It must have been the deep sleep after a long time because when I rubbed my sore waist and opened my eyes, it was already close to lunchtime.
“I slept well.”
I got out of bed and started taking off the clothes I was wearing one by one.
These clothes were something I only took out to wear when going somewhere special.
I planned to roughly smooth out the wrinkles and put them into Subspace, so instead, I took out some clothes from my Inventory and got dressed.
“Hmm…”
At the sound of me moving, Jenny woke up from her sleep.
For a moment, she startled and curled up, then looked around cautiously before glancing at me once more.
Only then did she seem to realize the situation and slowly got up from her seat.
I told her to come eat.
Since it was still a bit early for lunch, many tables were empty.
I chose one and sat down first.
Then Jenny stood behind me.
“What are you doing? Sit down.”
“Y-yes…”
She obediently sat down at my words.
We ordered food, but since it was just the two of us, I ordered a slightly smaller portion.
The innkeeper brought tea as an aperitif before the meal.
While waiting for the food, it was time to have the conversation I didn’t have energy for yesterday.
“Let’s see. First, I guess I should introduce myself? My name is Solo. I’m twenty years old and now the person who became your master.”
“I’m Jenny. I’m 28 years old. Please take good care of me, Master.”
“Good. Even if you’re older, I’m the master, so speak comfortably.”
“Yes.”
I looked straight at Jenny and continued.
“I’m not like others who plan to just boss you around like a servant.”
“Of course?”
“I will treat you like an ordinary person. And I plan to reward you fairly based on how well you serve me. So I hope you don’t harbor any unnecessary thoughts or feelings.”
“Yes, Master.”
“From now on, call me Solo.”
“Yes, Solo.”
I took a sip of tea.
The aroma was pleasant and the tea wasn’t heavy at all to drink before a meal.
“Any questions?”
Jenny was silent for a moment but then said she didn’t have any.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
The food arrived.
Unlike me, who ate slowly and deliberately, Jenny started eating hastily.
She looked like a starving person who hadn’t eaten for days.
I told her to eat comfortably and pushed some food towards her.
That only made her eat more enthusiastically.
I ordered an extra serving and ate the new dish myself.
Jenny finished two servings alone and looked satisfied, her face brightening.
I told her to bring her bag from the room, then stepped outside the inn.
There was still a lot to do today.
***
I currently had 40 gold and 76 silver left.
If I were alone, I wouldn’t worry, but now it was the two of us.
About 40 gold would probably go toward buying a horse.
It was strange for me to be riding a horse while making Jenny walk.
If that was the case, I had to start the journey immediately.
The first place I visited after leaving the inn was none other than the Mercenary Guild.
As I entered the guild, I felt the gazes of others on me and Jenny.
Their focus was fixed on us.
“What’s going on? Wasn’t she supposed to be a slave?”
“Yeah. She’s marked on her hand.”
“That kid’s the master? Rich or what?”
“Shh. Maybe he’s a noble. Watch your mouth, dumbass.”
“Shut up, dumbass! How could a noble be a mercenary?”
“Ha, if only I had money, I’d buy her.”
“She’s the best except for her attitude.”
“Must be fun every night, jealous.”
I caught pieces of their conversation clearly.
Gossip and slander were the basics, and some even insulted me outright.
I was already irritated because there was no job I liked, and the whispering behind me only made my annoyance rise.
Still, just in case, I asked the receptionist.
“Is there a merchant route that leaves soon and goes far away?”
The receptionist shuffled through some documents right in front of me and handed me one, saying,
“There’s one. There are two merchant routes: one passing through the Kingdom of Alita heading to the Londinium Empire in the south of the continent, and another cutting through the Canadian Mountain Range going to the Pecaboris Empire.”
Showing me two documents, he seemed a bit reluctant.
“The Pecaboris Empire route requires two mages, and the one to the Londinium Empire requires one swordsman and one mage.”
He glanced subtly at Jenny.
Seeing her standing silently like a doll behind me, he said since there was a swordsman, a mage was needed.
“Hahaha. Just stay at the inn and join another merchant route.”
“Ugh, if I were that age, I’d stay up all night having fun.”
“A mage? He looks like a swordsman.”
“Does he even know draw a sword?”
The ones who had been gossiping started openly mocking me.
At first, I tried to ignore it, but the second time, I got mad.
“Just once.”
I turned my back to them and raised one hand.
“Fireball.”
A blazing fireball formed in my hand.
Showing it to their eyes, I said,
“If another filthy word comes out of your mouth, I’ll make sure you can never speak again in this world.”
I threw the Fireball toward them.
I deliberately slowed its speed to make it fly sluggishly.
The mercenaries were terrified when they saw the Fireball.
“Shit, run!”
