Four days after submitting the request, Elias finally received a response from the guild. According to their report, they had found a mage who qualified not by rank, but by sheer magical capacity.
While this meant she wasn’t a top-tier adventurer, her guild rank was decent, so she wasn’t a complete novice either. Wanting to assess her himself, Elias made his way to the guild in town.
There, he came face to face with—
“…Hey.”
A woman.
She looked twenty-ish, with long black hair, dressed entirely in black—a black robe, a black cloak, even the staff she carried was black.
Everything about her screamed unapproachable, exuding an almost intimidating air.
(…Is she doing this on purpose to keep people from underestimating her?)
That was the first thought that crossed Elias’ mind.
“…Just to confirm, you’re the one accepting the request?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Can I have your name?”
“Jemie Diras. Just call me Jemie.”
The name matched the one given by the guild, so Elias nodded and got straight to the point.
“This is a reconnaissance mission. The likelihood of engaging in combat with monsters is low… but we’ll be approaching a monster nest. Any concerns?”
“Not at all. I’d rather fight them, honestly.”
(…She’s the combative type, huh.)
Elias sighed internally but assumed she wouldn’t be reckless enough to provoke a fight unnecessarily.
“Alright. Your role will be to maintain detection magic throughout the investigation. We’ll rely on your control for the search.”
“Got it.”
Jemie agreed without hesitation.
“I heard from the guild that this is your first time accepting a job related to the northern frontier.”
“That’s right. Until now, I’ve only taken requests around the capital.”
“This assignment isn’t in the frontlines, but… are you planning to use this as a stepping stone to take on more jobs in the north?”
“Something like that.”
Elias pieced it together.
Her rank wasn’t bad, but in the north, there were plenty of mages at her level.
She was likely struggling to get work in the frontier, so she decided to take this lower-risk mission as a way to establish a foothold.
“Alright, I understand. Since there’s a possibility of battle, you’ll need to follow instructions exactly. That’s a condition. Can you do that?”
“Of course.”
Jemie nodded.
At first, Elias had found her intimidating, but after talking to her, she didn’t seem like a problem.
Satisfied, he officially hired her for the job.
After securing Jemie’s cooperation, Elias returned to the fortress, instructed Frenn to expedite preparations, and reported everything to Noque.
With that, everything moved quickly—within two days, they were ready.
Elias contacted Jemie, and they all rendezvoused at a predetermined location before setting off toward Nanan Mountain.
“Alright, let’s move out,” Elias commanded.
The team consisted of:
Elias
Frenn
Jemie (hired mage)
Luke
Reina
Two soldiers (carrying supplies)
A total of seven members.
Since the mission was purely investigative, they expected to return the same day and hadn’t brought any camping gear.
The journey to the mountain went smoothly, with no trouble along the way.
On the way, they made a quick stop at the village where they had previously conducted interviews.
Elias asked if there had been any changes since their last visit—
“Nope, nothing’s changed,” the villagers reported.
“We haven’t seen anything unusual or heard any strange noises from the mountain.”
Since the situation had remained stable, Elias decided to continue toward Nanan Mountain.
As they walked, Jemie spoke up.
“You know, when I took this job, I thought it was a pretty strange investigation.”
“We were already in the middle of another mission when this came up,” Elias explained.
“You’re aware of the recent subjugation of the magical beast, Alder, right?”
“Of course.”
Her tone shifted slightly.
Elias noticed but chose not to press further.
“After the battle, we needed to survey the area for any residual miasma or the emergence of new monsters. That’s why we were scouting around the fortress’ surroundings.”
“And that’s how you discovered a monster nest in Nanan Mountain.”
“Exactly. The nest is far from human settlements, and no one has actually seen the monsters up close, so it’s not an immediate concern. But the kingdom wants to investigate it before it becomes a problem.”
“So this mission is to confirm what type of monsters are in there.”
“That’s right.”
Jemie suddenly narrowed her eyes.
“When I saw your name on the request… I thought you might be the Holy Knight who fought against Alder.”
(…She heard the rumors, huh.)
Elias nodded.
“Yeah, that was me.”
“I assumed you’d be in the frontlines.”
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The strategy was already in place, and I executed it. Besides, I wasn’t alone—I relied on many others to take it down. It wasn’t just my victory.”
As he spoke, a certain figure crossed his mind.
Mishena.
She was no longer at the fortress.
By now, she was at the northern front, battling monsters.