No one said a word until they had decided on a restaurant and sat down. Arendt and Arthur just chatted back and forth.

“Master, I’m sorry I have no choice but to bring you to such a shabby place.”

“I told you it didn’t matter. I was prepared for this trip.”

Of course, the setting of a fierce mercenary and a mean-spirited young master was still maintained.

On the other hand, the other people in the group just kept their mouths shut and stared at the ground.

Once they became aware of it, they felt so many gazes that they couldn’t understand why they hadn’t noticed it from the beginning. Those gazes that caught their attention with their unnecessarily sensitive senses made the knights feel embarrassed.

“What the heck? What’s their problem?”

“Even mercenaries have an eye for detail. A lot of them showed up wearing new stuff, so they’re taking a quick peek.”

Arthur quickly answered as Rider, who had been very quiet, whispered during the brief moment.

“It looks to them like their employer has given them new weapons and armor. That’s why they want to snatch up work. After all, working for a rich employer is what every mercenary wants.”

Arthur, who was somewhat familiar with the workings of mercenaries, explained it this way. He couldn’t hide the pitiful look in his tone at all.

Despite such an impertinent attitude, the knights could not even utter a single word of rebuke to Arthur. Arendt also grumbled so that only they could hear.

“It looks like you drank plenty of good water at the imperial palace. Hey… I understand that most of our knights come from commoner backgrounds, but is it really that easy to forget your outside lives?”

“I don’t want to hear it from you, you damn young master.”

Glenn growled softly, but Arendt only gave him a cold look and glared at him spitefully.

“If you’re a mercenary, act like a mercenary. Don’t be so cocky.”

“…”

Tzz.

Glenn’s fist began to tremble on the table. He wanted to give him a smack, but there were too many eyes watching him.

Glenn gulped down the water while receiving Richt’s pitiful gaze.

The food they ordered came out soon after.

The knights couldn’t help but be puzzled once again when they saw it.

A mountain of meat was piled on a plate that looked heavy at first glance, and a glass as big as a child’s upper body was placed in front of each person.

The waiter who brought them the food turned around and left without even saying goodbye, leaving behind only a mountain of meat that was too much and too rough, and a glass of bubbling alcohol.

Rider muttered vaguely.

“What is it? What did you order?”

“In a place like this, it would be unnatural to ask for fancy food. I just asked them to bring out an appropriate amount for the number of people. It’ll probably be boar meat,” Arthur answered.

As expected, it was his typical way of dealing with the world, having received all the trust of Laius and doing all kinds of difficult things.

He glanced around and saw that the shop was filled with mercenaries, some pouring alcohol into their mouths and others munching on meat while holding the bone in one hand.

The group had no choice but to give up and focus on eating.

But they couldn’t help but feel the pain at the back of their heads.

Richt, who had been poking the meat a few times with his fork, lowered his voice and whispered.

“…Their gaze keeps following us.”

“They look like the guys who were staring at us from outside the restaurant earlier.”

Glenn also muttered awkwardly.

He thought it would be better to receive the killing blow from an invisible enemy, since he could then immediately assume a combat stance.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He felt like he couldn’t even breathe because he was worried about his identity being revealed while so many people were watching.

So…

It’s best to pretend not to know.

The knights who came to that conclusion began to bury their heads in the meat and munched on their meals.

Until one fucking idiot did something rash.

Bang!

Arendt suddenly threw his fork down on the table.

“You don’t even know manners and just keep glancing at me. I’m so offended that I can’t even eat properly.”

“…”

The knights looked at Arendt with astonishment.

What the hell is that crazy kid doing?

Right then.

Rattle.

The mercenaries sitting right behind them pushed their chairs away and stood up. As if they had been waiting, large mercenaries rushed in and surrounded the table they were sitting at.

The large man who appeared to be the leader walked quickly closer to Arendt and smiled, showing his teeth.

“Master, you have quite a harsh way of speaking.”

It’s ruined.

The knights each put their hands on their foreheads in despair.

There was a commotion coming from around.

“What is this, a fight?”

“Hey, I’m eating.”

Although they were grumbling irritably, the current situation was quite exciting and onlookers began to gather little by little.

Arendt sat slumped in his chair, locking eyes with the mercenary captain.

“Why. Is this your first time seeing a young master with such a bad mouth? You should keep a closer eye on your subordinates. What have they been doing since a while ago?”

The ugly words pouring out of his pretty mouth were enough to make people dizzy. The mercenary captain also burst into laughter, as if he was at a loss.

“It was my first time seeing these faces, so I watched them for a while. From what I can see, it seems like these guys are stupid and it’s no big deal. How do you feel? What about hiring us? We’re free because we don’t have any work to do.”

“You’re pretty confident? Then what’s the big deal about you?”

“It seems that the young master still doesn’t know much about the world. My subordinates would be much more useful than those idiots. See?”

The man nodded toward the group, chuckling.

