I Became the Commander in a Trash Game Who Copies Skills

Chapter 38. Secret Mission (1)

‘The goal of the punitive expedition against the Vampire Duke, you mean?’

‘Yes.’

Last night.

After checking the makeshift graves and returning, I asked Olif.

‘It won’t be just one.’

‘Tell me everything you’re thinking.’

‘Ostensibly, it’s the punishment of the traitor and the recovery of lost territory.’

‘Then what’s the hidden intention?’

‘…I believe it’s to keep the anti-imperial faction in check.’

A slightly more cautious voice.

It’s probably because it’s related to the Emperor.

Anyway, Olif’s thoughts were the same as mine.

Around the time the war was first announced, I had judged that there were three main goals of the war.

The punishment of the traitor and the recovery of territory.

Revenge for the Pewin family’s grudge and what happened to his granddaughter, Alina.

And strengthening the imperial authority.

‘Actually, the last one is the key. In that sense, ending the war now feels a bit premature.’

The declaration of the end of the war that came from the command this morning.

To summarize that long-winded statement, it would be as follows.

First, Just getting Wolfskrig is a huge gain compared to the investment.

Second. We have annihilated the forces of Count Calvenia who launched a counterattack.

Although there was internal strife, Count Calvenia was still the second-in-command who commanded the second-largest force on the Duke's side.

The command’s story is that since we have defeated such a powerful force, the strategic objective has been sufficiently achieved.

There were also quite a few casualties, so it’s a good time to take a break rather than continue the offensive.

Well, it’s not wrong.

A battle and a war are different.

A battle is decided in a single engagement, but the result of a war is the accumulation of victories and defeats over several engagements.

However, as I said, the punitive expedition itself is only one of the goals of this war.

It’s probably right to stop because the results are sufficient.

What’s important here is which objective’s results have been achieved.

If only one objective had been achieved, would they have stopped the war?

‘You’re saying that they must have dealt a sufficient blow to the anti-imperial faction.’

‘Yes.’

‘Come to think of it, I heard the provision merchants who came to Wolfskrig talking about new regulations being established. I think I heard something similar from my family’s people before the sortie.’

Weakening internal resistance forces under the pretext of an external threat is a strategy with a long history and tradition, regardless of time or place.

When I played as the Emperor of the Empire, I also frequently used a similar strategy.

To be cautious in my judgment, I had old man Brol, who has good people skills, give some information fees to a few merchants and ask them about various things while he was establishing the mercenary band.

As a result, I heard that during the preparation process for this punitive expedition, various regulations and taxes began to be imposed on the nobles.

And these regulations, as is often the case, were applied more strongly to some special products or in specific cases.

The list of regulated items the merchant told me about were mainly special products produced in the territories of the anti-imperial faction nobles.

“…….”

I’m starting to see the big picture.

Ending the war probably means that the anti-imperial faction’s power has been sufficiently weakened.

Conversely, from the anti-imperial faction’s perspective, it means that their position is at a critical point.

Will they bow down to the Emperor meekly?

I don’t think so.

The leader of the anti-imperial faction is Marquis Ricardo.

Because he is a person who never backs down easily.

If the cornered Marquis struggles, the backlash will be quite strong.

The problem is that the timing of that is unknown.

By now, the invisible dice of the luck-based shitshow game must be rolling once again.

Perhaps.

Just perhaps, the Marquis' struggle has already begun.

According to the information I obtained from Count Calvenia while acting as Tribus….

It seems Marquis Ricardo and the cult have already completed most of their preparations.

“Oh, thanks to you, a lot of customers are coming. Thank you.”

A woman who seemed to be the owner of the pub brought out some snacks.

Chewing on nuts like peanuts, I watched the line of applicants gradually shrink.

Come to think of it, if I had to nitpick, am I not also on the pro-imperial side in this playthrough?

Because the Viscount is pro-imperial, and I was hired by the Viscount.

Personally, too, I think it’s better for the Emperor to rule than for the Empire to fall into the hands of the anti-imperial faction.

Because regardless of his humanity, he is a capable person.

Marquis Ricardo, the leader of the anti-imperial faction, is also a member of the cult.

The cult is an enemy of humanity.

There is no room for disagreement on this point.

“Let me ask you one thing. If I line up here, can I work with Captain Ash, who was so active this time?”

“That’s right! And it’s Leader Ash. As of today, it’s not the Ash Mercenary Company, but the Ash Mercenary Band! Uahahaha!”

