A Change in Strategy

I had a decent idea of what I would learn. The Magic Primer provided templates fixed to about 100 patterns. The spells I’d learned so far were Magic Missile, Frost Blade, and Appraisal. Based on the patterns, the next logical step was either Telekinesis or Magic Mist. Given the training level of my skills, it was highly likely to be Telekinesis, which granted me an affinity bonus.

‘Good.’

It was the result I wanted. Telekinesis was definitely better than Magic Mist. It was a basic spell for manipulating objects. While useful for both offense and support, there was another reason why this spell was valuable to me.

‘With this, I can disguise my Necromancy.’

Now, whenever I manipulated a corpse, I could just claim it was Telekinesis. Most people who didn’t know much about magic wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway. After all, those who could properly use Necromancy on this continent were few and far between.

“Estelle-ssi, what spell did you learn?”

Instead of answering, I pointed my finger at Estelle’s coffee cup. I could feel an invisible, intangible mana extending from my fingertips. It felt strange at first, but I grasped the knack of it quickly.

Clatter. The coffee cup began to float into the air.

“Ah, this is—” Flora’s face lit up. “That’s the spell my master used, too. It looked so convenient; I’m envious.”

She was right. Telekinesis boasted extreme convenience among the many spells available. Countless applications stemmed from the simple mechanism of manipulating objects without touching them. The most representative uses were... turning off the lights while lying in bed without getting up, or picking up snacks without getting grease on your hands.

‘I got a good spell.’

I tried spinning the coffee cup in the air using only my mana. Once I tried it, I got a feel for the method, and even more complex manipulations became possible.

‘This much is a breeze.’

I showed off a little more. A sphere of coffee, gathered into a ball, floated around me. At a glance, it looked like a moon orbiting a planet.

“Senior, do you want some coffee?”

“Yes?”

“Say ‘ah.’ I’ll pour it down your throat.”

“What? No! It’s hot!”

“It’s not that hot—come on, just say ‘ah.’”

As I thrust the steaming coffee sphere toward her, Flora hurriedly pulled her face back. The problem was that I kept wanting to tease her whenever I saw her.

While I was busy teasing Flora, a notification appeared.

Having fulfilled its purpose, the grimoire emitted a bright light one last time before turning into a worn-out book with nothing written on its pages.

“Magic Primer-ssi, thank you for everything.”

Flora stroked the book with a deeply moved expression. The next level of grimoires would be available in the big cities.

“Senior.”

“Yes?”

“You’re going to challenge the Adventurer’s Guild with me, right?”

I pointed my thumb at the poster stuck to the wall behind me. It contained information that the guild member entrance exam would soon be held ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Garden as well. It seemed the famous Prometheon Guild of the Empire was looking to recruit new talent.

“If Estelle-ssi does it, I’ll do it too.”

“Then I’ll take that as a yes.”

In any case, I had to make sure Flora could pull her own weight. If she gained experience at the Adventurer’s Guild and honed her skills as a mage, she wouldn’t die a meaningless death somewhere.

‘I’ve grown fond of her, somehow.’

A smirk escaped me. She was just a common, ordinary adventurer girl. At first, I had intended to hunt with her a couple of times and then cut ties. But the human heart wasn’t something you could cut off cleanly like a machine. I realized that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anew.

“...Oh?”

Flora craned her neck to look at the café entrance. Her eyes were wide, as if she had seen someone she knew.

“Estelle-ssi, aren’t those the people we saw at the tavern before?”

At Flora’s words, I turned my head. The faces were familiar. Dawson and the vigilantes were entering the café like a pack of jackals, baring their yellow teeth.

‘Why are those bastards here?’

I pulled my hood down low to hide my face. I signaled for Flora, who was still clueless, to do the same. Fortunately, Dawson didn’t seem to have noticed us. He strode toward the counter, accompanied by his subordinates.

“A nice café. I didn’t expect a shop like this to pop up in Garden.”

Dawson said this while leaning his arms on the counter as if it were his own home. The café owner smiled awkwardly. It was obvious to anyone that he was incredibly nervous.

“Oh, uh—I’ve heard a lot about you. Dawson-ssi, I look forward to working with you.”

It was as if I could see exactly what the owner was thinking. He was probably praying desperately for them to just drink a cup of coffee and leave quietly. However, Dawson ignored the owner’s earnest wish and leisurely looked around the shop.

“You must have it rough. It’s not easy running a business in a place with such a grim atmosphere like Garden.”

“...Ah, yes. Well, I suppose so.”

“But don’t worry. From now on, our vigilantes will take responsibility and protect you. You just need to focus on your coffee business. Reliable, isn’t it?”

Dawson unhesitatingly placed his hand on the owner’s shoulder.

“Y-you’ll protect me...?”

“Yeah. If any pathetic bastards try to pick a fight, tell us immediately. We’ll show them a lesson right away.”

“Ah...”

“Of course, we don’t help for free. We have to eat, too. We’ll be collecting a protection fee every month. But you can afford to pay that much to ensure your safety, which is the most important thing, right?”

The smile that had been barely clinging to the owner’s lips gradually faded. He muttered in a dark voice.

“A protection fee... there’s the guard in Garden... I haven’t heard anything about that—”

“The guard? Your information is very slow. Don’t worry about them. Do you really think those guys will protect you if something happens?”

