Chapter 91

This was before Cavaldi knew the true nature of the mercenary company.

Cavaldi learned that after the battle where he was taken prisoner, the mercenaries had savored Urdino sausages.

“No, our town's sausages are delicious, but are they that good?”

The question soon turned into action.

“Well, if they like them, that's all that matters. I should take these to win them over.”

This act of goodwill was soon betrayed.

“You deceived me, Leon!”

“If you must blame someone, blame your own competence.”

Overwhelmed by a flood of overtime, Cavaldi nearly exploded, and by the time only the Urdino-produced sausages were left.

“Finally, I have returned!”

Rhom returned from his long injury.

In truth, Rhom had only shone briefly at the beginning of the war before being sidelined by injury, so his contributions had been small compared to his reputation.

Naturally, he had never tasted an Urdino sausage, nor did he know the status it held within the company.

Furthermore, Rhom held a grudge against Cavaldi for injuring him.

High-level mental activities like a hero recognizing a hero, or mutual respect based on the spirit of chivalry, were absent from Rhom's mind.

“Rhom! Overthrow Urdino! Rhom! Eat all the sausage!”

So, Rhom ate all the sausages that were set aside for the executives.

It was the wrong decision.

Fasa was a maritime city.

While agricultural and livestock products were relatively expensive, seafood was so cheap it was overflowing.

Naturally, under an agreement between the Fasa government and Leon to reduce expenses, seafood was a daily staple in the mercenaries' meals.

However, even the most avid fish lover would get tired of eating only fish every day.

To the company executives who had been eagerly awaiting the Urdino sausages, Rhom's action was an unspeakable outrage.

“Hey, where did my sausage go?”

“Sorry!”

“So where is my sausage!”

“Sarry!”

The Urdino sausage possessed a magic powerful enough to make even Eleonor, the scholarly type among the company's swordsmen, lose her reason.

As a result, Rhom found himself being kicked whenever he came into Eleonor's sight.

“Sir Eleonor, people are watching. Please maintain your dignity.”

“Ugh, seriously. You just wait until next time.”

As Randolfo mediated, Eleonor reluctantly turned away.

Rhom managed to straighten his hunched body.

Although Rhom was recognized throughout the world for his valor, he had no confidence in winning against Eleonor.

If he acted tough, he might get summoned to a quiet latrine at night.

Besides, trolls had good regenerative abilities, so hitting them didn't leave much of a mark…

It was the price for bearing the original sin of gluttony.

Rhom resolved to avoid Eleonor from now on.

‘Ugh, so pathetic. I need to stay out of her sight next time.’

Randolfo stepped before the youths who were dumbfounded by the scene.

“A pleasure to meet you, gentlemen. Welcome to the Black Company. I am Randolfo Signori, the company's treasurer.”

Hanging around rough people, Randolfo’s original disposition had been colored by military life.

Naturally, his speech became stiff.

Few of the young men recognized Randolfo, but their eyes widened at his self-introduction.

Everyone knew that the person managing the money was important.

Moreover, the Signori Family was the noble house that currently ruled Fasa.

It wasn't just that it wouldn't hurt to be friendly with him; it was imperative to become friendly with him.

“From now on, you will undergo four weeks of training before being assigned to active duty. What is it? Do you have a question?”

One of the young men raised his hand.

It was Rene Calaci, who had been noisy from the start.

“Sir Randolfo.”

“You shouldn't use the title 'Sir' with me. I do not have a knighthood.”

“Then what should we call you?”

“You can just use my position. So, what are you curious about?”

“Treasurer, you just mentioned we would receive training. I'm curious as to what that means.”

Randolfo looked at Eleonor.

Eleonor then stepped forward in his place.

“It's exactly as it sounds. For the next four weeks, you will undergo training to adapt to the mercenary company. The training course will include combat drills and administrative work.”

“Pardon?”

Stunned expressions flickered across the young men's faces.

