With Raven's tacit permission, the mercenary, who had silenced the bandit leader and hid them nearby, led him to the bandits' stronghold, saying that he would be able to earn additional income if he followed him.

Raven, who used to get the money with magic stones from monsters he caught from time to time, and used his face to make money if he didn't have any, tried to argue with him as if he didn't understand.

[Why?]

[Anyway, we have to clear out the remnants to reduce the damage to civilians, so isn't it a good thing! Clean up the remnants and get money!]

[...]

[The original request was to cleanly dispose of all remaining bandits, but... That's not necessarily the case. It's not that I can't do it because I don't have the ability, but if I can do it, it's better to move towards reducing the damage to the unintentional person as much as possible.]

[... okay.]

He kept his mouth shut at the remark that offended 'morality' and followed after him. It took no time for them to arrive at the bandits' den.

"who... Wow!"

"Search quietly!"

"What is this, you crazy bastard?!"

"Hahaha!!"

He's like a dog when he looks at him again, running wild and wiping out the remnants. Crazy dog.

From the looks of it, it will be sorted out soon. There's no need to help. After making a short decision, Raven left the mercenary behind and began to wander around the living quarters while blindfolding Didi. There were idiots attacking us here and there, but it wasn't a problem.

"If I had run away when it was time to attack, I would have survived, but that's stupid."

"You bastard... I'm sure you'll regret it... I don't know who's behind you... Gah!"

"Hmm... Okay, I guess there's someone behind it."

Even so, it has nothing to do with him. Who can catch a ghost that can't even be remembered? He stepped on the back of the guy who was out of breath.

The place his leisurely steps were heading towards was none other than a warehouse. What kind of honey was hidden here, so he wondered if it was blocked like this. With a crooked smile, Raven opened the door to the warehouse that the guys were trying to protect, and stopped in place after spotting something.

"That's..."

"Are you looking for anything?"

Looks like everything has been sorted out.

It's faster than he thought... ? The indifferent eyes glanced at the mercenary who suddenly raised his head.

The mercenary, unable to catch the glance that passed by me, moved his gaze to where Raven's head was pointing, and then his eyes widened. Wow, crazy. An exclamatory curse came out.

"For some reason, you entrusted me with a request that wasn't that big of a deal."

There is a bag full of white powder.

You wouldn't store a lot of flour, sugar, salt, etc... in such an inefficient place. As soon as he saw it, the mercenary's eyes rolled back.

Well, you never know. He sneaked inside and tasted some of the white powder that had spilled out. His fleeting hope quickly faded.

"If you're a bandit distributing drugs, you're sure to have someone behind you... Are we doomed?"

"I think I left it to you without any regrets since it's something that would be difficult to touch directly...

"We're screwed, right..." 

He was about to say, but when he saw the guy's expression, he shut his mouth. Raven, who paused for a moment, answered with a light sigh. 

"I guess it depends on who's behind it."

"Uhm..."

"But is it okay to taste it like that?"

"Ah, all of Lofty's descendants are constitutionally immune to most drugs. I have taken tonics since I was young. The recipe for making the medicine has been passed down from generation to generation, and I can show it to you if you join the mercenary group—"

"I do not need."

"Tch."

The mercenary, who was grunting in disappointment but not taking his eyes off the damn white powder, sighed and scratched his head.

"Anyway, this... We have to report it, right?"

"It's something you can't take with you, so you'd better do it."

"Okay, I guess I'm caught up in some troublesome business..."

However, since it was impossible to leave it like this, the mercenary took out the communication device from his chest.

***

"When I get back, I have to eat meat. It could be the last meal of my life, so I will eat the best meat. I have to buy something really expensive. "Should I go to a go-o-o class restaurant?"

"..."

After reporting, the mercenary grumbled and went down the mountain. Raven, who was following behind him, seemed to stop suddenly, but suddenly turned around and headed toward the sack.

"Raven?"

"Shh."

He covered Didi's mouth in confusion and pushed away the bag from which white powder was pouring out with his foot. The sack was pushed out, and the door hidden underneath was revealed. He opened it as if lifting it and looked inside.

'...'

