Chapter 9: Compensation (1)


    Vice-captain Berg!


    As I ced flowers on the graves of the fallen members of the Red me, I turned around upon hearing a voice calling me.


    Approaching me was my aide, Baran.


    When our eyes met, he spoke.


    Captain Adam has returned.


    I remained silent for a moment, then nodded and gently set down thest flower.


    The time of remembrance came to an end here.


    "Is there anything special?"


    I wiped the dirt off my hands.


    "Nothing, except that captain is looking for the Vice-captain."


    Adam Hyung had left our hideout for a while two weeks ago to ept a new request.


    All I knew about this client was that they were a noble.


    I had no information about who they were, their race, or how high-ranking of a noble they were.


    However, based on my intuition, it seemed likely that a significant battle was on the horizon.


    In the first ce, it was rare for Adam Hyung to meet the client in person.


    The fact that he had gone to meet them indicated the importance of this particr individual. And clients of such stature didn''t offer easy contracts.


    As we entered the cemetery, Baran handed me the sword I had set aside.


    Without hesitation, I secured it around my waist and turned towards Baran, who walked beside me.


    "What about the recruits'' training?"


    There was no immediate response. I gave Baran a sharp look and repeated my question.


    What about training?


    "Well... it''s not yet..."


    What?


    A sudden surge of heat rose in my head.


    Baran continued his excuses without even meeting my gaze.


    Vice-captain, you need to understand


    "The members haven''t even recovered from yesterday''s intense training... and the families of the members are getting restless..."


    "Ignore it. Traininges first."


    "You should also consider the morale of the members! Haven''t we been training them too harshly since Captain Adam left?"


    "Vice-Captain, instead-"


    "If there are casualties because you neglected the training, will you take responsibility?"


    "Get ready. You will handle it on your own."


    Leaving Baran standing still, I move forward.


    After a while, Baran followed me btedly.


    A refreshing breeze swept through the air as I walked, slowly taking in the scenery surrounding me.


    It had been five years since the founding of Red me.


    We had set our roots in the expansive ins of Stockphina beautiful ce adorned with lush meadows and towering trees scattered throughout.


    Aspensation for hunting the nearby monsters, it was a rightfulnd borrowed from the lord who managed Stockphin.


    For a mercenary group like us with hundreds of members, it was always challenging to wander around.


    Establishing ourselves in Stockphin was also for our benefit.


    We built a shelter on this in. Houses where we could rest, stables, warehouses, tombs, and so on...


    As time passed, our stronghold unknowingly transformed into a small vige. asionally, we would purchase goods from nearby viges to fulfill any shortages.


    With the establishment of the vige, many mercenaries settled down and made their homes here.


    Some brought their partners to Stockphin and even had children.


    This was all possible because Adam Hyung had a strong and stable mercenary corps with discipline.


    However, on asions like today, family became a source of disturbance. Members would sometimes lose sight of their true nature as mercenaries and becent.


    Of course, since Adam Hyung valued such scenes, I couldn''t openly criticize them in front of everyone.


    With a slight sense of frustration, I made my way toward Adam Hyung''s residence.


    The closer I got, the more I could sense themotion in the air.


    I saw the faces of the mercenaries who had left with Adam Hyung.


    Every time they noticed my presence, they bowed their heads and greeted me.


    Vice-captain.


    "Vice-captain, it''s been a while."


    I lightly nodded in response to their greetings.


    The gathering resembled a joyous family reunion, with the wives and children of the returning members beaming with delight as they reunited with their loved ones.


    Soon, I saw Adam Hyung. He smiled broadly and spread his arms.


    Berg!


    Hyung.


    We exchanged a brief handshake.


    "Did everything go smoothly? Any issues?"


    "No issues."


    "Good. Let''s go inside and talk. There''s a lot to discuss. Everyone, go back and rest."


    Hyung ced his hand on my shoulder and began leading me toward his residence. I exerted some force to halt his movement.


