Chapter 24.1: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐)
โThatโs. . .โ
ใ ค
Even as the owner of the mill, he couldnโt respond affirmatively in this situation. It was too absurd even for him to consider.
ใ ค
The mill owner changed the topic.
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โHow about we prevent knight dastard from leaving? Just kill him outright.โ
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Gasps emerged among the townspeople. The thought of killing a noble was shocking enough, but the idea of how to kill a knight was even more startling.
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โIf things come to that, Iโll be sure to give you the honor.โ
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Atanka laughed scornfully. Although they were normally friendly, in this situation, there was no greater enemy.
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โWhat if the knight dies here? What about the other merchants and mercenaries?โ
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โT-Them, they too. . .โ
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โWhat if we kill the merchant of the Katana Merchant Guild and the knight. . . and then someone from the knight dastard family or the Katana Merchant Guild comes to investigate?โ
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โ. . .I believe everyone will keep the secret.โ
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โWhat if the knight dastard family takes a few townspeople for questioning? Will the secret still be safe then? Huh? You insane fool?โ
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Now the mill ownerโs face turned red. But Atanka did not stop. Now was the time to press him further.
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โLook at this situation! You fools! Threats? Does that make any sense? Weโre dealing with nobility! Wake up! If we handle this wrong, weโll all die together!โ
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Silence and fear spread. Atankaโs attitude made the townspeople realize the gravity of the situation.
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โWhat we need to think about now is not how to intimidate them with our local militia, but how to appease them. Those who want to try force, go ahead! I wonโt take responsibility. Hey! You. You said earlier we should teach them a lesson? Iโll call the local militia for you. Will you try?โ
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โN-No. It was just a thought. Why this reaction, Atanka.โ
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โYou! You dared the mercenaries. Will you try?โ
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โVillage chief, it was just a thought! Why are you doing this?!โ
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The townspeople all backed down. One of them, who had been quiet, raised a hand and asked cautiously.
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โSo what will you do?โ
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โFirst, we need to hear what the knight wants. Thatโs how weโll start the conversation.โ
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โWhat does the knight want?โ
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โMoney, probably.โ
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โMoney? Thereโs hardly any in the town.โ
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โThink about it, Pra and Burren were already caught. Canโt we settle it with that? Since those two caused the trouble, let them pay for it.โ
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โI knew those guys were trouble from the start.โ
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The townspeople, who had many grievances, ruthlessly criticized the three young men. Their families were distraught but remained silent.
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โThe mercenaries didnโt do much good either. One of them was enticed to flee.โ
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โRight. If we negotiate well, maybe they wonโt have anything to say? Punishing Pra and Burren might settle things for both sides. . .โ
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Atanka burst into hollow laughter, then spoke.
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โFrom now on,โ
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โ. . .?โ
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โAnyone who talks nonsense will be brought to negotiate with the knight and forced to repeat exactly what they said.โ
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โ. . . . . .โ
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โ. . . . . .โ
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โThink carefully and speak out, your excellency~. Itโs me who would negotiate with the knight, not you assholes! Stop spouting such nonsense! What? Settle it with the lives of those already captured? Itโs also our fault because a mercenary was involved? Try saying that yourself!โ
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โI-Iโm sorry, village chief!โ
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When Atanka glared fiercely, the young man who spoke quickly shut his mouth. Although he was a powerful youth in the local militia, he was no match in front of the village chief.
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โWeโll hand over Pra and Burren. Any objections?โ
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โ. . . . . .โ
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โI agree.โ
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โI agree too.โ
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โYeah. These two were always useless in farming and always causing trouble. Maybe itโs better for them to die now.โ
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The village chief maliciously belittled the two, as it would make it easier to hand them over. It would have been troublesome if later it was said that the โ๐ท๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏโ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ.โ It was better to create a consensus.
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It was fortunate that the two were always worthless.
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โIโm not sure how much silver to offer. . . If itโs a horse good enough for a knight to ride, any amount wouldnโt be strange.โ
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โVillage chief, letโs hand these guys over too.โ
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โ!โ
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โ!!!โ
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Pra and Burrenโs families stiffened. Burrenโs father, the owner of the mill, shouted angrily.
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โWhat are you talking about!โ
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Ton, a town hunter and also a member of the local militia, continued speaking, indifferent. He had a grudge against the miller who had always cheated him out of his wheat.
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โSir Knight wonโt just cut off those two. Obviously, heโll hold someone responsible. If we offer them first, itโll look better. We just need to tie them up and say it was their fault. Thereโs no need to use the money of innocent town people.โ
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Tonโs suggestion tempted the others. Handing over Pra and Burrenโs families could be justified as compensation with their properties.
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Most of their properties were in kind. The knight couldnโt take everything, and it was not prestigious, so the remaining goods could be divided among the town people. Plus, if a place like the mill became vacant. . .
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โ. . .It canโt be done.โ
ใ ค
โ!!!โ