BSS 36

chapter 36

“Ugh! Where did this snake bastard go! I’ll find you if it’s the last thing I do!”

The heavy stomping shook the ground so hard that even I, hanging off the cliff, could feel it.

“And here we have the light orb that attacked you and the snake that bit your butt!”

“Argh! My butt’s nemesis!”

Why did Lai have to bite my butt of all places? At least, from the sound of the voice, it was a man strong enough to use some real force.

[He bit a strong one!]

[Well done!]

I could hear some scuffling above for a moment.

“Hey! Grab this!”

“Hold tight.”

Along with the familiar female voice, a thick, vine-like thing fell in front of me.

Even though my hands were weak, I wrapped it around my legs and body, and somehow managed to hang on.

“Pulling!”

The rope I grabbed was easily drawn upward. The cliff that had seemed so high suddenly shrank, and miraculously, I finally touched solid ground.

The moment my feet hit the ground, all the strength drained from my body.

I was helpless. My knees buckled, and I collapsed, lying flat—and I couldn’t have been happier.

I was alive.

“Oh my, you’re a child, aren’t you? Are you okay?”

“Somehow, you felt so light.”

Two people were looking down at me with concern. One was a massive, muscular man, and the other was a sharp-eyed woman with hair of a color I had never seen before.

From her voice, it seemed she was the first to discover me.

“My goodness! Your body’s freezing!”

The dark-skinned woman with silver hair was a stranger, but when her hand pulled me close, I instinctively burrowed into her embrace.

It was as if I were in my mother’s arms, a deep relief flooding me, and I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

“Sniff… I thought I was going to die… sniff!”

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. You must have been very scared.”

I clung to her, crying my heart out, when I heard Lai’s scream.

[Argh. Master! H-Help me…]

“You wicked snake!”

[Ssss! How can a human be this strong!]

“Why are you so tough!”

The huge man flexed an arm as thick as an average person’s thigh and wrestled with Lai.

He twisted and slammed Lai into the ground, growling furiously.

“Is that your snake?”

“Sniff… yes, it’s Lai.”

“I thought so. It suddenly bit Kenta and ran off. Then it acted like it wanted me to follow. I guess it wanted to warn that its master was in danger.”

“Isn’t it amazing that you keep a snake?”

It felt strange even to me that she asked if it was my snake. Most people don’t even think snakes can have owners.

“We’re mercenaries. Keeping a snake isn’t surprising to us.”

“Mercenaries keep snakes?”

“We raise all sorts of things. I’m Annelia of the Shabel Mercenary Corps. What’s your name? Where are your parents?”

“My name is Jini… My parents are in my hometown, and I was traveling with the academy members.”

I hesitated to say my family name, knowing it might draw prejudice because of my noble background.

She didn’t seem like the type to care…

With her kind smile, gentle eyes, and strong physique, she was the first muscular woman I had ever seen.

“Jini. What a pretty name.”

“So is yours.”

Perhaps because she had saved my life, I felt an unexplainably deep fondness for Annelia.

“You seem to have gotten separated from your group. That’s serious. Do you remember where you were separated?”

“No…”

“Well, for now, come with us. If we tell the captain, he might be able to help.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“And we should probably rescue that snake… Kenta seems really angry. Your butt’s nemesis, apparently.”

I glanced at Lai, and Annelia glanced at Kenta.

They were still locked in a rough but bloodless struggle of strength.

“Lai is strong, so it’s fine. Occasionally, she needs a good workout, so don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Without her strength, Lai would just be a corpse.”

For someone who had saved my life, providing something like Lai was nothing.

[Sss! Let go! Let go, you bastard!]

“Ah-choo!”

[Master, are you sneezing?]

“Hmph! Seems like someone’s talking about me.”

I had hitched a ride on the Shabel Mercenary Corps’ supply cart that left at dawn, sneezing and wiping my nose.

[Talking about what?]

“They must have noticed I’m missing by now.”

[Probably. They do roll call in the morning.]

It must have been chaos. One student had disappeared overnight, and I worried about the state of mind of the captain, who was responsible for everyone’s safety.

“Hehe.”

[Even if you say that, you seem in a good mood.]

“Just thinking about the captain panicking right now… makes me feel amazing.”

The rough cart ride was certainly no match for a carriage, but being outdoors made it feel better.

The sun was rising in the distance, a perfectly clear day.

“Annelia! Annelia-unnie!”

“Jini, what’s wrong? You can just call me Annel.”

“Yes, Annel-unnie.”

Whether the delegation was worried about me or not, I was completely engrossed in following Annelia.

She was an incredible woman.

Her silver hair resembled moonlight, mysterious and beautiful, and her sun-kissed skin radiated health. Above all, her toughness, which even men would struggle with, made me admire her even more.

She was unlike anyone I had ever known.

Though there were countless rough men in the mercenary corps, none of them dared to mess with Annelia.

She wasn’t just a woman—they treated her as a comrade. How wonderful that was.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“…You’re amazing, Annel-unnie.”

Within the Shabel Mercenary Corps, Annelia ranked high, and rank was based purely on strength.

“Thank you.”

Her strength inspired me, and I faintly resolved to become stronger myself.

I couldn’t speak for all mercenaries, but the Shabel Mercenary Corps seemed like genuinely good people.

The corps captain offered to take me to Veilan, as he was transporting goods there.

All thanks to Annelia’s persuasion.

She was one of the few people I had ever genuinely liked in my short ten years.

“Do you need any help?”

“No, it’s fine. Veilan is still far, so conserve your energy. If you need anything, tell me.”

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Well, Jini, you’re just a child.”

It had been two days since I lost my way and joined the Shabel Mercenary Corps. I was steadily heading toward my intended destination.

I was quite lucky.

In a dangerous world, having a mercenary corps that helped me was already fortunate, and the fact that their destination overlapped with the delegation’s made it even better.

Judging by their travel route, I would likely reach the capital of Veilan, Valen, before the delegation.

There were two main ways from Dmitri’s capital, Sharan, to Valen: one was a long detour around the Dragonia Mountains, and the other was a dangerous but direct crossing.

The detour took about fifteen days, and the delegation, moving slowly with many carriages, planned for twenty days.

The mountain route could be completed in seven days. The Shabel Mercenary Corps had a fast, urgent transport job and were taking the risky but quicker path.

Even crossing the mountains at the edge, there were relatively few monsters, so experienced mercenaries could reach Valen within seven days. I had never been luckier.

“It might be uncomfortable, but bear with it. You’ll meet your group again soon.”

“It’s fine! This is fun. When would I get to travel with a mercenary corps?”

“Good. You’re brave, Jini.”

“I’m not the type to be intimidated!”

The other mercenaries treated me like baggage, but Annelia was kind, frequently concerned about me.

She even felt sorry for not being able to deliver me to the delegation—what a kind person.

“If it weren’t for the urgent mission, I would’ve helped find your group…”

“That’s okay! Just getting me to Veilan is enough!”

“Phew. If anyone tries anything strange, you must tell me. Understand, Jini?”

She seemed uneasy about leaving a small child like me among rough, muscular men.

Most mercenaries were rough, tough, and dangerous. The environment was definitely unfamiliar.

“They’re all being kind!”