I Heard the Gist. (2)
The village chief asked, his expression one of disbelief.
"W-what, you mean this happens often? R-really, they all do that?"
"I'm telling you, yeah? The village we stopped by before coming here was the same. I could do it right now if I wanted."
Ghislain curled up the corners of his mouth as he continued.
"We don't just let that kind of thing slide, you know."
"...!!!"
The faces of the village chief and the villagers turned pale.
Especially the village chief, who had allowed the mercenary corps to stay in the village, looked deeply troubled. He was starting to feel very much deceived.
'R-right, they say you can't trust a single soul in this world…'
It wasn't just one guy either—turns out the entire mercenary corps were a bunch of perverted bastards!
The village chief trembled as he asked,
"A-Astion, was it?"
Unaware that his infamy was rising in real time, Ghislain proudly gave his name.
"Yeah, I am Astion."
"I heard you're the vice-captain. A-are you saying the captain thinks the same way?"
The village chief simply couldn't believe it.
How could the true nature of the mercenary corps, who had been so kind and worked so hard for the village, be this twisted?
He wanted to hear what the ever-silent captain thought about all this.
As Ghislain turned his head, Yulian stepped forward.
Yulian was wearing a mask. It was to avoid the hassle of people swarming him because of his looks.
When Yulian removed his mask, the villagers couldn't help but gasp in admiration. His appearance was just that overwhelming.
Yulian looked around at everyone with an expression like a painting and spoke softly.
"Whenever we see something like that… we absolutely will not overlook it. My will is the same as everyone else's."
At those words, the village women were even more shocked.
'No way, that face… why?'
'Just politely ask to watch, if you must!'
'Why waste that face like this?'
The village chief was growing truly desperate. It sounded like they were saying they must watch, even by force.
Now, the only one he could trust was Deneb. Surely someone called a Saintess wouldn't agree with such indecent behavior.
"S-Saintess! Do you truly feel the same?"
Deneb gave off a faint holy radiance as she answered with firm eyes.
She was no longer the pushover who used to blindly side with people.
"Yes, because this is what the Goddess desires."
"...!!!"
The village chief and villagers were all completely dumbfounded.
Was that really something to say while radiating divine power?
No, what kind of Goddess would desire peeping into a bathhouse?
Now the village chief was convinced.
'T-they're insane. They're all lunatics from a crazy cult!'
Even a backwater bumpkin knows God wouldn't want something like that. These people were definitely all mad cultists.
'No wonder they approached us so kindly. I wondered why they were offering help for free.'
They must've just been pretending to be kind while actually mocking them all along.
The village chief fell to his knees and said,
"I, I understand. I truly appreciate all the help you've given us."
Ghislain asked, resting his staff on his shoulder,
"So?"
"C-could you please leave the village now?"
The village chief knew how dangerous the world was. You had to avoid offending outsiders at all costs.
Especially when they were part of a crazy religious group.
At that, Ghislain chuckled.
"You're telling us to just leave? Without doing anything?"
'T-they're finally showing their true colors!'
The village chief was dripping cold sweat. He mustered every ounce of strength to speak.
"W-we don't have much, but we will do our best to show sincerity."
All the villagers fell to their knees.
They had only come to complain because they'd received help before and believed the mercenaries to be reasonable people.
But if the other side was going to be this unreasonable, they had no means of resisting.
Some young men and members of the town watch wore bitter expressions. The village women's eyes welled up with tears.
To those people, Ghislain said indifferently,
"I told you, didn't I? We don't just let things slide. We can't rest easy unless we see it through to the end."
At the same time, the mercenaries flared their aura.
The innocent villagers had no chance of withstanding it. Their faces turned completely pale.
"Ahhh…"
The village chief let out a sigh.
So they had to see it through. They'd run into some very wicked people.
The village would be thoroughly humiliated and stripped of their resources. But at the very least, he had to protect the lives of the people.
Eventually, the village chief choked up as he spoke.
"A-alright. Please give us time to prepare."
Then Ghislain smirked mockingly. What, were they going to prepare to fight with some local thugs?
"Prepare? Sure, go ahead, give it your all."
"Y-yes, we will do our very best. Everyone! Hurry and go finish your baths, and take off your clothes!"
