Ch.6Chapter 6: Usefulness.

Lisa also reacts to Valt’s words, dropping her shoulders dejectedly.

“Sigh… I’m such an idiot… Forgetting my money pouch… I’ll have to go back now…”

Then, as if something occurred to her, she asks Valt:

“What are you going to do, Valt? It seems like you weren’t planning to use teleportation in the first place…”

Valt continues to flex his muscles thoughtfully.

Even though he’s just standing there with his arms crossed, breathing, it looks like he’s showing off his muscles.

“Hmm… If we can’t use teleportation, I’ll have to go on foot.”

“Th-that distance? Even going quickly, it would take over a month!”

‘Even going quickly, it would take more than a month…’

But there’s no other option. He’s already wasted more than 5 days.

The 60-day timeframe might be tight.

He can’t just turn back now. Valt decides to find the route to the Academy from here and set off.

“I still have to go. What will you do?”

Lisa responds to Valt’s question:

“C-could you take me with you!?”

Lisa’s determination to reach the Academy was remarkable.

If she returned home now, she didn’t know when she’d be able to leave the territory again.

She would have to live quietly within the territory, marry the fiancé her father chose for her, and live the life of a noble lady.

Lisa hated that idea. The Academy was something she had barely received permission to attend because of her talent in swordsmanship.

She couldn’t give up so easily.

This was probably the last chance to change her life.

Besides, this barbarian Valt was incredibly strong.

She hadn’t even properly seen his full abilities.

In the forest, he had thrown a Claw Bear, which was considered quite dangerous, into the air with one hand.

If Lisa had faced it, she might have had to risk her life.

The bear died instantly with its head severed, becoming good food for Valt and Lisa.

She thought that with someone like Valt, even she could safely reach the Academy.

Valt contemplates Lisa’s request.

‘Hmm… I wonder if she’ll be helpful…’

This place is a border region between barbarians and central people. So the central people here are accustomed to barbarians.

Moreover, for the past decade or so, the central continent has been peaceful while the barbarians fought among themselves.

So the perception of barbarians is relatively decent.

It was the same when entering the castle.

The soldiers even welcomed him with “Oh! A barbarian! Welcome!”

But what about further into the central regions?

Barbarians have a strong image as plunderers.

People who haven’t encountered them directly would naturally avoid or fear them based on rumors.

Having finished that thought, Valt says to Lisa:

“How would you be of help?”

At least it’s not a rejection.

At Valt’s words, Lisa thinks about what she can do.

Cooking? Valt did it all.

Hunting? Valt did it all.

Navigation? She just tagged along.

‘What? Was I this incompetent? I can’t do anything!’

Growing desperate, Lisa starts saying anything:

“I-I can be quite useful! I found the way and I’m pretty good with a sword!”

But Valt’s expression remains indifferent.

“And! Since you’re a barbarian! I’d be better at dealing with people! I’m good at running errands too!”

Valt is about to yawn now.

“And! Also! Yes! Besides swordsmanship, I can use enchantment magic too!”

Even without her passionate plea, Valt was already planning to take Lisa along.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a companion for such a long journey?

Even so, the errand part was a bit cute.

But what surprised Valt was something else.

“Magic? You can use magic?”

Lisa is from a swordsmanship family. Valt racked his brain, drawing on his game knowledge.

‘Valentine! The magic sword Valentine! Right! Now I remember, the Valentine family famous for their magic swords!’

The Valentine family uses a unique swordsmanship.

They deal with various situations using enchantment magic with elemental swords.

They could be considered magic swordsmen, but it’s slightly different. Or is it?

The magic sword, which combines aura and enchantment magic, is a transcendent sword technique that can be compared to even higher-level aura users.

This is possible because of the Valentine family’s unique aura utilization method.

Normally, using flow and circle together would cause conflicts, but the Valentine family’s swordsmanship has a form where the circle supports the aura flow.

Theoretically, it’s the ultimate swordsmanship that could reach 9 flows and 9 circles.

But of course, that was impossible. Even the head of the family, Count Valentine, known as the genius of the century, only reached the level of 7 flows and 3 circles.

While Valt didn’t know such detailed information, Lisa’s value skyrocketed just from the enchantment magic alone.

“Yes! I can use simple enchantment magic! Would you like me to show you!?”

Excited by Valt’s interest, Lisa offers to demonstrate.

Curious, Valt nods.

“Let’s see it.”

Lisa then draws the sword from her waist.

