“Senior!”
“Oppa, are you okay!”
“What should we do?”
The surroundings were noisy.
Listening closely, they were all familiar voices.
As I forced my eyelids open, I saw Tania.
“Be quiet.”
“S-Senior?”
“Since the fog has disappeared, ordinary zombies can come near. Lower your voices. And you have to guard all sides.”
With her help, I raised my body.
“How many minutes have passed since I collapsed?”
“It has been about 5 minutes.”
I had no memory of when I collapsed.
[Patience] apologized.
The bastard also seemed quite flustered by the unexpected situation.
“Any casualties?”
“Everyone is fine.”
“Even if there are no physical wounds, you have to be careful. There might be aftereffects from visiting the mental world.”
“I understand.”
Whew, it was hard to breathe.
There was no energy left in my body.
I had to return to the village.
But I could not even take a single step.
“How about looking for a place to rest nearby instead of overdoing it?”
Adela suggested.
“I want to avoid camping. We don't know how many zombies will come in, and everyone is exhausted.”
“Then what should we do?”
She waited for my order.
It was the same for the people waiting behind her.
I fell into thought for a moment.
No one had any mana left.
Keeping watch and guarding the group was also reaching its physical limit.
Truly….
Nothing about surviving in this world was easy.
“Hey.”
Someone called me.
The voice came from across the lake.
“Are you safe?”
As I squinted my eyes to look, his face felt familiar.
[Clever] told me his identity.
He was the mercenary I had met in the cave.
He approached this way together with the two survivors.
“Who are those people?”
Adela frowned and was on guard.
She hid a dagger behind her back to prepare for any eventuality.
“Relax, they are not enemies.”
“Are you sure?”
“It is a bond formed in the cave.”
“There were people in that cave?”
“Yeah.”
“Are they not here to stab us in the back after pretending to be nice back then?”
“If they had intended to attack us, it would be right to launch an ambush. Since this place is open on all sides. I don't see any signs of hidden comrades either. Those three are all of them.”
“……Alright.”
Adela put the dagger back.
She yielded the way to them as they stepped onto the island.
My gaze met the mercenary’s.
“I rushed straight here after confirming the fog had disappeared.”
“You did not go straight to the village?”
“I was worried for some reason. Fortunately, it seemed my hunch was right.”
The mercenary smiled.
“You are quite something, I did not think you would actually be able to hunt the variant.”
“You are also special for believing my words.”
“I had to believe. That was the only option I had left.”
The mercenary stepped away for a moment and consulted with his companions.
The flow of the conversation was positive.
They all nodded with smiling faces.
“We will help you get back to the village.”
“Will that be possible?”
“Are you asking a question back instead of a thank you?”
“Because I have to entrust my life to you, just as you did.”
The mercenary snorted.
He drew his sword and spoke in a voice full of playfulness.
“Rest assured, Messiah. I will do my best so that your miracle can continue.”
Knock knock! Someone visited Gunter’s room.
It was Barosh, who acted as his hands and feet to handle tasks.
“Branch manager, I have come because I have something urgent to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Gunter examined Barosh’s expression.
He was breaking out in cold sweat and his complexion was pale.
He had rarely seen him look this flustered.
“A message came from the Norton family.”
“……From whom did you say the message came?”
Gunter wore an expression of disbelief.
Since experiencing repeated failures regarding Emeria Lake.
He had ignored their contact all along.
“I could not believe it myself until I saw the seal on the letter. Look at this.”
Barosh placed the letter on the desk.
He examined the pattern of the seal.
It was unmistakably the crest of the Norton family.
“Surely, the Count has not held a grudge and intended to cut off support?”
Gunter contorted his face.
The Norton family was one of the biggest sponsors for maintaining the current guild.
If he withdrew his hand, the damage to the guild would have been immense.
“It is not an impossible story. There are many among the nobility with fiery temperaments.”
His head throbbed.
Though he had not opened the letter.
No matter how much I thought about it, only worrying results came to mind.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally examined the contents.
“……Is our guess correct?”
Barosh swallowed dry saliva.
The old man’s hands were trembling as he read the letter.
It was his first time seeing him so nervous.
“Surely, the Count is not going to personally lead soldiers to smash the village?”
