What the hell did he see?

The raccoon girl fell silent for a moment after Eliz's question, her eyes fluttering. Eliz could only guess what she was thinking. Judging by her voice, the raccoon girl seemed very young, but Eliz wasn't sure. It was hard to tell.

At least she had an interesting fur color, though. She was about chest-high in size, and her slender frame suggested she was also quite agile. Eliz really didn't want to recruit anyone else, but since the raccoon girl was begging so persistently, she decided to check her Potential.

Haidi Glasswood

Trail: Gatherers, Haggling, Timid

Potential: Misfortune, Suffering

Eliz had to pinch the bridge of her nose. What was that again? Except for being mediocre at being a Gatherer, everything else was in grays! And what kind of weird potential was that? Misfortune, Suffering? Was this girl doomed or something?

"Haidi?" Raiana, who knew the girl by that name, echoed in surprise.

"Please!" Haidi squealed again, clasping her hands together pleadingly and looking up at Eliz's cold expression. "If you don't hire me, I'll die! And my brother is terribly ill! And my mother is terribly ill too! My father can't work, and he's terribly sick too! And my grandmother broke both legs and is... is terribly sick!"

The corners of Eliz's mouth twitched as she tried to suppress a laugh. What is she saying? Obviously, it was all lies!

"Sigh." Eliz overheard and saw Alarr rubbing his tired eyes and Holm's awkward smile.

Eliz shook her head and looked at Haidi. "And why is that my business? That's your problem. Just because I'm rich, do you think I will pick up any trash that asks?" Eliz spoke sternly. She had to maintain this demeanor because if she showed any compassion, it would only lead to trouble. She could already envision how all the losers in the neighborhood would pounce on her and try to take advantage of her kindness. It was better not to display any goodwill.

"Pleaseeeeeeee!" Haidi cried.

"I already told you that—hey! What the hell are you doing!" Eliz jerked as the girl suddenly lunged forward and latched onto her leg. Haidi hugged her leg tightly, tears streaming from her big eyes. How desperate was this girl?

Eliz staggered as she found herself in an impossible position, her long skirt preventing her from taking a proper step with the new weight on her leg. "Get off me! What do you think you're doing?" Eliz was annoyed. She shook her leg, but Haidi still clung to her, babbling something, and tears mixed with snot streamed from her nose. Eliz was horrified at the thought of wiping it on her dress.

"Alarr! What are you waiting for? Get her off me!" she ordered. Alarr frowned and walked over to her, bending down to grab Haidi's body and pull her away. The raccoon girl clung to her like a tick, and he lifted her along with Eliz's leg.

As Eliz started to fall backward, losing her balance, Holm steadied her. Alarr continued pulling Haidi forcefully, and eventually, Holm had to catch Eliz under her armpits as she was forced to hop on one leg toward them.

"Eeeeeeeee!" Haidi squealed unhappily.

Embarrassment flushed Eliz's face. This situation was absolutely ridiculous!

Hosef stood there with his jaw dropped, watching the whole thing unfold. Her guardian hurriedly rushed to assist in freeing the raccoon girl from his mistress. Eliz gritted her teeth but refused to give in to the girl's demands just to end this ordeal. "Haidi, stop it. You can't do this. You're only humiliating yourself and causing trouble for others!" Raiana tried to reason with the girl in the meantime.

Alarr began attempting to free Haidi's hands so he could remove her more easily. "You're a Rank 3 warrior! Why is it taking you so long to put her down?" Eliz complained.

Alarr looked up at her. "Am I supposed to hurt her?"

Eliz pursed her lips. "No," she muttered. It had been unpleasant and embarrassing, but the girl had been harmless. However, more importantly, the Boulder team had known her, so they hadn't wanted to hurt her. Therefore, she hadn't even wanted to tell them to do the opposite, as it wouldn't have been a good start to a partnership.

Alarr stared at her for a moment longer before lowering his gaze, but there was a brief pause before he quickly averted his eyes.

"What?" Eliz didn't understand what had made him hesitate, but then she noticed something.

Had his ears turned red? She realized that somehow her foot was suspended in the air, and he could see something, given that Alarr was squatting in front of her. Eliz felt a wave of shame washing over her.

'What the hell did he see? Don't look!'

"Good! Okay! If you let me go, we'll talk about it!" Eliz gave up when she saw Alarr's eyes darting somewhere they shouldn't again.

