CH 60

Chapter 60 – First, Knock On The Door

“That’s what Misnel told me. The security is very high. It looks like a fort, the guards are soldiers, and the gates are made of…”

Myrril swallowed the rest of the words, but we were all thinking the same thing. Yes. This is like the entrance to a prison.

In front of the trading town of Tarantallen, there is a large gate called the Judge Gate.

It’s supposed to “restrict access to the territory of the tribal union, protect military and economic independence, and ensure the pride and peace of the people,” but we already know that it’s just a facade.

At least, to the extent that they can easily sell out the people from Casemaian who were supposed to be under their protection to the kingdom.

“Stop right there!”

The guards at the gate stopped us.

There were two with spears and one with a sword that looked like the captain. All of them were light infantrymen wearing simple leather armor.

There are archers with longbows and mage-like figures on top of the gate that looks like a fortress wall. If we show any suspicious activity, they will probably attack while the guards are checking us out.

“Let me see your pass.”

“I don’t have one. I’m a merchant. Can you issue me one if I give you some money?”

As I stepped in front of the muscle-brained girls, I showed them my palm and shrugged my shoulders. The guards, recognizing that I was unarmed, cocked their chins at me stoutly.

“This is a self-governing territory for our tribal union. No outsiders will be allowed to enter. The only authorized traders are those who are guaranteed by the kingdom and the empire. Now get the hell out of here!”

I see, so they only deal with the official merchants of neighboring countries. I’m not sure what or how much they deal in, but it’s more than just collusion.

If there is no problem with such a roundabout trade, it also means that daily necessities are covered domestically.

“Just kidding. I’m not going to bother going in. I’m not particularly interested in a nest of shut-ins.”

“What?”

I was just matching the other party’s attitude, but the mocking reply, despite the words, made them more cautious.

He put his hand on the sword at his waist and stepped away to keep us all in sight.

“What do you want, then? Depending on your response, I may be able to help you here…”

“I’m here to ask for the return of the people of Casemaian. I’d like to speak to the person in charge.”

For a moment, the captain looked dubious.

“You’re taking in the exiles?”

“Not exiles! They’re citizens of Casemaian, you rude people!”

“The people of Casemaian are not exiles.”

“A temporary refugee, to be precise. Now, Casemaian is being steadily rebuilt. In fact, it is the kingdom that is dying. I don’t know how much you know about that.”

The captain looked at me as if he were looking at something pitiful. There’s not much hostility in his eyes, even if they are laced with contempt.

“I know it’s a subhuman dream, but…”

“You haven’t gotten the message yet, have you? The 30,000 kingdom troops that invaded Casemaian were wiped out. In fact, only five hundred soldiers made it out alive.”

“You must be joking. Even under the foolish king, the kingdom’s army is elite. It’s impossible for them to fall behind you and your ragtag group…?”

There was a dull thud that echoed.

“Fumu. Is this the elite…?”

I’ve already done this stuff once. It was too much of a hassle to take them out in small chunks, so I threw out a whole pile of them this time.

The guards froze with their mouths hanging open at the sight of the fresh pile of corpses that had appeared by the Judge’s Gate.

“That’s about a hundred at most. If you want to see more, I’ll give you as much as you want. I can make 300 of these piles… Unfortunately, about half of them are still intact. …Just like that.”

With a thud, a pile of meat appears on the other side of the gate this time. It seems to have taken a while to realize that the object that looked like an assortment of iron, cloth, and minced meat was a corpse.

“…Wha, …what the hell is this?”

“Hurry up and answer me. We don’t have time for this anymore. Your superiors must already understand the situation.”

“The situation?”

“Yes. The people of Casemaian know that the tribal union has betrayed them. Now it’s up to you to decide where to end this or fight to the bitter end. If you choose to fight us, we will soon be joining you in the mountains.”

The captain’s eyes swam. His subordinates were already on the run, waving their hands behind them to call for backup.

A few of the archers who had been nocking arrows at the signal turned their heads, and the mages who had tried to raise their wands collapsed. The guards hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary yet.

“…Function aside, it’s a gun that feels kind of hollow.”

Myrril shook her head reluctantly as she murmured. Please don’t complain about the gun that I lent you.

“D-don’t be silly! A mage’s bluff is meaningless to me! Even if you’re proud of the results of a battle against a bunch of mediocre…”

“That’s enough of that.”

I shoved something out of storage into the captain’s hand.

When he saw it, his eyes widened, and he froze. A crimson cloak and polished silver armor. It belonged to the Kingsguard, the most elite cavalry in the kingdom. The fact that there were no contents in it was simply because I was trying to see if I could make use of the materials with high smelting technology, but it was of no particular significance. There were hundreds of them in my storage.

The guards all turned to look at the red cloaks and silver armor that had been thrown out all around them.

“The war has already begun. The kingdom army has been crushed, the king has fled, and the country has entered a civil war. We won’t intervene, but we’ll do what we have to do in the meantime. Rescuing our people who have fled to the tribal union and the empire. It’s not out of the question that this could end peacefully.”

“…You expect me to believe that?”

“Believe it or not, it’s your choice. As long as our people are safe and sound, that’s all that matters to us.”

“We have no interest in the tribal territories themselves. Even though the Casemaian army is literally full of fierce warriors, we have no intention of invading. To be honest, we don’t want anything, land, people, or culture. We would be more than happy to give you small gratitude if you would just hand over our people quietly.”

“…But actually.”

The commander glanced to the back. No arrows, no magic attacks, no reinforcements flew in spite of the fact that the signal to attack was given. He should have understood the meaning of this.

“As long as you don’t turn against us, of course. I’m not squeamish enough to reason with someone trying to kill me with a sword and bow drawn.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I am keeping you alive because you are not a direct threat. And because you are supposed to carry the message.”

I thrust a piece of paper at the sweating captain.

“I’ll be back in two days. I will hear back from you then.”

“You can’t expect us to accept such a one-sided story!”

“I don’t care what you think. The decision is yours.”