The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

“Don’t mess with me! Are you mocking me like this? Do you have that much time to waste?”

However, Ghislain’s response remained calm and consistent.

“Why are you acting like that when I said I’d give it to you? I was just surprised that the amount was smaller than I thought.”

He was certain because he’d heard it from Claude several times in his previous life. Back then, it had clearly been 5,000 gold.

‘Well, quite some time has passed since then. I suppose the price could be different now.’

“Smaller? You’re really…,” Claude growled, glaring at Ghislain through clenched teeth.

He couldn’t fathom what kind of twisted game Ghislain was playing with him.

“Fine, you seem pretty confident. Then hand it over right now.”

Claude’s words were dripping with sarcasm, but Ghislain merely nodded lightly, without showing any sign of offense.

“Not difficult at all. Is that all you want?”

‘This guy just doesn’t quit. Persistent bastard.’

Claude snorted, playing along with Ghislain’s little game.

“2,000 gold isn’t enough for you? Then just give me 500 more. That should be cheap enough for the price of me working for you.”

Belinda, unable to tolerate the increasingly shameless demands, stepped forward with a frown.

“No manners, no shame. It wouldn’t be enough to cut off your neck, let alone your wrist.”

She looked like she was ready to drive a dagger into Claude’s neck for real. Ghislain raised a hand to stop her.

“That’s enough, Belinda. He’s someone we’ll need for the future of our estate.”

“Master! Are you seriously planning to let someone like that off?”

Belinda’s temper flared as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I said, enough.”

Upon Ghislain’s heavy voice, Belinda clamped her mouth shut but continued to glare daggers at Claude.

With Belinda in such a foul mood, it seemed impossible to send her off on any tasks.

Ghislain let out a bitter smile as he called for Gillian.

“Gillian, go to the largest merchant guild in Austern and bring someone back. Tell them we’ll issue a letter of credit.”

“Are you really sure about this?”

Gillian asked cautiously, his eyes questioning whether it was wise to hand such a large sum to someone like that.

Up until now, he’d followed Ghislain’s instructions without objection, but even he found this situation troubling.

However, Ghislain merely smiled, as if nothing were wrong.

“Gillian, what were you like when we first met? Were you any different from this man now?”

At those words, neither of them could say anything.

In some ways, Gillian had been in even worse shape.

Unlike Claude, who at least frequented gambling dens, Gillian hadn’t even stepped outside.

But look at him now. He had become Ghislain’s most vital asset, someone he couldn’t do without.

Understanding the meaning behind Ghislain’s words, Gillian bowed his head and left the room.

Based on everything he’d observed so far, his lord had never acted thoughtlessly, not even once.

Surely, Ghislain had seen something in this gambling addict that the rest of them couldn’t.

Even though Belinda still wore a dissatisfied expression, she withdrew as well..

‘That old man had a good physique at least. What in the world does Master see in this guy to trust him so much?’

Claude crossed his arms and looked around at the now chaotic atmosphere.

He was no longer just angry—he was utterly dumbfounded.

Given how things had escalated, it seemed that giving them a proper humiliation was the only way to feel satisfied.

Before long, Gillian returned with someone in tow.

Claude recognized the man entering the tavern and flinched in surprise.

‘Huh? That man is…?’

The man was the vice-president of the largest merchant guild in Austern.

Since the amount involved was significant, it was only natural for someone of such a high rank to step in.

‘What kind of prank are these bastards pulling…?’

For a prank, the scale was enormous. To think they had brought in someone like him.

‘How are they planning to handle the aftermath of this?’

If Ghislain were a noble of the Kingdom of Seiron, he would have been able to secure a letter of credit without any conditions.

Since there was no fear of the merchant guild being defrauded, even for the sake of saving face, they wouldn’t worry about not being repaid.

But it was different for a noble from another country.

No merchant guild would easily issue a letter of credit without collateral.

