TRVLT 27

Glen pushed all the plates in front of Arileti.

“Aril, don’t leave any food. Finish everything, okay?”

“…Where are you going, Young Lord?”

“To hunt monsters. I need to earn money quickly so I can buy a mandrake.”

Whenever he called her by name instead of “Teacher,” Glen became stricter and more serious.

With firm expressions, Duncan, Roel, and Mion stood up to follow him.

“We’re heading out too, Aril.”

They had already finished eating and seemed to have stayed only to hear the result of Arileti’s examination.

As the knights each patted her head before leaving, the hair Tanesa had carefully brushed quickly became messy again.

“….”

Arileti stared blankly at Glen and the knights as they disappeared through the door one by one.

She had grown used to seeing their backs.

That day, too, they had left her behind and walked away like this.

She knew it wasn’t that time yet, but fear suddenly gripped her.

“Oh my, Aril?”

Arileti quickly climbed down from her baby chair. She could get down on her own now.

“Uncle.”

She ran over and tightly grabbed Duncan’s pant leg.

“I’ll go too.”

“Huh?”

“I wanna go.”

She spread her arms and looked up at him. Duncan began to hesitate. Doris Duncan was the softest-hearted among Glen’s knights.

“No, it’s cold outside again today.”

“I still wanna go.”

Take me. Take me. Take me.

Arileti strengthened her gaze.

Take me too!

Glen spoke firmly.

“No, Sir Duncan. Take her back to the nursery.”

“Uh….”

Duncan groaned in conflict.

The little girl stood there with her arms wide open, asking to be picked up, looking surprisingly bold. Her teal eyes flickered desperately.

I want to go too!

Her tiny fists clutched Duncan’s pants, trembling slightly.

“Hmm….”

Perhaps because she had been seriously ill for several days, she had become more clingy after waking up. Whenever the knights went to eliminate monsters in the village, or when Glen inspected the territory, she tried to stay close to them.

‘Does she not want to be left alone? Or… is she afraid of something?’

As Duncan’s hesitation dragged on, Arileti’s eyebrows moved anxiously.

Ever since she suddenly came to live in the Hazeit territory, the little sage had always worn the same expression.

A blank expression.
A relieved blank expression.
A happy blank expression.
A disdainful blank expression.
A sleepy blank expression.

Very rarely, she would smile brightly, her eyes curving like crescent moons, but those days were extremely rare.

And now, a new expression had been added to her collection.

“We’re going to catch a huge monster. Won’t you be scared?”

“Mhm.”

Arileti hugged Duncan’s knee tightly.

When a child who had never acted spoiled suddenly did so, it only made people worry more.

In the end, Duncan lifted her up.

“I’ll take her with us, Young Lord. We can wrap her in an extra layer of Frozen Wolf fur. It has insulation properties.”

Only then did Arileti’s neat, indifferent expression return.

Glen, who had been watching with folded arms, let out a quiet sigh.

If you looked closely, Arileti’s dry expression changed slightly depending on the situation.

For example, when the corners of her mouth twitched a little, that was her version of a positive response. When she had to do something she disliked, her lips would pout like a duck.

Right now, judging by the way she kept blinking and pressing her lips together…

‘She likes this.’

She even looked relieved.

It was nice to see her finally look like a five-year-old, but somehow, he couldn’t shake off his doubts.

Whenever she used her power, she seemed to suffer greatly. Surely the reason she collapsed last week wasn’t because of that?

“Baby Teacher, let’s get dressed!”

Sir Mion came running with the Frozen Wolf fur. It was a winter cloak specially tailored for Arileti by the castle’s seamstress.

Only after Arileti was bundled up like a sturdy little wolf girl did Glen rub his forehead with a complicated expression.

After much difficulty, he gave his permission.

“Finish today’s subjugation within two hours, knights.”

Compared to the way the knights had frightened her, the hunt ended almost ridiculously quickly.

Today’s loot—White Goblins—were stacked neatly in the castle’s front yard. They had been smashing the fence along the mountainside with their ice clubs.

‘White Goblin hearts are often used in potion recipes that assist ice-element magic. And clubs made of eternal ice would sell perfectly to mercenary groups.’

Arileti secretly grinned and added the items to her product list.

The knights of Hazeit didn’t even bother looking at such clubs, saying they broke after a few uses.

Well, that was because the weapons’ durability couldn’t keep up with the user’s stats. For inland mercenaries, however, these were highly popular items.

“At least 100 gold per club… hehehe.”

She had already gathered more than thirty types of goods.

That should be enough. Now she needed to find a place to sell them.

‘It should be about time.’

Swinging her legs beneath Duncan’s arm, Arileti fell into thought.

If Baron Nemar had spread the rumors properly, she should have gotten a response by now.

After dismantling thirty White Goblins and storing them in the warehouse, the subjugation team returned to the castle. The aide who had been pacing near the gate spotted Glen and hurried over.

“Young Lord, we have a guest.”

“A guest? From where?”

“From Kaspel. But, well….”

The servant delivering the message looked confused.

“He says he came to see Teacher Aril of the Hazeit territory. Shall we let him in?”

6. Teacher Aril and the Future Great Merchant

“Are you Teacher Aril?”

Duncan awkwardly shifted his eyes.

“Uh… well.”

A merchant who ran a general trading company in Kaspel carefully chose his words.

“You are… larger than I expected.”

That was his most polite phrasing.

Among Hazeit’s broad-shouldered knights, Duncan stood out like a rock with his massive build. He made a ridiculous face.

“Teacher Aril is, well, not me but….”

Arileti secretly poked Duncan’s chest.

Startled, he quickly changed his words.

“Oh, yes. I am Teacher Aril.”

“Pleased to meet you!”

The young merchant brightened and held out his right hand to Duncan.

“I’ve really wanted to meet you, Teacher!”

Arileti turned her head and lowered the corner of her mouth in displeasure.

Just what kind of rumor did that baron spread?

‘It seems my name spread around instead of Hazeit’s….’

It wouldn’t be good if people found out that the famous Teacher Aril was only a five-year-old girl. From now on, what mattered most was credibility.

And credibility usually began with a neat and reliable appearance.

Arileti poked Duncan firmly again.

Under her merciless finger jabs, Duncan awkwardly twisted his body.

“Uh, please… have a seat first!”