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The fourth day after the Chief of the village made the request, Merc received word that a group of adventurers had arrived in the village.

“What? You must be joking.”

Merc was swinging in the back of the garden, as usual, when she heard the news. Law had rushed in and told her just as she had worked up a good sweat.

It had recently become a habit of his to go to the forest early in the morning. He had gone there earlier today as well, but he returned specifically to inform Merc of the news.

To think that Law, who rarely leaves the house and is less physically fit than his peers, ran all the way from the forest to here.

Were the thoughts that ran calmly through Merc’s mind.

When Law opened his mouth, though, her calmness vanished.

“I-It’s true. A party of three appeared at the barrier! Mother was assigned to guide them, and they’re currently on their way to the Chief’s mansion.”
“Tsk. I-Is that so…”

Ridiculous! What are they thinking?! Visiting the elf village to subdue a Ghezo Velche! Furthermore, there are only three of them, so they must be quite good…

Merc was furious since her prediction that no one would show up had proven to be incorrect.

Normally, no one would accept a Ghezo Velche’s subjugation mission, so Merc should have been grateful that a group of adventurers had shown up. Merc was well aware of this, and she also recognized that her outrage was completely selfish.

However, if those adventurers completed the assignment without incident, Merc’s chances of getting approved by the Chief would vanish. Her chances of leaving the village would also vanish.

And Merc honestly didn’t like that.

“What kind of guys are they? The adventurers I mean.”
“What? Oh. There is one man and two women. They all appear to be quite young. If I had to estimate their age in human years, I’d say they’re in their twenties. The man also carried a sword with him.”
“Really? So one man and two women, huh?”

When it came to seeking companions, gender usually didn’t matter much to adventurers. Normally, it would come in second or third place.

Of course, forming a group with someone unfamiliar with the opposing gender could result in harassment. However, if the members of a group got along well, it was easier to embark on an adventure if they teamed up, regardless of whether their companions were male or female. It was inefficient to be concerned about gender.

As a result, it wasn’t uncommon to encounter parties made up of one man and numerous women, or vice versa, all over the world.

Well I guess that’s what adventuring is all about… I, too, have wished to be surrounded by female adventurers at some point.

There were also adventurers, such as Merc, who solely had lecherous thoughts.

“Well, unless I see them for myself, I won’t know for sure. We’re off to the Chief’s mansion.”
“What? I-I’m staying here… I already saw them at the barrier.”
“What are you saying? You’re curious as well, aren’t you? Aren’t you the one who’s been waiting for them every day since the Chief made the request?”
“T-That’s right, but…”

Although Law appeared uninterested, he was actually brimming with curiosity. At the end of the day, despite Merc’s constant whining, Law had still gone to the barrier every day to wait for the adventurers.

He couldn’t possibly be uninterested in the adventures, particularly the first humans to visit the elf village.

The reason Law had been training with Merc recently was most likely due to his anticipation and anxiousness colliding.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Merc approached the Chief’s mansion with her wooden stick in one hand and Law’s hand in the other.

“W-Wait! D-Don’t pull me!”

Despite his protests, Law didn’t put up much of a fight, as if he’d made up his mind.

• • *

When Merc and Law arrived at the village Chief’s mansion, they noticed that the other villagers were peeping in through the windows and holes in the paper sliding doors.

The majority of those present were children, but there were a few adults present as well.

Everyone appeared to be thinking the same thing.

“It seems like everyone wants to get a glimpse at the adventurers.”
“Yea. However, the manner they’re going about it isn’t exactly graceful.”

Without further ado, Merc and Law asked one of the children, a friend of theirs, to clear some space for them to look.

Inside, Merc could see the village chief and counselor, as well as the three adventurers sitting across from them. Just as Law had told her, there was one man and two women. They couldn’t be categorized as teens, but they were unquestionably young.

One of the women seemed to be a spearman from what Merc could see. She sat gracefully, her spear poised next to her legs, ready to be snatched at any moment.

Her long pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes shone with confidence.

The second woman seemed to be a magician.

She wore her magician’s hat inside the room, and despite the fact that it was spring, she was clad in a black and thick-looking mantle. Her wand was nowhere to be found, so Merc assumed it was hidden inside her mantle.

Her hair was black, which was rare on this continent.

… Both of them are quite the beauties.

Merc’s perception of beauty had twisted a little from being surrounded by elves all this time, but the women standing before her could undoubtedly be characterized as beauties among humans. They were in no way inferior to the elves. To top it off, they both had massive breasts.

“Massive…”
“Sis?”
“… I-It’s nothing.”

Merc then moved her gaze to the man who was surrounded by these stunning women. What she saw further fueled her hatred, especially because he was a very attractive young man.

He didn’t appear to be the flirtatious, playboy kind at all, and was actually listening intently to the Chief’s explanation. He appeared to be a very decent young man. Merc felt closer to him simply by looking at him. That was the kind of irrational impression the youth made on others. Furthermore, the physique covered by his leather armor was well-developed.

“He’s so stunning…”

The female elves sighed as they saw the youth’s masculine and dignified appearance, as well as his body, which the male elves lacked. Seeing them like that enraged Merc.

“Tsk. What’s wrong with that man. His ears aren’t even pointed, and his nasal bridge is quite high.”

The men gathered around Merc could be heard complaining.

Normally, she would dismiss such remarks, and even though she didn’t say it out loud she agreed with the men on this occasion.

“I can’t see his sword.”

Merc’s attention was drawn to the man’s weapon, which Law had told her about, rather than his appearance.

Unfortunately for Merc, the man’s weapon was positioned on the opposite side of him, allowing her to only see a part of the sword’s scabbard. And with just that little, Merc had no way of knowing what kind of weapon it was, or so she assumed.

“What?”

She had a vague recollection of that sword. She remembered the craftsmanship in the sword’s scabbard, to be more specific… Its curve, uniqueness, and color… For some reason, the atmosphere it emitted was all too familiar to Merc.

It was as if she’d seen it before.