"Sniff sniff…"
"Perverts…"
The village women cried, but the chief had no choice but to push them.
"I'm sorry. It's for the sake of the village, we have no other choice. The town watch alone can't handle them. Men, clear the area around the bathhouse so these folks can have a good view."
Clack.
Ghislain froze mid-motion. Yulian and the other mercenaries also stopped moving.
They finally realized that something was, very, very wrong.
So shocked, Ghislain stuttered,
"W-w-w-wait, w-why are you all stripping and b-bathing?"
"Yes? Isn't that what you all wanted?"
"W-w-w-why would we want that?"
"Isn't that what you've been talking about this whole time?"
"C-c-c-could you say that again?"
The village chief pointed at Osval and said,
"That man was caught peeping on the village women bathing… and when the young men tried to stop him, he even used his fists… That's what we came here to report…"
Everyone's heads turned sharply.
Ghislain stared blankly at Osval, mouth agape.
Yulian, Deneb, Kyle, Erenes, Lionel, and all the other mercenaries were stunned, mouths hanging open. Even Dark, who'd been lazily watching, dropped his beak.
And Osval, under everyone's gaze…
Suddenly turned and ran away.
"It was fun while it lasted! Don't come looking for me! I'm off to pursue my dream!"
As they watched Osval's fleeing back, Ghislain's face looked like his world had ended.
All this time, they had worked to build up the reputation of the Yulian Mercenary Corps!
Reputation is hard to build but can plummet with just one mistake.
He had worked so hard to raise their name, only for their infamy to grow—and in the sleaziest way possible.
Even troublemakers like Claude and Alpoi of the Fenris Domain never stooped to something this disgusting.
Ghislain trembled. The shock was so great he could barely stand.
"G-get him! Grab that bastard!"
Everyone else was still in shock. Deneb had even dropped to her knees and begun praying for forgiveness.
Thankfully, Erenes recovered quickly and caught Osval in a flash.
"Argh! I was wrong! The revolutionary thoughts just came over me…!"
Whack!
Starting with Ghislain, everyone jumped in to beat the hell out of Osval.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Aaaargh! Spare me! Please!"
Osval was beaten by everyone in the most revolutionary way possible.
After getting thoroughly beaten, he knelt before the villagers and offered an apology.
"I-I'm… sorry… nghhh…"
Ghislain also gave an awkward smile as he spoke.
"Sorry. This is… well, it was all a misunderstanding…"
Ghislain and Yulian apologized to the villagers several times. Deneb did the same.
But the village chief and the villagers only looked more uneasy.
To them, the Yulian Mercenary Corps were just unstable lunatics. They changed their tune so often it was impossible to trust them.
They even worried if the mercenaries were still acting, putting on some new performance.
But they couldn't call them out on it either. Who knew when their mood might flip again?
Eventually, the village chief cautiously said,
"Ah, I see. So there was a misunderstanding. But, well… the villagers are still frightened…"
"Still, since it's our fault, we'd like to finish helping with the construction—"
"No, no, we'll finish it ourselves. We're grateful for all you've done so far."
That was his polite way of saying get out now.
Ghislain had no choice but to stay just one more night before leaving.
The reason he didn't leave immediately wasn't anything special.
'Those bastards…'
A crowd of villagers had gathered, watching with worried expressions. Among them were some of the people who had been tailing them.
Those guys had been watching everything and were now barely holding in their laughter.
Seeing that, Ghislain burned with rage inside, but in this situation, they couldn't be the ones to pick a fight.
'I'll find out tomorrow.'
Tonight was already chaotic enough thanks to Osval. If those people were targeting them, they'd make their move tomorrow.
Since some of them had already shown their faces, it would be harder for them to keep following from village to village.
Ghislain steadied his heart and returned to their lodging.
Lying in bed, all sorts of thoughts swirled through his head.
'Damn it…'
Normally, Ghislain wouldn't care what people said and would push forward recklessly.
It's not like he's never experienced injustice, but being treated like a pervert was a first.
Ghislain was furious. He tried to close his eyes and rest, but sleep wouldn't come.
So he jumped up and went looking for Osval again.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Because of you! Huh? Do you know how much I cared about our reputation?!"
"Uwaaaah! Spare me!"
Osval had been snoring away when he got beaten again. The other mercenaries, seeing the chance, joined in on the beating too.
