Why is something like this here?

I stared in wonder at the pistol. In the meantime, Korwen took it from Lily to look over it.

"This is quite an old model, isn't it?"
"It is, but it was the only one I could get my hands on."
"Well, these ones were quite unpopular, after all."

Unpopular? Weren't these firearms the precursor to modern weaponry?

"Lily, they are unpopular? Aren't they convenient?"
"Yumi, you know what this is?"

Lily turned to me in surprise before she began explaining.

"Well, you see. These weapons are great in that pretty much everyone can use them, but they are hardly effective against a protected person. Even cheap armour made from monster leather can stop the bullet, and those don't even need a magic craftsman to be made. Not to mention that it is utterly ineffective against the majority of monsters."
"There are still some people trying to develop them, but they are only really worth as a sidearm for self-protection."

So they never found much use due to the existence of easy-to-acquire armour. Korwen showed the pistol to me. It looked outwardly like a stereotypical old gun, but there was something strange.

"Is this... a fire stone?"

Lodged firmly in the gun, right above the trigger, was a sizeable fire stone.

"Yes. You give a small amount of mana to the stone and when you pull the trigger, it shoots the bullet."

That didn't really explain anything to me. I was rather curious about how it worked, but it might be better to ask someone else later.

"But teaching her about both weapons would be impossible. We can be glad if she doesn't shoot her foot with one weapon by the evening."

How rude, I was sure I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot. Probably.

"It's only for insurance anyway. I'm not particularly expecting her to hit someone. But it might allow her to escape."
"In that case, the pistol would be better. The sound is quite intimidating. The weapon is also lighter than the crossbow."
"That would be good, yes. If that doesn't work, though, you should teach her about the crossbow."
"Hmm, maybe we'll just try both and see how well she does with either first."

And so it was decided that I would have to familiarise myself with a weapon. I knew this was necessary but it still made me a bit uncomfortable. Surprisingly though, I also looked forward to it just slightly. After all, one usually didn't have the opportunity to shoot a gun. Or a crossbow. A complicated feeling.

"Well then, we should wrap this up. This took already a lot longer than I already planned. Yumi, I'll leave you in their care. Behave yourself."
"I'm not a kid."
"That's exactly what a kid would say."
"..."

She had a point, but she knew exactly that I wasn't a child. She grinned widely, proving that point.

"Korwen, take care of her. I want her back in one piece."
"Yes, yes. Don't you worry."
"If something happens to her I'll snitch on you to your wife."
"... Please don't."
"Just keep her safe then."

We left the tent and Korwen walked off to collect some people to accompany Lily. As if to replace him, his wife approached us.

"Did everything go well?" she asked Lily.
"Yes, thanks to you."
"Are you leaving again already?"

She looked over at me, slightly disappointed.

"I'm going with some of Korwen's men. I'll leave Yumi in your care in the meantime."
"Oh! That's great! I will take care of her and make sure, that my stupid husband won't try to pull anything."
"That would be much appreciated."

At that moment, Korwen returned with four men following him. Three giants in full black armour even taller than Korwen and a thin weak-looking guy.

"Lil' Lily, these four will accompany you. The beansprout there is our treasurer, he is good at negotiating, can read and calculate and so on. The other three are Dragon Knights, I doubt anyone will try to pull one on you with them along."
"They are... certainly impressive."
"My, you took my words to heart, didn't you."
"Dear..."

Korwen looked troubled, while everyone else smiled wryly. They seemed used to this spectacle. Korwen sighed in resignation and motioned the four men and Lily to move.

"Just get a move on. You've really made trouble for us, bringing such a job with nearly no time."
"Thank you, Korwen.´"
"If you want to thank me, then come and join us."
"... I will keep that in mind."

Lily came over and started whispering to me.

"Yumi, stay careful. I don't think Korwen will do something, but it never hurts to be vigilant. And if we haven't come back by evening, go to Wanda's and try to contact Karen, okay?"
"Nn. Understood."

She gave my head a last pat and left with the four men. We watched them until they were out of sight.

