Chapter 369: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (13)

How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Johan really wanted to find a treasure worth taking in exchange for their conversation.

But it was actually quite difficult.

‘Ulrike probably picked out the good treasure, so there’s no point in taking something mediocre.’

Johan regretted not bringing other wizards with him. They would have known the most about these treasures.

“Achladda. Which treasure here looks good to you?”

“That large gold necklace seems like it would go for a good price.”

“. . .Euclyia. What do you think—?”

Euclyia looked at her cousin with contempt before confidently answering the duke’s question.

“Rather than that gold necklace, the one hanging on the right has jewels that are more elaborately crafted, even if it is a bit smaller.”

“?!”

The centaurs were incredibly disappointed that the duke’s response was colder than they had imagined.

They had given useful advice that could be used whenever and wherever they went on a raid!

“Mackald.”

“. . . . . .”

The dwarf captain broke out in a sweat when the duke’s arrow was pointed at him.

While traveling around the continent, he had often come across the prejudices that other races held. One of them was ‘𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴’.

━𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐝. 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤?

━𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥?

━𝐎𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐡. . .! 𝐀𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟!

━𝐍-𝐍𝐨. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬. . .

━𝐒𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨!

The fact that dwarf craftsmen were so skilled in mining and engineering had led to the spread of such rumors.

However, there was a slight misunderstanding here.

The reason the excellent dwarf craftsmen could build such great structures was because they had been learning about construction and engineering since they were young.

. . .The dwarf mercenaries, so to speak, had different specialties.

All they learned about was siege warfare and defensive warfare in preparation for battle. Even if they were shown treasure, they wouldn’t be able to tell its true value.

At first, the dwarf mercenaries tried to explain themselves, but they eventually gave up and accepted it. This rumor also had its advantages. Employers wouldn’t try to cheat them out of their pay for fear of being caught.

However, all the retribution that the mercenaries had accumulated over time had fallen on the shoulders of the captain. Mackald desperately tried to maintain his expression as he answered.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Could you recommend a decent treasure?”

“A. . . book, perhaps? Rather than something expensive, I think that would be better. . .”

“That’s not a bad idea, but we can’t do that this time.”

It hadn’t been long since Ulrike had gone on a tirade about the two wizards because of the book incident. If the countess gave her another book in this situation, she might just throw it away.

“Your Highness. The truth is, I’ve lived my entire life as a mercenary, so I don’t know much about treasure. . .”

“Who doesn’t know that? I’m just telling you to pick whatever you want.”

“!”

Mackald’s heart felt a little lighter after hearing the duke’s words. He stroked his beard as he slowly walked through the hold.

Looking at it this way, the duke’s collection of treasure was truly overwhelming. Even Mackald, a seasoned veteran, had never seen such wealth.

What was even more surprising was the duke’s attitude of letting his subordinates look at the treasures without any greed. Outside, he was a man who hated waste and had a stern expression even over a silver coin, but he was now being extremely generous.

Once again, Mackald felt a sense of respect welling up from the depths of his heart. It was a mercenary’s good fortune to meet a trustworthy employer. It was even better when that person was someone worthy of respect.

There were sculptures carved with various exotic beasts and monsters, glasses made of malachite and chrysoprase, a bronze incense burner that was used by a sultan, a hammer that seemed to have been made by a dwarven craftsman, and a cape with a unique pattern that gave off an air of authority when worn. . .

Mackald racked his brain but couldn’t make a decision. Finally, he had an idea.

“How about asking Amien-nim?”

“You’re trying to avoid taking responsibility, aren’t you, Mackald? Jeeze. . .”

“I-It’s not like that. Amien-nim’s eyes are more accurate than you think. Besides, Ardolata-nim is a student who trained under a wizard, isn’t she?”

“If you put it like that, then.”

Johan nodded, not wanting to trouble the dwarf captain any longer who had fought so hard. Since he was going to give Amien a gift anyway, calling her over wasn’t a bad idea.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Wooooo. . .!”

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?’

Amien let out an exclamation. The members of the expedition had seen treasure several times before, so they had developed a resistance to it, but the treasures of the east were too shocking for the half elf who had been living in the seclusion of her fiefdom.

When she was young, she didn’t know exactly what her status was, but as she went from being a squire in the royal court to meeting all sorts of people, Amien came to realize the status of her family.

