“Korwen, it’s a pleasure to meet you again in good health. And the little ladies from last time have graced us with their beauty today as well, what a pleasant surprise.”

A familiar young beastkin entered the tent, followed by the just-as-familiar boulder Ruben.

“It’s good to see you as well, Will. Come in, take a set.”

Korwen gestured with his hand to the bench opposite of us.

“That I shall. Oh, are those dried fruits from the Beyond? A rarity here. Even I rarely get to eat them.”

With a smile, Will sat down opposite us, eyeing the fruits in the bowl.

“You wouldn’t happen to have more of these, do you?”
“No. They’re only for rare occasions.”
“What a shame. Goods from the Beyond are so rare.”
“You have more than enough money to import them yourself.”
“Hahaha, a good joke Korwen! There’s no way I have that kind of money.”

Will laughed out loud at Korwen’s comment, seeming genuinely amused. Once he calmed, a self-deprecating smile came over him.

“If we had that kind of money, we wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place.”
“Are your finances that bad?”
“They’re not bad but they aren’t rosy. Thanks to this little uproar, we’ll have to keep expenses down at least for this year. But with the assets that were confiscated, we shouldn’t have a need to raise the taxes.”
“Hmm.”

The commander on Will’s side turned around, looking at Will with a serious expression, and started chiding him.

“Sir, please do not divulge state matters to the mercenaries.”
“What… Ruben, I beg you, with a little bit of thinking he would have figured it out on his own. Or more like he would have assumed it to be worse if I didn’t say anything. Am I right, Korwen?”
“I have no idea what you could mean.”
“That so? Well, whatever. This isn’t what we came here for anyway.”

Everyone’s expressions hardened and the atmosphere felt like it got all serious now.

“Korwen. If you would.”
“Mh. First, I’ll report to you the results: The village was eradicated down to the last. Two magicians from the Worshippers have fled. All other Worshippers have been dealt with. In addition, the large-scale monster has been subjugated by us. We presume that the army detachment sent to investigate was overwhelmed and crushed, either by the monster or the Worshippers’ magicians that fled.”

Korwen paused, gauging the other side for their reactions. Ruben didn’t bat an eye but Will’s eyes narrowed, as he leaned forward and supported his elbows on his legs.

“There is also one other thing I have to report.”

Right when he finished the sentence, something at the other side of the tent began to move, making its way towards us with slow unsteady steps. A few dolls carrying a leather bag. Once they arrived, Korwen reached out to the leather bag and put it on the table.

“We found this and more in the village. I recommend handling it with care.”

Will eyed the bag for a few seconds and then threw a glance at Ruben, who promptly took the leather bag and checked the contents.

“This is…”
“What is it, Ruben?”
“Sir… It’s crushed crystal flowers.”
“... Korwen, you said there’s more where this came from?”
“We have recovered at least two crates full of Crystal Flowers. The Worshippers used the remains of the villagers to grow them.”
“...”

The expressions of Will and Ruben turned ever so slightly grave as they listened to Korwen.

“We’ve brought all the ones we could find but there is no guarantee there won’t be more. Large portions of the village have been destroyed and turned into rubble.”
“Ruben.”
“I’ll send men as soon as we return.”

Nodding to Ruben’s words, Will straightened his back again and looked straight at Korwen.

“You are sure only two magician Worshippers escaped?”
“They were the only other living Worshippers we could confirm. However, one of them is likely the ‘troublesome’ magician you mentioned before.”
“Hoo? They were skilled enough to escape from you?”
“We never directly engaged her.”
“Mh?”
“She wasn’t present when we attacked.”

Seeing the confusion in Will’s eyes, Korwen recounted everything. From when we arrived, got the scout reports, attacked the village, investigated the remains and finally dealt with the Mother Roper. At the mention of the corpse pillar the worshipper’s had erected, the two grimaced.

“They’ve become a true menace… Do they have no respect for the deceased?” muttered Ruben after the report ended.
“Mh… We already long knew the Worshippers would become a problem if left alone. But this is far beyond their usual actions. You said they hadn’t used any exploding puppets or traps either, Korwen?”
“Nothing.”
“Mh… It’s weird. But we know too little about them, so maybe they had a lack of resources or manpower.”

Korwen shrugged his shoulders at Will’s assumption.

“There could be so many reasons why that there’s little use in thinking about it. It’s good to keep in mind when you get additional information but that’s it. You could investigate it, for example.”
“Mh… I guess you are right.”

With a sigh, Will turned to Ruben next to him.