"R-Really?" Haidi whimpered.

"Yes. Yes! Now let go!" Eliz nodded.

Haidi released her leg, and Alarr lifted her like a doll. Eliz finally straightened up and quickly smoothed her skirt, checking it, but thankfully there was no sign of snot.

Meanwhile, Alarr set the raccoon girl on the ground and wiped away her tears. Eliz took a deep breath. "Fine. Now calmly tell me why I should hire you. What can you do?" She tried to speak calmly, but she couldn't quite manage it.

She made her way to the table, and as she passed Holm and Alarr, she overheard Alarr say something to him.

"They're black."

"Ooooh."

Eliz flicked her eyes at them and saw the two exchange amused looks. She stared at them for a moment, wanting to punch them both. Did they think she was stupid and wouldn't understand what the hell they were talking about?! Men may seem like rocks, but that's just an act. They're all the same!

Eliz closed her eyes, sighed, and continued to the table, where she took her seat. She folded her arms and remained silent until the embarrassment faded.

She heard everyone shifting around the room, but she only opened her eyes when she felt calm enough. She glanced at Haidi, standing before the table, fidgeting nervously. "You have a minute to convince me why I should hire you. Start now," she commanded.

Haidi hiccupped in fright and nodded in agreement. "Y-yes! I can... I can wear things! I'm strong and..." Haidi began.

"I don't need that. Next," Eliz interrupted.

Haidi hiccupped again in surprise. "I-I'm very good at finding my way and orienting myself! I never get lost!" Haidi looked like she was having a little trouble thinking of helpful something she could do.

Eliz sighed. "Better, but it's still not something I'm interested in. Next."

Haidi was silent momentarily, and her eyes began to well up with tears again. "Um... I can... I can hide..." she mumbled.

Eliz shook her head. This raccoon girl was unhelpful, but she hesitated to turn her down, fearing they would end up in a similar situation as before. "Think hard, girl. I'm a rich noblewoman. If you have nothing useful to offer me, there's no reason for me to hire you. Then give me a reason," she prodded.

Haidi blinked rapidly and remained silent. A minute passed, and she said nothing. Eliz was about to end it when Raiana cleared her throat. They all looked at her. "Haidi's last name is Glasswood. Her family is from a side branch of the Rodenwood clan," she said slowly, looking at Eliz.

Eliz sat up straight when she heard that. "Rodenwood? Like Rodenwood Export?" she confirmed.

Raiana nodded, and Eliz turned to Haidi again. "Is that true?"

Haidi lowered her eyes and nodded. "Y-yes. My father is a distant cousin of the head of the Rodenwood clan."

Eliz leaned back again and folded her arms. "So, is your family involved in their business network in any way?"

Haidi nodded again. "Yes... my father runs a small branch. But... we're not... very... successful..." She whispered the last part, but Eliz heard her.

She was thinking about it. Rodenwood Export. They weren't the biggest trading network, but they were well-known enough for importing and exporting goods all over the continent. Glasswood might be insignificant in everyone's eyes because it was a distant branch, but their connection to Rodenwood couldn't be ignored.

Moreover, her father was a distant cousin of the owner of Rodenwood. Eliz wondered if she was lucky or unlucky. Was it a coincidence? The girl was useless, but her connection could be exploited. When they started mining crystals, she would definitely need someone to sell and export. Using a small company would be the most sensible thing to do, as they would charge a much lower commission than a large successful company.

Eliz rubbed her chin, preventing herself from smiling. That didn't sound entirely bad. And she could certainly drive the price down even lower if she had the merchant's daughter in her grasp.

"Haha." A slightly sinister-sounding laugh escaped Eliz. Raiana, who was trying to help poor Haidi, was momentarily worried that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

"Good. Good! Finally, something useful, little Haidi!" Eliz said. "So, I'll hire you."

"Really?! Hooray!" The raccoon girl threw her hands in the air, looking happy.

*****

Everything took another hour to settle, but eventually, the contracts were signed, and Eliz left the mercenary guild with one more member than she had originally intended.

She also had to explain things to her protector, who let his feelings show on his face more than was appropriate. He had a look on his face as if he had bitten into a lemon, but Eliz didn't care. He would have to put up with it.

"Do you need to get something from your house?" Eliz asked everyone as they got into the carriage. Holm's size made it a little cramped in there.

