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Never touch Eldmia Egga - Episode 306

I didn't know that I would meet other mercenary people who had a policy of first refusing a request if they thought they were going to lose out with me, but the world is such a small place..

I wanted to say a few words in response, but unlike Karl Goose, who praised me, I still didn't know how popular the mercenary group called the Blue Owls was, so I could only nod in greeting..

"As you may already know, this is Eldmia Egar. How many people can we hire to safely travel to Raviel??"

"One person is enough. I won't take any money. I hope you think of it as a small act of kindness on my part to Balakia.."

Only after seeing Karl Gulls wiping his mouth with a napkin in an unusually polite manner did I begin to wonder why the name of the mercenary group was 'Blue' Owls..

No matter how different the world is where people live, there are some similarities, and even in the inland regions of this world, as in the past life, the symbol of pure blood is called blue blood, and that is one of them..

The huge difference is that, unlike the white skin and veins that symbolized white skin and veins in the past life, there is a clan with real blue blood. They are descended from the lineage of great men, and their wounds heal quickly, and even a drop of blood moves by their own will. They are rumored to have a reputation for being a trait only found in royal families..

Of course, common sense suggests that the cause is simply something magical that acts on the blood, whether it's blood or birth, but that's not what's important right now. Since those friends actually shed blue blood, it is important that blue is the color of nobility in that area, symbolizing nobility and royalty..

"Are you noble??"

Considering the etiquette of a nobleman, a strangely well-disciplined mercenary, and the name of the mercenary group, it was a guess worth mentioning at least once, even if it was a leap. Above all, I got a clear feeling because I saw nobles while serving as a butler. Karl Gulls' etiquette was never created in a day..

In response to the somewhat unexpected question, Karl Gulls only slightly raised his eyebrows in response, while the mercenaries' eyes turned sharper than before. Fortunately, the gaze was quickly withdrawn as Kal Gulth, who recognized them, raised one of his hands..

"He was a nobleman. How did you know?"

"I asked because he seemed familiar with etiquette, worthy of a nobleman. The story also came to mind that in an inland kingdom, it was believed that nobles had blue blood.."

"Huh, not only is he brave, but he is also knowledgeable. We are from there, after all. The Kingdom of Banais is one of the kingdoms that borders Volta Bay.."

"...Was that friend Balakia also a nobleman??"

No matter how you look at it, he was a friend with a lot of flaws to be considered a noble. Karl Gulls, who smiled slightly at my question and drank beer, shrugged his shoulders and continued talking as if it was no big deal..

"Not all of them are like that. Originally, it was called Vanais Owl, but since there were people who had no patriotism left and there was a lot of antipathy toward the blue-blooded nobles you mentioned, they changed the name as an outright sarcasm and ended up here. It is true that there are a lot of fallen nobles and illegitimate children.."

Just looking at Balakia, her dignity is a bit low. Judging by the last laugh at the joke, it appears that the unity of the mercenary group is not bad..

"Well, you're probably busy too, so I'll stop chatting here. Is it okay to just tell the short story about the appearance of an orc to the Raviel Adventurer's Guild??"

"To be precise, it is 'there is a high possibility that unexpected movements of monsters are occurring, and orc attacks are continuing in the village.'."

"Well, I remembered. And I'm asking this out of curiosity... Is it important enough to report to the guild? We work in a profession where we deal with people, so it’s not easy to get the hang of it.."

If you're a noble-born mercenary, you might not know. Thanks to you, I learned a little bit about the Blue Owl Mercenaries, so I tried to tell you as much as I could..

"Itisel has good land, so neither people nor monsters move easily from the land they are settled on. Thanks to this, a certain level of safety can be guaranteed just by periodically clearing the area near the capital. Kobolds and goblins, which are particularly prolific, tend to crawl out of anywhere, so it is difficult to completely eradicate them, but the case is different for orcs and other high-level monsters.."

"...It means that the roots have been pulled out.."

"yes. As a result of constant attempts at subjugation since the founding of the kingdom, no monsters live in groups in the territory between the capital and the gateway city.."

The point is not that we ‘can’t’, but that we ‘don’t’..

Even monsters think. It's an excessively apt life form, so it's hard to kill it, but it's intelligent enough to communicate as long as both parties agree..

What the kingdom attempted was to make people avoid the vicinity of the capital on their own, and although it may have failed against goblins and kobolds who gained a high reproductive capacity by selling their intelligence, it was quite effective against those who formed their own colonies and knew how to gather as well as hunt and plunder. I was able to get good results.

