Chapter 25 —
Michelle’s situation was a little better than the others. Heath, who had only eaten some rye bread provided by the guild that morning, still hadn’t given up hope and said:
“Maybe he didn’t give away all 500 million. If Ray pays it back, it’ll be fine.”
Michelle nodded.
“Yeah, I think the same. He probably gave back at least 400 million. But Ray’s not stupid, so he must’ve kept 30 million for the debt.”
But Michelle firmly disagreed with the idea that Ray kept even 10 million.
“No, that guy is stupid. That’s why he trusted the Second Prince and made a deal.”
“Still, what could he do? He needed 30 million Larc right away. It’s not like he had any other option—his contract with the Countess isn’t over yet.”
All mercenary contracts are sent to the main guild office through branches spread across the empire.
If the job is completed, a certificate signed by the client proves success. But if it fails, the mercenary must report the reason directly to the guild master.
If it’s the mercenary’s fault, a crack appears in the center of their mercenary badge. If they fail again with that cracked badge, it breaks completely and they can no longer call themselves a mercenary.
If Leonard had made the contract with the Countess without knowing about the debt to the Elpheus family, the guild master might be understanding.
But Leonard knew about the huge debt and still signed the contract. So the master won’t accept “I lost the count title because of debt” as an excuse.
In fact, the guild master had even gone out of his way to issue Leonard two mercenary badges—something very rare.
Jingle jingle—
“Anyway, we can’t really blame Ray. He only accepted the contract with the Countess because…”
“Wait—look over there.”
Michelle’s nostalgic moment didn’t even last a minute.
The hand that was about to hit Bin’s back froze because of the next words:
“Isn’t that man a knight from the Blair family?”
Even though he had lived in the capital for most of his life, this was Hawk’s first time visiting the Mercenary Guild’s headquarters.
That was partly because he had spent most of his life stuck in underground fight rings, and partly because he’d never had a reason to hire mercenaries.
“Didn’t think I ever would.”
The inside of the guild looked more like a big tavern than a formal building. As Hawk looked around, a man with one eye and several scars walked up and spoke to him.
“You look like someone important… Huh? Blair? Are you a knight from the Blair family?”
Knights usually wore armor with the family’s crest, which showed their affiliation.
Hawk, who was going on a long journey, wore tough leather with armor pads instead. But the crest engraved on the sword at his waist made it easy to recognize him.
“Yes. I’m here to post a request.”
“A knight doing this in person? That’s rare. Where’s the Blair trade group heading this time?”
The Blair merchants traveled across the empire and beyond, hiring mercenaries for protection.
Though many merchant groups hired mercenaries, the Blair group was known for treating them well and paying generously.
That’s why many mercenaries, who seemed uninterested and were just drinking, were actually eavesdropping carefully.
“It’s a personal request. First time I’ve been to the guild, so I don’t know the process. Do I talk to you?”
“Yeah, I’m the receptionist. Come with me—I’ll explain everything.”
Even with three large scars on his face, the man tried to smile kindly. But it came off more threatening than friendly.
Still, Hawk had lived through too much to be scared. He casually looked around and followed the man.
“What kind of job is it? If it’s something secret, we can talk in the back room.”
He pointed to the tavern beyond a low divider, meaning people could overhear if they stayed in the lobby.
“It’s fine. Nothing secret.”
“Alright, let’s sit. Sally! Get the guest a drink—wait, maybe just water.”
“Got any juice? I like sweet things.”
The one-eyed man burst out laughing.
“Why not ask for wine instead?”
“I’m on duty, so no alcohol.”
“Picky guy, huh? Sally! One juice!”
Hawk sat at a table near the reception and sipped a cool juice.
He stared at the big board full of job requests but was actually focused on the glares and killing intent he felt from behind.
“Sigh…”
He was used to hostile stares from his arena days. But they were still annoying, so he scratched his head while filling out the form.
“Is it always this intense to hire mercenaries? A weak person wouldn’t even get past the front door.”
“Haha, that’s because you’re wearing a sword. Mercenaries hate being bored.”
“Yeah, and they kill people when they’re bored twice.”
There was another reason people found Hawk interesting: he was a knight from a noble family.
Knights usually hired mercenaries for dirty work—things they didn’t want to do themselves.
And those knights usually came at night or early morning, in secret.
It was rare for someone like Hawk to show up in broad daylight and post a request openly.
“Done.”
“Let’s see… So you’re looking for a guide to the Elpheus County?”
Hawk nodded while finishing his juice.
He didn’t notice the people in the back reacting to the words “Elpheus County.”
The receptionist tilted his head.
“If you just need a guide, you didn’t need to come all the way here… Where exactly in Elpheus?”
“The lord’s manor.”
“Hmm?”
Why would he need a mercenary for that? The terrain wasn’t rough, and it wasn’t a hidden ruin.
Hawk noticed the man’s confusion and scratched his neck.
“I need to get there quickly. A shortcut would help, but regular guides get tired easily. That’s why I need a mercenary.”
“How soon do you need to arrive?”
“There’s no set deadline… I just want to get there fast. I’ll be bringing a wagon.”
“Oh, that makes it a bit harder…”
Bringing a wagon meant they couldn’t take narrow paths.
“So do you just need a guide? Or do you also need someone to guard the wagon?”
“It’s empty, so no need to guard it. But if we meet bandits, I’ll need help keeping it from breaking.”
“Got it. But you left the payment section blank?”
“Like I said, I don’t know the going rate. What’s the average price?”
“It depends on distance and time. But if you’re in a hurry, it’ll cost extra…”
The one-eyed man tapped the table and studied Hawk’s face.
“You should pay at least 200,000 Larc.”
Hawk knew he was being overcharged. But he nodded and said:
“300,000 Larc.”
“What?”
“But I want someone who can leave immediately. Like I said, I’m in a hurry.”
“At that price, everyone’s gonna jump at it…”
“Perfect! I’m from Elpheus! I could find it with my eyes closed!”
“He’s lying! I’ve been there more times than I can count!”
“I can get there in two days! I eat meals on horseback!”
“I can sleep on horseback!”
300,000 Larc was more than a month’s pay for someone working in a city shop.
So of course, the mercenaries who overheard were all eager to volunteer.
“You shameless fools! That job should be ours! We lived there for 3 years!”
Hawk glanced at the blue-haired man shouting and thought:
“It’s him.”
There were two others at his table—a white-haired woman who kept her hand under the table, and a dark-skinned, muscular man.
No doubt about it. These were the same people who caused a scene at the auction yesterday.
“We’ll see those auction people again at the Mercenary Guild. No way they’re not here—Kiri checked.”
“If the receptionist asks about privacy, just say you’ll talk in the lobby. Mention Elpheus County. They’ll try to take the job no matter what.”
“Wow… our mercs aren’t usually this enthusiastic. You really are from the Blair family.”
“Seems like a lot of bored people here.”
Hawk paused like he was thinking and said:
“How about this—let’s do an auction for the job.”
“An auction?”
“I said 300,000 Larc, but… who’s willing to do it for 290,000?”
A brief silence.
Then chaos broke out in the Mercenary Guild.
Oof. What a noisy mess that would be