Chapter 110

I remembered something I had forgotten in my busy schedule. It was the Fasa Thieves' Guild.

Although the crime rate has been decreasing for some unknown reason lately, a criminal organization is still a criminal organization.

When I leave Fasa and go to Ratio where the Holy See is, I won't be able to pay attention to Fasa for a while.

I can't stand the thought of the thieves' guild flourishing like mold in the rainy season while I'm away for a bit. It would be best to clean it up for good this time.

"That? Me?"

"You're not going to say 'why?' next, are you?"

"Keuk."

Hit where it hurts, Selvi could neither affirm nor deny and just let out a groan.

Where did he pick up such bad habits? Trying to ditch sacred labor?

"Think about it. We've already been made fools of by those rats of the thieves' guild several times. Those guys are probably starting to look down on us. Are you okay with that?"

"I can't let that happen."

"We haven't figured out the reason yet, but the decrease in the thieves' guild's crime rate is likely because those guys have gotten weaker. In other words, now is the best chance to wipe them out of Fasa."

"The boss is right."

"Right. So this time, we need to clean up the thieves who are stealing our share, right?"

"Yes, understood."

"Good. Let's work hard."

I patted Selvi's shoulder as a sign of encouragement. He was trembling so much, he must have been so moved.

Then, I called for Eleonor and Cavaldi.

Eleonor looked well-rested and had a good complexion, but Cavaldi was a skinny mummy, I don't know what he'd been up to. Anyone would think all the work had been pushed onto Cavaldi.

I was genuinely concerned for Cavaldi. Cavaldi is a key talent in our mercenary company, so he can't collapse here.

"Duke Cavaldi. Are you sick? You don't look well, and it hurts my heart to see it. How about taking a rest in Urdino?"

As if he understood my words as 'get the hell out of here and rest forever,' Cavaldi quickly answered.

"No. I'm not. I'm fine."

"Really? Then work at a leisurely pace. You have to take care of your health even if the work is hard."

Cavaldi glared at me as if he was about to shoot a death ray from his eyes.

Oh, so scary. He's making a fuss even when I'm worried about him.

Judging by his expression, he can't bring himself to curse at me to my face, but he must be cursing at me at 10x speed in his head.

Since I owe him a lot for his usual work, I can't say anything about him cursing in his head.

Right now, there was something more important.

"Now. I have good news. It's related to the reason I called you all here today, so you should be able to guess it."

The two of them revealed their teeth and grinned.

"Is it finally a new contract? Where did it come from?"

Eleonor and Cavaldi were not incompetent individuals. They were smart enough to immediately link their duties with the reason for the summons and deduce the answer.

Although they had mainly been in charge of administrative work recently, their basic duty was to command the troops.

In other words, the only thing that would require the two of them to move together was war.

I said meaningfully.

"The Holy See."

"Hah."

Everyone seemed to have not expected the name I pointed out and sucked in their breath.

Especially Duke Cavaldi seemed shocked.

"His Holiness the Pope wants to hire the Black Company?"

"Yes. I finished my meeting with the newly appointed Bishop of Fasa today. The Bishop of Fasa delivered the message that he wants to hire the Black Company on behalf of His Holiness. I consulted with the Signori family about that matter and decided to accept the Holy See's proposal."

"In that case?"

"Yes. The two of you, as commanders of the mercenary company, will play a key role in this contract mission."

Eleonor exclaimed with a look of sudden realization.

"Indeed! Knowing that something like this would happen, Duke Gryph gave me the mission to investigate the route to the north. I am truly impressed by Duke Gryph's insight."

No. That's not it.

It's true that I ordered them to investigate the route and dangers of going north. But any sensible person would have done the same.

After all, the only possible routes from Fasa were up or down, right?

But the already enthusiastic Eleonor showed no sign of listening to me. She seemed to think that I had used some divine strategy to predict that the Holy See would propose a contract.

Meanwhile, Cavaldi was trembling with extreme excitement and diligently making the sign of the cross.

"Oh. God! Thank you! I can finally escape this hellish place. You gave me this dog-like job, but I never resented you..."

I had no idea Cavaldi was so serious about religion. Or did he become serious after joining the mercenary company?

Why do even normal people become strange once they join the mercenary company?

I gave up on the conversation and sighed, leaning back in my chair. Theo patted my shoulder as if to cheer me up.

"Can I really trust these people and entrust them with the work?"

"I heard from Ishmael that there is a word called karma in the East. Think of it as that coming back to you, young master."

"Now that you put it that way, I really have nothing to say."

"That too would be karma."

"Damn it."

I looked back at the two who were ecstatic about the news of the new contract.

"Anyway, the reason I summoned the two of you is because I have instructions related to the contract."

"Just give the word."

The two of them stopped what they were doing and immediately corrected their posture.

"First, Duke Cavaldi."

"Yes."

"In my name, summon all the troops and prepare them to be ready to march at any time. The deadline is one week."

"Understood."

When I gave the deadline, Cavaldi's face seemed to turn a little bluish. Was I mistaken? No. Cavaldi would do well.

"Sir Eleonor."

"Yes."

"Recalculate the shortest route to Ratio and the amount of supplies needed. If you encounter any difficulties, consult with Randolfo. The Signori family will provide the necessary supplies."

"Understood."

After receiving their instructions, the two saluted and left.

It's really great to have capable subordinates. I can trust them with the work I have to do.

"But in the end, the young master has to give the final approval, though."

"I wish you hadn't said that."

***

"Why aren't these bastards coming?"

Since the last meeting, Judo Corsini had his men lie in ambush at every intersection where the attackers were likely to appear.

As a nobleman of the city, Judo had received military training and prided himself on being a master of using the terrain.

But to his dismay, the attackers didn't show up, so it was all for naught.

