“…Ohhh!”

With trembling hands, the dwarf Brondin accepted the Dragon Orb, tears of joy streaming down his rugged face. It wasn’t like Kana had any particular interest in watching others cry, but seeing the rough dwarf shed tears like chicken droppings was quite a spectacle.

It made sense, though. He had just recovered the Dragon Orb he thought was lost forever, so his reaction was justified.

It was a while before the dwarf stopped sobbing and embraced the golden jewel tightly.

“…It’s all thanks to you. I’m truly grateful, so grateful…”

Sniffling as he spoke, Brondin hesitated before continuing.

“I honestly thought I’d never see it again. How did you manage to find it? Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not doubting you! If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine too.”

He added that he was just curious.

At his words, we exchanged glances with each other.

A few hours earlier, before handing the Dragon Orb to Brondin.

We had successfully secured Max from the Red Claw Mercenary Group—"secured" being the word of choice because, whether or not we would harm him was still up for debate.

“What should we do?”

I looked down at Max, whose face was so pale that it seemed almost impossible for a person to turn that color. I asked Azie for his opinion.

“Killing him would be the cleanest option.”

His voice was as calm as the suggestion itself. Daeun, who had been quietly listening, widened her eyes in shock.

“Ki-kill him? Sure, he committed a crime, but it doesn’t seem like a crime worth dying for…”

While the punishments in this world varied depending on the country, they were generally harsher than on Earth—especially for certain classes.

After all, in a world where a noble could kill a commoner just for blocking their carriage, and it was considered legal (though they’d usually come up with more elaborate reasons to justify the murder), theft didn’t typically warrant the death penalty.

I wasn’t sure about dwarf laws, but it probably wasn’t too different from human kingdoms in this regard.

“That would be true if it were an ordinary theft,” Azie said.

“…Theft is theft, right? How is it different?”

“It’s not just any theft—it’s the Dragon Orb.”

Seeing Daeun’s confused expression, I stopped talking.

She probably doesn’t get it yet.

She likely thought, based on our reactions, that the orb was just an expensive item.

“Daeun,” I whispered to her.

Listening curiously, her eyes widened as I told her the true value of the Dragon Orb. Suddenly, her confusion vanished, and she nodded in understanding.

“Now I get why you said that…”

“Right?”

As usual, nothing explained things better to adults than money, and Daeun, being an adult, immediately grasped the situation.

It’s like when you describe a house to someone—people rarely care about the design or features, but mention the price, and suddenly, they’re interested.

“More than just the money, I don’t want to keep someone like this alive.”

“Agreed.”

Both Azie and I, the two Grassis, were in agreement.

“Is it because he’s from the Empire?” Daeun asked.

“That’s not the only reason. Even though he’s not as bad as the mercenaries, he’s still not a good person.”

“Mhm,” I nodded.

Daeun seemed less convinced.

“It seems like you don’t quite get it.”

Daeun wasn’t used to these kinds of situations, so her confusion made sense. And while I did dislike the Empire, it didn’t mean I wanted to kill every Imperial.

Not anymore, anyway.

That’s not the reason I agreed with Azie.

“Do you know why he hired those mercenaries?” I asked.

“Um… so he could safely make it down the mountain? He needed protection, right?”

Daeun’s response was perfectly reasonable.

Mages, depending on their specialty, often required preparation to fully utilize their powers. Having frontline fighters to buy them time was the usual approach.

In terms of Azie’s question, her answer was wrong, though.

“If that were the case, he could’ve hired more reliable people.”

Azie frowned, kicking at one of the corpses littered on the ground.

Defiling a body… really?

“He knew I’d be coming after him, and he hired them to kill me.”

“…No way.”

“No way? If he had been weak, it wouldn’t be these mercenaries lying here dead—it would be us. And considering the way their leader was looking at him, Max might’ve ended up in an even worse situation. In fact, I’m sure of it.”

“Mhm.”

“Why are you just nodding?” Daeun asked, frustrated.

Can’t I nod?

“If you don’t believe me, we can ask the man himself.”

Azie shrugged, seeing Daeun’s still skeptical expression.

“Even if you’re right, do you think Max will answer honestly? He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d confess just because we ask,” Daeun replied.

“Oh, he’ll confess,” Azie said confidently, pointing at me.

“He doesn’t want to die at her hands.”

“…Why me?”

I frowned, irritated that I was suddenly being dragged into the conversation.

Maybe Azie still thought I wouldn’t harm him because of our past. But honestly, the only reason I hadn’t done anything to him back then was because he was a prince.

