Episode 119

The night after the battle ended, my comrades from the White Unit and I were abuzz with an unprecedented fervor.

Even Karin, who usually maintains a cool demeanor in front of me, couldn’t help but prick up her ears and smile.

“Thanks to Martin, today we’ll feast on free drinks and snacks to our heart’s content.”

The others, needless to say, were grinning from ear to ear, talking loudly and laughing heartily.

“Ha, damn. Never thought I’d see the day I’d be mooching off drinks and meat from another mercenary group.”

“This is all thanks to the great Captain Martin of the White Unit, right?”

“This time, he even sliced off the head of an enemy mercenary captain who was an expert intermediate, as expected.”

He’s not actually an expert intermediate; it’s just that he stayed at the lower-tier expert level for so long that he could use intermediate-level techniques.

Had he truly been an expert intermediate, I’m not sure I could have killed him with my power.

Even if I had managed to kill him, I would have suffered full-body burns from the fiery blade and would have needed a long time to receive healing and emergency treatment from the priests.

“Well, it’s not entirely a lie. If the rumor spreads, my reputation will rise.”

As long as I don’t go around spreading the lie that I single-handedly took down an ‘expert intermediate,’ there shouldn’t be any problems…

“What nonsense are you spouting, kids. The guy was just a beginner at the expert level who happened to learn some sneaky techniques.”

At that, Otto chuckled and laughed.

“Mercenaries bragging isn’t new, right? Seriously, even Captain Dalton fought and won against about 30 guys by himself before the White Unit captain came along, but then I saw him inflating the number to 50 to boost his own value.”

I perked up my ears at this unexpected piece of information.

“Is that true?”

“Is that all? He also told us that his affair with a lady named Anna was just a drunken accident when he gathered us and other officers before…”

‘It seems Dalton does exaggerate a bit when it comes to his love affairs.’

“Ah, but it seems true that Dalton was quite popular even before he became a senior knight, according to Deputy Captain Heintz who followed him from that time. That’s why Dalton quit being a knight.”

I tried to listen more intently, but I couldn’t hear any more because of the cheering from the guys around.

“Damn, those Red Rose bastards have a really big spread, huh?”

I looked in the direction the guys were pointing.

The interior, such as tables and chairs, was inevitably modest because this place was a battlefield, but the food and drinks laid out were anything but ordinary.

“Roasted whole pig, bread made just from flour, pizza, steak, and various desserts…”

In this world, sugar and various spices were readily available, so desserts weren’t that expensive…

‘With this much prepared, the Red Rose guys must have made a hole in their wallet.’

As I was marveling at this, the guy who had teased me at the banquet hosted by the Medici Republic last time approached me.

“I’m Gaspard, captain of the Red Rose White Unit. I’m truly sorry for the rude behavior I showed you last time.”

He nearly bowed as if he was about to kneel.

“Despite the fact that I started a quarrel and embarrassed myself, you didn’t give up on subduing the enemy mercenary captain and came to support us. For that, I’m sincerely grateful. Therefore, as an apology and thanks, we’ve prepared a modest feast.”

…Judging by the cost of this food, it must have been quite expensive? And that pile of wine, those are the expensive ones that cost a gold coin for 15 bottles, right?

“It’s okay, it’s all in the past, isn’t it? But to the captain and the deputy captain…”

“I’ve already greeted them. Though it’s hardly enough for saving our lives, I’ve conveyed our deep gratitude to the captain.”

Helping allies is naturally the right thing to do and beneficial for raising one’s reputation, but mobilizing our unit to aid another mercenary group actually represents a significant loss.

Didn’t our Whitebeard Mercenary Group miss the opportunity to kill the captain of the White Hounds this time?

So, by hosting such an extravagant banquet, they aim to offset the direct financial loss and boost their reputation by generously rewarding those who saved them from danger.

“Moreover, we’ve specially selected some women for you to relax with. Whatever you eat or drink tonight, it’s all on us, the Red Rose. In exchange, if possible, we hope you’ll fight alongside us in the next battle…”

At that, I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll make sure to pass the message to Captain Dalton.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as Gaspard left, our mercenaries immediately dove into the feast laid out before them.

Sitting down, the guys almost looked like they were about to devour the food with their bare hands.

