The Brothers Were Brave (2)
The sudden statement startled the younger brother.
"What are you talking about? A way to make money?"
"You know, those mercenary uncles over there. Didn't they come from quite far away? I believe there are none near our village."
"Those uncles? They probably did come from far away."
For children who loved playing war games, a troop of mercenaries, clad in swords, was of the utmost interest.
Especially if it was a well-known troop of mercenaries, it was needless to say more, and that's why, driven by curiosity, groups of children had made their way to the camp where the mercenaries were staying. They were well aware of their location because of such visits.
"Right? But why did they set up camp so far away? Does Andrew, your older brother, know?"
"They apparently don't get along with the locals. Since they're not from this domain, the uncles seem to really dislike them. It looks like the mercenaries are keeping their distance on purpose."
Among the younger Andrew's friends, there were some who were quite good at making connections.
One of these friends had asked the passing Hound mercenaries, and that was the response they had gotten, which Andrew had overheard.
"Really?"
"But what was that you said earlier? That there's a way to make money. You know you'll really get it if you're bluffing, right?"
Andrew, the second, threatened Joshua, the third, who then sparkled with excitement.
"It's true. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, Andrew. You see those mercenary uncles over there, right? They really came from a far place to buy ingredients at the market, didn't they?"
"That seems to be the case."
"Then, we can just run errands for those uncles instead. Think about it, it must be annoying for them to come all the way here every time."
"You mean to run errands now?"
"Yeah, if we run errands for them, they'll give us a fee for our trouble."
After a moment's thought, the second also seemed to agree.
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Andrew, let's do this before other kids start doing it."
Encouraged by Joshua, the third, Andrew suddenly stood up from his seat.
"I'll go and talk to them."
As Andrew decided to take the lead, Joshua followed him without any complaints.
All the while, he admired his older brother.
"Indeed, the second brother is the best for such tasks."
Andrew, who had managed to follow the mercenaries all the way, spoke up.
"Excuse me, sirs."
The mercenaries, belonging to the Hound group, were in a foul mood, having lost a bet that forced them to come all the way to the village market.
It was a considerable distance from the campsite to the village market, and today, they had been chosen to be in charge of gathering ingredients.
Moreover, due to the unpleasant nature of mercenaries, they were required to walk all the way to the market.
That was the condition of the bet.
"What do you want?"
The rough-looking mercenaries scowled as a bold kid approached them.
They obviously thought he was one of those annoying village kids who clung like flies, asking for money.
"If you've come to ask for money, we've got none. Not even a speck of dust."
One of the mercenaries waved his hand dismissively, but Andrew bravely stepped forward.
"It's not that. I was wondering if you need someone to run errands?"
At this, Joshua, who had been silently watching from behind, began to cheer for his younger brother.
He was too scared to talk to adults as boldly as his younger brother did.
"An errand? Since there's no work, just go away."
A mercenary, clearly annoyed, was about to shoo away the children who had come to him, but as he walked away, another mercenary began to show interest in what Andrew had said.
"Hey, what did you just say? An errand?"
One of the mercenaries showed interest, and seizing the moment, the second child stretched his lips into a long grin.
"Yes, we asked if you needed someone for errands. Isn’t it tough for you guys to come all this way to the camp to buy groceries every time? If you’re going to do that every time, why not let us handle it? We’ll make sure to bring it right to where you are."
One of the mercenaries, who was interested in Andrew's offer, whistled long and called out to the two mercenaries who had left earlier.
"Hey! This kid here says he'll run errands for us."
"What kind of errands?"
"Just come over here first."
Some of the mercenaries had to make the sacrifice of coming all the way to the town market every time they needed to buy groceries.
Although it was possible to buy a lot of groceries at once, preparing food with ingredients that had been kept for too long could lead to a decline in the taste of the food. Therefore, someone who lost a bet had to come to the town market to buy the day's groceries each time.
"It looks like we'll be getting busy soon. We can't keep doing this every time, can we? Everyone is too busy resting to have time to come all the way here. Let's just have the kids here solve the ingredient problem."
Upon hearing this, the two mercenaries who came along started nodding their heads.
The subjugation operation, which had been indefinitely prolonged due to the Orc Shaman problem, was showing signs of starting soon with the recruitment of a magician. Once the subjugation operation began, it was obvious that they would be too busy to even blink.
"I think I'm okay with it."
"Me too."
As they reached a consensus, one of the mercenaries looked at Andrew with a slightly suspicious expression.
