"Cutting off the troublesome families."

With a hardened expression on his face, Korwen looked through the room, at every person. A few stiffened in response to the declaration, some gave a wry smile, one person sighed.

"They have caused trouble on several occasions already, and they were warned several times already. At this point, we cannot afford to keep them around anymore. They keep obstructing our work. We are mercenaries with a reputation to keep. And yet, they caused troubles with the merchants in the city. This wouldn't be a big issue usually, but the merchants in question have ties with Allena family and refuse to take an apology or compensation."

Korwen paused, looking through the round.

"Captain."

A lanky man called out to him.

"What is it?"
"In regards to cutting them off, you only mean Marga and her clique, right?"
"That is correct."
"So, you intend to make an example out of them?"
"Correct."
"I see..."

The lanky man sighed.

"I don't think their husbands will take that lightly."
"I have already talked with all of them in private about this."
"... You have?"
"Most of them decided to stay with us. Only two have voiced their intent to leave together with their families."

Only two...
I didn't know how many families we were actually talking about here, but... that definitely weren't many.

"And what about the children?"
"Most of them are no good. The ones who have taken an apprenticeship or are in training can stay with us. One decided to become independent and take an apprenticeship in the Capital as well. Around four of them are still too young and I decided to leave the decision to them with whom they want to stay."
"Is that so... So, the decision to cut them off is already final?"
"It is."

Korwen nodded briefly.
The atmosphere had become quite heavy and everyone was wearing a serious expression—with the exception of Ria, who seemed like she was going to fall asleep.

"The decision to cut them off is final. I have discussed this with Merim and the mercenaries involved already. To repeat: They are discriminating against the other humanoid races, they have several times ignored orders. We have gotten complaints from the places we stayed at that they caused a ruckus, have verbally attacked someone and similar things. They also attempted to make purchases on account of the group as a whole. Most of their children have adopted similar behaviours and there have been many cases of discrimination among the children. as well as actual fights between them."

That sounded like they had, after all, a bit of a track record in causing trouble...

"To add, they completely refused to correct this behaviour in any way and have insulted the other humanoid races in my presence. Most of us are humans but we have many beastkin as well as a few other races in our midst. Many of our clients aren't humans either. The last I want is full-blown discrimination and friction with our clients or inside the band itself."

Once again, he paused watching the reactions of everyone.
One man, the mercenary named Taddick, raised his hand. Korwen nodded in his direction, telling him to speak.

"Captain, you said only Marga and her group, but... are you talking only about her close friends or... all of them"
"Not all of them but a few more than just her close friends."
"I see... I understand that cutting them off has become necessary but what are we going to do about the problems following that? Most of us can barely roast a chunk of meat on the fire, not to mention basic household chores. We cannot do all these things while keeping up our basic training. Wouldn't it be better to only get rid of Marga and her close friends?"

Wait, were we talking about so many that this might actually become a real problem?

"I considered that at first as well. But, personally speaking, I am simply fed up with it. Every week there's at least one or two problems that I have to deal with that are utterly ridiculous. These aren't only from Marga's close friends but all of them. I rather deal with that over their antics."

... Is it fine to decide such an important issue based on your personal feelings?

"Well, I can certainly understand that..."
You do?!
"... but it might still become a problem. So, Captain, is it maybe possible to ask the elves to take over some of those duties? At least until we sorted them out ourselves."
"Mh... I can probably ask them about it, sure."
"That'd be a relief."

Taddick nodded satisfied, as did several others.

"So, Captain..."

Another man spoke up. If I recalled correctly, he spoke earlier as well.

"Yes, Balt?"
"Who exactly are the ones being cut off? Marga and her close friends are obvious. Also, have they already been told?"
"I discussed with Merim, my wife and a few other women as well as several of the involved mercenaries. The end result was just under two dozen families. As for their names, I'll announce them later. And no, we haven't told them yet, except for their husbands. We will do that soon."

Two dozen? So a bit over twenty... Two mercenaries decided to stay with them... Huh? Was it just me or did that not sound like a lot? If you added their children that was probably barely forty people? Considering the size of this band that wasn't even a tenth...

