Chapter 27: Eyes(4)

‘…What’s this?’

Contra, the mercenary disguised as a merchant, felt a strange sensation. It was fear, the kind he shouldn’t be feeling towards the brown-haired girl standing before him.

‘Am I getting weaker?’

He decided he needed some proper nourishment after this mission and spoke nonchalantly.

“I didn’t come here for any particular reason, little girl. I got lost in the sudden snowstorm yesterday.”
“…And you expect us to believe that? If you were really an ordinary merchant, you wouldn’t have survived being lost in the Eastern Great Forest.”

Contra shrugged at Arsene’s words.

“I thought I was going to die too. But unlike what I’d heard, not a single monster attacked me. I don’t know if I was just lucky, or if there’s another reason.”

Contra was genuinely puzzled by this.
His mission from the boss was to infiltrate Asha Village disguised as a merchant, gather information about its layout and inhabitants, and report back.

But he had gotten genuinely lost in the blizzard last night. The Eastern Great Forest’s notoriety was well-known even among mercenaries, so Contra had stayed awake all night, anticipating monster attacks, but—

‘Nothing appeared.’

Aside from a few deer and rabbits, he hadn’t seen anything resembling a monster. Perhaps the rumors about the Eastern Great Forest were exaggerated.

“So, you came here to sell your goods?”
“Yes, little girl. Anything you want to buy? The prices might be a bit high, but I’m happy to sell you anything.”

Contra said with a friendly smile. His naturally gruff face only looked menacing when he smiled. Though, admittedly, he was considered the most soft-hearted looking member of his mercenary group.

“Hmm…”

Avalli seemed to consider his words for a moment, then went over to Arsene and whispered something in his ear. To Contra, it just looked like a child asking her father for something she wanted to buy.

‘How innocent. That’s nice.’

The villagers of Asha Village had immediately sensed something was off about Contra. Especially the village chief, Arsene, who seemed to have almost figured out Contra’s true identity.

‘He seems to have some experience with the blade.’

It seemed like a long time ago, but he was definitely someone who had worked in a similar field. Judging by his appearance, not as a mercenary, but perhaps as a knight’s squire or a city guardsman.

‘He couldn’t be a former knight, could he?’

That would be troublesome.

He had won against knights before, but only as part of a ‘mercenary group’. A knight was not an opponent a mere mercenary like Contra could face alone.

“…Alright.”
“It’s just a hunch, so you can ignore it if you want—”
“No, Avalli, I trust you.”

Arsene said so and strode towards Contra. His large frame was intimidating, but Contra remained calm.

‘If he was going to do something based on a hunch, he would have done it already.’

Whether Arsene believed he was a merchant or had seen through his disguise, he couldn’t harm Contra. The most he could do was state his suspicions and try to negotiate—

“Whoa!”

—he thought, just as his world turned upside down.

Arsene had tripped Contra and was attempting to subdue him.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

Of course, Contra, an active mercenary, wasn’t easily subdued. He quickly regained his balance and sprang back. A bear-like fist hurtled towards his face, but Contra expertly twisted his body and kicked Arsene’s arm away.

“You’re definitely not a merchant.”
“These days, all merchants learn basic self-defense. So, what’s the deal? Is this how Asha Village treats its guests?”
“We never invited a guest like you.”

The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
Contra, ready to draw the dagger at his hip at any moment, calmly assessed the situation.

‘…It seems I came to the right place after all.’

The mission his mercenary group had received was to locate and secure the ‘source of the magic stone Lucy Ignis sold.’
They had already visited several other pioneer villages nearby, but with no success. However, this was the first village to react so aggressively without him even doing anything.

‘It seems Lucy Ignis is in that room too.’

Contra was now more than 99% certain that this village was the source of the magic stone. He didn’t know why a skilled artisan like that would be in such a remote village, but that wasn’t his concern.

The problem was that he couldn’t fight the entire village alone. He could probably take down Arsene and then deal with the remaining villagers, who seemed like ordinary folk. But the magic stone artisan might be among them.

“Look, Arsene, was it? You’re a sharp one. I’ll admit, I’m not a merchant.”

Contra drew his dagger and continued, his tongue flicking like a snake’s.