So she was somewhat conscious of her dignity, but this was a bit much. . .

“Ardolata. Did you see that? Did you see that?”

“I saw it, but there are a lot of people watching, so I think it’s better to be quiet.”

In contrast, Ardolata was much more cautious in her actions. Having learned about magic under Suetlg, and originally belonging to a noble family that had been invited to stay in the royal court, her mindset couldn’t be the same as that of a lower-ranking noble.

‘𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵.’

Even though she had been called along with Amien, Ardolata’s situation was different. She had resolved herself to show the duke an achievement that would catch his eye.

“What about that golden astrolabe?”

“It’s good, but. . . that’s something you like, not the best treasure here.”

“That’s true.”

Amien put the item down with a sullen expression. Ardolata opened her mouth to appease her friend.

“If you tell His Highness, he’ll let you have it, so don’t be disappointed.”

“I’m going to take this map with me too.”

Amien hurriedly gathered up the treasure. Ardolata looked around the hold with sparkling eyes. In order to become independent as a wizard, she needed to gain the favor of a noble.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦. . . 𝘯𝘰. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.’

“Ardolata?”

“What?”

“Is that a treasure too?”

“. . .?”

Ardolata turned her head. In the narrow corridor of the lower deck below the deck, a blue leopard was glaring at the two of them.

“. . .!”

Ardolata immediately drew the sword that was hanging by her side. According to the description, it was a famous sword with a spirit dwelling inside it that would guide its master once a day to cut down their opponent.

𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡!

The leopard took a step back as if it were exploring them after being attacked with such a sharp strike. Ardolata thought with a puzzled expression.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬!? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!?’

There should have been strict security, so it didn’t make sense that a monster was able to get in. Amien picked up a potion from the side and threw it at the leopard. It was a potion that could dye something with just a single drop.

With a sizzling sound, the leopard created some distance again with a wary expression.

“Stop it!”

“W-Why?! It’s counterproductive?!”

“No. It’s an expensive treasure!”

“. . . . . .”

Amien looked at her as if she was being ridiculous, but Ardolata was serious. She racked her brain.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸. . .’

She had to protect Amien, call for help, and keep the leopard in check at the same time. . .

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧? 𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵. . . 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.’

“What’s going. . .”

“Wizard!”

Ardolata felt like she was going to cry when she spotted Jyanina walking towards them. That was how tense she was.

“Help us!”

“. . .!”

Jyanina seemed to have grasped the situation. Jyanina locked eyes with the blue beast and began to chant a spell while sprinkling powder from her pocket.

━■■■!

The leopard, which had been growling as it crouched down, shook its head violently as if it was annoyed and roared. Jyanina’s face hardened.

Ardolata had a gut feeling that things were going in a bad direction.

“Can I help?”

“No. It’s fine.”

Ardolata was slightly touched by Jyanina’s answer. The decisiveness exuded by the experienced wizard calmed the apprentice. Ardolata unknowingly averted her gaze and focused on Jyanina’s movements, even though there was a beast in front of her.

‘𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵?’

“Your Highness!!! Help us!!!!”

“. . . . . .”

As she spoke, a growling sound could be heard from behind. It was a familiar growl, different from before.

A large wolf ran towards them, howling ferociously. It was the wolf that followed Johan around.

The blue leopard seemed to be taken aback by Karamaf’s appearance. It quickly rolled its body back to avoid the attack. Karamaf didn’t let it go and lunged at it ferociously. The two beasts collided, creating a deafening noise in the surroundings.

“Karamaf! Tear it apart!”

Johan ran over with an incredulous expression. At his shout, the wolf growled as if it had been discouraged. The blue leopard thought that this was its chance and quickly ran away. It intended to escape past Karamaf.

The problem was that there was a new human in that direction.

━■!

The blue leopard let out a roar as if to tell it to get out of its way. Johan punched the leopard in the head without changing his expression.

With a dull thud, the leopard tumbled backwards. The leopard looked at Johan with eyes that seemed to say it couldn’t believe what had just happened to it. Johan looked down at it as if to say, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵?’

━𝐆𝐫𝐫𝐫!

And then, Karamaf pounced on it. Karamaf, who had been scolded by Johan, was still angry, so he pinned the leopard down with his strength and refused to let it go. The leopard let out a pitiful cry.

