Ch. 36
“Ugh! Where did that damn snake go? Just wait until I find it!”
The sound of heavy footsteps stomping the ground was so intense that I could feel it even as I clung to the cliffside.
“There’s the light blob that attacked you and the snake that bit your butt and ran off.”
“Argh! My butt’s nemesis!”
Rai, of all places, did you really have to bite the guy’s butt? Fortunately, from the voice alone, he sounded like a man strong enough to handle it.
[It was a solid one, Master!]
[Good job!]
I heard a brief scuffle from above.
“Hey! Grab this!”
“Hold on tight.”
Along with a familiar female voice, a thick vine dropped in front of me.
Though my hands were weak, I managed to wrap it around my feet and body, securing myself as best as I could.
“We’re pulling you up!”
The rope I held onto effortlessly lifted me. The cliff that had looked impossibly high was closing in fast, and soon, miraculously, I felt solid ground beneath my feet.
The moment I touched the ground, all the strength drained from my body.
I had no control over it. My knees gave out, and I collapsed forward, overwhelmed with relief.
I was alive.
“Oh my, it’s just a kid! Hey, are you alright?”
“No wonder it felt so light.”
Two people stood over me with concerned expressions—one was a towering, burly man, and the other was a sharp-eyed woman with a hair color I had never seen before.
From their voices, it seemed the woman was the one who had first spotted me.
“Oh my! You’re freezing.”
The dark-skinned woman with silver hair was a complete stranger, but as soon as she pulled me into her arms, I instinctively burrowed into her embrace.
Like a child clinging to their mother, I felt overwhelming relief and couldn’t stop the tears from welling up.
“Hic… I thought I was going to die…! Hic!”
“It’s alright now. You must have been so scared.”
As I clung to her, sobbing uncontrollably, Rai’s panicked voice suddenly rang out.
[Ack! Master! Please… help…!]
“You wretched snake!”
[Hiss! How is a human this strong?!]
“Why is this thing so tough?!”
The burly man was wrestling with Rai, his arms as thick as most people’s thighs flexing with exertion.
He twisted Rai’s body, slammed him against the ground, and huffed angrily.
“Is this your snake?”
“Hic… Yes, his name is Rai.”
“I thought so. He suddenly bit Kenta and ran off. Then he started acting like he wanted us to follow him. He must have been trying to let us know his master was in trouble.”
“Aren’t you surprised that I keep a snake?”
The fact that he immediately asked if Rai was mine felt strange.
Most people didn’t even consider the possibility of a snake having an owner.
“We’re mercenaries. Keeping a snake isn’t that unusual.”
“Do mercenaries keep snakes?”
“They keep all kinds of things. I’m Anellia of the Shavel Mercenary Corps. What’s your name? Where are your parents?”
“My name is Geenie… My parents are back home, and I was traveling with my academy group.”
I hesitated to say my surname. I had learned that being a noble could make people resent me.
This woman didn’t seem like the type to care, but…
She had a gentle smile, soft eyes, but a strong, powerful physique. She was the first muscular woman I had ever met.
“Geenie. That’s a lovely name.”
“So is yours.”
Maybe it was because she saved my life, but I already felt an incredible sense of affection for her.
“It looks like you got separated from your group. That’s not good. Do you remember where you last saw them?”
“No…”
“Hmm. Then come with us for now. If we talk to our commander, we might be able to help.”
“Really? Thank you!”
“And we should probably rescue that snake of yours soon… Kenta looks pretty furious. Something about a ‘butt nemesis’?”
Anellia and I looked at Kenta and Rai with a hint of exasperation.
The two of them were still locked in a fierce, albeit bloodless, battle.
“Rai is tough; he’ll be fine. He needs to be toughened up sometimes, so don’t worry about it.”
“If you say so.”
“Yeah. If Rai weren’t sturdy, he’d be dead already.”
Offering Rai as a sacrifice to my savior felt like a fair trade.
[Hiss! Let go! Let go, you brute!]
—
Early Morning
“Achoo!”
[Master, are you catching a cold?]
“Sniff! Someone must be talking about me.”
Having hitched a ride in the Shavel Mercenary Corps’ supply wagon, I sat sniffing and sneezing in the chilly morning air.
[What would they be saying?]
“They must have noticed I’m missing by now.”
[Of course. They do roll call in the morning.]
