A Warm Welco.
"When! When! On earth! When is it! When is it happening!"
The purple-haired woman shouted noisily and darted around in a frenzy. The man sighed deeply, brushing his hand down his face.
"I'm starting to go crazy with curiosity too. Are you sure they're coming here? At least before I lose my mind from all that whining."
The woman draped in a black robe sank deep into her chair and nodded.
"They'll be here soon. I've been checking their movents regularly—no doubt about it."
"Really? Really? Really, really?!"
The woman sitting in the chair casually pushed away the suddenly popped-up purple head and replied,
"Yes, really. So could you go play by yourself for a bit? I need to rest before I go back to prepping."
"I'm working too, you know! You're not the only one working! But they're really coming here, right? To Eradico, right?"
"I told you—they're coming to Eradico. Why don't you believe ?"
"I do! I totally believe you!"
The purple-haired woman's eyes, the sa color as her hair, sparkled brightly.
"But! But if! If they don't show up here, you're dead at! I'll crush you slowly and thoroughly with my own hands!"
After washing up thoroughly with the water the innkeeper provided for free, I went down to the first floor. There, Dakiya was bombarding Sagitta with questions. Sagitta was calmly answering every one of them with polite patience, even while eating.
I sat down beside Dakiya and ordered a al. Co to think of it, having run around since dawn on an empty stomach, this was my first al of the day.
As soon as I ca downstairs, Dakiya stared at like she was trying to burn a hole through my head.
"Is there still so blood you didn't wash off?"
"Nope. I washed quite thoroughly."
There was a sharp edge in her voice. I had a pretty good idea why she was so irked, but first, I decided to deal with my curiosity.
"So, Your Ladyship has decided to hire this fist-swinging rcenary?"
"Yes. We agreed on a fair paynt."
Very short reply. Dakiya kept making it abundantly clear that she was seriously displeased with .
Murder!
My mother, upon seeing Dakiya, had grumbled that she seed like a thoroughly botherso woman. Honestly though, compared to when my mother really got going, Dakiya's fuss didn't even co close...
I quickly cut off that blasphemous train of thought. Mother's fussing was, of course, the lovable kind.
I gave Dakiya a soft smile.
"Is this because I left without saying anything?"
She narrowed her large golden eyes at , clearly annoyed that I had guessed correctly.
"Very perceptive. I thought that our heartfelt conversation last night had deepened our bond, but I suppose that was just my misunderstanding? And didn't you tell I should consult with you before doing anything rash? Yet you went off without saying a single word to either or Carn."
Her point was painfully valid.
"Your Ladyship."
"Yes?"
She answered curtly, like she was daring to try defending myself. I looked into her eyes and began to speak.
"Have you ever killed soone with your own hands?"
She replied in a slightly deflated voice.
"No..."
"That's why I went alone. I judged that this situation might require a more forceful approach. As you saw earlier, it really did end in bloodshed."
Dakiya took a mont to gather her thoughts before replying.
"But still, you could've at least given a heads-up. I woke up this morning and had breakfast without the slightest idea of what happened."
That was exactly why I went alone. Just then, the innkeeper brought over a plate of warm food. I gave him a polite nod of thanks, then turned to Dakiya.
"I'll make sure to inform you in advance next ti."
I could've argued back with a mountain of points, but I hadn't co down here to get into a debate with her. I ca here to eat.
At my concession, Dakiya softened and smiled.
"Then let's call this even with what I did yesterday when I stord out without a word."
Tearing off a piece of warm bread with my hands, I replied casually,
"How lucky we both had sothing to trade."
As I chewed on the utterly tasteless bread, Dakiya's eyes sparkled as she asked,
"But what exactly happened? I kept asking Sagitta, but he just told you'd explain everything yourself."
Sagitta, who had been quietly eating, glanced at and then turned his focus back to his al. Clearly, he thought it was a bit too sensitive to explain on his own. Just as I was about to start explaining, soone burst into the inn. It was Carn.
"Lady Dakiya! Marnak went off alone to negotiate with the rcenary group that picked a fight yesterday! We need to gear up and—"
Then Carn saw my face and blinked in surprise, saying in a bewildered voice,
"You're already back?"
He plopped down in the seat next to Sagitta with a dazed look.
"If I'd known you were already back, I wouldn't have run all the way here in such a rush... Anyway, who's this?"
As I sliced my ham with a knife and popped a bite into my mouth, I answered,
"A new rcenary hired by Her Ladyship. Go ahead and introduce yourselves."
Sagitta gave a polite nod first.
"Sagitta Forgon, son of Gilta Forgon."
"Forgon?"
"You probably haven't heard of it. The house is already ruined."
Carn nodded and responded courteously.
"I'm Carn Baltas, son of Enthis Baltas. Pleased to et you."
"Likewise."
After a brief greeting with Sagitta, Carn asked :
"So, what happened?"
Thanks to Carn showing up, I was spared from having to explain it twice.
I explained everything to Carn and Dakia — that the "Red Bear" rcenary group had co to this village targeting Dakia, that the one who ordered them was soone nad "Ilehe," and even that Sagitta was the forr leader of the Red Bear rcenaries.
After hearing the full story, Dakia subtly scooted closer to and cast a wary glance at Sagitta.
