CH 43

“Thank you, all three of you, for coming.”

“If you call me, of course I’ll come.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

“So you called us. Is there some kind of a big deal?”

Klein called Hans, Randolph, and Graham into his office.

Hans looks uncomfortable between the two stern men. He is the oldest of the three and has been employed by the company for a long time among the guards.

Therefore, Hans is in charge of this mission.

“You know that the security of the new territory has not fully recovered yet.”

So I hope Hans will do as well as the newcomer.

Klein begins by confirming.

“Yes, of course, but… you want me to work with them to maintain security?”

“That’s right.”

From Hans’ point of view, Randolph is not simply hot-headed and vicious but also traumatized by the demonic behavior he showed on his first mission.

Graham’s attitude was rough, which Hans also disliked.

Randolph, on the other hand, is flat with everyone. There is no particular chemistry between them.

He thinks Graham is not a good match for Hans. But then again, Hans is not good with most martial artists, so it is not too late.

Thinking it’s probably not a misdirection, Klein says of the three men’s purpose in coming together.

“I’m going to step up the enforcement.”

“…Well, there are a lot of wanderers and fugitives out there, you know.”

“Ahh. Now we’re done with poverty, so I think it’s time to get serious.”

Klein announced.

Graham clenched his right fist on his left palm and let out a loud “Bang!”  with his right fist on his left palm.

“Well, they’ve been a bit of a bore lately. If that’s what you want to do, use me.”

Graham, who had been a lieutenant commanding officer in the last war, looked like a punk or a thug.

He has a short mohawk and a scruffy head, with a bad look in his eye, a bad mouth, and an attitude.

He seems to take his work seriously, but in normal times he is just a ruffian, and he only shines when things get rough.

In this respect, he and Hans, a man of common sense, did not get along well with each other.

“Hey, you’re being rude.”

“It’s okay, Hans. It’s one of Graham’s conditions of service that I don’t ask him to be polite.”

“Heh, heh, heh. The viscount knows what he’s talking about.”

With such a condition, it is impossible for him to serve an aristocratic family, but his skill is of the first class.

He is a fierce fighter on the level of Randolph, a fighter that no ordinary martial artist can compete with.

The condition of his service was a modest request: “Let me do as I please, and feed me three full meals every day.”

So Klein did as he wished without going into detail about his conduct.

He is treated well in terms of salary, vacation, and authority.

He was satisfied with the status quo, so there was a lot of loyalty.

Most of all, coming from a poor background, he feels secure in the fact that there is almost no backstabbing.

Hans, who knows the conditions of employment, cannot go into depth but leaving that aside, he has other concerns.

“But, Klein-sama … Brynhildr is not here. Shouldn’t one of them be left as a guard?”

“Peter will be fine.”

Graham’s rough fighting style made him have the worst compatibility match with Brynhildr, who was a precision fighter.

But Brynhildr had gone to deliver a donation to the prince with some of his men and had not returned for some time.

So he only needs to be on the lookout for assassins from the outside.

Then, he can leave Peter, the headhunter, as a guard.

Peter used to be a master teacher at a prestigious dojo in the capital, and his swordsmanship is unparalleled in a one-on-one fight.

So Klein was not worried.

“Peter, I don’t know… much about him, but how much can you trust him?”

“Well, he’s okay.”

Peter was aloof and elusive.

He always had a vague smile on his face, and Klein sometimes felt that he was like Brynhildr.

So Klein also has an impression that he is somehow difficult to get to know.

However, he sometimes takes noblemen of the royal city as his disciples, and his social skills, not to mention his martial arts, are better than Klein’s. He is a man who is not only a good fighter but also a good socializer.

He has the education to match his rank and has recently become a useful bodyguard in a number of ways.

“Even if Peter is not reliable, Marius said that he provides an escort in the shadows,”

“That’s… true.”

Marius, who has organized an intelligence service, has also placed anti-assassin personnel around Klein.

He himself can fight well, so in the worst-case scenario, he can be the one to protect Klein.

Taking this into account, Klein is not worried about sending the two top military leaders.

“It’s all right. These three, go.”

“Uh, umm… I understand.”

Hans was a bit put off by the physical prowess of the martial artists.

However, he is a mature adult, and when it comes to his job, he does it properly to some extent.

For example, to Graham, Hans admits his ability to kill bandits and lead his henchmen on the battlefield.

Rather, it is Hans who has advised Klein to bring all the ruffians under his control.

He has developed a habit of bringing up subordinates who are more useful than he is. Klein is hoping that this could be used for training and selection.

“Randolph and Graham will take care of the policing, and Hans will lead the garrison to maintain security.”

But that’s beside the point. Let’s talk about the mission.

Klein returned to the conversation and turned to the three of them.

“Yes, sir.”

“Yeah!”

“Ah, no, wait… Klein-sama. What level of policing do you expect?”

Not so long ago, he thought that Randolph was just going to kick the crap out of his enemies. Recently, he has been studying more and more and has even started to pay attention to the operation’s goal.

If he knows the goal, it will be easier for him to make a plan to achieve it.

This is a pleasant change, but the order given by the lord is――

“This time, clean up everything. Root out all the disgruntled elements, crush and destroy them one by one.”

“Eh?”

“Ha?”

“Mm?”

―The remnants of the minor nobility and their cronies were to be exterminated.

Normally, Klein is a gentle, mild-mannered man.

He can crack a joke and is close to the commoners.

He is a benevolent lord without a trace of sarcasm.

Graham’s offhanded tone did not offend him. He was considered to be open-minded, as seen in the way he forgave Graham without taking any disrespect.

Hans and Randolph roll their eyes when the young man says something that is close to killing everyone by the roots.

“Whistle~. Huh, you’re very bold.”

Only Graham rebooted immediately and seemed to be enjoying himself, whistling a short tune.

But. Within a few dozen seconds, he was surprised again.

“It’s not going to change what we do. It’s an extension of security.”

Klein pulls out a map with targets already mapped on it.

―When will the uprising take place?

―Where are the areas and buildings they are hiding in?

―Who will stand at the head of the uprising?

―What methods will they use to attack?

―Why do they plan to start an uprising?

―How many people have they gathered?

When and where, who does what, and why

How is the specific strength of the group?

This information is written in great detail in the form of supplementary information.

“First of all, the biggest thing is that about 500 people will rise up in the old barony. This is because the baron’s eldest son is holding hostage the families of the leading figures and forcing them to follow him.”

“Ha?”

Graham’s face turned into a pout.

However, Klein continued without hesitation.

“First, I want you to organize a rescue mission and increase the number of our allies while reducing the enemy’s strength.”

“Ah, um…Klein-sama…?”

“Mmm…”

They have already decided where to attack each region, and all they need to do now is to get the actual troops into action.

That’s easy to understand.

That’s good, but that’s not the point.

“How did you find out that there are weapons hidden under the floor of the village headman’s house or that he is hiding in a stronghold deep in the mountains…?”

Set with the target on the map. The gathering places and hideouts of the disgruntled elements are open to the public, complete with detailed plans.

Of course, their motivation for insurgency and the strength or weakness of their motivation for rebellion.

Everything is revealed, from the inner workings to the backstory.

Even Graham, who sometimes leads the security forces, has a hunch that something is wrong in that village. He could tell that something was wrong in the village.

He was stunned to see the map that seemed to answer his question.