How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 370: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (14)

Johan was afraid that Ardolata would learn of Jyanina’s actions when he later went to another court.

The wizards at Johan’s court were too close to their employers, and normally there was some tension in the relationship between nobles and wizards.

The nobles suspected, ’𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦?’

The wizards suspected, ‘Will this greedy person who knows nothing about the mysteries really believe in me?’

To that extent, the wizard had to maintain a certain amount of dignity. There was nothing good about being underestimated by the nobles.

“Young lady, forget about that. By the way, don’t talk about Jyanina-gong’s anywhere.”

“Will I dare to gossip in the court thanks to Your Highness’s grace?”

Ardolata was still young, but she was good at dealing with the world. Johan found it remarkable. Originally, even if you were quick-witted, you could only go halfway in the court.

The example of someone who couldn’t do that was walking in front of him, so it was even more remarkable.

“Thank you!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

There were no major incidents after the jade leopard ran wild. Johan prepared the jade statue as a gift for Ulrike. Although it was violent, it was definitely a useful treasure.

Ardolata and Jyanina, who made contributions, were also rewarded. Amien received an additional gift because she was of the highest bloodline, even though she hadn’t done anything in particular.

And around that time, Count Oldor had lost weight and looked haggard. He seemed to have been terrified while hearing all sorts of rumors during his retirement.

Some said that the angry duke would execute him as it is, or lock him up forever, or sell him to the East (Johan also laughed a little at this idea).

“Count, we’ve succeeded in persuading His Highness the duke. He said he would release you if you paid the ransom as usual.”

“Is that true!?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Thanks to this, the merchants of the republic were overjoyed. The count forgot about the insults he had hurled at them and hugged the merchants. He felt like he could do anything if he could escape from this den of vipers safely.

“Then, Mackald. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes. Your Highness. Leave it to me.”

Johan took his exhausted men and prepared to head north again. He couldn’t spend much time here as the expedition procession was waiting in the empire.

“Jyanina-gong is from the empire, aren’t you interested in the empire’s pilgrimage?”

“Uh. . .”

Jyanina hesitated. If she had her way, she wanted to live leisurely in this city where she didn’t matter, being served by slaves. She wouldn’t envy the feudal lords if she could just lie on a cool, shady terrace, being fanned while grapes were tossed into her mouth.

However, she was concerned about the duke’s question. Jyanina still remembered the emperor’s court. When the emperor asked if she would go hunting, it meant that she should follow him on the hunt. On top of that, if she said, ‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦,’ she would end up resting in the ground forever.

Of course, the duke was not like the emperor, but it was good to be careful.

And Jyanina was also from the empire. . .

“I am interested!”

“Oh? It’s going to be tough. Prepare Jyanina-gong’s horse as well.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina realized that she had given the wrong answer from the duke’s reaction and the centaurs’ reactions.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

The way back up was much more leisurely than the hasty descent. Of course, it was a harsh march for a wizard like Jyanina, but the centaurs took it easy enough to look around and even receive special products from a nearby town.

“Hey. Duke, try this. The people in this town seem to know how to make alcohol. Isn’t it beer that should be made in a monastery?”

“It’s really good.”

“Would you like a drink, wizard?”

“I’m. . . fine. . .”

Jyanina grabbed her thigh and lay down on her side. She wasn’t bad at riding a horse, but after riding all day, the muscles all over her body ached as if they had been beaten.

“Is the wizard having a hard time?”

“Her muscles seem to be stiff, so we need to stretch her body a bit.”

Johan stood up. Jyanina was startled and held out her hand.

“I-It’s okay! It’s okay!”

Her strange tone of voice came out because she was so flustered. However, it was natural for Jyanina to be surprised. The duke was going to stretch her body himself.

Although it could be a bit romantic as Johan was a young and healthy knight, Jyanina felt more fear than that.

‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥. . .!’

“Don’t worry, Euclyia will do it, not me.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Jyanina calmed down quickly as Euclyia approached. She looked gentle and kind on the outside, but Jyanina knew very well how violent this centaur was as a warrior.

As she recalled the time she had seen her bury her head in the belly of a beast and drink fresh blood, she suddenly felt terrified of the centaur again.

“Y-Your Highness. By any chance, Your Highness. . .”

“Don’t talk nonsense, wizard. Don’t say strange things and come here.”

Euclyia scolded and grabbed Jyanina as if she had said something blasphemous. Jyanina screamed at the centaur’s strong grip.

