The sea in my mouth
‘I’m self-centered···.’
Ugh. I licked my lips as I left the Foreign Guard headquarters. What can I do if I feel wronged? If I have to criticize, I have to criticize.
The main gate to Naesong was at the end of District 3. I headed to Naesong, impressed by the clean and straight stones on the road. However, despite the clean appearance, the smell of excrement lingered. Is it an inevitable instinct of these people to excrete on the roadside?
‘It was built high.’
The inner wall was more than half the height of the outer wall. There, I saw a guy sleeping on the top of the wall.
‘I’ll get paid a lot, but it won’t be fun.’
Since ancient times, the greatest advantage of the guards has been the pleasant communication with people, but sitting up high like that, it was clear that they would become a lighthouse isolated from the world.
There were four men in front of the inner gate. Two men were standing tensely, holding spears, while the other two were slightly behind them, leaning on one leg.
Unlike mine, which was made of leather, their armor was lined with iron, and judging by the uneven color, it seemed like poor-quality iron had been hastily put on.
The area in front of the castle was deserted.
The two guys in front are unfamiliar faces, but the ones behind them look familiar. I approach them, waving my hand.
“stop!!!”
Of the two guys in front, the one on the right shouted and aimed his spear. He must have been so excited that the spear almost got stuck in his neck.
The guy on his left jumped in surprise, and the man with the bushy brown beard behind him, Rayam, came running out of breath.
“Please state your identity and purpose… Hey!!”
“Youngest! I told you not to yell. How many times do I have to tell you! Ha… You idiot.”
“Ha… but I definitely told you to do it like this….”
The man who was hit in the back of the head muttered as if it was unfair, and then another man grabbed him by the nape of the neck and dragged him backwards.
“Rayam, it’s been a while.”
I took my hand off the sword hilt and greeted him. If I had gone in a little deeper, I almost pulled out my sword without realizing it.
“Oh, right, Aaron. Isn’t there still time until the end?”
“Our captain told us to go here.”
I felt embarrassed and answered while scratching my beard. It felt just like when I was called to the principal’s office in school.
“What? Oh, then you made those mercenaries into idiots… hahaha! Of course, who else would do something so ignorant as you! Hahahaha! Jace! Come here! Aaron is the alien guard who made Nova angry!”
It was unpleasant to hear that I was ignorant from an ignorant medieval person, but I endured it because the person I was talking to was Rayam, who had helped me settle down in this castle. I thought I could endure it two more times.
“···Ahem.”
Jace turned his head away, trying hard not to hear. It was obvious he was still upset about the past.
“I told you, those guys were really dog-eat-dogs.”
“Haha! Of course you would! Even if you make up excuses to beat me, you’re not the type of person to beat me without a reason! Oh, Nova is in charge of the mercenaries, so you can just go to Nova.”
“Huh? Nova? Nova even manages mercenaries?!”
I was slightly surprised to hear the name ‘Nova’ come out of Rayam’s mouth.
Nova was originally the daughter of a maid, but because she could read and write, she worked for the lord.
Because his abilities were so outstanding, the lord would often entrust him with small tasks that he didn’t have to handle himself, so Nova always had bloodshot eyes, was nervous, and prickly.
She is a woman he would rather not meet than meet her…
“Well… Don’t you feel suffocated when you only have the security of Jace? Don’t you want to travel around the wide world and feel how small a human being is, and enjoy the freedom? For example, going to Vault Castle.”
“···Don’t talk nonsense. You commoner.”
Jace answered without even turning his head. Jace was the illegitimate child of a noble who turned out to be another, or in other words, the square of an illegitimate child, but he still believed that he was a noble and not a commoner.
He originally called everyone except nobles a commoner, but thanks to my education, that name was changed to commoner. Of course, the tone was the same, so it didn’t feel very good.
“Don’t worry! No matter how scary Nova is, he won’t eat you.”
“I’ll stab you to death.”
I wanted to punch Jace in the head, but I took a deep breath and held myself back. It wasn’t a good place to just punch him.
“Ah… Okay. I’ll go.”
“When you get back, let’s have a drink together! I found some good alcohol.”
I waved my hand at Rayam’s words heard from behind me.
I don’t know why, but Rayam’s promise to drink seemed like a distant memory.
***
Knock knock.
I knocked with as little force as possible and with a polite tone. The beat was so precise that politeness overflowed.
“Come in.”
Even though it was a simple statement, the voice was filled with irritation, and I couldn’t help but sigh.