"Well then, we should get you started as well, right? Let's get Jockson to instruct you."

So Korwen said and called over the guard. Within a minute he jogged towards us.

"Captain! You called?"
"You can use crossbows and firearms, right? Take this girly and teach her. You have until it's evening so you probably can only do one. The weapons are in the tent. Understood?"
"Loud and clear!"
"Good. Get to it."

With those words, Korwen gave his goodbye to me as well and left.

"My, then I won't trouble you any longer, do listen well to Merim, okay? If anything happens, you can call me."

And his wife left as well. That reminded me, I still didn't know her name.

"Well then, I think I didn't catch your name yet, did I? I introduced myself before already, but let me do it again. I'm Merim Jockson, Nice to meet you. You can call me Merim."
"Nn. I'm Yumi."
"Okay, Yumi. Then, let's get the stuff and move to the practice field, okay?"
"Nn."

---

The practice field was just a large empty area with a few wooden and straw dummies. There were quite a few soldiers practising with long-range weapons. But when compared to the number of soldiers with close-quarters weapons, they were truly scarce. According to Merim, this was due to the difference in the performance of magic weapons compared with normal weapons. Long-range magic weapons barely existed, as even the ammunition needed special treatment. And even with the ammunition, the performance was mediocre at best. A single magician could replace dozens of them.

On the other side, close-quarter magic weapons only needed occasional maintenance and their performance was nothing short of impressive.

Merim happily answered all the various questions I had about the mercenaries, the camp and their usual work. Along the way, three of the girls from earlier joined us, as well. I was sure they told me their names but I couldn't remember all the names they threw at me earlier. And asking now would be a bit awkward.

"Then, let's try the pistol first, okay?"
"Nn."

We stood a few meters away from a straw dummy. Merim showed me how to use the pistol. It was truly simple. Put in the bullet, supply mana, and pull the trigger. But even Merim was a bit troubled when I asked how that even works.

"Then, hold the gun up front and aim at the dummy, yes?"
"Nn."

I did as I was told and aimed at the dummy.

"Like this?"
"Yes, that looks good, I think..."
"Something wrong?"
"No, it should be good. Try shooting. Ah, but make sure you hold the pistol firmly, the recoil can get quite bad. And don't be too surprised at the sound, okay?"
"Nn."

The three girls stood away a bit and watched curiously. For some reason, one of them hid her face behind her hands as if she didn't want to see it. Maybe she wasn't good with weapons, or firearms in particular? But wouldn't one usually cover their ears, then?
It bothered me a slight bit, but I should concentrate on the dummy in front of me.

I carefully took aim and put some mana into the fire stone. And I pulled the trigger. The sound of a small explosion filled my ears.

And a grey object rapidly filled my vision.

"OUCH!"

I screamed. Something smashed into my face with a lot of force right after I pulled the trigger. It hurt like mad.

"Woah, Yumi, are you okay?!"

I heard Merim shouting and holding me in place from behind. The girls apparently came over as I could hear their shouts.

"Don't move, I know it hurts, but try to hold still!"

I tried to suppress myself from thrashing around. A few seconds later something wet and cold was put on my face. It felt good and the pain slowly subsided.

A few minutes later the pain was mostly gone. Someone lifted the cold thing, apparently a wet cloth, and peered into my face. It wasn't Merim, but one of the girls.

"Everything okay?"
"Nn... I think..."

She smiled brightly. Yeah, children of her age should just smile, that suited them best. I lifted myself up slowly and carefully touched my face.

"You really surprised me there, Yumi..."
"Merim, what even happened."
"I don't know how you did it but you oversupplied the fire stone and the recoil smashed the gun right into your face..."

I really had the tendency to self-destruct with those fire stones. I should stay clear of them in the future. After I confirmed there were no actual wounds on my face I stood up and faced the gun that was on the ground a few meters away.

"I am not going to touch that again."
"It should actually be fine if you are more careful with your mana."
"I am not going to touch it again."

I had enough of these stones exploding into my face. Merim smiled wryly and picked up the crossbow.

