After leaving Green Lake Town and some distance into an area where weapons control laws were ineffective, Henry and Mira armed themselves.
While Thu'omyr is still generally much more peaceful than most others, baring fangs and claws is the right thing to do when traveling in the wilderness. Especially when there are young girls like the Luoan girl in the team, this approach can make potential lawbreakers somewhat wary and give up any dirty thoughts that are about to happen.
Galeva, who was following behind, also followed suit, but this young man who had just obtained the weapon in just two or three days clearly knew nothing about protective weapons. He stared at it for a long time without knowing what to do with the two extra thin straps on the strap that came with the cheap soft leather sheath, so he took it upon himself to ignore them and stuff the entire knife inside the belt according to his own guess.
In his simple mind, he had a vague intuition that what he was doing was not right, but due to his lack of knowledge, he did not think about it in detail. He just followed his own imagination and felt that wearing it like this would not be a big problem.
Wishful thinking immediately taught him a lesson after taking a step forward. The long guard for blocking the one-handed sword tucked into the inside of his belt happened to be attached to his lower left abdomen. The one-word steel gauntlet, which was stunned, hit his abdomen every time it moved. The blade of the sword went vertically downward and started to slap his own thigh as soon as he took one step, which was also very embarrassing.
'It's a shame the mercenaries can bear this awkward feeling'
I don’t know whether I should call him too stubborn to save the face to ask, or a simple-minded person who thinks this is the right thing to do. Maybe it’s both. In short, Galeva had to walk for more than an hour despite this discomfort, and finally, by luck, our Luoan girl turned around and caught a glimpse of this.
"Weapons must be tied outside..." She held her forehead and was speechless, and Henry, who turned around, also seemed speechless.
"The sullen voice of the Suomir people sometimes makes people really angry for no reason." The sage who was born in the Suomir people said this, and Mira rolled her eyes at him.
The two people who stopped quickly got off their horses, and then the sighing Luoan girl walked up to Galeva and pulled out the sword tied to his waist.
"Wow -" The swordsman who had been trained for many years faced the fledgling porter. Although he had an advantage in physique, he seemed full of loopholes in front of Mira. The white-haired girl quickly grabbed the two thin leather straps on Galeva's belt, then skillfully tied two self-tightening knots, adjusted the length and then released her hands.
"Eh - this is -" Galeva immediately noticed the difference. Mira mounted the sword on his waist almost horizontally but at a slight angle. Instead of stuffing it directly into his belt, he used the two thin leather straps to tie it to the sheath. The hanging method of carrying it made it easy for him to move around without being hit by the weapon.
"But you?" He lowered his head and looked at the weapons hung horizontally on his own, and then looked at the weapons hung vertically on the horses by Mira and Henry, looking a little confused.
"If you hang it vertically when walking, it will slap your thighs, and the end of the sheath will hit the ground. After mounting the horse, if you hang it horizontally, it will slap the horse's body, so it should be vertical on the horse's back, and horizontally when walking." Mira said briefly. Explain to him to clear up his doubts, and then prepare to walk back to the horse.
But it was at this time that there was a sound of intensive horse hooves ahead, and then a group of heavily armored knights appeared in sight.
The lances they held high had colorful battle flags attached to them, and their armors shone in the sunlight. Then when they passed by the three of them, they glanced at each other and the leading knight suddenly reined in his horse. The sage quickly pulled the cover under the saddle to cover the hilt of the sword.
"Haha——" The knight glanced at the two of them and made a disdainful sound, while the other knights next to him didn't have a very good attitude either. But they didn't go any further and continued on their way after staying no more than two or three seconds.
After the turbulent knights passed by, the sage silently pulled the cover again and exposed the hilt of the sword.
The weapons of both him and Mira were mounted on the back of the left leg of the war horse. From this position, if you bend down slightly and reach out, you can grab the hilt of the sword, pull it out and fight on horseback. The overall height of horses with grassland blood is slightly shorter. With a shoulder height of only 1.6 meters, they are okay with one-handed swords hanging on them. Mira's 1.2 meter long sword is also passable, but for a total length of 1 meter For a 5-year-old Kramer, if you encounter a slightly rugged terrain, it will easily hit the debris on the ground.
Therefore, Henry's hanging method also has a certain tilt angle, but this makes it more difficult for him to draw the sword. But in order to keep a low profile and to hide in time when encountering such a situation, the sage still chose to hang on the horse instead of carrying it behind his back.
"Why do they seem to be -" Galeva, who had little experience in this profession, noticed the gaze of the noble knight. He was obviously staring at the mercenary badges of the two men and made such a mocking sound.
