditary knighthood, not a knight of some low-ranking noble house who bore the title in name alone.
The two knights looked at Gunt, flustered.
“B-but we heard he was twelve.”
“Yes, he is twelve. A twelve-year-old noble who lost his parents.”
“……Please tell us his exact identity.”
“Even for the lord, carelessly revealing information about a noble who is not one of his subjects…… that would put us in a difficult position.”
“I see…….”
“The boy will visit the guild tomorrow. Come back then, around ten or eleven in the morning.”
The person in question was a noble, not a commoner.
The knights would have to show some understanding of the guild's position.
They sighed softly and nodded.
“Understood. We will return tomorrow.”
After the two knights left the guild, Rina looked at Gunt with concern.
“Will it be all right?”
“What?”
“I mean, if our lord learns about him…….”
“At most, he will offer to take him on as a vassal.”
He would not make a noble, let alone the head of a house, his knight.
“That headstrong boy…… might even turn down a vassal's position.”
“Pardon?”
“His eyes were still alive, even after his house fell. If anything, he moved without hesitation, as though he had some great goal.”
Besides, becoming a vassal of Viscount Rodban's house would bring House Payson no benefit.
Perhaps a small subsidy, at most?
Given the size of Rabin Village, ten million wid a month would be the upper limit.