Raven, who checked the ledger inside, looked at the back of the mercenary who was walking away. The mercenary, who belatedly noticed that no one was following him, looked back. A questioning voice echoed from some distance away.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Eat the best one."

"What?"

"It's the last meal of your life."

"Oh...?"

Is he really going to die?!

***

Mercenary Eckhardt, who escaped from the mountain shelter and carried the hidden bandit leader back - "Aren't you going to free my mouth?" "Do we really have to release him? "It's noisy." "That's right." - As if they had been in Raven's group from the beginning, they joined in very naturally and started chatting together.

Even though most of the chatter was pointless and Raven began to treat him like someone who didn't exist, he smiled brightly and continued talking about various things for a while when the mercenary suddenly brought up a different topic.

"But your eyes are very unique."

"...is it unique?"

This time, Raven, who thought it was a useless comment and tried to ignore it, answered a beat late.

"Yes. You are pretty."

"You have unique tastes."

"If it was rude, I will take it back."

"That's not it..."

He touched the corners of his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth. A mischievous smile appeared on his face.

"It's amazing to see the eyes of a ghost and see how pretty they are."

"yes... ?"

"Are you afraid of ghosts?"

"Oh, no? Ugh... By any chance, Is the captain a ghost?"

No, what? He can see the earthquake in his pupils. The green eyes that were staring at the mercenary who was slowly widening the distance widened slightly.

"What do you think?"

"Oh, big mouth... Please..."

It was clear that he was scared, but he wanted him to run away like this. Therefore, Raven moved his feet without giving a definite answer. He seemed to feel better by being mean, and his steps were cheerful.

.

.

.

It is commonly known that people talk less when they are scared, but on the contrary, Eckhardt whined for a long time. Diddy covered his ears, and Raven, who couldn't stand it anymore, told him to shut up and explain. The mercenary, who stopped whining only after hearing the answer he wanted, immediately said, ' I asked for an explanation about 'ghost eyes'.

"You annoying bastard."

"Do you think you were suddenly insulted?! Of course, I'm happy because it means we've made a lot of friendships."

"... Hah."

Raven, who was already sick of the mercenary's persistence and loudness once, recited a series of explanations with an annoyed expression on his face. After hearing about the eyes that had lost their function, his identity as a shaman, the existence of a guardian spirit, and his relationship with him, the mercenary opened her mouth in a daze.

"And..."

"I told you the best and that's the reaction?"

"No, that. You explained it in more detail than I expected..."

"Oh, well..."

If we part, you'll forget everything anyway.

There was no need to think about what to say and how much to say, so he spit it out without thinking, so it seemed like the explanation became more detailed. Raven gave him a vague look and turned his head.

The mercenary didn't seem to have any intention of probing further, and just felt relieved that Raven wasn't a ghost and expressed admiration for the existence and amazing abilities of the guardian spirit. Then, he looked up at the sky and suddenly thought, "Ah!" He let out an exclamation.

"Captain, when are we going to rest? This place looks like the perfect place to rest..."

"If you want to rest, don't ask, just rest on your own."

"I feel sorry for you when you say that. If I stop to rest, you'll leave me alone, right?"

"that's right."

"Great self..."

Was this just nonsense this time? Just as Raven was accustomed to ignoring him, the mercenary who noticed his expression quickly shouted. This time there was a reason not to just let it go.

"You have to take care of your child too!"

"I'm holding her. I really don't need to rest..."

"No, not that one. A meal."

He pointed his finger to the sky.

"It's mealtime now, right? Are you going to starve your child?"

"Ah."

Oops, he forgot again. It wasn't that new. He had already missed meals several times while traveling with Didi. However, this girl who always moves on without saying a word is also very tough. He wonders why she keeps her mouth shut when she has to eat unlike him. Raven lowered his gaze and looked at the child in his arms.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Didi, who was suddenly asked a question, blinked for a moment and answered belatedly.

"It is impossible to cause such a nuisance when we are already receiving so much help..."

"I told you it was okay. Because it's not a nuisance. If I miss it, you should at least tell me."

