The goblin subjugation was scheduled for tomorrow, and in the meantime, we decided to get our equipment ready.
Our funds consisted entirely of the reward money for reporting it and what we had earned from hunting goblins.
However, since the village had not yet been definitively discovered, we could only receive about half in advance under the pretext of preparing for the subjugation.
“One silver coin and twenty copper coins… An awkward amount.”
Drek muttered, scratching his head.
We didn’t have much money, so we had to make it stretch as tightly as possible.
“First, preserved food, then a whetstone, cloth, oil, torches… Do we have any torches left? If not, we’ll need to buy those too. We can use the waterskins we have, and we do have blankets, but if possible, a tent as well…”
Drek muttered to himself as he organized a shopping list on a piece of paper.
As expected of a former mercenary, he seemed familiar with what needed to be bought.
“We’ll buy what’s on this list first, then use the remaining money to get equipment.”
I glanced over the list he had written.
The letters scrawled messily in charcoal on the paper were completely illegible.
“Right. Well, you’d know best.”
Baldik seemed unable to read it either and spoke after skimming over it roughly.
We headed to the market. The market was still lively and crowded with people.
All sorts of goods were laid out on display, and we looked around one by one for the things we needed.
First, we visited several shops to choose preserved food.
Drek picked and picked before finally putting some preserved food into a bag.
To me, they all looked more or less the same, but Drek seemed to have clear standards, and only after looking around for quite a while did he manage to choose.
Next was the general store.
Here, we could get most basic travel supplies such as whetstones, cloth, oil, and torches.
This time, the items were simple, so I thought there would be no need to agonize over them, but Drek examined each and every one carefully as he checked off the things we needed.
I couldn’t tell much about the whetstone and oil he ordered, but they seemed to be of decent quality. He also picked out only usable torches.
“Torches are important too. They need to have plenty of pine resin applied, and if you buy ones that aren’t properly dried, they’ll go out quickly and give off terrible smoke.”
Drek explained.
What remained now were the tent and equipment. Drek intended to get a tent as well, and headed to another shop in order to choose one of at least the minimum quality.
Just as he said, “A tent makes up a big part of travel, so it’s better to buy a comfortable one,” we chose a tent that was practical and sturdy.
Even just buying these travel supplies cost forty-five copper coins.
“Now all we need is equipment, and we’ll be set.”
Drek said quietly. As he said, what we needed now were basic weapons.
The short daggers we had were no different from scrap metal by now, since they had not been properly maintained.
After buying most of the things we needed for the time being, we headed to the blacksmith.
The blacksmith’s shop was in one corner of the market, and as soon as we entered the street, the heavy smell of metal reached us.
Various weapons such as swords, knives, and axes were displayed on the shelves.
Inside the shop, several mercenaries were looking over weapons and talking.
“Damn it, we can’t even buy one of these?”
Baldik said, waving a short sword he was holding. I took a look as well. The price written on it was a staggering one silver coin.
“…You’re right. Put it down.”
Afterward, we looked through the entire blacksmith’s shop, but the only weapons we could buy with the money we had left were, at best, throwing daggers.
In the end, we decided to repair and use the weapons we already had, then headed to a leather workshop.
The leather workshop was also located in a corner of the market. The interior was filled with the smell of leather, and various leather goods hung on the walls.
“What should we buy here?”
Baldik asked. Drek examined a few pieces of leather armor and equipment, then nodded.
“What we need is the bare minimum of protective gear and armor. And we need to choose cheap ones.”
The owner of the leather workshop, a man who looked somewhat aged, saw us and approached with a nod.
“Are you mercenaries going on the goblin subjugation tomorrow, by any chance?”
Drek nodded and said,
“We’re looking to get some equipment needed for the goblin subjugation.”
“Even if the opponents are goblins, you still need some basic protection. What’s your budget?”
“We need it urgently. Could you give us a bit of a discount?”