Eleonor shook her head.

“You're young, but you're slow on the uptake. We are a mercenary company. That means we are hired by someone to conduct battles. Therefore, it's natural that you too will need to train in basic combat skills.”

“That's absurd. We were not told that we would be participating in combat.”

“Why is it absurd? Do you think the enemy will spare you just because you're non-combat personnel when we're surprise-attacked? Raise your hand if you think this is strange.”

Of course, no one raised their hand.

Eleonor’s words were reasonable, and they didn't want to look foolish in front of others by raising their hands for no reason.

Still, Rene Calaci felt a sense of rejection.

“We are confident that we have received sufficient training from our families. Besides, we came here as representatives of our nations, not to receive something like training.”

Luca, who had no fondness for Rene, found himself nodding in agreement.

It was an era fraught with danger just to live.

The children of wealthy families would invite famous martial arts masters to learn self-defense, while the children of poor families would learn survival skills in the alleys.

Naturally, everyone was confident in their skills to some extent.

Eleonor scoffed at them.

“Are you saying we should treat you well because you have skills?”

“That is correct.”

“Really? So you're confident? We've got a very arrogant newcomer. Step forward.”

“Pardon?”

“You said you were confident in your skills, didn't you? I'm giving you a chance to show them off. What's wrong? Scared? You're looking very stiff right now?”

“A man from Messina is never scared!”

This was also an age of romanticism, where honor and pride were valued above all else.

It was teeming with people who believed it was better to die bravely than to live as a coward, and Rene was no exception.

Rene, incensed, stepped forward.

“Who should I face? Please tell me. I will try.”

“Rhom. Step forward.”

The designated Rhom stepped forward with a mischievous grin.

He had been under a lot of stress lately from Eleonor's torment, and he was delighted that a target to vent his frustrations on had walked right up to him.

And Rene couldn't manage his expression.

He had moved out of pride, but he suddenly felt regret.

“No, but you didn't say my opponent was Sir Rhom. I just thought I'd be facing a regular member.”

“Kid. When you go into battle, are you going to pick and choose your opponents? Do you think you'll get that chance?”

“……”

Coming from Rhom, who had been crushed by Cavaldi, the words carried a different weight.

Besides, what Rhom said wasn't wrong, so Rene couldn't refute it.

“Hurry up and take the wooden sword. You have to keep your word.”

Rhom thrust the wooden sword right in front of his face.

Under the intangible pressure from his surroundings, Rene squeezed his eyes shut and accepted the wooden sword.

'A man dies once, not twice.'

“Uyaaaah!”

Exactly thirty seconds later.

Rene was rolling on the floor, beaten to a pulp.

As Eleonor had said, Rhom's skills were by no means lacking.

He was just unlucky, always facing formidable opponents.

Compared to that, dealing with one inexperienced brat was a piece of cake.

As Rene, who had stepped forward as their representative, was utterly defeated, hope vanished from the young men's faces.

Eleonor sneered.

“Seeing how quiet it's gotten, you must have realized your place. It's a relief you have some sense.”

“……”

“What's this, no answer when your superior is speaking?”

“We're sorry!”

“Good? Then run immediately to that training ground over there, now!”

The young men, realizing their fate, were completely overwhelmed and immediately ran as if their backsides were on fire.

Rhom, who gave the fleeing Rene a kick on the butt, chuckled heartily.

“Still, among the new guys, that one has some grit.”

Those who joined a mercenary company were rarely of a gentle disposition.

They were all defiant and lived on their own terms, so if left alone, they were prone to causing trouble.

It was Rhom's role to crush them once and break their spirit before that happened.

Therefore, a guy like Rene was very familiar to Rhom.

“But this is a bit of a headache.”

“What is it, now?”

“It's about the newcomers from Pescara and Messina. Their minds are still soft, so it'll take time for them to become useful. We're already busy as it is, and to have more work piled on at a time like this. Is it necessary to allocate manpower for recruit training?”

