The Mock Battle Looms
A faint, drawn-out woman’s voice drifted from inside the door. “Who is it…?” The weary echo carried no trace of strength, and the uneven rhythm of approaching footsteps made me step back slightly from the entrance. A moment later came the click of a latch, followed by the slow creak of the door opening.
Beyond it stood a woman whose appearance was even more haggard than mine after hours of wandering the mountains. Her eyelids looked ready to shut at any second. Though it was well past a reasonable hour, the pharmacy blazed with light. A pungent medicinal smell—thick enough to make my nose wrinkle—wafted out all at once, forcing me to retreat another step.
I tried to speak, but the odor clogged my throat. Raising one arm like a makeshift mask, I forced out the words. “White berries and End-roll Grass… You requested those, right?”
“Ah, yes… mm-hmm.” Her reply came out muffled through my sleeve. The dull, half-closed eyes finally cracked open a little, and a sleepy, expectant smile flickered across her face. She was probably planning to brew something with the ingredients.
I slipped the collection pouch off my shoulder and held it out. “Please check them.”
“Whoa, End-roll Grass is just coming into season, so it must’ve been hard to find… Thank you.” Her voice was loose and relaxed. After thanking me, she smiled brightly and took a few steps closer.
‘Agh…!’ Even with my arm blocking my nose, the overwhelming medicinal stench pierced through. I nearly screamed inside my head. How could anyone live surrounded by this smell? If the smell of horse dung outside the city was merely unpleasant, this one felt like it could knock a person unconscious if inhaled too long.
Wait—something important just registered. ‘End-roll Grass is… just coming into season?’
The realization made my eyebrows twitch. If it was only now appearing, that meant everything I’d gathered had to be fresh shoots. No wonder finding even one stalk had been so difficult. I understood without needing further explanation. Since I’d already collected and delivered them, there was nothing to be done about it now.
‘The smell, the hunger, I just want to go home…’ Those were the only thoughts crowding my mind—simple, blunt, and immediate. The medicine stung my nose, my stomach was empty from skipping dinner, and my body ached from the climb. All I wanted was my payment, a meal, and a proper rest back at the house.
Meanwhile, the woman began patting her pockets, first the left, then the right, with a vacant expression. “Hold on, where did I put the money…? Maybe it’s inside…? Oh, would you like to come in and wait?”
After rummaging through both pockets, she realized the pouch wasn’t on her and glanced at me with the suggestion. Of course, my answer was already decided.
“No, I’ll wait here.” I refused outright, pinching my nostrils shut with my fingers instead of just using my arm. Was she actually an assassin instead of a pharmacist?
She gave an awkward laugh, scratching the back of her head. “Ahaha… The smell’s pretty strong, huh? Just wait a moment. I’ll be right back with it.”
From beyond the door came the rhythmic sound of wooden drawers sliding open and shut—shrrk, thump, shrrk, thump. Soon the noise stopped, footsteps approached, and the door opened again. She emerged holding a handful of coins.
“There wasn’t much copper in the pharmacy, so I’ll just pay you in silver. The original reward was three silver and twenty copper…”
Four silver coins clinked into my palm. Compared to the original amount, that was roughly eighty copper extra—an unexpected bonus. It still felt a little light for the trouble, but it was at the client’s discretion.
“Thank you.”
“And, well, it looked like you worked really hard on this request, so… here, take this too.”
After I bowed my head, she offered something else from her other hand—a slender glass vial. Inside swirled a strange, viscous green liquid. Honestly, between the thickness and the color, it didn’t look like anything I wanted to drink.
She must have noticed my suspicious stare. “It’ll help your tired body recover a little, even if it’s not much… okay?”
‘Did they have something like this?’ I tilted my head as the pharmacy door clicked shut behind me. Restoring a tired body usually meant restoring stamina or energy, but that wasn’t a concept in Oath of Eternity. Maybe it was some kind of combat doping potion? I’d never bothered with those items, letting them rot in my inventory until the ending, so I wasn’t sure.
‘Wow, look how slowly it moves.’ When I tilted the vial, the contents lagged behind, thick and syrupy. Useful or not, the visual alone killed any desire to ingest it.