“Medici cuisine is said to be the best on the continent, and damn, it’s delicious.”

Otto seemed to prefer wine over food, blowing into the bottle like a trumpet.

Karin sighed secretly at that.

“Men just can’t seem to keep their wits about them when it comes to alcohol, food, or women.”

Lucia looked at Otto blowing the bottle with a sense of wonder.

“Wow, to drink so heartily…”

As the atmosphere warmed up, our White Unit squad leaders began discussing the upcoming war, with me at the center.

“Even though our mercenary group nearly wiped out about 1,000 of the enemy, I heard there hasn’t been much change in the overall situation. Why did those bastards retreat?”

“Since it’s their territory, they’re probably planning to hole up in the castle to minimize losses and increase their chances of winning, right?”

“This means our forces will be divided again, damn it.”

If the defenders lose the battle on the plains on the first day, they commonly retreat into the castle and commence a defensive battle immediately.

Because once the defenders are inside the castle, it significantly worsens the situation for us attackers…

They do it just to screw us over.

As the mood darkened slightly, I looked around at the guys, smiled, and then said,

“But surely, they won’t tell us to attack some crappy fortress with 500 men garrisoning 250 like that idiot Pappenheim, right?”

Otto laughed uproariously at that.

“That’s right. It’s unlikely that the Medici army’s commander-in-chief would be as incompetent as Pappenheim… but if that’s the case, we should just return the deposit and bail.”

The others voiced their agreement.

“True, nothing’s been decided yet. We worried for nothing! As an apology, I, Walter, will drink the penalty!”

Walter clapped his hands for everyone to see, then sliced the wine bottle’s mouth with a dagger imbued with Aura and stuck it in his mouth.

Gulping down, the contents of the bottle steadily decreased.

After finishing, he held the bottle upside down over his head and shook it.

“Not a single drop left, please forgive me.”

“Who said anything?”

So, we drank for several hours…

Otto, his face turning red, clapped his hands.

“Today, the Red Rose Mercenary Group has selected some fine women, so it’s okay to leave your wallets behind. Let’s not burden ourselves unnecessarily.”

Following him, the others got up as if enchanted and followed him in a line.

‘Normally, that would be my role.’

And then, only Lucia, Karin, and I were left at the after-party.

Karin seemed only slightly drunk, her face just a bit flushed, despite the wild party…

Lucia’s situation was a bit different.

“Karin senior, how much did Lucia drink? She seems to have had about two bottles of wine.”

“There’s no way I’d let her drink that much when she hardly ever drinks. I only gave her three glasses, and she ended up like this.”

Her face was flushed, a mischievous smile on her lips, her ears drooped, and her tail wagged as if she was in high spirits.

And clinging to Karin’s shoulder, she cooed like a cat…

“Karin unnie, unnie… ehe…”

Karin outwardly pretended to be annoyed, but a smile crept onto her lips…

And she tenderly stroked Lucia’s head with one hand.

“Lucia, let’s go inside and sleep now. You’ve had too much to drink.”

Then, Lucia straightened her tail and shook her head.

“Ehe, I want to drink more…”

Leaving her like this, Lucia might really drink more and end up in an unpredictable state, so I gently lifted her like a princess…

“Captain Martin?”

As I approached, Lucia stood up and energetically rubbed her cheek against my chest.

“Ehe, it’s warm. It feels comforting.”

As she hugged me tighter, Lucia’s bosom, boasting a size of F or even beyond, began to press against my stomach and son.

“Captain, I just want one more drink, just one. I feel so good. Can I?”

I almost gave in for a moment.

“No.”

Then, Lucia hugged me tighter and wagged her tail.

“Then later, you’ll brush my tail for me. In the fox therianthrope community, it’s common for family members to groom each other’s tails, ehe…”

Tail grooming, that’s not difficult at all…

But brushing a drunk Lucia’s tail might…

‘Surely lead to a 100% request for intense lovemaking…’

And doing that in a drunken state isn’t good for the body.

“Okay, okay, I’ll do that for you, but only if you sleep. From now on, when you’re in the barracks, you’ll just sleep still.”

“Yes…”

With that, I carried Lucia like a princess and returned to the barracks…

I spent the night fighting off the lava-like desire.