Kuro no Senki (LN)

When I saw the end of the coma forest, it wasn't the accomplishments and pride that made me do my job back that sprang up in Cole's chest, it was the relief I felt for being back safely.

I want to rest in bed soon.

The return journey between the Fomalhaut territory of the Kingdom of Holy Argo and the Count Cad territory of the Kepheus Empire had exhausted Cole.

The trading routes connecting the two territories are volatile and unpaved.

A soldier, a mercenary, a hunter familiar with the woods, or a beast man may not suffer from going back and forth on the trade route, but Cole is a human pedestrian.

I don't have the strength to travel back and forth without suffering on the trading route.

I can't ignore mental fatigue either.

The coma forest has a dense density of plants.

Poor prospects and bad sound street.

The senses go crazy because similar landscapes continue to extend.

It's like walking in a thick fog. It's disgusting.

Shipwrecks are a must if you're off the road, and it's a bad idea to get away with your people.

Because the unconscious forest is inhabited by a bucket called the Barbarian Knife Wolf (Banded Wolf).

Cole has only encountered a barbarian sword wolf once.

The Barbarian Knife Wolf quickly escaped, but I remember that time vividly.

You can't win, Cole was convinced the moment he saw the Barbarian Sword Wolf.

I don't even know how I got that sure myself.

Anyway, I instantly understood that I couldn't fight the Barbarian Knife Wolf, and I couldn't escape.

Bucket things are after themselves.

Because I was thinking that way, Cole was feeling sleepless.

I started waking up with a little noise.

Whatever happens once or twice, if you wake up five or six times by morning, you can't help but be harsh.

Besides, the cargo boy is Lizardman.

Lizardman is vulnerable to the cold.

They take care of the cold, but they can't move satisfactorily unless they burn them in the morning.

It sucks to burn their care while curbing frustration.

I feel like I'm being harassed.

Still, Cole didn't litter Lizardman...... a member of the caravan.

No, I couldn't take it for granted.

Ten of the carrier Lizardmans are slaves to the pedestrian union to which Cole belongs.

The position is higher on Cole, but the owner of Lizardman is only a pedestrian union.

The same thing can be said about mercenaries in escorts.

Cole can't take a very big attitude because it's a pedestrian union that employs five mercenaries.

The Pedestrian Traders' Union is supposed to be an organization based in Sylvania that aims at mutual assistance for pedestrians.

In fact, it is an organization created in the spirit of working together to pay the harbour royalties.

Mutual assistance for pedestrians follows.

The top consists of a union leader, three executives underneath, and a union member underneath.

However, the union head and the three executives are in hiding as pedestrians.

No, should I say I turned to wholesale?

Because they use the connections they've cultivated to purchase loads and sell them cheaply to unionists.

Cole is a unionist at the bottom.

Every month, I pay union fees to name union members, but the benefits of union members are not so great.

It is about being able to stay in a union facility on Count Cad's territory, or having his job mediated.

Cole passed through the coma forest and exhaled heavily about ten meters further.

Someone slaps Cole on the shoulder.

When Cole looked next to him, a bearded mercenary peeled out his teeth and laughed.

That's a pretty sweet grin.

Maybe the bearded mercenary is going to praise Cole.

I'm not such a kid, and Cole throws up in his heart.

Cole is eighteen this year.

Ever since I was a kid... I've been confused about whether it would be good to count the period of my career that I couldn't even carry a load... Anyway, Cole is a veteran with over a decade of career.

But I don't speak of dissatisfaction.

I'm used to being treated like a child.

Cole thinks he looks like an insensitive merchant, but he looks younger than his real age to other humans.

Cole looked up.

I see the fields and villages stained in the sunset.

It is a pioneering village in Count Cad's territory.

I guess it's dinner time.

A delicious smell drifts in the wind.

Cole swallowed and stretched his spine.

Walk a little longer and you'll be in Sylvania.

Cole whipped his tired body and started walking.

Cole follows the mercenary of the escort and the carrier Lizardman, going south through the city of Sylvania.

The leading Chamber of Commerce is based near the port.

The pedestrian union's base is also near the harbor, so we have to break through the city.

Nevertheless, how dare, in such a short period of time, Cole looks sideways at the state of the city.

Sylvania in Cole's memory is not a city.

It was a passage to the fishing village.

