Three days after I had taken up my post, the leaders of the bandits were executed just as I had ordered. My knights, foot soldiers, and mercenaries secured the perimeter in full gear. Even so, the people of the town still gathered and let out jeers and shouts. The current state of public safety had probably given them some considerable grief.
The goals behind criminal punishments in this world weren’t directed at the individual but were instead mostly to give a general impression of order. To put it in my old world’s terms, the primary objective was to make a show of it to would-be criminals. This was similar to how it was during the Middle Ages, but it differed from how I used to view things in my previous life, so I still had a hard time getting used to it. I needed to be careful to fully understand that difference if I didn’t want to lose sight of my goals.
After the bandits were executed before the deputy count, we headed straight for the warehouse-turned-lodging used by the Salters’ Guild, still fully armed. As we moved through town, the people looked at us with some trepidation and more than a little foreboding, but they made no attempts to stop us.
After walking a short distance, the building in question came into view. Even at a distance, its size was readily apparent. It operated as a “warehouse,” but those gates were huge. Still, they didn’t exceed what might be expected from larger buildings in the provinces.
They were incredibly wary of us, perhaps because we were armed. Two gatekeepers—or really, they were more like bouncers—glared at us. Considering how calm they were, they had to be no strangers to a fight.
“I am Werner Von Zehrfeld, the new deputy count. I have business with the head of this establishment.”
“What business?!”
Yup, they sounded like they wanted to pick a fight. We were right to come prepared for battle. I concealed my hostility, held Schünzel back from spouting the incendiary words he was clearly on the verge of shouting, and responded with the lordly tone of a deputy.
“During our trip from the capital, we hunted many monsters.”
“Huh?” My words had clearly thrown the gatekeepers for a loop, which made sense considering this had nothing to do with the Salters’ Guild. “We gathered too many materials. We need a place to store them, and it seems that this facility has plenty of empty grounds. I would like to speak with the man in charge. You may bring him to me here or let me inside, but I’ll not leave until we’ve exchanged words.”
The two gatekeepers looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They must have lowered their guard and concluded that this wasn’t a matter they could solve alone, as they nodded to each other before one began to speak.
“Stay here, where we can keep tabs on you.”
“Those don’t sound like words for the crown’s deputy.”
“…Please wait a moment, my lord,” he responded through gritted teeth. Then, one of them headed to the side entrance. I must have pissed him off quite a bit, since he shoved open the heavy door without so much as looking back. I used that exact moment to pierce the tip of my spear into the ground.
That was the signal. Neurath threw a kick at the man at the door and ran inside as he crumpled. A mercenary to my side kicked his head in while Schünzel felled the other gatekeeper with a decisive strike. Goecke and a couple of his mercenaries followed Neurath inside, and soon, they had opened the gate from the inside.
“Charge! Cut down all who resist!”
At that, the mercenaries surged forward. The way they threw themselves into it, it was pretty clear they were no strangers to ransacking a building.
Screams rang out from everywhere. Our opponents weren’t fools. They’d clearly been on high alert as soon as we showed up at their doors, armed to the teeth. Though it seemed they hadn’t counted on a direct assault.
Plus, they were being stormed by mercenaries who normally fought monsters, not people. I hated to say it, but they weren’t the kind of opponents the average town hoodlum could take on in a straight fight. The only problem was whether any of them had any skills.
One tricky thing about this world was that if a woman or child happened to have a skill, they could be quite the fighter. That’s why the taboo against hitting women and children, so prevalent in my old world, didn’t quite hold up here. If one turned to crime and happened to have a combat skill, there was a good chance they’d be able to take down the average soldier. We’d have to make our judgments based solely on whether they were armed and hostile.
That said, many soldiers—especially those who had families—often let their guard down when fighting women and children. That’s why I decided to use Goecke and his men. They had seen real battles, so I knew they’d be able to properly discern their enemies from the victims.
Neurath, Schünzel, and I remained outside, leaving it to Goecke to secure the interior. If this was my old world, we could have used walkie-talkies to coordinate our movements, but obviously that wasn’t the case. When you had a commander to listen to, you had to know where he was. When you didn’t, that’s when accidents happened. A possible fire could be a real concern. I couldn’t enter the fray myself.
Quite soon, a mercenary rushed over to us. It seemed they’d caught the boss. Given that Goecke hadn’t even gotten involved, the boss was doubtless no stronger than the average thug. Not that it mattered. I ordered the mercenary to bring him to me. Soon, a man whose face and shoulders were covered in blood and dirt was dragged out of the building.
He must have been in his mid-forties. Under other circumstances, I might have been thinking to myself that he looked like an upright fellow, despite his hardened features. Given the malice in his eyes, though, there was no way this could be a proper, upstanding townsman.
“Ya think you can get away with this, you bastard?!”
“What a coincidence,” I said. “I had no plans of letting you get away with this myself.”
I was young enough to be his son, but he had quite the gall to talk that way to the deputy count. Maybe he was confident help was coming for him. I had no idea either way.
“I just took up office here, and I’m absolutely swamped. I don’t have much time, so let’s keep this short. I know that you were selling people to the bandits. We have multiple witnesses and testimonies.” It hadn’t just been the women we saved who had mentioned his name, but even the surviving bandits. If both victims and perpetrators were pointing to him, it had to be true. “Human trafficking is a serious crime. On my authority, you’ll be put to death.”