Chapter 33: The Kirks Republic
When we arrived in Kirks, we immediately decided to sell ourselves as mercenaries……
The Kirks Republic is a democratic country without a king, whose main source of revenue is the production of ore, which is used to make the outer shells of magicrafts. We visited a military facility in its capital.
"I've never heard of the Iron Knights…….Sure, we're looking for mercenaries, but we can't afford to hire people who we don't know where they come from.”
"Hey, hey, hey, the Iron Knights aren't horse bones, they're a mercenary group with two gladiators who were invincible in the Arpeca Coliseum, just have someone at the top handle it, you need strength.”
Jean said it forcefully, but the officers of the Kirks army are looking at us suspiciously……and don't seem to believe Jean's story in the first place.
"All right, I'll talk to the higher ups but I think they're probably going to turn you down since they've already got contracts with three mercenary groups.”
Apparently, they already have previous contracts.
That afternoon, I was summoned by the Kirks army……to talk about the mercenary contract, apparently…….Anyway, me, Alana and Jean visited the place. There were about ten other people in the room where we were called.
“First of all, I would like to thank you for coming to the aid of my country. I would like to accept all mercenary groups unconditionally, but we have a fixed budget and can't do that……so I'd like to make a suggestion: I'd like to make a contract with all the mercenary groups here, with compensation based entirely on performance.”
When the commander of the Kirks' army said this, the uncle, who looked exactly like a mercenary, gave his opinion.
“I don't mind that, but how much do I get paid?”
“How about 5 millions for each enemy magicraft destroyed, another 10 million as a bonus for every 10 magicrafts destroyed, plus the ability to receive supplies at Kirks Base?”
Sixty million for ten magicrafts…….I'm not sure if that's a lot or a little, but the guys here seemed to agree…….
“Plus, I'd expect some kind of bonus for the most successful mercenary group.”
Jean suggested this in a loud voice…….Hearing this, the commander thought for a moment and replied.
"Very well, then, let's give out 100 million as a bonus to the mercenary group with the best results…….This will motivate everyone.”
In this way, we have signed a mercenary contract with……However, it is a good idea, because this means that if you are not useful, you will not be paid, and Kirks will be very happy because they have been able to sign up many mercenary groups that are a force to be reckoned with.
“It's Yuta. What are you doing here?”
“Yes, it's Yuta.”
When I looked at them, I saw that they were my classmates, Naoshi Horibe and Akane Imamura.
“What, you're both mercenaries?”
“Well, the country that bought us soon lost the war and disappeared, so we were picked up by this mercenary group when we were in trouble.”
“That's tough…….”
“I've heard that you've been a slave, but you've come a long way from being a con artist.”
"What? Who’s a scammer?”
“Because, you know, Ludia value 2…There's no way you can ride a magicraft! You were trying to trick Kirks into signing up as a mercenary group and make money. But too bad you can't cheat them out of a reward with a performance-based system.”
"Who would do such a thing?”
"How are you going to get results if you can't even ride a magicraft? You can't defeat a magicraft with your bare hands.”
"It's really funny – I'm ashamed of myself for thinking you were kind of good before I came into this world.”
“What, Akane, did you have feelings for Yuta?”
“Don't say it, it's embarrassing. It's like saying you had a crush on someone with a Ludia value of 2.”
“That's right.”
Just as I was about to say something back, Alana stepped in front of them and said.
"I'm in love with Yuta…….Do you have a problem with that?”
Alana has a high level of beauty that can be described as an exquisite beauty…….When she said that, the two of them were unable to say anything back and fell silent.
“Hmm…….The only thing you've improved on is your ability to trick people……It doesn’t matter…… because our Beast King mercenary group is definitely the most successful – after all, there are two half-radars in the Beast King mercenary group, there's no way we can lose.”
We have a triple Highlander and a double Highlander…….I thought about that, but I didn't want to say anything about it because I didn't think it would be good to show my hand too much.