Chapter 2: Hello, Night Guest

Translator: Liz

Lavella was the only one satisfied with the man’s words.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Pessini!”

Before Lavella could reply, Pessini ran at the man with an axe. It was a speed so fast that no one could stop him. The sound of sharp metal clashing against each other resounded sharply and violently.

“!”

Everyone’s eyes, including Lavella’s, widened.

“Huh?”

The man easily stopped Pessini’s axe blade with one small dagger. There was no movement in the man’s face, unlike Pessini, who frowned. Lavella and Canpiden were the only ones in the guild who could stop a blow from Pessini. Everyone who was dumbfounded by the unbelievable sight blinked.

“…….”

As if surprised, Pessini, who was standing there with a stupid face, swung the blade again, but the result was the same. During a few rounds of exchanging blows, a loud sound of metal rang throughout the pub. Lavella, who had been watching the interesting scene without realizing it, came to her senses belatedly.

“…Give me something to throw.”

Lavella reached out to Canpiden, who was standing next to her and put two silver coins in her hand.

“What, this is all you have?”

He (Canpiden) didn’t know how valuable money was. Lavella frowned, then as if she couldn’t help it she clicked her tongue and quickly threw two silver coins.

“Ouch.”

The coin tossed by Lavella flew away with a hissing sound and hit the back of Pessini’s and the man’s hands exactly.

“Both of you, stop. Can’t you see the innkeeper is about to collapse?

“…….”

Despite Lavella’s dissuasion, Pessini and the man only stared at each other.

“Stop it now!”

“I will.”

It was the man who first put his hand down at Lavella’s words.

“… Then, we made a mistake on our side first, so we will compensate for it.”

“Do as you like.”

The man shrugged and swung the dagger and tucked it into his waist as if he had finished his business. Then, without hesitation, he strolled over to Lavella.

“…….”

At the sudden movement of the man, everyone, including Canpiden, became alert and shielded Lavella.

“What’s wrong with everyone? Do you think I’m some kind of princess?”

Lavella snorted and leaned against Canpiden’s shoulder in front of her. Lavella, who had been watching the man standing still, moved and took a step closer to him. Lavella approached the man’s nose and looked up at the man who was about a head taller than her.

“What’s your name?”

It was Lavella who brought up the question first.

“Are you curious?”

“Yeah.”

The man, who raised the corners of his mouth in response to Lavella’s clear answer, suddenly leaned over.

“……!”

Lavella raised her hands and stopped the guild members from rushing in. As he rolled his eyes to his side, the face of the man with his arms crossed was just a short distance away. Between the wet breath clinging to her ear, she heard the man whispering. That was when she was trying to listen to what he wanted to say.

“You…!”

After noticing the man’s next move, Lavella immediately reached out to the man’s collar.

The man, who jumped lightly as if he expected it, took a step back. If her guess was right, he tried to kiss her.

“Oh, what a shame.”

The man, who burst into laughter with a refreshing smile, turned to the entrance of the inn and disappeared.

“It was nice meeting you.”

When the man who spoke the last greeting disappeared, all the guild members looked at Lavella with a grim face.

“So we’re just going to leave him alone?”

“Didn’t you see the speed of his movements earlier? He would be hard to catch anyway.”

These bastards must be crazy. Lavella spoke calmly, covering the cheek that the man’s lips had almost touched.

“By the way.”

After Lavella sighed, everyone froze.

“Pessini.”

“I’m sorry, Captain.”

As soon as Lavella called his name, Pessini apologized.

“How can you mistake that for a woman, huh?”

“Hey, I didn’t attack him because I thought he was a woman!”

“Then what did he say?”

“It’s just that he’s the one who misunderstood and picked a fight!”

“…….”

It didn’t seem to be a lie because she saw him making an excuse while his hands were shaking.

Was it a deliberate approach?

An unexpected sense of discomfort entered into the deep corner of her heart.

“Noisy! I didn’t even hear you, huh? You’re not a kid, why are you getting into fights here?”

It was a rare sight that one would pay to see as a man was being scolded by a small girl who was three times smaller than him.

“I am so sorry, Captain.”

Glaring, Lavella had to nag Pessini and other men for a long time.

“Get a hold of yourself and find out who he is.”

Canpiden nodded at Lavella’s instructions. It was not an ordinary feat to be able to compete with Pessini.

“…Drink and behave yourself this time, okay?”

Lavella sighed and stared sullenly after she paid the owner of the inn twice the repair fee, apologized to the customers who fled in fear by offering them luxury cuisine and fine liquor.

“Anyway, you should finish what you were drinking, don’t you think?”

“The captain is right a hundred times.”

Pessini smiled bashfully and showed an innocent face.

“If you let me down again, I’ll kill you.”

“Of course, Captain!”

Lavella, who burst into laughter, shook her head and began to climb the stairs.

* * *

“Where are you going alone again?”

An irritating voice reverberated in the darkness. Iska, who was crossing through the window of the room, paused.

“…I thought my heart stopped beating, Ritelni.”

Iska, who jumped off the window sill, groaned as he strode into the room.

“Do not lie.”

Ritelni, who had been hiding in the dark, appeared. His thin and beautiful emerald eyes were distorted dissatisfyingly.

“Why are you in my room at this late hour, Ritelni? What if someone sees and makes a weird misunderstanding?”

“I can’t sleep when I don’t know where and what’s going on with my one and only master. And as long as I can hold back my lord, I’m willing to give up my body.”

Ritelni accepted Iska’s mischievous remark without batting an eye.

“Keep that terrible loyalty, it’s creepy. And what kind of trouble am I in, isn’t that too harsh?”

