Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 42

Magic Learned in Vain – Episode 42 (42/502)

# 42

Unpaid Laborers 2

Bacon deserted the 8th Corps with his men.

Caught in an incompetent command system, they were suddenly incorporated into the navy. Without even a proper fight, they were annihilated by pirates.

If Bacon hadn’t killed the commander and led his men, the remaining soldiers would have all drowned.

Now they were deserters.

Deserters are subject to immediate execution. Moreover, they killed a commander. If caught, it wouldn’t just end with death. There was a high probability they would be torn apart as an example.

So they had to hide where the regular army couldn’t find them.

In the Dusselrup Mountains, notorious for monster attacks.

This was a place where even hunters chasing deserters wouldn’t easily follow.

It had been a week since Bacon and his thirty men settled here. For the first four days, they couldn’t even sleep properly due to the tension of pursuers and monster attacks.

But neither pursuers nor monsters appeared.

They guessed that the monsters were scared off by their number.

As the tension eased, they became hungry.

They had been eating only roots while on the run, but on the fifth day, they finally tasted meat through hunting.

After eating meat, they longed for cultural life.

They missed women and wanted a shelter to escape the rain and wind. To do that, they needed to settle down, and to settle down, they needed capital.

“We die if we get caught. So we have to be tough.”

Bacon told his men.

The men nodded. Dying here or there was the same. They decided to become bandits.

And today!

It’s the first day of business.

They had been lying in wait here for three days. Not a single person passed by. It was cold and boring. Not even a monster was in sight.

Just when they were about to give up!

That’s when they sensed someone. Overjoyed, he rushed out without properly identifying the target and blocked their path.

The opponents were a small, pig-like human and a giant human compared to him.

Bacon tilted his head.

*Are there humans that big?* No matter how he looked, he seemed to be over 4 meters tall? Just standing there, the pressure was immense.

“Boss.”

Lotto, who acted as Bacon’s right-hand man, approached quietly and said in a small voice.

“What?”

“Even if we leave the pig-like guy aside, isn’t the giant a bit dangerous?”

“The bigger they are, the slower they move.”

“That’s true, but I have a bad feeling. I’ve never seen such a big person before.”

“I haven’t either. But the continent is vast. There are all sorts of people and races. Maybe he’s a giant we’ve only heard about.”

The bandits nodded.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Are you saying something obvious? You didn’t think banditry would be easy, did you?”

Bacon shouldered his halberd and stepped forward, trying to swagger as much as possible.

He knew that showing off was important in times like these.

*I’m so relaxed. You’re scared, right? If you don’t want to die, get down on your knees,* he had to express accurately.

Bacon stared intently at the pig. *Why is that guy smiling at me? Is he crazy?*

Oh, now he’s holding his stomach and laughing.

He must be crazy. Still, he couldn’t give up the carriage that giant was holding.

He said to Legion.

“Give me everything you have!”

-Scan complete! Thirty healthy men. No diseases. Highest total combat power 44, lowest total combat power 21.

*Ah, ha.* Legion smiled and scratched his cheek.

*I see. This is what superiority feels like.* All thirty burly men have lower total combat power than Legion.

Although his combat power fluctuates due to his weight, Legion’s combat power consistently exceeds 90. It’s nothing compared to Mammon or Sephiah, but still, where else could you find this?

Before meeting Mark, it was only 7.

-You really succeeded by meeting me.

Yeah, I think so a little bit too. More than that, this is my territory, right?

-Correct. Although it’s useless.

So those guys are threatening the lord in my land?

-Correct. You always look easy to bully.

Yeah, my luck is rising, so I get this kind of misfortune.

-Huh? Don’t tell me?

Legion took out 10 gold from his pocket and said to the bandits.

“Here, all the money I have.”

He tossed the money bag at the bandits’ feet.

Bacon picked up the money bag that had fallen at his feet. He checked inside and found quite a bit of money.

But this wasn’t enough.

*We’re still hungry.*

“I think I told you to give me everything you have? Then I’ll spare your lives.”

Bacon said as menacingly as possible.

However, Legion didn’t say what he wanted to hear.

“According to Article 123, Paragraph 5 of the Kingdom’s Laws, if commoners threaten or intimidate a noble, they are sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. If a noble feels their life is in danger, they can exercise their right to self-defense. If they are actually attacked, they can be executed immediately, as clearly stated in the legal code.”

*That’s a lie.*

Legion had never even seen the Kingdom’s legal code.

*Anyway, there are no judges around. He’ll just bluff.*

At his words, Bacon looked bewildered. He turned to look at Lotto.

*What nonsense is that pig spouting?*

“I think he’s saying he’s a noble.”

“He is?”

“Yes.”

Bacon and the bandits turned to look at Legion closely. His clothes were quite luxurious, but…

“Well, he must be a noble to be so fat. He must have been sucking the blood of his territory’s people.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Bacon nodded.

*Okay, let’s say he’s a noble, so what? We’re ignorant bandits. Do you think we’ll spare him just because he’s a noble?*

“Shut up and give me everything you have. We’re not afraid of nobles.”

Bacon shouted once again.

The bandits, who had been a little flustered by the word noble, seemed to have hardened their hearts. *Ah, they’re newbies.*

“Well, it doesn’t really matter…”

Legion shrugged.

