The day after the young lady returned.
“Long time no see, Puppy.”
Early in the morning, Terra came to the mansion.
“What brings you here…?”
“I came to see Aria. I haven’t seen her while she was at the Magic Academy.”
“You couldn’t meet her all this time?”
That was a bit surprising. With Terra’s reputation, she could probably even lecture at the academy.
“Yeah, I’ve got some bad blood with the academy, so I can’t go in.”
What on earth happened to cause that?
She’s even teaching Serena Astel, the young lady of the Astel family that runs the academy.
It seems like there’s a complicated story behind this.
“The young lady is at the mansion. Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
I wasn’t particularly curious about her circumstances, so I simply greeted her and headed back to the doghouse.
I’d sensed a strong presence, but it seemed like there wasn’t anything urgent, so I figured I’d just go back and get some sleep.
However.
Thud.
“Is that all after seeing me after so long? How cold.”
Just as I was turning to leave, Terra grabbed my shoulder.
“…Didn’t you come to see the young lady?”
“I will see Aria, but that can wait.”
With that, Terra glanced at the small doghouse beside my place.
“What’s that? Did you get yourself a room?”
“It’s not like that…”
As I struggled to figure out how to explain, a small white pup emerged from the doghouse, seemingly drawn by the noise.
“Oh my.”
Terra, in an unusually feminine tone, looked at the pup, which immediately trotted over and clung to me.
“Is it a spirit beast? Where did you pick it up?”
“I found it in the Kaine Mountain Range.”
And yet, she recognized it immediately.
As expected of a talented mage, her perception was on another level.
“Hmm, you’ve got some luck.”
Saying that, Terra picked up the pup.
“Aww, how cute. By the way, Puppy, you’ve been to the Kaine Mountain Range now?”
“It was just a walk.”
“A walk? You even had a mercenary group with you.”
“…How do you know that?”
I was genuinely surprised that Terra mentioned it so casually.
Then again, she also knew I was a former champion.
“You’re famous among mercenaries. I heard it from one I deal with.”
“Has the rumor spread far?”
“Of course. Do you know how picky Jevan is? He’s known for being cautious, but you managed to keep him in check.”
“You know Jevan?”
“I’ve worked with him a few times. There aren’t many at his level operating in the capital region.”
Was Jevan even more impressive than I’d thought? Regardless, it seemed Terra, being a mage, frequently hired mercenaries as well.
Well, it’s easier to pay some money and hire mercenaries than to go to the Kaine Mountain Range personally.
“So, what’s the story?”
Terra looked at me with curiosity, seemingly intrigued by how I had Jevan under my command.
“He picked a fight, so I beat him up and put him to work.”
“Hmm, did Jebeon somehow manage to not run away?”
“Hmm, I’m surprised he didn’t just run off.”
“I offered him some carrots too.”
“What kind of carrots? Tell me, what did you give him?”
“I’ve been teaching him Fleet.”
“Fleet?”
At the mention of Fleet, Terra gave me a puzzled look.
“Is that okay? Isn’t that something only knights use?”
“Is there a law against it?”
I was genuinely asking because I didn’t know.
Was it forbidden to teach it to non-knights?
“Of course, there’s no law. It’s just that no one usually teaches it outside knight circles.”
“It’s not such a big deal, and Jevan already knew how to use Aura.”
“Really? From the start, you were different.”
Still, it seems teaching Fleet to a mercenary is a touchier issue than I had anticipated.
But what can I do? I’ve already taught it.
Besides, I didn’t think it would cause me any significant trouble.
After all, aren’t I technically the property of the Boyd family?
No one’s going to hold me accountable for something like this.
Even Lowell didn’t object to me teaching Fleet.
If even Lowell, the most skilled Aura user I’ve seen, didn’t take issue, what could anyone else possibly say?
If they don’t like it, they can take it up with Lowell.
But more importantly…
“By the way.”
“Hm?”
“How long are you planning to hold Whitey?”
I asked Terra, who had been holding Whitey up the whole time.
Despite how much she seemed to adore Whitey, the pup looked scared.
Well, considering Terra’s eyes were the same color as the young lady’s, it made sense.
Whitey had been hiding from the young lady ever since yesterday, after all.
“Whitey’s so cute I can’t stop looking. Is Whitey really the name?”
“Yes, I named it.”
“Haha, then with your dark hair, should I call you Blacky?”
…What kind of casually racist comment was that?
Then again, I wasn’t much better, naming Whitey based on its fur color.