“So, Ruben, I’m not an expert on this topic at all. They vanquished that monster as well. What do you make of this?”
“A large-scale monster like this could have caused a large number of losses to our army, as proven by the detachment that got wiped out. As a military man, I believe that this should be considered a substantial achievement.”
“Even though they did so with no casualties?”
“My apologies if this sounds rude, Sir, but the Lomerian Dragon Knights are highly-trained mercenaries with more than just a few large-scale monster subjugations under their belt. Rank-and-file soldiers could hardly be compared to these men.”
“Huh, it’s rare for you to go out of your way to praise someone.”

It was quite the praise, on that I could agree.

“That’s simply what I believe. With sufficient preparation, I have little doubt that they could handle the monster with only some injuries.”
“Hey, there. Some of those injuries were life-threatening. And because you closed off the city, we nearly lost them. That’s not only ‘some’ injuries.”

Wow, Korwen seemed genuinely annoyed at those words.

“I apologise. I did not intend to make light of them.”
“Mh.”

Ruben bowed his a little in apology to Korwen.

“I think I get the gist of it. In that case, I guess there’s no choice. Ruben, what’s the going rate for such subjugations?”
“... Unfortunately, I do not have knowledge of those matters.”
“I see. In that case, we will pay you twice the original monetary reward. Is that enough for you, Korwen?”
“Twice, huh… So, you intend to pay us twenty thousand gold coins?”

His eyes narrowed as he glared at Will.

“The monster was an unexpected enemy that could have easily lost us dozens of men. It was a lucky fortune that none of them died.”
“... Twenty-two thousand then. I am also remembering that we agreed that you keep the spoils collected over the job. Don’t think I forgot that.”
“Twenty-two thousand it is then, out of kindness I’ll accept since nobody died.”
“Very well. I will prepare the reward accordingly.”

Will let out a deep sigh, his eyes downcast for a moment before he caught himself and looked up again.

“Now then… Have you considered the wish already?”
“There are a few things I am considering. However, I have yet to make a final decision.”
“... I hope you won’t wait for too long with it.”
“I’ll try my best.”

He sighed again, slumped forward with his arms resting on his knees.

“Sir, that’s unbecoming.”
“I don’t care, right now. Give me a moment. I’m stressed enough as is already.”

He sure had been busy with the nobles in his own country, the Empire and the Worshippers. I didn’t want to imagine the amount of work he had to go through.

“Well, guess Korwen hadn’t yet heard what happened here. Ruben, give him a rundown.”
“Understood.”

Oh, we’d finally learn what had happened here.

“The day you departed—yesterday—we mobilised all the manpower we could muster. As soon as night fell, we surrounded a total of twelve mansions belonging to four different noble houses and three influential merchants. The ensuing skirmishes went by fairly one-sided and ended within less than half an hour. Except for two, where unknown forces occupied the mansions and staged a defensive battle. Those two battles went on until morning. They ended with only a few casualties on our side.”
“Sounds like we both got out relatively well.”
“You guys came out well… The kingdom has taken a major loss…”

Now it was Ruben’s turn to sigh. As we wondered what had happened, it was Will who spoke up instead.

“One of the noble houses involved in this were the Karastra.”
“... The Karastra?”
“Tell me if you know any others cause I’d love it if they were the ones.”

An unfamiliar name had popped up. Judging from their reaction, it had to be a rather important noble house, though.

“We don’t know if it was the entire house who was cooperating in this, though. We still have to gather evidence but the majority of the house was apprehended in one of the mansions. Doesn’t bode well if I may say so.”
“Are you sure they weren’t there for some dinner occasion?”
“I wished they did. But we already found transaction details that involved at least the current head…”
“That’s pretty bad…”

Even Korwen was now making a grim face.

“Well, nothing I can do about anymore. Other than them, the other notable ones are the Allena’s. Nearly the entire family is involved in their machinations. There are loads of evidence in their mansion… It might take forever to sort that out.”
“The Allena’s, huh… Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Who was?”
“Good point.”

So, the Allena’s go caught as well… That reminded me of those two young men from the festival. Were they involved as well? Probably not but…

“For now, we believe the Allena’s were the middlemen between the other nobles and merchants and the Empire. Maybe even the Worshippers. It looks pretty bleak for them, now that they were caught.”
“But at least it’s one pest less.”
“You will not believe how comfortable the future will be with all those nagging all basta— Actually, most of those nagging ones are still there. Either way, it’s going to be more comfortable.”
“Sir, you shouldn’t say such things.”
“Listen, Ruben. My mood is horrible. Our coffers are empty, we lost several influential nobles and merchants and still have to deal with tons of investigations. Cut me some slack at least today.”
“...”

