Meanwhile, in the western forest of Dailon.

The bushes rustled in a silence where not even a single ant could be seen.

A man was just emerging from the entrance of the forest. He was covered in black liquid from head to toe.

“Hmm.”

He kept rubbing his collar as if trying to erase the stains. When that had little effect, he just took it off.

The upper garment was so messy that it was impossible to tell what color it originally was. When he wrung it out, black liquid dripped down.

One might have frowned at the dampness, but the face of the man drying his clothes was as refreshed as could be.

He shook his head with invigorating motions as if he had just taken a shower in the forest. Just then, a passerby caught his eye and he casually called out.

“Are you going that way?”

At the sudden voice from nowhere, the passerby jerked his head up and looked around. Upon spotting the man, the passerby’s eyes widened.

However, he recalled the news that the subjugation force had recently begun their hunt. The man must have been one of them.

An ordinary person couldn’t be standing so nonchalantly in front of the forest covered in monster fluids like that.

“Is there another way besides this road? I can’t trade my life for sore legs, you know.”

The passerby was just about to set foot on his usual path. It was a distant route that cost quite a bit, but it was trivial compared to the threat of monsters.

Meanwhile, the man roughly wiped his face and body with his removed shirt. As soon as he looked somewhat human again, he hopped down from a tall tree stump onto a side path.

“If you go back that way, the road is steep and takes longer. Come this way. It should be safe at least for this week.”

“I heard the subjugation force was starting from the eastern forest… Have they already been through the western forest too?”

“…”

The man only smiled slightly at the passerby’s question.

Still without giving an answer, he rummaged through the bushes. Soon a large bag appeared. He slung it over his right shoulder and passed by the passerby.

“Take care, sir.”

His exposed upper body gradually receded into the distance. The passerby tilted his head for a moment but then turned back to his own path.

It was the trail the man had pointed out, not the roundabout side path. If he could reduce expenses while barely making ends meet, all the better.

Moreover, considering the man’s appearance, he seemed more trustworthy. The no-nonsense way Patren handled things was quite reliable.

However, that trust soon turned to shock.

“W-w-what is all this…!”

The passerby’s jaw dropped wide as he set foot on the trail. The scene before his eyes was terribly shocking.

Everything was pitch black all around. The forest, which was already dark, had become a complete pit of darkness.

The stuffy smell of monster fluids stung his nose, and dismembered corpses were strewn about every two or three steps.

The marks left on the corpses were especially appalling. They were finely crushed, as if the slaughter hadn’t stopped even after they were already dead.

This wasn’t subjugation or hunting. It was a scene more befitting the expression “one-sided massacre.”

“Could it be… that man from earlier…?”

Even knowing it was impossible for one person, an inexplicable fear welled up.

The passerby squeezed his eyes shut and fled across the forest as if escaping.

That night, this fact was relayed to Gelda through Plam’s mouth. Gelda put her hand to her head upon receiving the report.

“It’s good that our work has decreased, but…”

“Is that all you have to say?”

Plam frowned at the unsatisfactory response. Gelda removed her hand from her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Soon, as she put a cigarette to her lips, Plam lit it for her as if understanding.

No further explanation was needed, but Gelda sent her reply drifting with the smoke.

“Let’s hope that those fierce blades aren’t turned towards people as well.”

The first subjugation battle, which lasted for two weeks at three-day intervals, ended.

During that time, rumors circulated in the guild that someone’s good deed or doing had greatly shortened the expected duration.

Helena remembered the expression that appeared on Ian’s face when she first heard that rumor.

‘It was as if he knew exactly who it was.’

That bothered her a bit, but there was no need to dwell on it. The shortened duration was somewhat good news for her, if anything.

She still needed more time to face high-rank monsters without Ian’s help. She had also added facing Cerberus alone to her list of things to do.

Helena sat at her desk, occasionally tapping her temple with the tip of her quill pen, staring out the window. Stars began to twinkle one by one in the evening sky.

As she was absently counting them, someone knocked on the door.

“It’s me.”

It was Gelda.

Helena put down her pen and stood up. When she opened the door, Gelda entered more cautiously than expected.

Gelda glanced around the room and chuckled.

“A princess is a princess, huh? This might become the best-smelling room in our guild’s history.”

Usually, when she had something to announce, she would send Lily or call Helena to her office. Helena greeted Gelda with curious eyes, finding it strange that she came in person at this hour.

Gelda, being of a straightforward nature, conveyed her business without any particular greeting.

“Take it.”

A small cloth pouch flew towards Helena. Her eyes widened as she caught it reflexively.