“What does Aria think? Don’t young girls usually go crazy over things like this?”
“The young lady… well, yes, she finds Whitey cute.”
The young lady herself seemed to like Whitey, but…
The problem was when her eyes had lit up with that terrifying glow yesterday, which had scared Whitey out of its wits.
Now Whitey hid whenever the young lady appeared.
“More importantly, give Whitey back. Can’t you see it’s scared?”
“Oh, really? I thought it was just cold.”
…There really is a similarity between master and disciple.
I took Whitey back from Terra, who handed it over without much resistance.
Whimper…
Whitey immediately clung to my shoulder, clutching with its underdeveloped claws.
This little one has been through a lot.
Come to think of it, shouldn’t Whitey be more scared of me?
Whether it knows it or not, didn’t I kill its guardian?
Now that I think about it, why was there only one parent?
I didn’t sense any other creatures nearby.
Whitey was clearly a newborn pup, so the one I killed must have been its mother.
Maybe the wolves had been gathering and attacking mercenaries to clear out nearby threats as part of raising their young.
After all, I had wiped out the high-tier monsters in the surrounding mountain heights.
Anyway.
I put Whitey back in its small house to rest.
“Let’s go see the young lady now.”
“Alright.”
Since Terra didn’t seem inclined to let me go, I headed to the mansion with her to meet the young lady.
“Puppy?”
As soon as we entered, the young lady appeared, descending the stairs.
“Young lady, what’s that?”
“Hm? It’s a leash!”
In her hand was a leash. It was long and sturdy-looking…
“Oh, going for a walk?”
It looked like it would fit perfectly with the collar I was wearing.
“That’s right! Master, what brings you here?”
“I came to see you, of course. Didn’t you miss me?”
“Hmm, I did miss you!”
“Then come here, my dear student.”
As I watched the teacher and student’s reunion, I picked up the other end of the leash the young lady held and connected it to my collar.
It fit perfectly.
When had she made something like this?
“Young lady, but why the leash?”
Why did she bring a leash?
It was unusual, as she typically didn’t use one during her walks in the garden.
I was curious.
“I’m planning to go outside today!”
The young lady said something unexpected.
Outside?
As soon as I heard that, I instinctively scanned my surroundings.
Specifically… for the ever-present figure near the young lady.
Right.
I gave a subtle nod toward the elderly man walking slowly behind her.
In response.
“Make preparations and accompany her.”
Lowell’s permission was granted.
Hmm, so it’s fine to go out.
It might be a bit dangerous outside, but if Lowell is coming along, there’s nothing to worry about.
He’s both the alpha and omega of the young lady’s security.
To put it into perspective, a mansion without Lowell is far less secure than Lowell without the mansion.
Anyway.
“Alright, wait here!”
The young lady left to prepare for the walk.
That left me, Terra, and the escort knights Darren and Kaiden—both of whom I hadn’t seen in a while—standing in the mansion’s lobby.
“Long time no see, Rain.”
“You weren’t around yesterday.”
Now that he mentioned it, neither of them had been present yesterday when the young lady returned.
Where had they gone?
“Lowell suggested we visit our families.”
“Your families are all in the capital?”
“They’re at a nearby orphanage. Both Darren and I grew up there.”
“Ah…”
So they both had quite humble beginnings.
It seems the Boyd family doesn’t care much about one’s background as long as they’re skilled.
Well, that explains why someone like me, a former gladiator, is lying around in the courtyard.
“By the way, let’s have a sparring session after the walk.”
It was genuinely nice to see these two again.
Finally, there’d be someone in the mansion to spar with.
Of course, they’d probably return to the Magic Academy tomorrow.
“Have you been training while we were away?”
“Just wait and see.”
While I didn’t have any visibly dramatic progress, I could feel the growth.
After all, I had survived two life-or-death encounters against formidable opponents.
Those experiences had been fully absorbed into my body.
As I chatted with Darren and Kaiden after our reunion, the young lady returned.
“I’m ready!”
Having finished her preparations, she came skipping down the stairs with Lowell.
“Let’s go right away!”
The young lady eagerly grabbed the leash attached to my collar and led the way.
Behind her followed Lowell, me, and her escort knights, Darren and Kaiden.
And.
“Huh? Are we leaving already?”
Even Terra, who had been visiting the mansion, decided to tag along.
…At this point, I couldn’t tell if this was a casual walk or the beginning of a territorial conquest.
Judging by the lineup, we were practically a small knight brigade as we stepped outside the mansion.