Chapter 8
“Huh?”
“What good is an assistant who isn’t standing beside their superior and is instead distracted somewhere else?”
Simon added with a bright smile and handed me the handkerchief he had taken from his inner pocket.
“Standing there like that, you look exactly like a child’s cotton candy dropped on the ground.”
“…Is that a compliment or an insult?”
Hearing Simon’s sarcasm oddly eased my tension and brought me back to reality.
With a hollow laugh, I scrubbed my face roughly with his handkerchief.
Only after relaxing did I finally remember Ian’s existence.
‘I should say thank you…’
At some point, he had already stood up and was casually dusting off his clothes.
Then our eyes met—and he let out a crooked snort.
Seeing that irritating face, I couldn’t bring myself to say thanks.
“Hmph, I’m not grateful at all.”
“I didn’t do it to hear thanks. If incompetent you got captured, it’d just make things troublesome for everyone.”
“Lalalala, I can’t hear you.”
“Ugh, you little—”
When I blocked my ears and ignored him, he—now speaking informally—pretended to raise a fist at me.
As we bickered like that, the Captain approached.
“Sorry. That must have startled you.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s my fault for not noticing!”
When I smiled and replied politely to the Captain, I heard Ian snort beside me.
I secretly stuck out my tongue at him before turning back.
“Confirming the kill is basic procedure, but I guess I got a bit excited.”
“Ahaha… I see.”
The Captain stared at me for a moment before speaking gently.
“…Ariel, if you need training, let me know. I can personally oversee it.”
“Training?”
“Yes. There’s no guarantee something like that won’t happen again. At the very least, improving your agility and basic strength will always be useful.”
I blinked a few times, then turned to Simon.
No matter what, I was his assistant. I couldn’t decide on my own.
“I don’t see a reason to stop you, but…”
“Exactly. Why would a lockpick need training?”
At Ian’s remark from behind Simon, I immediately grabbed the Captain’s hand.
“I’ll do it! I want to!”
My slight hesitation had been thoroughly pushed away by Ian.
“I have practical, compressed muscles forged through years of hellish mansion cleaning! Please take care of me!”
“Alright. I’ll send the location by letter. Let’s dismiss for today.”
Simon approached me, who was burning with determination.
“Are you sure? As long as you fulfill the contract terms, you don’t need to participate in missions or undergo training.”
Honestly, Simon was right.
I wasn’t even an official member. I just needed to help him make money.
But after seeing the field today, I had changed my mind.
“I don’t know what might happen in the future. I want to at least be someone who can protect myself.”
“Well, I won’t stop you. But you’d better be prepared.”
Simon smiled brightly as he said that.
And I only realized the meaning of that smile several days later.
“Aaaagh!”
“Your basic stamina really is rock bottom.”
The Captain looked down at me as I collapsed onto the ground screaming.
Today was my first training session with her.
And after just two hours, I was already like this.
“D-Didn’t you say we’d just do a test?”
“Sorry. I didn’t expect your stamina to be this low.”
“I’m a civilian!”
The Captain sincerely apologized and handed me water.
Meanwhile, she looked perfectly neat—not even a drop of sweat.
‘How is that even human?’
I thought she was only good at magic, but her physical ability was exceptional too.
Isn’t it unfair to have that much ability and that much beauty?
“The world really isn’t fair…”
While pouting, a sudden question came to mind. I pushed myself up and asked,
“By the way, Captain, why did you become the Captain of the Shadow Knights?”
Even to someone like me who didn’t fully understand magic, her ability was clearly superior to others.
Wouldn’t someone like her earn greater honor elsewhere instead of leading a secret organization that hid its identity?
‘Did she have some special reason to do this?’
The Captain looked down at me, eyes sparkling with curiosity, and asked in a tone as if soothing a child,
“Do you want the honest answer or the nice one?”
“Of course the honest answer.”
Tilting my head, I answered.
“I didn’t choose it. I just do what was assigned from above.”