“I’m a mercenary with the Crimson Moon.”
“…Crimson Moon. Never heard of them.”
“We’re a new group. But we have over 50 members, all stronger than me.”

Contra lied smoothly. They only had about ten members… but acting strong would likely make things easier.

“Judging by your reaction, it seems this is definitely the village we’re looking for.”
“…What could you possibly want from a small pioneer village like this?”

Arsene said so, taking a few steps back to shield Avalli.

“Don’t worry. We’re mercenaries, not bandits. We’re not going to kidnap your daughter. She’s not even that pretty anyway.”

Contra chuckled, then his expression turned serious.

“That person in the room, that’s Lucy Ignis, right?”
“…”

Arsene didn’t answer, but his silence only confirmed Contra’s suspicions.

“Then the place where Lucy Ignis obtained that magic stone is also this village, isn’t it?”
“…We did sell a magic stone. That was the agreement.”
“Finally, you’re being honest.”

For some reason, Arsene seemed to relax slightly after hearing Contra’s words. Contra found this strange, but he didn’t have the time to dwell on it.

It was common knowledge among mercenaries that mages with no combat experience weren’t that threatening, but magic was still magic. If Lucy Ignis came out of the room with her staff, the situation would change drastically.

He needed to finish his conversation with Arsene quickly.

“Just tell me how you obtained the magic stone. What monster did you kill, how did you process it? It would be even better if you could introduce me to the hunter or artisan. We’re not going to kidnap them. We just want to hire them for a suitable price.”
“…That’s reasonable.”
“Yes, it is. We’re not the only ones looking for the source of that magic stone. Fortunately, our client is reasonable and wealthy. So, why not join forces with us instead of getting into a fight with some random thugs?”

Arsene frowned at Contra’s proposal. He knew how Bern had obtained the magic stone.

‘He said a silver-haired girl brought him the demonic beast corpse.’

That silver-haired girl was undoubtedly Avalli. Avalli, learning about Bern’s predicament with the magic stone, or rather, the unconscious power within Avalli, had helped him.

“You can take your time to think about it. But just remember, if you try anything funny, this village will be wiped out tomorrow.”

Contra’s threat only made Arsene’s thoughts more complicated. It had only been a short while since Paladin Kyle had entrusted Avalli to his care, and yet, they were already embroiled in this troublesome situation.

Technically, it was something Avalli had done on her own while Arsene was away.
But since Kyle was her guardian, he had to resolve this issue somehow.

But how?
He might be able to handle one mercenary, but how could he possibly deal with a group of 50? Just as Arsene’s brow furrowed even deeper—

“Chief. It’s alright.”

Avalli said with a faint smile.

“Avalli.”

Did she somehow remember what she had done unconsciously?
Glancing back, Arsene saw Avalli’s green eyes sparkling and immediately realized he was wrong.

“It’s ‘that time’ again, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I think I can handle this. Can you leave this to me?”
“…Alright.”

Arsene suddenly switched to formal speech. Sensing something strange, Contra tried to regain control of the situation.

“What are you two talking about? Just answer my proposal—”
“You’re Contra, right?”

But he was immediately silenced by the girl’s voice, which had a completely different tone from before.

‘…What is this?’

She was just an ordinary village girl, but why did he suddenly feel like he couldn’t even breathe?

“If it’s about the magic stone, you should talk to me, not the Chief.”
“…Why would I talk to a brat like you—?”
“Because… I’m the one who made it?”

A brat like that made the magic stone?

It was unbelievable, but Contra found himself ‘accepting’ her words. There was no doubt that this girl, Avalli, was the creator of that infamous magic stone.

“As long as we get the magic stone, there won’t be any problems for Asha Village, right?”

Contra was about to answer, ‘Of course.’ But the moment he met Avalli’s glowing green eyes, he couldn’t help but reveal his true feelings.

“…Probably?”
“Probably?”
“Our mercenary group will keep our word, but I can’t speak for our client. There were some… unsettling clauses in the contract.”
“Unsettling clauses? What kind of clauses?”
“To eliminate Lucy Ignis after securing the magic stone’s source.”

Avalli’s expression hardened.