“…And you call that restraint?”

“I didn’t hit you, did I?”

Azie turned his head away, clearly holding back more words.

Max, who had been trembling like a leaf, shrank even further as Azie turned his gaze towards him.

After interrogating him, Azie shared the answers.

Q: How did you know your master bought the Dragon Orb? A: I overheard him bragging about it while he was drunk.

Q: What were you planning to do with the Dragon Orb? A: I was going to take it to another city and sell it.

Q: Why did you hire mercenaries? Were you planning to kill us? A: Absolutely not! I just hired them in case we ran into monsters!

Q: Don’t lie. Answer truthfully. A: …I’m sorry. Please forgive me, just this once.

There were a few more questions, but those were the main points.

After listening to their exchange, Daeun seemed to finally understand the situation and looked rather disheartened.

“What do you think?” Azie asked.

“Do whatever you want,” I replied.

Normally, by the time we got an answer, I would’ve killed him without hesitation. Even if he hadn’t known who would be after him, the fact that he had planned to kill us was enough.

But this time, I was just here to retrieve Brondin’s stolen property. Since Azie had more reason to be involved, it was better to let him decide.

“Still, it’s pretty infuriating,” I said, approaching Max and extending my hand.

Seeing my empty hand, Max flinched and fell backward in terror.

A grown man, so easily frightened.

This is why mages are the worst.

I clicked my tongue internally and tried to sound as gentle as possible.

“Hand over everything you’ve got.”

…Although, maybe I wasn’t as gentle as I thought.

Azie had debated whether or not to tell Brondin the full truth. In the end, he decided to confess everything to his master, believing that Brondin had the right to know, even if it upset him.

“…So, it was Max after all…”

As expected, Brondin looked deeply hurt by the betrayal of someone he had trusted.

“And what happened to him?” Brondin asked.

“….”

“I see. That’s how it ended, then.”

Azie’s silence said it all, and Brondin nodded quietly.

“Are you alright, Master?” Azie asked.

“I’ll have to be, whether I am or not. More importantly, who’s this stranger here?”

“He’s a mage who worked in the workshop next to Max’s. He was instrumental in helping us track him down.”

“…Well, I didn’t really do anything that important. The real hero is—” The mage glanced toward me mid-sentence.

Why is he suddenly looking at me?

“That girl right there,” he finished.

“…That little miss?”

“It’s true, Master. Without her, we wouldn’t have recovered the Dragon Orb or even made it back here.”

“I see. Well, anyone who can handle something like that must be capable.”

Brondin stroked his bushy beard as he looked at the golden jewel, now safely nestled in a luxurious cloth-lined box.

Staring at the Dragon Orb with a complicated expression, Brondin spoke again.

“You mentioned earlier that you were hoping for some kind of reward. You deserve it for returning such a precious item to me, but as I said before, I’m broke. I spent everything I had to buy this orb.”

“Hm, it’s alright. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed, but we offered to help first, so…”

“In that case, how about I make something for you using the Dragon Orb? You could buy it from me.”

“…What?”

“Of course, it won’t be free. I need to make a living too. But I promise to sell it to you for far less than what it’s worth.”

“W-Wait a moment!”

Daeun hurriedly translated Brondin’s words for me.

“…He’s offering to make us a magic tool using the Dragon Orb?”

“Y-Yeah. We’d have to pay for it, though.”

“That’s only fair.”

If he had offered it for free, I probably would’ve felt too guilty to accept it. Even though it was clear he wouldn’t have recovered it without my help.

In fact, selling a magic tool made from the Dragon Orb at a lower price was practically the same as giving it away.

“Sure, I like the idea.”

“…Master, if you don’t have enough money, I can cover the cost,” the mage offered.

“Nonsense! What kind of master would I be if I let my benefactors pay? I didn’t want this thing to make money, anyway. As long as I can afford a mug of beer, that’s all I need. And selling one magic tool should be enough for that!”

Brondin let out a hearty laugh, shaking off the shadows that had darkened his face.

“So, what kind of magic tool do you want? I’ll make whatever you ask for.”

“I want something that can withstand dark magic.”

“…Dark magic?”

Azie’s eyebrows twitched.

“Why do you need something like that?”

“I need it.”

“I know you need it. But why?”

Azie pressed me, clearly unsettled by my request.

I wasn’t obligated to answer, but I had no reason to hide it either, so I told him about our next destination.

“The Demon Continent, Raxia. That’s where we’re headed.”

Seeing his normally composed face crumble like that was more entertaining than I expected.