The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 331

Episode 331 I have so many questions. (3)

Manus continued speaking, oblivious to Amelia’s expression.

“Yes, the Forest of Demons is a place shrouded in mystery. Although it is only the beginning, I have the experience of going to the place where the Rune Stone was. I want to receive a fair reward.”

“aha…….”

Amelia nodded, still smiling coolly.

In fact, it is not wrong. If you receive even trivial information, you should pay a price. That is the dignity of a nobleman.

“Okay, how much do you want?”

“I want two thousand gold.”

The faces of the people in Daejeon turned grim at those words. Two thousand gold is enough to change the fortunes of an average commoner.

I was furious to see them dare to make such excessive demands under the pretext of information fees.

But none of them came forward. In front of Amelia, even with all sincerity, one should not come forward recklessly.

Meow!

Only Bastet could freely express her unpleasant feelings.

Amelia said with a grin.

“It’s too expensive for an information fee.”

“This is information you won’t find anywhere else. I think it’s worth it.”

Manus didn’t do something so reckless without thinking. He thought he would be safe.

‘Isn’t the lord here so kind-hearted? He said he doesn’t kill people carelessly. You can just bargain a bit and lower the price.’

Even if you are a lord, it is difficult to kill the people of your territory without a justification. Once you are labeled as a tyrant, the people of your territory will not trust you, and if the person who died belongs to another territory, it could easily become a justification for a territory war.

That is why everyone cares about reputation, the duty and dignity of a nobleman.

‘Besides, I was suddenly caught in a bar. Since many people saw me, I can’t do anything right away. I’ll just check the mood and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll run away.’

Even when the lord passes, there are times when his unscrupulous subordinates cause trouble. Sometimes, he even punishes them by making harsh accusations.

Although Amelia was confident that she was not that kind of person, the suspicious Manus had calculated that case as well.

‘Let’s first shout loudly and haggle over the price to get a reasonable discount. Don’t worry, my lord, I don’t intend to receive the full 2,000 gold. Hehehe… ‘

It’s a trading method that’s been familiar to me since my days as a mercenary. In any case, the one who loses is bound to be the one who feels bad about it.

Indeed, Amelia agreed to Manus’s bargain.

“Two thousand gold is too much. But since I am very curious about the information, I will give you two hundred gold. Don’t you think that is enough?”

“Umm… … Could you give me 1500 gold? This is truly valuable information that will surprise you when you hear it.”

The expressions of the vassals in Daejeon became even more fierce. 200 gold was a huge amount of money, but that lowly guy was still being greedy.

Manus wasn’t particularly frightened by the atmosphere. It was common for him to bargain with nobles during his mercenary days anyway.

No matter how displeased the vassals were, they were not the ones negotiating with Manus. There was no way he could be afraid of bargaining with a lord known for being a good person.

Amelia frowned for a moment and quietly asked Bernap next to her.

“Where did you bring it from?”

“I brought it from a bar.”

She nodded a few times and then spoke to Manus.

“1500 gold is too much. I’m curious about the information, but it seems like it would be difficult. Let’s go back for now.”

“Huh? My lord? This is truly surprising information to hear.”

Amelia shook her head as Manus spoke with slight surprise.

“But it’s too expensive. I can’t spend the estate’s important funds to satisfy my curiosity.”

‘Tch, it’s true that he was frugal and only spent money on his people. I guess I can’t help it.’

“Then how about one thousand gold?”

“That’s too expensive. Even 200 gold is too much for my situation.”

“Then I’ll give it to you for 500 gold!”

Even 500 gold is a huge amount of money. If that doesn’t work, I’m thinking of taking 200 gold and leaving this territory.

Amelia thought about it for a moment and then said.

“I’ll think about it. Let’s go for now. Bernap, give the author enough money to eat and sleep well today. He’s wasting my time, so he deserves to pay the price.”

“All right.”

As Bernap nodded, one of the servants approached Manus and handed him a gold coin.

Manus took the gold coin and laughed wickedly.

‘Hehehe, looking at you worrying, I think it’ll work out if you just try a little harder. You’re really clumsy at pushing and pulling.’

Years of experience in bargaining allowed Manus to tell when his counterpart was still interested.

Seeing him struggling and not even being able to bargain properly, it was clear that he had no experience with this kind of thing.

‘Well, what would a girl who grew up reading books in her room do? She doesn’t want to give all the money, but she wants to get information. It’s probably a headache. Hehe.’

Manus laughed at Amelia inwardly and stepped back for the time being. The gold coin in his hand looked particularly pretty today.

“Ah, but I didn’t expect you to give me this much money just because I called you for a little while. As expected from a gentle lord. You’re going to get stabbed in the back of the head a lot. Tsk tsk.”

Manus, who had been clicking his tongue a few times to show concern for Amelia, soon began to feel better.

He was really happy to drink with my own money for the first time in a long time. I had spent almost all the money I had earned, so I hadn’t eaten or drank properly recently.

“Ugh, that’s good. Ha, I shouldn’t have run away then.”

When I’m drunk, I remember the old days. At the time, I had run away and couldn’t go back to the Zimbar Mercenary Guild.

If Jiselle had died, he wouldn’t have known, but he knew she had survived, he had heard rumors.

So I spent my time wandering around other territories and doing odd jobs. But as time went by, the rumors I heard became more and more serious.

“That little brat Prince is now a count and the strongest in the North… … Those crazy mad dog guys have become knights? Ha, really… … Even that pee-pee Gordon bastard has become a knight and learned the Mana training method… … .”

The more I thought about it, the more my heart ached. How I had hoped that little noble bastard would die during every war. I had hoped that the territory and all the knights who followed him would perish.