"Then, let's instead try this one, okay?"

At least a crossbow couldn't smash into your face from the recoil.

"Nn. So, how do I use this?"
"You have to pull back the string as far as possible, insert the bolt, aim at the target and shoot. Simple, right?"

He handed me the crossbow. It was a small crossbow that even I could carry but it still had considerable weight.

"Try pulling back the string with that crank. It's not that hard."

Following his guidance, I pulled the string back. He was right that even I could pull it back, thanks to the crank. It took me still quite some time, though, but I could do it. Then I put in the bolt and aimed at the straw dummy.

"Ah, hold it like this. Yes, that's good. Now, try shooting at the dummy."

And so, after having my posture corrected, I pulled the trigger.

The bolt flew straight in the direction of the dummy and strafed it, disappearing somewhere in the back of the field.

"Oh, that wasn't bad for your first time. So? Your impression?"
"There's no danger of it flying into my face so far, is there?"
"... No, I don't think a crossbow usually hits your face."

A gun usually shouldn't do that, either, mind you. But with that, it was decided. I was a bit disappointed that the gun was no option but my safety was more important. There was no telling what I would do in the heat of the moment with that fire stone.

"Then, let's practice a bit more until you are familiar enough with it."
"Nn."

---

Around two hours later, I faced a troublesome situation. The practice went well so far and Merim told me to take a break. I wasn't particularly good or bad with the crossbow. If anything, I was average, according to Merim. I was able to hit halfway accurately from a few meters away, but anything slightly further away and I could be happy if I hit the dummy in the first place.

Alas, that wasn't even the problem right now. My problem was far more... problematic. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't problematic, but right now, I was at a loss for words to describe this.

"Here! Here! Look at this, Yumi!"
"Nn. It's pretty."
"Right?! It's cute, isn't it? We brought this from the previous place! Uhm, uhm, what was it called?"
"Laafa Kingdom?"
"Yes, Laafa Kingdom!"
"... Lafria... King... dom..."
"Oh, so it was Lafria!"

The very second Merim declared the break, these three energetic girls stormed towards me. They waited the entire time close by, carefully watching our training. That was some astonishing patience for children.

Promptly after abducting me, they brought me to a different area of the camp. I completely lost my bearings so I had no idea where we even were.

"And then, we have this! Look!"
"Nn, it's pretty."
"Right?! Ehehe."

Thanks to the conversation between these three I at least found out their names now. The energetic girl that was showing me her treasures was Emily. A bright girl with unruly brown semi-long hair. I got the urge to straighten it out, but seeing how she dashed around it would probably return to its previous state within a few minutes.

The other two were Maya and Sele. Maya was the tallest among them... though she was just slightly taller than me, and probably the oldest of these three as well. With her straight black hair reaching her shoulders and her amber eyes she gave a more mature feel. Most likely she would grow into quite a beauty. She was also without a doubt Emily's restraints.

On the other side, Sele was a quiet girl. She barely spoke and if she did, only with a tiny voice. She reminded me of a porcelain doll with her long grey hair and red eyes.

"And then, and then..."
"Emily, don't you think it's enough of those? Let's play something."
"Ehh? But I want to show her more!"
"But isn't it more fun to do something together?"
"Uhhh,... Yumi! What do you want to do?!"
Please do not ask me!

At that moment, I felt someone pulling my arms. Turning around I could see Sele holding up a book in front of me. Was it this, a third suggestion?

What am I supposed to do here?  Someone help!

Unfortunately, my internal cries weren't heard by anyone and the three girls were all waiting for my decision with anticipation.

"Uhm... How about... We alternate between them?"
"Alternate? You mean, we do one thing first and then some other?" asked Maya, tilting her head.
"Nn."

The three stared at me in disbelief. Was it possibly a bad decision?

"That's a great idea! Then, let's first continue with these! I have still so much to show you!"
"No. Emily, let's first play outside!"
"..."

Sele forwarded the book she was holding. My suggestion was accepted, but effectively nothing changed. They were still vying to do their thing first.

