Half a day after the Saintess left the recovery room.

Yeomyeong received a call from the mercenary corps. Sitting on his bed, replaying the previous battle in his mind, he frowned as he looked at his phone.

Could the Saintess have really…? With a mix of worry and suspicion, he rose from the bed, changed out of his hospital gown into casual clothes, and left the recovery room.

“Oh, rookie. You’re looking better than I expected.”

Waiting just outside the recovery room, in the hospital corridor, was a familiar face.

Team 3’s leader, Tenlin. His face and arms were wrapped in thick bandages, evidence that he too had barely survived the last battle.

“You look more like the patient here,” Tenlin joked, his hearty laugh echoing down the hallway. Yeomyeong managed a wry smile.

“Senior, what brings you here?”

“I came to fetch you. The rest of the team is waiting downstairs.”

“…You came to get me? Is something wrong?”

As soon as Yeomyeong asked, Tenlin gestured with a tilt of his chin towards the far end of the hallway.

Beyond the nurses bustling about, several mercenaries glared in their direction.

“Let’s get going. And don’t make eye contact with any of them.”

Despite his words, Tenlin exaggeratedly laughed and placed a hand on Yeomyeong’s shoulder.

Matching his senior’s performance, Yeomyeong started walking as if they were just sharing a casual conversation.

Am I being watched? Why?

As they exited the hospital, Yeomyeong heightened his senses and realized it wasn’t just one or two people monitoring him. At least ten individuals were watching him.

Even outside, the surveillance didn’t let up. Reporters and merchants openly eyed him.

“…What exactly is going on here?”

“Call it the curse of fame, or the fate of someone who stumbled upon a treasure.”

As Tenlin made a sly comment, the mercenaries who had been waiting at the hospital entrance encircled Yeomyeong and Tenlin.

Fortunately, they were familiar faces—his comrades from Seonjook Mercenary Corps, Team 3.

Finally feeling some relief, Tenlin wiped his forehead.

“The dragon you fought… It’s about the rib. The rib that dragon left behind.”

Walking with his comrades back to the base camp, Tenlin explained what had transpired.

It all started with the dragon’s rib that Yeomyeong had severed.

The military, who discovered the rib at the battle site, promptly claimed ownership.

The Saintess had been swarmed by reporters, and Yeomyeong had passed out by that time. Fortunately, Kim Mansu, who had followed the military, saw them moving the rib and immediately objected.

Yeomyeong and the Saintess fought the dragon, so by what right did the military lay claim? It was a reasonable and fair argument.

In the mercenary world, the remains of a kill, even monstrous creatures, belonged to the mercenaries alone.

Normally, the military would’ve backed down. But the issue was that the dragon’s rib was far too valuable.

Brazenly, the military demanded half the rib, using the excuse of an emergency requisition… though their motives were obvious.

Money.

Ever since dragons were declared endangered, any part of their body fetched an astronomical price.

There were rumors that even a single claw could buy a home in New York, and ten scales could change someone’s life.

This particular rib was even more special. Unlike illegally poached items, it was acquired legitimately.

Not from the black market but through legal means—a dragon’s bone that could be traded openly. It was a coveted item, to say the least.

However, the military’s demands didn’t last long. Once the Saintess got involved, she used her political leverage to pressure them.

She proclaimed that anyone else claiming rights to the rib would face the wrath of billions of followers both on Earth and beyond the dimensional gate.

With stakes that high, the military had no choice but to back down. Though they resorted to underhanded retaliation afterward, the rib remained secure…

“…Wait, underhanded retaliation?”

Yeomyeong interrupted, listening quietly until now. Tenlin shrugged.

“The military announced to the entire Manju Base that you own half of the dragon’s rib. Those backstabbing fools. If they can’t have it, they’re going to tarnish it.”

“So, those trailing us now…”

“They’re all people scheming to get their hands on you and that rib. Some might try to recruit you, while others will threaten you. From the looks of things, it’s mostly the latter.”

“….”

“Funny, isn’t it? All this happened while you were in recovery for a single day. Even I can’t believe it, and I saw it myself.”

While Tenlin chuckled bitterly, the group finally reached the base camp.

The gazes that had been on Yeomyeong lessened considerably once they arrived.

Some still eyed him warily, but none dared approach.

They were just a step from entering, yet Tenlin didn’t reach for the door handle. Instead, he turned to Yeomyeong with a serious expression.

“Rookie, the commander and investors are here right now.”

“The commander?”

The head of Seonjook Mercenary Corps, Kwon Mongju. Yeomyeong had heard the name before, though only as that—a name.

“He’s a well-known figure in the mercenary world, a man who clawed his way up from the bottom… A tough old man.”

“…Is that so?”

Why the sudden explanation? Yeomyeong wondered, tilting his head.

Tenlin looked as though he was mulling something over, lips pressed tight as he hesitated.

A brief silence followed, long enough that Yeomyeong’s eyebrow arched in curiosity.

Then Tenlin leaned in and whispered quietly into Yeomyeong’s ear.

“Whatever the commander or investors offer for that rib, refuse them.”

“…Senior?”

“If they press harder, threaten to quit.”