"No," Alarr answered directly, crossing his arms and placing his sword between his legs as he looked out the window.

Haidi looked like she wanted to say something, but when she heard Alarr, she quickly shook her head no as well.

"Alright. In that case," Eliz slammed on the carriage's roof, and a window immediately opened in the front.

"Main commercial street," she ordered.

"Yes, my lady," the window closed again, and the carriage started moving.

Eliz looked at her new employees and felt satisfied. Things might not have gone as smoothly as she had hoped they would, but she had come out of it relatively well in the end. She had her fighters and future connections to the merchants. That was good. Very good.

"Good. I'll keep you posted on our future until we arrive," Eliz began, getting everyone's attention.

"Once the Festival of Lights is over, a week after that, we'll head to the Eastern Kingdom Region, where my family's Blue Rose estate is located. We will be traveling for about a week. I've been in charge of the area and will manage it. Your role will be the same as it is here—my protection and performing minor tasks like going to defeat some beasts. You'll still answer to me and no one else, so don't let the Roseblood soldiers bother you. If you need help solving something, come to me. If you don't kill anyone, I'll always have your back."

"Pfft." Alarr snorted doubtfully.

Eliz looked at him. "Problem?"

"No," he replied shortly.

"Don't be angry; my lady is on to him. Alarr has had bad experiences with nobility," Raiana said immediately, and Alarr pierced her with his gaze.

"Don't speak for me," he growled.

Eliz looked from one to the other and shrugged. "Whatever. As long as you do what I want, I don't care if you like me." Eliz didn't worry about it but wouldn't mind if Alarr talked more. His voice was really great to listen to.

"The East of the Kingdom. It was the least populated area. Not many people set their eyes on that place," Holm suddenly spoke in his strangely soft voice. "If I may ask, what is your interest there?"

Eliz looked at him and smiled. "The crystal mine," she revealed. She wasn't worried since they had signed a contract and couldn't reveal anything. Unless, of course, they wanted to lose their livelihood and become slaves for the army for ten years, as whores for everything. It was a terrible punishment for proud warriors.

It wasn't just Holm who looked stunned; they all stared at her. Eliz smiled even more. "So, work well for me. If you stay with me for two years, you'll earn so much money that you'll never have to work again after that. At most, out of boredom."

"Then I understand. That's a very good reason to go there," Holm, who had processed the information the fastest, agreed.

The smile quickly disappeared from Eliz's face, and she turned serious. "But that's not the only reason. I intend to build a fortress there, a small fortified city," she continued.

"Do you plan to reduce the number of monsters to make the place more habitable for settlers?" Holm showed great interest in her plans. The others simply listened because it wasn't something they could or wanted to discuss.

"Naturally, I want to attract more people there, but I won't concern myself with any villages. The only place I want to expand eventually is Blue Rose," Eliz had no plans to accommodate people who wanted to build villages there. Apart from the fact that it would mean she would have to extend her protection to them, with what was to come in the future, she couldn't afford it.

What would happen when the enemy army came? She would have to protect the villages and thus divide her forces. She needed to be as strong as possible and not weakened by random people. However, Eliz couldn't foresee what would happen in the future. She would know about various events if she stayed in the scene and moved to places along with the original story. But the East was a place where almost nothing happened. Perhaps because of that, the East was so deserted, and almost nothing was there. The author had no story there, so it became a place of nobodies and monsters.

"I see. So what's the other reason?" Holm asked.

Eliz looked at him, her gaze firm and unwavering. "Because there's a war coming."

There was a sepulchral silence in the carriage as that statement fell on everyone.

"War?" Haidi repeated, startled.

Eliz nodded. "In two years. That's when your contract will end. Then it will be up to you if you want to keep working for me or leave." Eliz reckoned that he wouldn't leave her in three months.

Raiana wobbled in her seat, an almost impossible task sitting between Holm and Alarr.

"Who are we going to fight?" she asked nervously.

"River Kingdom," Eliz replied, and Alarr seemed to relax. "River Kingdom? Ts. You're making something out of nothing."

Holm nodded his head slowly. "River Kingdom isn't exactly a... worthy opponent. The Silk Kingdom has twice the army. River Kingdom is basically committing suicide."

Eliz couldn't help but give them a disdainful look. "Do you really think they would be stupid enough to oppose the Silk Kingdom if they had no chance of winning?"

