BSS 42

Chapter 42

“Jinny, I’ll go down first, so make sure to wash up properly, even behind your ears, before coming down.”

Anel said as she hurriedly got dressed.

“Yes, ma’am.”

After everyone rested, they planned to gather for a hearty meal once the sun went down.

Shabel had promised to treat them once he received the transport fees.

Originally, I wanted to explore the library, but delicious food also tempted me.

The most urgent thing, however, was to properly loosen up in warm water…

“Ahh, this feels nice.”

Above the steaming hot water, my long blonde hair floated. I hadn’t really thought about it, but it had grown down to my waist, and it was starting to feel cumbersome.

Because it was naturally very curly, the waves remained even after getting wet.

I thought my hair resembled my father’s here, while my eyes resembled my mother’s.

I wondered if they were doing well. I thought of them occasionally… but that was all.

What I missed more were my parents from my previous life. Having two parents in this world felt strange.

Even though my life here didn’t feel real, I also had three older brothers. I was the precious youngest daughter they had longed for. A strange daughter who had never properly called them “Mom” or “Dad.”

Still, they always sent letters and gifts, missing me. At those times, I felt… more… something…

“I don’t know.”

Whenever my thoughts deepened, I would submerge my head fully underwater.

Perhaps it was because my memories of my past life were longer. My parents here still felt unfamiliar. I had lived 17 years in my previous life, but only 10 years here.

But I’d live here for several decades to come.

“I don’t know.”

When my body grew languid in the warm water and sleepiness approached, I got up.

I roughly dried off and wore the clothes that Undine had washed for me.

I had survived on this single outfit for five days. Today was the first time it had been properly washed.

There hadn’t been time to wash clothes because I couldn’t even wash myself properly. The only thing I could manage was washing my hair. The mercenaries didn’t care much about cleanliness, so I rarely went near the lake.

I draped the towel over my shoulders and let Undine absorb all the water droplets from my hair.

Feeling much fresher, I stepped out of the room, only for Raia to scuttle over and cling to my waist.

When she stayed still, she looked like a snake-shaped belt, and Raia’s attempts at mimicking accessories were becoming more convincing.

Entering the dining hall, I searched for familiar faces among the fierce-looking ones.

They were familiar in a fierce way, but knowing how they smiled made me feel slightly at ease.

The first one I spotted was Kenta.

His large frame made him stand out. As I approached the table where the mercenary group had taken seats, one of them glanced at me and gestured to pull out the empty chair beside them.

“Huh? Where did my chair go?”

Just as I was about to sit, a man appeared holding a frothy mug of beer, glancing around. He must have been the chair’s owner.

“Sit, little one.”

“Okay!”

This was how mercenary kindness worked.

After a polite pause, I quickly sat down at the urging of the mercenary. The table was overflowing with food.

Most of it was meat, and there was plenty of what looked like alcohol.

As I scanned the table, a large chunk of meat was placed in front of me.

It was the hind leg of a young pig, roasted to a delicious brown.

I wondered if I had looked like that to the ogres.

“Is this mine?”

The mercenary who had been my experimental subject all this time was Hulk.

Had he forgotten? I blinked at him. He responded with an expression that seemed to say, “Isn’t that obvious?”

“Of course, little one. Kids need to eat well!”

“Thank you! Hehe.”

Despite their intimidating appearances, Shabel’s mercenary group were good people. Almost foolishly so.

It wasn’t just the meat that made me think so.

[Master, this is the man who you previously experimented on with water coming out of his nose, right?]

Raia’s question made me feel a twinge of conscience.

[Shut up.]

[After what happened to him, you give him meat? He must be part amnesia from the trauma!]

[Quiet while I say this nicely?]

[Master! What did I do?!]

[You’ve disturbed my sleeping conscience.]

Ignoring Raia, I tore into the meat.

I was hungry, and after a long time without real food, I didn’t care about manners and grabbed it with both hands.

Everyone was eating that way, so there was no need to be embarrassed.

As I buried my face in the meat, I realized Shabel and Anel were nowhere in sight.

