Chapter 384: Silver Mercenary (1)

The mercenary company plate recorded four types of information. Mercenary company name. Captain and vice-captain names. Issue (renewal) date. And the guild’s evaluation grade.

The last section displayed the resplendent ‘Bronze.’

“When receiving requests on the peninsula, always present this plate. You can still conduct mercenary activities without a plate, but it will be difficult to officially recognize achievements from missions.”

Generally, a mercenary company that completed a mission well would receive a recommendation letter from the employer to build reputation. Naturally, it needed to be from a significant trade guild, free city council, monastery, or lord to hold value.

-Count. You don’t need to pay—just write one recommendation letter…

-A mercenary company that withstood three cavalry charges in the vanguard is requesting your recommendation letter instead of reward money. What should we do?

Even Eugene had experienced mercenaries begging for recommendation letters during Rome’s civil war.

Naturally, those qualified to write recommendation letters didn’t do so casually. If the recipient caused trouble, it would circle back and damage their own reputation.

Here, the Spardia Mercenary Guild guaranteed that recommendation system.

Beyond simply informing about a mercenary company’s credibility, they provided various information services, road usage fee discounts, benefits in supply procurement and trophy sales.

The plate was also useful for recruiting new members or scouting veterans. Everyone wanted to belong to a verified group.

“The mercenary company plate can only be used by the captain or vice-captain. Others presenting the plate will receive limited benefits.”

“That’s unusual. In the West, the mercenary company name is important, but who the captain is doesn’t carry much weight. Leaders are constantly being overthrown in the mercenary world—wouldn’t that be troublesome?”

“It’s a system designed to mitigate that. Frequent leadership changes also negatively affect a mercenary company’s morality.”

That was true. In a structure where the leader could change at any time, there was urgency to produce immediate results. This naturally led to get-rich-quick thinking, with the risk of degenerating into a bandit group.

“So it’s a system to guide mercenary companies toward long-term operation, even at the cost of some short-term losses.”

“Exactly.”

“Are there plates issued to individual mercenaries?”

“There are, but they’re not issued regularly. They’re honorary qualifications awarded when a member of a mercenary company achieves merit.”

Managing centered on mercenary companies was natural. When you never knew when you might die or disappear, registering and managing each individual was impossible.

Moreover, no matter how outstanding a mercenary, the power an individual could exert was extremely limited. A small mercenary company of ten D-rank mercenaries was overwhelmingly stronger than a single A-rank mercenary.

“However, individual gladiator plates also have many uses. They serve as qualification requirements for gladiators in trial by combat or tournaments, recruiting personal guards for nobles, missions requiring small elite forces, and more. Knights also seek them frequently.”

“Knights use them too, so it’s called a gladiator plate instead of a mercenary plate? Interesting.”

The clerk glanced at Eugene, a new mercenary captain and knight.

“Of course, if someone of Your Majesty’s caliber desires one, we could immediately…”

“What value would a plate obtained that way have? I’ll earn it through legitimate achievements. Thanks for the explanation.”

And so, the first Mercenary King was born in Spardia.

*

Unlike Eugene, who was satisfied, his subordinates wore displeased expressions at the mercenary company plate.

“Bronze?!”

“Castle Master. Are we really being placed at Bronze?”

Everyone was unhappy with the grade.

“That’s the principle. We haven’t accomplished anything here yet. Truthfully, this is already generous.”

“Bronze is generous?”

“It goes Unranked, Wood, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Mithril. We’ve skipped two levels.”

The vast majority of new mercenary companies started as Unranked, with no grade attached to their plate.

If they continued activity without committing fraud like contract non-payment or desertion during missions, they received the Wood grade.

It was the stage of verifying honest reliability, like wood itself. As befitting their drifters’ lifestyle, many mercenary companies dissolved without even reaching Wood.

The Beard Mercenary Company that Eugene and Homi had encountered right after leaving Kingdom End seven years ago fell into this category.

To go from Wood to Iron, reliability alone wasn’t enough—combat achievements were needed. Completing numerous extermination tasks like bandit suppression or goblin den raids would earn it.

The stage of verifying capacity as a tool that cuts flesh and splashes blood. From this point, they could be called veterans, and those wanting to entrust them with requests increased.