They all fell silent again because they had no way to answer that.

"River Kingdom is developing Mana Cannons. They are just a few steps away from completing them."

Holm paled when he heard that. Alarr's face hardened even more, and Raiana covered her mouth with her hand. Only Haidi looked a little confused.

"That's... not good," Holm said. Eliz didn't have to explain to them what the mana were capable of. Cannons weren't unknown in this world, but any weapon infused with mana was destructive. One only had to look at the instance where the Enhanced Warriors poured their mana into a sword. They could easily cut through even the toughest metal.

If the mana exploded in your face, you wouldn't even feel the pain and would evaporate into nothing.

"So, the kingdom is preparing? I haven't seen any signs of it," Holm rubbed the back of his head.

"It's not preparing. No one knows about it yet except you and me," Eliz replied.

Another oppressive silence fell over the carriage.

"Uh... What?" Holm didn't understand. "Then how do you know... no... why don't you tell them?"

"I will. But I don't have any evidence right now. Do you think it's that easy? Do I just walk up to the royal court and tell them there will be a war? And with what do I back it up? With my beautiful eyes?" Eliz spoke ironically but then sighed.

"I've already got people on it. But until I have any evidence, it would be like throwing pearls to swine," she shook her head. Holm quickly realized why she hadn't said anything. This posed a real problem. She would have been questioned and ridiculed if she had spoken up without evidence. It was better for her to remain silent for now.

"So, I will start preparing myself and securing a safe sanctuary. Be grateful. You're one of the lucky ones," Eliz grinned at the words.

It remained quiet as everyone contemplated what Eliz had said. A somber silence hung in the air. Just because someone was a warrior didn't mean they desired war. Not that there weren't people like that, but Eliz and her group weren't those who would crave that kind of conflict.

Eliz gazed out of the window. "So, if there is someone you love or want to protect, I would advise you to let them know to come east and work for me in due time. I can assure you that in the future, it will be the safest place in the entire kingdom." She paused. "But I trust I don't need to remind you that you cannot discuss this with anyone. If you wish to attract someone, you must come up with another reason for them to join."

"We understand," Alarr replied, his gaze fixed on his new employer's profile. This was certainly different from what he had expected.

She had hired them to protect herself while she prepared for a war that no one else knew about. Alarr had doubts about what she was saying. How could she be the only one who knew about the impending war? He wasn't going to find out the details—what, how, or why. After all, even if it was just her delusion, that was why they got paid; they would do their job and move on or stay if the war turned out to be real.

However, Alarr wasn't entirely sure. Lady Elizabeth was undeniably peculiar, and while she carried an air of arrogance, it wasn't the same as the typical nobility that irritated him. Moreover, she didn't seem like a crazy person.

"Hm. We'll see," he muttered before turning his attention to the view outside the window.

Soon, they arrived at their destination—the bustling main business district. Every side was filled with shops selling the finest and most luxurious goods. Everyone disembarked, and the carriage swiftly departed, unable to stay still for long in this busy and crowded area frequented by the shopping nobility and wealthy merchants.

The team of Boulders immediately surrounded Eliz, leaving her poor Guardian to follow along sadly. She pointed to a shop with a display of full-body armor in the window, adorned with red scales that shimmered and exuded an air of luxury.

Alarr and Holm led, with Raiana and Haidi walking behind Eliz in the middle. Alarr entered the shop first.

"Welcome... ah..." the shopkeeper at the counter greeted automatically but then frowned upon seeing Alarr, who may not have had subpar equipment. However, in the shopkeeper's eyes, everything seemed mediocre, worn out, and even repaired. He didn't appear to be a suitable customer.

"What do you want?" The smile vanished instantly, and the shopkeeper looked at Alarr uncomfortably. However, when Holm entered, the shopkeeper turned pale. He quickly glanced toward the security guard, concerned that troublemakers had entered the shop. The guard, ranked 3, started approaching the two but stopped after a few steps upon noticing a posh young lady entering with the group of thugs.

She scanned the shop and nodded approvingly while the rest of her entourage followed. Her gaze settled on the merchant, who appeared ill at ease. She raised an eyebrow at his reaction but didn't intend to dwell on it.

"Merchant, equip my people. I want the best gear you have suitable for their level and profession. And make it quick," she ordered.