After washing in turn, Mitchell and Juliana changed their clothes and came out, then displayed appetites so fierce that the surrounding mercenaries nearly fell over in shock.
Munch, munch.
The food Gerald and Heinrich had prepared was gone in the blink of an eye. The two of them, pitifully enough, had to go up and down the stairs several times, continually carrying more food. Mitchell and Juliana swept the food into their stomachs as if making it vanish. As though making up for all they had been unable to eat until now, their appetites were simply tremendous. In the end, only after devouring an enormous amount fit for ten people did the two lean back, patting their bellies.
“Phew. Now I feel alive.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Juliana nodded with a satisfied expression. At her attitude, as if nothing had happened at all, the mercenaries clicked their tongues in disbelief.
‘She’s really thick-skinned.’
‘She’s got nerves of steel. Any ordinary person would’ve been too ashamed even to acknowledge us……’
But contrary to the mercenaries’ assumptions, Juliana was not at all at ease. It was because of the mage’s oily gaze, which had been persistently following her ever since she came out of the bathroom.
‘He’s truly disgusting. How can he stare so blatantly like that?’
She had already glared at him several times, but the mage was utterly shameless. His gaze was so open and direct that her face burned and she could hardly stand it. But given her position, this was not a situation in which she could protest harshly. She had no choice but to swallow it down inside……
‘Just you wait. One way or another, I’ll gouge out those sly eyes of yours……’
Juliana believed that the fact her relationship with the mercenary corps had gone sour was all Damon’s fault.
‘If not for this bastard, we could have enjoyed a perfectly smooth journey.’
Not even realizing that the seed of misfortune had originally come from her own stubbornness, Juliana blamed everything on Damon. Juliana, who thought of everything only from her own perspective, was a girl who could not come to her senses no matter how much she suffered—almost the very model of an immature child.
Unaware that Juliana was grinding her teeth, Damon was busy staring at her face in a daze. That was because looking at her face allowed him to sink into the affectionate memories he had shared with Daphne. But Damon’s behavior was more than enough to invite misunderstanding from the mercenaries.
‘Good grief. A black mage, with a princess with such a rotten temper?’
‘Her personality’s a mess, and by a rough estimate, she’s young enough to be his granddaughter……’
Even so, not a single mercenary interfered. Most of them felt, in a sense, the same as Kasim—they wanted to avoid offending the black mage at all costs—and even if its effects had not yet been proven, he was still the benefactor who had taught them the mana cultivation method.
For that reason, the mercenaries resolved not to get involved at all in the black mage’s unsuitable affection(?). Even if the black mage set his sights not on Juliana but on a princess of Krosen, they decided they would have nothing to do with it.
After finishing their meal, Juliana and Mitchell sat with the mercenaries. Of course, Damon was in the back, secretly stealing glances at Juliana’s face. His gaze was rather prickling, but Juliana decided not to pay it any mind.
“Then let’s decide on our course from here. Since the captain asked us to bury the past, I won’t mention anything that happened before.”
At that response, which could only be called brazen, the mercenaries had to forcibly swallow the curses rising in their throats.
‘This damned……’
There were limits to turning the tables on someone, and they had never dreamed such a shameless woman could exist. As if unaware of the mercenaries’ insides boiling over, Juliana continued speaking calmly.
“Since the captain has revealed everything, I won’t hide anything anymore. The selection ceremony for the Crown Prince’s consort of the Krosen Empire is less than two months away, so we must hurry.”
Kasim replied in a heavy voice.
“There is plenty of time. From here on, for a while, we intend to travel along well-policed main roads…… Two months is more than enough.”
Juliana glanced at Kasim, then stretched out a finger and pointed at Mitchell.
“And I want to change the terms of the contract slightly. On the way here, we suffered an unfortunate incident, and my guard knight Mitchell lost both his armor and his sword. On top of that, even the formal dresses I was to wear in Krosen were all stolen, so we cannot go to the Krosen Empire like this.”
“……”
“So I would like the mercenary corps’ funds to cover the cost of procuring them. Ah! Any additional expenses will be repaid later with ample interest.”
“That is not difficult.”
Since it was not a particularly difficult request, Kasim readily agreed. To be honest, the mercenary corps’ finances were not all that abundant, but that much could be accommodated. Moreover, he had something like a mission that required him to accompany Juliana no matter what. Because of the black mage, Damon.
Completely unaware of Kasim’s scheme, Juliana smiled brightly.
“Then when do you intend for us to depart?”
“Well, there’s no need to rush, is there? Around the day after tomorrow?”
Since he had become thoroughly engrossed in the newly acquired mana cultivation method, Kasim naturally wanted to stay in Dontrel a little longer. Most of the mercenaries felt the same. By now, immersing themselves in mana cultivation whenever they had time had become part of the mercenaries’ daily routine.
But for Mitchell and Juliana, there was no way staying here could be welcome. If, by some chance, they were spotted by that wicked merchant, there was no telling what humiliation they might suffer.
“Let’s just leave tomorrow. There’s no need to stay here any longer, is there?”
Kasim asked back, his eyes widening.
“That would be fine as well, but with so much time left, is there any need to hurry?”
“Please. I want to leave this place as soon as possible.”
In her urgency, Juliana revealed her true feelings. Kasim suddenly became curious about what the two had gone through until now. The question he had felt when he first saw them, then forgotten, came back to mind.
What on earth had happened for them to lose their horses and all their baggage, then run into him in Dontrel covered in dust and with their clothes even worn inside out…… In the end, unable to restrain himself, Kasim opened his mouth.