    "We still have training remaining."


    Adam Hyung gazed at me and then nced questioningly at Baran, who stood behind me.


    A silent exchange of looks urred between Hyung and Baran.


    Then, Hyung smiled and patted my back.


    "...Let''s forget about it for today. We''ve all returned after a long time, so let''s have some fun and enjoy drinks together."


    "Come on, Baran heard it too, right? We''ll pretend that Berg never issued the training order, and you can go rest as well. Let''s have a feast."


    Instead of answering, Baran briefly bowed his head.


    Although he didn''t give a clear response, he seemed to naturally ept Adam Hyung''s words.


    .


    .


    .


    With a sigh, I entered Adam Hyung''s house.


    Considering Hyung''s status, it was a small house, butpared to amoner''s house, it was quiterge.


    Until Hyung closed the door, I suppressed my annoyance.


    No matter how long I had spent with Adam Hyung for the past seven years, in ces where there were watching eyes, I showed respect towards him.


    The door closed, and a momentary silence enveloped the room.


    Soon, I gathered the emotions I had been holding back and asked him.


    "...Did a difficult requeste in this time?"


    Taking a seat on a nearby chair, I awaited Hyung''s response.


    He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Yeah, that''s right. It seems we won''t be able toplete this one without casualties."


    "But why cancel the training?"


    "...Well, there are days like this-"


    "Are you the leader or am I the leader?"


    A brief silence followed. Unlike the gradual brightening of the atmosphere outside, the inside of the house remained quiet and chilly.


    Instead of answering, Adam Hyung picked up one of the bottles that were lying neatly on one side of the wall.


    Pop!


    Opening the cork, he filled two sses with alcohol.


    He handed me one of the sses and forced a weak smile.


    "Why are you so moody? Aren''t you d to see me?"


    "Is it because of the mans who died on the previous expedition? It wasn''t your fault, you know?"


    I calmed my emotions and clinked my ss.


    My throat, which had been dry, became moist with alcohol.


    "Let''s take it easy, Berg."


    "After all, we started this to live freely. How can you be strict with yourself even now, when we''ve achieved a certain level of sess? When will you let yourself enjoy?"


    I closed my eyes and lightly massaged my forehead.


    Considering his reaction, I wondered if I was too intense.


    "I know, man. You''re worried about the guys getting killed. But let''s have a little more rxation, huh? Rest is important."


    As he continued pouring the alcohol without saying a word, he wore a mischievous smile.


    Do you know why you are so sensitive?


    Seeing his expression, I could already anticipate what he was going to say.


    That again-


    -Its because you dont have a girlfriend. Heh-Heh.


    Ha.


    Adam Hyung looked at me, amused by my exasperation.


    It was a tired remark I had heard hundreds of times before.


    But even I, who was annoyed by it, eventually chuckled at his endlessughter.


    -Drrrk, clink!


    Adam Hyung pulled out a chair and ced it in front of me.


    "That''s beside the point, but hey...!"


    He sat down, positioning himself so closely that our knees nearly touched.


    "Why are you like this?"


    As I asked, he also clinked his ss and settled into a rxed posture.


    "Do you ever think about quitting being the head honcho?"


    Adam Hyung asked.


    Being the head honcho referred to the squad''s role in killing the leader of a monster pack, known as the ''head honcho.''


    Monster packs revolved around their leader, and when the head honcho was eliminated, the less intelligent creatures in the vicinity would decay and transform into monsters, following their lead.


    Therefore, by hunting only the head honcho, the monster pack would disperse.


    Naturally, it was the most dangerous task and resulted in the highest number of casualties.


    The sess of a mercenary unit hinged on the abilities disyed in piercing the head honcho deep with a spear.


    Since the establishment of the Red me, I had always taken on the role of assault leader.


    No.


    I gave the same response once again.


    There were various reasons for it.