Uh, what to do? At this rate, they'll fight because of me. That would be... bad.

The three girls glared at each other. But all of a sudden, they all held their arm behind their back. Then, as if there was a signal, they all thrust out their arms.

"I won!"
"Maya, you clearly cheated! You were late in revealing your hand!"
"I did no such thing!"
"..."

This was... rock-paper-scissors? I watched the three repeating the game another two times. Apparently, it was a best out of three? Or maybe you had to win twice? Whatever the case, the surprising winner was:

Sele.

Holding the book high up in triumph she showed a smug smile.

"I lost... So close."
"I didn't win even once..."

So the decision was... that book? This seemed at least not as exhausting as Emily's questionable treasure collection or running around outside, so I was quite fine with this outcome. But how did one even play with a book? Also, there was that one thing...

"Uhm... It's a bit hard to say, but I can't read."
"Mm? Neither can we!"
"Only Sele can read."
"..."
Then what are we even supposed to do?!
"Don't worry! We'll go to Uncle and have him read it for us!"

Oh right, that was an option. But who was Uncle? But before I could ask, Emily already dragged me by the hand outside. Maya and Sele were following closely. Towards the centre of the camp. Towards a certain large tent.

"Isn't that... Korwen's tent?"
"It's Uncle's work tent, yes!"
"It's more of a tent for reception."
No way, do they want Korwen to read the book for us? Please, everything but that!

And so, they stormed the tent with me in tow.

"Uncle! Read a book for us!"
"What? Emily, huh? I'm busy, so no."

Inside the tent, Korwen's tall back was facing us. He was working on a number of documents apparently.

"But!"
"No buts. I will read it for you tomorrow, okay?"
"Tomorrow is too late!"
"Emily... Listen here... Mm?"

He turned around to berate Emily but stopped when he spotted me in the midst of these three.

"Oh? Already found friends? That went fast."
"... Well..."
"That's right! We're already friends! So we want you to read the book for us because there's not much time!"

Maya and Sele both nodded affirmatively. Korwen stroke his chin seemingly lost in thought.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess I can spare some time. Wait a moment."

Korwen called in a guard and handed him the pile of documents. Did he just delegate his work to someone else?

"Then, let's see. What book do we have here."

He turned his chair around and we sat down on his sides. Emily sat down in Korwen's lap and tried to pull me in, as well, but this one thing, I managed to refuse with all my might. The only lap I would sit in was Karen's! Lily didn't count because she forced me. Not to mention, two people would clearly exceed his capacity. Sele handed him the book she was carrying.

"The Adventures of Georg the Dragon Slayer? That's another weird book you picked up. Wait, wasn't this some tale from the Krum Faith to the north? How did you even find a banned book here..."

Sele, apparently quite proud and with a smug smile on her face, gave him a thumbs up. But Korwen just sighed in exasperation.

"Listen here, you shouldn't run around with a banned book in your hands, you know. If someone from the church comes and sees you, it would become beyond troubling. They might cut you down on the spot, you know...."

That sounded beyond scary. But were they really so scrupulous that they'd cut down a little girl for holding a book? Sele averted her gaze. She clearly knew it was forbidden, didn't she? But from the title, it sounded like any regular tale...

"Why is the book forbidden?"
"Mm? Because the Sun Faith declares every other religion as heretics. Well, quite a few religions do that, so it's not that surprising. In this case, this book is about a hero from a different faith. At least, in their eyes.  Mm? What is it, Sele?"
".... Book... Start..."

She spoke! Her voice was tiny but she clearly spoke.

"Oh right, sorry for going off in weird directions, don't be mad, okay?"

He reassured her and opened the book. Emily was fidgeting around, Maya stared at the book and Sele's eyes were shining.

"Then, let's start..." 

---

"Zzzzzz..."
"..."

Emily was sleeping. In a way, this was expected, but she actually listened quite closely until a while ago. Maya disappeared at some point without anyone noticing. Only Sele and I were still listening to Korwen.

