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Showdown with the Black Flag (1)

After repelling the black dragon’s attack, Chris and his party were able to spend a moment of peace and leisure.

According to what I heard from Joseph, the search for the Black Flag is proceeding steadily, albeit slowly.

Chris’ training went smoothly, and now the shield knight’s skills are on the verge of graduation.

The sun is shining, and there is not a single cloud in the sky.

Chris thought that nothing could break the peace now.

At least that was until he opened his money bag.

The pocket containing the travel money was much thinner than before escaping from the Breton Empire.

“What, when did I spend so much money?”

I don’t know if there was something else worth spending a lot of money on.

These days, as much as the temple solves the lodging and food expenses, it was a situation that was solidified.

Chris, who hastily turned the money bag over, carefully examined the coins inside. It’s not a problem to proceed with the trip right away, but I felt like I had to supplement it once.

And he soon remembered the culprit of this situation and went to Tyrone.

The yard of the temple was half burnt to the ground because Chris had recklessly fired the Phoenix’s demon palace in a fight with the mercenaries. All of Joseph’s lawns were turned to ashes, and a great soot formed on the main building of the temple. Tyrone, who was diligently wiping it off, turned his head at Chris’ call.

“Tyron! How much money do you have?”

“money? Why all of a sudden?”

Chris snatched the pouch out of Tyrone’s arms and clicked his tongue briefly.

All that came out of the slim pocket were two silver coins and a few copper coins.

Chris suddenly gets a headache and goes to Tyrone.

“Why is the guy who used to belong to the Imperial Inspection Department so poor? Were you planning on escaping Breton with this?”

“Hey, the Imperial Inspection Department pays very little, right? How much money do you have to take away from work to provide lodging and meals? And Prime Minister Breton was a man who gave you a house and food but didn’t give you money.”

Tyrone, who recalled the treatment of civil servants in the Breton Empire, honed his teeth and counterattacked Chris.

“Why are you all of a sudden ripping off things? Do you have anything to do with money?”

“Where else is the money going?”

Chris replied bluntly and let out a deep sigh.

Originally, travel is not usually a luxury. Even though there is no clear income, it is natural that your pockets will be empty if you keep paying for lodging and food expenses.

Until now, I had been traveling alone, so it cost me a little less money, but since Tyrone joined, all budgets have more than doubled.

It’s very expensive to have two men and two horses sleeping, eating, and walking around.

Chris was very embarrassed because he had not known that Tyrone would be this poor.

If Tyrone had only minimal travel funds, it would have been fine for the time being.

It took about a week to escape the Breton Empire and reach the Black Flag Fortress.

However, the money spent in that one week is more than Chris’ travel expenses in a month.

Even though William, who was accompanying him at the time, paid his share separately.

Chris, who had put all of Tyrone’s fortune in his own pocket, changed his plan.

“I need to earn some travel money in this gap.”

“I heard you saved money by working as a mercenary for several years? Still not enough?”

“It’s true that mercenaries are high-profit jobs, but as much as they make a lot, they go out a lot… Still, I am very good at collecting them.”

Chris, who had bought a horse that became a ghost horse and magic tools for disguise, and had secured enough money for the trip, Chris replied bluntly.

However, the money he had saved up through his frugal life was slowly running out.

As the two men struggled with an unexpected difficulty, Joseph, who had been listening quietly from the side, said apologetically.

“sorry. I’d like to collect and add to it, but these days, it doesn’t come together well… … .”

“no it’s okay.”

The Cadral Church has long been a group of money demons, but it is the high-ranking priests of the Great War that benefit from it.

An apprentice priest in such a small temple couldn’t have the money to help Chris.

Eventually, the two men left Joseph and left the temple in search of money.

As Chris strode somewhere, Tyrone, who was following him anxiously, asked.

“But where are you going to make money all of a sudden?”

“A mercenary has to be a mercenary, can he?”

It’s a bit risky, but there’s not much that comes close to mercenary work in terms of income versus time.

The receptionist flinched as he entered the shabby mercenary guild Chris had previously visited.

“Ah! me, there… … .”

Perhaps the fact that the black dragon notified of Chris’ visit was stung and reacted violently.

But fortunately for him, Chris had no regrets about the mercenary guild. It is widely known that the guild provides accommodations for mercenaries, and he has received such benefits on several occasions.

Besides, thanks to that, he even guessed the timing of the black dragon’s attack, so it wasn’t a very profitable trade for Chris.

Chris approached the trembling employee and asked coldly.

“Show me some easy and salty quests. Except for anything that smells too bad.”

“Shh, is it easy and salty? All right.”

The black dragon that attacked Chris completely lost contact with him. Given the riots that erupted in the temple, it’s pretty obvious what would have happened to them.

The employee who had reached that point began to look through the requests to death.

He hadn’t even received the opponent’s mercenary plaque, so he carefully asked a question with a grunt.

“like… Are you okay with escort missions? The pay is generous compared to the period.”

“Who are you escorting?”

“This is a top that specializes in salt and spices. It is an ascending route that receives goods directly from farms in the southeast and then delivers them to large cities.”

Chris, who took out a map from his chest, immediately drew a route going up.

The pay is generous, and the commissioning period is short.

Seeing his satisfied expression, the employee added confidently.

“These days, escort requests are very good. There aren’t many mercenaries left around here, but the merchants have to keep moving… … .”

