EFWM 07

Chapter 7

First came the beginner’s wooden crossbow, then a longbow reinforced with leather.

Blisters formed and vanished repeatedly on the fingers that pulled the bowstring.

Eventually, hard calluses formed, protruding like extra knuckles.

Twang—

Thud!

It was much more fun than she had expected.

Each time she hit the target that Phecenic had set, it thrilled her.

Erika had a natural gift for eyesight. She could easily focus even on distant objects.

‘This is fun.’

Her shooting range gradually increased.

Since she was both good at it and enjoyed it, her quiver never left her back.

When she wanted to shoot even during other training sessions, Phecenic temporarily banned archery. In response, she snuck out at night to shoot to her heart’s content.

Even that, Phecenic didn’t scold.

Instead, he simply assumed Erika didn’t need much sleep—and added night sword training to her schedule.

Every single day.

She shot arrows. She swung her sword.

Training began at sunrise, and she was still sweating under the moonlight.

Erika loved it.

Erika’s combat ability improved rapidly.

Thanks to that, she was often allowed to roam the mountains alone.

Today, she had successfully hunted a bear for the first time.

Excited, she slung the bear over her shoulder and returned to the village inn.

🎵“Baby bear~ doo-doo-doo-doo~ So cute~ doo-doo-doo-doo~”🎵

She hummed proudly, eager to brag to her teacher.

“Baby bear!”

Thump—!

She dropped the massive bear to the ground. It was anything but a baby.

She spotted Phecenic in the distance. She was just about to shout to boast about her hunt when—

“Uh…”

Erika realized she needed to greet him properly first.

Timidly, she approached.

“Master.”

“You’re back early.”

“Who’s that?”

Standing beside Phecenic was a stranger.

He was even bigger than the bear. The bear Erika had worked so hard to hunt now looked pitiful in comparison.

“Introduce yourself. From today, he’s one of our mercenary group.”

“I’m Karon.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Erika.”

The bear-like man introduced himself with a solemn, determined face.

“I lost a duel with Captain Phecenic. I’ve accepted the outcome and decided to join the mercenary group.”

The truth, however, was that it wasn’t much of a duel.

Phecenic, bored, had simply picked a fight with Karon as he passed by.

Naturally, Phecenic had won overwhelmingly, but he’d found Karon surprisingly durable—so he invited him to join.

“Let’s get along.”

With his fierce expression, bushy beard, and bulky physique, Karon looked like an intimidating uncle figure.

Anyone would be scared—but Erika casually scanned him up and down.

“Um, are your parents bears by any chance?”

How is your body that big? Erika asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

She even circled around Karon like she was inspecting an exhibit.

“…?”

“Nice to meet you! Now that I think about it, I’m a mercenary too. I completely forgot that Master and I are already a mercenary group.”

“…??”

Karon had a sinking feeling something was very wrong.

How does someone forget they’re in a mercenary group?

Had he made a mistake signing up, just because of Phecenic’s impressive sword skills?

Karon’s eyes flickered with doubt, and Phecenic gave him a firm pat on the back.

“Don’t worry. We just haven’t officially started operations yet. Our cute founding member here has been training in the meantime.”

“I want to show this off!”

Cute little Erika had dragged the bear all the way back. The beast was four times her size.

An arrow was lodged in its forehead—an instant kill.

“I cracked its skull in one shot.”

Cough! Cough!

Karon choked in shock.

This squirrel-sized girl was surprisingly foul-mouthed.

“Can I skin it?”

“Of course.”

“Yay~!”

Erika gleefully drew her dagger.

Phecenic, watching proudly, gave a nod.

“Erika.”

“Yes?”

“Once we gather about ten members, I’m thinking of taking over the Southern Guild. What do you think?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“I mean I plan to chop off the head of a certain organization.”

“I’ll do it!”

“You can’t do it yet!”

“Ugh!”

“Did you just give your master that bratty look?!”

“I said I’ll do it!”

Erika grew up fiercely determined.

After Karon joined, Phecenic began recruiting other free mercenaries he liked.

Given how picky Phecenic was, it was rare for him to like anyone.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Looking forward to working with you.”

Each newcomer was highly skilled.

They had diverse personalities and abilities, but all of them ended up respecting Phecenic, overwhelmed by his presence.

And—

“Introduce yourself. Can you do the duck dance? I can drink beer upside down in a handstand.”

“…What is that child even?”

Everyone was slightly terrified by the eccentric Erika, who was always stuck to Phecenic like a keychain.

Southern metropolis, Dantus.

A bustling city known for commerce, its streets were always crowded.

Whether day or night, the central district was constantly lit—never truly sleeping.

At the center of the plaza stood a sizable inn.

Run by the Dantus merchant guild, it was well-policed and well-managed. Even low-ranking nobles stayed there thanks to the excellent facilities.

There was just one drawback: its central location meant it was noisy 24/7.

Anyone with sensitive hearing couldn’t sleep a wink.

“Ughhh, it’s so noisy.”

Healer Shurin came down from the inn’s second floor after unpacking.

The first floor served as a restaurant.

‘Should I switch inns? The ones in the back alley are full of thugs though…’

There wasn’t much choice.

Shurin shook her head and sat at a table.

The food she had ordered arrived quickly. She took a spoonful of tomato stew—it was decent.

The restaurant buzzed with customers.

The tables were tightly packed to accommodate as many guests as possible.

“…that’s how it went, right?”

From the table right next to hers, she couldn’t help overhearing.

“Erika, do you think you can keep it up until we reach the sea?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best. This is so fun.”

A clean-cut father and daughter sat nearby.

Actually, “clean-cut” was an understatement—they were stunning.

Shurin kept sneaking glances. She nearly got a crick in her neck from trying not to stare.

‘Are they nobles?’

The father looked like a refined gentleman, and the daughter—so lovely she might as well have been a fairy.

She must’ve been a noble trying out “commoner life” in secret.

Shurin found it delightful. Nothing better than beautiful and cute people.

She wanted to keep watching them when—

Whoosh—!

Suddenly, the girl stabbed a fork toward her father’s neck.

Clang!

The father blocked it with lightning reflexes. His expression didn’t even change.

Only Shurin, startled, dropped her utensils.

“Erika. If you attack like that, you won’t improve. I’ll have to increase the intensity of your dawn training.”

“If this restaurant had knives, I would’ve succeeded.”

“Blaming your weapon is a bad habit.”

“Then don’t say that if you’re not going to buy me a weapon. How long do I have to keep carving wooden swords myself?”

“Until you can so much as graze a single strand of my hair.”

“Grrr!”

The tiny girl, barely reaching her father’s waist, clenched her fists and growled.

What… what kind of conversation is this? What’s going on at that table?

Shurin blinked repeatedly.

Then a shadow fell over her. A huge man sat down across from her.

“Mind if I sit here? There’s nowhere else.”

Before she could respond, he was already seated.

She grumpily turned back to her stew—

“I’m Karon.”

The man introduced himself.

There was no reason to ignore him, so Shurin replied politely.

“I’m Shurin.”

“I know. You’re a well-known herb gatherer in this area, aren’t you?”

“You clearly don’t know me at all. I’m a healer, not a herb gatherer.”

“Isn’t that the same?”

“It’s not.”

“Got it. Anyway, join our mercenary group.”

“…?”