“Even if they find him, they’ll keep quiet.”

“Why?”

He asked the Innkeeper again.

It was an evil Mage. It was strange that they wouldn’t report seeing such a person. The Innkeeper didn’t seem to find it strange at all.

“Haven’t more people come because of him?”

“There are always a lot of people, aren’t there?”

“Those who come to such Slums are all poor. It’s a miracle if they even pay properly.”

The Innkeeper shook his head.

He still didn’t understand. Then he should just ask for money first. The Innkeeper sadly said that business wouldn’t work that way.

I couldn’t refuse completely, so I did take an advance payment. However, only about two or three out of ten people paid the remaining balance.

“Even the street vendors look very satisfied. The mercenaries are around, so children can’t steal goods easily.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Only the children who were stealing became pitiful. That thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t voice it.

After paying him, I decided to stay for a while. If I asked at the inn, the answer seemed to be a problem, and the road ahead felt bleak.

Looking beside me, Mary was hesitating. I didn’t know why. I only found out after Mordon told me. He quietly informed me.

“It seems they’re in a difficult situation because they lack lodging fees.”

“Why is that difficult?”

“The Baron hired them, but there’s no need to pay for their lodging. Those small expenses are their responsibility.”

I opened my eyes. I didn’t quite understand. I naturally thought that since I hired them, I should pay for even the small things.

But Mordon shook his head. As usual, he also explained why.

“Mercenaries are people who fight on our behalf. But do they charge for repairs if their weapons break while fighting?”

“No, but…”

“It’s the same here. Those small expenses are included in the high price we pay them.”

“Then why are those women in a difficult situation?”

The mercenaries received payment. If they had a hefty commission, they shouldn’t be struggling with just lodging fees.

“Didn’t you give them money yet?”

Mordon looked at me with a bewildered expression. Thinking about it, he was right. My face flushed. Since I had no money on hand, that was the only way it could be.

“But don’t they have any money at all?”

“They said they had no work, so it seems they were on the verge of starving.”

I remembered them clinging to me earlier. At the time, I wondered why they were doing that, but now I understood. Even I would be like that if my pouch was empty right now.

I get hungry even if I skip just one meal. After a few days, people go mad from hunger.

“Excuse me…”

Mary came a few steps closer. While I was talking, they had also finished their conversation. I didn’t know what it was about.

“Can you pay for this side too?”

“Pay?”

“Even a stable is fine. It doesn’t cost much. If we have to fight, we’ll fight even harder.”

Mary said. I wondered what difference it would make if a mercenary fought harder. It would be more reassuring if she said they wouldn’t run away.

Seeing the deep worry on their faces, Dorian’s face came to mind. When I went to Langs Castle with him, I was like that too.

I lived worrying about my next meal. It got better after a while, but that was because I had a knack for finding herbs.

If not, my situation could have been worse in the capital city.

Women could do relatively easy odd jobs, but men had nothing to do unless it was heavy labor. Even that was if they were castle residents.

Male children had nothing but starvation. Most beggars were also men.

I used to dislike Dorian. He beat me every day and didn’t give me food. But now, even that was something to be grateful for.

Looking at the slums within the castle, it was true. Even among orphans, there were different classes of orphans. Rael was a happy orphan.

It felt like a considerable amount of time had passed since he left the Village.

He wanted to go back once.

He was curious what kind of face they would make if they saw the Protagonist using Magic.

He thought they might faint if they knew he had become a Noble. Before that, he wondered if they would even believe the Protagonist’s words.

“It’s fine.”

“Please. If you really insist, you can deduct it from my pay later.”

“That’s not it. You can just stay in a guest room.”

He was thinking of reserving one more guest room.

It wasn’t a huge expense for the Protagonist anyway. Even when he was gathering Herbs with Lorina, he didn’t worry about making a living.

Now that he was a Noble, it was a light expense. It wasn’t too heavy unless it was on the level of buying a Knight’s Armor.

At that moment, Mary’s expression changed. She spoke to her companions and then walked towards him. Her face showed firm determination.

“Alright. But if you’re going to play any strange tricks, tell me in advance.”

“Tricks?”

“Weren’t you saying we’d sleep together in the bed?”

He shook his head.

Although the Protagonist wasn’t married yet, he had a wife. He could be called a married man. So, spending the night with female Mercenaries was out of the question.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood something. What I meant was that I’d get you another guest room.”

“Why?”

Mary asked. He wondered if the Protagonist made that kind of face when he asked Mordon.

Now that the other person was asking like that, he couldn’t think of a suitable reason to answer.

If he said it was simple pity, she would probably get angry. She might surprisingly like it, but it was awkward to say.

“Because I want you to fight well.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“If you sleep outside and catch a cold, you can’t fight, can you? Even if you fight, it’ll be hard. So, you don’t want it?”

“It’s not that I don’t want it, but…”

Mary hesitated, then nodded. Her expression was bright. He thought she must be incredibly happy inside.

They might think he was a bit of a pushover. But it didn’t matter. As long as Mordon was behind the Protagonist, they couldn’t look down on him.

The old Protagonist couldn’t have done something like this.

But now he could.