The port of Silva was completed and the commercial hall was built… it quickly became a city.

That means the road's latticed, right? and Cole asks himself.

Sylvania spread to the field view.

I have that impression, but when I stand in the middle of the road like this, I feel it was quite planned.

Maybe don't run out of calculations unexpectedly, and Cole settles his doubts.

The lord now is a man of constant black rumors.

There's no way a person like that could make a city unplanned.

Logical thinking is important, although it may actually be unplanned.

If you go down the road for a while, you often rub off with people.

You should have made it another way, Cole pounded his tongue.

More importantly, they chose a route across the pleasure district.

The pleasure district was beginning to get busy with the fact that the sun had just set.

Cole can't like the people in the pleasure zone.

I don't like the feeling that we're making a scene.

The smell of alcohol and cheap makeup irritates Cole's nasal cavity.

When I checked sideways, the men were drinking.

Some women wear makeup.

The men are tanned, so I guess they're sailors.

Should the women be considered prostitutes?

Cole passed the pleasure district early enough.

The hustle and noise turn away and enter the paved compartment.

If we get this far, the pedestrian union is at the end of our eyes and noses.

Pass in front of a three-story building.

The first floor is a bizarre building called the Tavern, while it is in the first class of the city lined with shopping malls.

However, the atmosphere in the tavern was on the way, and it's a different dimension.

A colored glass covered lighting magic item gently illuminates the entrance.

I guess the lighting in the store is covered in glass just like outside.

The store, visible through the windowsill, is surrounded by calm light.

The sign reads' Sinner Trade Union '.

Elaine Sinner... if you're a Sylvanian merchant, you know her by running out.

No merchant should not be inspired by her success tan, which consisted of naked consistency.

Cole remembers when the mercenary guild came to Sylvania.

That's when Elaine Sinner greeted the mercenary guild face with deputies.

It's just a grand gesture to be on par with a deputy.

One day, me, too, and Cole clenched his fist.

But Cole's determination loses a little momentum when he looks up at the pedestrian union stronghold.

The pedestrian union building is located the furthest from the warehouse.

The building is two floors of wood.

It is considerably inferior to a trading house made of bricks and stones.

It's a building that seems to work, even if it's a pub at the end of the day.

In fact, the tavern is dirty on the ground floor.

There is a reception counter, with several high round tables lined up.

Upstairs is the union chief's office and a room for unionists to stay in.

No, this is where my legend begins, when Cole told himself, the door opened.

It was the bald-headed man who opened the door.

The man's skin is red copper, and the beard covering the lower half of his face is gray.

He is taller than Cole and has a pinned spine.

Cole knows the man is nearly sixty years old, but he looks younger.

The man's name is Tomas, union leader of the pedestrian trade union.

He is also Cole's adoptive parent.

"Cole, are you back?"

Tomas grinned nicely.

It was an open smile that Cole didn't deserve a hundred warfare smelling merchants.

Not sure how Cole should react, Tomas walked over to the bearded mercenary and clenched his hands.

"Thank you"

"By saying this is the end of our work?

"Yes. Tomorrow, I'll send out mercenary guilds and deputies."

Tomas nodded at the words of a bearded mercenary.

The mercenaries walk out slowly.

"You guys had a hard time. You can take the day off from work tomorrow. And if you're not feeling well, you should tell me sooner."

"......" (shu)

The Lizardmans nodded and headed to the building next to the pedestrian union.

The building next door is horizontal and the pedestrian union Lizardmans are sleeping there.

If we don't manage slaves properly in Sylvania, the Lords will stare at us.

How can a lord speak to the way slaves are treated? and Cole is something I wondered about, but now that I'm in a position to deal with slaves, I know.

On second thought, I'm not talking about slavery alone, but raising an amateur in public is laborious.

A lord should speak out for the way slaves are treated.

The Lords fear that the losses caused by the management of the dodgy slaves will adversely affect the economy of the Territory.

"Do you want to talk a little?

"... well, maybe a little"

Cole wanted to sleep in bed, but nodded.

The first floor of the pedestrian union was surrounded by silence.

Like this at night, Cole sat in the window seat.

Tomas takes his seat slightly late.

Ceramic teapot and cup on hand...... maybe Tomas was in the middle of drinking incense tea.

"Well, drink."