“Nice job, Karamaf. Hold it down. Where did it come from anyway?”

When Johan looked at Jyanina, she exclaimed in surprise.

“I didn’t bring that beast with me!!”

“. . .no. . . I didn’t think that even you would be this bad at management. I was just looking at you because I was curious.”

Ardolata’s gaze at Jyanina became slightly colder. Jyanina didn’t notice it. She simply sighed in relief.

“I sensed magic. It might have been hiding inside the treasure.”

Johan glanced over the hold that had turned into a mess. He noticed that one of the jeweled sculptures that had been there before was missing.

‘𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵?’

Originally, it was supposed to be slumbering quietly, but it seemed to have been stimulated by the other treasures and had woken up and run out. Johan said to the leopard.

“Spirit, I apologize for making you angry because I didn’t handle you properly.”

━■!

The leopard growled, baring its teeth as if it had no intention of accepting the apology. Johan pressed his hand against its snout. There was a thud.

“I’ll apologize, so will you go back to being a sculpture? I promise I won’t treat you carelessly.”

Unable to open its mouth and being overpowered by force, the leopard blinked its eyes and then returned to its original form as a sculpture. Johan carefully picked up the sculpture and wrapped it in silk.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴.’

He had been told by Suetlg not to take magic lightly, but now look what happened. Johan reflected on himself a little. Fortunately, not much had been broken.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, so you don’t have to apologize.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ardolata. You did a good job protecting Amien. You deserve to be praised instead.”

“I’m sorry. . .”

“Why is the duke apologizing?”

Johan looked at Jyanina in disbelief. Jyanina, who had been swept up in the atmosphere and apologized along with them, thought, ‘Oops.’ In retrospect, there was nothing in particular to apologize for.

“I apologized for causing a mess.”

“You’re humble too. Anyway, everyone go up while we clean up.”

The people who had been there began to walk up, starting with Jyanina. Ardolata carefully asked the duke.

“Your Highness. May I ask you something?”

“Ask me anything.”

“Um. . . originally, is it okay to call lords like Your Highness in this kind of situation?”

“. . .It’s better not to do it in other fiefdoms.”

Johan really wanted to find a treasure worth taking in exchange for their conversation.

But it was actually quite difficult.

‘Ulrike probably picked out the good treasure, so there’s no point in taking something mediocre.’

Johan regretted not bringing other wizards with him. They would have known the most about these treasures.

“Achladda. Which treasure here looks good to you?”

“That large gold necklace seems like it would go for a good price.”

“. . .Euclyia. What do you think—?”

Euclyia looked at her cousin with contempt before confidently answering the duke’s question.

“Rather than that gold necklace, the one hanging on the right has jewels that are more elaborately crafted, even if it is a bit smaller.”

“. . .Right. You can each take one of the ones you want and rest.”

“?!”

The centaurs were incredibly disappointed that the duke’s response was colder than they had imagined.

They had given useful advice that could be used whenever and wherever they went on a raid!

“Mackald.”

“. . . . . .”

The dwarf captain broke out in a sweat when the duke’s arrow was pointed at him.

While traveling around the continent, he had often come across the prejudices that other races held. One of them was ‘𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴’.

━𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐝. 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤?

━𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥?

━𝐎𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐡. . .! 𝐀𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟!

━𝐍-𝐍𝐨. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬. . .

━𝐒𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨!

The fact that dwarf craftsmen were so skilled in mining and engineering had led to the spread of such rumors.

However, there was a slight misunderstanding here.

The reason the excellent dwarf craftsmen could build such great structures was because they had been learning about construction and engineering since they were young.

. . .The dwarf mercenaries, so to speak, had different specialties.

All they learned about was siege warfare and defensive warfare in preparation for battle. Even if they were shown treasure, they wouldn’t be able to tell its true value.

At first, the dwarf mercenaries tried to explain themselves, but they eventually gave up and accepted it. This rumor also had its advantages. Employers wouldn’t try to cheat them out of their pay for fear of being caught.

However, all the retribution that the mercenaries had accumulated over time had fallen on the shoulders of the captain. Mackald desperately tried to maintain his expression as he answered.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Could you recommend a decent treasure?”

“A. . . book, perhaps? Rather than something expensive, I think that would be better. . .”

“That’s not a bad idea, but we can’t do that this time.”

