“Thank you.”

“No problem at all! Then make yourself at home, sir knight!”

A young employee of the Palin Association bowed deeply before leaving. Eugene inspected the chainmail and the short sword brought to him by the clerk. Eugene had left it in their hands after they said they would take care of it, and judging from the equipment’s condition, they were quite skilled.

His chainmail and the short sword had been damaged from fighting various monsters in the dungeon, but the equipment in front of his eyes had returned looking almost brand new.

“It’s certainly a big city. The artisans are quite skilled.”

It was even better because it was free. Bilmoa seemed hell-bent on earning favors with Eugene.

“Of course, of course! The food is wonderful and the taste of alcohol is amazing. I would just live here for the rest of my life!”

Mirian had been rolling around on the table for hours without even flapping her wings a single time. She popped her head out of a large piece of cheese she had been devouring. Of course, even though she had been indulging, only a tiny piece of cheese was missing. No one would even notice that it had been consumed.

“We will be heading out soon, so get ready. If you want to eat more, you can stay here.”

“Go ahead, go ahead. This little one needs some rest. Kyah! How nice!”

The spoiled spirit plopped down on her back while patting her bulging stomach. Eugene looked at her with a pathetic expression, then stepped out the door.

***

“Hello, Sir Eugene.”

“Huh? Hmm.”

Eugene nodded after a moment’s confusion. He had almost failed to recognize Partec. The latter’s hair and beard were trimmed, and he washed himself thoroughly. Partec had almost become an entirely new person.

“Now I look a little human, right? I wouldn’t bother if I were alone, but since I have to serve Sir Eugene…”

“Well, that’s fine. Let’s go.”

Eugene felt rather awkward that such a burly man was acting shy. He replied half-heartedly before moving away.

“By the way, is young master Felid going to stay in the Palin Association from now on?”

“Fortunately, BIlmoa rather liked the idea. It’s common for merchants to teach one or two assistants, so the association won’t say much about it either.”

“That’s good to hear. There are many merchants who can write and read that are illegitimate children of noble families. If it’s young master Felid, I have no doubts that he will do a great job.”

The Tywin family needed a merchant association to consistently take care of the mana stones and materials gained from the dungeons without any problems. In that sense, the Palin Association, which was centered around Maren, was one of the best options. However, it was a little risky to leave it all to the association.

However, when Eugene recommended Felid as the family’s agent, Camara’s worries were solved. Felid’s status as the younger brother of Lord Tywin and an aide of a knight was sufficient to protect him from any mistreatment at any associations. Moreover, Felid already knew how to write and knew numbers. If he learned from BIlmoa, he would do his worth soon enough. In addition, Bilmoa would do his best to secure ties to the Tywin family, since his performance had been rather lacking recently. Teaching Felid well and maintaining good relationships was the only way he could continue to manage the dungeon business, and he was well aware of it.

Lastly, Eugene also benefitted from the event as well. He would not need to pay a high commission to process monsters’ materials separately, but rather, he could proceed alongside the Tywin family.

In other words, Eugene, Camara, Felid, and Bilmoa – all of them benefited.

‘I told him that he could increase his benefits if he set up an agent from the Tywin family to sell his materials, but… my goodness.’

Partec had made the suggestion while looking out for Eugene, but he never imagined the knight would weave it into something so large. He shook his head in wonder. He still got the chills whenever he recalled the knight’s performance in the dungeon. It seemed the knight had both the brains and the brawn.

‘I guess my instincts are still quite useful.’

“Now! This way, please! I will show you to the best armor craftsman in Maren.”

Partec made a determination to follow Eugene until the end, and he proudly walked the streets of Maren while guiding the knight.

***

Eugene could not buy dwarven weapons and armor. Anything dwarven-made was more expensive than anyone could have ever imagined. However, he was able to purchase equipment with excellent performance at a reasonable price.

Partec introduced several artisans to Eugene, and he was able to purchase strong and practical weapons at a good price.

“Plate mail will take a while because it’s custom-made, but since there aren’t any extra requests, I will be able to make it in a couple of days. But I’m a little surprised that you did not buy a long sword.”

“I’m a bit more familiar with shortswords.”