“….”

“Don’t get me wrong, rookie. You risked your life for me and the team, so I’m offering you this advice. There’s no need to stay with those who value money over loyalty. That’s all.”

Only then did Yeomyeong understand why Tenlin was saying this.

It was clear that the commander and investors waiting inside the camp also had their eyes on the dragon’s rib.

‘…This is going to be a hassle.’

Between the Saintess’s request, the rib, and his original goal of making a name for himself, Yeomyeong’s concerns grew.

With a determined look, Tenlin pushed open the base camp door.

 

Clang!

The Saintess kicked a can down the street.

With a burst of irritation, the can sailed through the air and smacked a mercenary who’d been smoking in the head.

“Who the hell did that?!”

The mercenary’s eyes flared with rage as he cursed.

Oops. The Saintess quickly ducked behind a nearby alley.

Once safely nestled between the hard concrete walls, she remembered she was wearing her invisibility cloak.

‘No need to be scared.’

She couldn’t help it; she’d never worn the cloak for this long before.

It was usually just for sneaking out, but she’d had it on for a whole week now…

‘Unbelievable. Really.’

Suppressing a sigh, the Saintess sank to the ground.

Perhaps the release of tension made her exhaustion wash over her all at once, pressing down on her shoulders.

She rested her head on her knees and cast a healing spell on herself.

The physical fatigue soon dissipated, but the weight on her heart remained, heavy and relentless.

‘If only I hadn’t seen that vision a week ago…’

Lost in weary regret, she let herself think, If only.

If she hadn’t seen the vision, maybe she would’ve attended the academy’s opening ceremony as planned, given the entrance speech as the freshman representative.

She would’ve met her “only friend,” exchanged stories, and reveled in the mundane conversations that girls their age usually had, perhaps even indulging in some youthful romance like on TV.

She might have joined the shooting club, showing off the skills she’d secretly honed.

And maybe, just maybe, she would’ve had the kind of romance she’d only seen in novels or on TV…

When her thoughts drifted to that point, she let out a hollow laugh.

‘Yeah, right. As if.’

She slapped her cheeks lightly.

Everything was her choice. Not going to the ceremony, barely surviving in Manju.

She’d already given up a slice of her youth to come to Manju.

And it was the right choice. No matter how alluring youth was, how could it be more precious than the lives she saved?

Thanks to her decision to come to Manju, Wallad was alive.

Numerous lives in Manju were spared, and the rampaging dragon was halted…

As she thought this, a face naturally came to mind.

‘…That smug, pretty-boy psychopath.’

Cheon Yeomyeong, the lunatic who’d casually tried to snap Wallad’s neck.

The memory of his face as she’d last seen him in the hospital surfaced, deepening her scowl.

The one who’d coldly refused her offer to become a bodyguard, then stiffened when she mentioned hiring him with money.

She’d brushed it off then, but thinking back on it now, a sense of injustice bubbled up.

‘How dare that mercenary refuse me.’

After all the help she’d given him with the dragon and the rib.

Yes, he’d helped her too, but that didn’t matter. He still had the nerve to reject her.

‘Just wait. I’ll make an offer you can’t refuse.’

She pulled out her smartphone, pulling up the mercenary request list she’d seen back in the recovery room.

‘Fine. If I hire him outright, what’s he going to do?’

Mercenaries live and die by money, after all.

She wasn’t sure how great a mercenary he was, but she had enough wealth to crush his pride.

‘But hiring someone who hates me just to control them with money…’

If she did this, she might ruin her reputation as a Saintess.

As she mulled over the delightful sense of wickedness the idea gave her, a familiar voice echoed from the other end of the alley.

“Saintess.”

A smooth, almost emotionless voice. She turned to find the owner of the voice.

At the alley entrance stood a middle-aged woman wearing a blue rat mask that covered half her face.

She wore a blue coat that hugged her curves and blue high heels, stepping silently over the concrete.

“…Mother.”

“I told you not to call me that in public. Address me as the president of Blue Rat Company.”

The woman, whom the Saintess had called “Mother,” stared directly at her, as if seeing right through the invisibility cloak.

“Oh, please. And how did you find me here? Did Uncle Wallad snitch?”

“Wallad only did his job.”

The Saintess sighed, looking up at the mask.

“You’re here to take me back, aren’t you? I’m sorry, but I can’t return yet.”

“…If you came to stop the disaster in Manju, that’s already done. There’s no need for you to be here cleaning up. You should be heading to the academy.”

“That was just a side effect. The real purpose… Well, I can’t tell you, but you know why I’m here.”

The Saintess dusted off her pants and rose to her feet. Glancing at her phone, she suddenly realized something.

If he doesn’t like it, I could always hire him under someone else’s name.

The thought barely formed before she acted. She looked the Blue Rat Company president straight in the eye.

“Mom, I need a favor.”

“…A favor? Did you just say you needed my help?”

For a moment, the woman seemed taken aback by the request, her response laced with surprise.

“Of course. Anything you need, Saintess. Just name it.”

She sounded almost hopeful. But the Saintess’s next words shattered that hope.

“I’m thinking of buying a man. Could you do it for me?”