Chapter 59

Chapter 59. Dunmore (1)

In truth, the horse Balun had received as a gift from the Lord of Pordel was somewhat troublesome for him.

He had been given a fine horse, but because he did not know how to ride one, there was no greater white elephant than this.

He could walk beside it while holding the reins all day, but he could not keep traveling like that forever. So before leaving Rotenfeld Great Castle, he had planned to decide what to do with this horse. Whether he would go with it, or sell it.

It seemed he would not need to dispose of it.

‘I think I might have talent.’

Balun had delayed his trip to Dunmore by a few days and practiced horsemanship intensely, and today was the fourth day.

On the first and second days, he practiced getting familiar with the horse under George’s focused coaching, and from the third day onward, he practiced riding alone without anyone’s help.

And today, Balun had now learned to ride alone without difficulty.

“Run, Blackie!”

NEIGH!

The horse carrying Balun ran around the riding ground in circles. The sight of him leaning his upper body diagonally forward and resting his body against the horse made it seem as if he had become one with it.

George watched the scene, then slowly shook his head with an exasperated gaze.

“A genius of horsemanship was here.”

It usually took a long time for an ordinary person to become capable of riding a horse well alone.

Even with intense practice, it would take at least several months, yet Balun had learned to ride alone without help in only four days, so how could it not be astonishing?

Of course, that did not mean he had become as skilled as a cavalry rider or a knight. However, he absolutely no longer looked like a beginner who had only just learned horsemanship.

“Stop. That is enough.”

At George’s restraint, Balun pulled on the reins. The horse slowly reduced its speed and soon stopped, and Balun dismounted before stroking the horse’s mane.

“That was good, Blackie.”

Brrr!

George, who had been watching the horse and Balun communicate, asked,

“Is Blackie the horse’s name?”

“That is right. I just named him.”

“What a strange name.”

“Does it not feel affectionate? Since he is a black horse, Blackie. It is cute and good.”

“I am not sure.”

“Then what would you name him?”

After pondering Balun’s question, George gave his answer.

“Hmm, a name should be cool and manly, after all. If it were me, I would name him something like Dark Emperor Horse. He looks dignified, like the emperor of horses.”

At those words, Balun looked disgusted.

“Are you serious?”

“I am serious. Is it not cool?”

“You have eighth-grader syndrome.”

“Eighth-grader syndrome? What is that?”

“There is such a thing.”

Balun shook his head. This knight’s naming sense seemed completely hopeless.

“In any case, you no longer need to learn horsemanship. I have nothing more to teach you.”

“Good!”

“Then you will leave now. I think you said you were going to Dunmore.”

“That is right.”

“When will you leave? Tomorrow? Or will you stay a few more days?”

“I will leave right away tomorrow.”

“I see.”

George quietly nodded, his eyes clearly showing regret.

“It pains me that I cannot help you.”

“If you want to help, you can help. Of course, it will be unpaid.”

Balun could not give a single coin from the eight hundred and one gold.

“Money is not the problem. Since this is a test, I mean I cannot interfere.”

“A test?”

“Yes. A test given by my liege.”

George continued.

“If you pass this test, you will be able to become a sword of Rotenfeld. It must be conducted very fairly, so no one can intervene.”

“There is something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you think I will become a knight?”

“Because you are Balun, a strong Warrior who knows honor. Moreover, you can now ride a horse.”

“I do not really have any intention of that.”

“You are good at lying. I know that is not true.”

George chuckled.

“Who in the world could refuse my liege’s hand? Unless they were mad.”

That mad Barbarian was right here.

‘No, I seriously have no intention of it.’

Balun wondered whether this man even knew that he was going to receive the enormous sum of eight hundred and one gold as payment.

“In any case, go well. I will pray for your good fight.”

“Yes.”

George held out his hand as though asking for a handshake. Balun clasped that hand and shook it.

He felt the rough sensation of the calluses embedded all across George’s palm.

***

The next day, Balun woke early in the morning, packed all his belongings, and set off on horseback.

There was not much to call luggage. The magic armor he had received as a gift from Philip, three axes, and a Subspace Pouch containing all his possessions were the end of it.

After leaving through the gate of Rotenfeld Great Castle and exiting Feldraum through the east gate, he rode eastward for three days straight. Then a city appeared, and that place was Dunmore.

‘Ugh, a horse really is good. If I had walked, it would have taken much longer.’

