How a Second Life Knight Lives

8. I was just here for market research.

The largest share of the market was occupied by various types of textiles and food. There were also a considerable number of yarns and wool bundles before they were made into textiles.

Since Kalmar was also involved in the wool processing trade, the wool gathered through the sea and rivers was piled up like mountains, waiting to be processed.

One side of the market was filled with various grains and processed foods. Freshly harvested wheat, rice, barley, and oats, bags of ground grains, various types of oils, and smoked meats were piled up in each store.

Beyond the huge and diverse piles, there were more delicate items.

Various medicinal herbs and parts of wild animals, trees and plants used as ingredients for spices were displayed openly or hidden in the corners of the stores. To those who knew, they were treasures, but to those who didn’t, they were just junk.

What I was looking for was among them.

An aphrodisiac and tonic.

Originally, it was a medicinal herb to be taken with hot water when suffering from indigestion, but if mixed with a certain ratio of alcohol, it became a powerful tonic and aphrodisiac.

Among aphrodisiacs, there are those that temporarily draw out a person’s vitality, making them feel energetic but eventually harming the body. Such things are no different from poison.

What I am making is a genuine tonic and aphrodisiac that can be used as a tonic for weak people.

It is a precious item that is on a different level from those ambiguous things that are neither poison nor medicine.

I checked the short sword and dagger I was carrying again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing armor, but the leather vest I had on would suffice as a temporary measure.

It seemed that the public authority of Kalmar was in the process of taking down a merchant guild.

Since I was on Kalmar’s side, it wouldn’t be a bad choice to step in and make a show of it.

And if I had to fight, I needed to do more than my share to maintain my reputation.

For now, I decided to observe the situation.

*

Bram, the head of the Bram Merchant Guild, stood by the window on the second floor, looking outside at his fallen subordinates, and swallowed a groan.

So far, the casualties were only at the building entrance, but if this continued, he wondered how many would make it out alive.

The attackers were mercenaries sent by the merchants of Kalmar City. Just yesterday, they had been drinking together and discussing deals, but today they had sent mercenaries.

One should not underestimate the force assembled with money. Among them were those with skills comparable to knights.

There were more people who needed money than those who valued honor.

And then there was the Kalmar City Guard.

All the roads were blocked by the Kalmar City Guard, and among them were knights.

This fight was not a personal dispute but the will of Kalmar City, meaning they would not allow any escape.

Would the occasional bribes to the guards have any effect in this situation?

Unlikely.

“Deploying knights as well. Kalmar bastards. Did they figure it out?”

“Probably?”

“How much effort did I put into keeping the secret? How much money did I spend!”

“A secret is only a secret if the other party keeps it too. I’ve never seen anyone remain silent under torture. Judging by the situation, it seems they spilled everything.”

Next to Bram was a man sent by Duke Glenn, the Elector.

He glanced at Bram’s hardened face and answered as if talking to himself.

But Bram seemed too preoccupied to pay attention to his muttering.

Bram, the head of the Bram Merchant Guild, had been regularly appearing in Kalmar’s commercial circles for over ten years, buying and selling goods.

His main product was rock salt.

By offering reasonable prices and fulfilling contracts even at a loss, he gradually increased the scale of his transactions and outcompeted many rival merchants.

Three years ago, he even bought a building near the port market in Kalmar and officially put up the guild’s sign.

The newcomer, who had appeared in Kalmar’s tightly-knit commercial circles of history and tradition, managed to settle in, thanks to the considerable effort he had put in over a long period.

It was also due to the rumor that the Bram Merchant Guild was backed by Duke Glenn, the Elector.

But that was also the shackle of the Bram Merchant Guild. The old hands of Kalmar only treated the Bram Merchant Guild as a trading partner, not as one of their own. They were always a step behind in acquiring information flowing among the Kalmar merchants.

And in dangerous times like now, they became the focus of intense surveillance. The result was this mess.

Bang!

With a loud noise, a ladder was roughly placed against the second-floor window.

Almost simultaneously, the merchants’ private soldiers climbed the ladder and rushed into the second-floor office.

And as soon as they came up, they were immediately thrown out.

