Dragon Knight training lasted six months. However, because Bella and Eugene had shown high scores throughout training, they received a special exception and were able to leave one month early.
“We’re going ahead~.”
In the early dawn, when the sun had not yet risen and the parade ground was still dark, Eugene waved as he left.
“You traitors!”
“Trip and die on the road!”
Their classmates jumped up and down, but they had no power to disobey orders from above. They could only stare holes into Bella and Eugene’s backs, looking as though they were dying of envy.
Leaving their howls behind, Eugene and Bella exited the training camp and looked at each other.
“Let’s rest today.”
“Yeah.”
Eugene nodded at Bella’s suggestion.
Having reached an agreement, the two returned straight to the mansion in Alframe.
The butler and maids, whom they had not seen in a long time, welcomed them.
As soon as the two arrived home, they took their first proper showers in nearly half a year. Then they lay down on their beds for a short nap.
Because they had left the training camp so early, even after doing all that and waking up, it was only ten in the morning.
A good time to begin moving.
And so, just as the two were about to leave the mansion, they ran into each other at the door.
“…….”
“…….”
What awkward timing.
As they vaguely watched each other’s reactions, Eugene asked first,
“Where are you going?”
“Into town.”
“Then let’s go together.”
Bella looked disgusted. It seemed she wanted to be alone at least on a day off.
But the same was true for Eugene.
“Just take me there. I won’t bother you.”
“Fine.”
Even if they rode horses from the mansion’s stable, it would take more than thirty minutes to reach town. But once Bella transformed and flew, the two arrived in downtown Alframe in less than five minutes.
“Well then.”
“Well then.”
The two parted ways as soon as they arrived in town.
And around lunchtime, they ran into each other again at a restaurant.
““…….””
Bella, who seemed to have enjoyed shopping for the first time in a while and had both hands loaded with packages, bared her teeth.
“You bastard. Don’t tell me you’re following me.”
“Are you crazy? I’m already tired, so why would I do something that useless?”
Eugene shook his head. He, too, was carrying plenty of luggage just like Bella.
The place where the two had run into each other was an old noodle shop on the outskirts of town.
It was a place famous in its own way for noodles in broth so greasy that most people would gag and vomit, and for its amazingly tender meatballs.
Bella growled.
“This is my regular place. I’ve been coming here since my second year as a Dragon Knight.”
“Really? I’ve been coming here since my first year.”
The two both claimed to be regulars.
Come to think of it, in their previous life, they seemed to have run into each other here a few times.
“…….”
“…….”
It was awkward to criticize, and awkward to agree.
Because it was a rare holiday, the two had completely relaxed, and their thoughts had gone stiff. So they merely stared blankly at each other.
Just then, the restaurant door opened, and an employee came out.
“Are you customers?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Then hurry inside. Do not block the road.”
That was true. With the two of them facing each other while carrying piles of luggage, they were filling the narrow road.
When a person pulling a cart behind them gave them a look, the two hurriedly entered the shop.
The employee naturally guided the two to one table.
By the time they came to their senses, they had ended up sharing a table.
“Damn it.”
Bella grumbled. Eugene snorted.
But trying to sit separately at this point was not easy either.
Since it was a popular restaurant, there were not that many seats.
The employee asked,
“What will you order?”
Eugene ordered an extra-large bowl of meat noodles, while Bella ordered two extra-large bowls of meat noodles and the special dish, pork grilled with honey glaze.
Eugene peeked at Bella’s luggage. He could see a fluffy tuft of fur poking out from between the wrapping papers.
“Another doll?”
“What about you?”
“Ships.”
“Ships?”
“Ship-in-a-bottle models. Collecting them is my hobby.”
“Is that so? You had so many odds and ends that I did not know.”
As they exchanged idle chatter, the food came out.
The two ate their noodles without saying a word. They began by clearing away the toppings piled like a mountain over the bowls. Once they scooped up the meatballs, thinly sliced rice cakes, and the generous amount of cilantro and bean sprouts, the noodles and broth, filled with a thick aroma, appeared.
Eugene, accustomed to eastern culture, skillfully swallowed the noodles with chopsticks, slurping them down, while Bella scooped them up heavily with a fork.
After they ate without thinking, their stomachs were full. Eugene, whose capacity had been exceeded after one bowl, panted and leaned back against his chair.
Bella, on the other hand, had already finished both bowls and was chewing through the pork served in chunks.
Since she was a warrior who used her body, it was only natural for her to eat a lot, but……
because of her barbarian-like way of eating, the table had become filthy.
Her mouth was smeared with grease as well. It was a way of eating that did not suit Bella, who looked refined like a queen.
Under ordinary circumstances, he might have told her to eat a little more gracefully.
But Eugene said nothing.
‘Sometimes, you want to do that.’
After the meal ended, the two, who had filled their stomachs to the point that breathing was difficult, walked the streets together, panting as they digested.
The streets were noisy. Peddlers bargained with passersby, carriages moved along the broad main road, and the sounds of people chattering about trifles tickled their ears.
“It will begin soon! Duke Brafesta’s Revenge! If you enter now, we will discount 100 pesos! Good seats are still available!”
A tout had set up a signboard in front of a theater and was promoting a play.
“Shall we watch it?”
“Good.”
Bella nodded. The two sat together and watched the play.
By the time they came out after watching the play, the sunset had fallen, and the sun was slowly sinking.
“Will you eat dinner before we go?”
“Sure.”