Cole carried the cup to his mouth, as recommended by Tomas.

The sweet and sour taste stimulated Cole's tongue.

"It's booze."

It's an elf pill.

As Cole penetrated, Tomas said back in his true face.

"Same thing."

Cole put the cup on the table.

The liquor Tomas brought is a mixture of fruit juice with ingredients extracted from wine and barley wine (beer).

It is called an elf medicine because scratching the extracted ingredients makes the wound less likely to get worse.

"Cole, how'd it go?

"I don't care what they say. Well, wasn't it a smooth journey?

Cole looked up at the ceiling and said.

I have fallen asleep, but I think the journey itself went well.

"If business means business, after all, it tastes good. Because just crossing the coma forest sells the product for double the price"

It's worth risking his life, Cole swallowed those words.

The merchant's life is at stake.

Sometimes they are attacked by bandits or surrounded by beasts.

"Okay, Cole. It's a species of life."

"I know, Father."

Cole joked and replied, but he doesn't take Tomas' words lightly.

It's about when Cole used to do business with Tomas.

I used to work with other pedestrians.

It was a smooth journey, but a few moments later a bandit attacked me in a place called the next city.

Tomas threw away the load without getting lost, but the pedestrian he was putting together didn't.

As a result, the bandits caught up with me... and I don't know where I'm going from there.

"Then it's good"

Tomas rounded his back and took a pill of chicken and elves.

"When we blind ourselves to gold, humans stop seeing danger dangerously"

Cole nodded appropriately.

Tomas smells weird when he drinks.

Cole subtly lowers the tension when booze enters with Cole.

"Cole, you're only half a serving."

"Himambe, I got it"

Cole replied, tilting his body.

Thomas calls Cole half a serving, but he's got to admit it quite a bit.

Otherwise, he couldn't have lent me the carriage I used during my active life.

"Young people these days... dream about Elaine Sinner, Elaine Sinner and all the grabbing of money. Cole, steadfastness is best. That's why I'm lending you a carriage."

"Usu."

Cole answered with an iteration.

Cole remembers the old days as he slept fine in bed.

It was over ten years ago.

Cole was an orphan.

I don't remember where I was born, but I do remember how I lived.

Cole was fishing for garbage, working steals, waging violence against people in similar circumstances, and securing a place.

It's a way of life without precedence.

In case you survived until you were an adult, you must not have been able to live a legitimate life.

Luckily, Cole became a pedestrian.

One day, he was caught trying to steal goods from Tomas.

For what reason, Tomas raised Cole as his own son.

Maybe one day you'll tell me why.

Ah, and Cole roared, waking up his body.

It was upstairs at the pedestrian union that Cole slept on.

The room for union members is private, but very small.

There's just one bed, one barrel with water and one barrel at a time.

Is the existence of a small window the only salvation?

"... I need to go buy it out"

You're still tired of traveling, or your body is lazy because of last night's alcohol.

Still, Cole washed his body and made himself fit.

Going down to the ground floor, all the tables were buried.

Union members exchange information and engage in business talks here.

My gaze concentrates on Cole.

But that's a flash, too.

Cole tried to cross the ground floor as he bit the stretch to death.

Then a man blocked Cole's whereabouts.

He's a tall young man.

With a washi nose, freckles are floating on the nose beam.

I have halfway long redheads all back.

The young man is Todd...... the painful guy who calls himself Todd the 'Fearless'.

Well, Cole doesn't like gambling better than Todd's pain.

"Hey, Cole! Are you making money?

"What about you, Todd?

"This is a stupid question for Todd."

Todd stroked his horizontal hair with a tweezer, but his hair was not disturbed.

"Hey, you free? I need to talk to you about making money, okay?

"I'm busy."

As Cole tried to rub through Todd's side, Todd came around.

Huh, and Cole exhaled.

"Anyway, it's a Dwarf run, right?

"It's an important job. Well, if you can help me with my luggage, you can ask."

When Cole provoked, Todd turned bright red.

"Wow, okay. I'll help you, but listen to me, I swear to God!

"Well, that's about it"

Cole even took Todd outside.

Wheat flour and dried fish...... dried meat, vegetables, dried fruit and elf medicine.

At this point, Cole thinks of the items he bought at the outdoor store.