It wasn't that Korwen's reading was bad, not at all. The problem was the book. I first thought it was a tale for children, but that was clearly not the case. Only now it dawned upon me, that books for children were probably not quite widespread. To sum it up simply, it was a simple story about a hero saving a princess from a dragon. Nothing particularly special in itself.

And it wasn't that the book itself was bad either, but it referenced a lot of things I didn't know. And judging from their reactions, neither did Emily nor Maya know those. Historical events and names of famous persons, the author expected one to know them all. That made it quite difficult to follow.

Surprisingly, though, Sele was quite into it. Seeing her so hyped, Korwen removed Emily from his lap and let Sele sit there. He stealthily motioned to me that I could leave, as well, so I sneaked away.

The sun passed its highest point already quite a while ago and was slowly making its way down to the end of the day. Lily had apparently not yet returned, so there was nothing else I could do except for finding Merim and continue with my practice.

I looked around only to find him close by being pestered by Maya. He quickly noticed me as well.

"Oh! Yumi, you came at a good time, help me!"
"What's the problem?"
"Yumi! Is Korwen already done with reading?"
"No, Sele is still listening and Emily fell asleep..."
"Mmm... So you are still on break, right?"
"Eh? Well, I thought of looking for Merim..."
"Eeehhh..."

She clearly didn't like that. But I could guess Merim's problem from this. She wanted to extend my break.

"I'm sorry, Maya, but this is important."
"More important than playing with us?"

What was this incredibly unfair question? But it may be better to just be honest now.

"Nn. It's really important, so I ca—"

Of course, what happened when you confronted a child with the unpleasant truth? They cried.

Oh for the love of... Please don't cry now!

Tears were gathering in Maya's eyes.

"I, I'm sorry, Maya. I promise I'll play with you another, time, okay?"
"Uhhh... You... Promise?"
"I promise! I promise!"

And as if the tears were a lie, a beaming smile appeared.

"Ehehe... You promised, okay? We'll play lots and lots the next time!"
I... wasn't tricked, right now, right? I feel tricked. She's just a child, so surely, this wasn't a trick...

This girl... might be the most troublesome of the three...

"Then, that means we can continue the practice?"

Merim turned to me and asked, earning him a glare from Maya.

"I won't take her away, okay?! No need to be mad!"

Maya latched onto me and smiled at me, ignoring the panicking Merim.

"Maya, how about this, how about you join the practice? Then you can practice with her together!"

Upon hearing this, she turned to Merim.

"Mm... Okay."

She nodded. Merim relaxed visibly from her agreement.

"Then, could you go to the armoury and fetch yourself a crossbow? You know how it works, right?"
"Yes."
"We'll wait at the practice range then."
"Got it."

She released me and dashed away.

"What was that...?"
"Ahahaha... She's a rather... spoiled girl."
"Haa..."
"For the love of everything that is holy... Keep your promise to her... Our lives are at stake..."

What the hell, that sounded scary. What would she do if I didn't?

"But, aren't there other girls that she can play with? I'm sure I saw a few their age earlier."
"No, those three don't play with any others."

He crouched down and picked something up, that he probably dropped earlier. Then he motioned me to follow him and we walked towards the practice range.

"Mm... Yumi, this may sound insensitive but... Are you a demihuman?"
"Eh?!"
Does he know about me?!
"Ah, sorry, it's just. Maya earlier said something curious about your smell, so I just thought..."
"Ahhh..."
He doesn't know... Please don't surprise me. Well, I'm not quite a demihuman anyway, am I?
"Then, what do you think about demihumans? Or rather, the other humanoid races?"
"What do you mean, what I think?"

What a weird question, what was I supposed to think of them? I hadn't even met any outside of Sis.

"Mhm... maybe you are too young to understand this."

I didn't even feel at retorting anymore in my mind at this point. After all, I had been hearing this all day.

"Are they being bullied?"
"They aren't really bullied... They just have some... differences, yes."
"Differences...?"
"Let's just forget about it, okay?"

That made me just ever more worried. An unpleasant thought welled up but I discarded it quickly. I sincerely hoped it wasn't that.