“It's not training, it's orientation.”

“Let's just say it is.”

As a historian, Eleonor knew the importance of defining and distinguishing terms, but Rhom, who rarely attended church, did not.

In fact, to Rhom, who possessed a medieval mindset, the plan Leon had devised seemed strange.

It was natural for a newcomer's mind to be soft.

The purpose of group life was for the seniors to shape them into people with proper character.

So, it seemed strange to set aside separate time to train the newcomers.

Rhom thought Eleonor would agree and said so, but the response he received was cold.

“Then why don't you go and suggest it yourself.”

“That's a bit…”

“Right? You're scared of that, aren't you?”

“Very scared. I'm afraid he'll tell me to work more overtime if I have time to say such things…”

Rhom lost all his courage as he recalled the overtime that had been postponed thanks to this training.

Though he often forgot, Leon Gryph was younger than he looked.

He was even younger than the young men they had just met.

However, when Leon did something, there was always a reason that those around him could accept.

A judgment that was uncharacteristic of his age, perhaps.

It was far better to stay quiet than to go asking for a reason and end up with more work.

The old saying that if you stay quiet, you'll at least be average, wasn't for nothing.

It was also burdensome to have Theo glaring at him from the side, whose quitting time was delayed whenever the document approvals were late.

Anyway, thanks to this training, or orientation, or whatever it was, he had avoided overtime.

“The captain always has his reasons for doing things.”

“That's true.”

“If you know, then stop talking and get a move on. You're in charge of training. Why aren't you chasing after them?”

“Yes…”

“Drill them properly and give them a good mental education. I'll check on them later.”

“Yes…”

“And don't forget to stop those guys from brawling. If an accident happens, you'll have me to answer to!”

“Aack!”

Rhom finally started running towards the training ground to escape the storm of nagging.

As he ran, he thought to himself.

‘This is crazy. I really have to avoid her from now on. She must be really angry about the sausage.’

Rhom didn't know that the sausage incident had turned the entire executive staff of the mercenary company against him.

Nor did he know that his only path to survival was to somehow procure more sausages.

Eleonor watched Rhom's fleeing back and smirked.

Teasing Rhom had become her recent pleasure in life.

‘Still, that guy isn't that stupid. He doesn't even go near dangerous places.’

In fact, the nagging Eleonor had given Rhom was what she had first heard from Leon.

It was just that it had been filtered and softened by one degree.

Eleonor, too, had a medieval soul like Rhom, but her initiative surpassed his.

To satisfy her curiosity, she had actually gone to Leon and asked.

In Eleonor's memory, Leon had looked at his coffee cup for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking.

“Just think of it simply.”

“Simply?”

“As you know, these friends are from different regions. Moreover, they don't get along and have no reason to become close. The only thing they have in common is that they were defeated together this time? But that's not a reason for them to feel a sense of camaraderie.”

“That's true.”

“If left as they are, they'll surely just fight amongst themselves. It's better to exhaust them from the start so they don't have the energy for other thoughts and won't cause trouble. And won't they develop a sense of unity and group consciousness only after they've suffered together?”

Eleonor was genuinely impressed by Leon's insight, which flowed like a torrent.

But Leon's words didn't stop there.

“That's when we conduct the mental education. We instill loyalty in them, to devote themselves not to their region of birth or country, but to this organization and the comrades beside them. Do you understand?”

It was easy to let his words go in one ear and out the other, but Eleonor didn't miss the core point.

Leon never said that the object of loyalty was Fasa.

He only mentioned the organization and comrades.

It was a very significant point.

‘One day, the man named Leon Gryph will surely go on to a bigger stage and achieve great things.’

As a historian, Eleonor was satisfied with that fact.

‘Perhaps this might be my lifelong job. Just following Duke Gryph will provide more than enough stories to record in the chronicles.’