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Merc accompanied Foldia to the Adventurers’ Guild after providing the duke’s soldiers with information about Kena’s whereabouts and giving them orders to bring their carriage to the river road below the cliff.

“Merc. I’d like to head to the Chulice Empire as soon as possible.”

As they drew closer to the Adventurers’ Guild, Foldia muttered, emphasizing his impatience.

As much was expected from him.

He was the kind of person who would immediately visit a Dungeon housing a weapon he sought. But this time, the Dungeon in question was the uncharted Anti-Darkness Dungeon. He had thus controlled himself and had gone to Astard for assistance.

He had most likely journeyed a great distance from the Kingdom of Lambada to arrive here. His patience was at its limit.

“Hold your horses. The sun has already set, there’s no need to rush. It’s not like you have better night vision than I do. We’ll make our arrangements this evening and leave tomorrow.”
“I can see if I concentrate Mana in my eyes, but you’re right. And besides, my initial plan was to first speak with Astard and make arrangements before leaving.”
“It’s settled then. We leave tomorrow morning. And I want to accept a request since we will be visiting the Chulice Empire anyhow. It’s only recently that I left the elf community and became an Adventurer. I have not yet taken a single request.”
“Really? Although, I guess it makes sense. You did die, after all. You had to get an Adventurer’s License, didn’t you? It must’ve been tough…”

Foldia’s solemn tone suggested that he likely understood how different it was to become an Adventurer today than it had been in the past.

Nowadays, in addition to having to pass an exam, one also needs a recommendation in order to apply for the exam. It was truly a pain in the rear.

“Come to think of it, where’d you get a recommendation? Did Astard write you one?”
“No, it was your disciple… Jonahim.”
“I see, Jonahim huh… Wait, what?!”

Foldia exclaimed, shocked beyond belief. Foldia was an erratic man. His emotions were all over the place, unlike Astard who rarely displayed any. Their contrast was a sight to see.

Contrary to Merc, who was secretly enjoying this, Foldia was unable to get over his astonishment and questioned her relentlessly.

“You can’t be serious! But, wait… I don’t remember mentioning Jonahim’s name… Just what the… How did the two of you meet? This doesn’t make sense…”
“Calm down. He and his party happened to be at the elf village where I had reincarnated and I ran into him there. As they were about to depart the village, I just tagged along. One thing led to another, and eventually, he wrote me a recommendation.”
“It’s a small world.”

He never imagined that his disciple would encounter Merc before he did. The whole situation left him at a complete loss for words.

“I was no less shocked than you. I couldn’t believe you had a disciple, much less that you had handed him the Anti-Mana Sword.”
“Well, Jonahim has promise… and he was quite persistent to boot. He showed a lot of guts for a mere brat. I had no choice but to take him in.”
“Hahaha…”

Hearing Foldia say that brought back memories for Merc of her younger years, when she had done reckless things simply to get Rosemary’s approval. Perhaps Rosemary had viewed Merc as a nuisance back then, just like Foldia did with Jonahim.

In the end, however, Foldia had handed the Anti-Mana Sword to Jonahim, and Rosemary had shared her knowledge with Merc. She had also sent Merc off with a smile.

Given that, Merc believed that Rosemary had ultimately come to accept her.

“So, how’s Jonahim doing? I haven’t met him in ages.”
“He’s good. However, it irritated me a little that he didn’t stop ogling the two beauties with him.”
“I highly doubt Jonahim would do that…”

In reality, it was none other than Merc who had been gawking at Elea and Luka. She brought up the subject simply because she was envious of Jonahim.

Thankfully, Foldia managed to see through her immediately.

“Ahem… I can see why you found those two appealing. I guess death can’t cure your love for huge boobs.”
“Don’t make it sound like I’m some pervert! You might not understand since you only have your eyes on weapons, but there isn’t a man in this world that doesn’t love huge breasts.”
“I wonder about that… For starters, you’re a girl now.”
“Oh, shut up. Don’t get too hung up on that… Look. I see the Guild.”

Just as the Adventurer’s Guild came into view, Merc said, trying to change the topic as she was struggling to defend herself from Foldia’s relentless assault.

“I’ll go take on a request.”
“What kind are you taking? I’m thinking something along the lines of an escort mission since we’re headed to the Empire.”
“That’s the plan. If it’s possible, I’d want to accept an escort mission for a merchant or traveler heading to the Chulice Empire, but lady luck might not be on my side. Worst case scenario, I’ll accept a long-term gathering or subjugation mission and just finish it as we go.”
“I see. In any case, make sure that it won’t impede us from departing tomorrow morning.”
“I will. If there aren’t any suitable missions, I’ll just put it off. Oh, and one more thing. I intend to accept this mission by myself. You don’t mind, right?”

Foldia’s expression changed when Merc inquired, implying that he didn’t follow.

“But why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You have to present your Adventurer’s License when accepting a mission. If you do that everyone will find out that you’re the Hero Foldia. It will only cause us problems.”
“It will? I don’t mind, though.”

You should!

After being lauded as a Hero for 15 years, Foldia had most likely already become used to being the center of attention.

However, Merc had already learnt her lesson after basking in the attention she received at Ende’s Adventurer’s Guild just for being Jonahim’s acquaintance.

When compared to the past, Adventurers were much higher in the hierarchy. By merely traveling alongside a famous Adventurer, even unknown Adventurers could become well-known. This meant that even though Merc was still a new Adventurer, if news got out that she was with Foldia, she would surely draw a lot of attention.

Such a scenario was something Merc wished to avoid.

“If you want to accept it by yourself then I won’t stop you. But I have one request.”

Foldia spoke as he raised a finger, suggesting that he was thinking along the same lines as Merc.

“What is it?”
“Don’t call me Hero inside the Guild. Our cover will be blown.”
“I won’t.”

Such a thing was only natural.

Everyone would immediately think of the Hero Foldia if Merc referred to Foldia as hero.

People would simply think that it was a goofy nickname between the two of them if Foldia didn’t exude the aura of a hero.

However, Estert had regarded Foldia as a hero before the rest of the world did. That just served to highlight how much of a noble and heroic aura Foldia excluded. Nobody would dispute Merc if she called Foldia a hero.

Still, I can’t simply call him Foldia. That will get us exposed as well… What should I do…

“I got it! How about, Fol?”

Foldia’s new nickname was born right then and there.