Balun admired it as he looked at the landscape surrounding the city.

Before his eyes, the land had a winding main road, a high mountain range rising far to the east, and a stream flowing down from that mountain range. Dunmore had formed around that stream in the middle.

It was a walled city formed on a plain backed by the mountain range, and it was said to serve as a gateway on the trade route connecting the Kingdom of Corint and the Kingdom of Valtrien, so merchants constantly flowed into it.

‘It really does look perfect for banditry.’

Just seeing the long line of cargo wagons stretched along the road leading to the city gate made it look exactly like that.

How would they stop it if a band of bandits came rushing down from that mountain right now?

Balun quickly lined up behind the procession of cargo wagons as well.

The line felt as though it was not shrinking at all, so Balun asked the escort mercenary waiting ahead of him while yawning lazily.

“Why is the front not moving?”

“That is because they are inspecting strictly, I suppose.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of those damned bandits, of course. They are causing such a ruckus. If things were not that nasty, would they go that far?”

“I see.”

“Is this your first time here, mister?”

“It is my first time.”

“You look like it. At a glance, you do not look like someone from Corint.”

As he kept waiting in line, the line did shrink little by little. After waiting for what felt like over an hour, it was finally Balun’s turn.

“Next!”

The moment the gate guard saw Balun, his eyes twisted, and it was not difficult to recognize the time-honored history of discrimination against Barbarians.

Balun did not particularly care.

What would he gain by intimidating the guards?

“What is your purpose for coming here?”

“To catch bandits.”

“What? Bandits?”

“Yes. Why, is there a problem?”

“Ha, another corpse will be made.”

At the sneering guard, Balun tilted his head.

“A corpse? What does that mean?”

“Ah, Dunmore has a lot of people like you, you see.”

“People like me?”

“Yes. People who come to participate in a subjugation commission after seeing easy money, then end up bleeding. I thought people had stopped showing up recently, but as expected, one has appeared again without fail.”

“By subjugation, do you mean bandit subjugation? It seems many mercenaries come here to do that.”

“Why are you asking? You came here knowing everything.”

“I do not know.”

“Stop talking and hand it over quickly. Can you not see the line behind you?”

When Balun took out his Silver Badge and showed it to the urging guard, the guard closed his mouth with an intimidated expression.

“Ahem. So you were a pretty capable man.”

“I am fairly decent.”

It seemed showing the Silver Badge had allowed him to pass.

But perhaps because the guard was meddlesome, he kept trying to give advice.

“Even if you are a Silver Badge Mercenary, it will not be easy. The subjugation force recruited last month had no fewer than ten Silver Badge Mercenaries and even one Gold Badge Mercenary. But do you know what happened?”

“What happened?”

“They all died. They did not even find the corpses.”

The guard stuck out his tongue and made a throat-slitting gesture, and the junior guard beside him nodded in agreement.

Even the merchants lined up behind him nodded with stiff expressions as if agreeing.

‘What is this atmosphere?’

Why did their expressions look that grim?

Were they some kind of death squad?

“I am telling you to be careful. Money is good, but life is still the most important thing, is it not?”

“Ah, that is right. Life is best.”

Balun nodded.

‘This fellow knows something.’

Life was indeed best.

“Do not get greedy for money for no reason and end up kissing the dirt. Just take an appropriate commission and enjoy a modest profit before you leave. That is better.”

“Thank you for worrying.”

‘I should modestly eat only around eight hundred and one gold.’

Of course, while preserving his life as well.

“Well, it probably does not matter. The subjugation force’s roster is empty anyway, so it will take a long while before it fills up.”

“Why is the roster empty?”

“Is that not because every subjugation force sent out ends up dead? Even if they are mercenaries, who would want to die?”

That was quite brutal.

“It will not matter to me. I will catch the bandits alone without a subjugation force.”

“Pfft. What an unfunny joke.”

‘It is not a joke.’

“Stop saying strange things and go in already. Next!”

After entering the city like that, Balun immediately found an inn. He chose the inn with the most guests, as he wanted to get a sense of how things were going in the city.

After all, were taverns and inns not the easiest places to obtain information?

After taking a room and unpacking, he went down to the first floor and had a simple meal. Perhaps because it was an inn filled with guests, the first floor was also packed with customers enjoying meals and alcohol.

What was impressive was that there were almost no noisy people.

Everyone had their heads close together and whispered among themselves, so the atmosphere was quite dark. It felt so heavy that even the air seemed weighed down.