But rather than perish, they are all prospering. Jisel has become the most successful lord in the North, and the knights of Fenris are also gaining great fame.

“Oh, shit. If I had been there, I could have learned the Mana training method and become a knight. I think I would have done better if I had that opportunity.”

Manus doesn’t know how hard they worked. He just sees the results and becomes jealous and envious.

Manus, who had been drunk and cursing Giselle to his heart’s content, staggered back to his quarters.

Although it is a shabby inn, I feel at ease now because I have been staying there for quite some time.

Manus, lying on the crumbling bed, muttered with his eyes closed.

“If I get some money from the lord here, I’ll go somewhere else and do business. Let’s just wait and see, I’ll be so successful that I’ll make that little noble brat suffer… … Hmm… … .”

Manus, who had fallen asleep like that, opened his eyes again with an uncomfortable feeling.

Perhaps because I hadn’t fully recovered from the alcohol, my vision was still blurry. I saw a woman smiling seductively in the dark space.

“Are you awake now? Are you awake?”

“Uh… My Lord?”

The beautiful woman in front of him was Amelia. Manus, who had been looking puzzled, soon smiled sinisterly.

“Hehehe… … If you miss a man, you can call him separately, but why did you come all the way to a shabby place like this… … .”

Manus, who had completely misunderstood the situation, tried to approach Amelia while spouting vulgar words.

Clank.

But something was binding his hands. Feeling puzzled, he blinked and turned his head.

“uh?”

The iron chains that bound both his hands were connected to the wall. Startled, he turned his head to look around.

A dark room with only a few candles lit. It wasn’t his own quarters. The atmosphere was somewhat gloomy, like a dungeon.

It was only then that I came to my senses.

“Hey, this is… … .”

As he came to, a foul smell assaulted his nostrils. As a former mercenary, he could quickly tell that it was the smell of iron and blood.

“Ugh, euaaaah!”

Clank! Clank!

He struggled, but the restraints held him tightly.

Thud. Thud.

Someone approached Amelia and bowed his head. The man, who looked extremely fierce, soon spread out several tools in front of Manus.

Manus now realized clearly where he was. This was a torture chamber.

It is probably a place secretly hidden in the basement of the castle.

“Hey, my lord! Why are you doing this!”

Manus screamed as he asked, but Amelia still remained silent.

‘Father, you clearly said he was a good lord? But it seems like he was actually like that?’

Which lord would empty his private fortune to use it for his people? Amelia, who had been watching him for several months, was definitely that kind of person.

From what I’ve seen so far, the loyalty of the people of Yeongji has been extremely high. It’s definitely not a reputation that can be earned by pretending to be kind and giving a few favors.

You have to work really hard for the people of Yeongji for a very long time. Amelia actually did that.

But who could have done something like this so easily!

Amelia, who had just seen Manus trembling, spoke to the torturer.

“I’m curious about so many things. I’m the type of person who can never hold back on being curious.”

The adviser bowed his head and spoke in a confident voice.

“I’ll make sure you remember what you had for dinner tonight, 10 years ago.”

“You shouldn’t ask to be saved.”

“What do you mean…?”

Amelia smiled again as the torturer looked tense.

“Please make me want to kill you.”

“……All right.”

To do that, you have to torture delicately. The torturer carefully checked his tools once again with a craftsman’s spirit.

Manus felt dizzy when he saw that sight.

Amelia sat down a little way away and began to drink tea.

If Manus had been a little more greedy, he wouldn’t have gone this far. He would have paid as much as he wanted and gotten the information smoothly.

But he dared to haggle over an absurd amount of money and tried to put the cart before himself.

‘Idiot.’

After getting the information, she could get her money back. But Amelia immediately realized what kind of person that Manus was.

It’s obvious that a guy like that will use the information he has as a weapon and not talk properly. He’s the kind of person who will waste time and use it to get everything he can.

Then it’s better to just go quickly. She doesn’t like wasting time unnecessarily.

Choaaaak.

A curtain was drawn in front of the torture chamber. If necessary, one could see as many cruel scenes as one wanted, but there was no reason to see something that did not have to be seen.

“Eww!”

Manus’ scream echoed through the basement. Amelia closed her eyes and sipped her tea, listening to the sound as music.

* * *

The torture did not last long. Manus, who was mentally weak, vomited out all the information he knew and died.

The torture was so brutal that the victims asked to be killed rather than to be saved.

Amelia’s expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief as Manus continued to speak. No matter how many times she checked, Manus’ words did not change.

Amelia returned to her study, pacing around the room several times, lost in thought.

“That’s ridiculous… … . You really knew what was going to happen and prepared for it?”

The Forest of Demons is a place that everyone gave up exploring a long time ago. So there is no information. However, Jiselle said that it was as if she had been to the Forest of Demons and come back.

It is said that, except for the Blood Python he met at the end, he knew how to fight whatever he encountered.

“You knew all the unknown habits and weaknesses of monsters that people didn’t know about? That doesn’t make sense… … . That’s impossible.”

This is even more absurd when you consider Jiselle’s circumstances and position at the time. He had no experience and was too young.

Even for experienced mercenaries, it is not easy to have a perfect understanding of monsters. It is even more so in the Demon Forest where there is no information and new monsters are abundant.

“You even knew exactly where the rune stone was… … .”

It was unbelievable, but I couldn’t help but believe it when the results actually came out.

Until then, I thought that success was simply a result of luck added to excellent skills. But this is a different story.

Amelia, who had been wandering around for a while, stopped and muttered.

“That guy… … is clearly getting information from somewhere. Things that others don’t know.”