“I can sell it cheap for people like you who are heading out on the subjugation.”
Drek thought for a while, then said,
“For now, I think two sets of leather armor, one shield, and three or four pairs of gloves will do. Could we get all of that for around sixty copper coins?”
The owner thought for a moment, then answered in a low voice.
“Sixty coins… That should be enough.”
Drek agreed on the price with the owner and began choosing the things we needed.
We bought two sets of leather armor, a small leather shield, three pairs of gloves that came up to the wrists, and three small leather pouches.
They were all practical and fairly sturdy pieces of equipment.
The total price was sixty-three coins, so we went slightly over, but according to Drek, he had given us a good price.
“Why don’t I get armor?”
“There’s no way they’d have a size that fits you in a place like this. Besides, you’ll be in the rear.”
“Urgh.”
Perhaps the idea of staying in the rear didn’t sit well with him, because Baldik looked full of dissatisfaction.
“Looks like we’ve got everything. Now let’s go catch some goblins and earn some money.”
Drek said with a faint smile.
Because of his vicious face, I hadn’t even realized at first that it was a smile.
We gathered our equipment and left the shop for the last time, finishing our preparations for tomorrow’s goblin subjugation.
***
By the time we finished preparing for the goblin subjugation, the sun was already setting.
We returned to the inn, sat at a table, and ate dinner.
Since Dardan had left, we now had to pay our lodging fees ourselves.
To be honest, this was the part that made me the angriest at Dardan.
“By the way, there won’t be a wanted notice out before we leave, right?”
Baldik brought it up carefully.
It was something I had been worrying about as well.
We were in a situation where every moment counted, but did we really have the leisure to carry out a subjugation?
However, since no other method came to mind at the moment, I simply kept my mouth shut.
“They’re probably too busy because of the mimic. I don’t know why they left a mimic alone to that extent, but it wasn’t an ordinary one.”
Drek said in a low voice.
“I hope so. Well, I don’t remember committing any crime big enough to be chased that hard. I’m just petty-criminal level.”
Baldik drank his beer as he prattled on with idle nonsense.
But there was no point in discussing the matter any further.
“The problem is how we’re going to recruit someone.”
Drek got to the main point.
“We’ll have to find someone ourselves now.”
“Leave that to me. I may not look it, but I’m an expert.”
Baldik said confidently.
At those words, Drek was momentarily at a loss for words.
A former priest calling himself a crime expert.
I, too, could only let out a hollow laugh at the absurd sight.
“We have to leave tomorrow, so it would be best to find someone in advance tonight.”
“What if there’s no one who does that kind of work?”
At my question, Baldik looked at me as if I had said something ridiculous.
“Mister mage, if we can’t find anyone, it doesn’t mean there’s no one who does that kind of work. It just means we failed to find them.”
Baldik spoke with conviction.
Was it really that common? I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased about that or not.
“And when we went to the harbor earlier, I already picked out some candidates.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Nothing gets past my eyes.”
Was it the discerning eye of a former bootlegger, after all?
Baldik skillfully rolled his beer mug in his hand as he continued.
“I’ve got two or three in mind for now. One was a man carrying a dagger, and the others were people making deals in the back alleys.”
“The back alleys? You’re saying we should drag those sorts into our business?”
Drek frowned.
“Hey, they’re people who do dangerous work anyway. No need to go out of our way to find upstanding folks, is there?”
“If we bring in someone too suspicious, we could be the ones in danger.”
Drek had a point. If we entrusted the job to someone we couldn’t trust and they betrayed us midway, that would be a problem.
“That’s why I’m saying we should go check them out ourselves starting now.”
“Now?”
“What, you want to meet them tomorrow morning?”
Baldik shrugged. Drek thought for a moment, but eventually nodded.
“Where do we go?”
“The back alleys near the harbor. Evening is about when they start working.”
Baldik stood up from his seat.
“Well then, shall we?”