“Even if the employer you all serve is talking to a stranger, you guys aren’t doing anything.”

Only then did the knights realize their mistake. When those guys started talking to them in the first place, they should have jumped up from their seats and pretended to protect that damned thing.

Arendt shrugged his shoulders irritably.

“Tsk, I already regret it. It feels like I hired such useless people.”

“Yes?”

The mercenary captain once again showed his teeth and smiled fiercely. His men who surrounded the table also burst into open laughter.

The laughter grew louder and soon spread throughout the restaurant.

“Hahaha! You seem like a country bumpkin!”

“You must have been dressed up and excited, but this is a shame.”

A torrent of taunts poured out on the group.

But the knights kept their mouths shut and said nothing in response. Arendt also began counting the number of people without even blinking an eye.

“Let’s see… fifteen people in total? That’s quite a lot of people.”

“They’re idiots, but they’re reliable in a fight. Of course, we’re not cheap.”

The mercenary captain spoke like that, secretly showing the scar on his face.

Arendt raised the corners of his mouth.

“Then let me make a proposal.”

“Proposal?”

“No matter what, I have a sense of duty to them for having traveled with them until now. I can’t just throw those guys away with a single stroke of my sword. If I unilaterally break the contract, they might harm me later.”

Arendt, who was completely in the role of the young master, nodded toward his seniors, who were still sitting frozen as if nailed to the table.

“I saw earlier that there’s a backyard to this inn. How about having a go at it there?”

A strange light appeared in the mercenary captain’s eyes.

“You want us to fight?”

“It looks like you’re quite confident in your skills, so let’s have a bit of fun. I’ll give a lot of money to the winning team and even entrust you to escort me to my destination. What do you think?”

“But we have more numbers. Wouldn’t that be a disadvantage for you?”

“That’s not my problem? That’s the fighters’ business.”

“Hahahaha! Looks like you know how to have fun, young master.”

A thunderous laughter erupted.

The mercenary captain, who had been laughing for a long time, took a step back.

“I’ll accept that offer. Hey, you there. If you’re scared, you can run away, so what are you going to do?”

“…”

Instead of answering, the knights slowly rose from their seats. Then the mercenary captain nodded in satisfaction.

“It looks like there is more to them than meets the eye.”

Richt shook his head, resting his hand on his temple as if he had a headache, and Arthur, who had been watching him closely, sat back down quietly.

“Oh, should I bet some money?”

“What an unexpected sight.”

The mercenaries who had been picking a fight, along with several knights and people, all rushed out of their seats, and in an instant the restaurant was emptied.

As the surroundings became quiet, Arendt bit into the meat that had cooled down a little and put it in his mouth, munching on it, as if this series of events had nothing to do with him.

Arthur and Richt exchanged complicated glances.

In any case, the outcome of this fight was already decided.

After a moment, kuuuung! The restaurant building shook loudly as if something had hit the outer wall.

Then, someone’s desperate screams echoed faintly from outside. Aaaah, save me! I was wrong! Gyaaaaah! Brother! I’m sorry!

It didn’t take long for the commotion to die down, with Richt staring blankly at the ceiling and Arthur chewing his meat in silence.

Bam!

The closed door opened again, and the knights dressed as mercenaries returned to their positions.

They wiped the blood from their fists on the tablecloth and began to pick at the meat with their bare hands, just like the mercenaries had done earlier.

The onlookers who had gone out together also quietly returned and sat down again. Then, without making a sound, they quietly focused on eating.

In the backyard of the restaurant, mercenaries were rolling around like broken pieces of wood, their eyes rolled back in a pitiful state.

In a town like this, fights between mercenaries were a common occurrence.

It is natural for the strong to beat up the weak, so this incident was a minor one that would only be talked about a little within the village.

It must have been a natural disaster for a group of mercenaries who walked around with their shoulders held high because they had a name, only to get beaten up unilaterally by less than half the amount of people they had.

And it seemed that it wasn’t just the mercenaries who had lost something.

The knights who had been running wild were lost in complicated thoughts.

Half of it was a sense of guilt from the fact that they had been swayed by Arendt and had thrown punches, and the other half was disappointment in themselves for having discovered their hidden, troublemaking instincts in the process.

Arthur was also worried, although he could not fully understand his seniors’ worries.

If they kept on being influenced by Arendt one by one like this, he was afraid that one day they would not be able to find a single normal person in this order.

It seemed that the day would come when Captain Laius’ stomach would be punctured.

Nom nom, Arendt chewed on the tough meat indifferently.

“Well, it’s no big deal.”

“Okay, I understand. Just eat.”

Glenn gritted his teeth fiercely.

Theory is important, but sometimes nothing beats practice.

The small stage created on the spot to take care of the clumsy acting novices was effective enough. He was unable to carry out Laius’ request, which was not an order, to not cause an accident, but… that’s none of his business.

Arendt chuckled and put another piece of meat into his mouth.