My Villains Episode 195
44. Dream (5)
The unexpected autumn rain knocked on the roof. There was a monotonous sound that sounded like beans being fried in oil.
The sound of heavy rain in late autumn, when a cool breeze blew, made those under the roof feel cozy.
Thanks to that, the tavern in a remote forest somewhere in the Guistol region was very peaceful. Most of the few customers settled down in the corner of the bar and lay down to sleep, while the other two were sipping beer while listening to the sound of rain.
In the meantime, the owner of the tavern moved his feet busily.
“Patience.”
The old man with a shaggy beard grumbled softly as he brought an old wooden barrel to the rainwater leak.
“It was only four days ago that the roof was newly installed, but it was raining. It’s a matter of fantasizing.”
“Can you tell me? I put it on to block the rain anyway.”
Jang-han appeared, rolling an oak barrel filled with beer.
“And when I looked at them while laying them down, they weren’t usually tough guys. It will be fine.”
“If it gets wet in the rain before it dries properly, even the toughest silver grass will quickly deteriorate.”
The old man clicked his tongue as he caught rainwater leaking into another wooden barrel.
“To last a year,
you have to soak it in dew and dry it in the sun for 15 days.”
“It looks like passing rain, but won’t it stop soon? And if you feel uncomfortable, go up to the ridge and cut some more pampas grass.”
“I went up the mountain for no reason to meet a monster. Now that it’s getting colder, maybe a hippo griff or a bear man will come down.”
“Ugh, my father is very worried.”
Janghan gave a small giggle as he lifted a large oak barrel onto the bar at once.
“A nobleman who sells in a remote forest would use it if he was scared of that bear man, huh?”
“Shut up and see what your little brothers are doing. He asked me to bring some leather and blankets, but there is still no news.”
As soon as he had finished his words, the door to the tavern opened. There were three men who appeared like that, but all of them were big and looked like brothers.
The old man was about to stop looking at his three sons, but one of the car men opened his mouth, placing a pile of blankets on an empty table.
“The mercenaries are coming.”
“Mercenaries?”
“She was about twenty.”
As the second son said that and disappeared into the small room, the eldest son, who was standing at the bar, narrowed his eyes and asked his younger siblings.
“Twenty. which ones?”
“It’s not serious. The weapons are fine, and the magicians seem to be mixed in.”
The three men tossed the slightly wet skins in the corner and picked up an ax with a long handle.
The eldest son scratched the back of his head and shouted at those lying in the corner.
“Hey guests! You should wake up and see.”
“…Ah what?”
“Because some mercenaries are here. Just in case you don’t know, please stay awake for a while.”
The party that came to the bar first were merchants from the west. As expected of those traveling through the mountains to and from the plateau, the merchants were all armed.
His brothers stood behind the bar as the second son, with a sword at his waist, came out of the room with a crossbow. Weapons such as axes and maces were well hidden.
The older man, the father of the brothers and owner of the bar, pulled a chair in front of the bar and gestured to his youngest son as he sat down.
“Give me a Kegon beer.”
“Yes Father.”
A young man called Kegon used a small mallet to drive a brass spigot into an oak barrel. As the thick beer filled the tin cup, he scooped out some of the foam with a wide wooden stick and handed it to the old man.
“nice.”
By the time the old man drank beer and emptied half of his glass in one go.
The monotonous sound of the rain changed into complex variations. It is because of the heavy footsteps mixed in.
hold on for a while
The wooden door opened wide with a rattling sound. A group of people that appeared like that came to a halt as they stampeded across the threshold.
“Welcome.”
The old man spoke while sifting the beer from his beard.
“What did you come for?”
There was silence for a while.
A dozen mercenaries entered the tavern. All of them were large and well-armed.
The mercenaries, stopped by the strange tension flowing through the bar, could not answer the old man’s feminine greeting for a while.
In the meantime, a ponytailed man with an iron flail on his shoulder stepped forward.
“…Hmm, that’s a stupid question.”
He laughed wildly and sarcastically.
“I came to the bar to drink and rest. What must have been the reason, old man?”
“Oh is that so? They were guests.”
Although mercenaries with formidable faces swarmed in front of them, the old man remained calm.
“If so, where are the guests from?”
“Should I even say that?”
“These are the rules of Oressa Tavern. It is also my pastime.”
“Shut up and bring me some hot food and beer. I have no intention of fitting in with the old man’s pastime.”
At the growl of the ponytail mercenary, a woman with short hair among the mercenaries made an annoyed expression.
“Shut up, Fritz.”
“what?”
“If you want to fight like a cockfight, go back to the empire and become a gladiator.”
“…under. Are you done talking?”
The woman, taller than most men, rolled her eyes and twisted her mouth.
“I said everything, you bastard. What do you want?”
“This orc bitch.”
A voice came from the back of the car where the other mercenaries were trying to stop them.
