“Then have a safe journey back. I apologize for not being able to finish the job personally.”

“It is fine. You’ve done plenty for me until now. I am sure Miss Priscilla will understand as well. Anyways, take care. May God bless you.”

“God bless you.”

Bilmoa climbed onto the coachman’s seat after saying his farewells to Partec. The three mercenaries had already said their goodbyes the night before, so they left alongside the carriage after wordlessly shaking hands with Partec. Once the carriage completely crossed the drawbridge, Partec, Glade, and Lavan approached Eugene.

“Let us go, Sir Eugene.”

“Hmm.”

Eugene headed towards the main structure of the Rose Castle along with the three.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Camara welcomed Eugene in a bright voice. He had been waiting for the knight’s arrival since earlier on. After stealing a glance at the two mercenaries and Partec, he continued in a slightly excited voice.

“So you decided to accept my offer?”

“That is correct. I have decided to hire these three men as well.”

“Hahaha! You made the right choice. By the way, how much are your wages?”

Eugene answered instead of Partec.

“One hundred silver coins for all four of together. And after we succeed, give us our pay in the materials gained from monsters. I don’t need any mana stones, so give us half of the materials gained from monsters.”

“Huh? You don’t need mana stones?”

“They are hard to dispose of. I prefer other materials.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Camara accepted the proposal with puzzlement. 

It had been Partec’s proposal to ask for the raw materials from monsters rather than mana stones if they succeeded. Mana stones had to go through a purification process. But if an individual requested purification from the church, rather than an organization or a merchant association, the process became complicated, and the church took thirty percent of the products as the fee. It would be better to be compensated with materials that they could sell off to a merchant association.

Materials gained from monsters were quite useful. If they could acquire half of the total gains from the expedition, they would not be making a loss.

‘It’s a good thing I chose to bring Partec along.’

In addition, Partec already had a plan to deal with the materials. It also had to do with why Bilmoa returned to Maren without making a fuss, although three of the six original members had deserted the mission halfway. 

Bilmoa was worried about his performance within the association, so Partec had promised him to sell all of the monster’s materials to the Palin Association through Bilmoa.

“But are you sure you don’t need any more men? We could hire two or three more.”

“Thank you for your concern, but it will be fine. Wouldn’t Sir Galfredik hire over ten men anyways?”

“We are short on numbers on our side, so he will likely hire around twenty men. Tsk! It will be troublesome if our side contributes less…”

Although Camara complained, he had no choice. Where could he find another knight who was capable of killing five armed robbers alone? Galfredik was an unusual case, and outstanding knights usually headed to serve under rich, high-ranking aristocrats. They would rarely visit a place like this.

‘Knights or mercenaries. If any of them are too outstanding, they could covet the territory as well.’

It would be better to sit on a pile of debt after failing to explore the dungeon. He could not risk such a horrible outcome.

“Ah, and this is a meaningless condition, but.”

“Hmm?”

Eugene shrugged while speaking. It felt as if he was verbalizing a flitting, unimportant thought.

“If I kill any high-ranking monsters or anything stronger in the dungeon, I will keep its mana stone.”

“Hahahaha! A truly meaningless condition. Do as you want. Haha!”

Camara, as well as the mercenaries, felt rather amused. Humans did not journey into the evil lands only for the sake of gaining mana stones. It was to control the population of the monsters in advance. If left alone, the number of monsters would continue to increase, which would ultimately result in the monster encroaching on human territory.

Humans usually killed a few intermediate-ranking monsters before withdrawing. High-ranking monsters usually resided in the heart of the evil lands, and if the humans messed with such creatures without thinking, it could cause the entire group to be annihilated.

But now, a no-name knight was claiming he would kill a high-ranking monster after entering a newly discovered dungeon.

It truly was a meaningless condition.

“Haha! Well, I like your confidence. You need to have at least this much guts to call yourself a knight. Anyways, let’s do our best. Hahaha…!”

Camara did not stop chuckling, seemingly finding the situation quite amusing and ridiculous.

*** 

“Sir Eugene?”

“That’s right. It will be better to have more knights than not, right? The others were hired by the Palin Association, so they should be decent as well.”

“What about their terms?”

“The down payment will be 100 silver coins, including Sir Eugene and the three of them. They want half of the monster materials as the success pay. He said he doesn’t need mana stones.”

“Is that so…?”

Bertel stared at Eugene with cold eyes.

He had heard about Eugene from Felid as well during the dinner last night. Although it was likely exaggerated, the fact that he defeated five robbers with a single short sword was enough to prove his identity as a knight.

‘The terms are not bad either. But I don’t have a good feeling about this.’