There was no doubt things were in chaos. A student had gone missing overnight. I especially worried about the mental state of the knight commander, who was responsible for our safety.
“Heh.”
[You sound amused despite your words.]
“Just imagining the knight commander panicking… It’s kind of hilarious.”
The wagon jolted roughly, lacking the smooth ride of a carriage, but the open air made it feel more freeing.
In the distance, the sun was rising, filling the sky with a bright, clear light.
—
Later That Morning
“Anellia! Anellia, big sis!”
“What is it, Geenie? You can just call me Anell.”
“Okay, Anell sis.”
While the delegation was likely panicking over my disappearance, I was completely absorbed in following Anellia around.
She was an incredible woman.
Her silver hair, reminiscent of moonlight, was mesmerizing. Her sun-kissed skin radiated health. Most of all, her raw strength, capable of kicking grown men aside, made me admire her deeply.
I had never met a woman like her before.
The mercenary corps was full of rough-looking men, but no one dared treat Anellia lightly.
She wasn’t a woman to them—she was a comrade. That was something truly admirable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…You’re amazing.”
As a member of the Shavel Mercenary Corps, Anellia held a high rank. And in their world, rank was determined solely by strength.
“Thanks.”
I found myself deeply moved by her strength, and for the first time, I felt the faint stirrings of a new determination.
I wanted to be strong too.
And while I couldn’t say for certain that all mercenary groups were like this, the Shavel Mercenary Corps, for the most part, were good people.
The leader of the mercenary corps, who happened to be on a transport mission to Veilan, generously offered to take me along.
All thanks to Anell’s persuasion.
She was one of the rare people I had truly liked in my ten short years of life.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“It’s fine. We’ve got a long way to go before we reach Veilan, so save your strength for now. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“Anell… why are you being so nice to me?”
“Well, Geenie, you’re just a child.”
Two days had passed since I had lost my way and joined the Shavel Mercenary Corps. And yet, I was still heading toward my intended destination.
That was incredibly lucky.
In this harsh world, it was already a blessing to have come across a mercenary group willing to help me. But the fact that their destination happened to align with that of my delegation?
That was beyond fortunate.
Judging by the route the mercenary corps was taking, I might even reach Veilan’s capital, Valen, ahead of my delegation.
There were two main ways to travel from Sharan, the capital of Dmitri, to Valen. One was to take the longer route around the massive Dragonia Mountain Range that separated the two nations. The other was to take the shorter but more perilous route through the mountains.
Taking the longer route took about fifteen days. But because my delegation had multiple carriages and moved at a slower pace, they estimated it would take around twenty days to arrive.
On the other hand, crossing the mountain range directly took about seven days at best. The Shavel Mercenary Corps had taken on an urgent transport mission, so they were opting for the faster but more dangerous path.
Even then, since they were traveling along the mountain’s outskirts, where monster activity was relatively low, seasoned mercenaries like them could reach Veilan in just seven days without much difficulty.
For me, this was an incredible stroke of luck.
“There’ll be some inconveniences, but just bear with it a little longer. You’ll reunite with your group soon.”
“It’s fine! This is fun! When else would I get to travel with mercenaries?”
“That’s good to hear. You’re a brave one, Geenie.”
“I’m not the type to get intimidated easily!”
While most of the other mercenaries treated me like extra baggage, Anell continued to be kind to me, always looking out for me.
She even felt bad that she couldn’t take me directly to my group—what a kind person.
“If it weren’t for this urgent job, I would’ve helped you find your group.”
“It’s really fine! Just getting me to Veilan is more than enough!”
“Still… If anyone does anything strange to you, you must tell me right away, understand, Geenie?”
It seemed she was worried about leaving a small, young girl like me among a group of rough, burly men.
Mercenary groups were mostly made up of tough and rugged individuals—people far too rough and dangerous for me to handle. It was definitely an unfamiliar environment.
“But everyone’s been nice to me!”
“That’s a relief. I did warn them not to be rough with you, but I was still worried.”
There was one person who was rough with me, though.
That was none other than Shavel—the strongest person here, outranking even Anell, and the leader of this mercenary corps.
I wasn’t sure if it was common practice to name a mercenary group after yourself.
Regardless, the leader of the Shavel Mercenary Corps, Shavel, frequently put me to work.
“Hey! You, kid!”
Just like right now.