[How to win a girl’s favor? Compliments. But if you just compliment her, you might end up getting her to dislike you. Women are very perceptive. You have to compliment her based on facts, but exaggerate them a few times… like a fancy cookie. For example, to that witchy squad leader… yikes!]
I tried to remember in my head what compliments I could give to a girl that would get a good response. However, nothing came to mind.
Praise based on facts···.
He muttered softly.
“Please come in.”
I opened the door, forcing a smile with the corners of my lips raised at the irritated voice I heard again.
Nova was visible across the desk, which was filled with yellow papers. Her glossy, dark orange hair was tied up tightly, and not a single strand was out of place, giving away her personality.
A pair of eyes full of nervousness glared at me. Even so, the quill pen, from which most of the feathers had fallen out, moved busily.
The eyes that were staring at me gradually narrowed, and the quill pen stopped. I swallowed without realizing it.
“It was you again?”
At the irritated voice, I quickly checked Nova’s various locations.
‘A compliment based on facts. But, like a fancy cookie that is inflated. Based on facts···.’
I racked my brain desperately to find some way to praise her. Eventually, I was able to pinpoint Nova’s distinct characteristics.
“Ah, Nova. Your head is really orange, just like a ripe orange. If you plant it in the ground right now, it will feed ten grown men and still have some leftovers…”
“···what?!”
Nova’s face relaxed in an instant. Although the emotions on his face seemed closer to confusion and bewilderment than joy or emotion, seeing that the anger that seemed ready to explode at any moment had disappeared, it could be said that he had achieved his goal.
“I’m going to have a headache if I talk to you, so just listen. The mercenary you beat up is a mercenary we hired as a porter and escort for the carriage we send to Bolt Castle.”
Nova sighed softly and said, pressing her temples.
“It might sound like I’m evading responsibility if I say this now, but those mercenaries were really bad for sending to Vault Castle. If I had sent them as they were, there would have definitely been an accident. In some ways, you could say I earned some credit for it…”
“Just shut up and listen. I didn’t call you here to judge right from wrong. You’re not the type of person with the manners to listen to me in the first place.”
“Liberal arts?! Huh… This woman. I even received higher education at a university, which is called the ivory tower of knowledge….”
“Shut up! Anyway, go and replace the two mercenaries you knocked down. Once you’re done, I’ll give you the commission for the two mercenaries.”
My mouth was itching, but I held it back because I felt like if I said even one more word, that quill pen would fly at me.
What if I was innocent? If everyone else said they were wrong, I had to accept it. That was the way life was in society. The timing wasn’t right for justice to be enforced.
“Okay. When are you leaving?”
“today.”
“···?”
Nova seemed to think his business was over, so he looked back at the yellow paper and moved his quill pen busily.
‘Ignorant and unplanned medieval bastards.’
I was dumbfounded by that, so I opened my mouth, but then I realized that if I said more, I would only hear an irritated voice, so I gave up.
‘I guess I’ll just get some fresh air.’
Although it was a bit early, it wasn’t a bad idea to visit Bolt Castle.
They said they would give me a commission for two mercenaries, so I thought it would be a good deal.
***
“···lol.”
“Hey, weasel.”
“I’m not a weasel… Dylan….”
“Hey, weasel.”
“···yes!”
“They call them the Steel Axe Trio, but how can steel be broken by punches and kicks swung for fun?”
“That… that’s what I mean! Weaklings!”
The weasel smiled awkwardly, revealing his missing front teeth.
“Where are those kids? If you hit them in the opposite direction, it’ll be okay.”
“Huh?! Oh, those guys are breaking the contract and going to the permanent residence···”
The weasel muttered, but he realized that he would never see the two of them again. That was the way it was with contracts with nobles. It didn’t matter if something happened along the way or if a natural disaster occurred. If it wasn’t completed, it was over. There would just be a grave with an excuse.
‘Ignorant medieval bastards.’
I clicked my tongue and looked around. The carriage was ready to depart. There were quite a few mercenaries, about 15 in all, standing around the carriage.
‘What on earth is it?’
In the first place, it was strange that they had hired mercenaries separately, but there were far more people than expected. Including soldiers and janitors, there seemed to be around thirty people.
No one would touch a carriage with the emblem of a nobleman unless they were crazy. In addition, the area between Bolt Castle and Cassadic was cleaned regularly, so no monsters appeared, so there was little threat.