It felt a bit wasteful, but Eugene sold his repaired weapon and bought a new short sword and a rondel dagger. On Galfredik’s advice, he also purchased two small battle axes and three javelins.

Including the plate mail, he spent more than 80 silver coins. But it was still worthwhile, considering he would have spent at least 20 extra coins without Partec’s presence. In addition, he still had money left over from selling the materials to the Palin Association, so there was no need to worry about money.

“Now, for the finale, shall we go take a look at horses?”

“I guess so.”

Eugene felt a little excited to finally purchase his own horse. Knights were all about horses, after all.

But then,

“Brother Partec!”

“Sir Eugene! Sir Knight Eugene!”

Eugene and Partec simultaneously turned their heads towards the tumultuous voices. Glade and Lavan were running towards them in a hurry.

“What are you two doing here? You said you were going to the guild to pay off your debts.”

“We already did that. Anyhow, that’s not the problem right now.”

“What’s going on?”

Glade regained his breath before speaking.

“You heard that there have been quite a few roamers spotted around this region lately, right? Apparently, they’ve just been spotted in the eastern outskirts.”

“What? Something like that, the city guards can take care of it, right?”

“There are more than a hundred armed goblins, and the orcs are commanding them.”

“What? Orcs? How many?”

“If there are a hundred goblins, wouldn’t there be at least two or three orcs?”

“Well!”

Partec hurriedly turned to Eugene with an alarmed expression.

“This is rather worrisome, Sir Eugene.”

“Is it because of the orcs?”

“Yes. They must have descended from the Brandish Mountains. Every few years, the orcs from there gather roamers and come down. There will be quite a few of them, and they are quick to hit and run.”

Partec hesitated for a moment, then continued in a determined voice.

“Sir Eugene, I think the City of Maren is going to hire knights and mercenaries to deal with the monsters. Why don’t you participate?”

“Me? Is there any reason to?”

“It is a great opportunity to increase your reputation. Moreover, the certificate issued by the mayor of Maren will be much more useful than Lord Tywin’s document.”

“Is that so? Hmm…”

Eugene sank into thought, and Partec carefully added in.

“And in such a case, the city will pay for the recruitment. Most importantly, all the plunder will belong to the participants…”

“I will do it.”

The expression of Partec and the two mercenaries brightened after hearing Eugene’s answer. Mercenaries took on requests and commissions, but their real interests were in battles. Killing enemies and looting them was an absolute right of mercenaries and a code for them to follow! Plus, if they were acting together with a knight as powerful as Eugene…?

“We will follow Sir Eugene as well!”

Partec felt the rush of adrenaline as the three men accompanied Eugene to the mercenary guild. His blood boiled as if he was 15 years younger when he first started his career as a mercenary.

***

“Black Scorpion Mercenaries, Garfiend, and 10 others! Horn Helmet Mercenaries, Glick, and 16 others!”

Mercenaries were gathered in a disorderly manner. Some of them raised their hands at the shouts of Trevik, the head of the Maren Mercenaries Guild.

Although Maren was a large city, the number of mercenaries was limited. In addition, more than half were outside the city fulfilling commissions and requests, so there were currently less than 100 people gathered in the guild.

“Why aren’t you calling us?”

“Scram! You don’t even have five successful commissions yet, we don’t need you! You’ll only serve as a distraction!”

The man who asked flinched and reared back at the shouts of a rambunctious mercenary, who was dressed in decent gear.

“A total of 42 people, Sir Madrica.”

“It’s not like they’ll be much anyways, but I guess it’s enough to threaten the goblins. Anyways, if you get scared by the roamers and start running, I, Ron of Madrica, will cut you down myself, so keep that in mind, recruiter.”

“I would not have it any other way, Sir Madrica. I have confidence in you, sir.”

Trevik bowed deeply while speaking in a polite tone. He had grown long accustomed to the confidence and arrogance of the knights. Regardless of his position as the head of the Maren Mercenary Guild and a recruiter, it was the wise thing for him to keep his head low and please the knight who would chase away the roamers.

“Wait a minute! Guild Leader Trevik, we will join as well!”

“Hmm?”

Trevik turned his head with a big frown, prepared to scold the third-rate mercenary who spoke out of place.