Those who needed money more than honor were not only in Kalmar. There were several such people among Bram’s subordinates.

One of them stood in front of the window and pushed them out with a shield.

The three-story building was like a small fortress.

It takes a lot of sacrifice to capture a besieged castle.

“Sir Christopher. What will happen if we surrender?”

“We’ll be hanged. The fools of Kalmar need achievements to show the new lord. To remain trusted vassals, they need to prove their competence to the countess.”

“They won’t believe us if we say we were just gathering intelligence?”

“Of course not. We should be grateful if they don’t blame us for the previous count’s accidental death.”

“Tsk tsk. Was it a mistake for the smugglers to stick their heads out into the open? We should have just continued smuggling salt. What did we expect to gain by serving under a noble and suffering like this?”

“Don’t forget that our lord promised you a barony and land. Your subordinates will become good citizens, not criminals. You’re enduring this for that reward.”

“Ha. Damn it. I have no face to show my subordinates. I said I preferred money over honor, but here I am chasing honor.”

Bram sighed, but contrary to his attitude, he still had some composure in his heart. Although he was trapped in a besieged fortress, unable to move, he had promised reinforcements.

Bram’s subordinates knew this too.

“Boss! We just need to hold on! Today is the day the smuggled salt comes into the warehouse. Our brothers will come to support us.”

“Yes. Brothers. Our brothers are coming. Just hold on a little longer!”

Bram grabbed his greatsword and went down to the first floor. Sir Christopher also grabbed his battle hammer and followed him.

*

“Ugh!”

With a short scream, the comrade who had been standing shoulder to shoulder with him collapsed. He was stabbed in the stomach by a spear that came out from behind a shield. The force was so fierce that the leather armor was pierced as if it were cloth. The soft belly skin was also pierced. The man with a gaping hole did not get up.

Pater, who usually guarded the warehouse or escorted the merchants as a private soldier of a fairly reputable merchant, instinctively stepped back and swung his sword when his comrade fell.

He had been struggling because there was no space to swing his sword comfortably due to his comrade, but now that the side was empty, he felt a sense of danger as if a spear would be thrust at him at any moment.

Guarding a warehouse in a place like Kalmar, where public order was stable, could easily become a boring job, but escorting the merchants on their periodic journeys was a mission that could face any danger at any time. At least, he was not lacking in actual combat experience.

He had encountered bandits and robbers enough times.

But this mission was not easy. Even someone as experienced as him felt fear.

There are guards and even knights everywhere.

The private soldiers mobilized by the merchants outnumber the people inside this building by several times.

Usually, when the situation tilts this much, it is common to flee or surrender, but those guarding the entrance of the shop were holding out with all their might.

Just by looking at them, you could feel that they were really tough.

From experience, these kinds of people were really dangerous.

They were either mad with fanaticism, drugs, or beliefs. Sometimes, there were those mad with money, but they were just as dangerous.

“Get out of the way, you fools!”

One of the senior soldiers, who had been stuck in a stalemate at the entrance of the building, couldn’t stand it any longer and rushed forward.

He swung a huge axe from top to bottom, as if he would smash a shield in one blow. If there was a person below, no one would doubt that they would be split in two.

However, the attack was blocked ridiculously easily.

Clang!

A huge sword, just as big as the axe, deflected the axe’s attack and instead struck the opponent’s forehead with the large hilt of the sword.

Even in a battle situation, there are few who have witnessed a forehead being crushed. The people here were no different, they heard something shatter, but few connected it to a forehead.

They just frowned, realizing that the opponent’s skill was not to be underestimated, as our ally who had attacked fell with a crushed face. Some sensitive ones shuddered at the nerve-wracking sound.

But in that fleeting moment, Bram’s huge sword spun and struck people down.

As if to assert that the previous standoff was just a tug-of-war before a skilled person stepped in, people with shattered chests, broken heads, and severed limbs appeared one after another.

It was the moment when the balance of the standoff was broken.

The merchants’ private soldiers lost their momentum in an instant and kept retreating. The senior soldiers among them tried to turn the situation around, but they fell in vain. The skill gap was too big.

Eventually, the battle at the entrance of the building was pushed to the main street in an instant. It was where Calmar’s guards were stationed.