"Do you want to say that you are not on the right track with the mercenaries?" the sage said, and Galeva nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
"This is not something that happens in a day or two. After all, there will always be friction in the profession." Henry and Mira got on their horses again, and Galeva, who was behind them, also led the little unicorn to catch up. The road started to get a little bumpy, and they slowed down and started chatting.
Maybe it was because there was a new junior and he started to consider himself as a senior. Our Luoan girl was a little proud and told Galeva a lot of little knowledge.
Taking the team of knights she had just come into contact with as the starting point of the topic, Mira spoke enthusiastically——
"...So, it is the standard equipment of the cavalry to hang swords and one-handed blunt weapons as backup weapons on the horse, and then hold the main battle weapon such as a spear in the hand. In comparison The dismounted infantrymen who only use horses as a means of transportation and do not know how to fight on horseback carry their swords around their waists the whole time. This is a little trick to distinguish whether someone knows how to fight on horseback."
"Many members of the war mercenary group who are poor knights and are good at riding are also dressed like this." Henry continued, and Galeva kept nodding, but when the two of them looked at him, But he found that those emerald green eyes were full of confusion.
I don’t know whether this simple-minded young man understood it or not.
"What about the incompatibility between knights and mercenaries?" He asked this question. Apparently, Galeva was more concerned about the other party's attitude just now than details such as weapons and equipment.
"..." Mira frowned depressedly. Although they gave him a weapon, the young man Galeva was obviously not as interested in swordsmanship as the Luoan girl herself.
This is also related to his living environment. At that time, Mira believed that she was very powerless and lived in turmoil. As a persecuted Luoan, Mira wanted to gain the power to fight back and became interested in martial arts.
In contrast, the young porter grew up in the peaceful era of Suomir, and he had an instinctive aversion to war and fighting. Although I felt a little flattered when I received the sword, that was only because of the price. He actually still has little interest in fighting.
She would choose to travel with two people because she just wanted to see the world. She didn't want to make a living and change her destiny like Mira did back then.
Although they were traveling together, Galeva was not traveling with them in a deeper sense.
The three people's origins, life trajectories, personalities and wishes are quite different. By extension, the choices you make when facing the same thing are very different.
Mira, who has traveled with Henry for a long time, already has a typical swordsman's thinking. When judging the opponent or the surrounding environment, she will start from the smallest details, grasp the environmental factors in detail, and ensure that she can adapt to changes at any time.
With just a few observations, she noticed various details of those knights. In contrast, Galeva still thinks like a common man. What he cares about is whether there are some conflicts between mercenaries and knights, two classes that are also far away from him but will affect his life—— Or to put it in more popular terms, he wants to hear gossip.
"Huh--" Mira, who was in high spirits just now, drooped her little head and became less interested after noticing that the other party was not interested in weapons and equipment and combat.
Anyway, the road ahead was idle. Seeing that Galeva was so curious, Henry began to explain instead of the Luoan girl who had lost interest in chatting.
Mira was not interested at first, but Henry's way of explaining things was always profound and easy to understand. In addition, she did not have a complete understanding of this aspect of knowledge, so she gradually attracted her attention.
In the same plain tone as always, the historical origins that Henry spoke about gradually became clear to the two people who listened silently.
"The history of mutual dislike between the knights, nobles and mercenary classes originally originated from the conflict between classes."
"No one remembers the origin of the mercenary profession. Considering various factors, this profession may be almost as old as the history of human war. But the real systematization and professionalization are still relatively recent."
"The reason why the mercenary union has prospered and prospered today is inseparable from the excellent operation of the management, but it actually also has opportunities."
"Today's listed mercenaries, in the eyes of most people, are existences that ordinary people would want to keep away from. But if you ask me, they are actually much better than before." He slowed down and moved forward slowly. The two listened quietly to Henry's story.
"The reason why the mercenary profession is hated by nobles is actually very simple." The sage raised a finger: "Most mercenaries are civilians. They work hard to plunder loot in exchange for money, buy weapons and equipment, and so on. ."
"You all know the pronunciation of the word mercenary in Lamani, right?" Henry turned his head and looked at the two of them.
"I know." Both of them nodded, and the sage continued: "This is what most people call them nowadays, but in ancient times, this was not actually what the nobles called mercenaries."
"Rovadikala - this is a contemptuous term for mercenaries that still exists in Laman language." Henry said, Galeva frowned, and Mira thought for a while before understanding the meaning of this word: " Corpse picker?" She said this in modern common Lamani language, Galeva showed an expression of realization, and the sage nodded.
"As the name suggests, imagine it. Poor farmers were forced to take up arms and fight on the battlefield. If they were lucky enough to survive after the war, what would they do?"
"Pick up the equipment of those nobles who died in battle." The sage shrugged.
