Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 2

“When are you going to do it, Captain?”

The mercenary captain frowned at his brother’s persistent prodding.

“Just wait.”

“That’s all I ever hear, ‘wait.’ I’m sick of it.”

The mercenary captain glanced at his men.

They were all straining to hear his brother’s words, watching for his reaction.

“It’s only been half a day, you guys.”

“That’s why I’m saying let’s hurry up and do it! The farther we go, the longer the way back.”

“You think we can travel a ten-day journey in half a day?”

“Then we just don’t go straight back, right? We can take on a few other requests and kill some time.”

“Hmm….”

The mercenary captain scratched his side, deep in thought.

– Take him to the frontier and kill him if you see an opportunity.

That was the request personally given by the esteemed vassal of the Thirdlet Duke’s family.

A request to assassinate the disowned young master while escorting him to the frontier.

The mercenaries guarding the carriage were, in reality, hired assassins.

‘They did say that escorting him without killing him is also fine, but who would refuse the extra pay?’

It was a ten-day carriage ride north from the Duke’s main estate to the frontier.

Which would you choose: slogging hard for ten days in the still-cold winter and receiving silver coins, or receiving gold coins in half a day?

‘Of course, I have to take the gold coins!’

That’s the kind of people mercenaries are.

For gold, they would even plunder the temple of their own god.

Yet, the mercenary captain hesitated, worried about prying eyes and wanting to handle the job cleanly.

‘I have to make sure there’s as little talk as possible.’

Even if he’s a bastard and a disowned son, he still has noble blood.

He planned to handle it very carefully in case things went wrong later.

‘But these guys can’t stand it.’

It seems their heads have become as hard as their knives from eating with them.

The mercenary captain, who prided himself on being civilized, shook his head.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Now?”

Even as his brother asked, he raised a fist to halt the procession.

He was committing to the act before his brother could change his mind.

The corners of his mouth were already stretched wide in a grin.

The subordinates also grinned and gripped their weapons.

‘Are they that happy to kill a kid?’

The mercenary captain clicked his tongue, but he was grinning as well.

He imagined scattering gold coins in his favorite brothel and knocked on the carriage door.

“Young Master, it’s break time.”

When the brat comes out, he’ll grab him by the neck and slam him to the ground.

‘He looked like a kid who’s never held a sword. If I grab his nape, he won’t even be able to scream in surprise.’

He clenched and unclenched his right hand, loosening his muscles.

Creak—

“Huh?”

The person who came out of the carriage was not the young master.

A knight in plate armor emerged from the carriage and stood before them.

‘What? When did he get on?’

A knight they didn’t even know was riding with them.

Surprised by that fact, they hesitated, and Edar followed, stepping onto the ground.

The sight of a fully armed knight protecting Edar made the mercenary captain curse inwardly.

‘For now… I’ll postpone the plan.’

They were considered mid-level mercenaries, but they were not capable of dealing with a knight.

Even a low-ranking knight from a decent family was comparable to a high-ranking mercenary, and this one was fully armed?

‘Damn it, my gold!’

It felt like his gold was flying far away.

He struggled to suppress the surging emotions and hid his expression.

“Young Master, who is this…?”

“My escort.”

“I didn’t see him get on….”

“Of course, you didn’t.”

Edar gave a curt reply with an indifferent expression, scanning the captain.

The captain’s cheeks twitched at the attitude, as if he were treating him like an inferior.

‘The brat’s got a mouth on him….’

Everyone here knew that Edar was a disowned bastard.

Moreover, he was supposed to be dragged into the bushes and have his neck cut by now, according to the plan.

It was difficult to suddenly regard someone you considered beneath you as someone above you.

‘Besides, there’s a strange feeling that makes people uncomfortable.’

He had heard that he was just a tall, lanky guy who didn’t know how to hold a sword.

But there was an aura that made it hard for people to make eye contact.

Like a wizard who sometimes couldn’t control and leaked their magic power.

‘Tch. I’ll see later. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely kill him….’

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

Edar looked around and kicked at the weed-covered ground.

“Is this the right way to the northern frontier?”

“Yes, it is.”

“How long will it take to get to the next village if we keep going like this?”

“At least another day.”

“I see.”

Edar looked back and forth between the carriage and Calliope [likely the knight’s name, though not explicitly stated yet].

When Calliope nodded, Edar nodded as well.

“…?”

Suddenly, the mercenary captain felt goosebumps.

Instinctively, he tried to step back,

Swish—

The subordinate next to the captain was beheaded.

“Wh, wha…!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Calliope’s movements continued twice more.

A red line was drawn on the captain’s neck, and he fell to the weed-covered ground.

Following that, the remaining seven mercenaries also collapsed with their necks cut.

“You have to be careful with your words. Our young lady has sharp ears.”

Edar scoffed as he saw the eyes of the severed heads turning towards him.

Then, he took jerky from the captain’s chest pocket and chewed on it.

“Disgustingly tasteless.”

Calliope sat on the driver’s seat.

“Please go inside.”

Edar sat next to Calliope, chewing on the jerky.

“No. What am I supposed to do alone inside? There won’t be many more peaceful trips like this in the future, so I should enjoy it while I can.”