NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 123: The Arrival of Golt Armaments Company
The Next Day
A group claiming to be the Golt Armaments Company arrived at the encampment.
The Day After That
Another group bearing the same company's name showed up.
Three Days Later
The numbers continued to swell. More and more people kept coming.
Ultimately
By the end of the week, the encampment hosted a total of 380 individuals all claiming to be part of the Golt Armaments Company.
A man, identifying himself as the assistant to the company’s president, carried with him a letter of delegation from Slack Tiant, conferring the command of the Tiant Territory Knights.
Originally, the Tiant Territory Knights numbered 260. However, subtracting the 19 dead or missing, their ranks had diminished to 241. Adding the 380 from the trading company brought the total to 621.
The force needed to assault the Beastmen's territory and capture their fortress was now assembled.
When the members of the Golt Armaments Company first arrived at the camp, they met with Prince Blitz Orse Louisse, known as the "Prodigal Prince," before beginning to expand their presence at the camp.
Victor Illyrius had initially speculated that they might be allies hired from some knightly order or mercenary band, given Prince Blitz's endorsement. However, his assumptions were quickly proven wrong. Though their direction of thought wasn't entirely off base.
Among them, about seventy percent were clearly formidable warriors. The rest included shrewd-looking small men, individuals who appeared to be merchants at first glance, and even some who, though strong, specialized more in labor than combat.
What surprised Mizetta most was the presence of women among them who specialized in cooking. Women coming to a place soon to become a battlefield to cook meals.
She couldn't quite grasp what to make of this.
Because it seemed they were doing this of their own free will.
They didn't seem like they were being swept away to such a place.
"Hey there, sorry for the ruckus. They're the Golt Armaments Company—did you hear that from them? As you can see, they're expanding their camp here, so it might be a bit inconvenient for a while."
As the prepared tents were being folded, Blitz approached Mizetta's group with a cheerful smile.
Next to him was a man who seemed quite important within the company—evident from his attitude and attire—smiling just as cheerfully as Blitz.
"Ah, hello there. You must be the famous Saint of Healing's entourage. I am Almound Grade, manager of the Golt Armaments Company's branch here. Well, there are many branches, but we happened to be the first to arrive nearby."
"Ah, the branch manager of the famous Golt Armaments Company. Is the old man from the previous generation still in good health?"
Victor asked with narrowed reptilian eyes as he stepped forward. It seemed Victor himself was familiar with the Golt Armaments Company.
However, the fact that he couldn't foresee their involvement meant he didn't know about the connection between Prince Blitz and the company.
"Oh, you knew the previous generation? My apologies... Could it be that you're from the House of Marquis Illyrius?"
"I'm Victor, nephew of Leopold."
"That's very courteous. We'll quickly set up a temporary shelter for the Healing Saint, so please forgive us for any inconvenience. Shall we set up Mr. Victor's shelter next door?"
"As long as there's no extra charge."
"Haha, no need to worry about that. We're planning to receive quite generously from His Highness, so you won't have to pay us anything, even a little, from the Healing Saint's group."
Almound bowed politely with a slight bow. He was a tall, lanky man, so rather than bowing his head, it seemed more like he bent his waist.
"What's this Armaments Company all about?"
Jack, who had been quietly standing with his arms crossed next to Mizetta, asked without hiding his skeptical expression. It wasn't hostility, but there was a distinct lack of friendliness in his attitude.
To this, Almound showed no hint of displeasure, not even a slight one.
"Oh, well, our company handles its own logistics. We transport goods from the main store to branches, and from branches to other branches."
"So you defend your caravans yourselves, without hiring guards?"
Surprising—not to be rude, but Jack nodded in understanding.
"That's right. It's a bit of a hassle managing many branches, but each branch has its own discretion, so we operate as both family and competitors."
"It sounds fun," Almound said cheerfully.
Jack nodded without a smile.
"That's good to hear. So, what's the outlook on establishing a network free from noble constraints and cozying up to the prince?"
A network free from noble constraints—?
Unable to grasp Jack's words, Mizetta inadvertently stared directly at the profile of the young swordsman. There was a seriousness about him that wasn't typical, and nothing else seemed to stand out.
"Well, you see, His Highness Blitz graciously approached us first. It's a blessing for us. By fulfilling His Highness's minor requests, we gain the backing of Prince Louisse, the second prince of the Louisse Kingdom."
"While it's not something we can lightly brandish, it's a shield we cannot ignore," Almound added.
Jack, still not smiling, shifted his gaze to Blitz and spoke.
"I don't care what schemes you're plotting or how you move. I've already fulfilled my promise. I'll be on the battlefield. My job is to escort Mizetta. As for any requests you have for her, that's not within my scope of work. But—"
Jack narrowed his eyes sharply.
"If anyone approaches, I won't hesitate. Approaching suspicious figures who hide their faces and identities is dangerous, isn't it?"
Prince Blitz responded to this with a very pleased expression.
"...Indeed, that's exactly right. Hero, I promise you my respect and consideration. My 'shadow' won't come near the Lady Saintess."
"Then it's settled."