In the meantime, Johan had a simple party with his other men.

It was just skewered venison, beer, cheese, eggs, and hard bread that they had exchanged from a nearby town, but this was enough. Originally, the company and the food and drinks were important at a drinking party.

“Your Highness.”

“?”

In the meantime, the men who had gone on patrol returned. They had strange expressions on their faces.

“What’s wrong?”

“I. . . do you often see centaurs in the south as well?”

The party had now reached the southern part of the empire.

The southern region, which suffered the most from the emperor’s civil war.

After the civil war ended, it was thought that peace would come as several feudal lords divided the land among themselves, but the world was not that simple.

Newly inherited minor feudal lords in the south, rogue knights trying to gain something by taking advantage of the weakened feudal lords, and even greater feudal lords who supported them to gain profits. Small-scale battles were taking place here and there.

Of course, it was not as large in scale as the emperor’s civil war, but mercenaries and knights tended to get caught up in such disputes.

However. . .

“I knew that, but even the centaurs came here?”

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“Yes. We approached because there was a fiefdom there, but it turned out to be centaurs. We came back because they were heavily guarded.”

The man who went on patrol was not a centaur, but he was from an eastern nomadic tribe, so he knew how to deal with them. He had returned carefully without provoking them unnecessarily.

“The centaurs shouldn’t have come this far. . .”

“We’ll go and find out.”

“Would you do that?”

“There’s no centaur who doesn’t know our Alcia tribe. We’ll be back.”

Achladda ran off with a few of his kind. After a while, strange centaurs returned with Achladda, walking hesitantly.

“H-Hello. Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet you?”

“It’s okay to speak in the eastern language if you’re uncomfortable with the empire’s language.”

“!”

The strange centaurs looked at Johan with admiration for his fluent eastern language. In fact, it was hard to find an empire noble who spoke the eastern language well, even in the eastern part of the empire.

“I heard that Your Highness the duke is the hero of heroes, and it’s true. I’ve heard a lot of stories from the Alcia tribe. They said you filled the castle from the basement to the top of the tower with gold coins. . .”

The centaurs looked at Johan with eyes of admiration. Johan looked at Achladda and Euclyia in bewilderment. The two avoided his gaze, pretending not to see him.

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“But didn’t the warriors who followed Your Highness the duke bring back that much wealth?”

“I was just lucky.”

“That luck is proof that you are loved by the spirits! Ah. I’m sorry. I raised my voice. . .Ahem.”

The centaurs coughed in vain. Achladda gestured for them to stop talking nonsense and get to the point.

“W-Well, it’s embarrassing to say this, but. . . we came here to work as mercenaries.”

“All the way to the south?”

“Yes.”

If you go further east from the eastern part of the empire, you will find a vast grassland. The grassland was in chaos in various ways right now.

The centaurs, who raised horses, sheep, and cows by driving them around, were hit hard by the sudden cold weather and decreased rainfall.

Some of the large tribes that had close ties with the eastern part of the empire were able to survive by receiving support, but the small tribes that had been wandering the grasslands could not. They couldn’t just attack the powerful large tribes, so. . .

They came down to the empire like this to work as mercenaries.

The rumors of the centaur warriors who had gone to the empire first were also famous in the grasslands. In particular, the warriors of the Alcia tribe were among the best of them.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬. . .

━𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐱 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?

━𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. . .

The centaurs from other tribes were naturally excited when they heard such rumors. They headed for the empire with their hearts pounding.

. . .But the reality was cold.

“Hmm. I guess I know without hearing it.”

“The empire bastards are cunning, cowardly, and dirty.”

Johan and his men looked at them with regret. Originally, to work as mercenaries, not only fighting skills but also social skills were essential.

The ability to choose an employer, the ability to promise money from the employer, the ability to persuade the employer even if the battle is unsatisfactory, the ability to get the money that was taken away later, and so on.

It wasn’t for nothing that a country bumpkin came up from the countryside and joined a famous mercenary group. Wouldn’t they be exploited inside, if not outside?

The centaur mercenaries, who only knew how to fight, were ignorant of the empire’s situation, didn’t know any nobles, and were clumsy at speaking, would meet their end.

“Did you get your money taken away?”

“Yes. . .”

The centaur said with a sullen expression. He had fought hard because the employer promised to pay him if he drove the enemy out of the town, but he suddenly made excuses and chased the centaurs away.