“Now, watch carefully! Indu Sharpness!”

A small amount of magical power flows from Lisa and envelops the sword.

“D-did you see? It got sharper!?”

What exactly was he supposed to see…?

How could sharpness be visible to the eye?

Valt thinks Lisa might be a bit dim-witted.

“Not that. What about elements like fire, ice, or wind?”

Lisa seems to know something after all.

“O-of course!! Indu Fire!”

With the incantation, a very faint fire rises from Lisa’s sword. It’s about the size of a gas range set to its lowest setting.

Lisa’s face reddens as she mumbles:

“I-I’m only at the 1st circle level so…”

But it definitely works.

Curious, Valt reaches out to touch the sword.

Seeing this, Lisa shouts:

“Huh? If you touch that!?”

Tap!

Despite grabbing the sword, Valt only feels a slight warmth.

“This would be perfect for camping.”

A flustered Lisa shouts:

“Th-that’s not right!? It’s still fire! It should be hot!?”

Lisa looks around and picks up a fallen leaf, then places it against the sword.

Whoosh-

Fire is fire, it seems. But it’s weak. It takes quite a while for the leaf to catch fire.

“Hmm. But it’s definitely magic.”

Lisa rejoices at Valt’s acknowledgment.

“R-right? This is more than it seems…”

“Can you teach me that?”

“What?”

Even though Lisa is naive and inexperienced, she knows that barbarians don’t learn magic.

Why would they need to learn magic when they have such overwhelming physical abilities that surpass magic?

Besides, it’s common knowledge that barbarians have no magical talent whatsoever.

“Magic?”

“Yes.”

Lisa tilts her head and asks again:

“Not swordsmanship, but magic?”

“Yes.”

In that case, there’s no reason not to teach him. The Valentine family’s secret is their swordsmanship, not magic.

This level of enchantment magic can honestly be learned at the Academy.

“W-would that be okay?”

Noticing Lisa’s implication, Valt smiles slightly and answers:

“That’s for me to worry about. You just need to teach.”

“Alright. I’ll teach you.”

***

They plan to rest here for a day and then depart.

Valt and Lisa find a cheap inn and head straight to the Mercenary Guild.

They could just leave, but if there’s an escort mission along the way, it would be financially beneficial.

It was a three-in-one plan: save on food, earn money, and travel.

Creeak-

The wooden door of the Mercenary Guild opens, and the massive figure of Valt enters with Lisa.

Having stopped by the inn to tidy up, Lisa has returned to her cute girl appearance.

It’s the perfect image of a beautiful young lady and a beast, or a noble lady captured by a barbarian.

Upon seeing Valt, everyone in the Mercenary Guild tenses up.

Some even place their hands on their sword hilts.

Thud-

Thud-

Thud-

With unwavering steps, Valt stands before the guild employee and speaks:

“I’m here to register as a mercenary.”

“Phew…”

Only then do sighs of relief escape from various corners, and the tension in the guild dissipates.

People resume their activities and conversations.

The female employee, overwhelmed by Valt’s presence, finally speaks and guides him:

“W-welcome. Y-you want to register as a mercenary?”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Lisa steps forward:

“Miss! Me too! I want to register too!”

Traveling with Lisa definitely has its benefits. As she steps forward, the atmosphere brightens considerably.

People felt somewhat reassured seeing the intimidating Valt accompanied by a girl who was only about 160cm tall.

“Then, your name and origin…”

After registering as mercenaries and receiving temporary mercenary badges, Valt and Lisa search the request board for escort missions.

There should be many.

The southern region, adjacent to barbarian territories, is a regular destination for merchants due to its high demand for goods.

They can sell cheap central continent items at higher prices in the south, and bring southern specialties back to the central regions for a good profit.

Therefore, merchant escort requests are quite common.

As Lisa examines the requests carefully, she points to one and says:

“This one! Valt! This one! It’s perfect! We could get there quickly with this!”

It’s a journey from Lester Castle to Orgin, and then to the capital of the Duron Kingdom, which borders the Halkin Empire.

It’s a perfect request for Valt and Lisa, who would take about 30 days for the journey.

Moreover, the compensation is quite high due to the long distance.

With this payment, combined with the money Valt currently has, they could possibly take a teleport from the capital of the Duron Kingdom to the Academy.

It’s possible because the distance would be much shorter. If it’s not enough, they could go to the Halkin Empire and walk a bit more.

Valt grins at Lisa’s words.

“Good, let’s go apply for the request right away.”