How to Live as a Wandering Knight

The lies one tells oneself become a trap.

ㅤ

Gamson hesitated, stalling for time. But as he thought about it, he became increasingly drawn to the plan.

ㅤ

The atmosphere among the mercenaries wasn’t great anyway.

ㅤ

Unbeknownst to Gamson, Goran planned to punish him as soon as he returned to the city. The mercenaries were not so lenient as to overlook someone so audaciously climbing the ranks.

ㅤ

Although Gamson didn’t expect to be punished, he sensed the unfavorable atmosphere. Being treated like a novice and even fighting with the khan. . .

Perhaps it would be better to make a fortune and flee.

ㅤ

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵. 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺.’

ㅤ

If I steal everything I can and flee, how could a mere wandering knight dastard catch up? The Yeats family wasn’t even from around here.

ㅤ

While Gamson hesitated, the townspeople had already made a plan.

ㅤ

“Just pack up and steal the knight dastard’s sword, then run away.”

ㅤ

“What if our families get angry? What if they chase us?”

ㅤ

“We have the vigilantes. At most, they’ll curse us and blame us. What can he do? We’ll have to ride horses in case he chases us.”

ㅤ

“Let’s steal and ride the knight dastard’s horse.”

ㅤ

“Great! I’ll help you out.”

ㅤ

Gamson made a decision, cheered on by the other youths.

ㅤ

“That knight dastard must have a lot of money. We should steal that too. Who’s the lightest among us?”

ㅤ

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

ㅤ

The plan was simple.

ㅤ

As night fell, the nimble and skilled Burren would pretend to be friendly and enter the inn, heading to the knight’s room. Then, he’d open the door and take everything he could, including the sword.

ㅤ

Then, he would join the others waiting at the stables and escape the town. Pell and Pra seemed confident, having apparently brought a horse from somewhere.

ㅤ

“We’ll split into pairs on the two horses and escape. Let’s sell everything in the city and split the money.”

ㅤ

“Gamson’s our Captain. We trust you.”

ㅤ

“Ha ha ha. Just trust me. Mercenary work isn’t easy, but I’ll teach you well.”

ㅤ

Gamson laughed. He could ditch these three in the city when the right opportunity arose.

ㅤ

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨?’

ㅤ

‘𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺.’

ㅤ

The somewhat clever Burren signaled the other two with his eyes. Although inexperienced, Burren was cunning. Heading to the city, unknown and unvisited by these novices, was risky. They needed Gamson, even if he was unlucky, as a guide.

ㅤ

“Wait. I’ll go in.”

ㅤ

“Be careful. If you wake the knight dastard, we’re screwed.”

ㅤ

“Got it, got it.”

ㅤ

As he casually responded and was about to enter, Gamson grabbed Burren’s arm.

ㅤ

“Answer properly. If we wake the knight dastard, we’re all in danger.”

ㅤ

“I said I got it, didn’t I? And stop acting like a coward.”

ㅤ

“What??”

ㅤ

“This is our town. Even if he wakes up, he can’t do much.”

ㅤ

The youths of the town were reminiscing about a self-proclaimed knight, a wandering mercenary who had visited before. This was their town, and even if they caused trouble, outsiders couldn’t complain much. In this world, power was the law.

ㅤ

Gamson, naive and inexperienced, couldn’t fathom the town folks’ absurd thinking.

ㅤ

A knight wouldn’t dare act recklessly?

ㅤ

He couldn’t understand their delusion. If the opponent was of noble birth, these mere town folks wouldn’t matter; they could be killed on the spot. No noble would stand idle if a serf dared to rise above their station.

ㅤ

A vigilante group?

ㅤ

What a joke. Any sensible townsperson would kneel at the first sign of a noble’s wrath, fearing their entire town could be wiped out if they dared to oppose a noble.

ㅤ

What about the owner of this town, the Count?

ㅤ

If the Count hears it he will likely become enraged and stain this town with his weariness. It’s absurd that even though this is his own town, the serfs looted the nobility’s belongings and fought. That was a disgrace to the nobility.

ㅤ

But these fools were saying things like, “Because this is our town, the knights can’t act recklessly,” with an arrogant tone.

ㅤ

‘𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴?’

ㅤ

“Come on. Captain Gamson. Burren is confident, so he acts like that. If he really wants something, he goes for it.”

ㅤ

“. . .Alright, just be really careful.”

ㅤ

Gamson finished his meal. He had never imagined feeling the same way as a seasoned mercenary like a Khan when he was being addressed by him.