Chapter 26 : Vermilion
Chapter 26: Vermilion
About twenty merchants walked in a straight two-person line.
At the head were Calimacos and Paul, in the middle were Torgen and Mirian, and at the rear were Brandok and Felix.
It was the same formation they had used while traveling from Stonegoth to Butterhills.
Robin followed the procession from the very back.
Vermilion was a day’s walk away.
They had set out early in the morning with the goal of arriving before dark.
“Seeing how the merchants abandoned their wagons and ran, I guess this isn’t your average band of thieves.”
“Don’t even get me started. You wouldn’t believe how many of them there were and how vicious—so vicious. You mercenary sirs had better stay sharp.”
Felix spoke to the merchant walking ahead.
The merchant looked so frightened that Felix wondered if he was overreacting.
“It’s a good thing you mercenary sirs have horses, haha.”
“Right. Though I didn’t expect even the horse we meant to lend Robin to end up pulling a cart.”
Calimacos had bought a horse to teach Robin how to ride.
It was one of the merchants rescued from the Goblin village. They had planned to liquidate the stolen goods by selling them to Palacio, but unfortunately there was no branch of the Elize Merchant Company in Butterhills.
—I’m sorry, Calimacos. I don’t have much cash. Would it be alright to trade in Vermilion?
—Grr. I suppose it can’t be helped.
On a whim, they asked if stolen-goods trading was possible, and the Butterhills resident agreed readily.
Letting the horse go for a cheap price allowed the mercenary band to own seven horses.
The seven horses were used to carry the stolen goods seized from the Goblin village and to haul the merchants’ luggage.
“I’m fine, Felix. I can learn horseback riding another time.”
“I wonder if you understand how much we want to teach our little brother even one more thing.”
“I’m always grateful.”
Because of his feats in the Goblin village, the gift of medicinal herbs effective for treatment, and Robin’s willingness to handle any dirty work, the mercenary band had opened their hearts to him in a short time.
He hadn’t been prickly when they first met, but as time passed, they grew increasingly fond of Robin.
The same was true for Robin.
‘Brandok is sly, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person.’
While Felix and Robin chatted, Brandok did not look back even once.
His helm, unreadable as always, faced straight ahead.
“Ten-minute break! Let’s rest a bit before moving on!”
At the lead, Paul announced a break.
Compared to the mercenaries, the merchants lacked stamina.
Calimacos, perhaps experienced in these escort missions, made sure they rested ten minutes for every fifty minutes of walking.
The merchants sat down to massage their legs or entered the thick forest to relieve themselves.
“I’ll go take care of something for a moment.”
“Don’t be long.”
Robin walked into the forest with the merchants to relieve the urine he had been holding.
Unlike towns or villages, the smell didn’t spread much in a forest dense with trees.
When he finished and parted the branches to step out, the resting formation came into view.
Thud.
“Huh.”
A merchant heading back toward the line had dropped his pouch without noticing and was already some distance ahead.
Robin quickly picked up the pouch and ran toward him.
“Here, you dropped this.”
“Oh my, look at my head.”
The merchant with narrow, slitted eyes accepted the pouch and thanked him.
Inside the pouch, the coins made a heavy weight.
As he checked them one by one, the merchant’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmmm. Young mercenary, how long has it been since you picked up my pouch?”
“I handed it over the moment I picked it up. Is there a problem?”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course. Why would I lie?”
The merchant looked between the pouch and Robin.
Something displeased him; his brows furrowed.
“If you tell the truth, I’ll overlook it.”
“What? I told you exactly what happened, so what truth are you talking about?”
“A number of coins that were inside the pouch are missing.”
A chilly silence swept between Robin and the merchant.
‘This man… he suspects I stole his money.’
To a merchant, money was his driving force and the foundation of his livelihood.
Having already lost much of his wealth to a bandit attack, he could not help but cling even more desperately to what remained.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
Robin looked straight into the merchant’s eyes.
The merchant stared, trying to discern whether the boy’s words were true or false.
Seeing those unwavering eyes that seemed to say there was no lie, the merchant turned his gaze away.
“I hope what you say is true.”
Felix, noticing the confrontation, approached them.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
Leaving Felix and Robin behind, the merchant returned to his place.
“That man lost some money and thinks I stole it.”
“What? Accusing an innocent person? I’ll go have a word with him.”
“No, Felix. We’ll be traveling together for a while. No need to make things awkward.”
Felix burst into laughter at Robin’s mature response.
“Hahaha! You’re better than me. Still, I should at least warn him.”
“That’s not necessary…”
Despite Robin’s attempt to stop him, Felix strode toward the merchant.
Robin worried things might get heated, but the concern proved unnecessary.
Felix calmly listened to the situation, empathized with the merchant’s position, but firmly stated that Robin would never steal anything.
‘It feels strange having someone take my side.’
Watching Felix defend him made something flutter in Robin’s chest.
It hadn’t even been a full month, yet he had formed a considerable bond with the mercenaries.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, this is nothing. Kids get ignored so easily, makes it easy to lose your nose while your eyes are open. Our Robin needs to grow up quick.”
Robin gave a faint smile at Felix’s teasing tone.
‘I want to meet companions like this too.’