Iska took off his coat and twisted his red lips.

“Last night, who was the one that had a fight at the inn?”

“…….”

How did you know that? Iska whistled like a man who couldn’t hear anything.

“What on earth have you been up to in Kirah to find, Iska?”

“…Kirah? Why would I be in Kirah?”

Iska’s eyebrows rose up. He looked like he couldn’t understand it at all.

“If only I knew that!”

Ritelni opened his eyes and clenched his fist.

“… Ha, I think you forgot the purpose of why we came to this town.”

“There must be some misunderstanding. Did I fight for that purpose?

“Give a valid excuse. Why the hell do you leave the door open and walk through the window like that?”

Iska sighed at Ritelni’s nagging and brushed back his fine black hair. It’s because you’re always guarding the door. Tsk, you’re bothering me… Iska clicked his tongue.

“Anyway, we’re leaving early in the morning tomorrow. We didn’t make any progress in this town.”

“Aaaah.”

Iska, who did not respond much to Ritelni’s request, sat down on a wooden chair and rested his ankle on his lap. It was Ritelni who was troubled by his unique, dull attitude. Ritelni, impatient, took a step closer to Iska.

“The schedule here is more delayed than I thought. Plus did you hear that the Lord’s brother was found dead in the mountains? With that incident, the atmosphere is hideous in this town. We’d better hurry up and leave. Kirah is also keen to find Mr. Iska.”

…Huh?

‘Come to think of it.’

Iska’s eyes sparkled as if he was interested when he listened to Ritelni report the story with his voice lowered.

“….. Ritelni.”

Iska cut off Ritelni’s words.

“Yes?”

“When was the body found?”

Then Ritelni, with a breath, thought for a moment and answered.

“Oh, that morning. It was discovered the day the Lord returned from the fight at the inn, after dawn.”

“…Of course.”

Iska’s eyes widened. The smell they had when they came in from the inn was faint, but it was definitely a fishy smell. Maybe they were trying to remove the smell, but all they had were herbs with strong scents, so they could not deceive Iska. That’s why he intentionally induced a fight, he was curious about who they were. Iska’s long fingers tapped on the table.

“Ritelni.”

: “Yes?”

Iska, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.

“Do you know anything about Kirah?”

“Yeah… It’s a mercenary guild that does anything for money. It’s been established for only less than a year, but it’s growing rapidly.”

Despite his expression of asking why, Ritelni began to explain everything.

“And?”

“It is also a guild where all talented people gather.”

“And?”

“…….”

Iska smiled as if he knew.

“Right? You don’t have much information, do you?”

“Compared to other guilds, that’s for sure.”

“Gather all the information about Kirah. Every detail even if it’s trivial.”

“What?”

“Especially about Kirah’s captain. Until then, I will stay in this town.”

“By chance does it have something to do with ‘that person’?”

“…Perhaps.”

Maybe it was her.

“Okay, but please sleep soundly tonight. …Please.”

Ritelni, who was looking at his master, bowed his head politely at the same time as his cheeky words and backed away.

“Well, I never thought it would be a woman.”

Iska smirked as he heard the footsteps of Ritelni moving away.

I can’t believe we met like this.

He told Ritelni what to do, but Iska was almost certain. As soon as he saw the large bearded man call the woman “Captain”, the men were viciously wary of Iska. It was as if they would be in trouble if he found out who the woman was.

“The doll-like woman… is the captain of Kirah?”

White skin that went well with her colorful platinum blonde hair in the moonlight. A small face that seemed to fit in the palm of your hand. Her transparent gold eyes and red, plump lips were so lovely that he wanted to capture them. A woman who grabs men who were much bigger than himself (Iska) at once with a charisma that radiated from her small body that seemed to fit in his arms when hugged. It was quite attractive.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t ask you for your name?”

Iska muttered happily as if he had found a fun toy.

“You’re looking for me, aren’t you?”

Iska rubbed his finger on his lips, which almost touched the woman’s cheek. He was curious about her skills, so he played a joke, but he was quite surprised by her reaction that was faster than light.

“Then shall we go see her?”

A dangerous smile bloomed on Iska’s face.

* * *

“Ah, this is it.”

Lavella, who went into a wooden barrel and soaked herself, moaned and swept her hair with wet hands. Sitting in the steaming warm water, her whole body felt drowsy. It was a luxury to enjoy such a comfortable bath every day in a shabby inn room outside the countryside because it gave the hostess a lot of tips. The issue of lordship and balance had been settled, and by tomorrow morning they would return to the guild.

“By the way…”

Lavella’s eyes narrowed as she contemplated.

(Flashback)

“You didn’t find him?”

“Yes, no one knows him. No one has seen him.”

Lavella, who was having her last supper at the inn, frowned at Canpiden’s lackluster report.

(End Of Flashback)

“No one has seen him?”

Although it was a new guild, Kirah’s information network had no match in the empire. If it was impossible to find out through Kirah, what the hell was the man’s true identity?

“What are you up to?”

Her thin fingers tapped on the water’s surface. Pessini was the most hot-tempered guild member. There were often times when he got into a quarrel with the rookies once in a while as he easily lost his temper. What if he intentionally approached Pessini and started a fight? Why? For what? After biting the corner of her lips for a long time and stopping her thoughts, Lavella got up. It was time to wipe off the dripping water and put on a tunic.

“Hmm.”

Instead of putting her arm in her sleeve, Lavella tilted her head back and smiled broadly.

“Why don’t you just come in?”

At the same time, the hem of the clothes flowed down and found its place.

“Oh my, did I get caught?”

A low voice rang out along with the chuckle. It must have been a night visitor.