Anyway, I’m also enjoying the benefits of the war ending quite a bit.

The area around Wolfskrig, where the end of the war was declared, has entered a stabilization phase.

The Imperial army began to exchange payment vouchers for gold coins, and the mercenaries became unemployed people with a lot of money.

With their accumulated desires, most of them would have spent their time drinking and playing.

For a day or two, that would have been the case.

“A mercenary band… I’ll apply. I’m not going to play around for the rest of my life. I have to seize the opportunity when it comes.”

“A wise decision!”

Now it’s the fourth day.

It’s a time when they are getting tired of playing.

On top of that, the end of the war was suddenly announced.

Since the wealthy employer, the Empire, has disappeared, it’s a natural result that mercenaries looking for their next job would pour out.

In the midst of that, the mercenary captain who showed legendary performance in the last battle and defeated Count Calvenia, who is said to be chosen by God, has established a mercenary band and is recruiting new members.

Well, wouldn’t this look like an opportunity that fell from the sky?

Perhaps because of that, not only the number of applicants but also their abilities were quite different from before.

“Do you accept gunmen?”

“Of course. The Captain, no, the Leader will be pleased. Write it down as a specialty on your application.”

A precious gunman mercenary.

“Excuse me, are you Squad Leader Karen?”

“Yes.”

“I’m also from a ranger background… I was just so happy to see you….”

“Oh my, please make sure to write that down as a specialty. I’ll keep it in mind.”

An archer from a ranger background like Karen.

“Leader Ash, do you accept groups?”

“You must be the leader of the Blue Flower Mercenary Company. How many are you?”

“…Five, including myself. Half died and six left.”

“I see. My condolences.”

Even those who were formally employed and active as a mercenary company are now out looking for jobs.

For reference, the number of mercenary deaths in this war reached a staggering six hundred.

Almost a quarter of them died.

I heard that with the large number of casualties, there were many cases of people leaving their existing teams, or the teams themselves disbanding.

There were also quite a few people who quit the mercenary business altogether.

However, the reality is that it’s difficult for someone who has lived by the sword to suddenly do another job.

The fact that applicants are overflowing on the first day of recruitment is probably also due to this reality.

“We’ll try to accept you together as much as possible. However, you may be in different squads depending on your specialty.”

“Thank you.”

Of course, I don’t intend to accept too large a group.

Because it would be troublesome if factions were to form within the mercenary band.

The long line finally disappeared in the late afternoon.

The last applicant was an Imperial soldier who had been discharged at the end of this battle.

Besides them, there were also sales representatives from merchant companies who came to try and strike a supply contract after hearing the news of the establishment of a new mercenary band, but I told them to talk about it next time and sent them away.

“How many applicants in total?”

“…It seems to be close to eighty.”

Olif, holding a thick stack of resumes, scratched his temple.

Eighty in one day.

That’s a lot.

After telling the three squad leaders and the squad members who had worked hard all day to order whatever they wanted to eat, I sat down at a side table.

Sipping a glass of beer, I made plans for the future.

The war is over.

Still, the army will be stationed here for a while.

Wolfskrig is a city just retaken from the Vampire Duke.

Not only does it need maintenance and repair of its dilapidated facilities, but it also requires a considerable level of force for public security.

I had old man Brol ask around and found out that they have started sending immigrants with various benefits as bait for stabilization….

The army will probably withdraw around the time the first wave of immigrants has settled in.

A month at the shortest.

A season at the longest, I suppose.

‘Come to think of it, I have about four months left on my formal employment contract with Viscount Pewin.’

The conclusion is that I have to stay put in Wolfskrig for a while.

It was a leisure given at an appropriate time.

A month is enough time to train the new members of the mercenary band and reorganize the supply and administrative systems.

The mercenary band headquarters building also has many places that need repair.

For reference, the headquarters building is the barracks we are currently using.

The Emperor threw it in as a gift along with the authority to establish a mercenary band.

For now, I’ll spend tomorrow slowly looking through the resumes, and it would be appropriate to hold interviews the day after.

I started to skim through the resumes in advance.

Just then, someone entered the pub.

“Sir Ash is here!”

Shining plate armor.

It’s Andarin.

“Oh, there you are! I was looking for you because you weren’t at the barracks.”

“Sir Andarin.”

“It seems this is a better place anyway. There are many witnesses watching!”

