Chapter 622

Yi-Han realized his mistake.

Come to think of it, if it was a criminal, they should catch them.

As the famous imperial saying goes, 'Only two types of people live in the north, knights and criminals', the north was full of criminals who had fled there.

Being vast, harsh, and sparsely populated, it was perfect as a hideout.

Catching these criminals was also one of the duties of knight families.

"Maybe Miss Jicklin would be satisfied if we catch a criminal?"

"Wake up from that dream. My sister wouldn't be satisfied with something like that."

"..."

Yi-Han grumbled inwardly.

'Isn't her standard too strict?'

"But is there a way to confirm their identity? Can we just attack?"

Just because the spirit said they seemed like a criminal didn't necessarily mean they were really a criminal.

Since spirits instinctively sense the evil in others, even if someone felt like a criminal, they might not be one under imperial law.

"Of course not. Does this look like Einroguard to you?"

Jijel spoke as if it was out of the question.

Unlike Einroguard, outside they couldn't just launch an attack without confirming the situation.

"Then?"

"We need to approach and confirm their identity."

"That's a shame. If it were Einroguard, we could just attack."

Jijel nodded unconsciously and then hesitated.

'What am I thinking?!'

She suddenly felt that she had become too accustomed to Einroguard.

***

"The north is really a godforsaken land."

"Shh. Be quiet."

The mercenaries cursed as they saw their exhaled breath turn into white vapor.

Even for mercenaries who roamed all over the empire, the cold of the north was not easy to adapt to. Especially if it was the north in winter.

"Are you complaining even about moving your mouth now?"

"Stupid fool."

"What? Who are you calling stupid? Want to clash and warm up our blood a bit?"

"Don't let your guard down just because it's quiet around. Monsters can appear anytime in the north."

The other mercenaries flinched at the words of a mercenary who had been to the north a few times.

Hearing that, the quietness of the surroundings suddenly felt ominous, like the calm before a storm.

"...It doesn't look like anything would come out around here. It's all just snow and ice."

"You can't see it because you're not a local. Anyway, stop chattering. Whether it's monsters, knights, or patrollers, there's nothing good about drawing attention."

The mercenaries glanced at the client following behind.

As mercenaries who would take any mission as long as gold coins were given, they had accepted this mission too, but they were also curious about the client's identity.

What circumstances could there be to gather mercenaries so urgently, scattering gold coins, and head north?

They must have committed a few crimes that violated imperial law, like the mercenaries here, but beyond that, they couldn't guess.

"Shit, it's knights!!"

"Control your expression. Control your expression! Sir. Stay still. We'll answer."

The client, who had pulled their robe down low, nodded.

The mercenaries adjusted their clothes with tense faces.

In the north, one couldn't let their guard down even in shabby and remote places. There were occasionally knights who came out on patrol like this.

They absolutely couldn't let their guard down even if it was just one or two. There was a high possibility that other knights were waiting nearby.

'Fortunately...'

'They're young ones.'

The mercenaries breathed a sigh of relief seeing that the approaching knights were very young.

They could play around with ones like that.

"Si-sir knights. What brings you here?"

The mercenary at the front spoke, acting scared. His acting was so convincing that even the other mercenaries were impressed.

'That guy. There's a reason he's expensive.'

'It wasn't a bluff that he solved dozens of missions.'

A mercenary's skill was proven by the missions they had solved.

The fact that he had survived while solving over dozens of missions meant that this mercenary was no ordinary person.

He couldn't have endured like that without outstanding abilities.

Perhaps fooled by this acting, the young knight greeted them gently.

"Ah. It's nothing much. There are just so many monsters in this area. We came like this wondering if you needed any help."

"Oh my, is that so? Thank you so much."

The mercenary bowed, greeting them. He looked genuinely moved to anyone who saw.

"To think that noble knights would care about lowly ones like us..."

"What are you saying? Not at all. It's just what we should do as knights of the north."

When the handsome knight spoke like that, the slender and pretty knight next to him stared blankly.

The mercenaries wondered why she was staring like that.

"...You're quite admirable as a knight."

"Haha. Thank you."

'Ah. That one must be the superior.'

From this brief conversation, the mercenaries roughly guessed the hierarchy between these two knights.

The slender knight must have entered the knight order first, and the handsome knight must have entered later.

The handsome knight opened his mouth again.

"You'll need to find a campsite soon, I'll guide you to a good place."

"Ah, no. You don't have to go that far..."

"It's a knight's duty to protect visitors to the north from danger. Please don't refuse."

'Hmm.'

The mercenaries were reluctant but couldn't refuse. If they forcibly refused, it might look suspicious instead.

Moreover, the other side didn't seem to be particularly suspicious. Judging by how he spoke, he was clearly a green knight.

'One is soft. The other one looks a bit fussy.'

'Is the handsome one from a commoner background?'

'He's too good-looking for that though.'

'That's true. Let's accept for now.'

The mercenaries nodded.

"Oh my, alright. Thank you. May I ask which family you knights are from?"

"I'm from the Alpha family."

"...Me too."

As they borrowed the name of a friend who wasn't present, Yi-Han and Jijel apologized inwardly.

"Alpha family, Alpha family. I'll make sure to remember that name."

"Haha. It's nothing. Now, this way."

The handsome knight guided the group to the bottom of a cliff.

It was a good campsite where the river was close and the terrain could block the surrounding wind.