“Well, the reason I said this is that the money is your wages. I’m a great lord, you see.”

“What? Wages?”

“Yes, from now on, you’re mine.”

Legion smiled, baring his teeth evilly.

“W-What nonsense!”

Legion waved his hand as if he was too lazy to say more.

“Sephiah!”

-Krrrreung (Yes, Brother).

“You see those guys.”

-Krrrreung (They look delicious).

Sephiah smacked his lips as he looked at the bandits.

The bandits, seeing Sephiah smacking his lips, instinctively felt a sense of dread. They felt like they had to run away…

“Don’t let a single one escape and bring them here. Ah, don’t kill them.”

-Krrrreung (Beating them up is my specialty).

Excited, Sephiah spat out the ferocious Ogre Fear [a terrifying aura] and charged at the bandits.

The bandit who took the Ogre Fear head-on finally realized something was wrong.

* * *

Amadeus looked at the men with bruised faces.

They were big and muscular, but their faces were scarred and their spirits were broken.

She asked Legion.

“Who are those guys?”

“Those men?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re servants. Exclusive for 20 years.”

“20 years?”

“Yes.”

Legion answered with a bright smile. He was in a pretty good mood for the first time in a while.

*As expected, Sephiah handles things well.*

Especially when it comes to beating people up, he’s the best on the continent. They all begged for their lives, saying they didn’t recognize a *귀인* [gwiin, a noble or important person].

A guy named Lotto held out until the end, but it only took 3 minutes. He confessed that he had been to hell five times in that time.

Sephiah grabbed Lotto and put him in his mouth, starting with his face. He chewed deliciously as if eating candy.

Lotto fainted after wetting himself.

His soul was gone for almost half a day.

After that, he couldn’t even make eye contact with Sephiah. He grabbed Legion’s pant leg and cried.

“I’ll do anything. Please don’t feed me to that ogre.”

Thanks to that, the contract went smoothly.

The thirty contracts were neatly placed in his arms.

“They look pretty sturdy.”

Amadeus gave a strange look to the men carrying mithril [a rare and valuable metal] into the carriage.

“They said they were soldiers.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

“Can I take a look?”

“As much as you want.”

Amadeus approached the bandits, now exclusive servants, and examined them here and there. She rubbed their arms and legs and poked their thighs.

Bacon was startled and looked at Amadeus.

He immediately lowered his head. He couldn’t handle the aura she was emitting.

*He really wanted to die.*

To think he would be caught by such a monster on the first day of banditry. He couldn’t even escape because of the curse spirit. The moment he signed the contract, Bacon shed tears.

*My life is over.*

It was the same for the other colleagues.

Now, all that was left was to be dragged to the territory with a leash like a dog.

But what? This time, they entered an orc village. An orc village. They were shocked to the point of fainting.

But the atmosphere was a bit strange.

The hairs on the back of their necks stood on end.

“They’re quite sturdy.”

Amadeus said with a smile after finishing her appraisal.

“Of course. I chose well.”

“You know our tribe is short on males, right?”

“Aren’t Zenon and Psychop, the four warriors, enough? Ah, what are they doing? Let’s see their faces before we go.”

“They went to their in-laws’ house.”

“In-laws’ house? Ah, they went to their uncle?”

“Yes, Father wanted to see them. I told them to go for a while.”

“You did well. They got married at a young age and don’t know anything yet. They must miss their dad a lot. Please take good care of them.”

“I will. I’m cherishing them. They’re just big, but everything they do is like a baby.”

“Of course. They’re only 16 years old now.”

“That’s why I’m saying this… There are orc female warriors who have missed their chance to marry.”

“Yes.”

“Give me five of them.”

“Huh? No way. We’re short on manpower too.”

“I’ll double the amount of mithril.”

“Double?”

Huh, how much money is that? *Come on, let’s be calm, Legion. Be calm.*

“And the carriage can’t come all the way here.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“We’ll make a road so the carriage can come.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so the carriage can come, so it’ll be easier in the future, right?”

“Of course. That’s what I’ve been wanting.”

Legion’s face bloomed like a flower.

“Then let’s write a contract.”

“Of course. We have to write it. But since there are human rights, we can’t ignore their opinions.”

Legion and Amadeus simultaneously turned to look at the exclusive servants.

Some of the servants heard what they were saying.

They didn’t know what it meant, but they knew they were being negotiated about. The feeling was incredibly ominous. They must never make eye contact with Legion or Amadeus.

The former bandits lowered their eyes to the floor as much as possible.

*

Bacon and Lotto, along with the exclusive servants, trembled in fear.

The naval battle with the pirates, which had been so terrifying, was nothing. Even the sharks that smelled blood and swarmed around didn’t seem so scary anymore.

That damn ogre, the pig-like human, and the deal between the strange aura-emitting female orcs. Could there be anything more terrifying than this?

*What kind of deal are they making?*

*Whatever it is, I hope it’s not me.*

Watching the ogre’s first attack knock out thirty people in just a few minutes, hanging on a thick branch.

-If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.

Bacon, who had repeated those words, and who had written the contract first, couldn’t enjoy this situation at all.

“Hehehe, Master…”

His palms naturally came together and rubbed.