“What are you doing not going in?”
With that voice, someone entered the tavern.
The tall young man, one head taller than the other mercenaries, was handsome at first glance, but somehow gave off a cold atmosphere because of his cool eyes.
“Oh look out of the way.”
The mercenaries gathered at the entrance rushed out of the way at the tone mixed with irritation. The young man stepped forward and pulled the black half-cloak to dry it.
“Isn’t there even a stable keeper here? Why is no one coming out?”
The grumbling young man wore a polished breastplate, a luxurious belt, a long sword, and long boots. For some reason, the old man said with a thoughtful look at his unusual appearance and outfit.
“Please excuse me. Our tavern does not entertain guests until they reveal their name and origin.”
At that, the young man who was shaking off his cloak asked with a confused expression.
“…is the old man the boss here?”
“CEO?”
“So you’re the owner?”
“exactly.”
“O” ◎ .
The young man swiped the rainwater off his head and shoulders and opened his mouth.
“My name is Phoenix, a knight from Lazil, Ireland. These guys are the mercenaries I hired.”
“…You must be a knight.”
As the old man tried to get up from his chair, the young man waved his hand.
“Okay, don’t call me that. I feel like I’ve become a bad guy when I hear that from an elderly person like the elderly.”
Phoenix, a young man who said something difficult for an old man to understand, shrugged his shoulders and said.
“Anyway, is it okay now? As you can see, it rained quite a bit on the way home, so I want to rest.”
“Oh, of course. but.” The old man wet his dry lips and continued.
“The space is a bit narrow for the whole party to come in.”
“…it doesn’t look very narrow. I think there will be more than 30.”
“It is the rule of Oressa Tavern not to receive more than thirty customers at a time.”
“It’s a strange rule.”
“If you use a small space, you get into trouble. If there is a fight in a remote place like this, it is likely to become a knife fight.”
“Uh n ■司三
“Besides, there seemed to be a lot of people in Nari’s party who had a raging personality.”
At that, Phoenix looked back at the mercenaries. The stern faces turned their heads to and fro, avoiding their gaze. It was a very funny scene.
“Are you Fritz?”
“…No Sir. I-”
Fritz, a ponytailed man with a flail, was about to make an excuse, but someone else walked out from behind the group.
Black hair as fine as silk, eyes like black pearls, red lips contrasting with white skin…
It was a woman who entered with her hood turned back. very beautiful woman
Not only the old man, but also his sons and merchants from the west looked blank when they saw the peerless beauty who suddenly appeared.
“Isn’t it from ‘Oak Deli’?”
“……yes?”
“Cheese.”
The woman pointed to the shelf at the back of the bar. To be precise, it was a large piece of cheese sitting in the middle of the shelf.
“…you’re right. It’s Oak Deli cheese.”
“What kind of dish do you use it for?”
“I’m making a roll pie.”
“Roll pie?”
“yes.”
As the woman blinked quietly, the old man opened his mouth unconsciously.
“… It is made by baking flour dough, melting cheese on it, and sprinkling roasted sesame seeds and honey.” Heyla, a woman standing in front of the bar, passing by the old man, took out a silver coin and said,
“It will be delicious. One please.”
“…Um, miss. As I already said, our tavern is”
“No.”
Heila took out a handful of gold coins and laid them on the bar.
“Give me the number of twenty-two people.”
After exchanging glances with his four sons for a moment, the old man sighed and nodded.
Heila sat down at the biggest table in the tavern and looked at Phoenix. She blinked as if asking what she was doing.
“Poy sit here.”
Phoenix smiled bitterly and scratched his eyebrows.
With the new party all settled down, the spacious Oressa Tavern somehow felt cramped.
Fritz, a ponytailed mercenary, grumbled at the roll pie with an uncomfortable face.
The special roll pie at Oressa Bar had a savory yet sweet taste.
But Fritz couldn’t enjoy the taste comfortably. This is because Phoenix was sitting on the left and Utequai was sitting on the right.
‘I’ll pretend, X-arm.’
Fritz couldn’t help but feel unfair. It was because of his situation that he was treated as if he was a group of troublemakers at some point.
‘Honestly, there are people who are worse than me, right? Umberta and Dervish, those two years, and Gidon are formidable jerks.’
As he grumbled inwardly, a middle-aged man came to the table. It was the head of the merchants who came to the tavern first.
“Could you excuse me for a minute?”
W Woo“
Phoenix, who had been muttering, took a sip of beer and asked back.
“What is going on?”
“I’m a merchant from the west, and I have news you might want to hear.”
“….. ♦ sit down.”
“thank you.”
A middle-aged merchant who took a seat between the mungchi and mosis opened his mouth with a smile.
“I have heard the story of Sir.”
“my story?”