"Two dozen... That's a lot."
"It is. It'll become a little uncomfortable for a while. The only saving grace is, that most of them aren't that involved with the various chores. But how much of a difference it will make, we'll only know afterwards."

Ehhh? So, it was a lot? Mh...
Well, thinking about it... There were probably way fewer families than there were mercenaries... So if you only looked at them maybe it was a lot more than it seemed originally... And they were responsible for stuff like cooking and probably laundry and other things...
Okay, once I spent a little more thought on this, it sounded a little more problematic.

"Captain!"

At that moment, the curtain at the entrance of the tent opened and a mercenary entered, calling out to Korwen while saluting.

"Marga has arrived. Should I let her in?"
"Mm... Are there any other questions? If not, then..."

Nobody reacted.

"Okay. Let her in."
"Understood!"

---

A middle-aged woman entered the tent with a sour expression.

"Korwen! I hope you have a good reason for calling me here!" she shouted.
"Oh, I do, I do."
"Ho? Have you maybe finally decided to reprimand those stupid craftsmen? Took you long enough!"

The sour expression turned into a smug smile quite quickly.
On the other hand, several of the mercenaries in the room were sighing, Fenna was holding her head and Mrs Korwen was smiling.

"I see, I see. So, who is it who will take my son as an apprentice?"
"Haa... Nobody will."
"... Huh?! What do you mean nobody will?!"

And now the angry expression.
This woman was changing her expressions quickly...

"Oh? Oh... I see. I understand. You finally understood his worth, right? You realised that an apprenticeship isn't good enough for him? So? What did you decide on? Who is it?"
"It's called 'The Great Outdoors'. It's a wonderful place where you can enjoy nature in its full beauty."
"Korwen, are you messing with me? Stop with your shitty jokes nobody is laughing about."
"I can only return the same. When are you going to stop? I am still the Captain of this mercenary band. Yet, what the heck is with this attitude... Ahh, whatever. Thank the lord I don't have to bear with this much longer."

Korwen stood up from his seat, cleared his throat once and then addressed the woman.

"I want to get this over with quickly, so... Marga, the Lomerian Dragon Knights have henceforth decided to remove you and your son from the mercenary band, effective immediately."
"..."

The woman stared at Korwen, not saying a single word, only her mouth agape.

"You have until this evening to pack your things and leave. This decision is final."

Before she could regain her composure, Korwen nodded to the man that had let her in. The mercenary took her by the arm and dragged her outside. Just as she had left the tent, she started screaming.

"Korwen! KORWEN! You can't do this! You can't do this! My husband works for you! He will not let this slide! Is it them?! Is it because of those elves? Did they screw your heads? They're brainwashing you all! They are—

And then she was too far away.
With a sigh, Korwen sat down again.

"Haaa... The meeting is over. Over, I say. Go back to your work for today. I will announce it later to everyone."

Barely had those words left his mouths, the first people stood up from their chairs and quietly left. A few of them walked up to Korwen, giving him a tap on the shoulders or inviting him to a drink.
Guess I should leave as well then?

"Ria, Fenna, Yumi, Taddick, stay here. I got a bit to discuss."
"Nn?"

Didn't even get to leave the chair. Well, if he still had something to say...
And barely a minute later, everyone else had left.

"Tad, bring me something to drink."
"Got it, Cap."

The burly man named Taddick walked to the corner of the tent, fetching a small barrel and a few mugs. He took the lid from the barrel and dunked a mug in.

"Here ya go."
"Thanks."

Korwen took a swig from the mug, letting out a satisfied sigh after.

"Be glad, Cap. Finally got it past ya."
"I wish we didn't have to go to such lengths, though."
"She had it coming, that devil's wife. You knew that. Everyone did. You saw it, didn't ya? Nobody objected. None of them. Everyone's fed up with them."

He dunked another mug into the barrel and handed one to Fenna, then another to Ria.

"Wasn't that because I didn't even let them object?"
"If they wanted to object, they would have. You know them. Chances are, they would have objected if ya didn't do this now."
"That so..."

Taddick dunked yet another mug in and handed it to me.

"Ah, thank you."
"Ya welcome."

I was a little surprised, that he handed me one as well.
Finally, he took the last mug, filled it and sat down again.