And so, a night of unrest passed, with no one getting any proper sleep.
In the morning, after giving Osval one last round of "education," Ghislain quietly told everyone,
"Tonight, no one let their guard down. Especially, don't let Osval go off on his own."
They all knew the ones tailing the mercenary corps had disguised themselves as travelers.
If they were just ordinary travelers, they wouldn't have left comrades waiting outside.
The villagers no longer came near the mercenaries' lodging.
Ghislain, Yulian, and Deneb apologized again to the village chief and offered generous compensation.
It wouldn't erase their infamy entirely, but at least it would help soften things a bit.
After packing and finishing preparations to leave, the mercenaries held a grand drinking party.
By the time the bottles were rolling all over the place, the mercenaries had all passed out. Except for Deneb, Erenes, and a few officers, the rest lay sprawled out in the lodging hall.
But in truth, they weren't actually asleep. They were only pretending to be drunk and asleep.
All except for one.
"Krrrh… sssnnkk… revolution…"
"..."
Osval hadn't been given any instructions. He had truly gotten drunk and fallen asleep.
In any case, one person needed to act naturally. That person just happened to be Osval.
The atmosphere was set—any observer would think everyone was drunk and asleep.
And a short while later—
Sllrp…
Figures in dark robes silently infiltrated the mercenaries' lodging.
Ghislain sensed their presence. But he didn't move.
The other mercenaries were the same. They closed their eyes, accepting the risk of a surprise attack.
They trusted Ghislain and the other officers of the Yulian Mercenary Corps.
The intruders quietly looked around at the mercenaries. Then they began to carefully pick up the bags the mercenaries had packed.
Ghislain clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Tch, what's this? Petty theft?'
It made no sense. If they were going to steal, they could've done it earlier.
There was no reason to follow them all the way to this village just to make a move here.
If the luggage was their goal, it would've made more sense to ambush them in the mountains.
There was no murderous intent, but it was now clear they were being targeted.
Until now, he had held back for the sake of their reputation, but now that they were proven enemies, there was no need to hold back any longer.
Boom!
Ghislain sprang up and blasted away the nearest intruder.
"Don't kill them. We've got things to ask."
At his words, all the mercenaries rose and attacked the intruders.
The intruders panicked and tried to flee, but unfortunately for them, there were superhumans here.
Lacking proper training, the intruders were beaten down without a chance to resist.
Booom!
An intruder struck again by Ghislain flew through the wall and out into the night.
"He's got some skill—he won't die from a few hits, right? I've still got steam to blow off."
Ghislain smirked as he twirled his staff.
He'd been holding in too much frustration thanks to Osval. These guys were caught red-handed, so he had every reason to vent as much as he wanted.
The downed intruder looked horrified and braced against the ground with his hands.
But there was no escaping Ghislain once he had made up his mind.
Before the intruder could even stand, Ghislain moved right up to him, staff raised.
"Now that it's come to this, you'd better spill everything you know."
Just as he was about to strike down—
Swish!
Someone blocked his path.
Ghislain reflexively extended his staff toward them, then flinched.
'No way…?'
It was a masked woman. And that intense gaze—he felt he'd seen it before.
Suddenly, her robe fluttered, and dozens of daggers flew out from within.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
Ghislain deflected the daggers and leapt back.
Flutter—
The masked woman's body scattered like shadow. The other fallen intruder began rapidly retreating, as if pulled by an invisible force.
At the same time, the other intruders began trying to slip away however they could.
A smile spread across Ghislain's face.
"Yeah, I was wondering when we'd meet. One way or another, we finally do."
Booom!
Ghislain surged with mana and took off after the masked woman.
And as the village people rushed out into the night, startled by the commotion—
'I knew it. Knew they were faking being nice.'
'Beating up innocent travelers like that…'
'Those guys are seriously dangerous.'
The misunderstanding toward the Yulian Mercenary Corps only deepened.
[T/L: The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations Novel has been ended with 902 chapters, and this chapter will be last chapter we provide for free. You can visit our website for latest updates. We will translated and upload the side stories on our website if there are any. We thank you for your support to this novel. It was a great journey of more than one and half years. For latest Updates Visit Official Website: https://revengernovel.com/
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