After leaving the town of Evergreen Lake, some distance into an area where the arms control laws had failed, Henry and Mira armed themselves.

While it is true that Suomir was still much more peaceful than most of the others on the whole, it was the right thing to do when he traveled in the wilderness with his fangs and claws. Especially when there are young girls like Roan Girl in the team, this can make potential outlaws feel a little more suspicious and dispel the dirty thoughts that are about to move.

Kaleva followed in the same way, but the young man, who had only been on the shelves for two or three days, had obviously no idea about talismans. He stared at it for a long time, not knowing what to do with the two extra thin belts that came with the cheap soft leather sheath, so he presumptively ignored them and tucked the whole knife into the inside of his belt, according to his own guess.

In his simple mind, he had a vague intuition that his own approach was not quite right, but he didn't think about it because of his lack of knowledge, but according to his own imagination, he felt that wearing it like this would not be a big problem.

Wishful thinking immediately taught him a lesson as soon as he took the first step. The long gauntlet of the one-handed sword parrying tucked into the inside of his belt happened to be attached to his left lower abdomen. The stunned steel gauntlet slammed into his abdomen every time he moved. And the blade of the war knife went vertically, and he began to slap his own thigh when he took a step, which was also very embarrassing.

'It's a shame that the mercenaries can stand this awkward feeling'

I don't know if it's stubborn and can't open my mouth to ask, or if it's simple-minded and thinks this is the right thing to do, maybe both. In short, it took more than an hour for Galeva to walk in a daze against such discomfort, and only in a good fortune was that our Luoan girl looked back and saw this.

"Weapons must be tied to the outside...... "She held her forehead and was speechless, and Henry, who turned around, looked speechless.

"The sullen voice of the Suomirs is really inexplicable at times. So said the sage of Suomir, and Mira gave him a blank look.

The two who had stopped quickly dismounted, and then the sighing Roan girl walked up to Kaleva and drew the sword he had tied to his waist.

"Wow-" The swordsman who had been honed for years faced the fledgling porter, who looked flawed in front of Mira despite his physical superiority. The white-haired girl quickly grabbed the two thin leather straps from the Kaleva belt, then expertly tied two self-tightening knots, adjusted the length, and released her hand.

"Uh-this-" Kaleva immediately noticed the difference, and Mira mounted the knife at his waist horizontally almost horizontally, only at a slight angle. Instead of tucking directly into his belt, he was tied to the sheath with two thin straps, and the way he carried it out made it easy for him to move around his whole body without being caught by weapons.

"But you?" he looked down at his weapon hanging horizontally, and then at Mira and Henry's weapons hanging vertically on horseback, looking a little confused.

"Walking vertically will slap your thighs, and the end of the sheath will hit the ground. After getting on the horse, if it is hung horizontally, the body of the horse will be photographed, so the horse should be vertically on the horse's back, and the walking horse should be horizontal. Mira gave him a brief explanation, and then prepared to walk back on the horse.

But it was at this time that a dense sound of horses' hooves was heard in front of him, and then a group of heavily armored knights appeared in view.

They held their mounted spears with colourful banners tied to them, their armor glittering in the sunlight, and then glancing past the three men, the knight at the head suddenly reined in his horse. The sage, on the other hand, quickly pulled the cover under the saddle, obscuring the hilt of the greatsword.

"Huh—" The knight glanced up and down at the two of them, letting out a muffled sound of disdain, and the other knights next to him were not very good. It's just that they didn't go any further, staying for only two or three seconds before continuing to hurry.

After the flaming procession of knights, the sage silently re-pulled the cover, exposing the hilt of his sword.

Both he and Mira had their weapons mounted behind the left leg of their horses, a position where they could grab the hilt of their swords and fight on horseback with a slight bend and reach. The horses with steppe blood are slightly short in height, and their shoulder height is only 1.6 meters, and they have one-handed swords hanging on their bodies, and Mira's 1.2-meter-long long sword is also passable, but for Kramer, who has a total length of 1.5 meters, it is easy to bump into the debris on the ground when encountering a little rough terrain

Therefore, Henry's hanging method also has a certain angle of inclination, but this makes it more difficult for him to draw his sword. But in order to keep a low profile, and to hide in time when encountering such a situation, the sage still chose to hang on the back of the horse rather than on his back.

"How are they like—" Kaleva, who had little contact with the trade, noticed the noble knight's gaze, and he made a mocking voice visibly staring at the mercenary badges of the two.

"Do you want to say you're not on the right path with the mercenary?" said the sage, and the Kaleva chick nodded as if pecking rice.