He wanted to break into the castle, but he couldn’t attack the castle with only a few dozen centaur warriors.

Euclyia looked sorry. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t do whatever she wanted as she was now working under Johan.

“It’s also fate to meet like this. Let’s help.”

“!”

So when Johan spoke up, his men’s faces brightened. Seeing that, Johan nodded.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵.’

There was no way Johan wouldn’t notice that the centaurs wanted to help.

Besides, the opponents were at best minor feudal lords in the vicinity. They were just barons or knights.

Johan himself had territory in the south, and he even had a huge silver mine, but no one touched him. That was because everyone, including the minor feudal lords, knew that the moment they touched a duke like Johan, they would be scorched.

It wouldn’t be difficult to say a few words and earn favor.

“Thank you! Duke! I will serve you with loyalty!”

“No. . . I didn’t hire you, so loyalty is. . .”

The centaur mercenaries were so happy that they were almost in tears. Johan was embarrassed.

“Are you going to fight for a while and then leave?”

“That’s probably what will happen.”

The wizard behind him rose up, and the centaur mercenaries stopped. Achladda introduced him instead.

“The wizard is Jyanina-gong.”

“A. . . uh. .?”

Achladda stomped on the mercenary’s foot with her hoof. Then the mercenaries quickly shut their mouths.

“???”

“It’s nothing.”

“. . . . . .”

Johan looked at the centaurs with a knowing expression. The centaurs averted their gaze.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Master. Is it okay to chase away the centaurs like that? The centaurs are a terribly fierce and violent race. . .”

“They seem like idiots.”

Sir Valker, the knight, snorted at the slave’s words. As a knight who had been on the battlefield for a long time, he knew well about the truth and falsehood of the centaurs.

“There are centaurs who are scary and those who are not. Those guys are obviously not scary. They’re like sick, stray dogs that have been chased out of the pack. Don’t you think they look sloppy at a glance?”

“That’s true.”

“They can’t even speak the empire’s language, and their tribe isn’t big, so where will they go and what will they do? They’ll just swear and go back to the grasslands.”

Walker said confidently. Just then, the door opened and a servant ran in and whispered something.

“They’re here again.”

Johan was afraid that Ardolata would learn of Jyanina’s actions when he later went to another court.

The wizards at Johan’s court were too close to their employers, and normally there was some tension in the relationship between nobles and wizards.

The nobles suspected, ’𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦?’

The wizards suspected, ‘Will this greedy person who knows nothing about the mysteries really believe in me?’

To that extent, the wizard had to maintain a certain amount of dignity. There was nothing good about being underestimated by the nobles.

“Young lady, forget about that. By the way, don’t talk about Jyanina-gong’s anywhere.”

“Will I dare to gossip in the court thanks to Your Highness’s grace?”

Ardolata was still young, but she was good at dealing with the world. Johan found it remarkable. Originally, even if you were quick-witted, you could only go halfway in the court.

The example of someone who couldn’t do that was walking in front of him, so it was even more remarkable.

“You’ll be a fine wizard.”

“Thank you!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

There were no major incidents after the jade leopard ran wild. Johan prepared the jade statue as a gift for Ulrike. Although it was violent, it was definitely a useful treasure.

Ardolata and Jyanina, who made contributions, were also rewarded. Amien received an additional gift because she was of the highest bloodline, even though she hadn’t done anything in particular.

And around that time, Count Oldor had lost weight and looked haggard. He seemed to have been terrified while hearing all sorts of rumors during his retirement.

Some said that the angry duke would execute him as it is, or lock him up forever, or sell him to the East (Johan also laughed a little at this idea).

“Count, we’ve succeeded in persuading His Highness the duke. He said he would release you if you paid the ransom as usual.”

“Is that true!?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Thanks to this, the merchants of the republic were overjoyed. The count forgot about the insults he had hurled at them and hugged the merchants. He felt like he could do anything if he could escape from this den of vipers safely.

“Then, Mackald. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes. Your Highness. Leave it to me.”

Johan took his exhausted men and prepared to head north again. He couldn’t spend much time here as the expedition procession was waiting in the empire.

“Jyanina-gong is from the empire, aren’t you interested in the empire’s pilgrimage?”

“Uh. . .”

Jyanina hesitated. If she had her way, she wanted to live leisurely in this city where she didn’t matter, being served by slaves. She wouldn’t envy the feudal lords if she could just lie on a cool, shady terrace, being fanned while grapes were tossed into her mouth.