“...”

“Know this clearly while you’re at it. It’s not them who actually keep the peace in Garden. It’s us. You’ll regret it later if you only trust the slow-as-a-turtle guard, you know?”

It was the vigilantes’ typical scheme. Their main source of income was collecting money under the guise of protection fees. This kind of tactic, which walked the thin line between legal and illegal, was still working ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the frontier town of Garden.

“It’s 100,000 gold every month. Don’t forget to have it ready.”

“T-t-ten thousand gold?”

The owner’s jaw dropped. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked again.

“I-I can’t afford that much. A cup of coffee is at most a hundred gold—”

“Oh, come on, don’t be so stingy. Are you going to come to your senses only after your shop and everything else is trashed?”

“Ah, ah...”

The owner stumbled, gripping the counter as if his legs ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had given out. Just at this moment, the waitress girl appeared, carrying a tray with coffee cups.

“Here are five cups of coffee... um...”

Perhaps sensing the ominous atmosphere, the girl’s voice trailed off. The gazes of the five men, hungry like jackals, gathered on her.

“Is she an employee here?”

“Ah—she’s my daughter, she’s helping me with work...”

“She’s pretty. She’ll attract a lot of customers.”

“Th-thank you...”

Facing Dawson’s sticky gaze, which oozed with desire, the daughter couldn’t manage her expression properly. It was a look of blatant contempt. But nothing changed because of that. There was nothing she could do. She just desperately hoped these rude men would disappear from her father’s side as soon as possible.

“Come to think of it, our vigilante group needs a secretary to handle accounting.”

Dawson said, licking his lower lip.

“If your daughter helps us with our work, I’m willing to lower the protection fee. We’ll only take 50,000 gold.”

“...That’s—”

“I’m not asking you to decide right now. I’ll give you time. I’ll be back in three days, so decide by then. If you’re not interested, have the 100,000 gold ready.”

Despair clouded the owner’s eyes. Dawson and the vigilantes left the café, clutching their coffee cups and snickering among themselves.

“It’s hard to just watch that,” Flora muttered, shaking her head. “I want to help, but I don’t know what to do—it’s not easy.”

“Senior, don’t worry.”

“Estelle-ssi, do you happen to have a good plan?”

Flora asked, her face brightening. A good plan? If she was looking for a clever trick to deceive them with a silver tongue and turn the situation around, unfortunately, there was no such thing. This frontier where we were currently located was a lawless zone ruled by the logic of power. The stronger side simply took everything.

“Those bastards won’t be getting a single gold coin from here anyway. I guarantee it.”

I smiled. It was almost time to collect the overdue debt from the vigilante bastards.

There was still some time left until the next meeting, but Flora and I decided to visit our companions’ lodgings. This was entirely Flora’s idea. She said she was curious about where everyone was staying and how they were doing.

“Since we’re companions, it’s time we got to know each other better.”

There was no reason to object. All preparations were finished, and there was no urgent business to attend to.

“It’s around here.”

We walked along the street where the inns of Garden were gathered, just as Mitchell had told us. Before long, a four-story wooden building that looked decent enough caught my eye.

“Is this where Mitchell-ssi is staying? Wow—it’s quite fancy.”

“I know, right? She must be spending quite a bit on lodging.”

If it were me, I wouldn’t pay extra to stay in an expensive inn. Even if the facilities were good, it was still just Garden-level. The stamina recovery effect didn’t increase noticeably; it was literally just luxury. It was very Mitchell-like to spend money she didn’t need to spend without hesitation.

“Excuse me.”

Flora looked around the inn with sparkling eyes. When we said we were Mitchell’s companions, the owner let us in without hesitation. It seemed he didn’t think he needed to be wary of a girl like Flora or a kid like me.

‘If you judge solely by appearance, you’ll regret it later.’

The unprofessional attitude bothered me, but since it wasn’t my business anyway, I climbed the stairs in silence.

“Room 301. This is it.”

I stood in front of the door. I could feel someone inside. Occasionally, the sound of water could be heard.

Knock, knock.

I knocked lightly, but there was no answer.

“Mitchell, it’s me. Senior is here too. I’m coming in.”

I opened the door and entered to find a fairly spacious room. As expected of a somewhat expensive inn, it was a room that had at least the basics, even in the poor town of Garden. A round table was placed next to the bed, and the curtains draped over the window fluttered in the breeze.

“This is worth the money, isn’t it? It’s quite comfortable,” Flora said, sitting on the soft bed.

“Is it?”

I sat on the edge of the bed, too. I knew the stamina recovery effect wasn’t much different. However, the sensation against my backside was definitely comfortable. I felt like I would wake up feeling refreshed if I slept here. Was Mitchell actually being wise?

Just as I was thinking that—

The sound of water that had been coming from the bathroom stopped, and the door opened along with a cloud of steam.

“Ah—I’ve been hearing some noise for a while. Was it you guys?”

Mitchell walked out, vigorously drying her fiery red hair with a towel. No, wait. But you...

“Kid, why is your expression like that? Like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

Why are you stark naked?

Of course, it was natural for her to be naked since she had just finished washing. However, the shock was too great for me, as I hadn’t anticipated this simple causality.

“Are you sick?”

Mitchell approached. Her snow-white, naked body, boasting perfect balance, came toward me.