"It's not a matter of a day or two, after all, there will always be friction related to careers. Henry and Mira got back on their horses, and Galeva in the back chased after the little unicorn. The road started to be a little rough, and they slowed down as they began to make small talk.

Maybe it's because there is an extra novice junior, and he began to claim to be a senior. Our Loan maiden was a little proud to tell Kaleva a lot of trivia.

Taking the team of knights she had just come into contact with as the starting point of the topic, Mira spoke with great interest-

“...... Therefore, it was standard for cavalry to attach swords and one-handed blunt weapons to horses as spare weapons, and to carry spears and other main battle weapons in their hands. In contrast, the infantry on horseback, who only used horses as a means of transportation, and did not know how to fight on horseback, carried their swords on their waists the whole time. This is a trick to distinguish whether someone knows how to fight right away. ”

"Many members of the war mercenary regiment who were born as fallen knights and are good at riding are also dressed like this. Henry answered, and Caleva kept nodding, but when the two looked at him, they found that there was confusion in those emerald green eyes.

I don't know if this simple-minded young man understands or not.

"What is the disagreement between the knight and the mercenary?" he asked, obviously more concerned about the other party's attitude than the details of weapons and equipment.

"......" Mira frowned gloomily, and although they had given him a weapon, the young man was clearly not as interested in swordsmanship as the Roan Maiden herself.

This is also related to his living environment, when Mira thought that he was very powerless and lived in turmoil, and as a persecuted Luoan, he wanted to gain the power to fight back and became interested in martial arts.

In contrast, the young porter grew up in Suomir's peaceful years, and he had an instinctive aversion to war and fighting. Although he was a little flattered when he received the sword, it was only because of the price. He still hasn't really shown much interest in the combat side.

will choose to travel with the two of them, but he just wants to come out and see the world, and he doesn't want to change his destiny for a living like Mira did back then.

Although they traveled together, in a deeper sense, Galeva was not a fellow traveler with them.

The origins, life trajectories, personalities, and wishes of the three are quite different. By extension, the choices you make when faced with the same things are very different.

Mira, who has been traveling with Henry for a long time, already has a typical swordsman's mindset, and when judging opponents or the surrounding environment, she will start from the details, grasp the environmental factors in detail, and ensure that she can adapt at any time.

With just a few observations, she noticed the various details of the knights. Galeva, on the other hand, was still a townsman, and he cared about mercenaries and knights, who were also far away from him, but whether there was some contradiction between the classes in which he lived—or, in more layman's terms, he wanted to hear gossip.

"Whew-" Mira, who was still in high spirits just now, drooped her little head and became less interested after noticing that the other party was not interested in weapons and equipment and combat.

And anyway, the road ahead is idle, and seeing that Galeva is so curious, Henry also replaced the Luoan girl who lost interest in chatting, and began to explain.

Mila wasn't interested at first, but Henry's way of telling things was always easy to understand, and she really didn't fully understand this knowledge, so she gradually drew attention.

In his usual bland tone, the historical origins of Henry's mouth began to become apparent in front of the two who listened silently.

"The history of the knightly aristocracy and the mercenary class looking at each other was originally born out of class conflicts. ”

"No one remembers the origin of the mercenary profession, and given various factors, this profession may be as old as the history of human warfare. But the real systematization and professionalism are still relatively recent things. ”

"The reason why the mercenary union can flourish now is inseparable from the excellent operation of the management, but in fact, there are opportunities. ”

"In the eyes of most people, today's listed mercenaries are an existence that ordinary people would want to stay away from. But if I had to say, it was a lot better than it used to be. Slowing down, the two of them listened quietly to Henry's story.

"The reason why the mercenary profession annoys the nobles is actually very simple. The sage raised a finger: "Most of the mercenaries are from civilian backgrounds, and they work hard to plunder the spoils of war in exchange for money, buy weapons and equipment, and so on. ”

"You all know what the word mercenary sounds like in Laman, right?" Henry tilted his head to look at the two of them.

"Yes. Both nodded, and the sage continued, "This is what most people call nowadays, but in ancient times, the nobles did not refer to mercenaries as such a name. ”

"Rova di Kara—this is a Lamanite term for mercenaries that still exists today. Henry said, Galeva frowned, and Mira pondered for a moment before she understood the meaning of the word: "Corpse picker?" she said in modern Lamanite, Galeva with a look of realization, and the Sage nodded.

"The word is as its name suggests, imagine it. What would the poor peasants do if they survived the war?"

"Pick up the equipment of those noble lords who died in battle. The sage shrugged.