However, she was concerned about the duke’s question. Jyanina still remembered the emperor’s court. When the emperor asked if she would go hunting, it meant that she should follow him on the hunt. On top of that, if she said, ‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦,’ she would end up resting in the ground forever.

Of course, the duke was not like the emperor, but it was good to be careful.

And Jyanina was also from the empire. . .

“I am interested!”

“Oh? It’s going to be tough. Prepare Jyanina-gong’s horse as well.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina realized that she had given the wrong answer from the duke’s reaction and the centaurs’ reactions.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

The way back up was much more leisurely than the hasty descent. Of course, it was a harsh march for a wizard like Jyanina, but the centaurs took it easy enough to look around and even receive special products from a nearby town.

“Hey. Duke, try this. The people in this town seem to know how to make alcohol. Isn’t it beer that should be made in a monastery?”

“It’s really good.”

“Would you like a drink, wizard?”

“I’m. . . fine. . .”

Jyanina grabbed her thigh and lay down on her side. She wasn’t bad at riding a horse, but after riding all day, the muscles all over her body ached as if they had been beaten.

“Is the wizard having a hard time?”

“Her muscles seem to be stiff, so we need to stretch her body a bit.”

Johan stood up. Jyanina was startled and held out her hand.

“I-It’s okay! It’s okay!”

Her strange tone of voice came out because she was so flustered. However, it was natural for Jyanina to be surprised. The duke was going to stretch her body himself.

Although it could be a bit romantic as Johan was a young and healthy knight, Jyanina felt more fear than that.

‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥. . .!’

“Don’t worry, Euclyia will do it, not me.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Jyanina calmed down quickly as Euclyia approached. She looked gentle and kind on the outside, but Jyanina knew very well how violent this centaur was as a warrior.

As she recalled the time she had seen her bury her head in the belly of a beast and drink fresh blood, she suddenly felt terrified of the centaur again.

“Y-Your Highness. By any chance, Your Highness. . .”

“Don’t talk nonsense, wizard. Don’t say strange things and come here.”

Euclyia scolded and grabbed Jyanina as if she had said something blasphemous. Jyanina screamed at the centaur’s strong grip.

In the meantime, Johan had a simple party with his other men.

It was just skewered venison, beer, cheese, eggs, and hard bread that they had exchanged from a nearby town, but this was enough. Originally, the company and the food and drinks were important at a drinking party.

“Your Highness.”

“?”

In the meantime, the men who had gone on patrol returned. They had strange expressions on their faces.

“What’s wrong?”

“I. . . do you often see centaurs in the south as well?”

The party had now reached the southern part of the empire.

The southern region, which suffered the most from the emperor’s civil war.

After the civil war ended, it was thought that peace would come as several feudal lords divided the land among themselves, but the world was not that simple.

Newly inherited minor feudal lords in the south, rogue knights trying to gain something by taking advantage of the weakened feudal lords, and even greater feudal lords who supported them to gain profits. Small-scale battles were taking place here and there.

Of course, it was not as large in scale as the emperor’s civil war, but mercenaries and knights tended to get caught up in such disputes.

However. . .

“I knew that, but even the centaurs came here?”

“Yes. We approached because there was a fiefdom there, but it turned out to be centaurs. We came back because they were heavily guarded.”

The man who went on patrol was not a centaur, but he was from an eastern nomadic tribe, so he knew how to deal with them. He had returned carefully without provoking them unnecessarily.

“The centaurs shouldn’t have come this far. . .”

“We’ll go and find out.”

“Would you do that?”

“There’s no centaur who doesn’t know our Alcia tribe. We’ll be back.”

Achladda ran off with a few of his kind. After a while, strange centaurs returned with Achladda, walking hesitantly.

“H-Hello. Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet you?”

“It’s okay to speak in the eastern language if you’re uncomfortable with the empire’s language.”

“!”

The strange centaurs looked at Johan with admiration for his fluent eastern language. In fact, it was hard to find an empire noble who spoke the eastern language well, even in the eastern part of the empire.

“I heard that Your Highness the duke is the hero of heroes, and it’s true. I’ve heard a lot of stories from the Alcia tribe. They said you filled the castle from the basement to the top of the tower with gold coins. . .”

