Chapter 9
The Story Before the Gathering (1)
I was alone in the world that had turned white.
More precisely, I was the only graduate student, Kim Pyeong-ju, who had done something stupid in this world.
“……!”
“……!”
Several dark figures surrounded me, pointing and shouting something. The sight of the stretched-out turtleneck, sweatshirt, sweatpants, and slippers was heartwarming.
It was enough to bring tears to my eyes and rage to my heart.
Because…
“……!”
‘You goddamn bastards, speak Korean.’
“Are you an idiot? Why did you put this in your thesis?”
“Hyung, you know the professor hates this kind of stuff, why did you put it in?”
Because I knew this wasn’t real.
‘Look at them switching to Korean right away. Sprechen Sie Deutsch. Menschen ohne Mutter.’
This time, the dark figures changed their outfits. I heard the clicking sound of heels colliding.
“Warum hast du so einen Barbo in deine Artikel geschrieben?”
“Warum haben Sie das getan, wenn Sie wussten, dass der Professor diese Dinge hasst?”
The figures, dressed in SS uniforms, started giving me the ‘salute’ and interrogating me in Papago-translated German.
But I decided not to reveal the most closely guarded secret, that the Führer actually only had one testicle.
So I bid them farewell with the only German I knew.
I had learned from the morning outdoor roll call at boot camp that even the national anthem only got played up to the second verse.
‘Auf Wiedersehen, Deine Mutter ist nicht da.’
I woke up from my dream, receiving farewells from the dark figures who couldn’t even find their mothers in my dreams.
***
I opened my eyes to my familiar and cozy sanctuary, the storage room. No, it was my dormitory.
I looked around.
The straw bed, with its mattress made of the same material favored by Heidi, Girl of the Alps, the beggar-style blanket, the table that the old Northerner had broken all four legs of,
And even the unity gathering picket that we had hastily made a year ago and hadn’t used since, now standing against the wall like a picture frame.
The bleak scenery, not too bad for a slave to live in, confirmed that this was indeed the place I had lived for the past 5 years.
Of course, if someone were to ask for my opinion, I would simply say that experiencing life as a young Harry Potter in this different world was something you couldn’t buy with money.
“Brrr, it’s cold.”
Whether the plasterer had been drinking while plastering the walls or the construction foreman had pocketed the money and slapped it on haphazardly, a cold draft was blowing in cheerfully from the wall.
I touched the gap with my ungloved fingers, and as always, they felt cold.
A cold wind must be blowing outside.
Of course, a warm breeze had rarely blown in this place, and I could confirm that fact simply by getting out of this prickly straw bed.
Still, wouldn’t it be more positive to find at least one use for a useless hole?
Like preventing freezing to death, checking the temperature, or providing oxygen and ventilation.
After spending some time ‘thinking as positively as possible for my mental health,’ I reached for my bedside and checked if the container was still there.
It contained my treasure: the pig fat I had collected in a cup 5 days ago and the pig fat from the barbecue at Villian’s funeral 2 days ago, all mixed together.
Thanks to the cold weather, the pig fat in the container had solidified beautifully.
There wasn’t even any stone dust from the wall cracks mixed in, so I wouldn’t have to worry about biting into a stone while enjoying a special meal with this fat.
“Lovely.”
I tightly closed the lid of the pig fat container and got out of bed. Today was the day of the territorial war.
As my gambeson, which had practically become a part of my body, brushed against the straw, I heard a rustling sound like a quilted blanket from my grandmother’s house in the countryside.
It was a bit stuffy, but thick enough to prevent the straw from poking me.
If I went to the fireplace, warmed up the gambeson, and lay down, the cotton would absorb the heat, preventing me from shivering and losing sleep from the cold at night.
It was a small life hack.
Creak. As I opened the wooden door, the chilly air greeted me first.
The sky was just beginning to turn red in the east, like gas lamps being lit, and a faint light started to emanate from some of the windows in the House.
From afar, I heard the rumbling of carriages coming from the main road. It was time for the city gates to open.
Like the lyrics of a game song from my childhood, the morning arrived as usual.
“Get up, get up~ Get uuuup~ Mom’s nagging voice~ Another day begins, but~”
I hummed the song as I crossed the training ground, the rustling sound of my gambeson and my voice breaking the morning silence.
For some reason, it felt like I was heading out for morning roll call, but what did it matter? It wasn’t real anyway.
I crossed the training ground and entered the lobby.
Today’s business was at the counter. There was no need to go upstairs.
So before I headed to my business, let me briefly introduce the first floor. Entering through the main entrance, you would cross a massive lobby and see a staircase splitting into a Y shape.
And to the right of the staircase was a space for clients, thugs, peddlers, and nobles who came directly to the mercenary group for urgent matters, instead of going through the guild.