It was because he had gained power. It wasn’t immense power, but he thought it was enough to show this much generosity.

“Are we resting today?”

Mary asked. She was a Mercenary. Mercenaries had to obey their employer’s orders. Perhaps because he paid for their lodging, her attitude was gentle.

He thought for a moment. The sun hadn’t set yet. He could rest for the day, but it felt a little wasteful.

“Let’s look around a bit.”

He decided to scout the surroundings.

Normally, he would spend the night like this, but now he had hired Mercenaries. The longer it took, the more he had to pay.

It wasn’t a large sum, but money was still leaking out of his pockets. It was a waste. More than anything, he hated wasting things.

Mary nodded. He looked at her and asked,

“Do you have any ideas where it might be from?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“You said you lived here.”

“I haven’t visited much since I started working as a mercenary. But I know people around here, so I can ask them.”

“That’s a relief.”

Just then, a growling sound came from somewhere.

It was Mary’s stomach. Her face flushed. Her other companions also made similar sounds, as if they were stimulated.

But that couldn’t hide Mary’s embarrassment.

“We should eat first.”

Rael sat down in a nearby chair. It was an empty table. Mary and the two mercenaries hesitated.

“We don’t have any money.”

“I’ll pay, so sit down.”

“Really? You already paid for our lodging.”

“I’ll pay for lodging and food, so sit down.”

Mary hesitated for a long time before sitting down. It seemed she still didn’t understand his goodwill.

The Protagonist had taken in a girl who was begging on the street. She had clung to him after seeing that, but now that he showed kindness, she was scared. It was funny.

She kept looking down at how big her chest was, her expression changing repeatedly. It was clear that she was wondering if he was after her body.

“You shouldn’t treat her too well.”

“It’s fine.”

“Don’t you know your place?”

Mordon didn’t seem to like this situation. He was the one who had said he could protect the Protagonist by himself in the first place. He certainly could.

Before that, compared to the women he had met so far, Mary was rather plain-looking.

To be precise, she was like the village girls you’d see. Her skin was tanned from working in the fields, and her hair was dirty.

Her face wasn’t bad. Although she had some flaws, she was about average. No, one could even say she was a little pretty.

It was just that the women he had seen earlier were too beautiful.

Mordon knew that too. So, when he saw Mary having strange thoughts, he couldn’t help but click his tongue. It was truly a matter of not knowing her place.

As they were talking, a woman who appeared to be a waitress placed plates of food on the table. It was ordinary soup.

It wasn’t a terrible soup made by haphazardly throwing whatever was on hand, but a properly made one. When he scooped it with a ladle, there was a lot of meat in it.

The female mercenaries swallowed at the sight of it.

“Can we eat?”

They looked around, not at the Protagonist, but at Mordon next to him. Although he wasn’t entirely pleased, he nodded.

The female mercenaries ate the soup. Among them, Mary ate it very delicately. She seemed to be trying to appear modest.

He already knew she was from the Slums. Yet, her behavior was endearing.

The Protagonist finished his meal without saying much. It tasted good, with fruit and vegetables in addition to the meat.

Looking around, there were many guests at the inn. They were all looking for the evil Mage, just like the Protagonist and his companions.

Among them, some were shouting at the Innkeeper, as if they wanted everyone around to hear.

It would have been understandable if rough Mercenaries did that, but seeing Mages act that way made him frown. Mages were almost always Nobles. The behavior he was witnessing did not seem noble at all.

Mordon said,

“They’re doing it on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Few of these people are actually trying to find the Mage. Since the King’s family was almost harmed, the Nobles are probably just putting on a show.”

“The woman we saw earlier was different, though.”

“Wasn’t she desperate to show off her skills?”

The woman disguised as a man came to mind. It seemed there were few people like her who had come forward to catch the evil Mage.

He also saw Mages diligently searching. However, they were either in groups of three or two. Still, that was a fair number.

Mages who were serious about searching stuck together with people they knew. After watching them, he got up from his seat. The sun was slowly setting outside the window.

“Should we rest today?”

He brought it up. Just a moment ago, he had planned to look around. But he had changed his mind. Once his stomach was full, he felt lazy.

Mary shook her head.

“We’ll just look around for a bit.”

“Why? Aren’t you two lazy too?”

“Since we were treated to a meal, we should do something.”

Mary’s two companions also seemed ready to go out. They had eaten more food than he expected. It seemed they were worried he would ask them to pay for the food.

He had no intention of doing that.

However, the Protagonist could have done so if he wanted to. He was in a strong position. Being in a weak position, they had no choice but to constantly worry.

He sighed. For their sake, he felt he should look around before going to bed.

“Did something come to mind?”

“I have a hunch about a place.”

“Really?”

“I can’t be sure.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s nearby. We’ll go check it out ourselves first.”

“I’ll go too.”

“Please rest here. We have several places in mind, so we’ll need to look around.”

Mary left with her two companions. He didn’t move. He had been riding in a carriage recently and was tired from walking for so long.

The female Mercenaries returned after the sun had completely set. They seemed to have split up to search, as they returned separately.

Rael looked at those who had returned.

Mary was nowhere to be seen.