"Hey, hey, Cole. You're gonna listen to me, aren't you?

"You've heard it since you left the union."

You should have said no, Cole pounded his tongue.

Todd was seriously packing, but he kept talking.

Todd's story is all about stupidity.

I want a bigger job, higher union fees, but Count Cad and Marquis Elakis need procedures to do anything and stink, I want more money, it wasn't depressing, but Cole listened to Todd until the end.

Apparently, Todd and some of his buddies are thinking of hitting a mountain.

They're planning a deal between Count Cad and Fomalhout territories for that.

But the salt that serves as the pillar of the deal must be bought from the lord.

Hiring mercenary guild mercenaries also costs money.

If I did it normally, it would be less fruitful.

"So, we thought about it."

Todd said with a Doya face.

"Salt has to be bought from the lords, but salting fish made by the fishermen in the village can be bought cheap"

"What about the escort?

"Hire people who don't belong to the Alliance. Cargo handling has been arranged. Cole, we're gonna do this, right?

"Oh, yeah."

Cole answered instantly.

"Come on, are you freaking out? Let's hit a mountain and be men, shall we?

"Dangerous bridges don't cross."

Chip, Todd pounded his tongue and put the crate on the ground.

He was a surprisingly disciplined man.

"Uh, I lost it inviting you. A boulder, a man who abandoned his load and ran away, is the only one with a breadwinner. Cowardice on the board."

"Todd!"

It stained bright red in front of me.

The next moment Cole threw down the crate,

"Cah!"

There was a woman's voice.

Cole calmed down at once with it.

Ignore Todd calling and walk over to the woman.

A woman in black was sitting around holding a crate.

He doesn't look rich, but he wears glasses.

Cole knows this woman.

No, if you're a resident of Sylvania, you must have seen her running around busily.

Sure, I thought you said your name was Rona.

Damn, and Cole offered his hand to Rona in a mood to tongue.

"Are you hurt?

"I'm not going to be dumb enough to jump in from myself and get hurt"

Rona put the crate next to her and stood up.

Crates weigh a lot, but they weren't that much for Rona.

"I broke it and went in"

Rona knocked the dirt off her clothes.

"Oh, what about Todd?

"I ran away."

Rona narrowed her eyes.

Cole remembered the kind of shock that made his heart eagle.

The words Arbitrary Accompaniment, Detention and Execution pass behind Cole's brain.

No, Cole reconsidered.

Todd and I were just talking business.

Even that business hasn't done anything that touches the law.

"I have a feeling of trouble. No, I'm sure you'll be in trouble."

"What?"

When Cole listened back with a rubbed voice, Rona pressed her glasses up with her index finger.

"In my experience, if you hit a mountain, a man who speaks Australian will fail."

I guess I don't have to go through it, but Cole thought.

Northeast of Sylvania...... there is land surrounded by wooden fences about an hour away by carriage.

The entrance is wide enough to pass by carriage, and two houses are built inside the fence.

Behind it is a kiln that utilizes slopes.

They have several Dwarves living here, and they make ceramic dishes, but it's always a Dwarf woman named Paula who greets Cole.

Cole stopped the carriage inside the fence and unloaded it.

A week's worth of food, but less money for the quantity.

"Well, that's the price."

"Thank you every time ~ su"

Cole thanked him for the delay and put the silver coins he received from Paula in a leather bag.

"Hey, be a little more affectionate."

"Every time"

Cole made his voice play and laughed nicely.

Except I only laughed for a moment.

"Well, good."

"If you sold me dishes, maybe I could be a little more loving"

"Waiting in order"

Paula turned away pussy.

"Well, you do. Wait in no hurry."

"It's good to wait, but can you sell it?

Paula puts her arms around me just because she's still mad at me, and she steals Cole.

Can you sell it? That would mean Cole knows the kind of customers who buy pottery dishes.

Paula is naturally worried.

The purchase of ceramic dishes is limited to nobles or wealthy merchants.

"If it's a market in Formal Howto territory, I can handle it."

"You can't do this."

"That, of course,"

Don't I rely on you that much? and Cole scratched his head.

Really, I'm going home.

"Bye."

Cole was dropped off by Paula and walked away from the spot.

When Cole returned to Sylvania, a mercenary stood at the corner of the street and whispered to each other with a look of anxiety.

