Chapter 32
The day after Young Lady returned.
“Dog, long time no see, huh?”
Terra showed up at the mansion bright and early.
“What brings you here…?”
“Came to see Aria, haven't seen her while she was at Magic School.”
“You haven't seen her during that time?”
That's a little surprising. Terra’s strong enough to lecture at the Magic School, isn't she?
“Yeah, I have a bit of a bad history with the school administration, so I can't go in.”
Just what the hell happened?
Even the Young Lady of the Astel Family, who runs the Magic School, is teaching there, isn't she?
Seems like there's a complicated story behind it.
“Young Lady is in the mansion. Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
Not particularly curious about the details, I just gave Terra a nod and headed back to the doghouse. Felt a strong aura, so I came out, but seems like there’s no real business, so time to go back and sleep.
However.
*Thump*
“Going right back in after so long? That hurts my feelings.”
Terra grabbed my shoulder as I was about to turn back.
“…Weren't you here to see Young Lady?”
“Gotta see Aria, but later’s fine.”
Saying so, Terra glanced at the small doghouse next to my house.
“What's that, by the way? Got yourself a new room?”
“Not exactly…”
I was trying to figure out how to explain it when…
Having heard the voices outside, Whitey wriggled out of the small doghouse Terra was looking at.
“Oh my.”
Letting out an uncharacteristically feminine sound, Terra stared at Whitey, who immediately clung to me upon coming outside.
“A Spiritual Being? Where'd you pick it up?”
“Found it in the Kain Mountains.”
She recognized it right away.
As expected, a skilled Magician Woman has a different eye, huh?
“Hmm, lucky you.”
Saying so, Terra picked Whitey up.
“Aww, so cute. Say, Dog, you go to the Kain Mountains now too?”
“Went for a walk.”
“A ‘walk’? You were commanding a Mercenary Group, too.”
“…How did you…”
I was surprised that Terra, of all people, would say that.
…Come to think of it, she knew I was a former Champion, too.
“You’re famous among Mercenaries~ I heard about it from a Mercenary I deal with.”
“Word spread that much?”
“Yeah, you know how picky Jebeon-i is? The guy’s a master at avoiding trouble, but you managed to get him under your thumb.”
“So you know Jebeon-i.”
“I've dealt with him a few times. There aren't many of his caliber operating in the Metropolitan Area.”
Was Jebeon-i more impressive than I thought?
More importantly…it seems Terra, being a Magician Woman, uses Mercenaries frequently.
Well, yeah, paying a few coins to have Mercenaries do the dirty work is more convenient than going to the Kain Mountains herself.
“So, how'd that happen?”
Seemingly curious about how I managed to command Jebeon-i, Terra asked with inquisitive eyes.
“We got into a bit of a scuffle. Beat him up and now he works for me.”
“Hmm, surprising Jebeon-i didn't run.”
“Offered him a carrot.”
“What kind of carrot? Tell me, what did you give him?”
“Teaching him Fleet.”
“Hmm?”
Terra looked at me quizzically at the mention of Fleet.
“You’re allowed to do that? Isn’t that something only Knights use?”
“Is there a law against it?”
I genuinely asked. Was I not supposed to teach it to non-Knights?
“No, of course there's no law. It’s just… not usually taught.”
“Like it’s some big secret. Besides, that Jebeon-i guy uses Aura, too.”
“Oh, really? He was different from the start.”
It seems teaching Fleet to a Mercenary is a more sensitive issue than I thought…
Well, what can I do? Already taught him.
And it's not like I'm going to get into big trouble for it.
I'm practically property of the Void Family, aren't I? They can’t hold me accountable for something like this.
Besides, Lowell didn’t say anything about me teaching Fleet.
If the best Aura User I've seen, Lowell, reacted that way, what are other people gonna do?
If they’re pissed, they can go complain to Lowell.
More importantly…
“Hey, uh…”
“Yeah?”
“How long are you going to hold Whitey?”
I spoke to Terra, who was still holding Whitey up. Whitey seems scared, even though Terra finds it really cute.
Well, Terra’s eyes are a similar color to Young Lady's, so it makes sense that Whitey, who’s been hiding from Young Lady since yesterday, would be scared.
“He’s so cute, I can’t help but keep looking. So, his name is Whitey?”
“Yeah, I named him.”
“Haha, then I guess you’re Blacky, since your hair’s so dull.”
…What a racist remark.
Well, I’m no different, naming him Whitey because of his fur color.
