Chapter 9

“Erica, what are you doing here? I smell bread.” It was Karon. His burly, muscular build hadn’t changed in years, befitting a mercenary who mainly wielded a greatsword. “This bread! It’s not for me; it’s because Shurin said she’s been skipping meals lately due to having so many mercenaries to treat. I brought it for Shurin-“ “Huh? When did I say that? I eat my meals properly.” “….” Hahaha. Why are you doing this? Erica widened her eyes and forced a smile, raising the corners of her mouth. Shurin, who had completely missed the hint, looked at Karon. “Karon, did you come because you’re injured?” “My left shoulder hurts. Could you take a look?” “Unlike someone who fell from a tall building, come here and let me see.” “Who fell from a tall building? Is there such an idiot in our guild? Shouldn’t they be expelled?” Karon approached and set his greatsword on the floor. It was a sword so large it made a thud when put down, which meant he had come straight to the guild right after finishing a request. He sat down in a chair and took off his top. Shurin stood beside him, holding his arm up to examine the shoulder. “Does it hurt when I do this?” Ugh, Karon answered with a groan and frowned. “Am I going to lose the use of my shoulder now? How miserable.” “Stop exaggerating. It’s just a sprain.” “Phew.” “….” The rough-looking, burly Karon was more of a whiner than he appeared. Erica rested her chin on the table. She was about to click her tongue and tease the crybaby when Karon beat her to it. “Oh, right, Erica.” He looked at Erica as if something had occurred to him. “Did you see the request board today?” “No.” Erica yawned widely and stretched lazily. “It hasn’t been long since I finished an A-rank request, so I was planning to rest this week.” “Oh? I see.” Karon said casually as he rolled his sore shoulder with a crack. “There was a wyvern request for the Lyzis region. You’re not interested in that?” “…?” Erica looked at him with round eyes. “A Lyzis wyvern?” “Yeah. A request to exterminate the wyvern demonic beast in Lyzis Canyon. That’s what was posted.” “Awesome!” “Right?” “I can’t resist Lyzis!” A request to exterminate the Lyzis Canyon wyvern! Only those who have experienced it know how thrilling and fun it is. Super fun. Erica could confidently say it was the number one most enjoyable request currently in existence. It was an S-rank request that only came up once a year, if that, because the Lord only asked the Mercenary Guild for help when the wyverns had bred to the point that even the Lyzis Knights couldn’t handle it. The problem was that there were hardly any high-level personnel in the entire Mercenary Guild capable of accepting such a request. “The blood in my veins is boiling. A sense of duty to save the suffering people of Lyzis territory…” “You just want to visit Lyzis after a long time, don’t you?” Erica was one of those few high-level personnel. The fatigue from a long-distance request she had completed just the day before yesterday, or the fact that her spine was aching from falling from a tall building, were not issues at all. She couldn’t resist a super fun mission. ‘I have to snatch that request form before someone else takes it!’ By the time she came to her senses, her feet were already running down the stairs. Thump-thump-thump-! The two people left behind sighed as they watched Erica disappear down the stairs. Shurin, in particular, had a complicated expression. “There probably won’t be anyone who can take that request anyway., I don’t know why she’s in such a rush.” “S-rank requests themselves are rare. It’s not often that one comes up that Erica likes, so of course, she has to go as soon as possible.” Karon said indifferently, but Shurin still looked worried. “She’ll go alone, right?” “Of course she’ll go alone. No one follows her there. Or rather, no one can follow her.” “Erica seems a bit lonely these days.” “You’ve completely misjudged.” “Karon! Think about it. Erica seems to get along well with guild members on the surface, but does she look like she has any friends who can go on high-level requests with her?” “What can we do? There’s no one Erica’s age with that level of skill in this field.” Taking care of cumbersome guild members gets old after a while. Erica was magnanimous. “If I were Erica, I would have started doing solo requests a long time ago.” Karon added coldly. It was a separate issue from Erica liking friends and enjoying group missions. No matter how much of a veteran mercenary she had become after going through all sorts of experiences, she was still an uncomfortable presence in this field. She laughed and joked boisterously with guild members at the tavern, but her position became awkward when it came to group missions. Overwhelming skill at such a young age. Especially in the mercenary world, where there was a strong tendency to look down on women, her skills were not welcome. Taking care of teammates who weren’t up to her level sometimes made things uncomfortable for everyone. It was a complicated matter in the mercenary world, which had its hierarchy. Although nothing major had happened so far, Shurin, who had been watching Erica closely, couldn’t help but worry. ‘Shouldn’t the Guild Master at least look after her?’ Guild Master Pechenik had long since left on a solo adventure, as if he had gone senile. He had set off alone, saying he was going to explore ancient ruins, and there had been no news of him since. Whether he had died in a desert or swamp, or had become obsessed after discovering some ancient artifact. He showed no signs of returning. ‘Karon doesn’t seem to play with her either.’ Karon was quite skilled, but his combat style didn’t match Erica’s. They were so incompatible that they had tacitly agreed to avoid overlapping requests. Shurin let out a deep sigh. ‘She doesn’t show it, but… she must be lonely.’ Several years had passed since she had become the guild’s exclusive healer. It wasn’t just a day or two that she had been observing the guild members. Erica was special among them. She whined about small injuries, but hid and bandaged deep wounds alone. She always looked happy on the outside, but there was no way she wasn’t lonely inside. ‘It would be nice if she had a friend her age.’ Even better if they were of similar skill and got along well. The wish was an extension of her worry. Lyzis was a border region between the South and the West. It was quite far from Dangters. Erica didn’t like traveling such a long distance alone, but she had no choice. There weren’t many people who would accompany her on S-rank requests besides her master. ‘It’s far, so far.’ She was well-versed in enduring long journeys. She crossed rugged mountains and rivers. She would take short naps in nameless villages and leave right away. This was repeated numerous times. Even so, she had only come halfway, and she even roared from the roof of a guesthouse in frustration. When she finally arrived at the entrance to that barren land, she let out a cheer. “Yahoo!” It’s Lyzis! Erica recalled the first time she came to Lyzis. How many years ago was it? “…Can people live here?” Parched lands. Smoke rising here and there. High, continuous cliffs and terrifying canyons. The dry land was too barren for farming, and flying demonic beasts inhabited the steep canyons. She had wondered who would settle and live in a place like this, but surprisingly, when she entered the residential area, quite a lot of people were living there. Lyzis was unexpectedly large and historic. The character of the lords who had ruled Lyzis for generations was uniformly excellent. That was their heavenly fortune. Unlike the corrupt nobles of the West, who were a hotbed of corruption, they cherished and protected their people. The level of their private soldiers was also higher than the imperial average. Especially the skill of their knights was decent, giving them quite a reputation in the surrounding areas. Erica had liked Lyzis for these reasons since before. ‘This is a human victory.’ A barren land. People who were not. It was a community that had desperately survived and continued its lineage for a long time. She could feel a life force pulsing like a heartbeat under the cracked earth. There was another reason why Erica liked Lyzis-