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Chapter 40

"What? Dangerous? So what?"

"War mercenary? I should do it too, then!"

"Huh? You\'re kidding, right? No way! I actually said that!"

In the face of Mr. Thompson\'s relentless demands, I finally threw my hands up.

"...Alright, fine. Let\'s go together. Stop giving me those looks."

The silver lining was...

- We\'re fine. We know we\'re not ready for that kind of place yet.

- We\'re at least self-aware enough for that.

- ...I hate to admit it, but we need more training.

...the rest of the trainees didn\'t step forward.

And also, taking Mr. Thompson along wasn\'t actually a bad idea.

Mr. Thompson could use a pretty decent level of earth magic.

At least I didn\'t think he would be in danger if he stood in the front line.

He had also proven his talent by mastering light magic in Aldeon.

Above all, with the feedback he received from Barundel on physical training and combat during our hunts, he had a lot of room to grow.

If it weren\'t for those factors, I wouldn\'t have accepted, no matter how much Mr. Thompson insisted.

"Alright, alright! Demon hunting...! My hands are already shaking!"

"..."

But why did I feel so drained?

Unable to answer that question, I looked at the current situation again.

\'A four-person party, huh?\'

Kayla, Barundel, me, and now Mr. Thompson.

The party I originally planned to form with two people had inadvertently become a four-person party.

Still, it wasn\'t bad because the composition wasn\'t bad.

No, it was actually quite good.

\'Two tanks, one utility, and one damage dealer.\'

It was a bit humorous that three of us were mages, but... anyway.

The balance itself was good for hunting demons.

I roughly ran a battle simulation in my head, finished my planning, and then spoke to the party members.

"I\'ve already checked the entrance route to District 7, and now we just need to prepare supplies."

"Supplies? Are you talking about potions?"

"Potions, and we also need to acquire equipment. Not necessarily the best equipment, but at least equipment that will prevent us from losing our lives."

"..."

The atmosphere sank for a moment at the mention of losing our lives.

But I didn\'t bother to lighten the mood.

In this kind of situation, there was a need for tension.

"Then how do we get the equipment? Do we have money?"

"Good question. We need to solve that first."

"Solve it? How?"

"I have an idea."

I said, recalling a certain woman.

She was the one who occasionally showed a devilish side.

She was the richest person I knew.

***

At that moment, inside the Artis Request Office...

"Did that kid really say that?"

"He\'s got a big head now that he\'s gotten a little stronger. If he actually saw us, he\'d probably hide like a scared mouse."

"Hahaha! You\'re right. That\'s exactly what he\'d do."

Unlike a few months ago when the atmosphere was gloomy, the request office was bustling with chatter and had a bright atmosphere even in the middle of the day.

There was one reason for this change in atmosphere.

"Whew... Anyway, it\'s a relief that that black-haired mage brat is gone these days."

"Exactly. He\'s not coming back anytime soon, is he?"

"Nah, I doubt it. Do you know how many requests that guy completed? He\'ll have no problem making a living for the next few months."

It was because the guy who used to snatch up all the decent-paying requests was gone.

Back then, the regular members of the request office were barely scraping by.

"Hey, Lena. Honestly, we\'re a bit hurt. No matter how skilled that guy is, how could he take all the good requests?"

"...Felix, we have to follow the rules. Don\'t you know that higher-ranked solvers get priority for better requests? It\'s only natural that they get preferential treatment."

"...Yeah, but still! What are we supposed to eat?"

"Am I your babysitter? Huh? If you don\'t have money, go out and get a real job! With those perfectly healthy bodies... Ugh, you\'re so frustrating!"

"...Ugh."

Finally, overwhelmed by Lena\'s energy, Felix sighed deeply.

But he soon realized there was no need for that and went back to drinking his beer.

"Haha! Whatever! We won\'t have to worry about making a living anymore!"

"That\'s right! We\'re perfectly suited for the request office!"

"...You pathetic lot. All you care about is money."

"Guys, let\'s have a drink!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Clink.

It was at that moment, as they were making a toast with joyful hearts...

Knock, knock, knock-

Suddenly, there was a knock on the back door of the request office.

At the same time...

The regular members felt a sense of foreboding and their faces stiffened.

"...Who just knocked?"

Because there was only one guy who knocked and entered this place...

"...No way. Is it?"

"Damn it... That can\'t be."

Even though they knew the reality, they prayed desperately.

Please, anyone but \'that guy\'.

‘Lord, please don\'t take away our daily bread. Please…’

But the gods were cruel.

Why do bad premonitions always come true?

"Long time no see."

It was the moment the devilish mage appeared once again.

And he even brought his unknown friends along.

***

"What the...?"

Lena scanned the four figures who entered with Yuhan one by one.

\'Well, I let them in since they\'re here...\'

Something about the combination was strange.

A short but wide dwarf.

A human man as bulky as the dwarf.

A woman with captivating red eyes.

And Yuhan as well.

What was even more amusing was what Yuhan said.

Lena, wanting to confirm the situation, asked again,

"So... you\'re saying you want to take on a request with these people?"