The jackal mercenaries and their subordinates that Eugene had absorbed while heading to Rome fell into this category.

From Bronze onward, both reliability and skill weren’t enough—the mercenary captain’s management ability was also required. They needed to grow their forces to the level of regular military operations.

“You need to be able to exterminate at least a bugbear to earn Bronze. Everyone, take pride in that.”

“…”

The dark elves didn’t seem comforted by Eugene’s words.

“How do you get Silver grade? Bronze really won’t do. Since we’re doing this, let’s escape quickly.”

“The guild awards points for achieving various options they offer. When accumulated, you can rise to Silver.”

“What options?”

Eugene spread the guide sheet distributed by the Mercenary Guild. It was a product of block printing technology transmitted from the Eastern Empire. The ability to freely use paper, illustrations, and type had also contributed to the Mercenary Guild’s activation.

“During siege missions, produce the first Forlorn Hope to climb the ladder. Exterminate medium or larger monsters. Complete missions classified as danger rating. And also…”

Listening subordinates wore fed-up expressions.

“Why are the standards so strict? Silver grade doesn’t seem that high.”

“It’s to increase differentiation. Having multiple grades that are merely pass-through would be a waste of administrative resources.”

Even the lowly Wood grade, once received, earned recognition in multiple villages.

“The highest is Mithril?”

Homi clenched her cute fists, her competitive spirit apparently stirring, and snorted through her nose.

“If we earn Mithril grade, should we even make the mercenary company plate from real Mithril? We have a cartload of raw ore from the Great Forest.”

“Oh!”

At Eugene’s words, Homi’s tail wagged.

“That’s a brilliant idea!”

“It needs to be that level to have proper dignity.”

Subordinates also nodded enthusiastically, seemingly convinced by the proposal.

The plates provided by the Mercenary Guild were all made of the same material, but there was no rule prohibiting customization.

Silver-grade mercenary companies used silver plating, Gold-grade used gold plating—showing off their rank. In the mercenary world, this was an extremely natural way to demonstrate capability.

The handful of Mithril-grade mercenary companies decorated their plates with all sorts of precious gems. Only Eugene, who owned the world’s only Mithril mine, could apply real Mithril.

Eugene had spoken casually, but it seemed to have properly motivated all his subordinates.

“Then, Vice Captain. Let’s do our best going forward.”

“I’ll work hard, Your Majesty.”

The Hind that Eugene patted on the shoulder wore a dark expression. As a graduate of the prestigious Border Knights’ House who had walked only the orthodox knight’s path, the sudden reality of becoming a mercenary deputy captain was unbelievable.

‘Me, a mercenary! Ah, Master…’

This upright and earnest knight couldn’t believe he had become a mercenary deputy captain overnight.

*

Thus, the conversation moved to selecting requests.

An entire wall of the Mercenary Guild was covered with requests, classified first by mission type, then by difficulty.

“Mercenary work could be this standardized?”

Rex looked around in wonder. In the West, mercenary work was simple: ‘Fight so-and-so at such-and-such place for this much money.’

“The trade volume on this peninsula is truly enormous. But geographically, marine monsters are bound to thrive. With so many islands and bays carving deep inland, even a day’s delay in logistics costs a fortune, so they need quick resolution.”

“Why not raise a massive army and wipe out the monsters entirely? The money lost from using mercenaries each time must add up.”

“If they were land monsters, it might be possible. But how do you eradicate creatures originating from the sea?”

The sea was the cradle of life. As long as the peninsula’s geography didn’t change, no matter how many you exterminated, new marine monsters would crawl back up.

And you couldn’t build fortresses on over a thousand islands and dozens of bays to guard them all.

“The most frequent one is this, right? What a bizarre-looking creature.”

Rex looked at the monster encyclopedia Homi had spread open. The merfolk illustration was so unpleasant that you could feel the dampness just from the image.

When Homi turned the page, lizardmen appeared. Unlike the ones seen in the Great Forest, these had webbed feet and scales, with more robust limb muscles suited for swimming.

“Escort missions—all excluded. Search missions and patrol missions too…”

Eugene’s gaze stopped at extermination requests. Monster nests or medium monsters blocking trade routes were the main targets, with far higher difficulty than other requests.

“Guarding and waiting on others isn’t good for heart health.”