Drek and I looked at each other, then followed him out.
***
The back alleys near the harbor had an entirely different atmosphere from daytime.
The streets where merchants had bustled about during the day had grown quiet, and instead, people making deals in the darkness could be seen.
People who looked drunk, people with sharp gazes, and even men openly watching their surroundings.
Perhaps because the harbor was nearby, the squelching ground and thick fishy smell were particularly striking.
“Now, the first candidate is over there.”
Where Baldik nodded, a man in shabby leather armor was sitting while leaning back.
He had several daggers at his waist, and his gaze was fixed on the ground.
“You sure about him?”
Drek asked in a low voice.
“I’m sure. Even when I saw him during the day, he was subtly watching his surroundings. His expression’s a mess, probably because he lost some money at a gambling den, though.”
I sighed. Was this really the right way to recruit someone?
“Let’s go talk to him first.”
Baldik took the lead and approached. We quietly followed behind him.
“…What?”
“We’re looking for someone.”
“Someone? Why look for them here? You think this place is some marketplace?”
The man glared at us with a menacing look.
“We’re looking for someone to take the three of us aboard a ship.”
“A ship? Then you should go find a captain—”
“There’s one more condition. They have to take us aboard ‘without anyone knowing.’”
At those words, the man thought for a moment, then finally spat out a sentence.
“So that’s what you meant. Go to the tavern behind here.”
Baldik nodded to the man.
“A tavern… Which one?”
The man jerked his chin indifferently.
“Third alley toward the harbor. There’ll be a place with no sign. Go to the owner there and say, ‘We’re preparing for a late voyage.’”
I examined the man once more. His eyes were sharp, and there were calluses on his fingertips. He was definitely no mere gambler. There was a high chance he had been a mercenary, or else someone who had spent a long time in the back alleys.
“You’re not trying to lead us into a trap, are you?”
When I asked, the man snorted and said,
“What reason would I have to do that? Even if you get caught, nothing comes back to me. I don’t know your faces or your names either, so it’s the same for me—I can’t trust you.”
His words made sense. We were strangers to each other, and there was no reason to trade in trust. But the important fact was that we were in a hurry.
“Let’s go for now.”
Baldik muttered as he set off.
The place was far from an ordinary tavern.
When the old wooden door opened with a creak, the murky air that rolled out from inside stung my nose. Along with the strong smell of alcohol, a damp and musty stench filled the space.
Inside, where the dim lamplight flickered, several tables were set out, but not a single spot looked clean.
The tabletops gleamed with alcohol stains and grease, and on the floor, shards of broken cups and dirt were mixed together, making a crunching sound wherever feet stepped.
In one corner, a broken table lay rolling on the floor. Perhaps a fight had just broken out, because it had collapsed with its legs half-smashed.
The faces of the patrons also spoke for the atmosphere.
Men with rough beards caked in grease were clinking glasses and shouting, while in one corner, a drunken man staggered and dropped a bowl, spilling alcohol across the floor.
On one side of the wall, two large men were arm-wrestling and yelling, and on the opposite side, a hooded man was spinning a dagger between his fingertips as he inspected the blade.
This was no ordinary tavern.
It did not take long to realize that this was a place where outlaws of the back alleys gathered.
“This atmosphere feels awfully familiar.”
Baldik muttered quietly.
Behind the bar, the rough-looking owner was wiping an old cup with a cloth.
The moment we entered, he cast a brief glance our way.
"Want a seat?"
We hesitated for a moment, but answered as the man had told us.
"We're preparing for a late voyage."
As soon as those words ended, the proprietor quietly set down his glass.
A few nearby patrons glanced our way as well, but soon returned to their conversations.
"Who sent you?"
"A man we met on the road, carrying a dagger."
The proprietor thought for a moment, then gave a quiet nod.
"I see. Follow me."
He turned beyond the bar and opened an inner door.
After exchanging a glance, we followed him in silence.