Cole turned to the pedestrian traders' union, suspiciously.

When I stopped the carriage in front of the pedestrian union, Tomas rushed over with a bright red face.

"Cole! You're safe!

"What? What are you talking about?

Tomas jumped into your seat and touched Cole's body to make sure he was safe.

Tomas' eyes were moistened with tears.

"What's going on, Dad?

"Okay, listen carefully. Cole, Todd's dead."

"What?"

Cole inquired in a rubbed voice.

It hasn't been half a day since Todd and I broke up.

There's no way you can believe it when people hear you're dead.

"What about the body?

"I asked the mercenary guild"

Cole got off the carriage.

"I heard Todd was talking to you, and I... to you"

"He did ask me out, but I said no."

Suddenly, Tomas looks up.

When he was followed and raised his face, Schiff, the guild master of the mercenary guild, approached him following several mercenaries.

The mercenaries were bloodstained.

I guess it's not all blood back.

There are those who praise their faces to endure the pain.

Only two mercenaries were carrying stretchers.

A mercenary slowly lowered the stretcher before Tomas.

The stretcher was covered with cloth.

Tomas knelt and rolled the cloth with his trembling hands.

Todd had a calm look on his face, but a cloth that had lost its thickness betrayed it.

"... this man had fallen all the way in front of the first berth. He was the only one who could carry us this far."

Cole questioned Schiff's explanation.

I understand you recovered the body.

I also know it gets dirty with blood because it looks like a terrible death.

Why are the mercenaries injured?

"Barbarian sword wolves seem to have a strong obsession with prey. They've attacked me many times trying to get my body back."

Again, Schiff said pale.

"They learned the taste of man. I want to hunt the mountains as soon as possible, but I can't get around just Pioneering Village and Sylvania security"

Tomas dropped.

I regret not being able to tell Todd that life is more important than money.

In the evening, Cole was summoned to the 'Sinner Trade Union'.

How could I? If you're going to be summoned, isn't that the deputy office? and Cole stepped into the coveted 'Sinner Trade Union' as he asked himself.

The ground floor of the "Sinner Trade Union" had become a liquor store.

When I say tavern, it's not the tavern Cole knows about.

A table and sofa were placed as they were in the reception room.

I'm not forced to pack that either, I have enough distance available.

Seven men and women sat around a table in the center.

Only three of them Cole knows.

One was Elaine Sinner...... she wore a highly exposed dress and was gracefully legged.

The other is Nicolas from the Pics Chamber of Commerce and the last one is Tomas.

Three people with a lot of influence in Sylvania.

Then the identities of the four remaining men will be revealed to themselves.

He would be the branch manager of the Bailey Chamber of Commerce, Assad Chamber of Commerce, Kelles Chamber of Commerce and Io Chamber of Commerce with branches in Sylvania.

Tomas opened his eyes wide the moment he saw Cole.

Cole moved silently behind Tomas.

"Oh, shit, you're here."

That said, Elaine scratched her hair up depressingly.

"... sorry about our union members"

"I can't help what's happened. Now, what we need to do is do everything we can to keep the damage from spreading."

Nicola said with a strange face as Tomas apologized as he sweated.

"Right. We have to work something out quickly."

Elaine put her arms together and nodded several times.

"If we don't, our abilities will be questioned."

"... Huh!

Cole was struck like he had been hit in the head.

Elaine doesn't care about Todd's death.

Mr. Elaine, people are dying.

"So this is not how we're getting together"

"Do you really understand?

"I know, I know."

When Nicola told him to ask, Elaine said as she was fed up.

"You're the one who knows?

"I know the weight of life."

Nicola gave a muddled look.

"Oh, life's heavy too, huh? But I'm not. What I wanted you to know was the weight of freedom."

Elaine told me to exhale.

"This is a good city. Master Krono thinks he must be fair, and officials do not demand bribes. Don't worry about getting annoyed by the Merchant Alliance. I can do business my way. It's a very free city."

Elaine reached out with a tricky trick.

Should I take it for granted, there's nothing in Elaine's hands.

"Now we are given freedom. The freedom to do business the way we do, the freedom to develop Sylvania with our talents."

However, Elaine clenched her fist.

"This freedom is lost at the moment that Master Chrono sees it as incompetent."

Silence descends.