‘What are they planning to offer? No ordinary jewel is worth 2,500 gold.’

From what he could see, Ghislain didn’t seem particularly wealthy.

His clothes were neat, but the fabric wasn’t anything luxurious, and there were no expensive accessories to be seen.

If the noble was like that, his subordinates were not even worth considering.

Most likely, the vice-president of the merchant guild would leave once it became clear there was no collateral.

Claude chuckled inwardly, imagining Ghislain’s humiliation.

It was then.

‘Huh?’

One of the mercenaries rummaged through his bag and plopped a stone onto the table.

The stone emitted a faint blue glow.

Claude involuntarily parted his lips, mesmerized by the soft blue light.

The vice-president of the merchant guild picked up the Runestone and examined it closely, a servile smile spreading across his face as he bowed deeply.

“Oh! This is truly a top-grade Runestone. Do you happen to have more? I’ll offer a price well above market value. Not only in Austern but throughout this region, our merchant guild offers the best rates.”

‘What?’

Claude was taken aback by how things were unfolding, completely different from what he had expected.

The vice-president’s eyes were brimming with greed.

For someone who had handled countless goods to be so captivated, it meant that the Runestone Ghislain had offered was of exceptional quality.

‘Is it… real?’

Just then, Ghislain frowned, waving his hand dismissively as if annoyed.

“I have no intention of selling more, so just finish the transaction quickly.”

“Please reconsider… I’m offering you a really good price. No other merchant guild will offer as much as we do. How much have you been quoted so far?”

The vice-president, who had been persistently clinging to Ghislain with a desperate expression, finally clicked his tongue and opened his bag when the mercenaries began to draw their weapons.

As he wrote out the letter of credit, regret was clearly etched on his face.

Claude, seeing this expression, suddenly shouted out.

“W-wait!”

Everyone turned to look at him in bewilderment.

Swallowing hard, Claude spoke in a trembling voice.

“If you’re going to do it, make it two letters: one for 2,000 gold and another for 500 gold. Can you do that?”

Belinda pouted her lips, while the vice-president glanced over at Ghislain.

It was a silent question, asking for his approval.

Ghislain gave a slight nod.

“Do it that way.”

“This paper has been magically treated, so we usually don’t do this… but since you’re handling such a large transaction, I’ll make an exception without any extra charge.”

The deputy merchant leader, hoping to secure a future deal with Ghislain, eagerly accepted Claude’s request.

He didn’t forget to emphasize his generosity as much as possible.

“Please come to our merchant guild again next time. We’ll do our best to serve you.”

Even as he groveled, he continued bowing deeply to Ghislain.

Finally, when the mercenaries couldn’t bear it any longer and glared at him, the deputy merchant leader left the room.

He left behind a credit note worth a staggering 2,500 gold.

“Take it.”

Ghislain gave a small nod toward the credit note lying on the table.

Claude’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Ghislain and the note.

He had asked for money, but he hadn’t really believed he would get it.

On top of that, Ghislain hadn’t even asked why he needed such a large amount or how he planned to repay it.

Claude’s hands began to tremble.

‘The thing I’ve been dreaming about for years… just happened this easily?’

He couldn’t believe it.

It was so unbelievable that he even wondered if the deputy merchant leader was in on some cruel joke, trying to fool him.

2,000 gold was enough money for an ordinary person to live comfortably without working for the rest of their life.

It was such a large sum that even wealthy nobles wouldn’t hand it over lightly.

And yet, the young man in front of him had casually given that enormous sum to a mere gambler.

Claude had spent years living in gambling halls, trying desperately to raise that kind of money.

Something he couldn’t achieve through all his hard work had come so easily to someone else.

As his mind swirled in shock, a sense of emptiness slowly crept in.

Claude, who had been standing dazed, suddenly snapped out of it and shook his head, dispelling his thoughts.

His pride didn’t matter.

He had finally gotten the money he had been willing to sacrifice his life for—what did pride have to do with anything?

