Moonlight and Scales
In the darkness illuminated only by faint lanterns and moonlight, the lead carriage was already destroyed. The lantern that had served as our guide through the shadows had transformed, its flames now devouring the shattered remains of what was once a carriage. Beyond the raging blaze, a pair of vertically slit eyes gleamed.
“G-get away!”
The servants who had barely escaped the lead carriage recoiled in terror, offering feeble resistance against the massive shape. They rushed past the bright carriage lanterns, positioning themselves between the fallen people and the monster. None of them knew what lurked beyond the flames. They only knew that someone was screaming, and that they had to move.
In the tense standoff, daggers were drawn. Only the crackling flames lit the space beyond. At last, the four-legged form came into view: a body covered in sand-like scales, a tail as long as its torso, and four broad feet planted firmly on the ground. A large, reddish-brown reptile. I couldn’t recall its exact name, but it was clearly a lizard-type monster.
The creature bared its jaws wide at the sight of the gleaming blade under the moonlight, as if issuing a threat. What needed to be done was clear. Gripping the dagger tightly with a hint of tension, I charged.
“I should’ve sharpened this blade if I’d known it would come to this.”
Holding the dagger ready to strike downward rather than slash, I rushed the giant lizard. Its already open maw widened further, pupils dilating. It clearly hadn’t expected an attack from this side; its massive body took a hesitant step back.
A whip-like sound cut through the air as something brushed past my head. Its tail, perhaps? Once I closed the distance, instinct took over. I drove the blade in and twisted it through flesh.
“Kiiiiiik—!”
The lizard’s spine-chilling shriek rang through my ears like metal scraping. Even after two years of mercenary work, staying calm in a fight was never easy. Adrenaline surged alongside the tension. My pounding heart drowned out deeper thought. Treating the giant lizard’s hide like a cursed doll, I repeatedly stabbed and withdrew the dagger. Ignoring the green ichor that splattered out, I clung to its thrashing body and drove the blade in again and again.
The creature’s violent struggles gradually weakened… and by the time the flames on the carriage wreckage died down, it had stopped moving completely.
“Haa, haa…”
Breathing hard as the tension drained away, I looked around. Reina stood beside our charge, Kair, still scanning the surroundings. Wounded people were being treated on the ground. I wiped the green ichor from my body while catching my breath.
Once treatment for those who had been in the burning carriage was finished, the caravan began moving again after regrouping. Since there weren’t enough carriages for the number of people, several servants climbed into ours. Among them was Shelly, the maid who had guided us at the estate, now joining the rearmost carriage.
“Pardon me…”
“Are you hurt badly?”
When Shelly joined us, Kair immediately began fussing over her in his usual straightforward way. Their relationship had seemed quite close from the start, but the way his eyebrows drooped revealed an odd atmosphere. She gave him a faint smile and answered.
“It’s nothing worth worrying about.”
Her words were calm, yet the situation could easily have claimed lives. Even a monster near the capital should have died from one or two dagger strikes, yet this one had endured over ten. It had been strong enough to kill an ordinary person without effort.
Perhaps realizing this, silence fell inside the carriage for a while.
“Ah, I saw how decisive you were earlier… How old is your escort, by the way?”
The one who broke the silence was Shelly, who had nearly died moments ago. True to her master’s household, she repeated the exact question Kair had asked not long before.
“Same age as me.”
Just as I was about to answer, Kair spoke up instead. I closed my mouth again. Shelly’s eyes widened in shock, her hand flying to her mouth as if the question hadn’t been mere small talk.
“What? Really?”
I nodded silently. She let out an admiring “Wow” and stared at me with wide eyes before turning to Kair with a bright smile.
“Young master, I wish you were even half as capable as him.”
She wanted Kair to be half as good as me. A pure compliment that somehow felt like it was putting him down.
“…I’ll try.”
Kair didn’t look offended. After a brief silence, he simply said he would try, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed out the dark window. A faint blush colored his pale skin. Even in the dim carriage, his feelings were painfully obvious. Stripped of their clothing and status, the two of them looked almost like a pair of lovers.
Should I whistle or something?
After that, the carriage reached Karsion without further incident. Normally we would have waited at the end of a long line to enter, but the carriages passed straight through to the guards as if it were natural.
“Yes, you may proceed.”
The lead servant showed something to the guards, and the carriages rolled smoothly into the city. A privilege of carriages under noble patronage, perhaps? I kept quiet, not wanting to sound like a country bumpkin.
It was already night when we returned to the capital, but our work wasn’t finished. A named commission only ended when we reported directly to the client. This was different from the guild’s simplified processing.
Dozing off, I waited for the carriage to reach the estate. A dull gauntlet jabbed my side, as if warning me not to sleep.
“…Ugh.”
I jolted upright just as the iron gates of the estate scraped open with a metallic screech. The thought that it was finally over somehow chased away half my drowsiness.
At last, we handed Kair over to his father. The reward was paid immediately in cash right before our eyes.
“You’ve worked hard. You may return now.”
Only after hearing those words could Reina and I finally leave. Though we had returned quickly, the round trip had taken nearly half a day. Rubbing my empty stomach, I turned to Reina, still clad in her thick armor.
“Shall we eat after we get home?”
“Yeah.”
The helmet nodded with a metallic clank. Food came first. I also needed to help her remove the armor and wash off the green ichor. We had to head home.
Just as we were leaving the estate grounds with our hungry stomachs, hurried footsteps echoed behind us on the smooth stone path.
“Hey, you there!”
At the sharp voice cutting through the night air, I turned. A pair of eyes, ragged from heavy breathing, were fixed on me.
“Haa, haa… What’s your name?”
“…? Shen.”
I answered reflexively to Kair’s sudden question. There was no reason to hide my name, especially from the protagonist. And exactly one year and two months later… while traveling between cities, focused on growth and farming, I would come to deeply regret having so carelessly given him even one letter of my name.
“Congratulations on becoming an official mercenary!”
“Thank you.”
With the receptionist’s cheerful congratulations, I received my registration card. Bowing my head briefly, I offered my thanks, the first words I spoke in the year I turned sixteen. Official mercenary registration and receiving the card. With this, I could enter and leave villages without needing a guarantor. The fact that a single card—the basic requirement for mercenaries—moved me to tears was something I never expected.
When I, someone known around the guild, registered as an official mercenary, the reactions around me were mixed, some teasing, some not.
“Look at that, the kid’s a mercenary now? The world’s really ending.”
“What a waste. If all your past work had counted as merit, you’d have been C-rank ages ago.”
Comments ranged from surprise at how much I’d grown to regret that my achievements hadn’t been properly recognized for a higher rank. My lips curled upward uncontrollably at the thought of building merits beyond just experience points. That excitement collapsed the moment I returned home.
“Ah, Shen. Did you see this?”
“Huh? See what?”
Before I could even show off my card, Reina spoke first. Something was tossed my way. I caught it—a thick envelope stamped with a seal. Setting aside my boasting, I opened it with a puzzled expression. As I read the contents, the smile faded from my lips. I could feel my face hardening.
An admission notice from Astra Academy.
“They say you should enroll too?”
There had clearly been some kind of mistake.