Quit being a knight and become a mercenary

16 – They don’t do knights (3)

In the tent, there was a high-pitched voice, but it suddenly became quiet.

I was wondering what was going on, so I looked back and saw Dalton walking out of the barracks door.

He looked at me and sighed.

“Ha, that sounds like sh*t. How the f*ck can you do this?”

I asked cautiously.

“Hey, what happened?”

Dalton was furious at the sight of me and raised his fist as if to strike me, then lowered his arm and grabbed my shoulder.

“I won’t f*cking say the details because I feel like my stomach will explode. Keep your mouth shut, go inside the tent over there and talk to Sir Holmes.”

If I asked any more, I felt like I would be grabbed by the collar and thrown to the floor.

“Yes, I understand.”

“f*ck, do as you please. Either accept his offer or stay with me. Whichever you choose, neither I nor Baron Tyllen can put you at a disadvantage. Sifal, what a dog.”

If you look at what you say, it may sound like your parents are saying ‘Your life is yours, do as you please’ and give them unconditional support.

What Dalton actually wants to say is this.

‘If possible, I would like you to remain under me. Anyway, the other person can’t touch you even if you choose that way. You f*cking bastard.’

Leaving behind him, I immediately entered the tent where Holmes was waiting.

Holmes looked at me and gave me an unnervingly kind smile.

I don’t know if it’s a pretty woman like Karin, but since the middle-aged aristocrat looks at me with a meaningful expression, I’m afraid I’ll turn around because it’s burdensome.

‘f*ck, social life is always a place where you have to manage your facial expressions no matter how f*cked up you are, but isn’t this a little over the line?’

“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“No. Rather, I am grateful that you care so much for me.”

“It’s nice to see that your parents taught you the manners and dignity of aristocrats. I’m sure the baron will like you when he sees you.”

No, I never said I was going under you guys?

Why do you say that my becoming a knight of Baron Tylen is already confirmed? Did she go crazy because she drank a bowl of kimchi soup, no, the whole thing?

Holmes didn’t even know I was dumbfounded and held out the seemingly decent-looking scroll he was holding in his right hand.

At the center of the scroll was a seal stamped with melted candles, indicating that it was an authoritative document written by the baron himself.

I am a member of a knight’s family, and the owner of this letter is a baron who belongs to the highest rank among nobles, so I got down on one knee and bowed my head according to the etiquette.

“Speaks Baron Antonio von Thilen, the rightful lord of the Barony of Tylen. You, Martin Mayer, even though this was your first battle, you destroyed the enemy’s ten ligaments, blossomed your aura, and made a great feat of decapitating the enemy platoon leader. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to Baron Cassino for notifying him of his evil plans in advance and saving him from getting into trouble.”

Nobles take a very heavy responsibility for what they say.

Otherwise, if a high-ranking person changes his or her words according to the situation and mood, the authority and power that can be said to be the lifeline of one’s life fall to the ground in an instant.

And among them, the most weighty words are expressing gratitude and gratitude.

Because this is the same as saying that I will grant him the right to use his gratitude to rip something off.

“So, when Baron Vaughn took an interest in you and listened to your circumstances, he heard that he became a mercenary after feeling deprived of his humble status and unfair treatment in the family of Viscount Schwein, whom he served before.”

Although I am a knight belonging to the upper class in this world, the baron is a noble person who reigns over at least 10,000 people.

If you’re that kind of person, if you’re going to recruit someone like me, just saying ‘you become my knight’ would be enough, but it’s touching to see you show sincerity by even going through a background investigation.

“It is a pity that a talented person like you is not able to show off his outstanding talent properly in the mercenary corps, so I want to make you my direct knight. I cannot grant you a fief, but I will arrange for you to marry a daughter of a suitable family, with 2 servants and a salary of 10 gold per month. Let it happen.”

Sir Holmes looked at me triumphantly when he had read everything.

It was as if he was saying this.

‘Even though you’re talented, you’re a poor country boy anyway, so the baron made me an offer of this level that he’d change his name, but there’s no way I’d refuse.’

That’s not a very wrong thing to say, if I called someone in the same situation as me and made a suggestion like this, a hundred out of ten would have bowed and asked in a snap.

If you enter the baron’s knight, it’s like getting a job as a stable civil servant with a good salary, even if it’s not the great success I was aiming for.

And if I go under it and reveal more of my abilities, my treatment will go up that much, and with that money, I can build my own harem with pretty girls, and I can live a life of honor and respect.

So this offer is by no means a bad suggestion to me.

Rather, it’s a good enough suggestion for me right now.

“The Baron is looking forward to welcoming a talented person like you. So he thinks that a wise man like you would definitely not miss this rope… ?”

It’s an undeservedly good offer, but I have no intention of accepting Baron Tylen’s offer.