"So, what are ya intending to do about the rest of them? Ya didn't call them in like ya did with Marga for a reason, right?"
"Mm... We'll still leave them here. But being thrown out on such short notice would be troublesome right? I want to give them at least the chance to find themselves a lifeline first."
"Captain, I very much doubt they will look for one," Fenna interjected.
"If they don't and they cause trouble because of it, then they can leave immediately. But they can't claim I didn't give them the chance."

He put his mug on the table and stared at the tent's ceiling.

"Ya too kind to them, Cap. Should've just thrown them out, no questions asked. They deserved it. Ya know what they di—
"Tad."
"... Sorry, got a little heated up."
"Haa... It's fine. I know where you are coming from. But whether they were even involved or responsible for that, nobody knows."

'That'? What was 'that'?

"Haa... In a way, it was good timing that they pissed off those merchants. Gave us plenty of grounds to throw them out."
"Right, right, Cap. Wanted to ask about that, but what the heck is even going on? Ya saying we can't even enter the city now but..."
"I already said it before, but I don't know. I really don't. There could be any number of reasons but we can't even investigate ourselves."
"Can't investigate, ya say... But doing the Academy's jobs is gonna be okay?"
"As long as we only send the necessary personnel, yes. Though it also means I can't come along. So, I'll be counting on you."

Korwen lifted his mug towards Taddick, sporting a wry smile. With a grin, Taddick lifted his mug and they clanked them together.

"Gotcha."

They both took a hearty gulp from their respective mugs.

"Now then, there are a few other things I wanted to discuss. Ah, Yumi, can you fetch me those papers over there?"
"Nn, those over there?"
"Yes, yes."

I stood up and brought over the stack of papers he had pointed at. Stealing a little glance, these seemed to be the assignment list from the Academy.

"Thanks. Now, where was it... Ah, here, here."

Korwen pulled out a single sheet of paper and put it on top of the stack.

"There are a few troublesome requests other than the ogre capture that I wanted to discuss."
"Did they ask for Slime Flowers again," Fenna asked him.
"Yes. As well as materials from Armoured Lizards, Fire Boars, Swamp Ropers, Giant Dragonflies and so on and so on..."
"Fire Boars? Captain, how are we supposed to do that?"

Fire Boars... were they boars that were on fire?

"Ehh, they added some information... Ahh, here. They suspect that destroying the mana crystal and quickly dousing it in water might extinguish the flames."
"Captain. The last time they 'suspected' anything we had goblins throwing poop at us."
"... Fenna, don't remind me of that."

Fenna took a sip from her own mug while watching Korwen holding his head.

"If it doesn't work out, we tell them and that's it. They pay good money for this, and we are not in a situation where we can just skip out on that."
"I thought our finances look pretty good?"
"They do, they do. But you know how quickly they can get used up. If anything serious happens our current savings might not suffice."
"Ahhh... Like replacing those wrecked wagons?"

Wrecked wagons? Did something happen over the days... Wait, no. Those trees wrecked a few, didn't they? Right...That... sounded expensive.

"No, there'll be no need to replace them actually."
"Not?"
"With Marga and her underlings leaving, we'll get around six wagons freed up. Three wagons broke down during the incident with the elves. That gives us three extra, in fact."

Three extra... Speaking of which...

"Nn, Captain. What about that wagon from... Uh... yesterday..."
"Ahh... That one... I did take a proper look with Ria earlier. It looks interesting, so you can make use of that wagon how you see fit. Although I'd like to restrict access to it to only the people who know, understood?"
"Ah, yes, understood!"

We can make use of that wagon? Seriously? This easily?

"We'll also have to discuss your situation in general a little, but first let's get back to the Academy tasks."

Korwen turned the paper sheet around and pushed it towards our middle so we could see it.

"Most of these tasks are relatively simple. Collecting herbs, cleaning out the monsters in the surroundings, and so on. But outside the routine tasks, we always get requests for materials as well."

Materials, huh. That's what he spoke about earlier, huh.

"The ones that are the most problematic are probably the Fire Boars I mentioned earlier, as well as this."
"Nn... Mirror Trees?"
"Captain, is that a joke?"
"I told you already, it isn't."

Fenna groaned.

"This is going to be a pain!"

