Bold Little Girl (2)

* * *

Supplying food to remote villages could bring in a good sum of money, but it was something every merchant group avoided.

The reason the wandering merchant group, the Azure Lotus Troupe, took on this task was to create a massive merchant empire that every merchant dreamed of, or, to put it differently, because they needed money.

The East and South were already red oceans. It was far too late to set foot there. So, the place they reached out to was the West.

The food supply job was decent enough. It was also fun to greet the villagers who came running breathlessly at the sight of the wagon.

It felt like they were somebody. Exactly that kind of feeling. If things continued like this for five years, they could set up a plausible main branch and even advance into the South. Hameil’s ultimate goal was maritime trade.

However, the Azure Lotus Troupe’s experience was too limited to deeply consider why no one else was doing such a good job. They were making decent money, and they only heard good things every time, so they took it too lightly. They reassured themselves, thinking it would be fine as long as they had mercenaries.

They had fallen into the complacency that merchants should be most wary of.

“…Shibal.”

All the hired mercenaries were dead. The bandits were three times larger than expected. Thirty were visible. Considering those in hiding, there were even more.

‘Am I going to die? Here?’

Would death end only as death? The people left behind would suffer for the rest of their lives. Four members of the troupe were pregnant. Hameil didn’t want to be resented in death.

‘There haven’t been any deaths among the troupe members yet, but…’

Soon, everyone would die.

Hameil prayed inwardly, begging anyone to save them. Perhaps his prayer had worked? An answer came from the sky.

“Hellooo――!!!!”

Not from a god, but from a red-haired girl.

“Wow! Blue hair! That’s rare, how fascinating!”

After briefly touching her disheveled blue hair, the troupe member next to her shouted.

“E, Elf! It’s an Elf guard!”

“What, an Elf?”

Elf.

A ray of hope appeared.

Hameil, prepared to die, stood up and shouted.

“Please help us! These people are trespassing on your territory and are criminals who kill people! We are innocent―― Keuheok!”

“Shut up!”

Thud. He was struck on the back of the head and collapsed. Hameil trembled, blood streaming from his head.

“O, oh?!”

Aileen paused and looked at Hameil. The man who had been suddenly hit was writhing as if he were about to die.

She turned her head and stared at the bandits. Their smiles as they approached with weapons were sinister. Perhaps because Aileen was young, there were plenty of perverts who wanted to subdue her and have a go.

“Mister! That’s bad! Put down your weapons, quickly!”

Aileen, unaware of their intentions, warned them with a pout.

She knew that what her mom did was ‘bad’ in the outside world. But, her mom never, ever touched innocent people. Even while crossing the line, she kept what she had to keep.

An innocent person was hurt.

Aileen felt extreme revulsion at the situation before her eyes.

“What the shibal. Hey, that bastard’s a human! His ears are short, you idiots!”

Aileen’s threat didn’t work at all. The quick-witted leader had noticed that Aileen’s ears were short. The eyes of the members who heard those words narrowed.

―Sswaeeeeek!!

One of the men, holding a short sword, charged at Aileen.

• Guooo!

Sensing the threat, the spirits gathered in front of Aileen. Among them, Pogmau, taking the lead, created sharp rock spikes and hurled them at the man. An attack filled with the sincerity of a high-ranking spirit.

“Keuheuheueok―?!”

• Kwadeudeuk!!!! The spikes, tearing through muscle and splitting the spine, pierced through the flesh on the opposite side, revealing a bloody rock. Pogmau summoned a sharp skewer between the legs of the man who had been impaled by the spikes and was floating in the air. Kudeudeudeuk! The man, his testicles, abdomen, neck, and brain pierced, died instantly on the spot.

“Bad people!”

Aileen wiped the blood that had splattered on her cheek and shouted. Her face turned cold. She remembered the words her mom had endlessly repeated.

Those who touch the innocent deserve to die.

It wasn’t certain whether the men who had asked Aileen for help-the Azure Lotus Troupe-were truly innocent. However, she, who was being attacked now, was innocent. It was simple logic. Since I am innocent, those who try to kill the innocent me can be killed.

And it wasn’t exactly wrong.

Anyone who tried to kill a young girl like Aileen was nothing but trash.

“Shibal! Dogpile him!”

“You shibalnyeon! You killed Henson!”

Five men charged at her.