With his arms still crossed, Jack snorted, exhaling through his nose.
Victor's face turned pale, and Almound looked surprised.
As for Mizetta... what expression had she been wearing?
She didn't know.
In total, they numbered six hundred and twenty-one.
This was the combined force of the Tiant Knights, two hundred and forty-one strong, and three hundred and eighty combatants from the Golt Armaments Company, forming the "Beastmen Territory Supression Army."
It all began when a man claiming to be the assistant to the company's chairman arrived on a certain day, bearing letters of command delegation from Lord Slack Tiant. From then on, the "supression army" was swiftly deployed, with the Tiant Knights forming their units in a manner that seemed almost swallowed up by the Golt Armaments Company.
The command was held by this assistant chairman of the company—apparently a man named Berg Golt.
He was too robust to be called a mere merchant; he looked more like a seasoned mercenary. In his mid-thirties, several branch managers, including the aforementioned Almound, seemed to bow their heads low to Berg Golt.
It was somewhat amusing to Mizetta that they seemed more deferential to him than when dealing with Prince Blitz.
The camp continued to expand with workers not included in the count, and before long, Mizetta's temporary shelter was erected. Next to hers were shelters for Jack and Victor, scattered throughout the camp were eateries and stalls—it resembled a small town.
It had long surpassed the scale of a village.
Under the command of Volte Claus, the "road" through the frontier, cleared over two months, was now being maintained with logs gathered by the later-arriving Golt Armaments Company, repurposed into various constructions—it felt almost like a festival, Mizetta mused.
Everyone was bustling about joyously, focused on a single goal.
On what day it was—after the Golt company members summoned by Blitz had all assembled, several days had passed.
As Mizetta idled in her prepared shelter, the sound of a heavy blow reached her ears. It happened so suddenly that she couldn't immediately grasp what was going on, but she soon realized someone was rudely banging on the door of the shelter.
If this were her childhood home, people would probably come in shouting without knocking, and Mizetta would have opened the door without any caution. But she couldn't afford to be that unguarded here.
After a moment of waiting, the banging stopped, replaced by shouting. Before Mizetta could respond, Jack or Victor must have taken action.
Peeking cautiously through the door after a brief moment, Mizetta saw a dozen or so men gathered outside.
Jack stood beside the door, and Victor observed from a slight distance. About eight paces from the door, someone was lying on the ground.
"Are you the 'Saint of Healing'?"
A rough-looking character more suited to a back-alley thug than a merchant shouted unnecessarily loudly. His companions behind him looked similarly rough.
"What's going on?"
Ignoring the thug, Jack inquired.
"Nothing much. Just a rude fellow causing trouble. You can stay inside; he's just a loud-mouthed mob character."
"A mob?"
Jack occasionally said things that were hard to understand. And when he did, he usually didn't explain further. Perhaps it was a dialect.
"Finally showing your face, huh? While we're all busy, you're enjoying a nap in the sun. You're useless anyway. We don't trust con artists like you. Between us, why don't you just leave?"
The thug's nonsense seemed quite appealing to Mizetta.
If she could just return because she was told her affiliation and name were the responsibility of this man, how easy that would be.
But it was obvious from Victor's weary shrug and shaking his head that it couldn't be so.
One thing became clear—the Golt Armaments Company wasn't completely unified.
There were probably distinctive features depending on the "branches."
"Shut up. Gathering ten rough men to intimidate a single woman—aren't you just bluffing? I've already knocked out one of you by myself. With that look, are you still going to continue threatening?"
Jack exclaimed in exasperation.
The thug's representative turned red in the face, shouting something and taking a step forward—within two minutes, they were all sprawled on the ground.
"There was an apology from Berg Golt, the assistant chairman of the company, regarding the earlier incident. His Highness's 'shadow' must have seen it all anyway, so he's probably aware. I asked if it was okay to send them back just in case, but he just smiled. It was the right decision not to kill them. Well done, Jack. Miss Mizetta went through quite an ordeal as well."
Victor reported this with fatigue evident on his face.
Mizetta could only manage a sigh, while Jack, carrying a chair near the door of the shelter, sat down without saying a word in response.
"It's trivial, but sometimes in the streets, there are fakes who claim to be 'healing mages' and occasionally commit fraud. What makes it worse is that some of them can use minor healing magic. But there's no one like Miss Mizetta who can heal lost limbs."
"Are they victims of fraud, then?"
"They must be their families or friends. They were convinced from the start that Miss Mizetta's healing magic was useless. Despite actually healing several Tiant Knights, they didn't believe it."
"Incompetent," Victor coldly concluded.
This judgment probably wasn't exclusive to Victor alone. After all, even towards Jack, who had defeated members of the company, there was no complaint or reprimand, not even formally.
"If only there were fewer of those kinds of people. They say 'a mixed bag,' but usually, it leans heavily towards the stone rather than the gem, right?"
"Well, well, the fact that such idle people have shown up means the current situation is coming to a head. Probably about time to start moving," Jack muttered dismissively.
As he predicted—by the end of the strategy meeting that night, the entire army had begun to move.
Completely unrelated to Mizetta and her companions.