“Crazy bastard! Planning to kill us all?”
The Fireball in the narrow Mercenary Guild hall caused pandemonium as the mercenaries scattered in a panic.
Those who had been talking filth pushed each other and ended up falling on the floor, injuring themselves.
Jenny, who had been watching, laughed loudly.
It was the first time I heard her laugh.
I too smirked at their pathetic state and then canceled the Fireball.
Turning back to the receptionist, I said,
“No problem, right?”
“Huh? No, no problem.”
He told me to come back here tomorrow morning.
I nodded and left with Jenny.
We just smiled quietly.
There seemed to be a slight bond forming from what had just happened.
We then moved toward the market.
I needed to buy a few things for the journey.
First, we stopped by the stable for Jenny to choose a horse.
“I’ll give it to you for 38 gold, Jenny.”
I was surprised.
Jenny had already spent two years here, so she was familiar with the geography and quite friendly with the merchants.
Because of that, I was able to buy a horse at a slightly cheaper price.
After paying, we moved toward the market.
We bought jerky and some light bread for the journey.
Also, we purchased some small snacks and put everything into the Magic Bag.
When we returned to the inn after strolling through the market, it was still before sunset.
“Shall we try it out?”
“Yes.”
I took Jenny to the open field.
I drew my weapon and pointed it at her.
“Bring it on!”
I pulled out my sword and lunged at her.
Contrary to my expectation that she would just crouch down helplessly at the sudden attack, I saw her quickly draw her sword and parry my strike.
My evaluation of her rose a bit.
I kept swinging my sword.
Since this was purely a sparring match—not fighting monsters or an attacker aiming at me—I wasn’t going all out but watching how Jenny would react.
Clang, clang, bang!
My sword was a longsword.
It was easy to wield with one hand, about 80 cm in length, and reasonably light at 1.5 kg—a weapon many mercenaries favored.
Jenny’s weapon, unlike mine, was a shortsword.
It was about 20 cm shorter and much lighter than my longsword, fitting perfectly for her.
Given her agile movements, it was an ideal weapon.
Our swords continued to clash in midair.
I pressed the attack fiercely while Jenny dodged what she could and blocked what she had to.
However, she never once managed to counterattack.
‘Well, even this much is impressive.’
My swordsmanship level was high, so I had the advantage, but with my physical strength and stamina, it was natural Jenny struggled.
“You do have skill.”
Backing away, I said this, and Jenny gasped, surprised.
“W-W-Wait… Master, are you a Mage Knight? And quite accomplished too?”
She had switched to calling me Master without realizing it.
Jenny seemed to think I was a Mage Knight with over 3-circle Magic and excellent swordsmanship.
There were indeed those who used both Magic and Swordsmanship.
Among mercenaries, some learned 1-circle simple Magic along with sword skills.
But they were merely mercenaries who used basic magic and swords.
Unlike them, I possessed 3-circle Magic, and my swordsmanship was good enough to beat mercenaries ranked C-class, so the term Mage Knight was fitting.
“My main power is Magic. Swordsmanship is just a side skill I picked up for self-defense.”
Respect filled Jenny’s eyes.
Then, suddenly, a message popped up.
-Human ‘Jenny’s’ heart has opened.
-Can be registered as a Pet.
-Would you like to register?
“…Huh?”
It was an unexpected notification window.
The words that she could be registered as a Pet made me look at Jenny.
She looked at me with innocent, reverent eyes, unaware of anything.
I hesitated on how to respond.
‘That’s completely insane, isn’t it?’
A Pet? A human?
How was I supposed to explain this?
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
But one thing was certain.
‘She can get stronger.’
Just like me.
For example, when Toma learned the Sprint skill.
He learned it by becoming my Pet.
By becoming my Pet, Jenny might immediately acquire skills, or learn Magic books and Swordsmanship Books on her own.
In other words, her potential for growth would become limitless.
‘This is an incredible opportunity for both of us.’
Registering as a Pet meant she’d be mine completely, which also meant having someone I could fully trust, and she would have the chance to grow stronger.
So I asked her first.
“Do you want to get stronger?”
“H-How? Can I really get stronger?”
“I have some special Magic. The moment you try it, you’ll probably give me blind trust. I’ll trust you more too. Anyway, I have a special Magic. You can get stronger with it.”
Jenny stared at me in surprise.
Then she nodded and said,
“I want to.”
She said she wanted to become stronger.
“Why do you want to get stronger?”
“I think becoming your servant happened because I was weak. And now, as your servant, you don’t push me or make unreasonable demands. If I want to live as a proper person, I have to follow you. To do that, I need to get stronger.”
She chose to get stronger for both me and herself.
“Good.”
I registered her as my Pet.