At Leke’s words, the three men were puzzled.

Why believe and stick together in this battlefield while competing against each other?

In the meantime, Leke approached Ed.

“You’ve gathered quite a few portraits.”

Only then did Ed realize that he still had a portrait debt. He quickly hid the portrait behind him.

Then, Leke smiled warmly.

“I apologize if I caused any misunderstanding. I have no intention of coveting the portraits you’ve found. I swear on my family and the name of the Elhas Kingdom.”

Adding the name of the kingdom seemed convincing.

But the three men still remained cautious.

Then, Leke took something out of his bag and presented it to Ed.

“If I give you this, will you trust me?”

It was a treasure card of almost A-grade difficulty.

Ed, surprised, accepted the card.

“No, is it okay to give us such a good treasure?”

“Of course. I’ve found plenty.”

Saying so, Leke smiled gently again.

How much must he possess to casually give away an A-grade portrait like this?

Because of that, Ed and Sharack completely let go of their guard against Leke.

However, Luca was different.

“He was definitely observing Irtis with strange eyes earlier.”

But he missed the opportunity to tell everyone about it when Leke suddenly appeared.

At that moment, Irtis glared coldly at Leke.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why? Because I want to travel with Irtis after a long time.”

After a long time.

At that remark, all three men perked up their ears.

Indeed, Irtis and Leke were very close.

They listened to the two men’s conversation, lowering their voices.

“This is not a playground. Don’t fool around and go your way.”

“But you don’t have proper weapons either.”

Saying that, Leke quickly drew out his cursed sword.

Everyone’s eyes were envious as they saw it.

That bastard is so lucky.

Even if they gathered everything they had, a telescope, armor, a pot, and…

Just then, Sharack showed his pickaxe towards Leke.

“I have a weapon too.”

Then, with a worried tone, Leke said,

“It may not be effective against ordinary beasts, but it won’t work on high-level demons. I might end up breaking it.”

It was not a false statement.

Moreover, among the people gathered here, Leke was the one who knew the most about demons.

He had been living by hunting demons every day in the northern ice mountains.

In the end, they decided to let Leke join them.

Of course, Irtis remained dubious until the end.

He quietly approached Leke and said,

“Promise me one thing. No matter what happens, don’t put them in danger.”

Leke’s insides twisted at those words.

But outwardly, he continued to smile gently.
“Of course, Irtis.”

“Okay then.”

And so, the five men formed an alliance and decided to travel together.

After planning and organizing a group, they searched various hunting grounds, collecting portraits.

Before they knew it, the day was coming to an end.

Everyone finished their search and started lighting a bonfire.

During this time, they discussed how to spend the night safely.

Luca mentioned a cave, but it was too far away, so they gave up.

After careful consideration, they decided to take turns keeping watch while camping.

Later, everyone lit a bonfire, and Ed cooked stew in the pot he brought.

Normally, it might have been a risky move, but due to their efforts in clearing out nearby demons throughout the afternoon, not a single beast approached, lured by the smell.

Finally, it was time to sleep.

Irtis and Leke took the first shift.

The two men sat facing each other with the bonfire between them.

Irtis looked quite exhausted, having fought demons without proper weapons.

Leke gazed at him with a concerned expression.

“I’ll keep watch for a while, so get some rest, Irtis.”

“I’m fine, so if you feel sleepy, go ahead and sleep first.”

Leke didn’t miss the hidden meaning behind those words.

He’s probably uneasy about leaving only me and sleeping.

‘He still doesn’t trust me.’

But that, too, will come to an end soon.

Leke chuckled softly while touching the water bottle.

Until the second day, the five men continued to collect portraits.

And finally, the third day, which was the last day, arrived.

From today onwards, instead of collecting portraits, they decided to search for treasures written on the back.

Fortunately, Ed had been meticulously noting the princess’s preferences, so they could easily find most of the treasures.

The problem arose from the next set of quests.

Some S-rank difficulty quests couldn’t be solved just by casually wandering around the hunting grounds.

For example, the portrait Sharack picked up had the following written on the back:

If only the picture is possessed: 10 points can be obtained.

Find and bring the favorite gem of Princess Arlin: Additional 100 points can be obtained.]

That gem could only be mined from a distant rocky mountain.

While there were no demons there, the terrain was rugged, consuming a lot of time.

Luca also handed an S-rank card to Ed, asking,