“By the way, what happened? Was it bandits, perhaps? No, that can’t be. Terbia’s military power is so strong that there aren’t even any decent bandit groups nearby……”
Mitchell and Juliana’s expressions stiffened in an instant. Just thinking back on what had happened then was enough to make them shudder. The two forced themselves to calm down and shook their heads.
“Nothing happened.”
“Then where did your horses and baggage go? And why were your clothes like that?”
Kasim dug in persistently. In the end, as a desperate measure, Juliana shouted.
“I said nothing happened, so why are you doing this?”
She had expected him to flinch, but Kasim was not surprised. He had already experienced more than enough of Juliana.
“It seems you must have run into a pack of wolves.”
At Kasim’s guess, the two nodded as if they had made a promise beforehand. In the current situation, that was the most suitable explanation possible.
“Th-that’s right. Wolves! We lost all our horses and baggage because of wolves.”
“While fleeing from the wolf pack, I had no choice but to abandon both my sword and armor.”
But Kasim’s doubts had not yet disappeared. Even if they had met wolves, losing their horses or provisions was one thing, but losing the rest of their baggage as well somehow did not add up. Still, it was not something he needed to press them on, so he pretended to accept it and was about to stand. At that moment, a heavy voice came from beside him.
“Hey, captain. Isn’t that none of our business? Whether they met wolves, or got caught and beaten while trying to rob someone, it has nothing to do with us. We just need to be faithful to our mission. Stop prying.”
At Damon’s cheeky remark, the mercenaries burst into hearty laughter. The part about getting caught and beaten while committing robbery was especially funny to them. But for Mitchell and Juliana, it was not something they could possibly laugh off.
He had struck them squarely in the most painful spot. Juliana sprang to her feet with a shout.
“What did you say!”
Juliana was trembling so much from the shock that her entire body shook. Mitchell, too, glared at Damon with murderous intent thick in his eyes. The one who was surprised by their unexpected reaction was, rather, Kasim.
“Calm down. Why are you so angry over something said as a joke?”
“Even if it’s a joke, how can you say something like that?”
Her blazing gaze focused on Damon. But he reacted unexpectedly calmly.
“If not, then forget it…… If it isn’t true, there’s no need to be so oversensitive, is there?”
“Do you think you can say whatever you want?”
Juliana glared fiercely at Damon, both hands on her hips. Around the time the surrounding mercenaries began to find it strange, Mitchell, having noticed, gently tugged on Juliana’s arm.
“Now, now, that’s enough. He says he said it as a joke, doesn’t he?”
“Does that sound like a joke to you?”
When Juliana turned her head, Mitchell deliberately winked at her. If she reacted any further, they might instead invite suspicion. As Mitchell kept signaling with his eyes, Juliana finally grasped the situation.
“Hmph. A wicked, despicable villain like you……”
Juliana spat the words coldly and went into the inner room. Mitchell also gave Damon a glare before following her inside. Only then could the mercenaries stretch out their legs in comfort. The glib Patterson looked toward the inner room and shook his head.
“What a damned temper…… Even if she’s lucky enough to be chosen as the Crown Prince’s consort, with a temper like that, she’ll be cast aside in a single day.”
“No. It’ll be impossible for her to be chosen in the first place. What could the Krosen Empire possibly lack that they’d take a princess like that as the Crown Prince’s consort?”
The mercenaries burst into raucous laughter. Damon also joined in and let out a laugh. He had expected as much, but Juliana’s personality was truly no ordinary thing. After all, he had merely sounded her out a little and received a thorough cursing for it.
“I really wonder who’ll take her in and live with her.”
“Who knows? Maybe she’ll meet a man just like her and live happily together?”
At Heinrich’s jest, heard for the first time in a while, the entire room instantly became a sea of laughter.
“Hahahaha.”
Hearing the laughter from downstairs, Juliana bit her lip hard. With anger filling her face, she called Mitchell, who had followed her in, and made him sit.
“This won’t do. We have to teach that black mage bastard a proper lesson.”
Mitchell looked troubled. It could not be helped, as they had no power whatsoever.
“I feel the same, but what on earth are we going to teach him a lesson with? Do you not know how skilled that bastard is?”
“There’s definitely a way.”
Juliana sat close beside Mitchell, her eyes shining. Soon after, she whispered something into Mitchell’s ear. After hearing her whisper, a look appeared on Mitchell’s face as if he found it plausible.
“That might not be bad.”
“Let’s use this method to get rid of that black mage bastard and take only the mercenary corps with us. What do you think?”
“Good.”
Whether they still had not come to their senses after suffering so much, the scheme of the man and woman was ripening once again. To put their plan into action, the two hurriedly prepared to go out.
It was an extremely leisurely afternoon. Because there was no war, the mage Bertek, dispatched to Dontrel, was enjoying a relaxed midday nap. Since these were peaceful times, there were rarely occasions for him to step forward.
The Kingdom of Terbia, to which Dontrel belonged, was a powerful nation possessing considerable military strength. Although it did not reach the level of the Krosen Empire, the Kingdom of Terbia, together with Penslot, the strong nation of the north, was a country firmly holding the proud position of second place. The reason was that the Kingdom of Terbia possessed an excellent mana cultivation method.
The mana cultivation method handed down from the Great Emperor Krosen. Over the long years, numerous kingdoms had received this mana cultivation method and then independently inherited and developed it. However, improving a mana cultivation method was by no means easy.
No kingdom had achieved as much as Pelzentin and Terbia. The mana cultivation methods possessed by those two kingdoms were not only more powerful than those of other kingdoms, but far more stable as well. If one learned them properly, reaching a certain level was only a matter of time. Of course, the Krosen Empire had to be strictly excluded from that comparison. For that reason, the Kingdom of Terbia was able to possess a powerful order of knights.