It hadn’t been long since Ulrike had gone on a tirade about the two wizards because of the book incident. If the countess gave her another book in this situation, she might just throw it away.

“Your Highness. The truth is, I’ve lived my entire life as a mercenary, so I don’t know much about treasure. . .”

“Who doesn’t know that? I’m just telling you to pick whatever you want.”

“!”

Mackald’s heart felt a little lighter after hearing the duke’s words. He stroked his beard as he slowly walked through the hold.

Looking at it this way, the duke’s collection of treasure was truly overwhelming. Even Mackald, a seasoned veteran, had never seen such wealth.

What was even more surprising was the duke’s attitude of letting his subordinates look at the treasures without any greed. Outside, he was a man who hated waste and had a stern expression even over a silver coin, but he was now being extremely generous.

Once again, Mackald felt a sense of respect welling up from the depths of his heart. It was a mercenary’s good fortune to meet a trustworthy employer. It was even better when that person was someone worthy of respect.

There were sculptures carved with various exotic beasts and monsters, glasses made of malachite and chrysoprase, a bronze incense burner that was used by a sultan, a hammer that seemed to have been made by a dwarven craftsman, and a cape with a unique pattern that gave off an air of authority when worn. . .

Mackald racked his brain but couldn’t make a decision. Finally, he had an idea.

“How about asking Amien-nim?”

“You’re trying to avoid taking responsibility, aren’t you, Mackald? Jeeze. . .”

“I-It’s not like that. Amien-nim’s eyes are more accurate than you think. Besides, Ardolata-nim is a student who trained under a wizard, isn’t she?”

“If you put it like that, then.”

Johan nodded, not wanting to trouble the dwarf captain any longer who had fought so hard. Since he was going to give Amien a gift anyway, calling her over wasn’t a bad idea.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Wooooo. . .!”

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?’

Amien let out an exclamation. The members of the expedition had seen treasure several times before, so they had developed a resistance to it, but the treasures of the east were too shocking for the half elf who had been living in the seclusion of her fiefdom.

When she was young, she didn’t know exactly what her status was, but as she went from being a squire in the royal court to meeting all sorts of people, Amien came to realize the status of her family.

So she was somewhat conscious of her dignity, but this was a bit much. . .

“Ardolata. Did you see that? Did you see that?”

“I saw it, but there are a lot of people watching, so I think it’s better to be quiet.”

In contrast, Ardolata was much more cautious in her actions. Having learned about magic under Suetlg, and originally belonging to a noble family that had been invited to stay in the royal court, her mindset couldn’t be the same as that of a lower-ranking noble.

‘𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵.’

Even though she had been called along with Amien, Ardolata’s situation was different. She had resolved herself to show the duke an achievement that would catch his eye.

“What about that golden astrolabe?”

“It’s good, but. . . that’s something you like, not the best treasure here.”

“That’s true.”

Amien put the item down with a sullen expression. Ardolata opened her mouth to appease her friend.

“If you tell His Highness, he’ll let you have it, so don’t be disappointed.”

“I’m going to take this map with me too.”

Amien hurriedly gathered up the treasure. Ardolata looked around the hold with sparkling eyes. In order to become independent as a wizard, she needed to gain the favor of a noble.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦. . . 𝘯𝘰. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.’

“Ardolata?”

“What?”

“Is that a treasure too?”

“. . .?”

Ardolata turned her head. In the narrow corridor of the lower deck below the deck, a blue leopard was glaring at the two of them.

“. . .!”

Ardolata immediately drew the sword that was hanging by her side. According to the description, it was a famous sword with a spirit dwelling inside it that would guide its master once a day to cut down their opponent.

𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡!

The leopard took a step back as if it were exploring them after being attacked with such a sharp strike. Ardolata thought with a puzzled expression.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬!? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!?’

There should have been strict security, so it didn’t make sense that a monster was able to get in. Amien picked up a potion from the side and threw it at the leopard. It was a potion that could dye something with just a single drop.

With a sizzling sound, the leopard created some distance again with a wary expression.

“Stop it!”

“W-Why?! It’s counterproductive?!”

“No. It’s an expensive treasure!”

“. . . . . .”

Amien looked at her as if she was being ridiculous, but Ardolata was serious. She racked her brain.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸. . .’

