“From now on, just do as the boss says. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it. But seriously, is this really okay? To be honest, I’m scared.”
“The boss said he’ll take full responsibility. Plus, we already got paid. Just eat and drink as much as you want, and then take a few hits.”
In the tavern on the first floor of the inn.
After Jin went up to his room, Rat sat at a table with Buta, flicking the gold coin he received from Jin.
The glimmering gold coin drew the attention of the local residents.
Basking in their gazes, Rat arrogantly gestured to the innkeeper.
“Hey, take our order.”
“Huh? Oh, yes, sir. What would you like?”
The middle-aged man, who seemed to be the innkeeper, rushed over, rubbing his palms together.
Rat handed him the gold coin he had been flicking and said, “Bring out the most expensive snacks and drinks you have here. Don’t worry about the money.”
“All of it, sir?”
“Is one gold coin not enough? Then here’s another.”
“No, no! One gold coin will do. I’ll bring you the best food and drink right away, sir!”
As Rat reached into his coat, the innkeeper hurriedly waved his hands and dashed towards the kitchen. With him gone, Rat perked up his ears to listen to the murmurs around him.
“Wow, knights must have a lot of money.”
“A gold coin…I haven’t seen one in years.”
“Still, they’ll turn the estate upside down again tomorrow. Just thinking about it is awful.”
“Knights are scarier than demons. Damn it, they’re making it so I can’t even work.”
People were glancing at him and whispering among themselves.
While observing them, Rat noticed a group of rough-looking men sitting at a corner table.
“Hmph, acting all high and mighty just because they’re knights.”
“They look like apprentices or low-ranking knights. They’re just throwing their weight around because of the backing of the Royal Knights.”
“I don’t like them at all.”
They looked like mercenaries, all with a bandit-like appearance. One odd thing was that none of them wore mercenary badges around their necks.
“Those must be the guys the boss mentioned.”
Confirming this, Rat whispered to Buta.
“Those are the guys, right? We’ll do as the boss said later.”
“Got it. But how did the boss know they’d be here…”
“Your drinks are here, sirs! This is distilled liquor made from winter apples, a specialty of the Jerfelt estate!”
Just as Buta was about to ask his question, the innkeeper and a young server appeared, struggling with a large oak barrel.
Rat quickly interrupted Buta and loudly declared for everyone to hear.
“Great, let’s have a drink!”
“Alright!”
Catching on, Buta raised his glass in sync with Rat.
Their faces lit up with genuine joy. After all, drinking was a dream in their regiment, where they could barely get decent food.
Rat and Buta, unable to hide their excitement over the drinks they hadn’t seen in nearly three years, eagerly clinked their glasses together.
“Drink up! It’s on me, so let’s all drink! Hey, innkeeper! Bring more drinks!”
Rat, now red-faced with drunkenness, boisterously shouted to the locals gathered around.
The residents, delighted by his offer, raised their full glasses high.
“Let’s drink!”
“This knight is really great!”
“Right? The knights we’ve had so far only knew how to act tough; they weren’t this generous.”
“The big knight next to him, he can really drink too!”
“Buta was always the best drinker in the village. This is nothing for him.”
Buta, lifting the oak barrel and gulping down its contents, wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
His bold actions drew more cheers from the villagers, as if they were watching a hero from the battlefield.
“This is what a real man looks like!”
“He’s nothing like the knights we’ve seen before!”
“The drinks are gone! Innkeeper, bring more!”
“Right away!”
The innkeeper, smiling from ear to ear at the sudden windfall, rushed off to fetch more drinks.
Just then, the tavern door swung open, and five or six baboons cautiously entered.
The innkeeper’s face turned stone-cold upon seeing them.
“Shoo, shoo. Get out of here! We have knights here today. There’s no food for you!”
“Eeeek…”
The innkeeper raised his hand to shoo them away, and the baboons, understanding, hung their heads in disappointment.
“Everything is going exactly as the boss said. Did he know everything?”
Amazed, Rat staggered towards the innkeeper.
“What are those monkeys?”
“They’re nothing, sir. They come by every evening, but since you knights are here, I can’t give them any leftovers.”
“Oh, come on. Why so hard on them? They’re just cute little things. Come on, guys! Join us and eat!”
Rat gestured to the baboons, who quickly scampered over and started eating the leftovers on the table.
“Eat up! We have plenty of money, so let’s all eat together!”
At that moment, a man who seemed to be the leader of the mercenaries in the corner stood up.
