Chapter – 23
“Most likely, you said something like, ‘Let’s go see the dragon even if it kills us!’ Right? Doing it that way, even begging for a month straight wouldn’t work.”
“Perfect insight, as always.”
“Hehe, I think I understand you a bit better now, Iola. Anyway, it was bound to fail. The culprit values their own life, after all.”
“If I may wish for just a bit more… I hope you also wanted to teach Biretta that money can’t buy extra lives…”
“That Biretta… she won’t just waste her life worrying about it and let her only life drift away like a river, but ordinary people’s fears can’t be helped.”
“So you hoped to awaken her fear…”
Biretta ignored Lanken, who was kneeling beside them and earnestly praying.
“Still, if we look carefully, there should be a wizard willing to dive into danger and mercenaries who will handle safe tasks. The life-risking part is on us!”
“…Are you even listening? Huh? Can you at least hear something I’m saying?!”
As Iola turned to see Lanken throwing a tantrum at the sky, Biretta waved her hand to ease his worries.
“Don’t worry. Lanken is just being moody. Even if he seems rough, he supports my decisions and cheers me on. What he’s doing is like saying, ‘Let’s find companions willing to risk their lives with us!’”
“Ah, understood. Sometimes words and actions don’t perfectly align with one’s true intentions. In that case, I agree too. It’s better to have more people just in case we need to fend off my father’s pursuit.”
“Exactly. But even if they chase us, they won’t kill us, right?”
Biretta shivered slightly, imagining the mercenary group pursuing them.
Though she spoke gently, the thought of Najin’s mercenary captain chasing them made her ribs ache.
Biretta’s father would only send people to bring them home, but Monain was different.
He was the captain of a long-established, prestigious mercenary group—a terrifying warrior who had reportedly defeated ten men in a fight.
Still, he wouldn’t kill them. No matter how angry he got, he wouldn’t harm his own child.
“Of course.”
Iola backed up Biretta’s reasoning.
“He’ll probably just kill about half of us.”
Iola’s eyes, saying ‘don’t worry,’ reassured Biretta, who promptly abandoned reason and fear.
“Thank goodness… How merciful.”
If something was doomed anyway, Biretta didn’t want to waste time worrying. She quickly cast reason aside and ignored reality.
Humans facing unbearable tragedy easily lose their judgment.
Well… it should be fine. People can survive even if half-dead.
“Why ‘thank goodness’?! How come no one listens to a word I say?!”
Next to Biretta, Lanken rolled on the ground like a tantruming child.
“Huff… huff… haah…”
After twenty minutes of rolling on the ground, Lanken finally stood up.
A full-grown man causing a scene rolling on the floor, yet Biretta remained completely unfazed.
She sat near Lanken, elegantly enjoying tea while flipping through the Wizard Catalog.
Passing villagers who noticed the stark contrast between the two whispered among themselves, but she responded with a smile.
No matter the psychological battle, no one could win against Biretta’s stone-faced composure. Lanken gave up resisting and relaxed his shoulders, prompting Biretta to tease him.
“Feeling a bit better?”
“Do you even care about my feelings? You ignored me for twenty minutes.”
“Can’t be helped. I read somewhere that modern childcare says never give too much attention to a spoiled child like Iola. To become a great mother, one must wield the rod of love.”
“You’re not my mother, and besides, I was abandoned by my mother and sold to a mercenary corps.”
After acting like a sister and protecting a master, now she was taking on motherly duties too? Lanken’s outrage grew, and Biretta gave him a sympathetic look.
“Lanken, sudden disclosure of tragic past stories should happen after Chapter 70 in a novel, or in social life, only after inviting them casually to a gathering. Secret settings should be foreshadowed before being revealed.”
“What are you talking about? This isn’t a novel, it’s my life story!”
“Exactly, which is why it deserves careful handling. Who cares about someone else’s misfortune? Only if you reveal a hidden tragic past as a brooding, noble knight will anyone care—otherwise, forget it.”
