Chapter 90 Jerome’s Mark

From a luxurious inn in the northern section of Shisayama, Jerome awoke near noon time. He was a late riser as his work kept him up during the nights as most of the letters he received would come in during the afternoon or during the night.

This included emergency calls for aid from his businesses or from his associates around the nation of Kujyuri. His day was mostly filled with desk work and he rarely left the capital. At most he would leave the capital for a couple days but would always endeavor to return as quick as possible.

He would rather work from the comfort of his home as he had the comforts of his wife and servants at his beck and call. But now, it has already been a week since he left the capital of Kujyuri and he could feel that his stress was building.

Feeling his forehead he noticed that the bruise on his head was still throbbing which made him remember how Shizu had punched him as he was suggesting changes to the blacksmith's meeting days prior. Thinking back he remembered the event and what she said.

"Jerome! This is not the time for a festival. War is coming and is about half a year away and this village is not safe from monster attacks! A festival now will only drain our resources and put our citizens at risk!"

"That's why I brought more mercenaries with me." Retorted Jerone, his voice filled with an uncaring and unamused tone. "With this the village should be safe."

Shizu sighed in exasperation at his attitude and the little reasoning he gave to placate the issue. But her anger flared in the next moment as she overheard Jerome's attempt to hide his intent. With a whisper he mumbled to himself.

"The villagers are best used this way. As long as they keep buying my goods they have a use to this nation but I could care less about their safety."

In the next moment, he felt himself become weightless for a moment and then his vision went dark. The next thing he knew, he was in bed at his inn while an apothecary he hired tended to him.

The apothecary told him the situation and he was enraged by how he had been treated. He was found unconscious in the meeting room until the staff finally noticed that he was there when they came to clean the room. It had already been a day since then and the bruise he received caused him a significant amount of discomfort whenever he tried to sleep.

In retaliation, for the next few days, Jerome gathered his business associates and made an appeal to Shizu and Manu who begrudgingly agreed under duress as a majority of the business in Shisayama had threatened to leave if they did not change the blacksmith's meeting into a festival.

After recalling the events of the past days, he sighed to himself as he had never been this busy in his life or had even left the confines of his home for so long. He then grinned to himself, while the days have been hard for him, he felt that all the pieces of his plan were falling into place.

Soon, not only would he gain a better foothold in Shisayama but he would also gain the prestige he desired to advance his career. He then called in the captain of his mercenaries.

"Ghost! Are you..."

Tensing up he noticed the dark figure from the corner of his eyes. The figure stood in the dark corner of his room. As it stepped out of the darkness, the first thing that Jerome noticed was what looked like a white mask adorned the dark figure's face. The mask had a line across the lower part of it which made it seem as if the expression the figure was making was of an unamused face.

The figure wore all black and a black cloak over its attire, the figure reached around its back which made Jerome tense up further. Was it a weapon? Was it this where he would die? To an assassin?

Shutting his eyes in fear Jerome cowered in fear and soon felt as if his life was flashing before his eyes. He soon thought he was dead as he felt nothing, but noticed that he could hear the sound of something scratching another surface.

It was eerie and sounded as if flesh was carved from an animal's carcass. Jerome assumed that the figure was attacking but he wondered why he felt no pain. Rousing up the courage to at least see the actions of his killer he opened his eyes.

What was now in front of him was a piece of paper that read.

-You called? What do you need?-

Still somewhat stunned for a few seconds from his prior fear, it took Jerome a few moments to realize what had occurred.

He sighed to steady himself and righted his posture in bed.

"Ghost, it's good that you kept watch over me but can you do something about your habit of hiding in the shadows."

The figure named Ghost moved its head side to side. The line on its mask changed and formed a sad face to compound their point of disagreement.

Jerome sighed for a second time but let the matter slip away from his concerns. This mercenary captain of his was a useful asset but had a few strange quirks that he had to live with.