Basically, she has to take care of her own food bowl. If she waits for someone else to feed her, she'll starve, but since she's from a noble family, she doesn't seem to know much about that. The mercenary, who was looking at Raven and Didi alternately as if he were worried that he might be scolding the child, suddenly intervened.

"Wow, did you really almost starve the child? The captain is bad!"

"What—"

"After all, we should rest here, right? Eating is important!"

Raven tried to say something, but his voice continued as if he wouldn't give her a chance.

"I will go hunting! Then I'll leave!"

"..."

"Oh, I'll leave the bandit leader here, so please take good care of him! please!"

It was quite funny to see them spitting out words and running away under the pretext of hunting. In the meantime, Raven made eye contact with the bandit leader who had been thrown out, opened and closed his mouth without making a sound, and finally managed to get a sound out of his throat that was blocked by absurdity.

"Really... What are you going to do?"

***

"uh..."

"Are you here?"

"Uh... ?"

After running away and going on a hunt, some time passed. The mercenary Eckhart returned with the wild boar he had killed on one shoulder and the branches he had picked up for firewood on the other side. He paused for a moment and rolled his head to understand the scene unfolding in front of him.

A boy, almost like a young man, is seen holding a blade and trying to hit Raven's vital area. Raven was half lying down, holding on to his opponent's wrist.

"Uh, excuse me."

"Say."

"Are you possibly being attacked right now?"

"That's right."

"What..."

Raven, who kicked his opponent away as if pushing him away, changed his position and instantly climbed up while holding one of Dan's arms. Accordingly, he placed Dan's arm, which was unnaturally bent backwards, on the boy's back, grabbed his other wrist, overlapped it, and pressed it with his knee. Only then did he feel free to do so, and sent a look asking if he had any questions. Eckhardt gave Dan, who was completely suppressed under Raven, a subtle look in his eyes. After seeing it, he opened his mouth.

"I've always wondered, what is that guy? At first he thought he was part of the group, but it turns out he wasn't when he saw him coming separately from afar. When I see him attacking like this, I think he's an enemy, but he looks like he's acquainted with the captain, but I don't think that's the case..."

"Stalker."

"Stal... ker?"

"And he's also an aspiring assassin."

"Don't put the pure word "dream tree" in such a place! What kind of dream tree is this rotten? It's black and gloomy, and it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere."

"Don't talk like that."

Dan, who had been struggling for a while, seemed to have given up. Only then did Raven, who stepped back with a giggle, cross his arms and spit out something he couldn't say. The tone was extremely calm, as if talking about the weather.

"I am his enemy."

"What kind of enemy do you have that he want to kill you like this? Did you kill any family member?"

"Yes."

"...Really?"

"Grill the meat."

Instead of answering further, Raven chose to be shameless. After a subtle silence, the mercenary sighed, grunted, put down the boar, and began to prepare to make a fire.

"You really didn't prepare anything. Couldn't you at least light a fire?"

"I haven't done anything like that in 10 years."

"Oh... As expected, captain! He must be a high-ranking person!"

"...I can roughly guess what kind of thought process went through... Everything you said is wrong, so I don't have the motivation to correct it..."

Let's go do some cooking. Raven, who cut off the conversation and sat down with the bandit leader, rolled his eyes as he followed him as he slowly walked away. Dan's back was seen disappearing behind the trees.

... Come to think of it, when he left Dan at the inn and ran away, his instincts warned him. If caught, it will be almost impossible to shake him off.

'It really happened that way.'

It's really terrible to watch him without leaving their field of vision even for a moment, as if he were alerted by what happened at that time. Unlike Dan, who disappeared out of sight, he still sat on the tree and looked at the crow staring in this direction with a tired face, then turned his gaze to the sky.

"!"

A fire appeared in one corner of his vision, and as soon as the scarlet light came into his eyes, Raven was frightened and quickly took a step back, his body trembling greatly. No, it would be more correct to say that his body was thrown backward. In the process, the bandit leader, who had been properly stepped on, fluttered her body as if in protest, but it was not noticeable.

"..."

"..."

Surprised green eyes shake mercilessly. Is it a good thing that he didn't make an ugly sound? There was a faint fear in the eyes that were shaking as if an earthquake had occurred.