Chapter 30
The mansion buzzed with excitement after news spread of the Young Lady's imminent arrival.
Well, yeah.
The servants here were practically loyalists who'd watched her grow up since she was a kid.
It's understandable they'd be this thrilled about her return.
Me? I…
Having finally emerged from the infirmary, I was sprawled out in the garden, photosynthesizing.
Since the Young Lady was coming on the weekend, I planned to thoroughly relax for a few days. Plus, I had to wait for them to repair my mangled buff coat here at the mansion.
*Keng…*
The only difference from usual was the white furball on my stomach.
It absolutely refused to budge, so I’d given up.
I’d heard from the maids that it played by itself when I was away training or for other reasons. But the moment I’m around, it’s desperate to snuggle.
“Oh my~ You’re getting along well with your little brother.”
Anyway.
As I lay there, unlike before, the maids tended to flock around me.
Not for me, of course, but for Whitey. He’s ridiculously popular.
“Not my little brother… Never mind.”
They all called him my little brother. I’d given up correcting them.
Yeah, sure, little brother. Come to think of it, I wonder what my actual biological brothers are up to.
Well, they managed to beat me in the 'who's the biggest freeloader' competition and avoided being sold off.
They’re probably doing fine, farming or whatever.
“Aww, so cute….”
“When did he open his eyes?”
“He'll be getting teeth soon.”
While I was lost in thought, the maids had already surrounded Whitey, chattering away.
“He opened them just a few days ago.”
Whitey had finally opened his eyes recently.
Maybe because of that, he seemed to have a slightly better grasp of his surroundings now.
Though, he still ended up on top of me like this.
I really needed to get up soon. I had a quick errand to run. I grabbed Whitey by the scruff of his neck and put him on the ground.
*Keng…*
“Oh my, oh my.”
“So adorable….”
Ignoring the maids' fussing, I patted my stomach. The little guy, crawling on the floor, kept trying to climb back onto me, getting my clothes dirty.
“Can you watch Whitey for a bit?”
“Yes? Where are you going?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
It was time for a visit to the Mercenary Guild.
I’d come down from the mountain range alone last time, so I needed to see Jebeon.
“You know the Young Lady’s arriving this weekend, right?”
“Don't worry, I'll be quick.”
It was still a few days away.
I wasn't planning on being out for long anyway.
And so.
“Before you go! Let us brush your hair.”
“...Brush my hair?”
“Um, um? Oh, let us fix your hair.”
After a quick tidy-up by the maids, I stepped out of the mansion.
“*Sigh…*”
I’d left Whitey behind, so I walked down the street with a light heart.
I realized later I'd have to walk Whitey, too.
Since wolves were canines, they probably needed walks to relieve stress.
I wondered if it was okay to walk a wolf on the streets, but… pet wolves were popular in the North, so it should be fine.
Besides, Whitey looked just like a dog until he grew bigger.
Anyway.
Finally arriving, I opened the door to the Mercenary Guild and walked inside.
The Mercenary Guild, after my absence, was as packed with mercenaries as ever.
Ignoring the stares I attracted, I headed toward the tavern area.
I'd come at a time when Jebeon was likely to be around. Would he be there?
If he wasn’t, I’d have to ask a Guild employee to let him know when I’d be back. I continued further inside…
“*Sigh…*”
There, at the back of the tavern.
Jebeon sat with his men, sighing deeply.
Good, he’s here. Saved me another trip.
“What’s with all the sighing?”
I approached him and spoke.
“Who… uh, oh.”
Jebeon turned around at my voice, startled, and scrambled to his feet.
Looking at him and the other mercenaries, bandaged up like they were, it looked like that last fight had been pretty rough.
Well, yeah, with that many Giant Wolves, there were bound to be injuries.
“A, are you alright?”
“I'm fine.”
I'd been pretty banged up myself back then.
But the healing was done, the bandages off, and outwardly I looked perfectly fine.
“Th, that’s a relief.”
“Aren't you disappointed?”
“N, n-no, of course not!”
I teased him, and Jebeon practically jumped out of his skin. His reaction told me he hadn’t actually thought anything of the sort.
“O, our leader was very worried about you, Kane-nim.”
“Hmm? Well, that makes sense.”
He needed me to teach him the rest of Fleet.
From Jebeon’s desperate perspective, he was probably praying I’d come back alive.
“I'll teach you the rest of Fleet after the next mission.”
“The next mission…?”
“Bring me another one after the weekend.”
Now that I was healed and Whitey’s eyes were open, I was ready for another mission.