The complaints of his men, who had been loitering in the wrong places all day, were also starting to grow.

"How many days has it been? How are we supposed to know when these guys will attack and just keep waiting like this?"

"We haven't been able to do any work lately because of those guys, is this okay?"

It was only a short while ago that they were trembling in fear of the unidentified attackers.

But Judo sighed as he looked at his men, whose brains had been bleached as if that had never happened.

But he couldn't ignore his men's complaints either. It was the nature of this world that if complaints piled up, they wouldn't hesitate to take out their superior.

It's not for nothing that the leaders of the thieves' guild rule their subordinates with fear. If you try to embrace them with love to earn their respect, you'll get a knife in the back. You have to crush them once in a while so they don't get any funny ideas.

"Brother. Isn't this going to lead to big trouble?"

"Aigoo. I don't know what to do with these pathetic guys. Are we the only ones with such poor discipline?"

"It seems to be the same elsewhere. The Painters' Guild is said to have already gone bankrupt after fighting amongst themselves because they couldn't get a government order because of this incident."

"Damn Leon Gryph. He doesn't help when we need him."

At the news that a key organization in the back alleys had collapsed, Judo cursed Leon Gryph.

If even the Painters' Guild had come to that, the atmosphere in the other organizations must be very bad.

Because bad news always spreads quickly and makes people restless.

The problem of making a living was so important that it could shatter the unity of an organization in an instant.

"Keep our boys in line so they don't get any funny ideas. And..."

It was the moment Judo was speaking to his cousin. A subordinate who had rushed in shouted.

"Boss! He's here!"

"He? You mean only one of them showed up?"

"No!"

"Then what?"

"That red-eyed monster! That thing! Right now!"

CRASH!

The moment the subordinate shouted the last word.

The wall right next to them shattered, and the monster broke into the Corsini family's base.

The wolf-like monster slid in and crushed a few unlucky subordinates.

The screams of the subordinates crushed under the monster's knees were rampant. Red liquid splattered everywhere.

The monster, which had ended several lives in an instant, rolled its pearl-like eyes around and found Judo Corsini.

The monster's eyes were burning as if a will-o'-the-wisp was attached to them.

Judo Corsini's body froze upon receiving that gaze.

He had heard many rumors about the monster roaming around. But this was the first time he had actually witnessed it.

Although he usually boasted that a monster like that was no match for him. When he actually faced the monster, he was captivated by its gaze, as if vines were holding him, preventing him from moving.

"B-brother!"

The price of losing his senses was gruesome.

The monster swings its large front paw. The five sharp claws on it gleam like a crescent moon.

As simply as stabbing soft butter with a fork.

His cousin's neck was torn off in an instant.

A stream of blood gushes from the blood vessel like a fountain. It's common sense that a person with a torn carotid artery won't live long.

Judo Corsini felt a sense of loss at the fact that another family member had died, and great anger towards the monster.

"You bastard, monster! How dare you harm my family! I'll kill you!"

Judo belatedly came to his senses and drew the sword from his waist. And he bravely pointed it at the monster.

Sometimes, the human brain acts contrary to the instinct for survival. Judo Corsini's action right now was exactly that.

Anger made him forget fear and courage well up. Whether he had a chance of winning or not, he acted only for revenge.

But the monster just looked at him with a disdainful gaze. As if looking at someone attempting the impossible.

"Keok!"

As a result, Judo's action was nothing more than recklessness. Judo was caught by a giant hand flying towards him before he could even fight properly.

And snap.

The monster simply threw Judo as if he were trash. Judo hit the wall and then went limp.

The monster, having taken care of Judo, stood still in place as if it had lost its purpose. Its blood-soaked nose twitched.

"This smell... it's those Prydain pigs."

The monster muttered.

At that moment, people with their faces covered in masks appeared from beyond the collapsed wall.

The unidentified attackers who had been terrorizing the Fasa Thieves' Guild until recently.

The inquisitors of the Western Church.

Someone said, gritting their teeth.

"I've been looking for you for a long time. Monster. We finally meet again."

"Is that so?"

"Today, I will destroy you and find out who is behind you."

The familiar voice of Ceras.

Selvi, who had transformed into a monster, knew Ceras' identity and sneered.

The wolf-like snout split wide open to the ears, revealing pointed fangs.

The inquisitors who witnessed the sight all pointed their swords. The blessed silver swords shone with a dazzling light.

Silver weapons are the traditional secret method of the Western Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for dealing with monsters.

It was only natural that Ceras had requested silver weapons when she requested reinforcements from headquarters.

But Selvi was still full of composure in front of them.

"Right. You've got some minions with you. But do you really think you can face me with those needle-like swords?"

"Is there any reason we can't?"

"Challenging low odds is called gambling."

"We call it a miracle."

"Ha. You talk well."

Selvi snorted. The way she twists the facts to her own liking is so skillful. I don't like it at all.

'What should I do?'

Originally, Selvi had no intention of clashing with the inquisitors here today.

The boss had ordered him to wipe out the thieves' guild before leaving for Ratio, not to deal with the inquisitors.

He hates the Prydain guys, but if he wastes his strength here, he won't be able to complete his mission.

However, today Selvi decided to be whimsical. It was a slightly impulsive decision.

"It's not polite to not entertain a guest who has come all this way. Do you guys know how to dance?"

Ceras smirked.

"Dance? I dance very well."

"You better dance entertainingly. Otherwise, I'll be very disappointed."

The next moment, Selvi and Ceras simultaneously kicked off the ground and leaped into the sky.

Against the dark sky, a sword light splitting like a crescent moon and a slashing attack tearing in five directions intersected.

That night was very long for the people of Fasa.

The people had to stay up all night, hoping that the screams coming from outside would end soon.