"I'm the client of this mercenary group Brill Smith. This is my I.D."
"Hoh, it looks like this will go smoother than expected. When I heard that their client may be a noble I thought-"
"Lieutenant, We are not here to gossip. Do your work properly."
"Hah! Yes, sir! I'm sorry, sir!"

What the heck was that? Unknown hostility right off the bat. Does he have something against nobles?

It probably won't be a problem though. Their leader seems to have a very fair disposition. I trust that he won't be biased.

"Ahem, I'm sorry for that little outburst. The situation involved bandits and bombs, so I need to ask you a few standard questions. It might take some time, do you mind?"
"Why do you need to ask me specifically? I was inside the carriage the whole time. I didn't see what exactly happened and how things progressed the way it is."
"We will naturally ask the mercenaries about things like that. However, there are still things that need to be asked from the client."

You are asking about the incident with the bandit. The word bomb and me never came up in the conversation. What kind of questions do you have for me?

"It says here that you just graduated from the mithril town's mithril academy, is that correct?"
"Yes."
"It also says here that you graduated from the smith course?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me where you are headed?"
"I'm headed to iron volcano village #39 on the northeast of the continent."
"Hmm? That is a bit remote for a fresh graduate like you. Most of the fresh graduates usually apprentice themselves with other established smiths. Even if they want to be independent, they won't start at a remote village with barely any customers."
"I have my own circumstances."
"What kind?"
"Family reasons."

What are you looking for from asking these things with me?

"Alright, that should be enough. These kinds of questions won't prove anything. They are only a pain on both sides."
"But teacher, this is standard procedure for everyone going into the capital. We can't skip these."
"I'm not actually going into the capital though. We plan to just stop outside and proceed on our way the next morning."
"Hmm? Why Is there something you want to avoid?"
"I want to avoid annoying procedures like these. We don't really need to actually go into the capital since we have everything we need. There are no such laws about that, right?"
"Hahaha, it's as he said lieutenant. Most travellers that pass through the capital on their journey don't need to enter the capital city. As long as they are near the city, they are more or less safe. I told the elders back then that if they remove the more annoying procedures, we would get more income from people staying in the capital."

This army leader talked to the elders directly? That's pretty impressive. He must be someone with a lot of pull to be able to talk about the elders in a lax manner, especially for someone in the army.

"I see, then I won't go through the list. However, we need to know about the bombs. I found out from the mercenary leader that the bombs were installed by you. How many do you have? Where did you purchase it? This is a matter of the capital's security."

The mercenary leader ratted me out? Well, I can't be that mad at him. This is the army they are dealing with, as well as the group that saved us. It also isn't necessary to antagonize them. I don't have a reason to do so either.

"The bombs were sold to me by the bomb alchemist. He is a specialized alchemist in our school. He is obsessed with bombs and sold those bombs to find out his obsession. There should be five other wagons installed with them. That, that, that, that, and that. It's a security against greedy idiots and a way to ward off bandits."
"I will have to check all your storage just in case. Would you mind?"
"No, go ahead."
"We will do an initial search for now. After we search your person, we ask you to come with us to disarm all the bombs. You can rearm them when you are about to leave the capital. After the reinforcements arrive, we will escort you to a place where you can camp without getting in the way of traffic. At that time, we will do a more thorough search. I understand that you won't go inside the capital city but we have to be careful because of the bombs."
"I'm fine with it. Let's get this over with."

It can't be helped. I didn't want to deal with these, so I wanted to avoid going into the city. Well, that and other personal reasons. However, I understand their caution. I was found to have bombs near the capital. It is a common item but they want to lessen the risk as much as possible, especially with the bandits daring to chase our group all the way here in the capital region.

"...and that is the last one of the bombs."
"Thank you for complying. We will keep all the bombs for now until you are ready to leave the capital region. Please send someone to the gate along with this form to collect the bombs."

Is this lieutenant only wary at first meetings? That initial thorny language disappeared as we went through the inspection.

Have you gotten tired from all the inspection you went through? I do have a lot of things I just bought. Maybe it's that, the fact that he found out that I may be some kind of noble from the mercenary team leader. It's not something that he can confirm but the fact that I have all of this cargo despite being a fresh graduate.

They can't confirm the name since traditions where you send out your children to stand on their own out in the real world is something common for old hermit families. I checked the library for this info. However, the fact that I have high quality building materials is enough qualification to show that I'm not someone easy to mess with.

*Stampede*

Hmm? Are those the reinforcements? They sure took their time, or is it that. Did they send someone to inform them that the threat is gone?