"Patchwork equipment is the foundation of many mercenaries' fortunes, of course, only a few fools will keep it for their own use, and most of them still sell it to others on the black market. After all, many armor and weapons have the coat of arms of the nobility on them, and it is not good to be sought revenge by the surviving descendants. ”

"And you can easily figure out why you offended the nobles?" said the sage, both of whom nodded.

"In the harsh old days, the untouchables, who were cannon fodder for the low-ranking infantry, dared to steal the spoils of war belonging to the victorious aristocracy, which was a crime punishable by hanging. And then coupled with the discrimination of class, although they are nominally opponents, they are also knights, and after death, they are equipped with weapons but they are stripped away by these poor people, and it is no wonder that the knight nobles in the friendly camp of the same front also have a bad feeling. ”

"Even if the interests are hostile in the short term, on the whole, those nobles are still a group of people with them. In contrast, these poor people, who are uneducated and lowly in their eyes, are creatures of another world. Mila and Kaleva, he said, were more or less silent.

"After many such things happened, the wandering mercenaries began to be persecuted. Not only the aristocracy who hated them, but also the common people of a class who aspired to live in peace and contentment began to see them as the main culprits of the war. ”

"After all, it is common sense that the plebeian class must not rebel against the aristocratic class. In contrast, a mercenary who is also a civilian will not be punished for killing, but will be appreciated in this atmosphere, won't he?" the sage shrugged, and both Mira and Kaleva could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

"So foolish. Caleva bowed her head.

"It's human nature. Mira sighed.

In short, in this atmosphere, the mercenaries began to be detained, tortured, and even killed for inexplicable reasons after entering some small towns. And after a period of time, in order to protect themselves, they also began to huddle together. ”

However, this led to further conflicts, with the mercenaries in the group threatening due to their numerical superiority, and the knightly nobility and the local lords becoming more wary of their presence. Fearing that the uncontrolled army of these civilian classes would unleash a wave that threatened their rule, the war began. ”

"At the end of the war, a small organization with a long history, but not a good name before, took advantage of the situation. ”

"That's what it is today. Henry paused: "Mercenary Guild." ”

"Gather a plate of scattered organizations, large and small, into a force large enough for the local nobility to weigh up again. As a result, he gained the right to speak and began to fight for the interests of the mercenaries. ”

After that, it did not stop there, but began to standardize, systematize, and professionalize everything. Identification tags were distributed, task postings and rating systems were arranged, and rewards and punishments began to be introduced. ”

"If a mercenary commits a crime, a commoner or nobleman can go to the guild to discuss a verdict and punishment. And if the mercenaries are persecuted, the union will also stand up for them. ”

"Of course, not absolutely impartial. The sage shrugged his shoulders again and said sarcastically: "But this professional approach has gradually won the trust of the people, after all, the clergy can't run the church." Ordinary people have such thoughts in their hearts, and they gradually begin to feel that this organization is trustworthy. ”

"Today's mercenary class can become an independent existence with a special identity, supported by trade unions, and the relationship with nobles and commoners is relatively normalized, which can be said to be inseparable from the efforts of those people back then. ”

"But even so, some things still can't be changed. Henry sighed as he said this, and only Mira, who knew him well, noticed this.

Her teacher apparently didn't say everything about it, the girl thought, but she only silently remembered that she didn't immediately ask.

"The fighting is still going on, and there are people who want to ban the organization. On the surface, it seems to be relatively peaceful and there is no conflict, but in fact, secretly it is like playing a game of tug-of-war, and the struggle between the union and the various nobles never stops. ”

"But—" Mira suddenly thought of something and frowned, "The nobles we met elsewhere before didn't show hostility as directly as those guys just now. ”

The answer to this question is simple, little girl. Henry turned his head to look at her, looked around again, and said in a steady tone:

"Because the war that made the mercenary union take the opportunity to rise happened here. ”

The "......." girl fell silent.

"Maybe it's because I'm sorry that I created this hugely influential organization, or maybe it's something else. In short, the soldiers and nobles here in Talva-Sutar are not very friendly to the mercenaries. ”

"But don't worry, the current mercenaries have a special status, and they won't do it easily. ”

"Whew-" Mira breathed a sigh of relief, as did Kaleva, who was listening quietly.

"It's complicated. Miss Loan was moved, and Kaleva nodded approvingly.

"This is probably the case in most countries with a long history, like an overstewed hodgepodge, where all the food loses its original taste and color, and is mixed together like a sludge. ”

"It's like a ball of wool that has been messed up at will, and even if you try to untie it, you only want to make the thread tangle further together, so that you can get nothing but frustration. ”

"I'm afraid of any new ingredients to be added to such a pot of stew. ”

"It's going to be dyed the color that is already in the pot. ”

Henry pointed.

The tone is flat.

But with a slight amazement.