Even in wars and natural disasters, merchants do not stop going up.

Rather, there are many merchants looking for such a place.

Chris nodded in satisfaction, but found one uneasiness.

“But the handling items are spices and salt. Seeing that, there must be a lot of thieves.”

“Ah, since we handle things like that, we can pay this much commission. Would you like to do this?”

“Let me show you some other things.”

While Chris is looking at other requests.

Tyrone, slightly bored, started looking around the inside of the mercenary guild.

He stopped for a moment in front of a bulletin board with the faces of wanted criminals painted on it.

Beneath the faces of the heinous criminals are eye-popping sums of money.

“Chris, is this not good?”

“That’s what professional bounty hunters do. There’s nothing I can’t do, but it’s a bit annoying.”

Criminals who deserved a bounty in the mercenary guild were usually not too heavy.

However, Tyrone continued to lick his lips even after hearing Chris’s dissuade.

“If I catch a person like this, I won’t have to worry about money for a while.”

“What are you looking at? Aww, you crazy bastard.”

The painting hanging in front of Tyrone was none other than Elgar’s.

Among the many wanted criminals, the Demon King, who boasted an unrivaled degree of danger, had a different number of bounties.

The employee who was watching the two smiled bitterly and explained.

“Oh, that wanted letter is a bit old. Maybe there are two more zeros at the end now? No matter how high the bounty is, they won’t take on the challenge.”

“You said two more zeros were added here? Crazy, really.”

“Stop talking nonsense and come to work, man. Then, I’ll make the first request.”

In the end, what Chris chose was the escort mission for the Spice Merchant.

After receiving the information from the guild staff, he immediately left to meet his employer.

Spotting the merchant at the nicest inn in town, he looked around.

Inside and outside the inn, you can see numerous merchants and workers, as well as escorts going up.

Seeing this, Tyrone asked in a puzzled voice.

“What, you already have escorts?”

“of course. Wouldn’t there be an exclusive escort for the merchants selling items like spices and salt?”

It goes without saying that salt is precious in this world, and spices such as pepper and nutmeg are also very valuable commodities.

Since they receive and handle such things directly from the production site, they must have an escort.

Tyrone poured out the questions he had accumulated so far.

“Then why are you hiring mercenaries? And didn’t spices like pepper come from colonies across the sea?”

“The South must have felt the need to replenish the troops since it has become more heinous than expected. And there’s a farm in the southeast of the continent that can produce pepper. It has a similar climate to the origin of pepper.”

Of course, even so, the products produced are low-quality products that do not match the quality of the country of origin… People in this world don’t even have that, so they can’t use it.

After briefly answering Tyrone’s question, Chris took out his mercenary deck and approached the merchant.

“excuse me. I was introduced to the mercenary guild.”

“Ah, are you the ones who will be in charge of our escort mission? Welcome.”

The upper house, which looks generous and weak, welcomed Chris and Tyrone.

Apparently, it was true that the mercenaries were suffering because there were not enough mercenaries.

He glanced at Chris’s mercenary card, nodded in satisfaction, then noticed Tyrone behind him and hardened his face slightly.

“excuse me… this person is?”

Tyrone, who has a Korean appearance, usually wore a hood, but even the client could not cover it.

Chris gave a brief explanation instead.

“As you can see, I am a player. I can’t use the powers of the players, but you don’t have to worry too much because it’s my assistant anyway.”

“Oh, I see. All right. We’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so let’s meet in front of the castle gate on time.”

Chris and San Sangju shook hands lightly and parted ways.

Tyrone admires his effortless work.

“It’s a lot easier than you think.”

“If you’re like me, you won’t be able to go anywhere and hear regrets, right?”

Chris, a little brusque but proud, packed his things as soon as he returned to the temple.

When they heard that they were leaving tomorrow, Joseph blessed them on their way.

Tyrone, who has been slightly attached to it, muttered anxiously.

“Are you going to be okay without us?”

“Since the last raid, patrols have been running in the center, so it should be fine. I wish you both a safe trip.”

As Chris expected, the people behind the move of the black dragon hit temples in various places at the same time.

The Cadral Church, which was initially taken aback, now came to its senses and faced them.

So, if the two of them leave, nothing will happen.

After spending their last night at the temple, Chris and Tyrone headed for the gates early the next morning.

Beyond the guards, who still seemed unmotivated, the corps, the escort target for this mission, was visible. It’s not very big or grand, but the horses and wagons are in good condition and the workers are strong.

The two men rode their respective horses and joined the ascendant.

“You are here. Then we will depart.”

“i look forward to.”

First of all, Chris, who received the advance payment and took it, greeted the owner of the upper house and went to the front of the procession.

All of the company’s exclusive escorts who worked with him had reliable physiques, but somehow they looked clumsy.

When Chris looked at their overly shiny gear, he figured out why.

‘They’re only fine, they’ve hardly ever fought.’

They’re much better than the guards we’ve seen in previous cities, but they won’t be of much help if a big fight breaks out.

While Chris was chewing on them inside, the guards at the top were also chewing on Chris inside.

Even though they have their own escorts, they are hired mercenaries, so they can’t look pretty.

The two escorts walked down the long stretch of avenue, quietly prying at each other.

The sun rose slowly among the mountains and vegetation behind the top.