“No, it is not that.”
“Then what on earth is it?”
Barosh tilted his head.
If the Count was not angry, there would be no reason for the Branch manager to be afraid.
“It seemed that child succeeded.”
“By that child, you mean……?”
“Joshua, that boy who had left saying he would solve the commission for Emeria Lake.”
“You mean a boy solved the Emeria Lake commission where as many as four teams went missing?”
“Looking at the content of the letter, it can only be interpreted that way.”
Silence settled in the room.
The two stared at each other blankly.
Barosh shook his head late and snapped out of it.
“I thought his gaze was unusual, but I did not know it was to this extent.”
“I agree.”
“How did the Count know this fact before we did?”
“He must have used an item we don't know about. Since he cannot personally visit the lake to check. If my guess was right, I believe some kind of spell was placed on the bundle given to the boy.”
Barosh groaned.
Count Norton was a meticulous man.
He was not a man who would have been happy about a commission being completed without any device.
The boy did it.
He could not think any other way.
“W-What would be good to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean whether we should not also prepare something on our side, not just the reward the Count gives.”
Gunter groaned.
The task the boy chose for his own survival.
Resulted in saving the guild’s weakening reputation as well.
Not only that.
He seemed to know about my identity.
“Are you saying we should try to make him our person?”
“Even if that is not the case, it seems there is nothing bad about becoming close.”
Gunter struck the desk.
As the desk split in half, Barosh was startled.
“Your words mean you are telling me to cater to that young boy’s whims right now?”
“I-I am sorry. I got excited without realizing it and overstepped.”
Gunter giggled at the flustered Barosh.
Since he had burst out in anger, he could not help but be surprised.
“Haha, it was a joke. It is not often you speak like that, so it must mean you like him that much.”
“……Thank you for understanding.”
“Leave. I will handle this matter well on my end.”
“Understood.”
Barosh rushed out of the room.
Gunter exhaled and read the contents of the letter once more.
The Count seemed quite satisfied.
To the point of even forgiving past mistakes.
He also showed his will to remain a supporter of the guild in the future.
“Ahem, well now.”
Gunter entered the next room.
It was his private warehouse.
“What kind of gift would be good?”
Damn it.
He regretted kicking Barosh out.
He knew nothing about what kind of things students would like.
Two days had passed since the Emeria Lake commission ended.
With the help of the mercenaries, I returned safely to Vilne.
Right after returning, I slept for a full day.
“Are you okay?”
When I opened my eyes, Luna was beside me.
Luna poured water into a glass she had found somewhere and handed it to me.
I drank it all at once.
As a cold sensation circulated through my body, my mind had cleared up.
“It seems I have improved somewhat.”
“One day is not enough. Focus only on resting for at least a few days. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
Luna had a face that said she could not be reassured.
“Who had visited the room while I was asleep?”
“The older sisters had all visited at least once. Ah, there were some words Adela had left.”
“Tell me.”
“She said it feels like the atmosphere in the village has changed. How should I put it, she had said some people seem to be watching us.”
I nodded.
It seemed the impatient Count had tried to contact the guild immediately.
The people Adela had mentioned would be the guild members in the village.
“Understood.”
“Ah, and Oppa Leo also had come.”
“When?”
“It must have been about 3 hours ago. It seemed to be a regular report.”
“He said he would come again, right?”
Luna smiled as if excited.
“That's right, he did.”
“What did Leo seem like in your view?”
“He looked healthy. And he had a very confident expression, I think.”
“The bastard was full of confidence even normally.”
“Heehee, it would be best to see for yourself.”
“Okay.”
Once the report was over, I stared at Luna.
“D-Do you have more to say?”
Luna blushed, feeling shy.
“I had promised. That I would give you a reward when this task was over. Is there something you want?”
“……There is something.”
“What is it?”
As Luna could not answer easily, I read her thoughts in my head.
An image was drawn.
What she wanted was not something material.
A posture of embracing her under the arms and lifting her high toward the sky.
It was just like a parent playing with a child.
“Is that all?”
“I-I am sorry. I am wanting something strange.”
“I don't think it is particularly strange though.”
“Really?”
Luna was a dragon.
Since a dragon was a clever creature, her learning was fast.
But she was still a child.