"I just hope, you could play with those three while you are here, okay? We adults will do the rest."
"... Nn. Will do."

After a moment of thought, I decided to agree. I did promise Maya, after all. We actually intended to play after the reading anyway, but that somehow got cancelled now. And maybe, just maybe, I might be looking forward to it.

While talking about this, we reached the practice range and prepared everything to continue. Maya still hadn't returned so Merim chatted a bit about the plan for the evening.

Much to my surprise, he was apparently leading the distraction group. Was this something that was entrusted to an ordinary guard? My doubts regarding him became stronger.

"Yumi, you can use magic, right? Some kind of moving dolls or so."
"Yes, I made a bunch of them together with Lily."
"Mmm... Well, the idea is simple then. We'll send the dolls first, making them panic or at least luring them out. Then we throw all the soldiers from the other mercenary groups at them and see what happens. The rest is improvised on the spot."
"That sounds quite... simplistic."
"Ahaha, if you simplify things, everything can sound like that. Of course, there's a bit more to it, but you can leave that to me. Our job is easy, anyway. The ones that will have it hard, are the infiltrating group. I checked the floor plans we got from Lily earlier, that's quite the challenge."
"..."
"Ah, don't worry. Your... err, sister? And Lily, they will be safe! And I'm sure they'll succeed, too!"
"Nn..."
"I mean, Lily is really impressive, okay? She's well-known among the mercenaries, I mean, she drew those plans completely from memory! Can you imagine remembering a whole complex just from visiting it once?"
"She drew those from memory?"

I hadn't seen the plans so I didn't know how well-detailed they were, but he seemed really impressed.

"Yes, it's unbelievable, right? I can understand why the Captain wants her. She's clever, a beauty and capable. I'm sure there would be many vying for her."
I'm really sorry, but I don't believe she has any interest in men, so even if you make such a dreaming expression, give up.

I could only smile wryly at those words. Climbing a mountain naked might be easier. She also was quite hazardous as a person.

But who knows, maybe he actually does stand a chance.
"If I weren't married already, I'd surely try courting her."
"..."
"Something the matter?"
"... No, nothing. I just was surprised you were already married."
"Oh, yes! She's a cute girl, I'll introduce you next time!"
Don't die on us now.

I heard some steps behind us and sure enough, Maya had returned, holding a small crossbow similar to mine. Additionally, she carried a quiver full of various bolts.

"I returned!" she announced full of energy.
"Great, then let us continue with the practice."
"Nn."

---

Maya was good. She still hit the target even a hundred steps away. It made me a bit depressed that I was losing against a child, but together with Emily and Sele, she apparently trained quite often with various weapons. She also gave me various tips regarding holding the weapon or aiming that Merim couldn't provide, simply due to our differences in build. As a result, I could halfway reliably hit the dummy at around twenty steps away.

The steps were by the way measured by Merim. There was no accurate measuring tool available, apparently.

By the time the sun neared the horizon, I managed to occasionally hit it even from thirty steps.

"Well then, that's enough for now. Yumi, you should return to the main tent, leave the clean-up for me."
"Nn. Understood."

Maya grabbed my hand and pulled me along while we walked to the main tent again. She seemed to be in a really good mood since the beginning of the practice. Maybe because she could teach someone for once.

Well, I let her do as she wanted and we returned to the main tent. There was a bit of commotion in front of the tent. A number of rather shady men were roaring at some guard. The men wore damaged leather equipment and crude weapons, worn down from all the use they saw.

Men like that would be a bad influence on Maya, so I pulled her to the other side of the tent. After we entered from that side, we could see again a small crowd of people. And there was a very familiar silhouette.

"Sis!"
"Ah."

I dashed into the crowd and jumped at Karen. In the process, I had to let go of Maya's hand, but that wasn't on my mind at that moment.

"Yumi?! Woah, don't jump at me so suddenly, I can't carry two people!"

Two people? I was confused and looked around Karen, only to see someone else latching onto her. It was none other than Sele. For some reason, she was hanging onto Karen. Sele stared back at me and opened her mouth.