"I know those who are at the level of orcs. If you enter this area, you cannot avoid death. They only see humans as food, but they also have lore and traditions.."

"Coming in knowing you'll die... That's definitely dangerous, even on the battlefield. Thanks to you, I understood it well.."

I'm glad you're a person I can communicate well with. After promising to have a chat once the situation was resolved, I got up and finished my meal and approached Asilier, who was playing with Laika..

"This is what happens in the end. To be honest, I thought it would just be a little argument about accommodations, but it always turns out to be different.?"

"Who says not? The world is coming to an end, really.."

And after making a joke for no reason, I had to hit him on the shoulder..

◈

After that, we rented an entire house and stayed there instead of a hall..

Although it was such a contract to begin with, it was also a very unusual privilege. Therefore, we expected that even if trouble did arise, it would naturally occur here, but the wrong fuse was lit, so the adventurers were unable to express any complaints to us and ended up in vain..

When I woke up after a good night's sleep, the sky was still pouring heavy snow, but unlike yesterday, the sky was still visible..

I woke up early and had plenty of time until the meeting time, but since I had to take charge, I had to move quickly. To be honest, I had to reorganize the work of the remaining adventurers, ask for understanding from the mercenaries and residents, focus on guard duty rather than work today, and get Ciel's consent, so it was honestly quite tight..

Still, thanks to the mercenaries and Ciel who showed a friendly attitude toward me, no other problems arose. Unlike the adventurers who were healthy, the adventurers who were resting due to injuries also had a good mental head..

Thanks to this, they got hurt while trying to be faithful to their work, and the others felt like they were using trickery to protect themselves, so as soon as they arrived at the meeting place, they punched Badna, who was waiting in advance, on the back of the head for no reason, but it was a neat start anyway..

"Thank God you have the intelligence not to run away from this yourself. Because it means you don't have to experience how terrible it is to be chased by an elf in the forest.."

When I thought about the training I had done with Asilier while learning tracking skills in Ogwen, it was clear that it would be an experience that could never be pleasant from the moment I risked my life..

Among the guys who were very nervous after hearing my words, I formed a search team by appointing four lower grades as leaders and organizing them to each move with one blue grade and one yellow grade. I briefly wondered what to do with the one blue grade who was left alone due to an odd number. I had no choice but to do it.

"Well, wouldn’t it be okay if I accompany Eldmia??"

Perhaps because I looked like an idiot who couldn't add or subtract, a guy with a history of having his arm cut off in Ogwen sneakily approached me and asked, so I briefly explained why I was worried..

"For you, having a large number increases your chances of survival, but for me, it's an obstacle.."

I am very determined today and plan to search the forest. In that case, Asilier, who is much more advanced than me in that area, will naturally have to use her strength, but no matter how much I pay attention to my body and move relatively easily, it is not at a level that a blue-level person here can keep up with. It will take up time unnecessarily..

"Four of you. Raise your hand if you think I'm the weakest among these. Put him in the weak group.."

"I am the weakest!"

I really liked the way he raised his hand like a sword without fighting over his ego unnecessarily, but the problem was that he was the guy whose arm was cut off by me..

He may have been an asshole in the past, but if you look at his movements and reaction speed, he's probably stronger than Badna no matter how bad he is.?

"...yes, yes."

When I thought about it, it was one way to increase the number of people to ensure safety, but it was also a way to increase the chances of survival by adding one more idiot to the party of a strong guy..

"Everyone at the right level should have a watch.?"

Although it may be a bit expensive, because of its convenience, I usually carry around a silent pocket watch that uses magic stones as fuel as soon as I attach it. Fortunately, all four guys nodded quickly, as if they were thorough with their equipment..

"The orc attack occurred in the east, so today we split up and explore that direction. Since the snow is still heavy and the sun is likely to set quickly, we make it a rule to return by 2 p.m. Calculate the round trip time carefully so you don't have to go on an additional search. Someone who has something to ask?"

"Oh, what should I do if I encounter an orc??"

"If you find a clustered group, return and report it, and avoid engaging the rest unless you encounter them directly. Orcs also have heads. If the bastards I sent out to scout keep dying, I'll be wary.."

The purpose is not subjugation but extermination. There was no reason to raise the alert level since we had to destroy a whole new colony rather than just catch a few and let them run away..

Since they understood that much without needing to explain, there were no objections, and we headed into the forest as we were seen off by the mercenaries..