Chapter 24. Reward (3)

“What’s this? Get up.”

I was momentarily taken aback when Jebeon suddenly prostrated himself before me.

What the…? A new kind of ambush tactic?

I was trying to figure out what the hell this Mercenary Leader was thinking when…

“Oh dear!”

“We’ve done wrong!”

The other mercenaries began to follow Jebeon’s lead, one by one, bowing their heads to the floor.

“...Why are you doing this?”

Confused, I finally asked.

“Please don’t kill us!”

“We did everything you asked!”

The mercenaries blurted out.

Kill? Ah.

“Because of the knife? It’s just that it doesn’t have a sheath.”

I casually untied the knife and placed it on the desk as I spoke.

They’re scared of *this*?

Well, I guess it’s understandable to be intimidated if someone who usually doesn’t carry a weapon suddenly shows up with an unsheathed knife.

Especially if that someone is an Aura User.

“Oh, i-is that all it was?”

Once I cleared up the misunderstanding, the mercenaries sheepishly got to their feet.

“Phew…phew….”

Jebeon also rose, like the others.

He was drenched in sweat, his expression closer to relief than embarrassment.

…Just how strong *is* his will to survive?

Well, I guess you need that much to become a Silver Rank mercenary.

“Everyone, have a seat. You have the IDs ready, right?”

“Uh, yes… Here they are.”

As I sat down at the desk, Jebeon immediately pulled out the identification cards from his pocket and placed them down.

“This is legit, right?”

“Yes, it belonged to a Bronze Rank mercenary who died recently.”

“...You killed him for it?”

“Oh, no, you can’t do that in the Capital. We just paid his family and they didn't report the death.”

“Aha.”

It's definitely better to use an orphaned ID than to forge a fake one.

“What's the information?”

“Age twenty-five, name is Kaine.”

Twenty-five?

…An ID seven years older than me.

Still, this might be a more appropriate age.

“Kaine. Nice.”

I’m satisfied with this.

The name is subtly different yet similar to my real name, making it easy to remember.

“And this is the mercenary badge.”

Next, Jebeon pulled out a Bronze Rank mercenary badge.

“Use this to identify yourself as a mercenary.”

“Hmm, where is Bronze Rank valid?”

“Pretty much any city within the same country.”

I’d heard that Silver Rank allows you to enter cities across the border.

Thinking about the future, I should aim for that.

“You’ve registered me with your Mercenary Group, right?”

“Yes, I've enrolled you through the official process.”

“Good, good work.”

I’d need Lowell to confirm the details, but Jebeon didn’t seem to be lying.

Based on his reaction earlier, he seemed to have a pretty strong survival instinct, so I doubted he'd risk his neck with something like this.

“I’ll confirm this when I get back.”

“And the reward you mentioned…”

“I’ll tell you after I confirm everything.”

I definitely plan to teach him Fleet as promised.

“R-really?”

“Yeah, I’m a man of my word.”

It’s not like Fleet is some rare, precious technique.

Every Tom, Dick, and Harry seems to use it.

Becoming an Aura User is the hard part, Fleet is just basic stuff.

"Right, that's settled... More importantly, you guys know the Kain Mountains well, right?"

“Huh? Uh, y-yes?”

Perfect.

Since I need to gather ingredients anyway, it would be beneficial to get help from experts, wouldn't it?

“Let’s do something together.”

“Huh? Something together?”

“You'll be going on a mission soon, won't you?”

“W-well, yes…?”

“To the Kain Mountains, right? I’ll come with you.”

Finding ingredients in the Kain Mountains alone would be a pain.

Having veteran mercenaries with me would make it easier.

“...Come with us, you say?”

“Yeah, I’ll help you out.”

All I need are the ingredients.

From the mercenaries’ perspective, having an Aura User like me along would be a plus, wouldn’t it?

“Ah, yes…”

“You can accept a difficult one, bring me the mission details.”

“B-by when…”

“Next week.”

I need to finish getting my injuries treated, and Lowell needs time to verify my identity, so next week would be perfect.

“...But my mercenary badge…”

“I’ll give it back once your identity is confirmed.”

Oh yeah, I took Jebeon’s mercenary badge, didn’t I?

Honestly, I forgot to bring it.

It's probably in the doghouse.

That's where I usually keep all my miscellaneous stuff.

I even have my own box under the cushion.

“I’ll see you next week then.”

Anyway, after we finished our business, I got up.

“Y-you’re leaving?”

“Yeah.”

I was actually thinking of heading into the mountains today, but…

*Throb.*

My wound definitely hadn’t fully healed yet. It had been aching since I jumped from the terrace earlier.

It felt like the stitches had come loose a bit, so I needed to ask for more treatment.

With that, I left the Adventurer’s Guild.

I made a quick stop at the upscale commercial district before returning to the mansion.

“Oh my! Where have you been?! You’re not a child!”