“Break’s over!”
Watching the mercenary band getting ready again, Robin grasped and released his necklace.
A cool breeze slipped through his clothes and tickled his back.
They encountered no particular trouble reaching Vermilion.
Compared to meeting a wolf pack just thirty minutes after leaving Stonegoth and the goblin raid during night watch, this was a peaceful journey.
It was a town located on the passage leading into Baron Tefir’s territory, a place merchants frequented often.
Although it was a town without walls, its size did not fall short even when compared to Stonegoth.
“You all worked hard traveling here. We’ll disband for now, and once the departure schedule is set, I’ll let you know.”
Hearing Paul’s firm voice, the merchants headed toward the inn.
All of them walked in the same direction.
Palacio, guiding the mercenary band, followed after them.
“Ohh, the place looks pretty decent.”
Felix admired the inn Palacio introduced.
It was a two-story building made of rough stones set atop a gravel road, with broad timber framing its structure.
It stood slightly taller than the surrounding buildings, making it easy to spot even from afar.
The first floor was built on a solid foundation of dark gray stone, and the second floor was made of timber.
“This is the inn we use when hosting important guests of the merchant company. We can confidently say it’s the best in Vermilion.”
“Didn’t know you were a big shot, Palacio. Let’s go inside and talk.”
When they opened the door and entered, a large fireplace greeted them.
Cleanly polished wooden planks and round tables that could seat four or five people filled the room.
Palacio’s words had not been empty.
“Good to see you, Palacio! Judging by your state, did you run into bandits or something?”
“Not good to see you, innkeep. As you can see, I’m broke.”
From a small bar table on the first floor, the innkeeper greeted Palacio with a laugh.
After a brief exchange, Palacio turned to the mercenary band.
“Two four-person rooms. Otherwise, only the shared room is available.”
“We’ll take the two four-person rooms.”
“You can use rooms 201 and 202.”
Taking the innkeeper’s place, Palacio handed the keys to Calimacos.
“The mercenaries hired by the merchant company are staying in the shared room. Would you like to meet them now?”
“It’s late. Let’s rest today and talk tomorrow.”
“Understood. If you ask the innkeeper for food, he’ll bring it to you.”
“Generous place.”
Palacio gave a faint smile at Calimacos’s assessment.
“You’re the ones responsible for the safety of our merchant company. I’ll take my leave. If you need me, I’ll be at the Elize Merchant Company branch.”
“You’ve done well.”
Palacio bowed lightly to Calimacos, then left the inn.
On the first floor, a few people including the merchants were eating.
Calimacos naturally took a table and sat down, ordered food, and looked over the mercenary band.
“Paul, Felix, Robin— you three will sleep in the same room as me.”
Naturally, Torgen, Mirian, and Brandok were assigned the other room.
“I’m with Torgen again? That guy snores horribly.”
“Mirian here trashes the room every time, and we’re sharing a room again?”
Mirian and Torgen protested at the same time.
Brandok waited silently for the food, seemingly indifferent.
“If you don’t like it, go to the shared room.”
At that single sentence, Torgen and Mirian closed their mouths.
Calimacos chuckled at the sight.
“What’s the shared room like?”
“Simply put, it’s the worst room. Calling it a room is generous.”
Hearing that, Robin grew even more curious.
Having grown up in an orphanage, it wasn’t strange to him to have several people living in one room.
But he wondered what a shared room in another facility would be like.
‘I’ll take a look later.’
While Torgen and Mirian bickered, the food arrived.
Stew, bread, and roasted meat looked delicious.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Robin spoke sincerely and began eating.
The mercenaries, seemingly very hungry, focused on their meals.
Robin had no idea that there were people watching them with curious eyes.
“Mmm~ this place is good.”
“The stew is seasoned perfectly.”
“The meat’s grilled just right too.”
Mirian and Torgen chatted back and forth as if they had never argued.
‘They got over that argument pretty quickly.’
By the time they finished eating, the first floor had grown even more crowded.
Calimacos said he would announce the schedule once it was set, then ended the dinner gathering.
As Robin stood up, three or four men from a nearby table approached.
“We overheard while eating— looks like you’re the mercenary band guarding the Elize Merchant Company.”
“Business partners, huh. Sorry, we’re a bit tired today. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
Calimacos spoke, suppressing his annoyance.
“We’re not here to bother you. This kid was curious about the shared room, so if it’s alright, we thought we’d give him a look around.”
One of the men smiled kindly as he looked down at Robin.
‘They’ll be working together, so it should be fine.’
“Okay. I’ll just take a quick look.”
“Robin.”
Calimacos placed a hand on Robin’s shoulder.
Paul, Torgen, Mirian, Brandok, Felix— the others also did not look pleased.
“Why so tense? Overprotecting a child only ruins his future.”
“Overprotecting? It’s just a moment. It’s fine, right?”
Robin looked around at the mercenary band with calm eyes.
They were gentle, yet held a desire to stand on his own.
Calimacos sighed as if defeated and withdrew his hand from Robin’s shoulder.
“Come back quickly. Kids need to sleep early to grow tall.”
“Yes. I’ll be right back.”
Robin left the inn with the unfamiliar men for the first time.