Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was around noon when they arrived at Rheinfurt City. It was still cold in the morning and evening, but when the sun was fully out, it was a perfectly good spring day, cool and fresh.

The city gate was lined with people, and for some reason, people who weren't allowed to pass set up tents near the city walls and lived there.

And transactions took place selling daily necessities and this and that to them. Outside the city wall was also a living space in a way. If they settled completely and built buildings like this, would the city expand?

Anyway, the line decreased faster than expected and finally it was Rickart's party's turn. Arno and the merchant proved their identities. Then he learned the merchant's name was Kaufman.

He seemed to run a small merchant group dealing with dyes and pigments, but seeing him push the wagon into the mountain pass knowing there were bandits in the mountain, he didn't seem like a very bright person.

"You killed the Bilton brothers? Who is that?"

"The bandit boss. Bandit boss. Fugitives. This person is the famous Boar Slayer of Stormhearts, Young Master Rickart. He split the belly in an instant and cut the throat. I saw it. I saw it."

Arno talked briefly with the gate guard as if they knew each other. But somehow, regardless of Rickart's intention, rumors continued to be exaggerated and nicknames were attached. Boar Slayer indeed.

The guard stared at Rickart. Blonde hair and hazel eyes. A somewhat shabby appearance having not washed for a few days. In his eyes, he was just a child no matter how he looked.

So he wondered if Arno was bluffing, but Kaufman nodded silently and guaranteed the fact.

"It hasn't been long since he received knight training, but he was born with natural talent."

Rickart himself said nothing, but Arno said boastfully as if he was proud.

"What about knight training? Isn't it just running errands for the knight and maintaining equipment?"

"What do you know?"

"Well, I don't know. But you and I have only heard stories. Anyway, welcome to Rheinfurt City. Young Master."

The guard wasn't very polite but showed manners where due.

"Come to Handel later, I'll tell you the story. I also killed four bandits."

Handel was the name of the pub Arno frequented. The guard twitched his eyebrows as if in disbelief.

"You? Okay for now. Move aside. I have to work. Next!"

The guard waved his arm widely calling the next person.

Finally passing the shaded city gate, the sunlight shone on Rickart again revealing the clean buildings of the city brightly.

Grey, dark blue, or red tiled roofs, walls plastered with lime and treated by professional plasterers were clean. And basically, buildings of more than two stories were stuck close together.

Frankly speaking, looking only at the appearance, the city's buildings looked better than the mansion of Stormhearts where Rickart grew up.

Because the mansion of Stormhearts was a kind of old castle built a long time ago. In fact, it was too small to be a castle, and too big to be an ordinary house, so it was just called a mansion.

People going around the streets looked busy, and certainly had better attire than people of Stormhearts which was a countryside.

Kaufman said he would give Rickart a cloak so follow him for a moment, and walked along the city wall.

The place he headed to seemed to be a place where merchants and artisans gathered, sounds of hammering iron were heard cheerfully and tanners trimming leather were seen. The smell of chemicals stung the nose.

Kaufman stopped the wagon in front of a textile shop, pretended to know some people, went inside, and came out holding a finely folded red cloak. And held it out to Rickart.

"I think I should say goodbye now, Young Master. Thanks to you, I could come to the city safely. Please accept it. The material cost is expensive so I made it a bit small, but perhaps the God of Fate arranged it for the Young Master. Hohoho."

The cloak was truly red like blood. Since it was a cloak made using material worth its weight in gold, it was an incredibly expensive item.

Rickart took off the cloak he was originally wearing, and put on the red cloak Kaufman gave on the spot. It had a hood attached, and the hem went over his height, but gathering it a bit and fixing it with a clasp, it was decent.

"Is there nothing for me?"

Arno, who was watching blankly from the side, asked Kaufman. Then Kaufman made a discontented expression as if asking who are you, and said.

"Didn't you also run away at first? Originally, the person who takes the risk and starts takes everything. Business is like that, and so are people who make merits on the battlefield. If you want to calculate, get it from the Young Master."

Listening casually it seemed correct, and also not. At the words to claim reward from Rickart, Arno shut his mouth.

"Let's split after disposing of the heads."

"It's okay, Young Master. Just said it once."

"No. It's true you helped me. But what happens to those people?"

Rickart said looking at people unloading luggage from the cart.

"I decided to hire them. I was planning to expand the business anyway so I needed people. We shared life and death in a way, so wouldn't it be better than hiring total strangers? They would also need a place to stay in the city for the time being, so it worked out for me and them."

It seemed people would do dyeing work.

Heard while coming, people left the territory because of excessive taxes.

Even reducing what they eat to pay grain was far from enough, eventually borrowed grain but interest grew like a snowball.

The funny thing was the person who lent that grain was also the Lord. Collecting taxes was the Lord, lending at usury was also the Lord. What was funnier was leaving the territory without the Lord's permission was a crime.

Then were they criminals, or victims of absurdity? Rickart just felt something like kinship with those people.

But there was nothing more to do. The connection ended here.

Then someone pulled Rickart's hem. Rickart wasn't surprised. Because he seemed to know who it was. Turning his head, it was indeed Daisy.

"I'll feed you, put you to sleep, do everything so let's live together. We are a married couple."