And then I immediately ran into the angry Healer.

“I brought you a present.”

I used the all-purpose cheat code—a gift—to lessen the scolding, but…

“No, I don't want it! Go lie down!”

…It didn't work at all.

I thought all women loved gifts.

So, a few days after I started my recuperation…

“Can I go back now?”

“Well…”

The Healer looked at me dubiously, but my wounds had healed enough for me to return to my daily life.

“Your natural healing ability is truly remarkable.”

“I’ve always been like this.”

More accurately, I became like this after taking that strange drug back in the Colosseum.

It was an experimental drug from the Magic Tower. Thinking back, I wonder what the hell it was.

“Still, try not to push yourself too hard.”

“Understood.”

Listening to the Healer’s nagging until the very end, I left the treatment room and returned to the doghouse.

*Sigh.*

There are times I actually miss this place.

The treatment room is fine and all, but it's stifling.

Now, this open doghouse in the middle of the courtyard feels way too familiar.

I crumpled myself inside and saw the neatly cleaned interior.

I’d noticed it briefly when I came back to get my clothes, but it seemed the maids kept the place clean even while I was gone.

Thinking I should reward them somehow next time, I took a moment to check out the doghouse after my long absence and then got up.

Leaving the doghouse, I picked up the sword I had left leaning against the side.

There wasn’t anywhere else to put it, and I figured the Healer would freak out if I brought it into the treatment room, so I just left it there. As expected, no one touched it.

Well, the servants in this mansion are tight-lipped and trustworthy.

They’re servants in the mansion of the Young Lady whom the Void Family cherishes so much, after all. There's no one who would steal a sword out of greed, or make a fuss about me having one now.

Thinking I should get a scabbard, I strapped the sword to my waist and headed for the training grounds.

“Oh, Rain! You’re back?”

On the way there, I ran into a group of maids.

“Yeah. How have you all been?”

“We’re always the same~ We heard you were helping the Healer.”

The maids seemed to know I’d been out of sight because I was assisting the Healer.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How is the Healer? We live in the same mansion, but we never get a chance to see her.”

I answered tactfully, and they asked about the Healer.

The Void Family's treatment room and its surroundings are off-limits to other servants, so they’re bound to be curious.

“Hmm.”

I thought about the Healer for a moment.

My impression is that she’s a bit of a panicker… but I couldn’t tell the other servants that.

“She’s a skilled Healer.”

“Well, that’s a given.”

“She’s also full of energy.”

“Really? Wow, that’s different from what we imagined.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, yes. We thought she was a cold and serious person.”

…That woman, serious?

I immediately recalled the incident from just yesterday when I was secretly training and got smacked in the back.

She's definitely not that…

“Well… she has that side to her too.”

Denying it outright would sound strange, so I smoothly changed the subject.

More importantly, I wanted to try out the sword I borrowed.

Lowell would yell at me if I hacked up too many training dummies, but I wanted to test its performance.

It felt unnecessarily heavy, but it was solid and the blade was sharp.

It seemed like a whole different level compared to the weapons I’d used before.

Therefore…

“Well then, I’m off to train.”

I finished the conversation with the maids a bit abruptly and hurried to the training grounds.

“Rain!”

“It’s been a while!”

The Security Guards were in the middle of training at the grounds.

They were the ones who had a bit more free time since the Young Lady left.

“I’m here for some training.”

“That sword…”

“It’s one I borrowed.”

“Ooh… It looks impressive.”

Unlike the maids, who pretty much think of me as a prized dog, the Security Guards here treat me with more caution and respect.

“Use this here!”

“Feel free to use it!”

As if to prove that point, they prepared a training dummy for me without me even asking as soon as I arrived.

“Oh, by the way, Lowell said not to destroy too many dummies.”

“Please apologize to him in advance.”

“Huh?”

“I plan on obliterating some dummies today.”

With the Void Family’s wealth, wouldn’t a couple of missing dummies be insignificant?

“Uh… are you serious?”

“Yes, please everyone, keep your distance.”

Standing before the prepared training dummy…

I drew the longsword from my waist, spun it once, and rested it on my shoulder.

Let’s see…

I briefly focused my Aura entirely on the sword.

Even though my Rush proficiency was still low, I didn’t think this sword would break no matter how much Aura I pumped into it.

Therefore…

After cramming my Aura into the sword…

“Haa!”

With a shout, I swung the sword down from my shoulder.

And then…

*KABOOM!!*

The training dummy in front of me exploded into pieces and flew away.

“Whoa…”

“The dummy…”

I heard the awestruck voices of the Security Guards around me.

I looked at the sword I had swung.

Despite the forceful Rush I'd just unleashed, the blade wasn't damaged at all, as if it were nothing.

“*Sigh.*”

It’s even better than I thought after actually using it.

This… I’m almost reluctant to return such a fine sword.