Yeah, he was in a bad mood…

“Coffers empty… Will, I might have a suggestion for you.”
“Spare me. You want to suck me dry even more?”
“No. I want to buy something from you.”
“... Those are the worst words you could have said. I’m listening.”

Korwen grinned when Will showed his willingness to hear him out. This was... about that, huh…

“You see, we are wandering mercenaries, travelling from one country to another, looking for work and living on the road. It’s a pretty hard life, you know?”
“...”
“So, we have been considering for a while to maybe settle down somewhere, you know?”
“Come to the point.”
“So impatient.”

No, he totally would have continued extending this for a while, right?

“Well, since you want to know. We want to buy one of your country’s forts.”
“... Can you repeat that?”
“We want to buy a fort.”
“... This a joke?”
“I’m entirely serious.”

Will closed his eyes, his chin resting on his closed fist as he pondered.

“You are asking for a lot, Korwen.”
“I know.”
“... That’s not something I can just say ‘Yeah, sure.’ and sell it to you. The forts are critical for our nation’s defence. That’s just outright impossible.”
“I’m not talking about the ones in use, Will. I know there are several abandoned forts.”
“Then, you want to buy one of the abandoned ones?”
“Yes.”

There was no reaction for several seconds. Then, Will opened his eyes and looked at Korwen.

“That will have to depend on which fort. If there’s anything we wouldn’t miss in the first place. Knowing you, you already thought of some, haven’t you?”
“Of course.”

With a grin, Korwen stood up and walked to his desk, picking up a leather container, long and round. He opened it and pulled out a large piece of paper. Once he placed it on the table, I realised that it was the map we had seen before.

“Hey, Ruben. How does a mercenary have such a good map?”
“... I don’t know.”

The two were quite shocked when they realised what they were looking at.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a map of the Beyond, do you?”
“Who knows?”
“Tsk. Well, we can talk about that some other time. Show me which one.”

Once Korwen sat down next to us, he put three small wooden figures on the map. They looked like simplified soldiers, holding a shield and a spear.

“First, the Rahlban fort at the northern border, near Krohmea, far to the west of the Grand Spirit Lake, near the Wooden Sea. It’s been abandoned since the Triside War, as far as I know.”

He pointed at the northernmost figure on the map, next to a large lake. Will followed his fingers and his expression turned into a grimace as he looked at the spot in question.

“Second, in the east to Aldreigh, is the Aldas fort, close to the Northern Lights’ Plains. That one’s been abandoned even longer.”

The fort was right in the middle of the border to Aldreigh. This time, it was Ruben who grimaced when Korwen pointed at it.

“Last, there’s the Auria fort to the northeast. It’s right next to the Grand Spirit Lake, south of the Sleeping Forest.”
“...”

Will stared at each of the figures on the map, then sighed. Afterwards, he looked to Ruben, asking for his opinion.

“Ruben, what do you think?”
“... Rahlban fort is not an option. It was abandoned during the Triside War only because of a lack of soldiers. There are plans to recapture it in the next years even. Although, that might be put on hold for a few more after this. Either way, the fort is necessary to keep some military presence near the Krohmean border and to prevent monsters from the Wooden Sea from entering the kingdom. We can’t keep it abandoned for much longer.”

So, that one was already out, huh…

“Next, Aldas fort is along the Aldreighan border. It was abandoned after the construction of several other forts near the border. Rather than a lack of soldiers, it was abandoned to prevent provoking the Aldreighans.”
“Mh. And if we were to give it away, the Kingdom of Aldreigh might complain. They won’t take a ‘We sold it!’ as an answer either. Haaa…”

Ouch, already two were denied…

“What about Auria fort? I don’t think I even heard that name before…”
“That’s not surprising. It’s a very old fortress. And it has been in disuse since before we were born. While it is south of the Krohmean border, that border area is the Sleeping Forest… And to the west of the fort is the Grand Spirit Lake. Even if we would wage war with Krohmea, it is not in a strategically important position.”
“Mhm… The Sleeping Forest… Wasn’t that the forest that one Krohmean lord wanted to have?”
“I believe that was the case.”

They didn’t seem to be too averse for this one at least. Maybe that was good news.

“Mh… The Sleeping Forest…”
“I believe the entirety of the forest is within our borders.”
“I see… This might not be so bad.”

Will smirked as he thought of something.