“Ah, it’s because the ports we mainly go to are the ports in the southern part of the West. It’s a place like ‘Vitian’ in ‘Albiveton’ or ‘Auduenne’ in ‘Abyden’. Thanks to that, I often heard the news of South Harbor.”
As if to prove his point, he gave nicknames such as Blood Beacon Decapitator, Red Bear, Witch of Fire. When the merchant’s words seemed to be getting longer, Phoenix frowned.
“What do you want to say?”
“Ah that. On my way through the highlands, I did some business with a mercenary.”
“Mercenaries?”
“yes. I hear that the mercenary commander has a relationship with the Lord.”
Phoenix asked with a puzzled expression.
“What is the captain’s name?”
“This is Grania. Do you know?”
Phoenix’s eyes widened at the merchant’s words.
“Grania? Grania, who is good at using shields and swords from the North?”
“Oh you know?”
“of course. We did a few things together.”
Phoenix did not hide his delight and asked a question.
“Yeah, I heard you were going west. How’s Grania? Arnal and Farrell Sister Olga?”
“Well, I’m not sure about the other three. The only thing I know is Abil, the supply manager of the mercenaries, and Grania-nim, the captain.”
“Oh yeah? It seems that the size of the mercenary army has grown considerably since there is a supply manager?”
“Sure. In terms of size, it’s about as big as one of Prince Ulkar’s mercenaries. The number of members will be approximately one hundred and fifty.”
“One hundred and fifty? so much?”
Phoenix tilted his head.
“for a moment. Then how many mercenaries does Prince Ulkar have in total?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I heard that there are around 1,000 people.”
“……what?”
Seeing the other party’s surprised expression, the merchant continued talking as if he was having fun.
“You are surprised at only a thousand mercenaries. Prince Ulkar has absorbed the army of the Marquis Landry and other nobles, and there are over 2,000 regular troops under his command.”
Ellen, who had been quietly listening to the story, opened her mouth slightly.
“Then the total number of troops is 3,000?”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s about it.”
“under. You said that you gathered such a large army when you already had hatred for the king?”
“I couldn’t help it. Isn’t it that urgent?”
“Urgent situation?”
“Oh, haven’t you heard?”
The merchant raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded.
“Well, I guess the word hasn’t reached this side yet. the obvious.” “What do you mean by that? Is this news?”
The merchant stiffened his face at Phoenix’s request.
“’The King of Death’. In the end, it crossed the bay of the blade.”
“…The King of Death.”
Phoenix muttered as if moaning.
“You know the King of Death, right? A fearsome necromancer with an uncountable number of undead.”
“…yes I know. I even heard that it was sweeping the empire. Did he somehow cross the edge of the blade?”
“yes. According to the last news I heard, they occupied the province of Abiden and put pressure on the highlands. Prince Ulkar and his army are isolated on the plateau, awaiting outside support.”
The merchant clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“It was so urgent that they asked for help from the Hongui Bishops of the ‘Cult of Calandari’.”
“Is the Prince of Milanol asking for help from the Cult of Calandari?” Fritz, a ponytailed mercenary, burst out laughing.
“Doesn’t Milanol treat the Cult of Calandari as a heresy?”
“Well, strictly speaking, the kingdom of Milanol is not like that. It was the Patriarch of the Cult of El Ganore who declared Calandari a heretic, not His Majesty the King of Milanol.”
“Isn’t it a fact that everyone knows that a devout king licks the soles of the patriarch’s feet?”
The merchant made an awkward expression at Fritz’s rant.
“…Uh, you’re such a brave person.”
“Are you brave? what?”
“I didn’t expect anyone in the kingdom to say such a thing. Besides, the territory ruled by the king’s riders is just a few feet away…
At that warning, Fritz closed his mouth and took a sneak peek at the surroundings. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any loyalists from the King’s faction inside this bar.
“Then did the monster of the deep sea or something come over with the king of death?”
“Are you the priest of the deep sea?”
The merchant tilted his head at Phoenix’s question.
“That’s a name I’ve never heard of. The one who brought the fish-man monsters was called a different name.”
“Another name?”
“Yes, that-”
The merchant rolled his eyes for a moment before adding.
“Ah, like ‘The Witch of Hymns’.”
“A witch of hymns?”
“yes. It charms people with its angelic singing voice and makes them bow their necks in front of the undead and fish-men. It is very frightening
.”
Morse, the magic swordsman who had just swallowed a roll pie, widened his eyes.
“If it’s a song that charms people, is it a siren?”
“It won’t be a siren.”
The merchant shook his head.
“I heard that they don’t have wings or feathers. They look like normal people, but they also look like very beautiful women.”
“A beautiful beauty?”
The merchant lowered his upper body and lowered his voice.
“yes. Everyone goes crazy when they see her red hair and green eyes.”
Suddenly, there was the sound of metal falling.
Phoenix turned around to see Ellen, who missed the fork, with a pale face.
