’Here, this is for you.’

’Thank you....’

’I told you, you can speak comfortably.’

’Hic, I’m sorry....’

Airi shrank back as she accepted the breakfast pushed in front of her.

Breakfast time spent sitting together at a table where many people were gathered. It was an awkward situation that Airi was not accustomed to at all.

Scanning her surroundings, Airi cautiously made a resolution.

...Let’s eat quickly and escape to somewhere else.

For something she thought up in a rush, it felt like a fairly good idea.

Airi moved her spoon diligently and emptied the bowl.

And by the time Airi finished her meal, Tanya, seeing the empty plate, asked her first.

’Do you want more?’

’Ye, yes?’

Flustered by Tanya’s sudden question, Airi nodded.

A new plate filled to the brim was placed in front of Airi.

’You eat well. Another bowl?’

’Ye, yes.’

And once again, a new bowl of food appeared before Airi as she emptied the previous one.

’Perhaps....’

’Gasp....’

When it looked like yet another bowl was about to be added, Ian, who had been watching, finally intervened and stopped Tanya.

’...Tanya. Stop giving her more. She’s only taking it because she doesn’t know how to refuse.’

’Eh? O-oh, was that it?’

Tanya stopped in surprise just as she was about to scoop another bowl for Airi.

’No wonder, since yesterday.... I just thought she was someone who ate a lot....’

’Keh-heuk.’

Airi slumped onto the table.

It was only her second day since joining the mercenary group.

For Airi, who had always traveled alone, it was a succession of events that were far from easy.

＊ ＊ ＊

’Delivery!’

Someone knocked on the door of the base.

Tanya looked up with a puzzled face.

Was there still something left to receive for delivery?

Tanya went outside and accepted a wooden crate handed over by the deliveryman.

It was quite a large crate.

She checked the address just in case, and the address for this place was exactly correct.

’A delivery? Who is it from?’

’The name... says it’s for Airi.’

Tanya examined the crate she brought in and read the name written on one side.

Hearing her name called suddenly, Airi flinched in surprise and answered.

’I, I didn’t order anything....’

’It says it’s equipment.’

’...Ah!’

Something suddenly occurred to Airi, and she hurriedly approached the crate.

Inside the crate were various types of equipment, including a bow and quiver, along with all sorts of other items.

It was Airi’s personal equipment that had been seized because of her debt.

The members, who were watching from the side as Airi organized her things, muttered to themselves.

’That’s a lot of equipment.’

’I needed various things since I traveled alone....’

The bow and quiver were a given since she was an archer.

Besides those, there was a belt that could hold an enormous amount of consumables, a lantern that could be hung on the body, a grappling rope for climbing walls, daggers and maintenance tools prepared for different uses, first-aid supplies, and so on...

It was full of equipment and consumables capable of handling numerous situations.

’...There really is a lot.’

While this was a mercenary group that used a fairly wide variety of consumables themselves, what Airi carried was truly substantial. In terms of variety, Airi actually had more.

Even simple tasks that party members could cover for each other had to be handled with the help of items if one wanted to deal with them personally while alone.

If she carried all of this, it seemed she would be more heavily armed than when entering a labyrinth.

He had heard she couldn’t even go on requests and fell into debt because she lacked expedition funds. Seeing this, it was inevitable.

’Ah.’

’Hic!’

When Ian spoke as something he had forgotten suddenly came to mind, Airi, who was standing a distance away, flinched and took another step back.

’...What’s wrong?’

’No, it’s nothing....’

Airi’s face, having retreated another step, suddenly flushed red.

Was it because of the misunderstanding that this was a mercenary group with *that* kind of purpose, following the events at the bathhouse yesterday?

...Misunderstanding? Or was it because of that.

Airi maintained her distance from Ian, hesitating as she backed away.

Ian spoke as if he had just remembered.

’Come to think of it, we should get you some new equipment.’

’Eh? Equipment?’

Airi shook her head hesitantly.

New equipment sounds good, but in most cases, equipment one is used to is better.

Especially with things like bows; if they are changed suddenly, accuracy drops sharply until one becomes accustomed to them.

’My current equipment is sufficient....’

’No. There’s something else you need.’

Telling her to wait a moment, Ian searched one side of the warehouse and brought something out.

Ian held out a book he had brought from there to Airi.

’Here. Take this.’

’This... what is it?’

’It’s a magic book.’

’M-Magic book? Why are you giving that to me....’

Airi became even more flustered upon suddenly hearing it was a magic book.

Don’t tell me, had he bought her because he mistook her specialty?

With that thought, Airi spoke cautiously to Ian.

’I, I’m an archer.’

’I think this magic will suit you well. Try studying it.’