“Huh!? Partec?”

“There are four of us in total. Is that all right?”

“Of course! For mercenaries who successfully opened a dungeon, I would make room even if there wasn’t any!”

As Trevik’s loud voice spread throughout the crowd, the eyes of the gathered people immediately turned towards Partec’s group.

“Oh! If it isn’t Partec? I heard about the dungeon opening!”

Some mercenaries acted friendly to gain favor.

“A dungeon opening? Those guys?”

Some mercenaries showed great surprise.

“What? They’ve returned already? But weren’t there three of you? You already found a new recruit…?”

While others were those that joined the Tywin family’s dungeon expedition and arrived in Maren first. However, those who belonged to the last group were the most shocked. The face of the knight who slowly raised his helmet was one they could never forget.

“I-it’s Sir Eugene!”

“Sir Eugene! When did you get here?!”

Several mercenaries who participated in the dungeon opening flocked around the group. Although he was no different than the devil in their eyes, Eugene was still their hero.

“This morning. Will you guys join the fight against the roamers as well?”

“Oh, no. We’ve already done a big one, so we’re going to take a break for a while. We came out just to watch. But to think Sir Eugene will be taking part…”

The expressions of the mercenaries started changing little by little. The image of Eugene pulling out the head of a troll was still vivid in their minds. If they were fighting by the side of a knight capable of single-handedly defeating an intermediate-rank monster, even if the enemies were orcs and goblins, perhaps…

“Sir Eugene? Who is that? Get out of the way.”

The man who made his way through the crowd of mercenaries was the knight from before.

“I am Ron of Madrica. I am a knight, and I served four years as an aide by the side of Sir Capran.”

He exuded a different atmosphere compared to Galfredik. Although he was tall and well-built, he felt a bit cheesy compared to Galfredik.

“Jan Eugene.”

“You, sir, opened the dungeon in the Tywin territory? I heard Sir Galfredik participated, were you with him as well? What about the monsters? Which monsters did you face?”

Galfredik was quite talkative, but it appeared this knight was even worse. Eugene frowned, but Galfredik had advised him to maintain an amicable relationship with other knights unless they were openly hostile towards him.

“I opened the dungeon alongside Sir Galfredik. There were kobolds and gnolls, three trolls with goblins, and giant cave spiders.”

Naturally, he took the same informal tone as the knight.

“Is that so? It must have been quite troublesome. It wouldn’t hurt for us to go into a dungeon together sometime. By the way, are you planning to fight for Maren as well, sir? I think highly of your decision, but I have no plans to take care of you, so do as you will.”

Madrica spoke rapidly without giving Eugene the time to respond, then turned around and left the way he came from. Eugene found the situation slightly ridiculous, but most of the knights in his previous life had acted in a similar fashion. Thus, he let it pass.

“Black Scorpions and Horn Helmets! Follow me! You guys are the most worthwhile! The rest of you, do as you like!”

Madrica climbed onto his steed, then started riding away. The mercenaries scurried after him. Fortunately, his horse wasn’t galloping, so the mercenaries managed to keep up with his pace.

“Sir Eugene, right? Are you also planning to participate in the Roamer subjugation?”

Trevik spoke with utmost courtesy, and Eugene nodded in response.

“That was my plan. But I don’t have a…”

“S-Sir Eugene! There you are!”

An unfamiliar voice called out, and Eugene turned around.

“You are…”

“Yes, yes. I am Grail from the Palin Association. We were acquainted yesterday. I brought Sir Eugene’s steed with me.”

“My horse?”

Eugene asked with surprise, and Grail turned to one side with an awkward smile. Eugene’s gaze naturally followed Grail’s eyes.

A healthy, muscular black stallion with grey armor on its head, neck, and hips was nickering.

‘Hooh!’

After confirming that Eugene reacted positively, Grail spoke after inching closer towards the knight.

“This one has the pedigree from the Agile Stables, the supplier of steeds for the empire’s knights. Our vice executive prepared him as a special gift, specifically for you, sir! It would be an honor if you could accept our humble gift.”

Eugene’s forehead creased in confusion as Grail spoke in a quiet voice. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but it appeared he just netted himself an expensive war horse.