"If possible. I can vouch for their skills. Of course, they\'ll have to take the test."

"Well... there\'s no reason why they can\'t if they pass the test, hmm."

Lena, lost in thought for a moment, decided she needed to address this,

"It\'s a bit problematic to bring them here unannounced like this. This is a place where only invited people can come. Only I or the bar owner above, Rior, have that authority."

"I wasn\'t aware of that. I apologize. I\'ll make sure this doesn\'t happen again."

When Yuhan apologized sincerely, Lena readily nodded.

Although she had a straightforward personality, this much understanding wasn\'t difficult.

"Well, alright. I\'ll let it slide this time. So, getting to the main point... what kind of request are you looking to take on?"

"Have there been many of those requests I asked for before?"

"Ah, the bounty requests? I\'ve been taking all the decent-looking ones as they come in. There should be about ten piled up now."

"Let\'s start with those for the test."

Lena looked puzzled at his words.

"Those are the ones I\'ve been saving because you\'re the only one who can handle them."

But Yuhan seemed to like the idea,

"The harder, the better. It means a better reward, right?"

Lena felt a bit uneasy, but she decided to go along with Yuhan\'s words for now.

But perhaps she shouldn\'t have.

As soon as she handed over the requests for the test, she regretted it.

"I wonder if it\'ll be alright... I did tell them not to overdo it."

No matter how strong they were, it wasn\'t easy for ordinary people to work as bounty hunters.

That\'s why the test was designed to be lenient, accepting even just basic information.

She was especially worried about the woman with the captivating red eyes.

Her petite physique made her seem weaker than Lena herself.

"Is she a mage, by any chance?"

Lena shook her head at the thought.

"...No way."

Mages weren\'t something you encountered every day.

Especially not in an illegally operated request office like this.

In fact, meeting Yuhan in the first place was a miracle.

Why would a mage come to an illegal request office like this?

Mages had plenty of ways to earn money.

"Then... she\'s probably just a regular person who works out a lot. Ugh, I shouldn\'t have given it to them. If they get caught, the request office will be traced..."

Lena muttered to herself, blaming her hasty decision.

\'This request office, which I inherited from Artis\' will and have been nurturing...\'

But were her worries unfounded?

Knock, knock, knock-

In less than two hours, someone came to the request office.

\'A knock!\'

Lena instinctively felt relieved at the sound of the knock.

"Whew, they must have given up. That\'s a relief."

And when she opened the door...

"We\'re back! We\'re back! We\'re back!"

The woman with the red eyes shouted urgently from outside the request office.

And then...

The large, tanned man from earlier carried the unconscious men one by one from behind her.

"Heave-ho!"

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The four men were moved in an instant.

"All done."

"..."

Lena, stunned speechless, finally grasped the situation.

Come to think of it, all the unconscious men resembled the figures on the wanted posters.

"Are these guys, by any chance..."

"That\'s right, the wanted men. So the test is over, right?"

"...Wait, hold on."

Lena couldn\'t easily comprehend it.

\'...You already caught them?\'

It didn\'t make sense.

She could understand the dwarf, as they were known for their tough bodies and strength... but the others?

How could ordinary people complete the requests so quickly?

And these were the wanted men that everyone else had given up on!

Lena realized once again.

The misunderstanding started from there.

\'They\'re not ordinary people.\'

With this conviction, Lena cautiously asked, starting with the tanned man,

"Um, what is your profession...?"

The man replied with a hearty laugh,

"Haha! Despite my appearance, I\'m a mage."

"...A mage? With that physique...?"

"Hahaha! This is embarrassing."

"..."

An unexpected turn of events.

Lena pointed to one of the unconscious wanted men and asked,

"So, did you do this to him?"

That wanted man was a serial killer who had escaped, someone with skills comparable to a seasoned assassin.

\'...I heard he even received a scouting offer from the Assassin\'s Guild.\'

In short, he was a murderous fiend that even Yuhan would have trouble handling.

But...

\'Is he dead?\'

For some reason, that man was charred black.

Yuhan didn\'t usually handle things this way, so it was probably the tanned man who did it.

If he really was a mage, it was understandable.

At that moment...

"Actually, that was me."

The woman behind the tanned man suddenly stepped forward and raised her hand.

It was the woman with the captivating red eyes, the one Lena was particularly worried about.

"...Excuse me?"

Lena looked at her with a questioning expression.

But her gaze was confident, without a hint of falsehood.

Lena gulped and asked,

"What do you do...?"

"I\'m a mage. Fire attribute."

Whoosh!

An intense flame ignited on her palm.

Seeing the magic firsthand, there was no denying it.

"..."

Lena realized once again that one shouldn\'t judge people by their appearance.

And then...

Lena grabbed Yuhan\'s shoulder and said,

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For becoming our golden goose..."

"...What are you talking about?"

Today was one of the happiest days in Lena\'s life.

A single request office had gained three mages.

\'...Artis.\'

Now, all that remained was for the Artis Request Office to soar.

To heights where other competing request offices couldn\'t even hope to reach.