“Did you move just now?”

The woman cautiously pointed to the Golem standing to one side. Her attitude was different from before. She seemed a little intimidated compared to earlier. Yet, her persistent questions made her seem like a curious child.

“That kind of thing moves? No way.”

“You just saw it, didn’t you?”

“Still, I can’t believe it.”

He didn’t tell the woman to go away. Her manner of speaking reminded him of Lorina when he first met her. She felt like a noble’s daughter.

In the case of a lady-in-waiting, the noble did it. So it wasn’t strange. Though he couldn’t understand her casual way of speaking.

“Why are you following me?”

“You said you’d protect me.”

“The Skeleton is gone too, though.”

The woman grabbed his sleeve.

“It’s still dangerous, so protect me.”

Strangely, he couldn’t refuse. He felt like he had to listen when she spoke. It was like a noble’s way of speaking, yet different.

“Go to your shop owner. Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because you’re cute?”

…

He ignored the woman.

He had never heard of an attendant traveling alone without their shop owner. He could ask Mordon next to him, but he felt the woman would mock him.

“Earlier, you know…”

As they walked, the woman, who had been watching him, opened her mouth. He didn’t know what she was curious about this time as she leaned in.

“Why did they retreat?”

“What?”

“They saw you and ran away without looking back, didn’t they?”

She was asking about the reaction the Black Mage had shown.

“Well…”

“You don’t know either?”

“It was someone I’d never met.”

“Why is he reacting like that to a stranger?”

“He must have heard something in the Capital City.”

He stroked his chin, which still had no beard.

The Protagonist had never met the other person. The fact that he was reacting like that meant he had heard rumors somewhere. He could guess who he had heard them from.

The woman leaned out and looked.

“You seem to know something?”

“I met someone else on the way here. He probably heard something from him.”

The only evil Mage he had met on the way here was the one in the Slum’s communal Cemetery.

He couldn’t understand what he had heard from him to make him run away like that.

Wasn’t that a reaction as if he had seen a monster?

If the Protagonist had encountered a Troll or a Salamander before he could make a Golem, he wondered if he would have reacted like that. No, it was worse than that.

“What did you do to him?”

He told her what had happened in the communal Cemetery. He also mentioned using powerful Magic in the middle of it. But she didn’t believe him.

She seemed to know how great high-level Magic was. Although she was a Noble’s Attendant, she knew a lot about Magic. Perhaps that’s why they communicated surprisingly well.

It felt like he was looking at Amelin.

Suddenly, he missed her. She was producing breast milk, so she might have had a child. She had said no at the time, but he couldn’t be sure. She might have found out she was pregnant belatedly after the Protagonist left the Capital City.

The woman frowned.

“You were thinking of another woman, weren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s written all over your face. And don’t think about other women when you’re talking to a woman.”

“I’m sorry. There’s a woman who’s similar to you.”

“To me? She must be very pretty.”

“Her hair color is different, but she knows a lot about Magic.”

The woman was startled, like a Gnoll.

“Is she a Mage? Is she here, by any chance? Is she as strong as you?”

“She’s not here, but she’s a mid-level Mage, like me.”

“That’s amazing.”

“What is?”

“A mid-level Mage, I mean. There’s no one here who teaches proper Magic, and even the ones who are here are incompetent. Many territories don’t even have a single Mage, so for you to be that good at your age is amazing, Beggar.”

“Aren’t you a Mage too?”

The woman flinched.

“I’m not a Mage. I just picked up some information.”

He nodded. He thought that the other person might work in the Royal Palace. It wouldn’t be strange to get information there.

The female Attendant didn’t seem to know when to leave.

The Lodging had a room for staying. Even so, he didn’t think she would enter the room where the Protagonist was sleeping.

He wondered what he would do if she really did come in.

The other person might be trying to seduce the Protagonist. The Protagonist was now a Noble. Thinking that, he felt he needed to be careful.

The Protagonist was a sinful man. The woman was a moth drawn to such a man.

“Mordon.”

He spoke while the woman was distracted for a moment.

“What should I do? It seems that woman has fallen for me.”

Mordon looked perplexed.

“On what grounds do you think that?”

“She’s following me around.”

“Is that all?”

“This is really serious. She’s an Attendant, so why would she abandon the Shop Owner and follow me around? She must be completely smitten with me.”

“…That is a big problem.”

Mordon said seriously, looking at him instead of the woman.

“There’s something we need to take care of first, rather than that.”

“What is it?”

“There’s someone we need to meet.”

Mordon changed direction on their way.

It was towards the Main Building. Officers were staying there.

He didn’t know why they were going there when they should be returning to the Lodging to rest.

‘Who is the Beggar trying to meet?’

I turned my head.

There was no one else nearby. There was a Guard Soldier, but he was only patrolling or on watch. There was one Officer.

Mary was arguing with him. The reason was that the other party hadn’t paid her.

“Please speak for me. Those damn guys aren’t paying me.”

He turned his head. The Guard Soldier who received his gaze was quite a Veteran Soldier. But upon receiving his gaze, he looked flustered and started making excuses.

“Didn’t I tell you I can’t give it to you as I please? Please consider my situation. I’ll get yelled at by the Captain.”