Now all that remained was returning to the guild for the final report. Next time, I resolved, I’d only accept requests that went through the guild’s mediation—no matter what they were.
“Yes, the gathering request has been marked complete. After we confirm with the client, false reports will result in penalties, so please keep that in mind.”
“Mmm… okay.”
The formal exchange finished, and the request was finally over. I gave a drained reply and trudged out of the guild. A quick glance around showed almost no other mercenaries. The few still here at this hour were the nocturnal sort—people who slept by day and worked by night. With the academy to attend, I wouldn’t be living that lifestyle anytime soon.
I let out a short breath and stepped outside. ‘What should I eat…?’
Exhaustion aside, my growling stomach demanded attention first. The sound coming from my belly was starting to resemble a dying man’s last gasp. Between the sudden marathon at the academy and the mountain trek for the gathering request, it was no surprise I was starving. Buying ingredients and cooking at home felt like too much trouble, and the hunger was urgent. There was only one place for this.
The food alley I’d first visited years ago, led there by Esmar. Since I’d earned decent money today, I might as well spend it on a meal. With that fleeting thought, I headed toward the street now known as Commercial District Lane 1.
“Come get your skewers—made with tender young boar loin! Three for four copper!”
“Tooth Snake roast! Three copper each!”
‘Nothing’s changed here.’ The moment I entered the alley, the mingled aromas of food hit me, tempting my empty stomach. Only the prices had shifted slightly since three years ago. Boar skewers had gotten a bit cheaper; snake skewers had gone up. Tooth Snakes… maybe because they were just waking from hibernation? Either way, I was getting boar skewers.
“Nine skewers, please.”
“Coming right up—thank you!”
The meat and vegetables were charred in places from direct flame. One nice thing about earning my own money was being able to buy whatever I wanted without hesitation. I sat on a nearby empty bench and started eating straight from the greasy paper bag, one skewer after another.
One, two, three, four… they vanished quickly.
“Phew.” Only after finishing all nine did I finally exhale in satisfaction. The hollow complaints from my stomach had gone quiet. With dinner settled, it was time to head home.
I crumpled the paper bag and tossed it into a trash bin, then made my way back. Home now meant Reina’s place—the one that felt as familiar as the house in Pardin.
“I’m back.”
I opened the door quietly. The house was still, lit only by a single flickering lamp. The door hadn’t even been locked this late at night. Had she already gone to bed? That would explain the silence—except she was asleep on the sofa instead of the bed, eyes closed with no blanket.
I slipped over to the bed, fetched the blanket, and gently laid it over her. Her eyelids fluttered open.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
Our eyes met. Hers blinked slowly, repeatedly, as if still half-asleep. An awkward silence stretched between us before she spoke in a drowsy, flat tone.
“…You’re late.”
Just two words, but they carried a note of reproach. Feeling oddly guilty, I rushed to explain. “Ah, well… finding the herbs was really difficult, so…”
The words came out halting and vague. Even the truth sounded like an excuse.
“…Mm. Go to sleep.”
Still, she sat up, dragging the blanket I’d just given her across the floor as she headed for the bed. I locked the front door for her, then went straight to the bathroom in my dirty clothes. After brushing the mud off my boots and shaking out the dust from my gear, I wiped everything down with a damp cloth. Tomorrow’s preparations were done, simple as they were. I left the vial I’d received on the shelf and climbed upstairs to my room, yawning.
Days passed like that, juggling academy life and mercenary work. Before I knew it, winter had fully retreated and spring had arrived, bringing flowers—and with the start of spring came one particular event.
“Everyone, even if your opponents are students from the other side, don’t let your guard down.”
The mock battle—the quarterly tournament I’d once heard about from Balt at the weapon shop. A fixed event held once per season that could greatly raise your stats depending on your win-loss record. The instructor referred to the opposing students without any particular care or discrimination, and the other students didn’t seem to take the match seriously either.
“She’s really trying to scare us.”
“I heard from my older brother who graduated from the academy—apparently the opponents are basically just targets.”
Unlike back when I’d been excited about the guaranteed stat boost, now that it was real, a strange, bitter feeling settled over me.