    Among them, the biggest reason was the thrill I felt when hunting the head honcho.


    The reasons behind that thrill were alsoplex and deeply rooted within me.


    Another reason was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like I should be leading.


    I didn''t want toter regret seeing numerous casualties.


    Adam Hyung let out a sigh, seemingly giving up, and asked about my well-being.


    We engaged in afortable conversation for a while.


    "Oh, right."


    During our conversation, Hyung raised his ss, drawing my attention to it.


    Berg. This is an expensive drink.


    He suddenly blurted out something absurd.


    It didn''t take me long to understand his intention. Whenever he had a difficult request for me, he would treat me to expensive drinks like this.


    "Damn it..."


    I thought he handed me the drink to calm my annoyance, but there was a trick hidden underneath.


    I had no choice but to me the drink that had already gone down my throat.


    ''No wonder it tasted so good.''


    "What is it this time?"


    Hyungughed mischievously and slowly began to speak.


    "But before that, let''s talk about this recent negotiation. It was quite challenging, to be honest."


    ncing at the ss once again, I suppressed my appetite and followed his lead, shifting the topic ordingly.


    Who was the client?


    Do you know the ckwood family?


    The ckwood family was a name I couldn''t be unfamiliar with.


    It was a famous family that even a lowly mercenary like me knew about.


    "They''re a noble family of the werewolf race, right?"


    Hyung nodded his head.


    A prestigious branch.


    Personally, I had encountered the werewolf race or wolfman quite frequently during my time in the mercenary corps.


    In fact, I had a lot of personal experience fighting them in the slums.


    Generally, the wolfman tribe held to honor andbat sacred.


    As a result, they had deep military tactics, advanced healing, and shamanic magic for recovering from wounds.


    So, I was even more curious.


    The Wolfman asked for help?


    Wolfmen with their strong sense of self-esteem rarely sought assistance from others. They saw dangerous situations as opportunities for honor and turning the tide.


    I knew many Wolfman who died while trying to umte achievements, so I was certain about this aspect.


    The fact that they requested assistance meant...


    "It seems like they''vepletely given up hope. It looked serious when I took a closer look."


    In response to the shocking news, I broke my ss once again.


    The ss quickly revealed its bottom.


    Since I was already drinking an expensive drink, I decided to make the most of it and stood up from my seat.


    While refilling the empty ss, I processed Adam Hyung''s words in my mind.


    There were rising questions in my mind.


    "Are there more requests from noblestely?"


    Adam Hyung''s continued with the exnation.


    There must be some things we are doing well, and there must be things where everyone is reaching their limits. Its been almost 7 years since the monsters ran rampant. ckwoods overpowered first. Like werewolves, I wonder if I was stubborn and led the situation that far.


    "Have you confirmed the size of the demon horde?"


    Approximately. The scale seems substantial. This time, I n to take all of the Red me members.


    "What''s the situation with ckwood?"


    There were not enough soldiers to fight, and food was running out. I dont think we can ask for much support. No money, of course.


    ?


    I furrowed my brow at his words. Setting aside the danger, there was something that needed to be confirmed first.


    "Just a moment, they have no food or money?"


    Yes.


    "What about ourpensation?"


    If they had nothing to offer us, we had no reason to move.


    We werent doing charity work.


    We were in the business of risking our lives and extractingpensation in return.


    Especially forrge-scale battles like leading the entire Red me members, a significant price was necessary.


    Adam Hyung didnt make eye contact with me.


    Turning the ss round and round, he spoke softly.


    I decided to take it.


    With what.


    Hyung, with what.


    With another sip of his drink, he finally uttered the answer.


    "Ner ckwood."


    "...What?"


    Adam looked at me and said.


    I decided to take the youngest daughter of the ckwood family.


    <strong>   End of Chapter   </strong>


    [ TL: The author used '''' which is literally tranted as ''werewolf'', so I had to use the same term.


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