Chapter 780

Chapter 780
The village elder inquired, his expression mirroring absolute shock.
“You—you are claiming this is a frequent occurrence? That every one of you participates in this?”
“I am telling you, we performed the exact same actions in the previous settlement we visited. We could demonstrate it right this moment if we felt like it.”
Ghislain allowed a smirk to play on his features as he added,
“When we witness such a sight, we don’t simply ignore it.”
“……!!!”
The elder and the rest of the local residents turned ashen.
The chief in particular, having been the one to welcome the mercenaries into their midst, felt a deep sense of betrayal. He felt as though he had been played for a fool.
‘So it is true that you cannot trust a single person in this world…’
It wasn’t just a lone individual; the entire company of mercenaries were nothing but depraved lunatics!
Shaking, the elder managed to ask,
“A-Astion, was that the name?”
Wholly oblivious to the fact that his reputation was plummeting by the second, Ghislain announced his identity with pride.
“That’s right, I am the one and only Astion.”
“I was informed you were the second-in-command. D-Does your leader truly share these views?”
The elder struggled to process it.
The very same soldiers who had been so helpful and generous to the village—was this their true nature?
He felt the need to hear it directly from the captain, who usually remained silent.
As Ghislain shifted his gaze, Julien moved to the front.
Julien was wearing a mask, a precaution to prevent crowds from swarming him due to his striking features.
When Julien pulled the mask away, the villagers couldn’t help but gasp. His looks were truly that breathtaking.
Julien surveyed the area with a face that looked like it belonged in a masterpiece painting, speaking in a deep, steady tone.
“Whenever we encounter something like that… we never turn a blind eye. My intentions are perfectly aligned with theirs.”
The women of the village were even more appalled.
‘Wait, with a face like that?’
‘If you wanted to see it, just ask politely, for heaven’s sake!’
‘What is the use of being that handsome if you are going to behave like this?!’
The village elder was reaching a point of pure desperation. It sounded as though they were prepared to use violence to satisfy their urges.
His last shred of hope rested with Deneb. There was no way a woman hailed as a saintess would condone something so scandalous.
“S-Saintess! Surely you do not agree with this?”
Emitting a soft, holy radiance, Deneb met his gaze with resolve.
She was no longer the pushover who would simply agree with the villagers out of kindness.
“I do. For it is the desire of the Goddess.”
“……!!!”
The elder and the surrounding crowd were struck dumb.
She was actually making that claim while channeling divine energy?
Seriously, what kind of Goddess encourages people to spy on bathhouses?
The elder was now entirely certain.
‘T-They are madmen. They are members of some horrific cult.’
Even a simple man from the sticks knew that a deity wouldn’t demand such a thing. These people were clearly fanatics from some deranged religious sect.
‘It is no wonder they were so friendly. I was already suspicious of them helping us without asking for payment.’
They were just maniacs wearing masks of kindness, laughing at them the whole time.
The village elder collapsed to his knees and pleaded.
“I-I understand. We are sincerely grateful for the assistance you provided us.”
Ghislain balanced his staff across his shoulders and asked,
“And?”
“W-Would you please depart from our village now?”
The elder understood the perils of the world. He knew better than to incite these strangers.
Particularly if they belonged to some fanatical religious group.
Ghislain let out a brief chuckle.
“You’re suggesting we just walk away? Without doing a thing?”
‘The-They are finally revealing their true intentions!’
The elder broke into a heavy sweat. He spoke with every bit of courage he possessed.
“We… we possess very little, but we will offer whatever we can as a gesture of goodwill.”
The other villagers also fell to their knees.
They had arrived believing these were honorable people—after all, they had been their benefactors. But if the other party was committed to insanity, they were powerless to stop them.
Several young men and members of the village guard ground their teeth in anger. The village women began to weep.
To them, Ghislain remarked with total indifference,
“I told you, didn’t I? We don’t leave things unfinished. We must see this through to the conclusion.”
The mercenaries flanking him began to project a terrifying, aggressive aura.
The humble villagers had no way to withstand such pressure. Every face went pale.
“Aaaah…”
The village elder let out a pained sound.
They had crossed paths with truly malicious villains who wouldn’t stop until they had seen it.
The village would become a laughingstock, and their belongings would be seized. Even so, he had to prioritize their survival.
Finally, the elder fought back his tears and spoke,
“V-Very well. Please allow us a moment to get things ready.”
Ghislain gave him a mocking look. Get ready? With what? A group of amateurs?
“Get things ready? Fine. Proceed. Give it your all.”
“Y-Yes. We will do our best. Everyone! Go strip off your clothes and finish bathing!”