The centaurs looked at Johan with eyes of admiration. Johan looked at Achladda and Euclyia in bewilderment. The two avoided his gaze, pretending not to see him.

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“But didn’t the warriors who followed Your Highness the duke bring back that much wealth?”

“I was just lucky.”

“That luck is proof that you are loved by the spirits! Ah. I’m sorry. I raised my voice. . .Ahem.”

The centaurs coughed in vain. Achladda gestured for them to stop talking nonsense and get to the point.

“W-Well, it’s embarrassing to say this, but. . . we came here to work as mercenaries.”

“All the way to the south?”

“Yes.”

If you go further east from the eastern part of the empire, you will find a vast grassland. The grassland was in chaos in various ways right now.

The centaurs, who raised horses, sheep, and cows by driving them around, were hit hard by the sudden cold weather and decreased rainfall.

Some of the large tribes that had close ties with the eastern part of the empire were able to survive by receiving support, but the small tribes that had been wandering the grasslands could not. They couldn’t just attack the powerful large tribes, so. . .

They came down to the empire like this to work as mercenaries.

The rumors of the centaur warriors who had gone to the empire first were also famous in the grasslands. In particular, the warriors of the Alcia tribe were among the best of them.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬. . .

━𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐱 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?

━𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. . .

The centaurs from other tribes were naturally excited when they heard such rumors. They headed for the empire with their hearts pounding.

. . .But the reality was cold.

“Hmm. I guess I know without hearing it.”

“The empire bastards are cunning, cowardly, and dirty.”

Johan and his men looked at them with regret. Originally, to work as mercenaries, not only fighting skills but also social skills were essential.

The ability to choose an employer, the ability to promise money from the employer, the ability to persuade the employer even if the battle is unsatisfactory, the ability to get the money that was taken away later, and so on.

It wasn’t for nothing that a country bumpkin came up from the countryside and joined a famous mercenary group. Wouldn’t they be exploited inside, if not outside?

The centaur mercenaries, who only knew how to fight, were ignorant of the empire’s situation, didn’t know any nobles, and were clumsy at speaking, would meet their end.

“Did you get your money taken away?”

“Yes. . .”

The centaur said with a sullen expression. He had fought hard because the employer promised to pay him if he drove the enemy out of the town, but he suddenly made excuses and chased the centaurs away.

He wanted to break into the castle, but he couldn’t attack the castle with only a few dozen centaur warriors.

Euclyia looked sorry. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t do whatever she wanted as she was now working under Johan.

“It’s also fate to meet like this. Let’s help.”

“!”

So when Johan spoke up, his men’s faces brightened. Seeing that, Johan nodded.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵.’

There was no way Johan wouldn’t notice that the centaurs wanted to help.

Besides, the opponents were at best minor feudal lords in the vicinity. They were just barons or knights.

Johan himself had territory in the south, and he even had a huge silver mine, but no one touched him. That was because everyone, including the minor feudal lords, knew that the moment they touched a duke like Johan, they would be scorched.

It wouldn’t be difficult to say a few words and earn favor.

“Thank you! Duke! I will serve you with loyalty!”

“No. . . I didn’t hire you, so loyalty is. . .”

The centaur mercenaries were so happy that they were almost in tears. Johan was embarrassed.

“Are you going to fight for a while and then leave?”

“That’s probably what will happen.”

The wizard behind him rose up, and the centaur mercenaries stopped. Achladda introduced him instead.

“The wizard is Jyanina-gong.”

“A. . . uh. .?”

Achladda stomped on the mercenary’s foot with her hoof. Then the mercenaries quickly shut their mouths.

“???”

“It’s nothing.”

“. . . . . .”

Johan looked at the centaurs with a knowing expression. The centaurs averted their gaze.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Master. Is it okay to chase away the centaurs like that? The centaurs are a terribly fierce and violent race. . .”

“They seem like idiots.”

Sir Valker, the knight, snorted at the slave’s words. As a knight who had been on the battlefield for a long time, he knew well about the truth and falsehood of the centaurs.

“There are centaurs who are scary and those who are not. Those guys are obviously not scary. They’re like sick, stray dogs that have been chased out of the pack. Don’t you think they look sloppy at a glance?”

“That’s true.”

“They can’t even speak the empire’s language, and their tribe isn’t big, so where will they go and what will they do? They’ll just swear and go back to the grasslands.”

Walker said confidently. Just then, the door opened and a servant ran in and whispered something.

“They’re here again.”