Fenna heaved the mug up and emptied it in one gulp. This task must really annoy her...

"Uhm... What is a Mirror tree?"
"It's a monster tree. It's mostly harmless but its bark is mirroring its surroundings. It also tends to grow in dense forests with a lot of mana, not exactly a place where you can leisurely check your surroundings. As such, they are incredibly rare."
"Only the bark? What about the leaves?
"The leaves are the same as any normal trees. But in a dense forest, you can't see them well. They blend perfectly into the other trees."
"... That sounds like a pain."

Yeah, finding a tree like that was surely going to take quite a lot of time...

"It's a huge pain, in fact. I think we only ever found one of them by accident before. Due to its rarity, they are worth a fortune though. And the Academy is going to pay even more should we find one."

Korwen pointed at a small number at the bottom of the sheet.

"... Captain, is this number real?"
"It is. I confirmed it with the messenger as well."
"Fifty... thousand gold... That's an enormous sum."

That was more than a lifetime of work, wasn't it? I wasn't going to bother to calculate it. It would probably just make me feel depressed anyway, seeing this sum.

"It's enormous, yes. It's easily five times the regular price. Considering this number, it is likely that this is about a project that got the King's approval. Even the Academy wouldn't have such an amount of money readily available."
"No wonder you didn't outright reject that task, Captain..." Fenna mumbled.
"With such a number I'd be stupid to outright reject it. Chances are low but it is not impossible to find them. With that said, the chances are low and I doubt we can manage to find one. Still, whenever you can spare the time, try to look for one."
"Will do."

Low, huh... But it was a monster, right?

"Wouldn't it be possible for a magician to find them?"
"Apparently not. Ria, can you explain it?"

Korwen turned to Ria who was... staring at her empty mug.
I should maybe drink a little as well.

It's still early in the morning, though... Is it fine to drink this early already? Well, whatever... Ohh... This one is good.

It was a rather sweet ale. A bit odd, but quite delicious nonetheless.

"Magic Trees... All of them... Are undetectable... They do not... absorb mana... from the surroundings."
"They don't?"

Ria nodded.

"They probably... get mana... from the ground... or somewhere else..."
"I see."

How unfortunate... That might make it indeed hard to find them, huh... Maybe they worked similar to normal trees? Normal trees needed light and nutrients from the soil, right? And water, of course. Maybe magic trees took mana from those sources?

"Now, with that out of the way... In regards to the Fire Boars, I'll leave the exact method to you."
"Are we really going to do that?"
"We can at least try. Just bringing back the information whether it worked or not already gets us paid."

Well, as long as just the attempt was already good enough for them...

"One other request I wanted to discuss are these. There's a request about the Swamp Ropers. They want the entire corpses of several Swamp Ropers."
"Swamp Ropers, huh..."

I recalled reading about them in the monsterarium about ropers. They were your standard variety of ropers, adapted to the swamp life. Good swimmers and even better divers. Mostly lives from ambushing its prey. Like, pretty much all other ropers too.

"There's not even a swamp nearby, is there?"
"There isn't, but there's a cave half a day from here with a small lake. Apparently, Swamp Ropers were sighted there."
"A cave with Swamp Ropers? That's odd... It's not going to be a roper nest, is it?"
"It might be, so I want you to be extra careful on this one."
"Understood."

Fenna nodded with a serious expression.

"Nn, what's a roper nest?"

That wasn't a term I remembered reading in those books.

"Some kinds of monsters like to band together occasionally and live at a place suitable for them. We usually call those places a nest. Due to them banding together, more of them are reproducing. That's not particularly uncommon for monsters. But in the case of ropers, they tend to have a nest mother. Basically, a really, really big roper. They're rather dangerous."
"I see..."

A nest mother, huh.

"Insect monsters tend to have the same problem, by the way. On the other hand, goblin nests are easier to deal with than lone groups of goblins," Fenna added.
"Easier? Why?"
"For lone groups, you have to pick them off one by one. A goblin nest, you can just set it on fire and watch most of them die by themselves. Most goblins are beyond stupid and can't deal well with fire, so many of them die in it. And for the rest, they're all bunched up together, after all."

So it wasn't a difference in danger, but simply a difference of convenience.

