As I entered the tent, one of the most luxurious in the garrison, I saw two familiar faces. One was Marius, of course. The other was Marius's colleague. Both of them were dressed in very fancy clothes, and both were wearing my high-end model shortsword. There are no other people in the tent.
"Thank you for coming, Eizo.
　Marius held out his right hand. I take his hand.
"Well, I've heard it's a lucrative business.
　I said with a laugh. I've heard that it's a very lucrative business," I said with a laugh.
I'm glad to hear you're doing well too.
　After shaking hands with Marius, I turned to my colleague and said.
"Yeah. It's been a while.
　My colleague also held out his right hand to me. I took his hand and greeted him again.
"My name is Eizo. As you may know, I'm a blacksmith.
"I'm Leroy. I'm Marius' second-in-command now. Nice to meet you again. And you don't have to be so polite to me. I'm in the same position.
"Then feel free to do so.
　With Leroy's permission, I decided to be casual with the three of them. We've known each other for a while, and we know when to take it easy.

I ask Marius, "So, you said you were only going to repair it this time, is that correct?
　I ask Marius.
"Yeah. You won't have any work to do on the road, but once you get there, you'll be asked to repair any damaged armor.
What's the reward?
We'll pay you for food during the expedition, allowances for regular soldiers during the expedition, and a percentage for each piece of armor you repair.
　Leroy was the next to answer.
"Hmm.
　That's not a bad deal. It doesn't matter if it's me or not, if I can't make more money than a normal job, it doesn't matter. Since I can probably fix things faster than most blacksmiths, I can get a higher commission than most blacksmiths, which is a little different from the norm.
How do you account for the number of things you fix?
The civilian attached to the supply unit will do it. He's the one in charge of supplies coming and going.
　This time Marius answers.
"Right, got it. Finally, when do we leave?
"We just finished our training yesterday. I took the day off.
　So you didn't hear any training.
So I'm leaving tomorrow.
All right.
　That's all the confirmation I need. Now all we have to do is wait for our departure.
　Marius called one of the soldiers to show me to my tent. I thanked the soldier and asked him to take me to the tent where I would be sharing with the rest of the supply convoy.

　The supply tent was rather large. There were wagons and horses tethered separately nearby. A short distance away, there was a simple fireplace with steam rising from it.
　I thanked the soldier for leading me here, and headed for the kamado first. There was a well-built man with a mustache, who was struggling with a pot with two young men.
I'm Eizo, a blacksmith who has been invited to join the Supply Corps. Nice to meet you.
　I called out to him in a loud voice, a little worried that I might disturb him.
Oh! I'm Sandro, the head cook! That's Martin and Boris! We'll take care of the food!
　My fears were unfounded, and Sandro introduced the two younger men - Martin the taller and Boris the shorter - in a voice so loud it sounded like a rumble. They bailed. I waved back.
"There's Mathis, the horse keeper!
"Okay! Thank you very much!
　Thank you very much!" He told me in a loud voice, so I replied in a loud voice and headed towards the horses.

　There were a number of horses tied up in the area, and it was quite noisy. A tall man was walking slowly among the horses. I waved my hand to get him to notice me. If I shouted louder this time, it would startle the horses, and I felt sorry for them.
　The man who noticed me waving came up to me in a leisurely manner.
I'm sorry to interrupt your work. I'm Eizo, a blacksmith who's been invited to join the Supply Corps.
I'm Eizo, a blacksmith invited to join the supply corps. I'm Mathis. I'll be taking care of your wagons. I was just checking on the horses, so don't worry about it.
　He is a tall and handsome man, but his tone is a bit slow and lazy.
There is no horse for the knights here?
The knights have their own horse guard.
Oh, that's true.


　When I thought about it, it was obvious. People above a certain level of status have a variety of personal assistants. Marius, too, should have been assigned a cook or a blacksmith, but since he was a guard, even though he was the third son of a count, he said he wanted to be the same as everyone else. The only ones who are exclusive to him are the maidservants and the horse guards because they are the least important.

"Are the civilians in the tent?
　I asked Mathis.
I asked Mathis, "Yeah, I think he's gone home for the day.
Is that so?
Yeah. Unlike the soldiers and us, he doesn't have much reason to stay here beforehand.
So I guess I'll see you tomorrow.
I guess so.
　I said goodbye to Mathis and headed back to my tent.