No one uttered a word about whether they shared Elaine's opinion or whether they thought it was a waste of time to argue.

"Once we know, we'll work out what to do."

"... without even grasping the situation?

A quiet voice reached Cole's ear.

When I saw the voice, Schiff stood at the entrance to the store.

"Oh, you're early, huh?

"I've left it to my men"

Schiff walked over to the table and kept his back on a nearby pillar.

"You're not going to sit down?

"I don't have a seat."

I should have been able to move the chair as well, but Schiff doesn't seem to be going to sit down.

"What's the situation?

"Since then, there has been no raid"

"Have you failed to be vigilant?

"Naturally. My men are guarding the pioneering village and Sylvania."

"Can caravan escorts and city security be done at the same time?

"We'll either reduce the number of caravans or we'll reduce the number of people to be allocated to security. If we continue to maintain our present attitude, there will always be a breakdown"

"I mean, lack of manpower?

"That's what I'm talking about"

Elaine and Schiff exchanged views to flow.

Looks like he's watching a play, Cole had that feeling.

"... reduce the number of caravans"

"No, you won't need to reduce the number of caravans"

When Elaine shrugged, the glasses man denied it.

The man's eyes were narrowed to smile, but he can't feel the warmth of being human.

"... Bailey Chamber of Commerce"

"My name is Edward. You can call me Ed."

Glasses man...... when Edward said, Elaine gave a frightened look.

"Can't you think like this? He says things have already converged due to the activity of the mercenary guild"

Edward pushed up his glasses and hoisted the corner of his mouth.

"I can't."

"I hear the beast is afraid of humans?

Edward argued.

Apparently, Edward is more about money than other people's lives.

"That's a misperception."

It was Schiff who denied Edward's words.

"Animals' fear of humans is the result of learning from experience."

"The Alliance Master of the Mercenary Alliance is knowledgeable."

……

When Schiff ignored the sarcasm, Edward pulled his cheeks apart.

"The point is, why don't we just let him learn about human horror?

"It's not as easy as saying it with your mouth. We need manpower and expert help."

"Right."

Elaine lay her eyes down as she conceived.

Almost everyone has reacted similarly to Elaine.

The faces here must know what to do, but no one speaks the answer.

I guess I'm on the run.

It was Nicolas who ruined everyone's thoughts.

"Isn't that an easy story? For the time being, the number of caravans is reduced, during which time mercenaries and experts are invited. It's easy to solve if everyone pays for it."

"... what?

Elaine leaked a missing voice between them.

Maybe Elaine was thinking about a drop point where she could get the most out of it.

"You're right, Mr. Elaine. This is a good city. Let's make Sylvania a better city together."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Elaine replied to take care of it.

You couldn't have anticipated this development, Edward had his mouth open with Pocan.

A few days later, Cole was taking the streets east in a carriage.

It is Viscount Hamal territory that we are now in.

East of Viscount Hamal territory is Viscount Sheratan territory, but Cole is not thinking of extending his legs that far.

Because I heard from my fellow unionists that security in Viscount Sheratan territory is not very good.

Even if there are many competitors, it is better to have Viscount Hamar territory, which has completed the process of opening an outdoor shop.

Cole looked up at the sky because of Todd.

Immediately after that, it was decided to increase the number of mercenaries, and to summon experts.

The cost was to be borne by everyone who was in the 'Sinner Trade Union', as Nicolas suggested.

Were you after that suggestion? and Cole tilted his neck.

Nicolas of the Pics Chamber of Commerce is famous for responding honestly to subpeople as well.

Of course, Cole doesn't doubt Nicolas' integrity.

But I doubt Nicolas is a good merchant.

Whatever, Nicola hasn't done anything new.

No, I'm doing it to do something new, but I always have the impression that I'm turning to the back.

Wasn't that suggestion meant to minimize the loss of the Pics Chamber of Commerce?

I can't wipe that suspicion.

If Cole's suspicions are true, it is the Pics Chamber of Commerce that made the most profit in this case.

"In the end, it's on me now... what, what?

Cole interrupted his soliloquy and narrowed his eyes.

All I could say was a sack of crap was rolling down the street.

He may be human because Roba is rubbing against the Zuta bag looking worried.

"... are you going down"

Cole made the carriage go, thinking it smelled nasty.

If I were alive, well, I thought I could help.