“Shiro, Kuro, you two really look like proper mercenaries now.”
“Myah! You look cool too, Thor!”
“Mercenaaary geeear.”
Shiro and Kuro spun around proudly, showing off their gear. Thinking back to the rags they’d worn when we first met, seeing them dressed like this hit me right in the chest. They still wore their old servant and maid outfits underneath, but over them, they now wore hooded cloaks made from spider-type magical beast silk, pure white and durable. And thanks to the magic circle embroidered into the lining, they even had purification effects—they would’ve surely cost a hefty price on the market.
They also carried bags stuffed with tools, and wore their weapons in clearly visible spots—a way to show off your combat skills and to lower your chances of being attacked. Beastfolk kids could be strong even at a young age, so even just having good equipment acted as a deterrent.
As for me, I wore light leather clothing and a cloak to match theirs. Unlike the days when I had to wear my father’s old clothes, these actually fit my body, and the cloak also had the same purification magic circle embroidered on it.
My weapon was a fairly large staff. I’d thought a magic-wielding child would be a prime target for crooks, but apparently, looking weak was even worse. Besides, it helped me pass as someone of a slow-growing, long-lived race, which often had appearances that didn’t match their combat ability, so it reduced the risk of being attacked.
“Be careful out there.”
“You’ve done more than enough just preparing all this for us,” I said. “Really.”
“Myah! Thank you!”
“Thank youuu.”
The person watching us with worried eyes was none other than Milène, who’d taken care of us more than anyone over the past year. And we knew she was an incredibly good person. If we’d asked her to come with us, she might’ve actually abandoned all her work.
“I’ve taught you everything I can in a year,” she said. “But the world is full of danger. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Got it! Thank you for everything.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Thank youuu.”
It had been a full year since we’d begun studying magic under Milène, which also meant it had been a year since we’d conquered this town’s dungeon.
Well, none of us have grown at all appearance-wise. Sure, Shiro and Kuro have grown rapidly thanks to dragon power, but me? I’m a kid that should be in the middle of a growth spurt, but I haven’t budged an inch.
Still, everything besides our appearances had changed drastically since that day.
First, our home. We’d left our familiar sewer hideout and now lived in a house Milène had prepared for us. It was a humble, desolate home near the slums, but it was still far better than where we’d lived before. While living there, we’d continued dungeon diving to sharpen our mana, and Milène had taught us magic and swordsmanship.
Currently, the town had no lord, so Geos was acting as temporary ruler. Among the former subordinates of Viscount Holm, he had the highest rank and position, and the other nobles were either trash or incompetent, so Geos and Milène had taken action and temporarily seized control of the town—by “taken action,” it seemed they’d simply used force.
I’d wondered if someone like Geos, who was hated by the king, was allowed to act as lord, but apparently the king didn’t bother remembering the names of lords in small frontier towns, so it was fine. An official lord would eventually be dispatched, but that would take some time, partly because Geos and Milène had delayed their report, but also because few people wanted to be the lord of a remote town, as it came with no perks. Milène had said that as long as the acting lord was doing the job properly, it’d take a while for the replacement to be decided.
And because Milène couldn’t bring herself to leave us alone, she helped us with all sorts of things, allowing us to spend the past year peacefully while training. Now I could use advanced magic without losing control, and Shiro and Kuro had learned several powerful spells as well.
As for swordsmanship... Well, we’re “okay,” I guess. Geos was the intuitive type and absolutely terrible at teaching. Still, Milène had taught us the basics, so at least we knew how to handle a weapon.
“Don’t take out too much money in front of people, okay?”
“Yes.”
Not only had she prepared our equipment, she had entrusted us with a considerable amount of money—as legitimate payment, mind you. We had lent Milène and the others the dungeon compass we’d obtained. Apparently, following the compass made it much easier to locate crystals and escape circles. We no longer needed it since we’d already cleared the dungeon, but for mercenaries who hadn’t, it was a highly coveted item. The rental fee was extremely high, and Milène and Geos also benefited by gaining favors from mercenaries, so they’d paid us handsomely.
Between the equipment and the money, we’d been paid enough to live comfortably for several years as long as we didn’t splurge. Well, in our case, food expenses were insane, so it would probably have run out in about a year if we did nothing.
“If you see Ares, please give him my regards.”
“I will.”
Ares had left town before us. Actually, he’d rested for just a few days and immediately set out on his journey.
After we’d conquered the dungeon and broken the curse, five whole days had passed before we finally woke up. At first, we’d had no idea how long we’d been asleep. It wasn’t until we’d stepped outside, wandered into town, and run into Milène that we’d realized. No wonder Shiro and Kuro had been crying and shaking me awake from hunger. They’d been bawling so hard and begging for food, I’d nearly panicked. Well, I’d realized pretty quickly that I was starving too.