"Alright I'll allow it. In any case, give me your report on the group of bandits we hired. Where are they headed?"

Ghost handed over a bundle of papers which Jerome accepted and began to read through.

"I see, so they are headed to Yamato. Good they can waste their money there and I can recoup some of the expense I put in. I'll need you to kill these men when they run out of money, be sure to have the others keep a watch on them. We can't have them spreading rumors about me. There can be no witnesses."

He grinned to himself darkly as he told Ghost his next orders for the day and proceeded to instruct Ghost on the next matter at hand. Looking to the nearby window of his luxurious room, he saw that it was noon and that his moment was fast approaching.

"Tell the men to get ready. It is time for me to start my ascension to the throne."

Ghost nodded and proceeded to leave the room while Jerome looked out towards the southern outskirts of the village. The inn he was staying at was three stories tall and his room gave him a vantage point to see across the village.

*****

Meanwhile at the southern entrance of the outskirts to Shisayama, the village watch noticed the approach of a caravan that bore the symbol of Kujyuri. It was accompanied by a band of mercenaries which made the sight look out of place.

Airing on the side of caution, the leader of the group of 4 guards spoke out to halt the caravan's advance.

"Halt! Stay where you are." Doing as instructed the caravan stopped a few meters away. With a loud voice a mercenary responded.

"We are mercenaries hired by Lord Jerome, we are the second part of his caravan from the capital of Kujyuri. We bring the supplies that Jerome has ordered to be donated to the village."

Taking out a copper seal, which had the symbol of a hawk's claw on it, he raised it up to the air. This was a standard practice and was the official way to make known that you possessed a seal of the empire.

This seal was of a lower status than a bronze or silver seal but had its uses as a marker of identity.

The leader of the guards approached and confirmed the authenticity of the copper seal. It had the correct symbol for Jerome's household and an accurate symbol of the Kujyuri's emblem. Nodding to allow the caravan to advance, he began to walk with the caravan's leader but was still suspicious of the group of mercenaries.

"Tell me. Why did Jerome not bring the donation of goods with him on his arrival?"

The mercenary shrugged in indifference.

"Beats me. Ask that Jerome guy. All I know is that he wanted us to come to Shisayama on this day."

"Must be goods for the festivities then. In any case, let's pick up the pace. The event is already underway so let's get everything inside, it is not safe…..?" The guard's words trailed off at the end as he heard something unsettling.

*Rumble Rumble Rumble"

The snow on the trees began to fall to the ground and what sounded like an earthquake seemed to sound out all around them. The earth trembled a bit which made the guard ask in a panic.

"What goods did you bring!?"

"Umm, just some clothes and a large amount of meat I think?"

"Oh no." Said the horrified guard.

Turning to the southern outskirt entrance, he called out to the three men under his command.

"SOUND THE ALARM AND CLOSE THE GATE!!! NOW!!!"

At his command, the three guards promptly moved earnestly. One mounted a hororon and rushed to the village to warn the village watch's upper command while the other two began to close the wooden gate.

Shisayama was blessed to be built on a large patch of land so flat and somewhat clear. It made the village outskirt's wall easier to build but vulnerable as it was only made of wood since it was too costly to make a long and thick stone wall. Using thaumaturge would be a waste of magic as the country had very few to spare and the administration decided that it would do better to slay monsters with their magic.

As the rider galloped off on his hororon he heard the sound of crunching wood and screaming of men that would haunt him for days. He turned around to ensure that it was not his imagination but regretted it the next moment.

There, he saw a grotesque figure with what looked like two men in its gaping maw. As it moved its jaw, he swore he could hear the sound of bones being broken and the bursting of innards.

Squeezing the reins with a grip that left noticeable marks in the leather, the guard turned his head forward to hurry his mount faster to get away in time. Focusing his eyes from his tensed state of mind, he failed to notice the dark figure that was behind him.

How the figure got on the mount without alerting anyone was a mystery only the figure would know and that the guard would never know.