Chapter 27
“Oh my, Victor! Just in time. I was hoping to see you!”
Jiana, who had been sitting across from the guild manager in conversation, lit up and stood from her seat.
“Master of the Collins Merchant Company, aren’t you working yourself too hard? You’ve already gone to several places, haven’t you? I was just asking the guild manager if he knew where you were.”
Victor’s face brightened the moment he saw Jiana.
He strode forward, pulled her tightly into his arms, and whispered:
“If you’ve hired a mercenary, you should use him to the end. What’s the meaning of leaving me behind and going off alone to slay a dragon? I thought you’d really died, Jiana.”
“Uh, uhm? We can talk without the hugging, you know.”
“I’m just so glad my childhood friend who marched toward death came back alive. Just let me hold you like this for a while.”
Jiana blinked, looking flustered, but she didn’t push him away.
Instead, she patted his back and said:
“Sorry, I left in such a rush. And how could I take you with me to slay a dragon? If you were gone even for a day, your merchant company would collapse.”
“You’re more important to me than the company.”
Victor continued to hold her close for quite some time, basking in her warmth.
Only after finally letting go did he seem to notice Duke Rupellen and gave him a nod in greeting.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Victor Collins, head of the Collins Merchant Company.”
“I’ve heard much about you.”
The duke stood with arms crossed, glaring down at Victor with open disapproval written all over his face. He looked anything but pleased.
Jiana, caught between the two men, let out an awkward laugh and tried to smooth things over.
“Your Grace, this is my childhood friend, Victor Collins. Victor, this is Duke Nox Rupellen of the Asteria Empire. I’m sure you’ve both heard plenty about each other, so I won’t bore you with a longer introduction.”
“Well, I do know the Collins Company is enjoying a streak of success lately.”
“And I’ve heard you went on a dragon-slaying expedition, Your Grace. Though it seems you failed.”
“What?”
The duke shot Victor a sharp glare, looking ready to explode but holding back for Jiana’s sake.
But Victor’s attention had already drifted.
Those shoes…?
His eyes fixed on Jiana’s footwear.
He instantly recognized how precious the gemstones embedded in her shoes were.
I’ve been in trade for years, but I’ve never seen gems like those…
Shoes were things that wore down quickly, scraping against the ground and getting damaged. And yet such precious stones—rarely used even for fine jewelry—were embedded in them.
What’s more, Jiana herself seemed completely unaware of their worth.
She never did care for luxury.
No matter how much of a hero she’d become, there was no way she’d buy shoes like those for herself.
Victor realized immediately that they must have been a gift from the duke beside her.
Feels like I’ve lost something…
The only thing he could boast about was being Jiana’s childhood friend.
And he couldn’t even remember if he’d ever properly given her a gift.
Had that makeshift bouquet of wildflowers he’d offered when proposing half-seriously been the first and last?
I can’t let it stay like this.
Victor steeled himself inwardly.
Unaware of his thoughts, Jiana linked arms with him and said:
“Victor, you know where Karun lives, right? Can you take me to him?”
“Karun? Why him? That guy’s rotten to the core. You shouldn’t spend time with him.”
“I know. But I think I’m the only one who can help the people caught in his trap.”
She gave him her characteristic bright smile and looked straight into his eyes.
“You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
Seeing that smile, Victor nodded as if spellbound.
“Of course. If it’s your request, I’ll go anywhere.”
“Hmph. Seems the great merchant prince has plenty of free time on his hands.”
The duke muttered irritably, but Victor didn’t even hear him.
After all, this was Jiana’s request. How could he refuse? And she was planning to see that dangerous Karun!
“Why do you keep dragging him along? Didn’t I say you only need me? Am I really so unreliable?”
“You told me the same thing when we went to the Magic Tower. That I should only rely on you. And I did believe you—until you blew the tower’s roof off! If I trusted you a second time, the whole Tiaan Kingdom would be split in two, so no thank you.”
Watching Jiana scold the duke brought a smile to Victor’s lips. It almost felt like he’d won.
“Jiana, I’ve heard rumors you’ve been taming a dragon and bringing it around. Where is it?”
“Oh, that one’s a bit of a troublemaker, so I’ve grounded it.”
She glanced at the duke before replying to Victor.
“Whenever I put it with certain people, it stirs up trouble. Anyway, I’ll let you meet it another time. For now, let’s go to Karun.”
“Alright. Lately that bastard’s been holed up in his house. If I go with you, I can force him to open the door.”
“Ha. And here I thought only burglars did that. Should I call the city guard?”
Dragging the two still bickering men along, Jiana pulled them out of the guild.
“Come on, no time to waste! Guild manager, thank you for the tea.”
Both men, glaring at each other the whole way, quickly followed after her.
“Where to? Victor, you lead the way.”
Victor sensed a strange urgency in her tone as she pressed him.
“No need to rush, Jiana. It’s not far.”
“I can’t help it. I should’ve gone to him sooner. I’m already too late.”
“Don’t worry. Karun won’t run. Didn’t you bind him with a contract quill?”
“Well, yes, but…”
Jiana looked distressed as she explained:
“Actually, I met a wizard near the Magic Tower. He said he wanted to meet the Tower Master and had been hanging around there.”
“And?”
“As you know, the Tower rarely accepts anyone less than brilliant. But this man had very little mana—barely a low-ranked wizard.”
He had tried for days to meet the Tower Master but had been refused each time.
“He told me today was his last attempt. If he couldn’t meet the Tower Master, he said he’d just go to Karun instead.”
“To Karun? Why?”
“Karun promised to give him a job. Said his lack of mana didn’t matter.”
“Hah.”
“I told him absolutely not—that Karun’s the worst of the worst, and he’d be better off finding other work. But I don’t think he listened.”
Jiana fumed in frustration.
“He’s already been taken in! How many other wizards has Karun lured like that? He ruins people’s lives completely. I can’t stand by and let it happen.”
“…I understand. Fine, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
Victor’s face hardened with determination as he guided her toward Karun’s house.
Behind them, Duke Rupellen followed with a scowl, muttering as if to provoke:
“Isn’t it a bit ridiculous for someone who disappeared for ten years to suddenly show up and talk about helping now?”
Victor spun around, smirking crookedly.
“Oh, is that so? And how long have you known Jiana, Your Grace? For reference, I’ve known her since the day she was born.”
“I’ve never met anyone who clings to the past who turned out to be a good person.”
“And those who forget the past have no future.”
The two growled at each other until Jiana, exasperated, broke in with a sigh.
“Would you both stop fighting over such childish nonsense? You’re embarrassing me.”
Between breaking up quarrels between Rupellen and Gariga, and now Victor too…
She felt like she’d somehow become the mother of several unruly children.
