...
About an hour later, the door to the reception room opened again.
Senior Brother Raymond walked out.
The eyes of this frontier general were slightly red. He looked for all the world as if he'd just been mugged by a pack of Gnolls and had a good cry about it afterward.
Seeing Lynch waiting outside, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he just clapped Lynch hard on the shoulder. His voice was hoarse. "Junior Brother... the contract is signed. The rent... it's a little steep. I can't stay. I have to get back... and figure out how to raise the funds."
He muttered, as if psyching himself up, "Damn those Blue Scarves, damn the Black Rock Beastman Tribe, damn the wandering evil centaurs, and damn those filthy nobles who take money and do nothing... That's all money! That's all resources! I'm going to turn them all into military honors and spoils of war!"