“Hic…”
“Degenerates…”
The village women began to sob. Yet the elder had no choice but to command them.
“I am sorry. This is to save the village. We cannot fight them with only our guard. Men, begin clearing the area around the bathhouse so it is easier for them to watch.”
Click.
Ghislain halted abruptly. The members of Julien’s Mercenary Corps did the same.
It finally dawned on them that a massive, terrible misunderstanding had occurred.
Ghislain faltered, his voice shaking with shock.
“H-H-Hold on, w-why are you taking your clothes off and, and taking a bath?”
“Pardon? Isn’t that what you were demanding?”
“Wh-Wh-Why on earth would we want that?!”
“But you have been talking about nothing else this whole time?”
“C-C-Can you repeat that for me?”
The village elder gestured toward Osvald and explained,
“He was caught spying on the women while they bathed… and he even struck one of the young men who tried to intervene… We came here to address that…”
Every head turned simultaneously.
Ghislain stared at Osvald in stunned silence, his jaw hanging open.
Julien, Deneb, Kyle, Ereneth, Lionel, and the rest of the mercenaries stood like statues, mouths agape. Even Dark, who had been observing with a lazy eye, let his beak drop.
And Osvald, under the weight of everyone’s stare…
Suddenly whipped around and bolted.
“It was a blast! Don’t come looking for me! I’m off to pursue my destiny!”
As Osvald made his escape, Ghislain looked completely crushed.
They had exerted so much effort to build the reputation of Julien’s Mercenary Corps!
A good name was difficult to establish, but a single blunder was enough to ruin it.
He had worked tirelessly to elevate their status, but now their notoriety was growing—in the most humiliating, disgraceful way possible.
Even the likes of Claude and Alfoy, the known troublemakers of Fenris, had never stooped to such a disgusting act.
Ghislain was trembling. The shock was so great he could barely stay upright.
“G-Get him! Capture that idiot!”
The others were still paralyzed by the revelation. Deneb sank to her knees, shut her eyes, and began a prayer for mercy.
Ereneth, the first to regain her composure, sprinted off and dragged Osvald back by force.
“Ack! I was mistaken! I just had a momentary revolutionary inspiration…!”
Thud!
Led by Ghislain, the group began to unleash their fury on Osvald.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Uwaaah! Please, have pity!”
Osvald was pummeled—truly and completely—in a manner befitting a revolutionary.
After receiving a thorough thrashing, he knelt before the locals and offered a plea for forgiveness.
“I-I’m… so sorry… Nghhh…”
Ghislain forced a strained, awkward smile and added,
“Our deepest apologies. This was… merely a massive error in communication…”
Both Ghislain and Julien offered their sincere regrets to the villagers multiple times. Deneb did as well.
Nevertheless, the village elder and the rest of the inhabitants still looked deeply uncomfortable.
In their eyes, Julien’s Mercenary Corps were nothing but unpredictable madmen. The way their behavior swung from one extreme to another made them impossible to rely on.
Even now, it felt like they were merely putting on a performance. It was more terrifying than it was comforting.
Not that they dared to protest. Who knew when these people might flip their switch again?
Ultimately, the village elder spoke with great caution.
“Ah… I see. It was a misunderstanding. But, um… the people are a bit rattled…”
“However, since we are the ones in the wrong, we would truly like to assist in finishing the building work—”
“No, no. We can manage the rest. What you have already provided is more than enough, we thank you.”
It was a transparent and polite way of saying, please leave our village immediately.
Left with no other options, Ghislain decided they would remain for just one more night before moving on.
The reason he didn’t depart right away was simple.
‘Those scoundrels…’
The villagers had gathered to watch with anxious faces. Among them were the individuals who had been stalking them previously.
Those bastards had witnessed the entire debacle and were now clearly fighting back laughter.
Watching them, Ghislain’s blood boiled—but given the current mess, he couldn’t afford to be the one to start a fight.
‘We will settle this tomorrow.’
Tonight had already dissolved into a disaster because of Osvald. If those people were planning to strike, it would happen the following day.
Now that some of them had shown their faces, it wouldn’t be simple for them to follow the group to another town.
With that thought, Ghislain composed himself and returned to the tavern where they were staying.
As he lay down, his mind was flooded with a million thoughts.
‘Dammit…’
Normally, Ghislain was indifferent to the opinions of others and simply forced his way through obstacles.
He wouldn’t claim he had never been accused of something, but this was the first time he had been labeled a voyeuristic pervert.
Ghislain was fuming. He tried to settle into his bed, but sleep remained elusive.