It was a slightly tearful voice. Rickart couldn't say anything because it was awkward, Arno turned on the fierce eyes and said.

"This girl can't come to her senses because the Young Master treats her well. Hey you dirty girl. Say such things after washing a bit. Shameless kid."

"You don't have to say it like that......"

Rickart said powerlessly. Arno seemed to have a sharper tongue than the sword he wielded with his hands.

"No. Young Master. What did I say? They crawl up if you treat them well. Know your place, girl. Stop clinging to the Young Master and get lost."

Daisy's face distorted as if she would burst into tears. But she didn't cry in the end. Seemed like a kid with quite a strong will. However, she couldn't let go of grabbing Rickart's new cloak hem tight.

Daisy's mother stopped organizing luggage and ran over to pull her daughter quickly.

"I apologize. Sir. The kid doesn't know anything yet......"

"It's okay. I don't feel bad either."

When Rickart said smiling affectionately, Daisy's mother made an expression hard to describe with words. Looking touched, yet on the one hand an expression of disbelief.

"......You have a truly kind heart...... And, thank you. God of Condemnation, please close your eyes towards the Young Master."

Daisy's mother took an action of covering her eyes with the back of her hand opening her hand. God of Condemnation? What is that? A god farmers believe in? At least never heard of it in Stormhearts.

Anyway, hearing sincere thanks from others made him feel very strange. Should say heart becoming soft.

"Take care. Daisy, and Mr. Kaufman too. If alive, we might see each other again someday."

Rickart left the brief connection behind and followed Arno to the Beringen Adventurer Guild. Only then did Daisy bury her face in her mother's bosom and cried loudly.

Just as there is a shaded place if there is a sunny place, Rheinfurt City was like that too.

When just passing the gate, the paved roads with clean buildings were impressive, but entering the alleyway and reaching the slums, thoughts arose if such a miserable place existed in the world.

From the blocked sewer, a smell of all kinds of mixed filth came up. Hell for humans, heaven for rats.

But one interesting point was that this area wasn't just gloomy because of that.

People drunk from broad daylight shouting and singing, sounds of cheap prostitutes laughing loudly were lively if called lively. Though misery wasn't lessened.

"Is the Adventurer Guild in such a place......? Is this right?"

Rickart asked Arno going ahead as he felt they entered the wrong way. But Arno also tilted his head with an expression wondering if this was right and said.

"I also only heard about it and this is my first time going personally...... Heard it's near the Ghost Tree. Wait a moment, we're almost there."

Turning the corner, a tree that seemed dead long ago appeared. The thick trunk was twisted wildly looking like a person screaming.

That area was an empty lot where garbage was piled up, and a shabby building where people went in and out was seen nearby. Thought it might be that.

Arno, who was full of confidence after killing bandits, felt shrinking again as if air leaked from a balloon. Because this place was a high-crime area.

It was an area where killing people and throwing corpses in the gutter happened often, and no one pitied it, and it rarely became a case.

"Let's go ask first."

Still thinking what would happen in broad daylight, Arno approached people at the entrance.

Whether guarding the entrance, or just soothing boredom near the entrance, they were sitting on something like a pile of broken wood debris rolling dice on a small table.

"Excuse me, may I ask something. Is this the branch of Beringen Adventurer Guild?"

Then people who were watching two rolling dice with serious faces turned their heads all at once and looked at Arno. And Rickart standing behind him too.

"Who are you?"

Among the gathered people, a man with a scar on his eye spoke slightly aggressively instead of answering the question.

"I am a courier belonging to the Imperial Guild Agency. Came because I have business."

"Empire? Guild Agency? What is that?"

"Yes?"

"What is that you son of a bitch."

The man growled abruptly as if he were a dog with rabies.

Arno just asked a question but blinked his eyes feeling bewildered, dumbfounded and scared at being cursed. Scared speechless. Don't know the Empire? What does that mean?

"Arno, step back."

Then Rickart spoke from behind. No particular expression change but eyes were cool.

While Arno couldn't do this or that, Rickart untied the rope of the basket he was carrying on his shoulder. And holding the basket walked to the people.

As a kid wearing a red cloak approached, people looked as if asking what is this again.

Rickart looked at the man with a scar on his eye for a moment, then poured the contents of the basket onto the table where dice, copper coins, and gambling tokens were scattered.

Thud. Clunk.

Coins jingled as if it was a quite heavy object, cluttering the table.

Up to this point, people started frowning and were ready to rush in any moment, but as Rickart whisked off the cloth wrapping the object, the situation changed completely.

"Hiik!"

"Fuck! You scared me!"

Clatter!

Including the one with a scar on his eye, people jumped up or fell backward, trying to get away from the severed heads somehow quickly.

"Guys! Come out!"

Someone shouted. Then as if waiting in advance, men poured out from inside the building. And naturally formed a shape surrounding Arno and Rickart.

"What? What is it?"

"What, what."

"Fuck what is this?"

People coming from inside opened their eyes wide discovering heads rolling on the table. Arno rolled his eyes like a scared rabbit not knowing what to do in this situation.

While everyone was scared or flustered, only Rickart spoke nonchalantly. As if dominating the situation itself.

"Heads of the Bilton brothers. Came to receive the price."