She had to protect Amien, call for help, and keep the leopard in check at the same time. . .

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧? 𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵. . . 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.’

“What’s going. . .”

“Wizard!”

Ardolata felt like she was going to cry when she spotted Jyanina walking towards them. That was how tense she was.

“Help us!”

“. . .!”

Jyanina seemed to have grasped the situation. Jyanina locked eyes with the blue beast and began to chant a spell while sprinkling powder from her pocket.

━■■■!

The leopard, which had been growling as it crouched down, shook its head violently as if it was annoyed and roared. Jyanina’s face hardened.

Ardolata had a gut feeling that things were going in a bad direction.

“Can I help?”

“No. It’s fine.”

Ardolata was slightly touched by Jyanina’s answer. The decisiveness exuded by the experienced wizard calmed the apprentice. Ardolata unknowingly averted her gaze and focused on Jyanina’s movements, even though there was a beast in front of her.

‘𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵?’

“Your Highness!!! Help us!!!!”

“. . . . . .”

As she spoke, a growling sound could be heard from behind. It was a familiar growl, different from before.

A large wolf ran towards them, howling ferociously. It was the wolf that followed Johan around.

The blue leopard seemed to be taken aback by Karamaf’s appearance. It quickly rolled its body back to avoid the attack. Karamaf didn’t let it go and lunged at it ferociously. The two beasts collided, creating a deafening noise in the surroundings.

“Karamaf! Tear it apart!”

Johan ran over with an incredulous expression. At his shout, the wolf growled as if it had been discouraged. The blue leopard thought that this was its chance and quickly ran away. It intended to escape past Karamaf.

The problem was that there was a new human in that direction.

━■!

The blue leopard let out a roar as if to tell it to get out of its way. Johan punched the leopard in the head without changing his expression.

With a dull thud, the leopard tumbled backwards. The leopard looked at Johan with eyes that seemed to say it couldn’t believe what had just happened to it. Johan looked down at it as if to say, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵?’

━𝐆𝐫𝐫𝐫!

And then, Karamaf pounced on it. Karamaf, who had been scolded by Johan, was still angry, so he pinned the leopard down with his strength and refused to let it go. The leopard let out a pitiful cry.

“Nice job, Karamaf. Hold it down. Where did it come from anyway?”

When Johan looked at Jyanina, she exclaimed in surprise.

“I didn’t bring that beast with me!!”

“. . .no. . . I didn’t think that even you would be this bad at management. I was just looking at you because I was curious.”

Ardolata’s gaze at Jyanina became slightly colder. Jyanina didn’t notice it. She simply sighed in relief.

“I sensed magic. It might have been hiding inside the treasure.”

Johan glanced over the hold that had turned into a mess. He noticed that one of the jeweled sculptures that had been there before was missing.

‘𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵?’

Originally, it was supposed to be slumbering quietly, but it seemed to have been stimulated by the other treasures and had woken up and run out. Johan said to the leopard.

“Spirit, I apologize for making you angry because I didn’t handle you properly.”

━■!

The leopard growled, baring its teeth as if it had no intention of accepting the apology. Johan pressed his hand against its snout. There was a thud.

“I’ll apologize, so will you go back to being a sculpture? I promise I won’t treat you carelessly.”

Unable to open its mouth and being overpowered by force, the leopard blinked its eyes and then returned to its original form as a sculpture. Johan carefully picked up the sculpture and wrapped it in silk.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴.’

He had been told by Suetlg not to take magic lightly, but now look what happened. Johan reflected on himself a little. Fortunately, not much had been broken.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, so you don’t have to apologize.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ardolata. You did a good job protecting Amien. You deserve to be praised instead.”

“I’m sorry. . .”

“Why is the duke apologizing?”

Johan looked at Jyanina in disbelief. Jyanina, who had been swept up in the atmosphere and apologized along with them, thought, ‘Oops.’ In retrospect, there was nothing in particular to apologize for.

“I apologized for causing a mess.”

“You’re humble too. Anyway, everyone go up while we clean up.”

The people who had been there began to walk up, starting with Jyanina. Ardolata carefully asked the duke.

“Your Highness. May I ask you something?”

“Ask me anything.”

“Um. . . originally, is it okay to call lords like Your Highness in this kind of situation?”

“. . .It’s better not to do it in other fiefdoms.”