Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband

As soon as I gave my resignation letter, I returned home and took a rest for a few days.

After that, I went out and walked around the main street. While taking a rest at home, I tried to squeeze out various ideas. I thought of some businesses I could do though I couldn’t think of the right one.

So, I decided to go out. Since I didn’t eat breakfast because I needed to come out early, I bought a brown bread worth one copper at a bakery near my house while mumbling with the bread in one hand.

No matter which alley I went through, I wouldn’t see the dirty ground, even in downtown Elkard. My shoes won’t be ruined even though I walked on a huge stone path. It was because this was said to be the richest country on the continent, and it was true.

How long did I walk with that thought?

After a while, I stopped walking in front of a building. I stared at an arch-shaped sign that stood out in a large three-story building with many windows.

“Mercenary… guild?”

“Ah, sorry. Excuse me,” said a man to me.

“No need to be sorry!”

I glanced up at the sign in the distance when a vicious-looking man talked to me. As I replied to him, the man, who had his weapon on his back, went past me and entered the mercenary guild. Soon, the door which the man opened creaked loudly.

There seem to be a lot of people inside.

“Wait, mercenary guilds.”

This was a business idea I hadn’t thought about.

Although it was Hazel Love’s body, I had her memory and knew how to use her abilities to some extent, which meant I could also do monster hunting and all sorts of missions. I’d just need to be extra careful.

Couldn’t resist my curiosity, I opened the door where the man had entered earlier. As soon as I entered, there was a loud noise.

Looking around, people wearing light clothes and carrying weapons were filling tables and chairs, both men and women. Some old people had grey hair and beard, while others looked quite young. The streets were quiet, but everyone who was supposed to be outside seemed to have gathered here.

I decided to go to the corner and observe the people around me. When I examined them closely, it seemed that the person at the round desk in the center was an employee here. The people gathered here either try to exchange something or talk to that person.

When they got what they wanted, they were given a document and went out with a bright face.

Even though I hesitated to ask them, I did so anyway.

“For registration of new mercenaries, please come to the right, or to the left if you want to receive a request. To receive a reward for completing the mission, please come to me. Other consultations are also possible.”

The woman who gave out a robotic speech like a banker smiled at me. They said I could also consult on other things.

I waited for a while and asked her some quick questions. For example, how do you get a job if you register as a mercenary? And many more questions about the mercenary guild. I had no choice but to ask because Hazel Love and the main characters in the original story had no contact with mercenary guilds.

After a few questions, I heard some tempting information.

“H-how much is the commission?”

“We charge a basic 20% commission, although it varies from grade to grade. If you register as an exclusive mercenary, we will add a 5% commission fee. Other mercenary guilds receive 25% to 30% commission, so please make a wise decision.”

I opened my mouth wide. I thought it would be good to get 5% at most, but the fee was 20%? And there were places that took 30%…?

Then, if I get a request for 100 gold… They said that I needed to give 80 gold to the guild and get 20 gold, right?

Sitting at that luxurious desk, I drank the tea gracefully like the person in front of me. I could have performed my duties alone if I had registered as a mercenary with the experience of serving the Imperial Knights as an illusionist.

Then, it meant that the commission fee would be small.

Even when I asked the guild manager, she said I could get an S grade, which was the highest solo level from the beginning. I was also able to receive the S-class mission, the highest grade.

“…That’s great.”

Rather than working overtime and receiving a fixed knight’s salary, if I wanted to experience something new sometimes, I could run directly to the scene and receive requests!

As the number of mercenary guilds had increased rapidly because the number of mercenaries had increased, I didn’t think it would be a problem to make some money. Since this was still one of the top ten mercenary guilds in the empire, it would be nice to make some money before it became more crowded.

“Well, let’s get my money back first.”

I headed straight to the bank.

* * *

“…I’m ruined.”

I trudged out of the bank.

I was sure Hazel Love saved up since I thought she was very frugal.

‘…Why is this the only thing in the bank?’