A jingling sound leaked from between the slightly open mouth of the pouch. It felt quite heavy in her hand.

“The settlement for this subjugation. We don’t take separate commission fees, so I can’t give you much, but I put in quite a bit anyway.”

As Gelda was about to turn away after giving this brief explanation, Helena hurriedly grabbed her.

“I can’t accept this.”

“Why not.”

“I didn’t defeat Cerberus on my own, you know.”

There was no need to explicitly mention who had helped; Gelda knew as well.

However, Gelda pushed away Helena’s hand as she tried to return the money pouch.

“That’s for you to share with that man or do as you please. I’m just settling accounts according to the rules.”

As Helena still hesitated, Gelda put her hands on her hips and began to lecture.

“One way or another, it’s your share. And you need to accept this much to catch bigger ones next time.”

“It’s enough for me to be accepted as a member of Patren.”

“I understand how you feel, but don’t say things like that anywhere else. It’s just asking to be taken advantage of.”

Gelda straightened her back and firmly pressed Helena’s hand, which was on the money pouch, against her chest.

“Do you think it’s easy to take down Draguun or Actaeon? Accept it as compensation for your skills. That’s how it should be.”

Before Helena could add anything more, Gelda left the room.

Helena stared down at what Gelda had left behind for a long time. The money pouch was more than just compensation for simple labor.

It was something she had accomplished with her own hands. Something that hadn’t failed or become a mess.

It was a different kind of feeling from the occasional stirring in her stomach when facing Ian.

It wasn’t simply about liking or disliking, but a strange feeling that tickled all the way up to her throat.

Helena deliberately shook the pouch a couple of times to hear the jingling sound. As if trying to repeatedly confirm that this peculiar feeling actually existed before her eyes.

Then she grabbed her coat and headed outside.

‘She said to do as I please, so…’

As she listened to the sound of her own footsteps, Helena suddenly realized it was her first time going to Ian’s quarters.

The closer she got to him, the more her heart pounded in one corner of her chest. Like a child tasting a colorful lollipop for the first time.

After needlessly fixing her hair and clothes, she stood in front of the door and took a deep breath.

‘I want to convey this feeling to you too.’

When she knocked on the dark brown oak panel, it took some time before the door opened.

A temperature clearly different from the outside air poured out along with a yellow light.

“Helena?”

Ian paused in the middle of drying his hair with a towel.

His abdominal muscles visibly tightened as he hesitated, as if her visit was very unexpected. The shadows of his muscles appeared even more pronounced due to the dim lighting.

Helena turned her gaze away from his upper body, which still had occasional water droplets, and asked.

“Can I come in for a moment?”

Ian moved aside, slowly resuming the movement of his hand at the back of his head. Helena stepped inside, carrying a slight tension.

The interior was neat. There was an atmosphere created by the monotone colors and tidy orderliness.

Gelda had said that her room would become the best-smelling room in the guild’s history, but Helena thought his room was no less so.

The calm woody scent naturally eased her tension. Even the space seemed warm, perhaps because it resembled him.

Ian broke the silence first as he wiped the moisture from his hair with the towel.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your personal time.”

“How could that be? I’m glad, so please come more often.”

A smile slowly spread across his face as he leaned on the edge of the table.

Perhaps due to the languor after showering, his smile looked even more like that of a well-fed beast.

It might also have seemed that way because of the firm contours that traced clearly from below his neck down to his navel.

Helena took out the money pouch along with her business from her bosom.

“I came because I have something to give you. I received the settlement for this subjugation from Gelda, and-”

“I won’t accept that.”

The refusal was quick and firm.

Ian left the table he had been leaning on and turned his back completely. Hanging the towel over his shoulder, he walked to the wardrobe, leaving Helena frozen in place.

As he casually took out a white shirt, Helena stepped forward with a more determined voice.

“Then consider it repayment. Thinking of all the help I’ve received from you, you can at least accept this much, can’t you?”

Ian still didn’t turn around. He let out a small sigh as he slipped his arms into the shirt.

“This isn’t why I did it. If we’re being precise, it was all for my own sake.”

“I… thought you would like it.”

“You still don’t know me that well-”

“At least it assures you that I’ll stay by your side until I’ve repaid everything.”

This time Helena cut in. Ian paused in the middle of buttoning his shirt.

Helena took her eyes off his broad back and stepped back.

“But if it was a hasty judgment, I apologize.”

The next moment, Ian grabbed her arm just as she was about to turn away.

As soon as her slender wrist entered his large grasp, her body followed, spinning around.

Ian held out his palm to Helena, who was looking up at him with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

“Give it to me.”