The Birth of Deposits (3)
Under the Peaceful Sky, on the Vast Plains.
In the mercenary camp positioned behind the fortress, the mercenaries who were tired of their monotonous and repetitive daily lives gathered together to chat about various topics.
The main topic of conversation was the time for them to leave.
"It seems like it's about time for us to leave. What do you all think?"
One of them started the conversation, and the other mercenaries quickly chimed in.
"Right. It's about time for us to leave. There's no reason for people like us to stay in a place where nothing is happening, right?"
"My body is getting restless."
"I agree. It's so boring that I'm going crazy."
"It's really boring."
One mercenary then began to scold those who had complained about the boredom, laughing as he did so.
In his view, their complaints were absurd.
"Hey, why don't you understand that this is happiness? We just need to peacefully wait while we earn money. Why do you have so many complaints? Maybe you need to fight with orcs to appreciate what you have?"
"Right, that's true. Even if we are mercenaries who make a living on the battlefield, human lives are always precious. Although it's a bit boring, this is the best situation for us. I want to live like this for the rest of my life."
Another mercenary, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, chimed in.
"Let's enjoy this happiness while we can, as our mercenary lives can be easily cut off if we become useless. Don't do anything foolish just because you're bored."
Most of them nodded in agreement.
In the midst of this, one of them raised his voice again.
"By the way, the lord here must be very rich, right? It's not just one or two mercenary groups that he has hired from all over the place. It's amazing to see that he can maintain such a large force for years."
"That's true, especially considering he's just a lord of a remote region."
"I thought so too."
"Is there some hidden gold mine here or something?"
"Nah, I doubt it. This land has been left behind for a long time. It must be something else."
"Then what is it? How can he afford to spend so much money here?"
"Is he running some kind of business? Like trade or something."
"It doesn't seem like that."
As everyone's curiosity grew, a mercenary who had heard some stories stepped forward and answered their questions.
"I heard from the overseers here that it's all loans. He seems to have solved everything with loans from the bank."
"Loans? This is all because of loans?"
"Yes, all loans."
"Wow, that's incredible. He managed all this with loans?"
Upon learning the truth, the mercenaries let out a mix of disbelief and laughter.
They had thought that the lord of this remote region had some great secret since he had managed to secure his territory so well, but that wasn't the case.
With that, everyone's thoughts converged on one question: What was the lord thinking when he borrowed so much money?
"What kind of confidence did the lord have to borrow so much money? He must have borrowed quite a bit from the bank to expand his operation to this extent, right?"
"That's true."
"There's no particular source of income either. It's strange..."
"Maybe he's just relying on his status as a lord? After all, he's a lord."
"That's possible. People above us don't usually pay back their debts. They're even worse than us."
"I've also heard that the higher-ups don't pay back their debts. They really don't pay them back. What's the point of the underlings making a fuss when the boss doesn't care? If I were in their position, I'd ignore them too."
As the conversation unfolded, the mercenaries began to feel sorry for the bank that had lent money to the lord.
In reality, it was not the case at all.
"Still, the lord here is a very remarkable person when it comes to his love for his territory. Look at the huge fortress he built with all that money. You can see the lord's determination to protect this place at any cost."
"I heard that the royal family has given up on this place... But looking at how he's managed to hold on, money really can't be beaten."
"That's true. Whether the royal family abandons this place or not, what does it matter if you have enough money? You can solve everything on your own."
"Besides, this place is really secure. With a fortress like that and this scale of military force... I wouldn't even bother looking at it if I were an orc."
"That's why it's so boring."
"True."
As they were enjoying their conversation, they saw a familiar face running towards them from a distance.
Upon closer inspection, it was a fellow mercenary who had been getting along well with them.
He had sprinted over, panting as if he had brought some important news.
"Hey, did you hear the rumor? It seems that we're going to start withdrawing soon."
"What? We're withdrawing from here? When?"
"Starting today. It seems that they're going to withdraw from one or two places at a time, and I happened to overhear the overseer and the captain talking about it earlier. It looks like we'll be leaving soon as well."
The inevitable had finally arrived.
They couldn't stay in this peaceful territory, making easy money, forever.
Everyone heaved a mix of relief and regret upon hearing the news, having expected it to some extent.
"Well, the war is coming to an end."
"I knew this day would come. Time to find another job and get excited about running around again."
While the majority of the mercenaries accepted the reality, some couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Will the war really end so easily? Is it already over?"
"How would we know what's going on with them? It's been quiet for months now. At this point, they probably don't have the will to fight each other anymore."
"What's so good about war? All it does is deepen the emotional wounds between both sides."
"It's not like one of the dwarves or orcs will be completely ruined by fighting each other."
"Exactly. They just fight each other moderately, and we come to places like this to make money under the pretext of protection. Isn't that the best?"
It was regrettable, but it couldn't be helped.
Everyone agreed, and the conversation shifted to the upcoming events.
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