Aileen glared coldly and dispersed the spirits.

“Keuheup!”

“Ssibaal!! Get these things off meeee!!!!”

Some had their hearts burst by Pogmau. Others were surrounded by thirty low-level spirits, their flesh torn to shreds. The only survivor of that horrific scene, after swinging his sword at Aileen, finally grasped the surrounding situation.

• Tak!

“O, oh? Shibal! M, my sword won’t come out!”

He grabbed the sword’s blade. His aura-enhanced hand didn’t even get a scratch. Aileen pulled her arm back as it was. It should have been a child’s strength, but the man fell over without even resisting.

“S, save me!”

Aileen silently raised her wooden staff high towards the man who was only trembling.

“J, just a moment――”

She brought it down.

“Mom said!”

• Kwajik.

“Guys like you!”

• Kwajik!

“Deserve to die!”

• Kwajik…

Each time she swung, the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. The staff made from the heartwood of the World Tree amplified the aura contained in the staff fivefold. The bandit who was hit by it went to the afterlife in one blow, but Aileen, unable to control her anger, struck him exactly four times.

• Kwajik!

“Huu….”

A crater formed around Aileen. The man’s corpse had long since turned to dust. The bandits scattered around, fleeing at the sound of the earth-shattering noise.

“What the…”

The members of the Azure Lotus Troupe led the unconscious Hameil away, slowly creating distance. It was a power that couldn’t possibly be considered human. Neither humans nor even Elves could do such a thing, and they certainly couldn’t drag around hundreds of spirits.

“I, I surrender!”

The oldest member, giving up on fleeing, raised both hands as they were. He was forty-five years old. He didn’t have the stamina to run away with such a wounded body.

“The bad guys are gone now!”

Aileen gently stepped on the ground and headed towards the Azure Lotus Troupe.

The wagon was half-destroyed by the previous shockwave. Since they were returning after finishing their trade, the damage wasn’t significant, but losing the wagon without food in the middle of such a harsh land was the same as being told to die. Even though they knew Aileen was harmless, that was the reason they couldn’t shake off their gloomy expressions.

She, seeing them constantly looking grim, said with a worried tone.

“Mister. Are you sick somewhere?”

He glanced at the unconscious Hameil, then bowed his head to the young girl before him.

“…We are fine. But, the troupe leader has lost too much blood.”

“Troupe leader?”

“…That blue-haired young man over there.”

If they wanted to live, they had to stick with the girl. But that felt shameless. However, they couldn’t ignore the courage of the troupe leader who had shouted for them.

“We’ve already received help once, so it’s really shameless, but… if it’s okay, could you accompany us until we enter the Silbehrin Great Forest? Please. We will give you generous compensation. The troupe leader is not someone who should die here. In the future, he will be even greater―”

“I’ll heal him!”

Aileen smiled brightly and reached out her hand. She liked the blue-haired man. Aileen liked blue as much as she liked red.

“Hey, everyone! Gather the injured people!”

• Guooo…!

Whether they liked it or not, they were forcibly dragged away. The troupe members, dragged away by the spirits, bowed their heads with terrified expressions.

“W, wait! I said I surrender――”

But the moment the girl reached out her hand.

“……Heoeok.”

The wounds on their bodies disappeared cleanly.

“…Are you a priest?”

This was divine power.

Aileen used healing magic.

“Kkeueueuk…?

The unconscious Hameil regained consciousness exactly ten minutes after receiving Aileen’s treatment. When he opened his eyes, the situation was already over. All the injured had been healed.

“What, what is this?”

“Troupe leader! You’ve come to your senses!”

“Eueuk. Kurahen. Why, why is my body okay? Did we meet another merchant group or something?”

“That’s… we did meet someone.”

“…Wait.”

―Hwik!

Hameil, feeling an unfamiliar presence, reflexively turned his head.

“Who―”

“Hello!”

“Euaaak――!!!!”

Thump. He was so surprised that he collapsed.

Aileen chuckled at the man’s unsightly appearance.

“Umm… I’m Aileen! What’s your name, mister?”

Aileen asked, munching on a golden apple. It was an apple that was always delicious no matter when she ate it. What was strange was that she had clearly only brought twenty, but the number of apples never decreased. There were always twenty. Aileen didn’t think much of it, assuming that the World Tree Ajumma was playing tricks again.