’I-Is that so? What kind of magic is it?’

’It’s dark magic. You seem to have a talent for it.’

’....’

It was the dark magic book that had come out when they raided the dark mage’s laboratory in the underground sewers.

Airi trembled while holding the magic book.

No wonder. She had wondered why such a wealthy mercenary group would buy a slave mercenary.

They were planning to raise a dark mage.

Taking advantage of the fact that as a slave, she couldn’t quit and it was difficult to refuse.

’Master... that’s a bit much.’

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

Ian felt it too and flinched slightly.

Dark magic... it’s not really that bad, is it?

It’s legal. And dark mage mercenaries roam around without any issues.

Under everyone’s gaze, Ian spoke as if making an excuse.

’I really gave it to her because she seems talented.’

’Master.... That’s not exactly a compliment.’

While giving the magic book to Airi, he had already thought about what to say to Mika, but it seemed even Mika was against this.

Dark mages here didn’t use corpses, offer living sacrifices, or use demonic power like the typical image.

He thought the image wouldn’t be that bad since it was just the darkness attribute.

Ian had lived here for quite a while, but the local sensibilities were still difficult to understand at times.

’I see.... As expected, someone like me... is suited for such things. Gloomy.... Dark....’

Airi, who received the magic book from Ian, muttered to herself.

People’s expressions harden just by hearing the name ’dark mage’.

People are reluctant when she speaks to them because of her gloomy atmosphere.

People don’t respond well to conversation.

People avoid her because of the superstition that she attracts misfortune.

That’s why, without any companions, every time she’s alone....

....

Airi, who was muttering like that, looked up.

Wait.... Is that right?

Airi realized a shocking fact.

It’s not really any different from how things are now.

In other words, since she had already been living a life no different from a dark mage from the start....

In effect, a dark mage who just hadn’t learned dark magic yet?

Which means, having not learned dark magic until now, half of her life was a waste?

That massive realization flashed through Airi’s head.

Ian chimed in slightly from the side.

’It’s not because of your personality; I’m telling you this because I really think dark magic will be helpful.’

Hearing that, Airi finally nodded.

Regardless. Magic is too expensive for an individual to learn directly.

Moreover, even if one prepared the money, there had to be a basic talent for that attribute to achieve meaningful results.

The image of dark magic is a bit iffy, but even so, being able to learn magic just like that... thinking about it, it was a missed opportunity if she refused.

’Then for me, is my position changing to a mage?’

’No. For now, just learn as much as you can. I’ll think about it after you get used to it.’

Airi’s position was long-range attack to the end. Dark magic was a means to support that.

In some special cases, they learned single spells, but using a magic book, it was common to acquire an entire trait group like Mika’s [Barrier Magic] or this [Dark Magic].

As proficiency increases and the rank of this magic trait rises, one becomes able to use various spells belonging to it.

What to learn and use was decided by the mercenary themselves according to their inclination.

For example, if Lia, a swordsman, learned [Fire Magic], she wouldn’t suddenly become a mage and use long-range attacks, but would mainly use close-combat support magic like [Fire Shield] or [Flame Aura].

Since it worked that way, learning magic didn’t necessarily mean one had to change their profession to a mage.

’Tell me if there’s anything you need for studying.’

’Ye, yes....’

Airi nodded while holding the magic book.

By the time that small commotion finally ended, the door of the base opened.

’We’re back!’

It was the return of Anne’s party, who had gone out on an expedition in the morning.

Anne and her party members, the mercenary group’s second-string, were often going out on requests from Louise or on gathering and scouting requests for places designated by Ian.

Gathering requests to collect materials that could only be obtained in specific environments or time periods, and scouting to visit places where random events were likely to occur.

These were the major roles the support party took on behalf of the main party.

Ian asked the members who had just returned.

’Did anything happen?’

’Yes! No one was hurt, and as for special events....’

Anne’s words to Ian stopped for a moment.

’Um, hold on a second.’

The members, who had put down their gear and the pile of herbs they had just gathered, gathered for a moment and whispered.

’Should we talk about it?’

’It’s probably nothing.... They’re just goblins.’

’Still, wouldn’t it be better to say something?’

It seemed something had indeed happened.

The three who had shared a brief conversation finally told Ian what had happened during the expedition.

’Um, Master. The goblins were acting a bit strange.’

’In what way were they strange?’

’They were gathering junk and piling it up, and doing something like a prayer.’

’They were praying?’

’Yes. Do goblins have something like a religion too?’

After hearing Anne’s story, Ian thought for a moment and then looked up.

’By any chance, was it in front of a large cave?’

’Ah, yes. Is it a place you know?’

’I think I know what it is... do you happen to remember where it was?’

Ian nodded and spread out a map.