The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 54
Episode 54
Raoul’s prediction was not wrong at all.
On the 10th day after the gate appeared, the capital guard captain came to the mansion.
“… Therefore, the First Knights’ permission to enter the F-class gate has been revoked.”
“No, what is that? Eup~eup~!!”
Jake, who was listening with him, was about to storm out in rage, but Phillip forcibly covered his mouth.
“Is that so? It can’t be helped. “Then what about the E-class and D-class gates?”
When Raoul asked more calmly than expected, the guard captain answered with an apologetic expression.
“It’s okay there. “I don’t want to disgrace you, but please do the same as before.”
“That’s a good thing. Then who will be the F-class gate in the future…?”
“I don’t know the details, but I heard that several families decided to split the responsibility. Whoa, I wonder what this is….”
I thought it might be like that.
An F-grade gate is less risky and more condescending. And if you’re lucky, you can meet monsters worth money.
“All right. If you have any problems, please contact us at any time. “We will always have a reserve unit ready.”
As Raoul spoke politely, the guard captain spoke with an expression of emotion.
“Prince Raoul is truly a righteous man. “If other nobles followed Confucius half as well, this country would be…”
“That’s too much praise. I don’t know how the situation will unfold in the future, but the Count and I plan to do our best to protect the capital and its residents. Isn’t that a natural duty as a noble? So please continue to treat us well.”
When Raoul bowed his head and asked, the guard captain quickly bowed and approached and spoke softly.
“Everyone is saying that the Randall family is behind this, but there is a strange rumor. “It seems like the Minister of Finance is really the one who orchestrated this… I personally have some concerns about this, so I’m telling Confucius about it.”
“Is that so? Thank you for caring me.”
After talking for a while, the guard captain left and Raoul called the executives together.
“I’m sure everyone heard the news, right?”
bang!
“Isn’t this too much treatment? “They even blocked us from entering because we did something wrong?”
Jake couldn’t control his anger and slammed the table and shouted.
“you’re right. “I expected it, but it’s too much.”
“They say the nobles in the capital are greedy, and it’s really no different from what I heard.”
“Now, everyone, calm down. “It was going to happen anyway.”
Philip comforted the knights.
“Aren’t you feeling unfair, Captain?”
When Jake asked, Philip chuckled.
“What is there to be unfair about? You guys have lost a lot of energy after getting some fresh air. The duty of a knight is to follow orders. If an order comes from the palace and the Master says he will follow it, we can do the same. And what did you tell me to do when I moved the army, Jake?”
“…You must not be swayed by emotions and plan your strategy through cool-headed, rational thinking.”
“Okay, keep that in mind.”
Everyone gathered their emotions after hearing Philip’s words.
Raoul smiled in satisfaction and opened his mouth.
“Like Sir Philip said, an order has come from the palace, so I must follow it. “Everyone seems to be feeling unfair, but in fact, this incident is not a loss to us at all.”
“yes? “What do you mean by that?”
When Jake asked with a puzzled expression, Raoul calmly explained.
“Honestly, the F-class gate is at a level that even regular soldiers can handle. “Isn’t it too wasteful to hire mercenaries who paid a lot of money?”
“That’s true. “At first, we put in 100 people, but now even 50 people seem like a lot.”
“The level of loot available is also the same, so it is more beneficial for us to focus on gates rated E or higher.”
Everyone nodded at Raoul’s words, but Jake asked again.
“Yes, but then there will be surplus troops. There are only 11 E-grade gates, and only masters and guild members can enter D-grade gates. Are you planning to make fun of the mercenaries?”
“No way. The remaining troops also take part in horseback training and go to clear the gate outside the castle walls. “It is said that many villages near the capital have neglected gates, so we should take this opportunity to sort them out.”
At Raoul’s words, the knights looked as if they were like that.
Gates appeared mainly in cities and castles with large populations, but of course they also appeared outdoors.
The problem is that although we are prepared for something that appears in a city or village, gates that cannot even be found are literally left unattended.
Raoul had already found all the gates within half a day’s distance from the capital in preparation for times like this.
The executives only paid attention to Raoul’s insight.
“Maybe this won’t last long. The mayflies who are greedy for the loot will soon be gone. Maybe they’ll ask us to take charge of the F-class gate again.”
“This is true. “Are we not some kind of mercenary unit and will they just use us like that?”
A knight asked with an innocent face. Certainly, the young knights from the county were still pure.
Raoul shrugged his shoulders and answered.
“This is the capital of the kingdom. It’s a den of raccoons overflowing with 9th level politics. “Know that it’s not strange if something happens.”
“Still, it’s a bit weird to be dragged around like this. “We are a volunteer army and not a central army, right?”
“So we need merit and fame. They need to be something that is difficult to interfere with. And we are already seeing some results.”
“Achievement?”
Raoul said, holding the official document forward.
“Take a good look. In fact, there are no specific instructions to our troops other than that they are prohibited from entering the F-class gate. “What does it mean?”
As the knights remained silent with puzzled expressions, Bernard answered.
“We had no choice but to block access, but it would be burdensome to directly tell them where to take charge. “If Confucius withdraws his troops and returns to his territory, it will be difficult for the royal family.”
“okay. If I had been easy, I would have definitely moved our troops to their liking in the form of forced mobilization. But the reputation I had built over the past ten days prevented that. Of course, our family name also played a role.”