Depending on their status and purpose, they would be received, repelled, assaulted, or treated with respect. We had reached a social consensus to call this place the “counter.”
Right now, Bieri, who was on duty today, was lying face down inside.
“Ah, that bastard is sleeping again.”
I went to the counter to wake up Bieri.
I had business with him, and Hwaruan would be coming down early today for the territorial war. If he found Bieri sleeping, the entire lobby would be filled with his shouts.
I knocked on the counter with my fist.
“Dude, what kind of receptionist sleeps on the job? Damn it, we have a customer. A customer.”
Bieri, startled, abruptly lifted his head and shouted,
“Hwaruan Mercenary Group, how may I help you!”
“No need for help, just wipe your drool.”
“Slurp-“
Bieri wiped his drool and got up, tousling his messy brown hair.
He yawned, stretching his neck back, looking exhausted, but that was the life of a receptionist.
If he didn’t like it, he should have found a job without reception duties. Or become a slave mercenary like me.
“Ugh, damn it. Ase, how long did I sleep?”
“How would I know? Anyway, is there a room available today?”
I got straight to the point before the other mercenaries arrived.
Securing a double room. That was the reason I woke up so early this morning.
Summer was approaching. I had to move into a double room before the straw in the storage room became a breeding ground for insects, and room reservations were always first-come, first-served.
Shake, shake.
Bieri, after checking the mercenary group’s room assignment chart, yawned widely and answered with a nod.
I asked incredulously,
“The rooms are already full? But Villian and Harry died yesterday, and two others quit being mercenaries.”
“Hmm, you know how it is. Double rooms fill up fast.”
“I didn’t know they would fill up this fast. I came here at dawn.”
“Dude, you’re late.”
Bieri said with exasperation.
“As soon as word got out that there were vacant rooms, the guys in the four-person rooms came rushing over, even before the bodies were in their coffins. I almost died fending them off.”
The double rooms in our mercenary group were cheaper and more comfortable than those at the inn.
And saving money on rent meant they could invest more in things like alcohol, gambling, and drugs.
If you got a good roommate, there was no better deal, so there was always a surplus of people wanting to move into a double room.
But still, I didn’t know they would fill up this fast.
“Damn it, I should have negotiated for a room when I signed the contract.”
“Hey, don’t dwell on the past, Ase.”
Bieri, who was already living in a double room, chuckled and said,
“Or do you want to move into a four-person room? There’s one vacant.”
“Ugh, no thanks.”
Without a doubt, the storage room was better than a four-person room.
At least I didn’t have to see the guy next to me rustling around in his blanket, emitting strange smells, or witness fistfights over missing money pouches.
There was no reason to pay for accommodation in a place like that. The storage room was free.
“What about the single rooms? There are two vacant, right?”
As far as I remembered, there had been one vacancy for about a month, and another one recently. I could manage to move in if I stretched my budget a bit.
“Do you have that much money? You spent all your last earnings on replacing your bow and arrows, and buying drinks for Jack and Skal.”
Actually, I still had a decent amount left from the extra reward for catching the bandit leader, even after handing over his axe as evidence, but there was no need to brag about my finances.
“Just check.”
“Ugh, such a hassle.”
Bieri grumbled but checked the ledger.
“It says they’re already taken by the captain’s orders. Someone moved into the recently vacated room yesterday, and another person is moving in soon.”
I had half-expected that answer, but it was still disappointing.
I should go make myself some food.
“Alright, good work. I’m going to go make some food.”
“Hey, Ase.”
As I was about to enter the dining hall, I heard Bieri calling me.
“What, are you going to offer me your room?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. But you’re the captain’s disciple, why are you still stuck in the storage room? You could have asked him for a room in advance.”
“Heh.”
I chuckled at Bieri’s naive question.
“I did. You know what he said?”
“What did he say?”
“I went to him and said this.”
The sleepiness instantly vanished from Bieri’s eyes as he listened to my story.
I stepped back a bit, gave a sharp salute, and recited the exact words I had spoken that day.
“Aye!! Now that I’m an official mercenary of the Hwaruan mercenary group, I would like to respectfully inquire if it would be possible for me to request permission to obtain a separate room for myself in advance!”
“That’s a long-winded way of asking. What did the captain say?”
I crossed my arms and tilted my head slightly, mimicking Hwaruan’s pose.
Air escaped from Bieri’s puffed-out cheeks as his imagination ran wild.
“You little… Pathetic! How dare you make a request to your master? You have some nerve, Ase!!”
Then, he mimicked Hwaruan kicking the air with his military boots.
Thump, thump, thump.
Bieri, unable to contain his laughter, pounded on the counter for a while.
And then someone’s voice came from the top of the stairs.
“What’s so funny?”