The village chief and officials hurriedly arranged a separate meeting to talk with the mercenary group.

However, before they could open their mouths, Bireta spoke first.

“We have secured support from the Magic Tower.”

“R-Really…!”

“Our mercenary group will also prioritize the village’s safety as requested.”

“Thank you. Whatever compensation we can offer…”

Bang. Bireta placed a golden plaque with a scorpion emblem on the table.

It was the gold plaque the village chief had sent instead of an explanation, as per Sharti’s instructions.

“First, this scorpion gold plaque-”

Bireta’s eyes blazed.

“Can we really accept this as an advance payment?”

[This is the timeline separator]

While the village chief was dealing with Bireta, Ashu was also busy. As it was their first time hosting guests, the villagers were bustling about as well.

The mercenaries were generally free-spirited, and the villagers who got caught up in the atmosphere were completely flustered.

Amidst all this, there were some who quietly huddled together and sprawled out in various parts of the village.

“I-I’m going crazy…”

“Can you see my hands shaking? I’m going to dig my grave here.”

“Hey, keep your order.”

“Is this the holy state those drug addicts talk about? This is paradise.”

They were the mage members of the mercenary group that Bireta had brought.

As soon as they entered the village, they wobbled as if drunk and stuck to the ground, refusing to get up.

Among them, mages with large mana vessels inside their bodies breathed passionately in an excited state.

“Hey, I never knew I’d feel full just by breathing, without even eating.”

“I just cast recovery magic on guys I normally wouldn’t even look at. I have mana to spare, really.”

“Me too… Cast… Preservation magic… Everyone was surprised…”

The mages were elated as if they were dreaming. It felt like a dream.

They could sense mana from the sky, the earth, and everything that made up the village.

Ashu’s village was paradise itself for those who had been living freely as blocked mercenaries.

They didn’t make a fuss about how such a place could exist.

Of course, they harbored fundamental questions, but the mages desperately pushed down their curiosity.

‘What’s important now is that we’ve set foot in this place!’

‘It was originally a hidden village, right? If we meddle around here, we might be disliked.’

‘If we show signs of digging into secrets, we might be kicked out! Let’s try to stay as calm as possible.’

Instead of digging into the past, the mages began to dream of the future.

And their heads were already filled with plans for workshops they would build and settle in the village.

The other mercenary members felt the same way.

Besides the mages, Ashu’s village was also very popular among the mercenaries.

“Is Sister Bireta currently negotiating with the village chief on our behalf?”

“Since it’s a request that came to Sister first. It’ll take a while, as it’s a negotiation that involves not just us but also the Magic Tower.”

“That’s not all. This village could become our mercenary group’s first base, you know.”

Unlike other mercenary groups, the Crofl Mercenary Group that Bireta belonged to had never had a headquarters until now.

Since they all had stories of falling out of favor with nobles like Bireta, it wasn’t easy to secure a base.

On the other hand, Ashu’s village, befitting a hidden village, was located deep in high mountains and had a wide area.

Moreover, the fact that it was within the New Eaton Empire yet unregistered with the empire was irresistibly appealing.

“So be nice to the villagers. Smile a bit.”

“With this face, brother, they’ll be scared.”

“Then you smile as our representative. We’ll be indebted to them for a long time, so we should make a good impression.”

As the mercenaries were favorable towards the village, the residents, though puzzled, could feel somewhat relieved.

People collapsing one by one, the visit of Sharti the doctor along with the disappearance of food supplies. And then the revelation of the disease – how surprised and anxious they had been.

In the end, the village chief had even put in a request to the mercenary group with the choice to save the village.

[Trust and follow us.]

The villagers couldn’t help but be confused by the sudden changes. It was natural to feel uneasy when the implicit rules and controls they had been following for years suddenly changed overnight.

Moreover, mercenaries? It was as good as a storm warning for the peaceful and quiet village.

However, contrary to their worries and tension, the mercenary group that visited the village was friendly.

“Give it here! Let us handle the heavy stuff!”

“Feel free to order us around! We’re here to help!”

“We’ve put away all our weapons over there, so you don’t need to worry.”

Rather, the mercenary group was overly kind and considerate towards the residents.

Naturally, their favorability could only increase.

Even the residents who had been maintaining a proper distance while reading the atmosphere loosened up and didn’t try to reject the presence of the Crofl Mercenary Group.

“Have you been behaving well?”

