BXBX NOVEL Chapter 124 - A Slap for Every Penny Found (6)
Chapter 124 - A Slap for Every Penny Found (6)
I could hardly believe my ears at what came out of the branch head\'s mouth.
"On the verge of bankruptcy? The Reblanc Mercenary Group?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Are you saying they’re practically bankrupt?"
"That\'s correct."
It was unbelievable. The Reblanc Mercenary Group was far too large for bankruptcy to even be a consideration.
They started as a small mercenary band made up of thugs operating around the Reblanc region, taking on all the dangerous and dirty work others refused. Through this, they grew steadily, and during the Four-Year War, they expanded tremendously.
Now, they had branches everywhere, and everyone knew their name.
And yet, here they were, on the verge of bankruptcy. What had happened?
"Please explain the situation in detail."
"Recently, a major territorial conflict broke out in one of the Imperial regions. The two noble families involved decided to fight to the death, and our mercenary group got involved too. It was a massive contract, with almost everyone mobilized, leaving only the minimum essential personnel at each branch."
It\'s not unusual for a mercenary group to get involved in a territorial war.
Not many nobles in the Empire can afford to maintain large standing armies. Most rely on a handful of knights and retainers, supplemented by peasants who know nothing of warfare when the time comes.
So, as the branch head said, they sometimes hire mercenaries to bolster their forces for big territorial disputes.
"But did they lose?"
"Yes, we lost. The client family was completely shattered and scattered. And most of our mercenary leadership was taken prisoner by the opposing side."
"Taken prisoner? Why take mercenaries as prisoners? Who would pay the ransom?"
"Obviously, our mercenary group would. Who else?"
Suddenly, my eyes fell on a small framed plaque hanging on the wall.
It read, <Loyalty Thicker Than Blood>.
"Hah… So you’re telling me all your funds went into raising ransom money?"
"Yes, it\'s embarrassing, but that\'s the truth…. Headquarters took every last bit of funds from all the branches. It\'s absolute chaos right now."
"I see…."
"You idiots!"
Hindrasta suddenly burst out.
"Dragging even the branch members into a contract like that?! And the leadership, too? Don’t tell me even the boss and his sons got involved?!"
"The client family promised to cede part of their territory to us if they won the territorial war. That family had staked everything on the war, just like we did. But who would have thought they’d lose so miserably? Honestly, I still can’t believe it. Not Reblanc Mercenary Group, of all places…."
The branch head leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. This truly seemed like a dire crisis for the mercenary group.
If what he was saying was true, then there was no way they could return the money Hindrasta had accumulated.
Moreover, since Hindrasta was technically affiliated with headquarters rather than a branch, it made it even more impossible.
"What a load of crap."
Hindrasta snorted.
"Did you really pour every last coin into paying the ransom? You must have kept at least enough for food and a roof over your heads, right?"
"The money we have now is just enough to cover the living expenses of the people here. We can\'t afford to pay you the wages you saved up, Miss Sophie. If you really don’t believe me, I can open the safe for you. But I need you to promise me something."
The branch head looked back and forth between Hindrasta and me.
"It’s not much at all. Nowhere near what you’ve saved, Sophie, but it’s the bare minimum to keep the branch afloat…."
"Understood. I’ll make sure Sophie doesn’t take any of it."
I intervened, and the branch head, relieved, stood up to open the safe.
Inside the safe were a few gold coins, about twenty silver coins, and some coppers. It was practically empty.
I could now understand why the branch head hadn’t wanted to open the safe for Hindrasta earlier.
If even this much were taken, they might very well starve.
If he had opened it earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to stop Hindrasta from taking the money, but at least now I could intervene.
That being said, I also understood Hindrasta’s side.
The headquarters in Reblanc was too far away for Hindrasta, trapped in her polymorphed state, to easily reach, and with the branch unwilling to open the safe, it had naturally left her filled with doubts.
Considering she’s a dragon, it was impressive she’d shown this much restraint.
"Is the mercenary group really going bankrupt…? I can’t believe it."
Hindrasta muttered, staring at the empty safe.
To be honest, I could hardly believe it myself.
The Reblanc Mercenary Group was a famous large guild in the Empire, known for their strength and even having direct contracts with the Imperial Army.
For them to lose an assignment with their full force mobilized—who on earth was their opponent?
"The survivors say that a nameless swordsman single-handedly turned the tide of the battlefield."
"A nameless swordsman? Alone, you mean?"
"Yes. A young man wielding a greatsword, fighting so well that whenever he showed up, people were torn apart like meat through a grinder."
The branch head shook his head.
"If he’s that skilled, someone should’ve recognized him, but no one knew who he was."
A swordsman of incredible skill that even lifelong mercenaries had never seen before… This was getting suspicious.