Finally, he leaped up and went to find Osvald once more.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“This is all because of you! You hear me?! Do you realize how hard I worked to establish our name?!”
“Gyaah! Please, show some mercy!”
Osvald had been snoring loudly in his sleep but was subjected to another beating. The other mercenaries, seeing a perfect chance to vent, joined the fray.
Consequently, no one managed to get a decent night’s rest. Daybreak arrived.
After giving Osvald another round of “correction,” Ghislain spoke quietly to the team,
“Tonight, stay alert. Above all, make sure Osvald doesn’t go off on any solo adventures.”
They all understood that the people who had been trailing them were masquerading as travelers.
Genuine travelers wouldn’t have left their associates waiting out in the cold.
The villagers no longer ventured near the mercenary company’s quarters.
Ghislain, Julien, and Deneb once again apologized to the elder and provided a substantial sum of gold.
It wouldn’t wash away their bad reputation, but it might at least make it slightly more bearable.
With that, the mercenary company packed their gear and finished their preparations to depart—by throwing a massive drinking celebration.
As bottles rattled and clattered across the floor, the mercenaries all appeared to fall into a deep sleep. Except for Deneb, Ereneth, and a few key leaders, everyone slumped over right there in the common room.
But they weren’t truly sleeping. It was a ruse—acting intoxicated, acting unconscious.
All except for one individual.
“Snooorrr… Hrghhh… Revolution…”
“……”
Osvald had been given no special orders. He had genuinely passed out from the alcohol.
Regardless, someone had to make the performance believable. Osvald simply happened to be a natural fit for the part.
Before long, the scene appeared perfectly authentic—drunken, passed-out soldiers scattered everywhere.
And some time later—
‘Slip…’
Shadowy figures draped in heavy cloaks snuck into the mercenary company’s lodgings.
Ghislain detected their arrival immediately. But he remained still.
The other mercenaries followed suit. They accepted the danger of an ambush with their eyes firmly shut.
They placed their total trust in Ghislain, Julien, and the other commanders.
The intruders silently inspected the soldiers. Then, they cautiously began to pick up the pre-packed luggage.
Ghislain clicked his tongue internally.
‘Tch. Seriously? All this effort, and they are just common burglars?’
It made no sense. If their goal was theft, they had numerous opportunities before this.
Why wait until they were in this village to strike, after following them for so long?
If they were after the supplies, an ambush in the mountain pass would have been far more logical.
There was no intent to kill—yet it was obvious these people were targeting them.
Up until now, he had restrained himself for the sake of their public image. But now that they had revealed themselves as enemies, there was no longer any reason to be patient.
BOOM!
Ghislain lunged to his feet and sent the closest intruder flying across the room.
“Don’t kill them. We need to interrogate them.”
The moment the order was given, every mercenary sprang up and initiated an assault on the intruders.
The infiltrators were seized by panic and tried to escape—but they were facing superhumans.
Lacking any real fighting prowess, the attackers were quickly beaten down and knocked unconscious.
BOOM!
Another intruder was sent crashing through the wall and out of the building by one of Ghislain’s heavy blows.
“They have a bit of training, so a few strikes won’t kill them, right? I have some stress I need to release.”
Ghislain smirked and began spinning his staff in great, sweeping arcs.
He was already frustrated thanks to Osvald. Now that these people had been caught in the act, he could beat them as much as he pleased.
The downed intruder clawed at the floor with a look of pure terror.
But once Ghislain had marked someone for a beating, there was no escaping him.
Before the attacker could even stand, Ghislain was right in front of him, raising his weapon.
“Since things have come to this, you’d better start talking and tell me everything you know.”
He was just about to bring the staff down when—
WHAM!
A figure blocked his path.
Ghislain instinctively adjusted his strike—but stopped dead.
‘No way…’
It was a woman in a mask. But that piercing stare—he had encountered it somewhere before.
In that split second, her cloak flared out and dozens of throwing knives whistled through the air.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Ghislain parried the projectiles and jumped back.
Whoosh!
The masked woman’s form dissolved like a shadow. The fallen intruder was suddenly yanked away by an unseen force.
Simultaneously, the other infiltrators began a frantic attempt to flee.
A slow grin spread across Ghislain’s face.
“So, we finally come face to face. I was wondering when this would happen. I suppose it was inevitable one way or another.”
BOOM!
Ghislain erupted with magical power and charged after the masked woman.
Meanwhile, the villagers who had scrambled outside due to the noise…
‘I knew it. They were only pretending to be decent people.’
‘They are attacking innocent travelers!’
‘These people are truly dangerous…’
Their misconception regarding Julien’s Mercenary Corps became even more deeply entrenched.