After a while, Bireta, who had finished the negotiations, returned.

Dozens of mercenary members gathered in front of Bireta at once.

“How did it go, Sister?”

Carun, the leader of the Crofl Mercenary Group who had left the negotiations entirely to Bireta who had received the request, approached.

Carun was an old man of similar age to Bireta, with graying hair and a large vertical scar on his left eye. Behind Carun, who blinked his one remaining eye while carrying a greatsword on his back, the expectant gazes of the mercenary group lined up.

“Unpack your bags. The negotiations went well.”

The mercenary group let out a silent cheer.

While his comrades quickly moved their luggage, Carun discreetly approached Bireta.

“Did you also get permission to build our mercenary office or lodgings?”

“Yes.”

Carun scratched his head at the easily given answer.

“Why, now that we’re here, you don’t like it?”

Bireta raised her eyebrows at Carun’s frivolous attitude.

Carun chuckled.

“It’s not that. I can’t believe it. Until now, no domain or village has accepted us knowing our circumstances, Sister. Can you really feel that we can live in such a good environment right away?”

“Well, we’ll soon realize it.”

Bireta gestured to the mage members.

“Kids, quickly contact the Magic Tower. We need to finish before that scorpion guy catches our scent and barges in.”

“We’ve already activated the crystal ball!”

While sticking to the ground and wobbling, the mage members had quickly assessed the environment of Ashu’s village. The massive mana flow deep in the earth, the mana currents mixed in the air visible at a glance. Nature and life where mana accumulated like dust.

It was clear that even the Magic Tower would go crazy in front of such a massive mana resource.

“Bireta, we’ve connected with the Magic Tower!”

“Then hurry and urge them to send support. I’ve given them a hint, so they should come right away.”

“Yes~!”

Bireta had postponed detailed coordination with the Magic Tower for now. Although she had given them a hint, the Magic Tower side would probably be half-doubting Bireta’s words, so it was better for them to see it directly.

Bireta herself wouldn’t have realized it if the mercenary mages hadn’t been crawling on the ground praising the mana swirling around the village.

“Now, spread out and faithfully carry out the requests assigned to you!”

“Yes!”

Following Carun’s instructions, the mercenary members split into groups and dispersed to various parts of the village.

Carun also left, saying he would meet the village chief separately to greet him.

“Um, excuse me…”

At that moment, some villagers approached Bireta.

With a face that said this was perfect timing, Bireta pointed to the mercenary mages who had remained.

“Do you know where our child who needs a mage is right now?”

And a little while later, Bireta was able to meet Sharti inside the hut where the patients were isolated.

Bireta spread her arms without even glancing at the dark figure standing blankly behind Sharti.

“You’ve worked hard, child.”

“…!”

Sharti brightened up and ran to Bireta, hugging her.

As the wrinkled hand stroked her back, Sharti smiled with relief.

“Now, as you said, I’ve brought our mages first.”

At Bireta’s signal, the mage members quickly examined the patients.

As they swept their staffs over the patients’ bodies, bright light particles floated in the air.

Only after examining all the patients in the hut did the mages return.

“It’s mana poisoning.”

The prediction was correct.

Sharti let out a short sigh.

“All the patients have something in common. Their mana vessels are smaller than normal people’s. You can think of it as a kind of incompatible constitution causing problems.”

“Bodies that couldn’t withstand it would later feel even the air heavy due to the high-purity mana.”

They added that since massive mana resources are rare, and cases of ordinary people living in such an environment are almost non-existent, this was the first time they had seen mana poisoning progress to this extent.

The patients’ families quietly sobbed at the words that if there had been a mage sensitive to mana flow nearby, measures could have been taken earlier.

“To exaggerate a bit, they’re in a state like a time bomb now. In other words, they would have died soon from the mana inside their bodies exploding.”

The villagers who had followed with anxious faces also turned pale.

Sharti also got goosebumps as she realized how dangerous the situation had been.

“Is there a way?”

The mages flinched at Ren’s question.

His large build rivaling their fellow mercenaries and the robe he was wearing made him intimidating.

The mages, glancing at Ren who was dressed exactly like Sharti, nodded reluctantly.

“It’s difficult right now. More precisely, we need to suck out the mana from the patients’ bodies, but we’re also full of mana now.”

“First, we need to deplete our magic power before we can extract the mana from these people’s bodies.”

“Even then, we can’t do it all at once.”