“Korwen, the other two are no good but we can talk about Auria fort. Will that be acceptable for you?”
“Auria fort… Well, I guess we can talk about it.”
“Good, good. But first I’d need to know what you are going to offer in exchange. I will tell you, but your reward is not sufficient as payment.”
“Of course, I know that. Since it is Auria fort, well… how about a One hundred and thirty thousand total? Subtracting the reward and we will pay you a One hundred and eight thousand .”

Will froze at the number’s Korwen just recited, his jaw dropping down.

“A hundred and eight thousands… Ruben, I should tax mercenaries more.”
“... I doubt that most mercenary bands have such a stash of money… For the Dragon Knights, though, this might not be all that much.”
“Ruben, could you not tell Will such things? That’s a fortune, even for us.”
“...”

Apparently, what Korwen had offered was a rather good deal… Or not? Will seemed up and about to take it but Ruben, on the other hand, didn’t seem that happy. They both seemed to have their own thoughts on the matter. After a while, Will leaned back, close to falling off of the bench.

“A hundred thousand gold coins… We’re still talking in Famiu gold, right?”
“Yes. of course.”
“... Thinking about it, it’s a whole fortress. A whole fortress. Wouldn’t you agree that a hundred thousand is actually rather little?”
“It’s a fortress that hasn’t been in use for decades, Will. In the middle of nowhere.”
“Middle of nowhere next to the lake. Ruben, what’s the closest town?”
“The closest town would be… Auria.”

Well, at least we now knew where the fort got its name from.

“Oh, it’s that place. I’ve been there before. Not a very large town but it is well-known for its fish industry, I think. The fish was great.”

Fish, huh… Wasn’t fish a rarity due to needing a magician to identify it? Or at least someone with mana sight. They had to have quite a few if they could survive on fish then.

“Mh… I’d love to say that we got a deal but selling a whole fort to a mercenary band has also a lot of problems attached to it, Korwen. While a hundred thousand is certainly quite a sum, I do believe it is a little meagre. Even if it is not a strategically important place, it is still right next to Krohmea and the Aldreighan border isn’t that far either. In fact, it’d be closer if you circumvented it, is it not, Ruben?”
“That’s right. The Sleeping Forest spans quite some territory, so you’d travel longer to Krohmea than to Aldreigh.”

Will nodded and then let out a sigh.

“The longer I think about it, the more issues there are… We’d have to explain not only to Krohmea but also to Aldreigh that mercenaries would occupy that place. Even if our relations are good, I cannot risk them for the sake of money.”
“So, it’s a no?”
“A no it is. And I won’t listen to the ‘wish’ either if it is about this. That’s not something ‘in my power,’ after all.”
“That’s unfortunate.”

Eh? Then, there’d be no base and fort for us, after all?

“However, Korwen. I have a suggestion.”
“... I’m listening?”
“Actually, there are two. I can try and contact both Krohmea and Aldreigh and discuss the matter with them. Knowing your reputation, they might be willing to overlook it. That would be my first suggestion.”
“... And the other one?”
“Just go and look for some unsettled territory and build your own fort.”
“If that was possible, I’d have done it long ago.”

Korwen rubbed his temples when he heard Will’s questionable suggestion and then sighed.

“Well, I had a feeling things would turn out like this.”
“I can only apologise, Korwen. The matters of my nation have priority.”

Apparently, negotiations had failed…

“I understand, Will. It is unfortunate, but it is what it is.”
“You back down surprisingly quickly…”

Will narrowed his eyes at Korwen. Was it that odd for Korwen to back down?

“Sir. May I?”
“Ruben, what is it?”
“While I understand the concern about our relations with Krohmea and Aldreigh, having the Dragon Knights within the country would be a boon for our military might, as loath as I am to admit. Considering just this incident, it might be preferable to keep them inside the country. And since they are mercenaries, Krohmea and Aldreigh might even welcome them, as they could take jobs for them as well.”
“...Haaa. That’s true as well. I see that this is something that needs some more consideration. Also, we will have to contact Aldreigh and Krohmea about this matter and discuss it first. Until then, we cannot continue this. Understood?”

Korwen nodded, a strangely satisfied grin on his lips.

“Sure, that’s fine by me.”
“... Good. Then, the matter is on hold for now. Haaa...”

After having come to that conclusion, Will visibly relaxed. Same for Ruben.

“Do allow me one question, Korwen. If the mercenaries are that well-off, why have you never breached this topic before?”
“Mm… Because we are, at heart, wanderers, I guess?”
“Wanderers, huh… And now the wanderers want to settle down. So you give up wandering?”
“No way.”
“Hmm… Is that so...”

It seemed that the topic had come to a conclusion now… Korwen was probably satisfied with the results, judging from his expression.