Up until then, there had only been a few soldiers, carriage drivers, and odd jobs, but this time there were several times as many. It was clear that something was going on.
“Hey, weasel.”
“Huh?! I… definitely didn’t swear!”
The weasel made an excuse in surprise. When I squinted my eyes at him, I found it funny how he trembled.
“Do you know what’s in that carriage?”
“That··· That···.”
I asked casually since I didn’t think he would know, but the weasel seemed strangely hesitant. Does this useless guy know?
“With such tight security, I wonder if something important was lost? Aaah!!”
I couldn’t stand it anymore and hit the weasel on the back of the head.
‘No.’
Just in case, I hit it again in the opposite direction.
The weasel, full of resentment, opened its mouth, but soon turned its gaze away as if swallowing it.
“depart!!”
A loud voice came from ahead. At this, two soldiers on horseback on either side of the carriage raised high the flag bearing the Cassadick family crest.
Soon the horses tied to the carriage began to move slowly forward. They were followed by carts loaded with squires and luggage, and the mercenaries were at the very back. I was at the back of the mercenaries.
After passing through the inner gate, I entered the 3rd district and soon passed the 5th district. People on the street knelt and bowed their heads as they looked at the carriage. Among them, I saw a familiar face.
“Go fuck yourself!”
The guy I was teasing while changing shifts laughed and shouted.
‘Is this why we should live a good life?’
I felt sick to my stomach for no reason.
***
The soldiers kept up a fairly fast pace because they were on horseback. The mercenaries, on the other hand, had to keep up an almost running pace.
The carriage stopped just as the weasel was gurgling. The sun was just past mid-day and was slightly slanted.
I don’t know about anything else, but these guys here are like ghosts when it’s time to eat. If they’re doing something and suddenly stop, it means it’s time to eat.
The soldiers checked the condition of the horses, and the servants worked diligently to build a fire and place a huge cauldron on top of it.
The mercenaries helped with such chores, or some were dragged away by the soldiers to patrol the area. The weasel and I crouched down out of sight next to the cart and caught our breath.
Soon, a delicious smell wafted through the air, and one of the servants called the people over. Then I saw two women who looked like maids heading towards the carriage with stew in fancy-looking plates.
‘It wasn’t an object, but a person? If it was a person, why would they mobilize this many people…’
I scratched my nose with my finger, as if I could smell the secret’s characteristic musty smell.
“Brother, shouldn’t we eat too?”
The sight of mercenaries gathered around a giant cauldron seemed to indicate that they were worried that there would be no food if they arrived late.
“You eat it.”
The weasel noticed my answer, got up from its seat, and ran to the food distribution area.
“Ha …, brick bastard.”
When he took the bread Brick had given him out of his pocket, he couldn’t help but curse at the strong fishy smell. Brick’s mother was from the Brighton Kingdom across the sea, and because of that, she mainly cooked fish. Apparently, the Brighton Kingdom guys had no sense of taste. Or something broken.
The appearance of the bread laden with pickled fish was truly miserable. It was a sight that would not be lacking even if it were eaten by the devils in hell.
Even I knew this taste because I had experienced it once before. As the saying goes, familiar tastes are dangerous, so I was afraid of this bread.
I took a deep breath and took a big bite. The fishy smell filled my mouth in an instant, making me worry if the fish was still alive, followed by a salty taste. The ocean literally spread out in my mouth.
‘Real brick dog fuck.’
Tears welled up in my eyes. My body strongly resisted this horrible thing, but I swallowed it with superhuman endurance. I was full after just one bite.
“Brother, have you seen this? Wow… In my twenty-year life, I’ve never seen a stew with this much meat in it. And the smell is so fragrant… Eww! What is that smell?!”
The weasel returned with a smiling face, sniffed around, then suddenly screamed and backed away. Then, after looking at me, he sat down three steps behind me and started eating the stew.
It was so delicious that I wanted to pull out another one right away to balance out my front teeth.
“I’ve never tasted such a delicious stew in my life. I heard that things weren’t going well at Castle Cassadick, but I guess it was just a rumor.”
“Aren’t all the other places just throwing a piece of bread? If Cassadic Castle goes to war later, I’ll definitely go.”
‘···Fucking Middle Ages.’
I took another big bite while listening to the exclamations of admiration from the surrounding mercenaries.
Once again, the ocean spread out in my mouth, and tears welled up in my eyes. I made a firm resolution to myself that I would never go to the Brighton Kingdom.