In other words, they could prioritize saving the high-risk patients until support arrived from the Magic Tower.

One of the mages stepped forward.

“I’ll give you an example for now.”

The mage raised his staff towards Sharti.

It briefly looked like an attacking posture, so Ren immediately blocked in front of Sharti.

“What are you trying to do to my master?”

“Ah, no, I was just trying to show an example.”

The mage shrunk his shoulders, frightened by Ren’s growling attitude as if he would pounce at any moment.

Bireta, who had been watching the confrontation between the two, clicked her tongue as if it was pathetic.

“Step aside and watch, you fool.”

“If you want to show an example, do it to me. Not to my master.”

“That damn dog…”

Bireta’s gaze towards the still ill-mannered Ren was sharp.

Sharti couldn’t raise her head due to Ren’s overprotectiveness.

“A-Alright! I’ll do it to that man then!”

Finally, the mage pointed his staff at Ren and began casting.

Ethereal mana light gathered at the staff.

“Ooh…”

“M-Magic.”

Small and large exclamations flowed from around.

At that moment, when everyone’s expectations were focused on him, the mage raised his staff high.

The mana light swelled as if it would burst towards Ren at any moment.

“…?”

But that was the end.

“What? The light suddenly disappeared.”

“Wait. Now there should be changes to that teacher’s assistant. He cast magic, right?”

The mage’s expression became sullen at the expectant murmurs around.

His fellow mages also looked at Ren with ambiguous gazes.

“What did you do?”

Ren tilted his head and asked.

It wasn’t a question about what he had done. It was a question asking if he had done anything at all.

The one who was flustered was the mage.

“T-This is strange…? The magic should have enveloped your face… Why did it disappear?”

“Were you really trying to cast it on that man? Why did the magic disappear? Did you make a mistake because you were scared?”

“T-That can’t be!”

Ren took on a cynical posture as if it was pathetic.

Sharti looked at Bireta, wondering what was going on. Even to Bireta, it seemed strange.

“W-Wait a moment! Ahem, I must have done something wrong!”

The mage, who had mumbled that it was a small mistake due to lack of concentration, pointed his staff at Ren again.

This time too, just like before, the light only gathered, and that was the end of it.

“Huh?”

“Sigh. Let me try.”

Other mercenary mages stepped forward, but the more they did, the more suspiciously people looked at them.

“…?”

Magic wasn’t working on Ren.

“Your skills are poor.”

The mages trembled, gripping their staffs at Ren’s cynical evaluation.

The villagers watching also showed clear signs of disappointment.

“Hmm…”

Only Bireta observed Ren closely with sunken eyes.

“This is impossible!”

A mage member confident in his skills burst out with rising competitive spirit and raised his staff high.

The mage shouted a battle cry and swung his staff down in the air.

“Where are you-!”

Ren sensed something was wrong, but before that, the light generated from the staff was shot. However, this time the target was not Ren but Sharti. This time, the light enveloped Sharti’s body, and a magic circle briefly formed and disappeared around her face.

This magic seemed to have succeeded, as the mage looked satisfied.

‘…There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly strange?’

Sharti tilted her head this way and that, checking her body condition. Ren was quiet too, as there didn’t seem to be anything unusual on the outside.

Then the mage pointed at Sharti’s hood.

“Take off your hood! I cast a facial transformation spell!”

“…!”

Sharti touched her face in surprise.

She could clearly feel that her facial contours had changed.

“Let me see.”

Bireta checked Sharti’s face with her back to the people. Then she chuckled.

‘Is it very strange?’

Bireta slowly removed the hood instead of answering Sharti’s questioning look.

Wheat-colored curly hair had turned into black straight hair flowing from inside the hood. Not only her face but also her hair color had changed.

As Sharti looked puzzled, the mage kindly created a mirror with magic.

‘Even the eye color is different.’

The reddish-brown eyes had become a calm and mysterious purple color.

The gentle eye corners had also slightly lifted, giving a sensitive impression.

‘Wow…’

Sharti touched her face in the mirror curiously, moving it this way and that.

She had really become a different person. This wasn’t just a transformation spell, but more like a complete metamorphosis.

Glancing around slightly, everyone was looking at Sharti with curious faces.

As her eyes met with the people without a screen, Sharti felt a small thrill and quickly turned her head.

‘Ren! How do I look?’

Sharti looked at Ren with a bright smile.

However, when their eyes met, Ren’s expression wasn’t very good.