“Haa… Seriously, you mercenaries are always such a piece of work. I’ll need at least a week off after dealing with you.”
“That’s quite rude, Will.”
“I don’t care. I haven’t seen a wink of sleep in the past two days. I’m not like you inhumane monsters that can swing an axe for two weeks straight and still have energy left.”

Will smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“Whatever. Ruben, let’s go. We still got work left.”
“Yes, Sir.”

The two stood up from the bench and Korwen followed suit. Figuring we should probably as well, Karen and I stood up as well.

“It’s been a pleasure, Korwen. And this is just from me personally, but you have my thanks.”
“Glad to be of help. We’ll see each other again soon, I believe.”
“Too soon if you ask me.”

Both of them laughed as they shook hands.

“As for the two ladies here, it was a pleasure to see you again. May your beauty persist until the stars fall from heaven. I hope you will bless us with your presence soon again. Farewell.”
“Ah… Farewell.”
“Farewell.”

A little stumped by his words, we awkwardly said our goodbye as well.

“Ruben, don’t forget you owe me some ale.”
“Tsk, you didn’t forget that, did you… Sure. When everything’s over, I’ll come by.”

After finishing his farewells with Korwen, he nodded once to Karen and me, giving a curt ‘Bye.’ and then following Will. A few moments later, they were both gone.

“Haaa… That went well, didn’t it?”
“Is that so, Captain? It felt like they would say no, though.”
“Will actually did say no. But that was about what I expected. If Ruben hadn’t said anything, one of his advisors would have likely spoken up at a later date. Either way, I didn’t believe the topic to be over.”
“Huh…”

So he had considered that already?

“And none of you even touched the fruits. Really?”
“Well… I felt it would be rude to take them first…”
“... Why do you have to know manners at a time like this?”

With a sigh, Korwen grabbed some fruits and threw one each to Karen and me.

“Take one. You won’t often have a chance.”
“Haa…”

I exchanged a glance with Karen and then bit into the fruit.

“Nn? It’s sweet.”
“Ah. It really is.”

A pleasant taste spread in my mouth. This wasn’t quite what I expected from dried fruit.

“Right? They’re great even dried. And fresh they’re even better. But if you import them they cost you an arm, a leg and probably half your organs.”
“Is it fine for us...”
“It is. Here, take another”
“Woah!”

Taken by surprise, I barely managed to catch the dried fruit he threw with my free hand. I hadn’t even finished the first one…

“If we went by our regular route we would have gone through Krohmea after Lafria. Krohmea is close to the sea and their merchant ships regularly travel to the other side. Buying the fruits in the port cities costs a fraction of what they would here, so you don’t need to worry about it that much.”
“I see… But they’re still expensive, right?”
“They are. But they’re good.”
“... Nn. They are.”

I continued to nibble on the first fruit, the sweetness spreading through my mouth. Just eating this made me feel a little happier.

“Mr Captain, if the deal with the fort works out, then won’t it be more difficult to buy them?”
“Mh, that depends on a few things. First, even if we get a fort for ourselves, it is more like… Mhm… A home base. A place to return to. We would have to change our regular routes but we would still travel around.”

Korwen picked up one fruit and bit into it.

“Mh, as good as I remember.”

He nodded, satisfied.

“In the case that Yumi manages to make the Space magic work, this would become even easier. In fact, I’ve been playing with the idea to extend our area of operations to the other side if possible.”
“Um, the other side is the place beyond the sea, right?”
“That’s right. Will called the Beyond. It’s a large continent with many unexplored areas. There are some countries over there but only two or three, plus some independent cities. It’s said that the Beyond has a high concentration of ambient mana which makes it hard for humans to live there. Don’t know if it’s true but one thing is for sure: It’s a paradise for monsters.”

A paradise for monsters…

“Doesn’t it just tingle your inner explorer when you hear that? Who knows what could be found out there?”
“So, you want to become an explorer?”
“Ha! I’d love to but that’ll be difficult. I got my own responsibilities, after all. But if this works out, I might get a little closer to it.”
“I see…”

So, it all depended on me to get figure out the Space magic, huh…

“Captain, I’ll try my best.”
“Hahaha! That’s what I like to hear!”

He grinned and pressed his hand down on my head ruffling my hair.

“But don’t let the pressure get to you, okay? There are still other things we need you for.”
“Nn, I… probably won’t.”
“That’s reassuring. Hahaha!”

Yes, I’d try my best. Korwen had done a lot for us, and if it was just to repay him a little, I’d try my best.