The inside was far quieter than the exterior.
A small lamp flickered, dimly lighting the narrow corridor.
With every step, the wooden floor creaked beneath us, but the proprietor did not seem to care.
At the end of the short corridor, we entered a room, where someone was already seated.
He wore a dull brown cloak, his face hidden in the darkness.
But the hand resting on the table was smooth and nimble.
Not the hand of someone who swung a sword, but the hand of someone who signed contracts.
A brief silence passed.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
"...It seems you wish to travel."
His voice was low and quiet.
"That's right."
Baldik answered curtly.
"Your destination?"
"For now, we need to cross the river."
He nodded.
"There is a boat prepared. But taking you aboard without anyone knowing won't be easy. Especially for people like you, who are hiding your purpose."
I swallowed unconsciously.
It seemed he had some idea of our situation.
"How much?"
Baldik got straight to the point.
"Five silver coins per person."
Drek frowned.
"That's absurdly expensive."
"Because it's that dangerous."
The broker answered calmly.
We thought for a moment.
Five silver coins per person was more than we could afford with the money we had.
"Too expensive. Is there no other way?"
The broker was silent for a moment.
Then, slowly, he opened his mouth.
"There is one."
We held our breath.
"One captain is having a problem. If you solve that problem for him, he might lower the price."
"What problem?"
The broker lightly tapped the table.
"Some of that captain's cargo has gone missing. It's something he absolutely has to find before leaving port, and it seems some fellows made off with it."
"...Are you telling us to find it?"
The broker smiled.
"That's right. Bring it back, and I'll cut the price in half. Otherwise, you'll have no choice but to pay and go."
We looked at one another.
"So, what will you do?"
Drek stepped forward.
"The deadline?"
"As it happens, those fellows are involved in the subjugation you're participating in. It would be best to handle it while you're there."
!!
He knew we were taking part in the goblin subjugation?
The party stirred for an instant, but soon calmly reconsidered the situation.
Since it was a commission officially taken through the Mercenary Guild, there was no way that information was completely secret.
"In the subjugation? Is that bastard a mercenary too?"
"Yes. His name is Arnold. A nobody. But he has a group he drags around with him."
"A group... An unregistered mercenary band, then. You're putting out a request like this for a nobody?"
At the sharp observation, the broker fell silent for a moment.
Then he lifted the corner of his mouth and said,
"You must be busy, yet you have so many questions."
This time, we were the ones left speechless.
"At any rate, if you retrieve one ring that bastard is wearing, I'll consider the job complete."
"Does it matter whether that bastard lives or dies?"
"Of course. I don't care whether he dies or not. I'm not that bad of a person, after all."
There was something strangely familiar in the broker's tone.
I glanced down at Baldik.
At that, he suddenly lowered his head.
...Could he be feeling guilty?
"Understood. We'll take the request. If we retrieve the ring he's wearing, the job is complete. Correct?"
"Yes. Well... should I draw up a request form for you?"
"What request form in a place like this?"
The two exchanged a snicker and traded jokes.
"Wait, what does the ring look like?"
Baldik cut in between them.
It was a reasonable question.
"Hm, right. I believe they said it had a vivid blue gemstone set in it. You'll recognize it the moment you see it."
A ring with a vivid blue gemstone... It sounded expensive just hearing about it.
"Good. Then I'll leave it to you."
The broker gave a light wave of his hand. After checking one another's faces one last time, we quietly left the room.
The tavern's stale air stabbed into my lungs once more. It was still noisy outside, but strangely, the atmosphere seemed different from just moments ago.
"This is why I don't much like broker bastards."
Baldik grumbled softly.
"Didn't you do something similar?"
When I asked casually, he forced his gaze away and shut his mouth.
"...Absolutely not."
"Is that so?"
I chuckled inwardly as I left the tavern.
Now all that remained was to find the man named Arnold during the subjugation and retrieve the ring.