"... Same..."
"..."
Same what? Don't just stop there!

I looked at Karen again, maybe she knew what Sele meant.

"Uh, well, Yumi..."

She leaned towards me and lowered her voice.

"She's a demonkin, same as me. So I think she felt some familiarity?"

So that's what it was. Sele nodded in affirmation.

"Also, could one of you please let go? Actually, could both of you please let go?"
"No."
"..."

Neither of us yielded. There was just no way I would hand Karen over so readily. Karen herself could only respond with a sigh, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she scooped us up in her arms and sat down on the nearby chair. Now Sele and I shared her lap. As Karen wasn't exactly tall, we were rather tightly pressed together.

My personal spot was stolen. An indescribable sense of danger crept up.

"Bear with it for now..."

Karen whispered really quietly into my ear. Well, if it was Karen's request, I could do nothing but accept it, right?

Be happy! I shall share my precious spot with you for now.

I didn't know whether she heard Karen or she could guess what she said but in any case, Sele stared straight at me without expression. She may not speak much but she was still rather expressive otherwise, so this felt quite uncomfortable.

Then I could feel something warm around my arm. Sele was hugging it. I was confused. Why did she start hugging my arm now?

"What a cute family, let me join!"
"No way."
"No."
"..."

So Lily was here, as well. I forgot about her.

"Actually, why is Sis here?"

I craned my head back to look at Karen, which proved rather difficult to do.

"Let me tell you!"
"No."
"You see, while I was going around to the various bands I found Karen speaking with some people. So I took her along!"
"Didn't I say no...?"

Lily conveniently ignored my refusal and told me anyway.

"Well, kids, time is rather short, so could you finish up your reunion?"

Korwen intruded on us, looking a bit exasperated.

"And Maya, stop looking like a soon-to-be murderer and take Sele and Emily out. We're busy now."
"... Understood."

I turned around to see Maya dragging Emily out of a corner of the tent. The girl was still sleeping and holding the book Korwen read to us for some reason. Also, I couldn't see Maya's expression earlier, but from Korwen's words, I should probably be happy I didn't see it.

"Sele, come."
"..."

Looking rather reluctant Sele let go of my arm and jumped off Karen's lap. I had her lap for me alone again.

"... Later."
"Come, Sele."

And with a goodbye Sele joined Maya, dragging Emily out. I relocated myself properly into Karen's lap. It was warm.

"Cute kids. Did you have fun?"
"Well... Nn... I guess so."
"Is that so? That is good to hear."

Was it good?

"Hey, Korwen. There's still a brat left!"

Some rude guy pointed at me and called Korwen.

Don't you know you shouldn't point at other people with your finger?
"Calm down, she is at the right place. She's our client, as well, after all."
"What, such a brat?"

The man clicked his tongue and faced away.

"Who is that?"
"The Captain of the Destroyer Mercs. They are a small mercenary band, not really great. They think they are, though."
The Destroyer Mercs? Do they seriously call themselves that?

Lily answered me with a small voice, so the others didn't hear.

"Well, well, there. You shouldn't get mad at the children, that's not a good influence for them, right?"
"Huh? Who the fuck are you to te—"

The man went pale. I turned in the direction of the voice and was surprised. Because I knew her.

"Wanda?"

She glanced at me and gave me a wink. Now, that was one person I didn't expect at all.

"Well, boy. You wanted to say something?"
"N-n-n-no... No. No, I didn't I'm sorry! Everything is fine!"

The man cowered and sat down, looking rather meek.

"Then, if anyone else has complaints with the kid, feel free to bring them up to me, yes?"

All the unfamiliar people averted their gazes. Nobody wanted to pick a fight with her, from the looks of it. I was really curious now. Wanda seemed rather feared among them. Wasn't she just a seamstress?

"Now, please don't start fights before we even begin, okay? You can fight all you want later."

Korwen clapped his hands and drew our attention to him.

"We don't have much time left, so, let's begin, shall we?"