From Milford to Dunmore, he had visited more than ten inns, but this was the first place like this.

Normally, once people had some alcohol, the place should become moderately noisy, but this place had no such feeling at all.

‘The atmosphere is completely ruined.’

It would not be strange to call this a funeral hall rather than a dining room.

In truth, this atmosphere was not unique to this inn.

It was something he had felt while walking around earlier to find an inn, but the city of Dunmore itself had a rather gloomy mood. Anyone looking at it might think a war was about to break out at any moment.

Other cities had not been like this.

It seemed the absence of public order really was a major thing.

“Did you hear? They said they are raising the pay for the subjugation force this time.”

“How much?”

“Double.”

“That is insane. Can they handle that?”

“How would I know? But it will probably be very difficult.”

At that moment, voices suddenly reached him. Balun pricked up his ears.

“Even if they pay double, will anyone do it? Everyone dies if they go.”

“If they pay that much, some will probably do it. Though they will die anyway.”

It seemed they were talking about the subjugation force.

“Will you do it?”

“No. Are you insane? I do not want to die.”

“That is true. Same for me.”

When he glanced sideways, he saw them shaking their heads and looking disgusted.

“No, but what is the lord doing? Is he not sending the army?”

“He is not. I would not send them either. If he sent them and they all died without even finding the corpses, how much humiliation would he suffer?”

The topic was rapidly turning into backbiting about the lord.

“But is it not a loss if he just leaves them alone?”

“What does it matter? From the lord’s perspective, it does not really matter anyway. Think about it. The bandits rob passersby’s pockets. Would they attack territorial soldiers?”

“That is true.”

“The toll revenue will fall a little, but that will be the end of it. That must be why he is just watching, is it not?”

“What a complete bastard.”

“When has a noble ever not been a bastard?”

After hearing that much, Balun stood up. The conversation after that turned into obscene jokes, so there seemed to be no need to listen any further.

He could not really call it a gain, but it was still helpful. Just by listening to that, he felt he could roughly understand how the atmosphere in this city was flowing.

“I will pay.”

“Yes!”

“By the way, do you know where the slums are?”

“Ah, if you go toward the west gate and keep going up, you will see a complicated alley. That is the place.”

“Thank you.”

Balun finished paying and left the inn.

He crossed the complicated streets of Dunmore in winding turns, searching for the slum district as he moved.

‘They said there were guild branches in the slum district of each city.’

After rummaging through the narrow and gloomy alleys of the slums for a long while, he found a shabby house attached between narrow alleys.

Balun stood before it, took out a pendant from his Subspace Pouch, and examined it.

A crescent moon was drawn on that pendant.

A crescent moon buried in clouds.

He could see that the symbol of Crescent Moon Blade, a mid-to-large Rogue Guild said to rank among the top five Rogue Guilds in the Kingdom of Corint, was engraved very faintly on the corner of this house’s front door.

After confirming that he had come to the right place, Balun knocked on the door.

After waiting for a moment, the door opened, and a man in shabby clothing came out and looked at Balun with half-lidded eyes.

“What is it? Who are you, coming here?”

“Crescent Moon Blade, correct?”

“What nonsense. You came to the wrong place, so get lost. I was sleeping just fine, and now you woke me up, damn it.”

The man waved his hand as if annoyed and tried to go back inside, but the action Balun took next made his eyes widen.

“Will you still deny it after seeing this?”

Balun showed him the pendant with the crescent moon symbol drawn on it.

This pendant was an item that only First-Class Rogues or higher within Crescent Moon Blade could possess.

The fact that he had it meant that the person before him absolutely could not be dismissed.

Because he himself was only a Third-Class Rogue.

“How do you have that?”

“Someone I know gave it to me. As a gift.”

“Who is this person you know?”

“Pathfinder Patem. Do you perhaps know him?”

At those words, the man’s eyes grew round.

“O-Of course I know him. Good heavens, to think you were Lord Patem’s guest!”

He panicked.

“May I ask what relationship you have with Lord Patem……?”

“We are comrades. Comrades who entrusted our lives to each other.”

It was not exactly a lie.

In that dangerous situation inside the underground dungeon, Balun had saved Patem’s life.

This pendant had been obtained in return for that.

He had said something about it being useful someday.

“P-Please come in quickly! I cannot treat a guest poorly!”

As Balun followed him into the shabby house, he thought, ‘What is this? It really works?’