After completing the exchange, Kino consolidated his original savings, the money just handed over by Milro, and the funds redeemed with respect points, carefully tallying the total.
Before the crossing occurred, Kino had lived a less-than-honorable life, extorting money from passing merchant caravans. How many among them were smugglers like Milro, he couldn't say.
By the time he finished counting, Kino's wealth amounted to approximately 1,000 silver moons—about 8 kilograms in weight, equivalent to the salary of a civil officer for 20 years. According to his journal, Kino had only served as a civil officer for three years prior to this.
Though Shilin Town was a major frontier stronghold and unlikely to draw the attention of the upper echelons of DuGrand, any investigation into the origin of this fortune could spell immense trouble. Measures had to be taken to handle it discreetly.
Kino glanced around the room and spotted a mundane oil painting on the wall—utterly ordinary, with no redeeming qualities. On the market, it might fetch 20 copper moons at most.
He took the painting down and placed it on the table.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Paladin's trembling voice from outside. "My lord…"
Kino began wrapping the painting and replied coolly, "Come in."
The moment Paladin entered, he stumbled forward, collapsing to his knees behind Kino. His hands, feet, and forehead pressed firmly to the ground in the most submissive posture imaginable.
Without turning to look at him, Kino said, "Good morning, Centurion Paladin. What brings you here?"
Sweat poured ceaselessly from Paladin's forehead, pooling into a damp circle on the floor. His voice trembled uncontrollably. "M-my apologies… Lord Kino… I beg you… please don't kill me…"
Kino let out a soft chuckle. "Why would I kill you?"
Paladin stammered, his fear rendering his words incoherent. "I… I saw you last night… you… Divin, he…"
Kino interrupted. "What did you see?"
"I saw you… you…" Paladin's body suddenly jerked as if struck by lightning. His eyes lost focus, and his voice turned hoarse, like sandpaper scraping. "I saw nothing! Nothing at all! Even if the gods themselves descend, I'll never recall what happened last night! Nothing, nothing…"
As he spoke, he began frantically slapping his own face, as if trying to erase his memory through sheer force.
Kino's voice was calm and unhurried. "If you saw nothing, then why would I kill you?"
Hearing this, Paladin seemed to emerge from the depths of water, his whole body relaxing as he gasped for air.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked as though he had narrowly escaped death. "My lord, may I ask… why have you changed so drastically overnight? You weren't like this before… Divin often mocked you publicly, yet you never…"
Kino cut him off. "Let's not waste time. Paladin, do you wish to serve me, to obey my every command? Or rather, are you here to offer yourself as my dog?"
Paladin froze momentarily, then knelt on one knee and performed a chest salute. "Yes! I often laughed at you with Divin in the past. At the time, I thought you were… worthless… but now I see how gravely mistaken I was. Please, forgive my past foolishness and allow me to serve you from this day forward!"
Kino handed him a vial containing memory-erasing capsules. "Then I have a task for you. The 63 soldiers who attacked Milro's caravan last night are all under your command. They should be having breakfast now. Slip this into their soup and ensure every one of them consumes it."
Paladin took the bottle with trembling hands. Thinking it was poison, he became visibly distraught. "You're going to kill them all to silence them?!"
"And if I am?"
"They're your soldiers… I… I'd become a murderer…"
Kino turned to face him, a trace of amusement in his eyes. "Have you ever kept a dog?"
Paladin shrank back. "I did, when I was young."
"Did you like it?"
"I did. When it died, I cried for a long time."
"Imagine this—if you commanded your dog to bite someone, yet it barked in defiance, would you still find it likable?"
The veiled implication in Kino's words silenced Paladin.
He had served in Shilin Town for over a decade, a seasoned veteran through and through.
However, the garrison had undergone a recent reshuffle, leaving him in charge of a centuria composed entirely of fresh recruits—soldiers with whom he shared no rapport, strangers in all but name.
Even so, the thought of poisoning 63 men in one fell swoop—regardless of their lack of connection—was nothing short of murder.
Killing on the battlefield was one thing, a natural extension of its violent theater.
But to betray his own soldiers within the safe confines of the camp, and to do so in the dining hall no less, was an entirely different weight to bear.
Seeing Paladin remain silent, Kino continued wrapping the painting. "It's all right. If you truly can't go through with it, I won't force you. Let's pretend this conversation never happened."
Paladin's gaze darted about, his mind awash with conflicting thoughts.
Kino's meaning was crystal clear: if you choose to be a dog, then be one wholeheartedly. If not, walk away—and share the fate of those soldiers.
To poison his own men—such an act was unspeakably cruel.
But…
Was it worth sacrificing his life for the sake of 63 strangers?
Which held greater value: his life or theirs?
He wasn't ready to die, not here, not now.
Better to betray others than to let others betray him!
A grim determination twisted Paladin's face as he gripped the vial tightly and left the room.
Kino turned slightly, gazing in the direction Paladin had disappeared, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
Before long, Paladin returned, drenched in cold sweat and stammering nervously. "They… they ate it. One by one, they fell asleep, but soon they woke up again. None of them died—they just seemed a little dazed…"
Kino chuckled softly. "Did you honestly believe I'd be foolish enough to eliminate 21% of the town's garrison?"
Paladin's taut nerves snapped like a broken bowstring. He collapsed to the ground, exhaling a long sigh of relief. "By the gods…"
He sat there for a while, regaining his composure, before rising cautiously. "My lord, what was in the medicine you gave them?"
Kino didn't answer directly. Instead, he shifted the conversation. "Since you've raised a dog before, tell me—what makes a dog endearing?"
Paladin hesitated, then ventured, "A clever dog?"
Kino smiled. "And why is a clever dog endearing?"
"A clever dog understands every command," Paladin began, furrowing his brow as the realization dawned on him. His tone hardened. "And it never questions them. I understand now, my lord. I won't ask anything further."
As a master manipulator, Kino had worked on countless individuals. By merely observing a subject's eyes, he could uncover the emotions hidden within and gauge the state of their mind.
Paladin's gaze revealed the truth—his surrender was genuine, and he had passed the test.
Kino, unfamiliar with this world, required a guide, and Paladin had presented himself at just the right moment.
Perhaps one day, Paladin might betray him for some reason. Or perhaps he would serve faithfully, even unto death.
But none of that mattered.
The future could be planned in the future. For now, Paladin was a perfectly serviceable "guide dog," and that was enough.