“What does Aria think? Little girls go crazy for these things, right?”
“Young Lady…um, yes, she thinks he’s cute.”
Young Lady herself does seem to find Whitey cute…
The problem is that Whitey was terrified when her eyes suddenly went wide and glowed.
He hides whenever Young Lady appears.
“Anyway, give him back. He’s scared, isn’t he?”
“Oh, really? I thought he was cold.”
…Like Master, like student.
I took the frightened Whitey back.
*Keeng…*
He immediately clung to my shoulder with his underdeveloped claws.
This little guy’s been through a lot.
But shouldn't *they* be the ones scared of *me*? I mean, I killed her guardian, or whatever the fuck it was.
Come to think of it, why was there only *one* parent?
I don't think there were any other similar creatures around.
And since Whitey looked like a newborn pup, the one I killed was probably the mother.
Maybe herding those wolf-like monsters to attack the mercenaries was her way of eliminating threats to her offspring.
She *did* wipe out all the high-tier monsters in the surrounding highlands, after all.
Well, whatever.
I put Whitey back inside the house to sleep.
“Time to go see the Young Lady, I guess.”
“Yeah, alright.”
Since Terra wasn't about to let me go, I reluctantly headed towards the mansion where the Young Lady was staying, with Terra tagging along.
“Woof woof?”
As we entered the mansion, I saw the Young Lady coming down the stairs.
“Young Lady, what's that?”
“Huh? It's a leash!”
In her hand was a leash.
It looked pretty long and sturdy….
“Oh my, are we going for a walk?”
Yeah, it looked like it would fit perfectly on the dog leash I was wearing.
“That's right! By the way, Master, what are you doing here?”
“Just came to see you after so long. Didn't you miss me?”
“Mmm, I missed you!”
“Come here, then.”
While they briefly enjoyed their master-student reunion, I took the other end of the leash from the Young Lady and attached it to my dog leash.
Hmm, perfect fit. When the fuck did she even make this?
“Young Lady, why the leash, though?”
Seriously, why bring a leash? She never used one during our usual garden walks, so I asked.
“We're going outside today!”
The Young Lady dropped an unexpected bombshell.
Outside?
Hearing that, I immediately looked around.
Meaning… around the Young Lady, always present…
Right.
I glanced at the old man slowly walking towards us.
Then.
“Prepare yourself, and we'll leave together.”
Lowell gave his approval.
Hmm, so it's okay to go out. It might be a bit dangerous out there, but it should be fine with Lowell along.
He *is* the alpha and omega of the Young Lady's protective detail, after all.
Between a mansion without Lowell and a Lowell without a mansion, the latter is overwhelmingly safer.
Anyway.
“Then wait for me!”
The Young Lady went off to prepare for the walk.
Leaving me, Terra, and the Bodyguard Knights Daren and Kaiden, whom I hadn't seen in a while, alone in the mansion's lobby.
“Long time no see, Rain.”
“Didn't see you two yesterday.”
Now that I thought about it, they weren't around yesterday when the Young Lady returned. Where the hell did they go?
“We went to see our families at Lowell's suggestion.”
“Your families all live in the Metropolitan Area?”
“They're at a nearby orphanage. Both Daren and I are from there.”
“Ah….”
So they were from incredibly humble beginnings as well.
The Void Family seems to value ability over background, I guess.
Well, that explains how a former Gladiator like me ended up lounging in their courtyard.
“By the way, let's spar after the walk.”
Seeing these two made me feel good. Finally, I had sparring partners back in the mansion.
Even if it was only until tomorrow when I'd have to go back to Magic School.
“Did you train at all while we were gone?”
“Don't be surprised.”
There weren't any noticeable results, but I could definitely feel I'd grown significantly.
After all, I’d fought two life-or-death battles and won.
That experience was undoubtedly ingrained in my body.
And so.
While I was chatting with Daren and Kaiden after our reunion…
“I'm ready!”
The Young Lady, finished with her preparations, came trotting down the stairs with Lowell.
“Let's go right away!”
Excitedly grabbing the leash connected to my dog leash, the Young Lady led the way.
Followed by Lowell and me, the Bodyguard Knights Daren and Kaiden, and...
“Huh? Are we leaving now?”
…Terra, who had come to visit the mansion, joined us.
…Was this a Territorial War or a walk?
Thinking that our combined power was probably equivalent to a Knight’s Order, I stepped out of the mansion.