“Augh?”

I tried to ask about their whereabouts, but the meat blocked my words.

However, Kenta, who sat beside me, seemed to understand and nodded.

“Agau-gau, guga-aga.”

I couldn’t understand a word.

Confused about my own words, I had no hope of interpreting someone else’s.

Just as I swallowed the meat to have a proper conversation, a hand rested on my shoulder.

It wasn’t Kenta. Not Hulk either.

Who… was stroking me?

“Hehe. The more I look at you, the cuter you are. You’ll be a real beauty.”

The bad breath alone made me unable to turn my head, and I spat out the meat I had in my mouth.

“Pfft.”

“Uh…”

The piece of meat stuck to the face of the man I disliked, but the goosebumps I felt were unstoppable.

I felt more disgusted than guilty.

“Eeeek! Nooo!”

“What’s going on?”

“Why are you screaming?”

“Kenta! This man—”

“What, what? I didn’t do anything!”

“Waaah!”

I clung to Kenta, crying. Of course, it was fake tears, but with Anel gone, Kenta was my next best option.

The cheerful Shabel mercenaries all stopped talking and stared at us.

I watched the man I disliked while still holding the meat.

He looked extremely unjustified.

“I really didn’t do anything!”

“No! You suddenly rubbed my shoulder!”

“Just that…?”

Kenta swung a massive lamb chop he was holding at the man’s cheek.

No need to go that far, but it was satisfying.

“You pervert! He’s ten years old!”

Suddenly, a fierce brawl erupted.

The fight between that man and Kenta spread through the dining hall.

It became a full-blown clash between the sleazy man’s group and Shabel’s mercenaries.

Hmm, it probably wasn’t my fault, right?

At some point, mugs flew and tables overturned. The atmosphere grew extremely violent. I lowered myself and crawled under a table.

[Master, hiding after starting a fight?]

[Not me.]

I peeked my head outside the table.

“You cowardly mercenary group taking only transport jobs!”

“Hey! You’re the kind who harasses every woman and gets rejected!”

“Have you said everything you wanted to say?!”

The fight spiraled out of control.

It seemed that Kenta and that man had a long-standing grudge. So this fight was definitely not my fault.

[Master…]

[Don’t say anything.]

“Ouch!”

Even my mom and dad didn’t hit me!

I felt very wronged for being flicked on the head, but Shabel’s face was terrifying, so I stayed quiet.

“You! How do you cause trouble the moment you come in?!”

“I just…”

“On top of that, you paired up people who don’t get along!”

“Did I know?”

“Why! You could’ve let them fight! Do you know how much fines and repair costs I have because of you?!”

Shabel’s eyes blazed with anger, practically shooting beams. But I wasn’t going to meekly accept it.

“Hehe, I was startled too… Anel! He’s hitting me! Waaah!”

“…Captain! That’s too much!”

“No, because of this brat, I suffered losses…”

“That man’s always had bad hands! How scared must the child have been! I actually want to praise Kenta!”

I snuggled into Anel’s arms and stuck my tongue out at the captain, unseen by anyone else.

Anel’s voice rose in anger.

“Captain, I am truly disappointed!”

“But Kenta got caught by the constables…”

“When grown men fight, it’s their own responsibility, not a child’s!”

After being firmly scolded by Anel, Shabel’s expression mirrored Kenta’s when he got caught by the constables—pouting, as if seeking sympathy.

But that was only fitting for a child like me.

“Making that face won’t help! Apologize to Jinny immediately!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“You’ve really disappointed me as a person. Captain, if you continue like this, I won’t renew the contract. I don’t want to work with someone whose beliefs clash with mine!”

“…I’m sorry, Jinny. Please forgive me.”

A very quick apology.

Hmm… could it be that the true leader of Shabel’s mercenary group is Anel?

I hadn’t watched for long, but many men seemed to be in the group because they liked Anel.

Even Kenta was like that, blatantly following Anel around.

One thing was certain—I had picked the right side. I clutched Anel’s waist even tighter.