I lifted a small and precious purse. It was light enough to lift in one hand. Of course, it was enough money for me not to starve for a few years if I lived frugally, eating only loaves of bread.

Still, she was a senior knight…!

She would have won awards for joining the top team!

They said she worked hard… so why?

Would I have enough money to build a mercenary guild? They said I needed at least 1 million gold to create a mercenary guild and to build a very small office.

Moreover, another 3 million gold was used to create a fairly nice mercenary guild. Then, at least 5 million gold to receive cooperation from another large mercenary guild and receive support for the initial mercenary list…

The last method was that if I endured working as a knight again for one year, I could get 5 million golds and start the guild.

Even if all the money in Hazel Love’s account is collected, it was only a little over 400,000 gold.

I quit my job and the bank said that they couldn’t provide loans, so I only have 400,000 gold. It was far from enough to create a mercenary guild.

Furthermore, even if a mercenary guild was created, a certain amount of money had to be paid to the guild association for a year, around ten golds in association fees. Only then would the guild properly make money.

“…This is not going to work.”

It was not enough.

So just like this, my dream to be a CEO was gone…

With this much money, I could open a small flower shop or a bread shop instead, but plants would die if I touched them, and I couldn’t even think about making bread dough. I even failed at making easy stuff, such as pancakes, a few times.

“The mercenary guild is perfect, though…”

If someone lent me a million gold…

I thought about asking my previous boss and main character, Jed Terry Elkium, but gave up immediately. If he laughed, I would be so ashamed that I might throw myself into the river right away. Still, it was also too ridiculous to ask Dylan Banker, a colleague who tried to stop me from resigning.

“Sigh…”

As I entered a restaurant and ordered the cheapest food and a drink, I found a seat. Putting my money bag in front of me, I tapped the table with my fingers.

‘Money, money, money… I need money.’

If I had known this was going to happen, I would have taken out a loan from the Imperial Palace before quitting since the interest rate for the knights was also good.

Why didn’t I think of that?

Within a minute, iced drinks and steaming soup were on the table.

“I didn’t want ice, though…”

Even though I was upset, it was fine.

After emptying the drink in one go, I lifted the spoon.

While I ordered the cheapest food, there was a lot of meat inside. With each stir of the spoon, a handful of cabbage and meat came up. It was an amount that made me wonder if the owner had mistaken the price and given it to me by mistake.

“Then, shall I look for something other than the mercenary guild? Or should I try living as a mercenary?”

I need to get in a better situation to avoid overwork.

Still, it was nice because I have a house. If I didn’t have a house, I would be nothing. I was looking around while chewing the mushy meat after blowing it for some time. Soon, two men dressed in black clothes entered the restaurant.

As soon as the two entered, the noisy restaurant subsided.

What happened?

I could feel a dangerous energy from them. Besides, why should I have to sit at the table right next to them?

As I thought that, I scooped up the soup and looked at them with a sidelong glance. It seemed as though those who exuded that kind of atmosphere could have been characters that have a line in the original story.

“I’m tired after staying up all night.”

At first glance, I saw a tattoo on the arm of the man sitting on the right who spoke in a deep voice, sweeping his face roughly with a large hand. When I looked more closely, a picture that didn’t seem to be a dragon or a snake was wrapped around his wrist.

“Oh, that one…”

As I muttered without realizing it and even made eye contact with the man, I turned away hurriedly and stirred my soup.

When I looked back again, the two were busy talking again.

“As soon as I sold it, I told them in Purple to leave it under Tony’s name, so tell them to pick it up on Sunday night.”

“One finger-sized gold is 3 million gold. If I had known that, I would have stolen more.”

“Shut up. If you get caught, you’re dead.”

If I remember correctly, they were obviously Kairos Hadid’s underlings.

But what, Purple? 3 million gold?

Purple was one of their active and operational sites and was the largest bar in the Capital. It was also a place where the main characters met the villain Kairos Hadid for the first time.

Then…?

At the same time, memories of the original story started to come up slowly in my head.