"What a place!"

"Is it alright?"

"Yes, yes! It's luxurious. To find such a place thanks to you knights! Thank you so much."

"Then I'll help you prepare the campsite."

"!"

Just as the mercenaries were about to refuse in panic, the pretty knight got angry first.

"Are you joking now? What do you mean help prepare? Is it a knight's job to serve travelers?"

"Come on. We can do this much. What if we encounter monsters?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The angry knight turned her back sharply and distanced herself.

The handsome knight spoke to the embarrassed mercenaries.

"Don't worry. She just talks like that."

'It doesn't seem that way.'

In fact, to the mercenaries, the pretty knight seemed more like a typical knight.

Usually, knights would get annoyed about why they should help mercenary bastards, not actively try to help like this.

"Sir knight, you really don't have to help..."

"Spring forth."

Surprisingly, the knight took out a staff and waved it. As clear water sprang forth and filled a large pot, the mercenaries were startled.

"You were a mage?!"

"Haha. I can only do a few simple things."

Although there were mages belonging to knight orders, the mercenaries were surprised because they had naturally thought he was a knight due to his physique.

'He must really be from a commoner background.'

'Seems so.'

The mage's magic was amazing. The campsite, which would have taken much longer normally, was set up in an instant.

The mercenaries were so impressed they forgot they had to manage their expressions.

"Wow...!"

"Mage sir, you're really amazing."

The handsome mage was very embarrassed.

"It's nothing much."

"Even this level of magic is amazing."

"That's right, that's right!"

As the outer wall of the campsite was created and the campfire blazed, the handsome mage bowed his head and said,

"Then I'll be going now. Have a good journey."

"Hey! Let's at least pour a cup of coffee for the mage sir."

"Haha. No need. You'll be short on coffee for your journey, I can drink when I get back."

The handsome mage really didn't stay any longer and turned to leave with the knight who had been waiting.

Seeing this, the mercenaries could finally relax.

"Phew..."

"It really was nothing."

"I was really surprised. Didn't we get more tense because he was so naive?"

"That's right. But the campsite is neat!"

The mercenaries burst into laughter.

As the tension eased, they laughed more.

"To not say a word even after seeing the client. What a dull guy!"

"He must have thought they were just dressed like that because of the cold! Hahaha!"

The client, who hadn't said a word until now, opened their mouth from inside the robe.

"Is it okay to stay at a campsite that those knight bastards showed us? It feels uneasy."

"There's nothing to worry about. They seemed to be soft, green rookies. They didn't show any signs of suspicion at all."

"They'll just leave thinking they did a good deed. Besides, isn't it a waste to abandon a campsite made like this?"

"The magic was amazing! We don't even need to fetch water."

The mercenaries marveled at the neat campsite they couldn't usually see.

Originally, preparing a campsite in this cold weather would have taken several times more effort.

Digging the hard frozen ground, breaking ice to get water, boiling that water, finding firewood...

All those processes were solved by one kind mage, so how convenient was it?

"The coffee is ready!"

"Ugh. Give me some first. My body is freezing."

"Me too, me too!"

The mercenaries, without exception, poured freshly brewed coffee to thaw their frozen bodies.

And then, without exception, they fell into a deep sleep.

***

"Hmm. Easy."

"..."

Yi-Han and Jijel were watching from afar with invisibility magic cast.

Previously...

-Oh, there are quite a few of them? There are even mercenaries?-

-This could be troublesome.-

-Moradi. If we tell them to stop in the name of the Moradi family, will the mercenaries listen?-

-Those kinds of guys... usually don't listen.-

Experienced mercenaries prioritized missions over imperial law.

If they said they wanted to check something, they would immediately attack or stall for time and scatter.

-Right? Let's subdue them peacefully.-

-Is there a way to subdue them peacefully?-

-There is. I'll play the good mage, so you play the bad mage. That will dull their wariness.-

-Seriously? Are you seriously suggesting we do that?-

-Don't worry. It worked in Einroguard, so it'll work outside too.-

And it actually worked.

And now...

Seeing Yi-Han's skill in putting all the mercenaries to sleep by mixing a sleeping potion into the water when he put it in the pot, Jijel thought she should be more careful about drinking potions given by Wardanaz in the future.

"Wait! We're here to confirm your identity. We'd appreciate your cooperation."

Yi-Han shouted to the client who hadn't drunk the coffee even as the mercenaries were collapsing.

The hand holding his staff was not threatening, but ready to respond at any time.

"...Where did you bastards come from?"

"Northern knight families have the right to conduct appropriate inspections of travelers and arrest them in emergencies according to imperial law. Where are you from?"

The person in the robe muttered.

"You were lying in ambush..."

"Pardon?"

"You were lying in ambush. Right? You filthy imperial dogs."

'How did he know?'

"Lord Prahgal will descend without succumbing to the schemes of you dog bastards!!"

"Moradi!!"

When Yi-Han shouted, Jijel immediately drew her dual swords and rushed forward. Her artifact dual swords shone brightly, concentrating their power at the tips.

However, Sharakan and the skeleton warriors that had been put on standby rushed in ahead of Jijel and attacked the fanatic.

The fanatic rolled over pathetically.

"Argh!!"

"Phew. That was surprising."

"..."

Jijel glared at her friend who had exaggerated while being perfectly capable of subduing the enemy.