“Hehe, wiping everything out and sweeping everything away—that’s the mercenary’s calling.”

Simple yet high-risk, high-return. That was Eugene and the Black Hand Tribe’s preference.

*

In the evening, Eugene and his group attended the banquet prepared by Spardia City.

Though council members usually argued with conflicting opinions as a daily routine, once a decision was made, they united to pursue the city’s interests.

Since they had decided to accept Eugene, they needed to form as close a relationship as possible.

“Among the many guests our city has hosted, none can compare to Your Majesty.”

“We wanted to give you Gold grade right away, but you insisted on earning it through effort! This is true chivalry!”

As the banquet began, council members took turns praising Eugene. Naturally, these were business remarks with little sincerity.

“Your Majesty! Just a little more!”

“We’re almost done!”

Their mood shifted completely when Eugene took on the Yard Glass—a meter-long drinking vessel filled with the strongest liquor.

“Kraaaaaah~!”

Having drained it easily, Eugene let out a roar filled with the smell of alcohol. If someone placed a candle before his mouth, it looked like he could truly breathe fire.

“He passed through Volcano Whiskey?!”

“Long live the King!”

The banquet hall instantly became a cauldron of excitement. The Yard Glass trial was the alpha and omega of Three Sisters Peninsula banquet culture.

Starting with beer, there were five difficulty levels of specialized liquors, and even boisterous mercenary captains rarely exceeded level two.

The Volcano Whiskey Eugene had challenged had only been passed by two people in history. One was a legendary figure, and the other was said to be the founder who established the peninsula’s Mercenary Guild.

“I’m truly proud of you.”

Eugene hugged the beaming Valda who rushed to him and poured a passionate kiss. Her upper body curved like a bow in a tango, falling back until parallel with the floor.

“Mmm!”

Valda’s beautiful face was hidden. Instead, the banquet attendees excitedly watched her flushed, long ears.

“Your Majesty! Her delicate Majesty might get drunk from just a kiss!”

“I’m sick of being called ‘Your Majesty.’ Tonight, everyone call me Captain!”

“Wahahahaha!”

Everyone stomped their feet with joy as Eugene granted the generous palm time.

Spardia, true to its character, valued strength and generosity even among pen-pushing council members. Those who had opposed accepting Eugene were now all clapping excitedly.

*

“Help is needed at the eastern port city?”

The next day, the council members bowed politely to Eugene and proposed a request.

“Yes, Your Majesty. A large number of merfolk have been found in a crystal cave not far from the city. They appear to have come ashore to lay eggs.”

“They breed underwater but lay eggs on land?”

“They’re similar to turtles when breeding. They’re not to be underestimated. If those eggs hatch safely, they’ll pose a serious threat to next year’s trade routes.”

“No other mercenary companies are volunteering?”

“The thing is, they were found inside a cave…”

If it were an open merfolk settlement like on an island or fishing village, another mercenary company would have already accepted the request.

But dealing with them inside a cave dramatically increased the difficulty. The number of troops that could be deployed at once was limited, and they became vulnerable to merfolk traps and ambushes.

“With hundreds in a large settlement, there will surely be merfolk shamans. If an ordinary mercenary company took them on, they’d be cleaning up many corpses.”

“The only force that can eliminate them immediately is Your Majesty’s army.”

The council members were candid. Since they would be building a close relationship going forward, hiding information wasn’t wise.

One reason Spardia City had accepted Eugene was to request high-difficulty tasks that other mercenary companies couldn’t handle.

Naturally, Eugene knew this. Backing down from danger here wouldn’t look good in various ways.

“Fine. I’ll handle it.”

“Thank you! Truly thank you!”

And so, the Silver Mercenary Company’s first opponent was decided as the merfolk of the Crystal Cave. The people of Spardia City, hearing the news, took interest in this new mercenary company’s moves.

“Britainia’s king?”

“Isn’t he too confident from the start? The traps merfolk set are notoriously vicious.”

Competing mercenary companies, bards following the story, adventurers wanting to be hired for odd jobs, knights from the north sent by their lords, and nobles from the Eastern Empire on vacation.

All eyes were on the dark elf woman’s profile fluttering in the sky. It was a symbol that would soon spread its reputation throughout the peninsula and even to the Eastern Empire.