Hameil swallowed hard, looking at the apple.

They had already had all their food taken away, and even what was left had been discarded. But having an apple in this rocky, harsh land meant that they had food stored away. He had been wondering if they would have to walk while starving, but it was a stroke of luck.

“…You can call me Hameil. Ho, 혹시. If you have any food…”

“Troupe leader. It’s too much to ask for even that…”

“…I guess not.”

…It was probably too much.

He hadn’t witnessed it because he was unconscious, but he could tell without hearing that the girl before him had chased away the bandits. But to ask for food on top of that? Even if he paid her back later, it was too shameless.

“Um. Do you want to eat an apple or something?”

“O, ooh…!”

Hameil’s expression brightened.

“Here!”

“Th, thank yo…”

It brightened, then turned pale again.

“……All of it?”

An apple shining with golden light.

That apple, which the girl was still munching on, emitted a strong light, unlike ordinary apples. The blue undulation rippling across the surface… it was definitely the flow of Mana.

This was a Mana Fruit.

“Wh, where did you get this…?”

Hameil turned his head, taking in the girl’s attire.

Even a novice couldn’t fool a merchant’s eyes. Harnish, the traditional clothing of the Elves. The fact that a girl wearing that was offering a Mana Fruit meant that it was the Elves’ treasure that bloomed once every 50 years―― the Golden Apple.

Aileen said with a bright face.

“The World Tree Ajumma gave it to me!”

“Heoeok…!”

“Is one not enough?”

“It’s, it’s okay!!!! Th, than that! When you say World Tree, are you talking about Yggdrasil…?

“Yeah, yeah! I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but she’s still a kind Ajumma!”

Hameil felt like he was about to faint.

The other members of the troupe felt the same.

It really was a Golden Apple. Even an ordinary person who hadn’t awakened Mana could tell. No――, even if it wasn’t a Golden Apple, it didn’t matter. At this level, it was a top-quality item that could be worth at least eight hundred gold coins, no. It could even exceed two thousand.

• Kkoreureuk…

However.

Was selling this Mana Fruit the right choice?

He was altruistic enough to worry about his comrades at the end of death.

To put it badly, he didn’t have the qualities of a merchant.

“Mister! I fixed the wagon too!”

“What, did you say…?”

“I, I! I want to ride that!”

While Hameil was agonizing.

Aileen gathered nearby rocks and created a giant stone wagon. The material was rock, but it was lighter than wood and stronger than steel. Thanks to Aileen’s healing, the horses were also in top condition.

“Heoeo….”

Hameil grabbed the apple at this absurd sight―

• Ajak!

―And chewed it as it was.

‘…I can’t handle it if I sell something like this. Let’s just get rid of it.’

He was afraid of what would happen later. If this was really a Golden Apple, he could be killed by the Elves. Even if he sold it well, he could be kidnapped by someone targeting the Mana Fruit. The troupe’s size was too small to experience such things.

In fact, it was useless even if he tried to hide it. There was someone who received the apple and secretly hid it, but the World Tree immediately turned it into dust. Hameil, who had eaten the Mana Fruit without any problems, could be considered lucky.

“…I’ll give you a ride.”

“Waa! Thank you!”

There were a total of two wagons, and the number of members was seven.

Including Aileen, they were divided into groups of four.

They immediately boarded the wagons.

Aileen calmed her pounding heart and said.

“Mister, mister! Do you happen to know where Lecante is?”

“Lecante, you say?”

“Yes, yes! My mom is there!”

What kind of being could the girl’s mom be?

Hameil fell into useless thoughts.

“I have an announcement――!”

He leaned his head out the window.

He shouted loudly towards the wagon behind him.

“We will change direction――! The destination is Lecante――!”

“Waaa! Are you giving us a ride?!”

“…You’re our savior, what can’t we do?”

Lecante was a rumored hellhole, but… the girl wanted to go, so there was no choice but to go even if it meant going through hell.

If her mom lived in such a hellhole, she must be a dragon. Hameil chuckled and pulled the reins.

• Hiing!

The wheels rolled.

* * *

And a day later.

“Wh, where is this…?”

“…Troupe leader. Is this really Lecante?”

“I don’t know either. Haa….”

The Lecante that the Azure Lotus Troupe faced.

Had become a completely different place.