The knights nodded as if in agreement.
“So, we ignore external problems as much as possible and go our own way. Anyway, the goal is to grow through gate strategy and practical experience! The rest follows naturally. “Please pay more attention to the leadership and personal growth of your mercenaries like you do now.”
“All right!”
When the executives answered cheerfully, Raoul nodded as if satisfied and asked.
“What is the status of the trainee knights? “Can you fit it into your schedule?”
“That’s enough. Almost half of the people have already crossed the threshold. The rest weren’t far behind. “Everyone will probably be shocked.”
“There will be no problem with Bernard’s formalities, right?”
“yes. “Although there was a gate incident, we received a reply from the association that it would proceed as scheduled.”
“good. This is the best opportunity to enhance the reputation of the First Knights. “Be prepared thoroughly without any negligence!”
“Please leave it to me!”
The formal knight investiture ceremony, which only happens once a year, is just one week away.
* * *
The capital began to boil over from the next day.
The streets were crowded with feudal lords and mercenaries from all over, and each family that seized the opportunity headed to the gate noisily waving their family flags.
Third external voice.
Bill, the security platoon leader in charge of security in Area 4, was waiting for the punitive force with a tired face in front of the gate he was in charge of.
When the First Knights were in charge of the gate, they arrived at the appointed time every morning, cleared the gate in an instant, and disappeared.
However, from the first day that the person in charge was changed, there was no thought of the punitive force arriving at all.
‘I’ve been waiting since 6 am, but you still haven’t come?’
The sun was already high in the sky.
As a rule, F-grade gates were processed on the same day, but I couldn’t tell if they were really planning to process them today.
However, the family in charge of subjugation was the Viscount Carrington family, who could not leave the position.
Since he was from a mid-sized noble family with a strong voice in the capital, he knew that if he got out of sight, he, who was barely in charge of the security guard, would lose his job.
“Platoon leader, when will you come?”
“Don’t ask. I do not know either.”
“What if something happens in my area like this?”
“Whoa, what should I do? I’ll have to deal with it later. I told you this before, right? Matters involving nobles are the top priority. “I feel sorry for the residents, but keep in mind that if you don’t please the nobles, you and I will lose our lives.”
The platoon leader’s expression was full of irritation as he said that.
At that time, a security soldier came running from afar and shouted.
“coming! “I passed the second outer castle gate.”
“Those slugs…”
It was a shame because no one got sucked into the gate. If it weren’t for bad luck, there would have been a victim today.
“Everyone, get ready. “Stay in line so citizens don’t block the roads!”
The First Knights were special, but the procession of ordinary nobles was like this.
In fact, last night someone from Viscount Carrington came out and made a warning request.
‘It’s not a victory ceremony, it’s a parade? ‘If anyone sees it, they’ll think something big is happening.’
In the distance, a group of people were approaching the gate with the sound of exciting music.
“Stand back! “This is the subjugation force of Viscount Carrington’s family!!”
“Viscount Carrington has dispatched a punitive force for the residents of Turium!!”
At the front of the line, a few musicians were playing their instruments to liven up the excitement, and a few performers were promoting their own artists.
Following him, a young man in his 20s dressed in fancy clothes was waving his hand on a horse, and three knights were escorting him.
Behind the knight, about 50 soldiers wearing similar uniforms were holding spears, and at the rear of the procession were following about 50 mercenaries with shabby looks.
“Wow~”
Residents watching the procession were confused as to what this was, but cheered moderately.
“Wow~. Be polite. “This is Asen, the 4th prince of the Viscount Carrington family.”
“Meet Confucius!”
Bill hurriedly bowed his head and greeted the young man.
“Is that it?”
“yes?”
“The gate. “Is that it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I get it. “The soldiers are in trouble, so tell them all to get out of the way.”
“All right. But what are you going to say…”
“Say…?”
When Asen did not understand what Bill was saying, he spoke again.
“If no servant came along, we will take care of it.”
Asen, who finally understood, suddenly showed anger on his face and shouted.
“Have you seen this arrogant guy? How dare you tell me to get off my horse? Get out of the way! This is why they are lowly people…”
“That’s not me… ugh.”
Bill hurriedly tried to explain something, but there was no chance.
The driver who was right next to him kicked Bill.
“You have no manners. Didn’t Confucius tell you to get out of the way? I will sternly complain about this incident to the guard commander. Confucius, please go.”
“okay. “I’m tired so I hope I finish quickly.”
“of course.”
They passed by Bill, who was rolling around on the floor, and went inside the gate with the troops.
“Sigh.”
A deputy approached Bill, who stood up spitting out dust.
“Would it be okay?”
“I don’t know. I definitely asked. “Whether what they say is crazy or not is none of my business.”
The inside of the gate was filled with much denser and more ferocious mana energy than here.
There was a guideline that horses were not recommended to enter because it was not an environment for humans or sensitive animals.
‘Seeing as they came here without even checking basic information, they must be in a lot of trouble.’
The soldiers brought in were also a problem.
Although they were fully dressed, they were visible to Bill. It was clear that they were conscripts without formal training.
Most of the mercenaries were EF level rookie mercenaries who were barely equipped with equipment.
Just looking at it, it was a world away from the First Knights, which were made up of elite soldiers.
‘Looks like I’ll have to clean up some invoices today.’
For some reason, I felt like work would be long today.
(Continued in the next part)