"Sir! Congratulations for the successful rescue! We are here as reinforcements. I'm sorry we are late to the engagement."
"Good work! Your response time was a bit lacking, so be prepared for some more training when we get back."
"Yes, sir!"
"Nice response! However, we need you to escort these to a clearing near the northeastern road. Keep them somewhere near the gates where we can keep an eye on them but far enough to not bother traffic. They aren't criminals, just a group passing through that got chased by bandits. They can take care of themselves, so just escort them there. Meanwhile, I will take my group back and report the results of our little excursion."
"Yes, sir! Our group shall take care of everything here before returning and reporting to you for our punishment!"

There they go, back to the capital. It's a shame I didn't have a chance to interact with that old veteran. It seems like a good way to establish a contract with the army. I doubt it would work out well, since they may have a private smith, or a group of them, that takes care of all of their equipment. There is also the fact that I don't have any achievements, experience or great works that I can showcase. Maybe in the future.

"Follow us!"
"Sir, please return to the carriage. I will handle everything necessary."
"Good."

Looks like we are back on track and there shouldn't be any bandits left from that group that would bother us. I heard the mercenary leader say that they took care of all the higher-ups of that bandit group after all. Even if one or two get away, they won't be enough to take revenge against our group that only didn't lose much from that fight.

"Show this form to any guards that ask why you are camping in this direction. They will confirm all of your members, so if you want to send a group inside, they need to stay there until you leave. I will leave them out of the tally, so who are the ones going into the capital?"
"They will go inside the capital, the rest will stay here."
"Mmm, alright, this is your form and I suggest that you send those who are going inside to line up now. The guards will shift members soon."
"I understand, thank you very much."

They really are upping the security around here. I guess the protection goes both ways. If someone from the group that stays outside decided to take a little trip inside the capital and got into trouble, the responsibility would be shared with everyone outside. However, if the inside group got into trouble, the responsibility is theirs. A clean separation, as far as their law goes.

There might be the chance that the mercenary leader gets into trouble since the subordinates' problems would implicate him as the superior but they couldn't really enforce that kind of thought since a mercenary group isn't like the army. They are much looser and there isn't any bulky rulebook they need to abide by.

"Alright, set up the camping grounds. Don't slack off even though we are near the capital. Those staying with me here should hurry up and write down what you want the capital team to buy. Also, those going inside the capital. I expect you to avoid any unnecessary trouble. We are on the job here, so don't go wild there."

Could it be? Are the ones going inside the capital going on a booze cruise?

"Sir, do you have anything you wish the capital team to buy?"
"I'm good. I'll take a little nap. Wake me up when it's dinner time."
"Ah, of course. Please take a good rest."

I need some time to relax now that the situation has calmed down. I didn't do anything but I was on red alert ever since we were chased by bandits. My mind needs to cool down a bit. The cargo has already been catalogued by the army and they will do another sweep when we leave to make sure we didn't steal anything. If anything is new or missing without proper documentation, we will get into trouble. I'm sure no one would try to be greedy with that ahead of us.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Sir? It's dinner, sir."
"I'm awake."
"We have prepared a table for you outside or do you wish to eat inside your carriage?"
"I'll go outside."

It's always nice to see the stars as you eat. There are spots of campfires here and there but they aren't that bright to cover up the sky. We are also outside the capital city, so whatever kind of lighting they have inside won't leak out here.

"Enjoy~"
"Mmm."

Looks like they listened to my suggestion and didn't serve turkey meat. This should be something like beef, or something from that neighborhood. It even has a huge bone sticking out of it.

*Clack* *Clack* *Clack*

Another group with mounts. However, they aren't galloping through. They sound like they are on a leisurely stroll. I doubt another group of bandits would pop up here, especially with the explosion that happened. Could it be the defence force of this town? Or maybe another convoy with mercenary guards? I can't hear anything that sounds like a carriage or a wagon though.

"We are the voluntary defence force. What are you doing camping here? Where is the leader? This is our certification from the army general."

Hmm? It can't be.

"I'm the leader of this mercenary group. We are escorting someone through. This is the form given to us by the army, allowing us to camp here."
"I would need to check the cargo and everyone listed here needs to be here. Can you gather everyone around the inner core of your defence formation? A part of my group will stand guard while we inspect things, so don't worry about security."
"Everyone! Assemble at the inner protection circle."

It's a good thing I eat fast. Having your meal disturbed is a very annoying thing.

"If I call for your name, come forward and show me your I.D. Do you under--"
"Hey, victor. Since when did you become part of the army?"

I thought so. I know that voice was familiar. It's only at times like these that he doesn't have stage fright, such a thing is fatal in his line of duty after all.

"Brill!! Did you get my message? I never thought I would meet you during my first patrol."
"Let's talk later, finish this inspection first. I bought a lot of things, so it might take some time."
"Ah, yes! You two go and check the cargo, the rest will stay here and ascertain their identity with me."

How did victor become part of the defence force? He did say that his father's former teacher was someone well known to train a lot of people from the army but I don't think that is enough as a guarantee to be entrusted as the capital defence force while the main army is out.