The old paladin greeted me with his usual rough hug.

By the way, a better place?

What is he talking about?

As I stood still, not understanding the meaning, Andarin took out a gorgeously decorated scroll.

Opening the scroll and clearing his throat, he said in a voice that echoed throughout the pub.

“Sir Ash, having protected Wolfskrig according to Luark’s will, and having glorified the name of Luark and the Imperial Church by defeating the traitor Count Calvenia with the power of faith….”

“……?”

“I hereby appoint you as an honorary paladin.”

The inn fell silent for a moment.

Soon, cheers erupted.

“Woooooah!”

“Ash! Ash!”

“The Captain is a paladin now?! That’s so fucking cool!”

Old man Brol shouted in excitement.

I had no choice but to buy another round of beer.

The cheers grew louder.

Andarin chuckled and continued to read the appointment letter in a voice half-drowned out by the noise.

It was basically a long-winded expansion of the introductory content, praising my achievement of defeating the wicked traitor and heretic, Calvenia, and widely representing the grace of Luark.

“Sir Ash, congratulations. And….”

The pub, which had become noisy again due to the free beer.

Handing me the appointment letter, Andarin whispered in my ear.

“I have come to deliver a secret mission from the church to you.”

So this is the main point.

I had thought that having a precious person like a paladin search for me all day couldn’t be just for an appointment letter.

“In your hometown city, Gunterburk, there is an important object of the Imperial Church.”

“An object?”

“A black-painted wooden box. The contents are an amulet with golden writing on red paper.”

“…….”

“You seem to be contemplating. It’s only natural. You are the leader of a mercenary band, and a fine leader who cares a lot for his members.”

I think there’s a slight misunderstanding.

I’m not contemplating because of the mercenary band.

The thing that Andarin just mentioned, the important object of the church….

Because I know what it is.

‘Kashutal’s Amulet.’

Tribus' unique item.

One that is not unworthy of the name ‘cheat item’.

* * *

‘It’s alright if you refuse. However, if you accept, the Imperial Church will express its deep gratitude to you.’

Andarin said so and left.

It probably wasn't an empty promise.

Because the Imperial Church is overflowing with manpower.

However, since it’s a rare precedent for an outsider to be appointed as a paladin, they probably want to establish a proper relationship with me.

‘There’s no justification to order me around since I haven’t made an enemy of the church. But they’d be greedy to just let me go. Are they thinking of maintaining a relationship of a client and a mercenary?’

Anyway, Andarin said to give him an answer by tomorrow.

I’ll have to think about this problem all night.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll postpone what needs to be done.

What needs to be done here is to review the resumes.

“…Leader, is this right? It doesn’t seem like it’s going to end.”

That Sir Andarin left a considerable aftermath in the pub and left.

Perhaps because I had acquired the title of a paladin mercenary band leader….

Forty more applicants showed up by the time the inn was closing.

Thanks to that, the squad leaders are working overtime with me.

“One hundred and twenty. One hundred and twenty. There seemed to be about thirty who just went back. Are we really going to get about two hundred tomorrow? It’s good, but… I’m going to die buried in paper at this rate.”

“Don’t be a baby, old man. Bart over there is helping without a word of complaint. It’s not even his job.”

“Ah. I, that….”

“No, how can you compare me to him! He even went to college!”

…I need to buy earplugs as soon as possible.

For reference, Bart is the apprentice mercenary who was shivering on the wall.

The friend who was kicked in the shin by old man Brol for whining.

It turns out this friend was an incredible elite.

“I-I’m sorry….”

“Bart, there’s nothing to be sorry about. You know old man Brol’s personality. He’s just whining.”

He entered the Imperial University at the age of fourteen.

And graduated salutatorian at the early age of seventeen.

I don’t know why a kid like this is rolling around in the mercenary industry.

Anyway, thanks to this smart friend’s help, the resume review was going several times faster.

“Ah, by the way. I’m only saying this because there’s no one else around.”

Is his mouth itching again because it’s been quiet for a while?

Old man Brol scratched his bandit-like beard and said.

“I heard Marquis Ricardo is gathering an army.”

“Eh?”

“Ah?!”

“Are you serious?”

“What?”

“I heard he’s preparing a rebellion… Uh, why are you all so surprised?”

How can we not be surprised?

Did you say a rebellion?

No, that aside….

“Where did you hear that?”

How does the old man know that?