“O-Oh…”
“To be more precise, it’s because my abilities are more suited for killing than rescuing.”
Hahaha.
She laughed refreshingly, and I was left speechless.
“What, disappointed?”
“No! It’s just… it’s more realistic than I expected.”
A secret royal organization fighting terrorism—somehow, I must have romanticized it.
‘Well, they’re all just people, after all.’
Watching me smile awkwardly, the Captain sat beside me.
“But that doesn’t mean I carry out missions without thought. That may have been how it started, but now I find my own meaning in this work.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Not just me. Simon, who looks like he’s crazy about money, and Ian, who seems full of competitiveness—they each have their own reasons for carrying out missions. Sometimes, those reasons become the driving force that keeps them going.”
So Simon being crazy about money wasn’t exactly a secret.
While I was lost in that thought, the Captain stood up.
“You’ve rested enough. Shall we start again?”
“What?!”
After that, I endured the Captain’s hellish training until sunset.
A month after starting hellish training with the Captain, I had changed quite a bit.
Basic stamina doesn’t improve dramatically overnight, so I hadn’t achieved miraculous growth in that area.
But in terms of operating and applying mana, I had grown significantly.
For example, I was now efficiently dismantling the sealed artifacts Simon brought.
All thanks to the coaching of the Captain—acknowledged by all as a magical genius.
Life was proceeding smoothly day by day…
And yet, what the Captain had said on the first day of training lingered in my mind.
Maybe it was because she looked admirable—finding meaning in her work—unlike me, who had lived chasing money without thinking.
“Meaning… a driving force in life…”
Had I ever felt something like that while working?
As I sat alone in the empty shop muttering to myself, the doorbell rang and the shop door opened.
It was Simon, appearing after several days.
He had been so busy lately that he hadn’t even returned to the shop.
“You’re back?”
Simon nodded tiredly.
At that moment, a good idea flashed in my mind.
‘If I help Simon with various things, maybe I can find that meaning too.’
At least it would be more helpful than sitting idly in the shop.
I quickly ran over to him as he removed his coat.
“Simon, you’ve been really busy lately, right?”
“Do you have something to say?”
He looked at my sparkling eyes with suspicion.
“Oh please. Someone might think I’m plotting something.”
“Well, you probably aren’t capable of that… So what is it? Do you need to ask for something? If it’s money, I can lend you some.”
“What do you take me for? That’s not it—I just wondered if there’s anything I can help with.”
Simon finally turned to look at me properly.
“Help me?”
“Yes. You’ve seemed really busy lately. If there’s anything I can do, I’d like to help.”
Simon stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“I have been quite busy. Hmm… Then what are you good at, April? Besides magic, I mean. And cleaning doesn’t count.”
“Something I’m good at…”
“Running, lying—anything trivial is fine. I’ll assign a role that fits.”
After thinking for a moment, I smiled slyly.
“Using my looks?”
“…Ha.”
A sigh—and a look mixed with disdain—came back at me.
“What?! What’s wrong with me?!”
“No, nothing.”
Seeing Simon give up even on sarcasm, I pouted.
‘I used to have rumors that I seduced a young lady’s fiancé with just my face. Isn’t he underestimating me?’
But as I glared at him, I had no choice but to calm down.
‘Well… living with that face, I guess he can afford to judge.’
Today especially, his face seemed to glow.
That glowing face looked at me like I was hopeless.
“Our objective is information. Using seduction tactics and getting your face remembered everywhere should be avoided. Unless you can change your face every time like I can.”
“So you have used seduction tactics?”
“I have a weak stomach. I don’t do that.”
‘Wow. How obnoxious.’
It was such a Simon-like answer that I was left speechless.
He spoke casually.
“In that case, you’ll just have to stick by my side and open the way.”
“Huh?”
“It means just follow me around. I’ll explain the mission, so lock up the shop and come upstairs.”
Simon turned sharply and led the way.
“W-Wait for me! Let’s go together!”
I hurriedly locked the front door of the shop and rushed up the stairs after him.