"Mm... Captain..."
"Yes, Ria?"
"Speaking of... Goblins... Have you... had any... ideas regarding... the ogre capture?"
"The ogre capture... I am honestly not too sure about that either. I'd like you and Wendl to discuss this with the people from the Academy.  Right now, I have no idea either."
"Mm..."

Ria tilted her head, lost in thought.

"Now then, that was everything for now. Taddick, Fenna. You should prepare everything you need today. Get everything ready to move out tomorrow morning."
""Understood, Captain!""

The two of them saluted.

"Ria, try to figure out what to do about the ogre issue. The people from the Academy will come by later as well."
"Mm... Got it..."
"Yumi, you stay here, we got a bit more to discuss."
"Nn, understood."

He still needed me? Made me wonder what it was about...

"Then, keep ya head up, Cap."

Taddick stood up from his seat, slapped Korwen's shoulder once and then left. Ria and Fenna both excused themselves as well, leaving me alone with Korwen.

"Yumi."
"Nn?"
"What do you think about this whole situation?"
"This situation? With the Academy tasks? Or with the stuff happening in the capital?"
"The stuff in the capital."

In the capital... So the things with the Allena family.

"Nn... I don't really know? It's... odd?"
"Odd, huh. You know, we've been always on good terms with this country. My father's generation fought for this country for many years in the Triside War, and even before that. That's partly the reason they decided to retire and live here."
"Haa..."

Korwen took a sip from his mug, then turned to me.

"Something is going on and I am not sure whether any of us are going to like it or not. If you notice anything, even if it is minor, don't hesitate to report it, understood?"
"Nn, understood, Captain."
"Good."

He nodded, a small smile on his face.

"So, let's talk about something else. How are you feeling, after your rather long nap?"
"Uhm... rather good, I think?"
"Mm... Good... Ria did tell me a little about what happened and I have seen the inside of the wagon... While you two were asleep, I also talked with the Elder of the elves. To be honest, I am unsure what to do in regards with you all right now."
"... Unsure?"

So... He was troubled by it, wasn't he...

"Ah, don't misunderstand. I have no intentions of throwing you out or anything. It's mostly something like... How to say it... I am unsure whether I should have you train as a mercenary, or let you explore the less human side of yourself. That's why I want to know how you feel about all of this."
"How I feel..."

I stared at the ceiling of the tent.
How I felt, he said...

"Nn... It's a little weird, seeing what I am turning into... But it doesn't feel too scary. Sis says she'll accept me no matter what. As long as she does, I am fine with it."
"... And you never thought of doubting those words?"
"I have no reason to doubt them."
"No reason... You both are really odd."

With a smile, he let out a chuckle.

"It's nearly refreshing, seeing this kind of trust between both of you. Wouldn't most people get scared?"
"Nn, I can't really speak for most people..."
"And that's fine. As long as you can speak for yourself, that's fine. Most people can't even do that."
"Nn?"

I tilted my head, slightly curious at those words.

"Well then, Yumi. I got a task for you."
"Ye, Yes?"
"Find out all you can about what you are. If necessary, consult with Ria. Make use of that wagon as much as you want. With that said, I will ask Ria to install a decent lock, and I might have to ask our craftsmen to do some work on it first. That also means we'll have to tell them about you. Also, only people who know about you are allowed inside that wagon. Understood?"
"Understood, Captain!"
"Mm. Good. Your responses are getting better. You should also discuss with Merim about your training plan. You won't be getting around that one, no worries."
"... Understood."

Days of muscle pain, here I come.

"Good. As for the othe—

At that moment, the curtain at the entrance opened once more.

"Captain!"
"... What is it?"

Korwen furrowed his brows, being clearly unhappy about being interrupted.

"I'm sorry for disturbing but there is someone requesting to meet you."
"Meet me? And who is it?"
"That is... I don't know."
"You don't know? Didn't they name themselves?"

The mercenary that had stormed in, shook his head.

"They have refused to say their name. They are also wearing a hood, so I couldn't confirm their face."
"And you didn't turn them away, despite that?"
"Yes, we didn't..."

The mercenary glanced a few times in my direction, then stood straight again, looking at Korwen.

"The only thing we could confirm... The person in question is a woman with pink hair."