"Can you really be trusted?"
Sagitta tried to explain himself earnestly but stamred and eventually gave up, sending a silent plea for help. I couldn't help but chuckle at how consistent he was, even after just a short ti of knowing him.
"You can trust him. As I ntioned earlier, he's been cast aside by the other rcenaries."
Dakia glanced at and then addressed Sagitta:
"For now, I'll trust you out of respect for Priest Marnak, but I hope there won't be any cause for unpleasantness between us."
Sagitta responded with a relieved look:
"Yes."
Carn smiled gently to lighten the mood.
"I'm just glad to have such a dependable companion with us."
Carn didn't object to how I had handled things alone or to the fact that I brought Sagitta back. He seed to trust that I would handle matters properly.
"Well then, I should head back to the village blacksmith. I was in the middle of selecting arrowheads when I heard the news and ca running. Since it's already late, how about we leave early tomorrow morning?"
We all agreed with Carn's suggestion and took the rest of the day to rest before setting off again.
Dakia stared intensely at the pile of firewood, more serious than ever. As she murmured a low incantation, magical energy stirred and responded to her spell.
A small spark ignited among the wood, and that spark quickly grew out of control and exploded.
Boom!
From a distance, Carn patted Sagitta on the shoulder and said,
"Let's go collect more firewood."
Thanks to his natural sociability, Carn had started talking comfortably with Sagitta over the past few days. Sagitta nodded silently and replied briefly:
"Alright."
While the two of them went off to gather more firewood, I moved to perform my usual role — cheering up a dejected Dakia.
She crouched beside the explosion's remains, looking disheartened.
"I really thought it would work this ti..."
"Didn't the explosion seem smaller than a few days ago? If the scale of the blasts keeps decreasing like this, you'll surely be able to spark a proper fla soon."
"I can't believe I'm a mage who can't even light a fire..."
Though Dakia was a mage, she wasn't good at handling magic — more precisely, she wasn't used to using it. In fact, she was far more skilled with a sword than with spells.
This was because, as a noblewoman, she had deliberately avoided magic during her upbringing in order to focus on refining her manners and etiquette.
She only started practicing magic again because a few days ago, unaware of her circumstances, I casually asked if she could help set up camp using magic.
Since then, after the disaster on the first day, she seed driven by sheer stubbornness — repeatedly attempting magic and getting frustrated each ti.
As a result, comforting a failed Dakia had beco entirely my job.
Still, a small explosion like this was a major improvent from the first ti, when she nearly caused a forest fire.
Murder! Murder!
I gently patted my mother, who was gleefully mocking Dakia for being a mage who couldn't start a campfire, and resud comforting Dakia.
"Lady Dakia. Everyone has tis when they're inexperienced."
She replied in a gloomy voice:
"I used to be good at magic when I was younger. I deliberately avoided it, yes, but I never imagined I'd be in this bad a state. Seriously."
True — I'd never seen a mage this bad at magic before. For mages, using magic was as natural as breathing.
Honestly, I was amazed by how stubbornly she had avoided magic for the sake of etiquette until she got to this point. Is this what nobles have to do to be considered refined?
"I'm sure you'll improve little by little."
Dakia slowly looked up at .
"You really think so?"
"Yes."
She brushed herself off and began preparing camp again. Even though we constantly told her she didn't need to help and should just rest, she insisted on contributing, saying she couldn't slack off while traveling with others. And aside from her magic, she was quite handy with everything else.
Just as Dakia and I finished preparing the camp, Sagitta and Carn returned carrying a load of dry firewood. As the campfire crackled to life and we all sat around it, Sagitta began cooking with the ingredients he had prepared.
Since I had no sense of taste, I couldn't cook. Dakia and Carn weren't any better at it either. But perhaps thanks to his long rcenary career, Sagitta was quite skilled in the kitchen, so the cooking naturally fell to him.
While we were eating around the fire, Dakia spoke up.
"We'll be arriving in Eradico tomorrow, right?"
I nodded.
"Yes. Tomorrow, we can soak in so nice hot water."
Murder!
My mother, delighted at the prospect of a hot bath, humd joyfully, saying there's nothing better.
Carn smiled warmly and added,
"Still, we can't let our guard down. We never know when Ilehe might target Lady Dakia again."
There had been no further attacks from Ilehe on our journey to Eradico.
It would've made more sense to ambush us while camping like this, rather than causing a scene inside a city.
Attacking a noble inside a city would be a direct challenge to the ruling lord. To appease the lord afterward, the attacker would have to pay a hefty price to restore his honor — and even then, there's no guarantee the offended lord would accept it or forgive the insult.
Dakia's relaxed attitude showed that she was well aware of this.
Still, as Carn said, we shouldn't let our guard down completely.
The next day, we reached the gates of Eradico and were greeted with a frenzied welco.
To be precise, I was.
One of the guards, who had caught sight of the priest's robe under my coat, ran out with a bright smile.
"Priest! You're a priest, right?!"
I blinked in surprise and nodded.
"Yes. I am a priest."
The guard clung to with a desperate expression.
"Please, Priest! I beg you — could you tell that 'Trumpeter of Rest' fool to stop raising the dead? He won't listen to anyone, not even the lord! We'll reward you handsoly!"
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