"Anyway, I’m very sorry, Miss Sophie. It would be best for you to go to headquarters. Even there, I can’t make any guarantees…."
"What kind of nonsense is this? I thought you were broke because I couldn’t complete the assignments and had to pay a penalty or something."
"Isn’t that a bit arrogant? Our mercenary group isn’t so fragile that losing one person would bring it down."
"What did you just say?!"
Once again, I had to step in and break up the brewing fight.
# # # # #
After roughly wrapping things up at the mercenary group, we stepped outside.
Hindrasta wore a vacant expression, muttering quietly to herself.
It seemed she’d taken a heavy blow after expecting to get her money back right away and finding out it wasn’t possible.
"Let’s eat first. Then we can think about what to do next."
"Okay…."
Ismera, Olysia, Merilda, and Knightley came running over from where they had been waiting outside.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. We’re fine. Sophie’s okay too, without a scratch."
"That’s a relief. So, Sophie, did everything get resolved?".
Sophie shook her head weakly at Merilda\'s question.
"Far from resolved. Looks like I’m going to be stiffed on my money."
"Let’s talk about it over lunch."
I was starving from trailing Olysia around all day, so we all headed to the restaurant we had originally planned to visit.
As we ate, I explained what had happened at the mercenary office.
"This whole situation is a mess. It doesn’t look like you’ll get your money."
Knightley said, and Hindrasta massaged her neck as if she were suppressing her anger.
"Those idiots… What were they thinking, burning the whole mercenary group over one contract."
Suddenly, Hindrasta began to cry, tears falling like a stream.
"Ugh, my money… If I’d known, I would’ve taken it bit by bit…."
And there she goes, crying again.
"Now what…? I don’t even have money for cake… It’s the money I earned with all that hard work…."
"Wipe your tears, Student Sophie."
Hindrasta wiped her eyes with the tissue Ismera handed her and then suddenly looked at me.
"Help me."
"Me?"
"You promised to help me. You said after the competition, you’d help me get my money."
"Yeah, I remember. I think I heard that too."
"Me too."
Merilda and Knightley agreed.
I was already thinking about what I could do to help Hindrasta get her money back.
The first step would be to visit the headquarters in Reblanc.
I needed to hear more details there to determine if we could get her money or if we needed to explore another option.
After all, Hindrasta was one of my students, and I had to help her resolve her difficulties.
Though she did attack me first, I still brought her to the academy, so I had a responsibility here.
"Let’s eat, and then we’ll head to Reblanc. Sound good?"
"Really!? Wait, um…."
When Hindrasta trailed off, I realized what she meant and chuckled.
"This time, it’ll just be you and me."
She was probably scared of running into Linus again, like last time.
This seemed to make her feel a little better, as Hindrasta stopped crying and started eating.
Merilda, who was watching her with a satisfied smile, suddenly asked.
"But Professor, why are you and the Vice-Headmaster out here together?"
"Yeah, I’m curious too. You don’t usually wear clothes like that, do you?"
Knightley said, pointing at Ismera’s dress.
"We came to buy Miss Olysia a gift."
Ismera answered without hesitation.
"During the competition, she prepared vegetarian late-night snacks for me every night and helped me in various other ways. Miss Olysia’s contributions were a big part of why our academy won first place. Since Professor Dian and Miss Olysia were already planning an outing, I decided to join them."
"Oh, I see. Now that I think about it, I should do something for Olysia too."
Knightley nodded, quickly accepting Ismera\'s explanation.
But Merilda simply stared at Ismera without saying anything.
# # # # #
After lunch, Hindrasta and I decided to head back first.
The others said they’d stay a while longer and buy Olysia some more gifts.
I headed to the faculty’s single dormitory and pounded on Orendi’s door with my fist.
"Orendi! Are you in there?!"
After a moment, Orendi opened the door in casual clothes.
"Professor Dian? Sophie? What brings you here on a weekend afternoon?"
"Take us to Reblanc."
"Huh? Reblanc? Why do you need to go there all of a sudden?"
"We have to collect some money from the Reblanc Mercenary Group."
"What…?"
Ignoring Orendi’s confusion, I pressed him to open a dimensional gate to Reblanc.
Having a mage around to use as a means of transportation was certainly convenient.
As we landed right in front of the Reblanc Mercenary Group’s headquarters, I thought as much.
"Open up!"
Sophie ran up and pounded on the front doors.
"It’s Sophie! Give me my money!"
Soon, the door opened, and a young woman appeared.
"Sophie…? You traitor! Didn’t you run off to the academy?!"
"Traitor?! Who ran off?! Ask Dian over here!"
The woman, bewildered, looked down at Sophie and then turned her gaze to me.
After staring at me for a while, her eyes widened, and she let out a startled shout.
"Brother Dian?!"