The Guard Soldier also had his own circumstances. The two of them looked at the Protagonist, their eyes asking for mediation.

“What’s going on?”

“They said they’d pay me if I fought. But as soon as the fight was over, they clammed up!”

The Guard Soldier shook his head.

“There wasn’t even a fight, was there?”

“That’s one thing, but you guys made a promise, so you should at least give me some money. You can’t just rip me off like this. And why didn’t you pay me for the fight last time?”

The Guard Soldier started to speak, then closed his mouth. He glanced at him, gauging his reaction. He seemed to have realized that the Protagonist was on Mary’s side.

“Do you have the money now?”

The Guard Soldier’s face hardened.

“This is difficult.”

“Just tell them I asked for it. Then your superior will understand, won’t he?”

“But…”

“What? Is there another reason you can’t pay?”

The Guard Soldier, after some deliberation, took out a Pouch from his pocket and handed it to Mary. As he left, Mary happily tried to hug him.

He felt the gaze of the female Attendant.

I pushed Mary away.

“Oh, I was just saying thank you.”

“No need for that kind of thanks.”

Mary handed over a few coins from her pouch.

It was 3 copper.

That was enough for a meal at the inn.

Mary hadn’t been eating properly. It was a significant expense for her.

“What’s this?”

“Your share. I got it thanks to you. Otherwise, that guy would have spent it, wouldn’t he?”

“That’s very kind of you.”

Mary smiled. She seemed happy to receive the compensation, even if it wasn’t much.

It reminded me of when I used to gather herbs at Langs Castle.

Back then, I couldn’t even imagine a gold coin.

“Do I wait here?”

“Yes, he’ll come this way.”

Mordon replied.

I didn’t know who he was waiting for, but I waited patiently.

He was the protagonist’s slave.

A slave doesn’t betray. Plus, he was castrated. That made him even more trustworthy.

“Why are you here? If you’re done, go.”

“I’m going to follow you too.”

“What?”

Mary subtly turned her head.

It was towards the female attendant standing to one side.

I remembered what she had offered.

Perhaps she was wary now that a new woman had appeared.

“She helped you. I think it’s only right that I help her too.”

“No need.”

“Don’t say that. It’s always good to have an extra mercenary, isn’t it? You hired one last time because you didn’t have enough people to protect you.”

I nodded. The more people to protect a mage, the better. Even if he brought a skilled knight, he only had one body.

Mary’s skills weren’t bad either. She was on par with an average mercenary. I thought her skills would be terrible since she hadn’t been getting proper work and was starving. It was a prejudice.

But Mary talked a lot. If I had two companions, they would have chattered amongst themselves, but they weren’t visible, probably at the lodging.

“Who is that woman?”

“I don’t know her.”

“She keeps looking at you, though? And it’s strange that she’s following you.”

The more Mary spoke, the more venomous her eyes became. Fearing a big incident, I told her what had happened on the way. Then Mary’s expression changed.

“I don’t think she’s an attendant.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Listening to you, there’s more than just one or two strange things. Why would an attendant speak informally to a noble? It’s not like they’re out of their mind. And you said they know a lot about magic, right? Mages really don’t like to talk about what the protagonist knows, so isn’t it strange that an attendant who hasn’t even learned magic knows it?”

“That’s…”

He hesitated. As Mary said, there were many strange things. The protagonist was so easily looked down upon that he took it for granted and didn’t think deeply about it.

She saw what the protagonist couldn’t perceive.

The other person wasn’t smarter than the protagonist. It was just a difference in their way of thinking. Unlike her, the protagonist couldn’t bring himself to suspect people.

It was different when he was in the village. When Dorian, who used to beat him every day, treated him kindly, he wondered if Dorian was trying to sell the protagonist to the city.

After he gained confidence in his magic skills, such thoughts disappeared.

This was because there was no one who could deceive the protagonist and handle the consequences.

But now, to survive, he had to deceive anyone.

He suspected the female attendant had an ulterior motive. He was curious as to why she was hiding her true intentions and acting as she was.

“What is her true identity?”

“The daughter of a fallen noble family? Or perhaps she’s someone of high status.”

“High status? Why?”

“Sometimes there are nobles who pretend to be commoners and sightsee in the city. True nobles who have only lived in their castles do that. Someone I knew in the slum even received a gold coin.”

“A gold coin?”

It was hard to imagine how wealthy someone would be to throw a gold coin to a beggar.

“They were probably royalty.”

“What happened to the child who received the gold coin?”

“They were beaten to death by the beggars.”

“I see.”

“You don’t seem surprised?”

He wasn’t particularly surprised.

When a person possessed something beyond their means, it invited trouble.

Even the protagonist was scared and anxious when he first got the staff. Even though he knew basic magic, he felt that way.

It was obvious what would happen to a powerless beggar.

Even though the protagonist was talking to Mary, the female attendant remained silent. He had a strong feeling that she didn’t want to talk to Mary.

Those of high status didn’t want to talk to those who were Common. That thought suddenly occurred to me. Maybe Mary wasn’t approaching because she was a Mercenary.

As suspicion sprouted, everything seemed suspicious. I wanted to know her identity. It was a Mage’s curiosity.

I turned my head.

There was something more important than that right now.