“Wait right here for a moment.”

Claude hastily grabbed the credit note and shoved it into his coat, quickly making his way to the door.

He reached the entrance, turned to glance at Ghislain once, then burst out of the tavern.

As if he were fleeing.

The mercenaries, who had been watching him with uncertainty, jumped to their feet.

“Catch him! Thief!”

Belinda gasped in horror and tried to rush after him, but Ghislain grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Why aren’t we catching him? He’s running off with the money!”

“It’s fine. I know where he’s going.”

With Ghislain’s confident voice, Belinda and the mercenaries froze, confused.

“You know where he went? Ah, is it the gambling hall?”

“No, this time it’s somewhere else.”

Ghislain stood up from his seat, moving leisurely.

“Still, he won’t be able to handle this alone. Let’s follow him.”

Claude was so overwhelmed by the thought that he had achieved his goal that he wasn’t thinking clearly.

He had no idea how dangerous it was for someone without power to carry that much money.

Ghislain led the mercenaries out of the tavern.

By the time they stepped onto the street, Claude had already disappeared.

But Ghislain, without the slightest hesitation, calmly began walking in a specific direction.

Before long, the group stopped in front of the Austern Estate.

“Young master, what is this place?”

“As you’ve guessed, this is Baron Austern’s estate.”

Just as Ghislain had expected, Claude was already there, arguing with the guards at the gate.

“I brought the money like we agreed! Let me meet the lord!”

“Do you think the lord is your buddy? You can’t just barge in and expect to be let through.”

“The lord made a promise! Just go and tell him I’m here!”

“All right, calm down and wait.”

The lord wasn’t someone one could just meet whenever they pleased.

Yet, it seemed there had been some prior arrangement, as Claude was shouting confidently.

Even after one of the guards went inside to deliver the message, Claude nervously glanced around.

When he spotted Ghislain, his body tensed up, and he shouted.

“Why are you here? I told you to wait for a moment!”

“I was curious about what you were up to.”

“It’s my business! Once I finish up here, I’ll come back, so why did you follow me?”

Before Ghislain could respond, Belinda snapped back with irritation.

“And who’s going to trust a gambler like you to come back? If you don’t explain yourself, we’ll just take it back!”

“Who said I’m running away? Just wait a little longer!”

As the two of them snarled at each other, one of the guards turned to Ghislain and asked, “Who might you be?”

Ghislain casually slung his arm around Claude’s shoulder and smiled.

“Oh, I’m this guy’s friend. We came here to meet with the lord together.”

“Friend? What are you talking about…”

Before Claude could argue, Ghislain whispered into his ear.

“Are you out of your mind? You’re planning to go in there alone with that much money? Baron Austern is notorious for his greed.”

Only then did Claude snap back to reality as if cold water had been poured over him.

He had gotten so excited at the thought of achieving his lifelong goal.

It seemed his brain had completely frozen over after years of being consumed by alcohol and gambling.

In fact, it was practically a miracle that he had made it here safely with that much money.

He had been under watch, after all.

Claude shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind, and bit his lip.

‘I’ve been living like a wreck for too long. At least going in with a noble might give me some protection.’

Forcing himself to maintain a calm expression, Claude finally spoke.

“Yeah, he’s my friend. We’re going in together.”

The guard still looked suspicious, but he sent a message inside to inform them that Claude had company.

A short while later, they received permission to enter.

Of course, the mercenaries, after surrendering their weapons, had to wait in the reception room.

Only Claude and Ghislain were allowed to meet with the lord.

Baron Austern’s appearance matched his reputation for greed.

His eyes were murky, and his cheeks were bloated with flesh.

As soon as the two entered the main hall, the baron spoke in a dry voice.

“You’ve really come with the money?”

Claude, who had been so bold in front of Ghislain earlier, immediately dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor, groveling pitifully.

“I’ve really brought the money. Please, I beg you, return it now!”