I needed to gather materials quickly, and make some money while I was at it.
After fighting in my buff coat last time, I realized it would be good to save up and get some decent gear.
Plus, fighting high-altitude monsters would be good training.
My training back at the mansion without Daren and Kaiden was going nowhere.
The Security Captain was an Aura User, but he was… difficult. He was the head of security, so he didn’t seem keen on sparring with me.
“The next mission… Understood.”
“And don’t bring me anything with insane difficulty like last time.”
“Th-that, I didn’t expect that either…”
So, what’s the big deal? Plenty of mercenary groups would’ve been wiped out facing that.
Whatever…
“I’ll be going, then.”
Having said what I needed to say, I turned to leave.
“Oh, wait a second…”
Jebeon stopped me.
“What?”
“Well, uh, some of my guys got hurt this time.”
“Oh yeah? Badly?”
“Yes… Some are still laid up in the infirmary.”
Come to think of it, their numbers *were* a little thin.
Looks like the clash with the Giant Wolves was even more intense than I thought.
“Hmm.”
A decrease in manpower is a bit of a problem. Silver-Rank Adventurers are valuable assets.
One of the main reasons I can boss Jebeon around is because he’s their leader.
“Here. Use this for their medical expenses.”
With that, I pulled a handful of Silver Coins from my pouch and offered them to Jebeon. I got a decent payout from Gareth’s Forge last time, so this much is a worthwhile investment.
“Oh, uh, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Then what *did* you mean?”
Jebeon politely accepted the Silver Coins. …Like a true mercenary, never one to turn down money.
“Well… I was thinking of recruiting some new members.”
“Ah, to fill the gaps?”
“Yes. I’d been thinking we needed some extra hands anyway, but with this happening, I figured I’d try to find some replacements while the injured men recover.”
“I get it, but you don’t need to report that kind of stuff to me.”
Does he think I'm the *actual* leader? It has nothing to do with me.
Well, more people in the Mercenary Group *would* be nice. The bigger they are, the easier things are for me.
“I thought you might want to know…”
“Sure, whatever.”
I'm using Fleet as a Hostage to control the Mercenary Group, but I don’t intend to interfere much. What could I possibly do that Jebeon, the Mercenary Leader, couldn’t do better himself?
“Next time, just handle it yourself. I’m really going now.”
“Yes, sir… Safe travels.”
With that settled, I quickly returned to the Mansion. I had nothing else to do there.
***
A few days later.
The weekend finally arrived at the Mansion.
“Doggy!!”
The Young Lady, whom I hadn't seen in a while, came running towards me, her magic school uniform and ponytail flowing behind her.
“Young Lady, it's been a while.”
“I missed you!”
She ran straight into me. She’d grown quite a bit, but I caught her easily.
“How have you been?”
*Pet, pet, pet.*
She immediately reached out and started petting my Head, so I lowered it for her.
“How’s school?”
“Hmm, no problems!”
…That sounds like there *are* problems.
I subtly checked her expression.
Bullying… Nah, that’s unlikely.
Who in their right Mind would treat the Void Family’s Young Lady that way?
It's probably the opposite.
Too much attention, maybe.
“Doggy hasn’t changed a bit!”
After kneading my Head and face, the Young Lady turned her gaze to the Doghouse.
“This is still… Huh?”
She noticed the smaller Doghouse next to mine.
“What’s this? You got a new room?”
“Ah, about that…”
Here it comes.
Time to introduce Whitey to the Young Lady.
"Um... about that."
“Young Lady, we have a new family member.”
Lowell, who had been following us, stepped towards the new Doghouse, saving me the trouble of explaining.
“A new family member?”
“Yes, Doggy brought him home out of the blue.”
And then…
*Whine…*
He lifted Whitey, who had been sleeping soundly, out of the new Doghouse.
“Wha, what’s this?”
The Young Lady looked at me in shock.
“Did you… have puppies?”
…Puppies?
That's… something.
Does she really think I'm a Dog?
“…No.”
“Just kidding."
Thankfully, she seemed to realize how ridiculous that sounded and laughed playfully.
“So, you found him?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Young Lady considered my words for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth.
And then…
“So, he’s your little brother?”
I was surprised that she came to the same conclusion as everyone else in the Mansion.
…Scary. Just scary.
How did she jump straight to “little brother”?
The Young Lady's thought process is definitely… unique.
“Yes, he’s my little brother…”
“Doggy has to take good care of him!”
And so…
The Young Lady’s brief return brought a renewed energy to the Mansion.