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“You really saved us there. Let me introduce myself. I’m Jonahim. In a sense, I’m the leader of the party known as Blazing Impact.”

After they moved to a remote location away from the mansion, Jonahim stated to Merc. Merc could see how well-built the young man was now that he was standing up straight. He was a full head taller than Merc, who was known to be quite tall for a 14-year-old.

Merc had no memory of a party known as Blazing Impact, nor of a man known as Jonahim, even after collecting her memories from her previous life.

She assumed they were a group that appeared following Estert’s death.

Merc deduced that their party didn’t have a solid hierarchy based on Jonahim’s statement that he was the leader “in a sense.” Their party was similar to the one Merc had been a part of in her past life.

“… I’m Elea.”

After being prompted by Jonahim, the spear-wielding woman, who had been silently glaring at Merc up until now, said. She didn’t say anything other than her name, though.

She made it obvious that she didn’t want Merc to guide them.

“Luka, a magician.”

Even less was said by the other woman.

Merc, on the other hand, felt that, unlike Elea, Luka didn’t appear to harbor any ill will. She just assumed that was how Luka was.

“I am Merc. I’ve visited the cave that is thought to be the Ghezo Velche’s home several times. So I’ll show you how to get there.”
“You only need to guide us to the area. Luka will then find the Ghezo Velche.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. Using Mana to search is a bit of an inconvenience. You won’t need to do it if you just head straight to the cave.”
“… That’s a bit…”

Jonahim scratched his head, uncertain of what to say.

He was concerned about Merc, who from his perspective did not look to be a fighter. Merc’s goal, though, wasn’t just to guide them; if given the chance, she wanted to subdue the Ghezo Velche. That’s why she couldn’t back down.

She had to accompany them no matter what.

“Use your head would you?! He’s implying that you’ll only drag us down!”

Elea screamed angrily as she approached Merc, who was well aware that her request was irrational and ridiculous.

Merc merely turned her head in confusion even as she was confronted with the enormous pressure Elea, or to be more exact, her chest, was exerting.

“Drag you down? Are you implying that renowned adventurers such as yourselves can’t even protect a single elf?”
“Uhm… O-Of course we can!”

The so-called “renowned adventurer” immediately puffed up her chest in response to the young elf’s flattery.

Haha! Got her.

Seducing a child such as Elea was child’s play for Merc, who had dealt with similar people in her past life.

As she saw the unsuspecting Elea stick her chest out, Merc quietly giggled to herself.

“Elea! We’re dealing with a Ghezo Velche. It will be difficult for even our party to deal with it.”
“I-I know! B-But after being played with like that, I can’t just keep quiet! And we’re talking about us. We’ll make it work.”
“There you go, saying those crazy things… Miss Merc was it? Could you possibly refrain from flattering our spearman?”
“Hm? I didn’t mean that to come off as flattering, but I apologize if you saw it that way.”

After apologizing solely for the sake of appearances, Merc continued walking without saying anything further, as if they had agreed to follow her.

“In that case, I’d like to go to the mountain right now. Is there anything you’d like to get ready ahead of time? Because of the time it will take us to climb the mountain and fight the Ghezo Velche, you only have around half an hour.”

Merc had no idea how talented the adventurers were, or how powerful the Ghezo Velche was. That’s why she couldn’t give them an exact time window, but she guessed it would be somewhere around that period.

“Hmph. I don’t need anything in particular. How about you two?”
“A-As long as you’re okay Jonahim…”
“Nothing. I can go.”

Because there looked to be no complications, the group decided to proceed to the mountain. Jonahim chatted constantly as they walked. Merc wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t feeling any tension or if he was attempting to release it.

“I was expecting the elf village to be harsher. I didn’t expect to be greeted so warmly.”
“What?”

Merc made an unconscious deep voice when she heard Jonahim’s illogical statements, despite the fact that he had clearly heard the quarrel earlier.

She was, however, taken aback by Jonahim’s statement of being received warmly.

It was true that submitting a request to the Adventurers’ Guild was not uncommon, and that there were elves who engaged with humans on a regular basis, such as her father. However, when the entire village was considered, the greeting they had received was everything from warm.

They had witnessed a scene where no one wanted to help the humans only moments prior.

“It’s probably because elven ladies are all stunning beauties with perfect proportions. It’s a place that any man would consider heavenly.”
“Huh? Well I guess you could say that…”
“Oh? Did that come across as discriminatory? I apologize if it did.”

Because Merc had previously lived as a man, she had unconsciously agreed with Jonahim; yet, his subsequent apology drove Merc nuts. She couldn’t put her finger on what was making her feel nostalgic.

“How can you say they’re perfectly proportioned with those teeny-tiny breasts? They don’t appeal to me in the least.”

Elea replied vehemently to the elven women’s appeal, most likely because she was envious of Jonahim’s admiration for their beauty. When compared to the Merc and the other elf women, Elea and Luka’s bodies were noticeably different.

Everyone had their tastes and the freedom to choose what they liked, but it was evident that Elea and Luka’s bodies would attract the most attention.

In truth, Merc thought Elea’s and Luka’s bodies were more appealing.

As if mocking Merc, Jonahim turned his calm, pretty face to Elea.

“Really? I believe that the body is only capable of pleasing the eyes. At most, it will be used to pique one’s interest. However, over time, you become more interested in a person’s character rather than their appearance. Do you agree that it’s what’s on the inside that counts?”
“Ahhh…”

I want to murder this b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲…

As she stared at Jonahim, who had a bright smile on his face, Merc stifled the words that were ready to escape her mouth.

After all, her words, which were loaded with such murderous intent, were so discordant with her current appearance that she would be unable to gloss over them.

However, it appeared that Jonahim’s refreshing smile, along with those carefully crafted words, had an effect on Elea.

“I-I guess you’re right!”

Elea averted her reddened glance from Jonahim, mostly because she couldn’t bear his direct stare. And as she did so, her gaze was brought to Merc’s.

“W-What do you want?!”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Then don’t look at me!”

You’re the one that looked at me first though…

Elea was most likely embarrassed to be seen in such a state. As the mentally older one, Merc opted to regard Elea’s feelings and averted her look away.

As she did so, she came face to face with Luka, who had a “this has nothing to do with me” look on her face.

“… Miss Luka, how about you? What types of people do you find appealing?”

Merc decided to use the flow of the conversation to ask. Luka’s eyes, which were just visible beneath her hat, turned towards her at that point.

“… Rich ones.”
“… I see.”

What a bothersome group…