Cardboard Houses Do Not Tear

53 – Mountain Reconnaissance 1 (typo fixed)

There were already passengers in the barracks that I visited after asking and asking.

“Reconnaissance.”

“This is my first time.”

Two adventurer friends in shiny clothes.

“Is that friend a mercenary too?”

“Looks like you’re from the North.”

Five mercenaries, well-equipped with their own armor, staring at me with dead bodies.

“……”

“……”

Lastly, there were two soldiers with mud-stained boots and all sleeves tied with laces, saying “I’m a scout” With just their clothes.

I looked inside a bit before entering, but I didn’t see anyone who seemed to be a commanding officer or an officer.

Thankfully, you were spared from being late.

“I think you’re from the scouting team too, won’t you come in?”

As if standing there like that bothered me, a mercenary spoke to me.

The scouting team’s eyes focused on me, and then I raised my hand to say hello.

“Nice to meet you. It’s late to say hello.”

A bit rude, but they greeted me quite well.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Let’s do well.”

Looking at the way they treat each other and the fact that they don’t hesitate to reveal their class, they all seem to be confident in their skills.

I couldn’t even say I didn’t have one.

Of course, I didn’t say anything like a joke.

These were the people I would go with on this reconnaissance anyway.

The golden star embedded in the mercenary plaque doesn’t block arrows, much less my pay increases just because I show it to those people.

That’s why, I just fixed my rusty helmet and said.

“Let’s do well.”

***

The person who will give us an overview of the operation has not yet entered.

So, naturally, people started killing time.

In a different world without smartphones, chatting was a daily routine, and at least the friends here were people who knew how to enjoy such leisure.

With the background of scouts standing like jangseung, unmixed with the sound of chatter, I blankly glanced at the papers on the desk.

It was clear that the commanding officer of the Earl of Barrington would have to re-educate his subordinates on security.

But it was rather good for me.

From the moment I went on reconnaissance, I learned that as many mercenaries as possible in the Hwar’an Mercenary Corps must suffer from an ‘acute disease that prevents them from using pikes’.

Scrum, and I saw all the creepy words, but one of the words in the letter caught my eye.

– There are frequent reports of the disappearance of the children of the Baron under the Count. Although the situation is confusing due to the sudden battle of the territory, after winning the victory as soon as possible to save the honor of the count, you have to pay attention to securing security…

Just as I was about to examine it more closely, a man in a breastplate entered.

Looking at the scouts straightening their posture, it seemed that they were the executives in charge of briefing today’s reconnaissance mission.

“Nice to meet you.”

A voice that exudes strictness from a youthful face. Just looking at it, he is a newcomer fresh out of the academy.

Or not.

He turned over the papers on the desk and laid out a map on them.

Then he opened his mouth.

“Sorry, plans have changed.”

“Yes?”

A mercenary asked in a bewildered voice.

“Originally, all 10 of us were going to go around together, but it was said that it was a bit inefficient.”

The official pointed to two places on the map with his fingers.

They were big enough to be seen from the plains and military camps, respectively.

“Come on. Listen carefully.”

The plan was simple.

Instead of uniting all ten people into one unit, dividing them into two groups, one for mountain and one for plains.

It was different from what Hwaran told me, but A was the commanding party, not us.

It was our job to peel it, and at least it was better than struggling to and fro in the open field.

As if this wasn’t the only thought I had, one or two people’s eyes turned a little grim.

The executive, who did not see the scene, said plainly.

“Don’t worry. As always, there are countermeasures.”

In a situation where you will be thrown into an unknown place, what should you not worry about?

I tried to swallow the words that almost came out in an instant.

And then I thought to myself.

A is over there, and E is us.

Before passing through the military gate, we headed to our tent under the pretext of bringing arrows for a while.

Hearing my story, Hwar An shook his head.

“There are probably very few cavalrymen going out directly. No matter how rare the Yeongji War is.”

“What is it?”

“Warhorses are expensive, and skilled soldiers who can handle them are rare. A scribbled estimate before pouring it into something serves to cool some of the anger.”

After speaking, Hwar An shook his head.

“Once confirmed. Among our mercenaries, we should cut out as many as we can.”

I nodded.

Of course, you can’t get everyone out.

People won’t let us suck honey so lightly.

***

The summer in the central region was different from that in the north.

The slightest movement caused sweat to ooze out, which was unpleasant.