It had not even been a year since she was born and opened her eyes.
She was getting involved in the battlefield at an age where she would normally be cared for.
I felt sorry.
“Come here.”
Luna could not approach.
Like a child who had accepted this was a wrong thing, she fidgeted with her body.
I approached the hesitating girl, put my hands under her arms, and lifted her high.
“You have worked hard, Luna.”
“Heehee.”
Luna giggled.
For some reason, it was a smile that made even me feel at ease.
“You can wish for something bigger next time.”
“I like this the most. Getting praised!”
“……If you say so.”
I set her down.
The smile did not leave Luna's face.
Whatever had made her so happy, she hummed and went to the next room.
Knock knock!
A short while after that, someone knocked on the door.
Creak!
The door opened even though permission to enter had not been given.
It was Leonard.
The bastard looked at me and shook his head.
“To be exhausted from just one commission. This is why mages are no good.”
“Are you here to mock me?”
“Ah, it is not that.”
Leo strode over and sat in the chair beside me.
I examined his face.
Indeed, Luna was right.
His expression had been more boastful than usual.
“I am here to report, leader.”
“You look like you are in a good mood huh?”
“Heh, look at this.”
Leonard handed me something.
It was a commission form.
Not just one.
There were as many as six.
Furthermore, they were all the exact same mission.
“While you were struggling with one commission, I had finished as many as six.”
I placed my hand on my forehead.
I had told him to hunt mice.
But I had never imagined he would go so far as to wipe out the seeds.
I used [Analyze].
If my guess was right, there would have been a change in Leo’s abilities.
[Leonard has completed the Mouse Slayer achievement.]
[Strength and Agility increase by 10.]
To achieve Mouse Slayer, you had to catch 100 mice.
It was a great result, if it could be called great.
Since there was nothing I would lose by Leo getting stronger.
But I had no intention of acting as he had wished.
“Okay.”
“……Is the reaction too lukewarm?”
Leo wore a sulky expression.
“Do you remember what I had said when I had come last time?”
“What did you say?”
“I had told you to develop the ability to lead a unit rather than your individual achievements.”
“Ah, that is right.”
“What about Talleon and Gavinu?”
“They should have still been sleeping.”
“Evaluation is on hold until I hear the opinions of those two.”
He hung his head and let out a sigh.
I needed to keep his ego in check.
Leo was the type who made many mistakes when he became conceited.
“I feel somewhat deflated.”
“……Still, you did well. I can give you 40 points just for finishing the commission without getting hurt.”
“Seriously, stingy, so stingy.”
“You stay at the inn for the time being.”
“Why?”
“You might bribe the kids.”
Leo trembled as if flustered.
“W-What are you talking about! Do I look like the kind of person who would hang on to praise even while using such dirty methods?”
“A little?”
He looked anxious and lost where to place his gaze.
Given Leo’s personality, there was a possibility he had driven his unit members like mice.
The image of the boys complaining was clear before my eyes.
“Even if I didn't do that, the two follow my lead a lot.”
“Despite the fact that you had hated it at first.”
“Urgh.”
Leo clicked his tongue, looking troubled.
“So what did you do out there?”
“I had hunted a variant.”
“What!”
He jumped up, getting excited.
“Why did you leave us out of such a commission?”
I doubted my ears.
Leo had said 'us'.
He was feeling affection for his unit members.
It was a big development compared to his attitude when he had first met the boys.
“It was not a commission suitable for a knight.”
“……Damn, I am jealous now.”
“It is a matter of hunting zombies. It is something done while taking risks. There is nothing to be jealous of.”
“……I guess. So what color commission was it?”
“It was green.”
Leo opened his mouth as if blank.
“No way? If it is green, it is a level higher than yellow. When I had asked the innkeeper, she had said she could not give it to me if I did not have the qualification.”
“How did you know that?”
I squinted my eyes with a suspicious look.
It seemed he had tried to take another commission without my knowledge.
“I just looked into it. Getting information was an important task.”
“Hmm.”
“It is true!”
“Yeah.”
“So... with the pass we had brought from Dormitory 2, yellow was the limit, so how did you get green?”
“About that—”
Knock knock! The sound of a knock on the room door was heard.
Speaking of the devil, it seemed he had arrived.