It was a ridiculous argument, yet somewhat reasonable. While Lanken clenched his fists, Iola closed the mercenary catalog.
“Don’t worry, Lanken. The wounds from your mother can be healed through other women who reflect her image.”
“Enough! That’s enough! Just talk about hunting dragons already, you fools!”
Seeing Iola so cheerful, Lanken wanted to lie down on the floor again.
Enduring two people who refused to listen to common sense was increasingly difficult.
He was unbearably annoyed that no one cared about his tragic past.
Grinding his teeth, he picked up one of the catalogs Biretta and Iola had stacked.
The Wizard Catalog, Mercenary Catalog, and Artisan Catalog.
These catalogs were published annually in Masad, the artisan city where the three were headed.
Masad lay at the eastern edge of Filian, near the borders of three countries.
Originally, due to its harsh environment and sparse population, it attracted wizards and artisans wanting to perform large-scale work.
It was a good place for magic and craft research, so more wizards and artisans arrived. As they came, mercenary groups followed to hire them. More mercenaries meant more wizards and artisans, which in turn drew nobles and merchants seeking to hire them. This cycle eventually gave the city its current status.
By now, it had practically become an employment hub, publishing not only journals but also employment catalogs.
Any wizard or mercenary worth hiring was listed in the Masad catalogs, so to hire a good wizard, one had to study the catalogs thoroughly.
There was no avoiding this flow. They would need to find the most competent wizard possible.
Lanken glared at the cover of the catalog.
“How much are you planning to spend?”
“We’re going dragon hunting, so details of cost don’t matter. I want to make a contract with a down payment and success bonus. I’d prefer someone to join us as a companion rather than just a hired wizard.”
“Great, the difficulty just went up again.”
“Since they’ll be companions in our noble journey, verification is naturally necessary! If not, we can at least hire a wizard willing to do odd jobs.”
“That’s great news. Then we’ll pick someone from among them…”
“-Convincing them to join isn’t going to be easy either!”
Biretta nearly caused another problem with her boasting but quickly corrected herself.
To prevent Iola from arguing, she hastily changed the subject.
“We have time before reaching Masad, so let’s carefully consider our choices. I’ll think of a way to request cooperation for the dragon hunt. You two, start with your other preparations, okay?”
“What do we need to do?”
“There’s a singular, indispensable, and ultimate secret for going dragon hunting. A supreme treasure and the essence of human civilization that controls people—bring it.”
Three and a half hours later.
They had set up a small stall at the entrance of the village market.
Iola watched in awe as the meat of a large-horned buffalo sizzled on a big pot.
“So you meant for us to earn money.”
The singular, indispensable, ultimate secret for dragon hunting.
The supreme treasure and essence of human civilization.
Though the grandiose description made her nervous, the answer was simple: money.
Iola marveled at how accurate that answer was.
“Hehe, Father always said money is the essence of human civilization. With a large sum, you can hire a good wizard. And there’s plenty of buffalo meat left too.”
Rolling up her sleeves, Biretta busily fried the meat. Lanken smoothly assisted, as if accustomed to such tasks.
Iola admired the daughter of a great merchant, transformed into a skilled street vendor.
“Remarkable. And you even got a business permit in the meantime.”
“Permit…?”
“In the eastern regions, market commerce requires a permit. I thought it would be complicated for outsiders, yet you already have one.”
“Permit…?”
Biretta squeaked each syllable like a broken wooden puppet. A trace of unease flickered across Iola’s smiling face.
“Just to clarify, you didn’t know—”
“Of course I knew. I was just surprised at how inexperienced Iola is at selling. Haha, have you forgotten I’m the daughter of Medlidge? The first rule of Medlidge commerce,” she boasted, puffing her chest out.
“Of course… that makes sense. You already knew—”
“The basis of business is tax evasion. If you can dodge the law, always dodge it.”
“…”