“You’re being annoyingly loud. Just because you’re knights, you think you’re something special? Can’t you eat quietly?”
“What did you say? If you don’t like it, why don’t you join us? We knights are paying for this, after all. Dirty, lowly mercenaries.”
Rat intentionally slurred his words to provoke the man.
“What did you say?”
“Dirty mercenaries?”
“Calling us lowly?”
“Do you think we’d drink with prissy knights?”
At the same time, the mercenaries all stood up.
The bustling tavern fell silent.
The villagers around Rat and Buta quickly backed away.
Even the baboons, who were eating, slipped away and hid among the villagers.
“Now’s the time, Buta. Let’s do as the boss planned.”
Rat gave Buta a signal. Staggering, Buta approached the mercenary leader.
“Are you picking a fight with us?”
“What’s he saying? Can’t you speak properly, you stuttering fool?”
“Are you picking a fight?”
“Are you picking a fight? Hahaha!”
The leader mimicked Buta’s stutter and burst into laughter, joined by the other mercenaries.
“You bastard!”
Angry, Buta threw a punch at the man.
Buzzz—
Buta’s slow punch sliced through the air. The man dodged easily and struck Buta’s jaw with the hilt of his sword.
Whack!
With a loud noise, Buta’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
“What’s this? A knight is this weak?”
The mercenary looked down at the unconscious Buta in disbelief. Rat, staggering, drew his sword and charged at the man.
“You scoundrel!”
“What’s this?”
The man dodged again and tripped Rat, causing him to crash noisily to the floor.
By this point, the mercenaries were the ones who seemed confused. Despite their drunkenness, they hadn’t expected knights, who underwent rigorous training, to be this weak.
“Do you know who we are? We have the Royal Knights behind us!”
Rat shouted at the man, his face flushed with shame and drunkenness.
“So what? We can just run away right now. No matter how strong the Royal Knights are, they can’t take revenge without knowing who we are or where we’re from.”
“T-that’s…”
Rat, struggling to get up, trailed off, eliciting laughter from the mercenaries again.
At that moment.
“What’s all this commotion about?”
Jin, scratching his disheveled hair, descended the stairs and looked around.
“Well, well… is the boss finally here?”
The mercenary who noticed Jin smirked at him.
“Is this your doing?”
Jin glanced at the unconscious Buta and the fallen Rat, then drew his sword, baring his teeth.
“And if it is?”
The man, drawing his own sword, pointed his blade at Jin.
“A mere mercenary daring to defy the Royal Knights? You’ll pay the price.”
“You look like a newly appointed knight who can’t even handle mana properly. Do you really think you can beat me?”
Tension crackled between the two as they aimed their swords at each other.
“Take this!”
Jin was the first to strike. His attack was quicker than Rat’s, befitting a proper knight, but to the seasoned mercenary, it was too straightforward.
“Hmph, just like a knight with no real combat experience.”
Clang!
The mana-infused swords clashed.
The mercenary’s sword flew out of his hand. No, it would be more accurate to say he intentionally let go of it.
As Jin’s stance faltered from the force of his swing, the man lunged and punched him.
Whack!
The man’s heavy fist smashed into Jin’s nose. Blood sprayed as Jin tumbled across the floor several times.
After twitching a few times, Jin lay sprawled out like a frog.
“Look at this fool acting like a knight.”
The onlookers were shocked. The mercenaries had effortlessly beaten the knights.
“How… how could this happen?”
“This makes no sense.”
“Knights getting beaten so easily?”
The villagers whispered among themselves, while the baboons watched with gleaming eyes.
The mercenary surveyed the scene and then signaled to his comrades.
“It’ll get troublesome if we stay here any longer. Let’s leave the estate before the guards arrive. We wasted our energy on these nobodies.”
“The boss is always so impatient.”
“No kidding.”
“What a hassle this late at night.”
“Let’s go, quickly. What are you looking at? Get lost!”
Kicking the fallen Jin, the mercenaries shouted at the villagers before disappearing out of the inn.
The villagers, fearing trouble, quietly slipped out of the inn as well.
After everyone had left, Jin sprang up and helped Rat and Buta to their feet.
“That should do it. Let’s head back and rest. Good work.”
“Yes, sir. How was our acting?”
“Good enough. Well done.”
Wiping the blood from his nose, Jin gave Rat and Buta a thumbs up.
Of course, no one was around to witness this scene in the now-empty inn.