With only the occasional mountain breeze cooling the heated nape, a mercenary who was climbing the mountain next to me started talking to me.

“It’s definitely different from the North. Isn’t it?”

He was a friend who had been friendly since earlier, saying he was from the North.

Actually, there were few mercenaries that didn’t come from the north, but it wasn’t a bad thing to have a companion.

In this reconnaissance team, maybe it was just the two of us from the north, so for some reason we felt a sense of kinship.

“Oh wow, I’m already missing that cold wind. Are you okay with that?”

He lifted a pitch instead of a horse.

When I saw the leather water bag that bulged out in it, I felt a sense of desolation.

“Oh my God.”

“It’s the wisdom of life. It’s in the middle of the country, so it’s worth living here. The south is-“

“Shhh.”

The scout who was walking ahead turned to us and raised a finger.

I climbed the mountain quietly while becoming a hapjuki again.

On the way up, I saw something moving in the distance.

It was green.

I called the scout ahead.

“John.”

He turned his head and asked.

“What happened?”

I said as I put an arrow in my bow.

“Didn’t you say there are monsters on this mountain?”

He was quite quick-witted.

John’s eyes widened and he asked me.

“Which way?”

The moment I was about to answer, the adventurer following me—probably Bern—murmured.

“It’s a goblin. Did you say it was a mercenary there, G-House?”

“Yes.”

“I’m good at figuring it out, but you’d better save your arrows.”

He said, lowering my bow.

“I see that there are many of them. Among us, you are the only one holding a bow, and the forest is desolate.”

I understood what he was saying.

“If you’ve ever heard of it and come to us in a situation where you can’t handle everything at once, it’s kind of like that.”

The adventurer shrugged his shoulders and raised his hand halfway.

In his hand, something like a small candle was smoking.

“And I’ve already burned the incense they shun. Wait a minute.”

The effect of the incense he smoked appeared after a while.

Keruk.

Kerrureuk…

They started making terrifying noises.

It wasn’t until the distant cries stopped at all that he shrugged his shoulders and said,

“It’s not that expensive, but if you lose in detecting it, you should kill it quickly. You have good eyesight.”

“Your skills are also excellent.”

“It’s no big deal for me. An adventurer named Betty from the South used to lure monsters here and there with a piece of bread.”

“…I see.”

It was strange to suddenly hear an unexpected name here.

He continued to flirt as if he couldn’t read my expression.

“I’ve never seen it myself. At least among the adventurers who met him, there was no one who didn’t praise the taste of the bread, so the bread must have a secret.”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to know her very well.

And it was the same for me.

Because I don’t know her face.

“Okay. Let’s move.”

John called us from behind, and the reconnaissance started again.

***

‘Something is strange.’

The higher you go up the mountain, the hotter it gets.

There was no sudden weather change or anything like that.

It was an ordinary mountain road, with the ceiling glistening yellow-green in the sunlight and full of light brown.

But there was something strange that I felt in my chest.

Should I say it’s like watching a horror movie in a room where the lights are turned off?

Or should I say that there is something cold, like when you put ice on your chest?

I inadvertently put my hand on top of Gambison.

“Oh, the car.”

And I was startled by the coldness penetrating through the thick leather gloves.

“What’s going on?”

My northern friend heard me and turned to me.

The reconnaissance team who heard that sound all stared at me, sloppy.

“No, I think you’re talking nonsense.”

“Did you eat the heat?”

He said with a smile.

“Will you take a break?”

John asked me.

“It’s okay.”

I shook my head.

At least, it was because I was convinced that it was not good to stay in this area for a long time.

“If so.”

Jerobeok, jeobeok.

John moved on again.

Before setting off again, I rummaged in my arms for a while to find the cause of the coldness.

I felt something square and angular.

The coldness that I still felt as if I was holding it with my bare hands wasn’t so surprising once I recognized it.

When I took it out, I saw a light shining from an engraved circle in a small black box I had found in a shabby house in the slums.

As I was about to put it back in, John called me.

“G-House, will you stay there?”

Instinctively, I thought I shouldn’t show this box to others.

“No, let’s go.”

I went up, hiding it in my hand.

Occasionally, whenever I looked inside my hand, the circle of the box began to lighten subtly as I went up the mountain.

And finally.

“…What is this?”

“It’s a cave.”

“There are no caves here. At least there are down there.”

The box only became quiet after reaching the strange cave.

It’s as if you were guided to this place.