Since they had eaten a grand lunch, they decided to eat lightly for dinner.
With their opinions aligned, the two took seats at a café, cut up simple pancakes, drank warm tea, and chatted.
“I liked the part where Duke Brafesta, having escaped from prison, howled.”
“Yeah. It was the first time I’d seen that actor, but he acted well.”
“However, the ending was poor. The Gate of Darkness and the Book of Emil, which were portrayed as so important, ended without ever being used, did they not?”
“You remember all that too? Unexpectedly, you watch works carefully.”
“Hmph. I may not look it, but I am a woman with basic refinement.”
“You have basic refinement, so a grown lady eats unsliced meat by tearing into it~ I see.”
“Shut up.”
The two ate dinner like that and returned home.
The moon had already set, and the hour had grown dark.
“Sleep.”
“Yeah. You too.”
They waved lightly, parted as soon as they entered the front gate, and went to their respective rooms.
As soon as he entered his room, Eugene lay down on the bed without even changing clothes.
And he thought.
‘Usually, when I rest, I always go around alone.’
But perhaps it was because they were Twinstella. Even though they had spent the entire day together, there was none of the fatigue he usually felt when staying with another person.
It was not as if he was particularly lonely, but since their conversations flowed well, it had actually been good.
‘Maybe we fit together better than I thought…….’
Suddenly, that thought passed through his mind.
But he had no intention of telling the other person that.
Because he knew far too well what reaction the other person would have upon hearing it.
‘I don’t want to see that bastard’s smug face.’
***
Because they had left early, the two had effectively received something no different from a month-long vacation.
Then what would they do during that time?
The two put their heads together.
And decided.
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
“Rock-paper-scissors!”
“Good! I won!”
“Damn it.”
Because Eugene won the match, the two decided to spend their time laying the foundation for information gathering until they returned as Dragon Knights.
The two first registered with the Mercenary Guild.
Because of their clear identities as Dragon Knights and their guaranteed ability, no particular examination was needed.
As soon as the two submitted their registration forms, they received S-rank mercenary badges and gained the authority to accept requests.
After completing the procedure and returning home, Eugene spread a map out before Bella and explained their plan from now on.
“This is where the Voidnir began their full-scale invasion.”
He spoke while pointing respectively to the southern and northern borders of the Dragon Empire.
“From the border of the Sixth Federation and the country of the Snowfield Tribes. They suddenly appeared, smashed through the border defense forces, and rapidly repeated northward and southward advances, crushing Alframe from above and below.”
The flow of forces he indicated with his finger pierced through Alframe at the center of the Dragon Empire.
“So we’ll mainly take requests from these points. We’ll keep building connections there and maintain continuous surveillance.”
Communication using ordinary magic could transmit contents only up to a maximum of two kilometers.
However, the Dragon Empire’s administration solved that distance problem by spending a massive budget to densely install magical communication devices across the country.
The communication network built that way was basically used for national defense or various administrative procedures.
But the Mercenary Guild paid a large monthly usage fee and could use that communication network.
Therefore, Eugene and Bella could live in Alframe while receiving requests from across the entire country and moving selectively.
“Since there are human-mimicking Voidnir, we need to prepare more carefully. If they look human, even if they’re openly laying groundwork, we won’t be able to tell whether it’s the Voidnir’s actions or not.”
Eugene roughly explained the operation that way.
Bella merely nodded heavily.
Eugene asked,
“You are understanding this, right?”
“Do I look like an idiot? I could make a plan of that level too!”
“Really? Then explain what I just said.”
“It simply means we focus mercenary requests on specific regions and build friendships with the people near where the Voidnir first appeared before anyone else does. Since we know the future, we iron from the places where holes will appear first.”
“What a relief. You’re not an idiot.”
“You truly are desperate to die.”
That was how Eugene’s operation began.
Since they were new recruits who had only just joined the guild, and on top of that were trying to accept requests from quite distant places, it inevitably took time for requests to come in, even though the communication network was in place.
However, because the guild, having gained powerful mercenaries after a long time, put effort into sales and promotion, Eugene and Bella were able to hold requests from the regions they wanted in their hands only two days after joining the guild.
S-rank mercenaries did not need to go all the way to the guild to accept requests.
A courier sent by the guild came to the mansion carrying the request forms.
“There are five requests that came in this time.”
The courier spread five sheets of paper in front of Eugene and Bella.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Eugene’s eyes widened as he examined them for a while.
Saying he wanted to discuss something, he temporarily sent the courier out of the reception room, then pressed close to Bella’s side and whispered quietly.
“This is already a jackpot request.”
“What is it?”
Bella took the request form from Eugene.
It said that they were investigating the lair of subterranean monsters that had appeared in the northern region and requested an escort there for about one week.
“Is this not simply an escort mission? What about this is a jackpot?”
“Look carefully at the requester’s name.”
“Requester, Count Echo Helstein…… What about this person?”
Bella looked puzzled. Eugene was dumbfounded and asked,
“You don’t know Echo Helstein?”
“I do not. Who is that?”
Eugene shook his head.
Bella clenched her teeth with an ngh.
“I am not joking. I truly do not know, so hurry up and tell me.”
“Count Echo Helstein is a scholar. Someone who studies the ecology of subterranean monsters.”
A scholar of subterranean monsters. He did sound like an interesting person, but what was so important about that?
“And Echo Helstein is also someone who predicted it in advance before the Voidnir invasion.”
“What?”
Bella’s expression hardened.