"Patchwork equipment is the basis for many mercenaries to make a fortune. Of course, only a few idiots will keep it for themselves, and most of them will sell it to others on the black market. After all, many armors and weapons have nobles on them. It wouldn’t be a good idea if the coat of arms is sought revenge by the surviving descendants.”
"And you can easily figure out the reason why this offended the nobles, right?" the sage said, and both of them nodded.
"In the past when class was strict, untouchables who were cannon fodder for low-level infantry dared to steal the trophies belonging to the victorious nobles. This was a crime that required hanging. Then coupled with class discrimination, even though they were opponents in name, they We are both of the knight class, but after death we were stripped of all our weapons by these poor people. It is no wonder that the knights and nobles from the same friendly camp also have a bad feeling."
"Even if their interests are hostile in the short term, generally speaking, the nobles are still the same people as them. In comparison, these poor people who are uneducated and despicable in their eyes are creatures from another world. ." He said, while Mira and Galeva were more or less silent.
"After this happened many times, the mercenaries wandering around began to suffer persecution. Not only the nobles who hated them, but also a class of civilians who yearned to live and work in peace and contentment also began to regard them as the culprits of the war. ."
"After all, it is common sense that the civilian class must not resist the aristocratic class. In contrast, mercenaries who are also civilians will not be punished if they kill them. On the contrary, they will be praised in this atmosphere, right?" Sage Shrugging, Mira and Galeva both heard the sarcasm in his tone.
"How foolish." Galeva lowered his head.
"It's human nature." Mira sighed.
"In short, in this atmosphere, mercenaries began to be detained, tortured and even killed for inexplicable reasons after entering some small towns. After this continued for a period of time, in order to protect themselves, they began to band together."
"But this led to further conflicts. The mercenaries who formed a group posed a threat because of their numerical superiority. The knights, nobles and local lords were even more wary of their existence. They were afraid that the uncontrolled army composed of these civilians would set off a threat. The craze of their rule, and the war began.”
"At the end of the war, a small organization with a long history but little reputation before took advantage of the situation to rise."
"That's what it is today." Henry paused: "The Mercenary Union."
"Gathering together various organizations, large and small, like a pile of scattered sand, it became a force large enough for the local nobles to think twice before taking action. From this, they gained the right to speak and began to fight for the interests of the mercenaries."
"It didn't stop there, but started to standardize, systematize, and professionalize everything. Identification tags were distributed, task release and rating systems were arranged, and rewards and punishments began."
"If a mercenary commits a crime, civilians or nobles can come to the union to discuss the decision and punish them. And if a mercenary is persecuted, the union will also stand up for them."
"Of course, it is not absolutely fair." The sage shrugged again, with a sarcastic tone: "But this professional approach has gradually won people's trust. After all, if you can escape the priest, you cannot escape the church. In the hearts of ordinary people, this is the mentality I gradually began to feel that this organization was trustworthy.”
"Today's mercenary class can become an independent existence with a special identity, backed by trade unions, and has relatively normalized relations with nobles and civilians. It can be said that it is all inseparable from the efforts of those people back then."
"But even so, some things still can't be changed." When Henry said this, he suddenly sighed. Only Mira, who was very familiar with him, noticed this.
There was obviously something that her teacher had not yet fully explained, the girl thought, but she just remembered silently and did not ask immediately.
"Fights still exist, and there are endless people who want to ban this organization. On the surface, it looks relatively peaceful and there is no conflict. In fact, secretly it is like playing a tug-of-war game. The struggle between the union and various nobles has never stopped."
"But -" Mira suddenly thought of something and frowned: "The nobles we have met in other places before did not directly show hostility like those guys just now."
"The answer to this question is very simple, little girl." Henry turned his head and glanced at her, then looked around, and said in a steady tone:
"Because the war that gave rise to the mercenary union happened right here."
"..." The girl fell into silence.
"Maybe it's because I feel regret for having created this influential organization, or maybe it's for some other reason. In short, the soldiers and nobles here in Talwa Suta are not very friendly to mercenaries. "
"But don't worry, the mercenaries now have special status, and they won't do it easily."
"Huh..." Mira breathed a sigh of relief, as did Galeva who listened quietly.
"It's so complicated." The Luoan girl said with emotion, and Galeva nodded in agreement.
"Countries with a long history are generally like this. They are like a pot of over-stewed hodgepodge. All the food has lost its original taste and color, and is mixed together like mud."
"It's like a ball of wool that has been randomly messed up. Even if you try to untie it, it will only make the threads more entangled, leaving you with nothing but frustration."
"I'm afraid there are no new ingredients to add to such a pot of stew."
"It will be dyed into the color already in the pot."
Henry if you have any point.
The tone is flat.
But with a little sadness.