This may sound like bullsh*t, but no matter how active I am, if I become a ‘Knight of the Baron’, I will succeed, but there is a clear limit to that.

As if two new employees with the same ability enter a large company and a small and medium-sized company, regardless of the ability they have, the position and treatment to rise up in the world are determined according to the capabilities of the company they belong to.

Thus, that proposal is a grateful one for me, who aims for success, honor, power, and harem, but it can’t catch me just that much.

At that, I bowed my head and replied in a polite voice.

“It is a very grand proposal, but I will refuse the favor.”

Holmes’ expression instantly changed into a grotesque.

“…… Wouldn’t that be a second-to-none opportunity for you? I’m not ignoring your ability, but aren’t you a new mercenary who hasn’t even been given a proper job yet?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you saying this because you think you’ll get this generous offer again? Now, I’m going to disclaim my refusal, considering that I’m young, so I can say something immature.”

A young horse? Could it be that I turned down this offer with such a childish mindset?

They rejected it after thoroughly calculating the loss.

That’s why I answered with a confident voice.

“The baron’s proposal will be the honor of my life. However, I am just a mere mercenary who has just finished his first campaign. If I become the knight of the baron without being able to properly prove my abilities, I think it will only be a nuisance to the baron tillen.”

Holmes smiled more sympathetically at me when he heard that.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Even those born into other knight families are not good at everything from the start. The baron considered all of these things and recommended it.”

I feel a little sorry for Baron Tylen’s willingness to appoint me.

If I was going to give up Karin, a beautiful woman with blonde hair, good style and a cool personality, and an opportunity to develop my abilities, and be content with myself, I wouldn’t have gone this far in my f*cking first appearance.

“No, my skills are still lacking. No matter how good the opportunity is, you cannot become a knight and serve your lord in this state. So, I want to improve my skills as a mercenary.”

Holmes heard me and said as if he was genuinely sorry.

“If you really think so, what more can I say here? It is a pity indeed.”

It may seem absurd that Sir Holmes should so easily give up on the baron’s face-saving order, but unless, as Dalton said, Baron Tyllen is not insane.

If you take talent from the mercenary corps without your consent, or if you give a penalty for not responding to it, you will receive a considerable penalty when you hire another mercenary in the future.

Mercenaries only risk their lives to fight for you if you give them money, but they are not the baron’s subordinates, so if you treat the baron like that… Mercenaries will never want to work under that man again.

“Then I can’t help it. I can’t help it. I sincerely wish you all the best.”

Sir Holmes said so and quietly left.

As soon as I finished my conversation with Sir Holmes, I moved to the place where Captain Dalton was breathing heavily outside.

As soon as Dalton saw me, he looked at me with a worried expression.

“Hey, f*ck. So how did you do it? Are you going to write? I won’t stop you if you want to. To be honest, you don’t have much track record, but if you’re commissioned as a knight, you’ll only get bloody sh*t. Personally, I prefer not to…”

“Thank you for the invitation, but I decided to decline. That’s probably the case, because it looks like there’s a lot more to learn from Captain Dalton…”

Hearing that, he slammed the honey chestnut hard on my head.

“This bastard on rice, where is the bastard’s fawning fawning? If you do it one more time, I’ll throw you away like the f*cking Albert threw it?”

“I will make it right, chief!”

“Thank you for following me, Martin. When you go back, write down the reason for your refusal of appointment tonight and give it to me. Baron Nari can read it herself, so throw in a lot of embarrassing words like honor and all. I only believe in your words, son of a b*tch.”

**

And I wrote a long letter to the baron, apologizing for refusing to be knighted.

“Ha, I really miss my f*cking ballpoint pen. This f*cking cheap fountain pen is too hard to use.”

As I waved my hand while holding a roughly wooden pen holder, I felt my stiff wrist loosen up a bit.

“Still, the baron wouldn’t be able to find fault with me if I wrote this much. And since my achievements are rather large, I think I can probably receive a greater reward than the one received by Captain Fjord…”

Thanks to Baron Tyllen’s timely request for appointment as a knight, the ransom price has skyrocketed, so wouldn’t Dalton be very generous?

The baron also acknowledged my performance, so he’s at least for the sake of his face…

Wouldn’t it be scary? Just thinking about it makes his heart pound.

I moved the pen like that, finished writing the letter, and walked to deliver it to Dalton, but I heard Karin’s voice from behind.

“Sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard everything. I heard that Baron Tylen offered you a knighthood? I liked it because I thought I could do well with you, but I never thought I would go this far. Congratulations, Martin.”

Did Karin overhear when Captain Dalton and Holmes were talking?

I’m terribly embarrassed and I’m going crazy.

Still, I tried my best to pretend to be calm and pretend it wasn’t a big deal, take a breath and answer.

“I declined that offer.”