He would have been rather relieved if Eugene was as arrogant and reckless as other knights, but it was difficult to gauge the unknown knight’s true intentions. The eyes that shone from inside the knight’s helmet felt ominous to Bertel. 

“What are your thoughts, Sir Galfredik?”

Camara shifted his attention to Galfredik.

“I always welcome a skilled knight. Good to see you, sir. I am Rowan of Galfredik.”

Galfredik was even bigger than Partec. He stepped forward and extended his hand forward.

“Nice to meet you. Jan Eugene.”

The two knights shook hands with their gloves on.

Squeeze!

Eugene strengthened his grip after feeling Galfredik’s powerful grasp.

“…..!”

Galfredik’s raised his thick eyebrows in surprise.

“Your strength is quite formidable. I look forward to your performance.”

“Likewise.” 

Galfredik grinned while speaking to Bertel after letting go of Eugene’s hand.

“I do not know about his swordsmanship, but I can guarantee you his strength.”

“I see.”

Galfredik himself was reassuring Bertel of the man’s capabilities. As such, Bertel had no justification to refuse Eugene’s cooperation. Furthermore, it was just as Camara said. It was much better to have another knight.

‘My older brother’s influence will increase slightly, but it’s not a bad outcome. More than anything… there is no guarantee that man will come out alive.’

Bertel decided to accept Eugene.

“Welcome to the opening of the dungeon, Sir Eugene.”

“Haha! Now that we have everyone here, why don’t we start discussing things in earnest?”

At Camara’s words, Eugene, Galfredik, and Bertel each took their place at the ends of a square table.

“Sirs, we will be outside.”

“Yes.”

Partec’s group left after bowing, and Bertel started the conversation.

“As all of you know, we have three knights – Sir Galfredik, Sir Eugene, and me. But I cannot participate in the expedition. Someone has to protect the castle.”

It appeared Camara and Galfredik already knew of the fact, as they nodded in acknowledgment. But Eugene heard this for the first time.

“There will be twenty-three men in total, including the three that Sir Eugene brought, and the men gathered by Sir Galfredik. The down payment will be paid as discussed previously, as well as the success pay. The minimum conditions for clearing the expedition will be 70 low-ranking and three intermediate-ranking monsters. Feel free to make judgments accordingly for anything past that.”

The minimum conditions were literally the bare minimum. But no self-respecting knight would be satisfied clearing the minimum conditions. It was customary to defeat at least 1.5 times more than the minimum number of monsters. 

If they were successful in killing 1.5 times the number of monsters, they could take away about thirty to forty percent of the profits after paying off the knights and the hired mercenaries. But it was only if they succeeded.

“There are six porters. I will prepare water and food for seven days. Mercenaries will arrive within two days at the latest. Then we will depart right away after taking the day off.”

According to what he heard from Partec, a group usually stayed inside a dungeon for three or four days after entering. However, this time around, they were opening a dungeon for the first time. Since they needed to map the dungeon through exploration, it was required to prepare plenty of drinking water and food.

“Do any of you have any questions, sirs?”

“What about a dismantler? And don’t you think we will need more porters?  Even the low-ranking monsters leave behind quite a bit of resources as well.”

“The dismantling will be of no issue. Three of the porters were originally hunters. And…”

Bertel sank into thought for a moment, then continued.

“I will hire two more porters.”

“We can leave behind anyone who is seriously injured. What about others who are injured? Can I do whatever I want with them?”

“I will leave it to your judgments, sirs.”

“What do you think, Sir Eugene? Don’t tell me you are one of those philanthropists – like those among the nobles of Carls Baggins?”

“They are mercenaries, not my men. I don’t care. I don’t think anyone would become involved in something like this without being resolved.”

Eugene spoke in a cold voice.

It was rather comical that Bertel would ask a vampire if he was philanthropic towards humans that he barely knew.

“Hahaha! I like the sound of that!”

The short meeting was concluded with the sound of Galfredik’s hearty laugh.

“Then, sirs, please rest easy and maintain your peak conditions until we leave.”

“My body will become stiff if I rest too much. Is there a hunting ground nearby? Hunting is the best way to warm up. I…”

Galfredik started speaking while walking forward, then suddenly turned around.

“Sir Eugene, what say you we warm up together?”

“…..”

Eugene remained silent, unsure as to what Galfredik was referring to. The burly knight continued with a big grin.

“I’m asking for a duel.”

*** 

“Sir Galfredik is dueling the new knight from yesterday!”

“Really? Are you sure? Are they really fighting a duel?”

“They’re about to start right now!”

