Let's go home.
Wait a minute.

　I was about to leave the castle and head back to the mansion when Reetz stopped me.

'What's up?'
'About that Shadow. We asked them to get information on Perena County this time, but you may have forgotten that we were originally trying to use The Shadow to get information on all of Meesian.
Well that was definitely the case.

　I made the request once and forgot all about it. I was going to contact The Shadow even if I didn't have the purpose of getting information about Perena County in the first place.

''That's right. I just got a lot of gold coins and a request fee. We should go to Tremps and make a request.
Yes, that would be a good idea.

　What should we ask for, even if we are asking for it?

　We can get some information about our allies from Lemeil, and since this party is taking place, we can find out what kind of people are in it, and there is no need to ask for help.

　Of course, we need to get information on the enemy here.
　Speaking of the place where information on the enemy is gathered the most, it's still the headquarters, Arcantes.

　Security is probably tight, so it might be difficult to infiltrate Arcantes Castle to get information out of it, even for the Shadow. However, in order to obtain information, you don't have to infiltrate the castle in any way.
　You will be able to get some information simply by gathering information in the town below the castle. The end date for the request is until the battle is over.

'I'll go to Alcantes and ask you to gather some useful information, and then you can go and make a request or I'll ask you to gather information until the end of the war.
'Yes. That should be fine. But if you set the end date of your request to the end of the war, you'll have to pay quite a bit for your request.
I've got a lot of gold on hand.

　We decided on the request and as night fell we headed to Tremps.


'I know it's a request, but can't you get them to kill this Basamark guy or something?'

　Before entering Tremps, it was Charlotte who made the outlandish statement.
　I was much confused.

''Assassination would be........difficult indeed. I'm sure the personal security should be stiffly guarded. If it's decided, there's certainly a chance it will end up being a lost cause in the fight, but...
'I don't think you should do it. At least it's not something you should do on your own. There is no telling what Master Clan's intentions are for Basamark when he wins the war. It is possible that he is your relative, even though he is your enemy, and that you intend to imprison him somewhere else without killing him. Unless Clan-sama directly asks you to do so, you probably shouldn't do it.
No.... I was taught that you can win a war if you defeat the enemy general.

　Maybe it was my father who taught me. Well, it's not a false teaching.
　I think it's too violent a move to use this time.

　We enter the Tremps. It's nighttime, so we don't see Pham working.
　I tell Alex I'm here to make a request, and after waiting for a while, I'm sent to the place where I went to make a request to Pham before.

'We meet again sooner than I thought. 'Ars Rovent,'

　With a slight smile on her mouth, Pham said.
　She still looks like a woman, as usual.

　I quickly explained only the details of my request.

'Useful information, isn't it?　What exactly do you want?
Well I want information on the enemy's strength, tactics, strategy, the weaknesses and strengths of the nobles, diplomacy, and any other information that you find useful.
Alcantez. That's a pretty complicated place to work and it's going to cost you a lot of money to get the job done. The contract period is until the end of the war, but I don't know how many years that would be. How about five gold pieces a month?
Sixty in a year? Fair enough.

　The price wasn't that different from what I had expected, so I didn't negotiate.

'And then how about a special reward for each time you get information that you think is quite valid?
Special fee. How do you decide on the amount?
The amount of compensation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
I see. No problem.
All right. I'll take the job, then. I'll take the first month's gold. Then I'll have my men do the reporting. He will come to you once a month and you will receive a letter of information from me. You'll pay him for the next month, too.
All right, but in that case, I'd like to see one of your guys.
'Right. Come back here tomorrow.
Yes, sir.

　After that we gave them five gold coins and the negotiations were concluded.

　We left Tremps and stayed at the inn, and the next night we went to Tremps again to meet Pham's men.

'I'm Ben. Nice to meet you.

　I was introduced to a man with a very, very plain face, if you will.
　No facial features at all. His voice is mediocre.
　I'm afraid I'll forget his face tomorrow, and I'm not sure I'll remember him even if I have a month free.
　Let's remember him here by his status, not his face.
　I'll try to appraise Ben.

　Alexandros Belmadrud, 29 years old, male.
　Status
　Leadership 33/88
　Valor 78/80
　Wisdom 77/78
　Politics 45/66
　Ambition 3
　Aptitude
　Infantry A
　Cavalry B
　Archers A
　Magician B
　Fortress C
　Weapons C
　Naval C
　Air Force C
　Plan B

　It's a status that has a lot of surprises.
　First of all, I thought the name, Ben, wasn't his real name, but his real name is too unique. Even if you don't remember his face, it's easy to figure out if you appraise him.
　Next is the extremely high spec status.
　The limit value of leadership is very high.
　It's at the level where he can become a general.
　I can't pull out a few of them, but they're so good that I want to make them my vassals. Well, being excellent enough to make him a vassal is the same for Pham.

　Come to think of it, is there such a thing as a mercenary as a vassal in this world?
　I don't think it's impossible. If I could have The Shadow as a vassal, I would.
　If I rise in the ranks a bit more, that might be possible.

　After that I said hello to him too.
　This time we only saw each other and had nothing to say to each other.