The people of the Rose Castle gathered in the courtyard of the castle. The castle walls and the stairs, which were the best seats available, were already filled to the brim with spectators. A circle of people was formed in the middle of the courtyard. Since it was a rather small castle, the courtyard felt quite packed and bustling with even 60 to 70 people. 

“Look at how big he is.  That’s Sir Galfredik, right?”

“Who do you think is going to win?”

A duel of this caliber was rare in the Rose Castle, where Bertel was the only knight present. As such, the people of the castle watched Eugene and Galfredik with anticipation and wonder.

“Obviously Sir Galfredik! He lost in the semifinals of the jousting competition, but he made it to the finals in the swordsmanship competition!”

“I heard he is incredibly strong.”

In particular, everyone was expectant of Sir Galfredik. Making it to the finals in the swordsmanship competition proved his prowess since none in their territory had ever won a competition since Lord Tywin.

“Huh? Are you going to fight like that?”

“I don’t have any armor.”

“He, well then.”

Galfredik grinned before stretching out his hand. He held the pommel of a wooden sword similar in shape and length to the long sword he used. Although they were both using wooden weapons, he adorned a helmet like Eugene and plate mail on his upper body.

“Let’s end it with a single round. It will be troublesome if you break your bones, so let’s take it easy.”

“I will try as well.”

“Keuk! I’m getting more and more fond of you. Shall we get started?”

Galfredik swung his wooden sword in an X shape.

Shiiing!

A sharp sound resounded throughout the area. It was hard to believe that he was only swinging a wooden weapon.

Galfredik brandished the weapon back and forth a few times before starting to move in a circle. Eugene’s eyes narrowed as he observed Galfredik’s actions. At first, it appeared as if the knight was using both hands to wield the weapon, but he quickly realized the knight was moving his weapon back and forth between his two hands.

‘It is an unusual sword technique. Different from Jung Dircht.’

When he had been on the run in his previous life, he discovered that knights used similar, but slightly different styles of swordsmanship from each other. Galfredik was a knight who made it all the way to the finals in a competition held by a count, although they were in the countryside.

He would surely be adept in his own unique, powerful swordsmanship.

Shiing!

Without warning, Galfredik’s wooden sword shot toward Eugene in a straight line. Eugene reflexively twisted his body and raised the short wooden sword in his hand.

Tung! Shiiik!

Galfredik’s weapon was deflected slightly, then bounced back into a slice. It was a precise attack aimed directly at Eugene’s forehead.

Eugene would have been helpless in the past against a similar attack. But thanks to Black Scale, Eugene could exert physical abilities surpassing wild predators even during the day. He leaned back to avoid the attack.

Fwooosh!

As if he had been anticipating Eugene’s move, Galfredik changed the trajectory of his weapon and swooped down at a right angle.

Bang!

A clear sound echoed in the air.

“…!”

The spectators had been watching the battle unfold with mouths agape and eyes full of shock. They flinched at the reverberation.

An incredible sight was unfolded in front of their eyes.

“Ugh…”

Galfredik was stumbling back several steps while holding onto his helmet. Eugene had kicked Galfredik’s chin the same time he leaned back to avoid an attack.

“Phew!”

Galfredik took off his helmet, then shooks his head left and right.

“Wow! Amazing! Sir, where did you learn something like that? I consider myself quite capable at bare-handed fighting, but I never even heard of a technique like that.”

Eugene was a little taken aback at the unexpected response. Weren’t all knights supposed to be competitive, proud, and arrogant?

“I learned it from a senior in my family when I was young.”

To tell the truth, the attack was a combination of a vampire’s superb athletic abilities and improvisation, but Eugene uttered an excuse he prepared beforehand.

“Is that so? I would like to learn it if I ever get the chance. However, if I had been wearing my real helmet instead of a practice one, the attack would not have had much effect.”

He had a point. The helmets that knights usually wore contained a close-fitting skull cap to protect the entire head.

“But it would have been enough to break your posture. I wasn’t going all-out either. I was afraid I would break your bones.”

Eugene relaxed the way he addressed Galfredik and spoke with sincerity.

“What? Uhahaha! I like you more and more! Hahaha!”

Galfredik burst into laughter, then threw aside his wooden sword before striding towards Eugene.

“I don’t know how it would have ended if we were in a real battle, but you won this time, sir. I apologize for thinking you would be an easy opponent.”

Eugene shook Galfredik’s hand. The burly knight was dismantling his assumptions about knights. Galfredik raised Eugene’s hand while shouting.

“Although it wasn’t a fancy sword match, Sir Eugene won this battle! You little rascals! Show some respect for the victor!”

Whaaaaaa!

Cheers and applause rang out in the courtyard of the Rose Castle.