—Rebecca's Pov—

"Cheers!"

We gathered at a place in Erishe I often visited for drinks and raised our glasses in a toast.

Hetty, Miah, Noririn, and me.

It felt as though we had traveled four years back in time.

"Waaah! Neesan, I'm so glad you're alive! When we lost contact, I was worried you'd gone and quietly died somewhere!"

Noririn was already in tears, clinging to Hetty.

The one currently bawling and clinging to Hetty was Noririn.

Her real name was Minori, if I recalled correctly, but since it was custom in the Unison Mercenary Group for everyone to call each other by nicknames, I only ever thought of her as Noririn. She seemed to like the name herself.

She had left her trademark battle-axe at the inn and was unarmed. Having taken off her armor, she looked just like a common town girl. My image of Noririn was always of her swinging an axe on the front lines, so this was a bit refreshing.

She might look a little ditzy, but she was a mercenary who had made a name for herself as the "Right Captain of Hell". In Hetty's mercenary group, she was likely the third most famous person.

"When Miah received the letter from Nee-san through the Guild, I was truly shocked. Miah thought you were dead too."

The one Hetty had summoned by letter was Miah, also known as Miya-miya. Back in the Unison Mercenary Group, she was always stuck to Hetty's side, handling the nitty-gritty details.

She called herself the "Chief of Staff", but her vocation was actually [Secretary]. On top of that, she also had the [Scout] vocation, just like me.

I didn't know why she was in a mercenary group. If her vocation was Secretary, she should have been able to find plenty of respectable work. I seemed to remember hearing that Elepipi's younger sister is also a Secretary and works at a government office.

Well, most people in a mercenary group had their reasons. I didn't intend to pry.

"That's a bit harsh. You should know I wouldn't die that easily,"

Hetty replied.

In truth, I also thought Hetty was dead. She had a personality that led her into reckless situations, so when she went missing, I simply assumed she'd passed away.

When you stay in that industry for too long, you get far too used to people living and dying.

"You're the Grim Reaper, after all, Hetty."

"I'm a Valkyrie! When did I become the Grim Reaper?"

"Neesan, the moment you gallantly appear on the battlefield in that silver armor and mask, you look cool. But by the end, you're pitch black, covered head to toe in blood. To anyone watching, that's a Reaper."

"Ahaha! Neesan, for some reason, the only thing you ever hated was being called a Reaper."

"Normally, nobody wants to be called a Reaper."

"Miah kind of wants to be called that..."

"Miya-miya, you're weird!"

Hetty was actually a celebrity. While she wasn't as well known in Erishe, if you mentioned the "Reaper of Farleigh" or the "Valkyrie of Farleigh" around the Imperial Capital, she was a legendary mercenary whose name alone made crying children go silent. Isaac was quite famous too, but in terms of name recognition as a mercenary, Hetty might even have been higher.

In fact, their fighting styles were different. Isaac preferred a traditional way of fighting, but the Unison Mercenary Group, with Hetty at the lead, fought using unpredictable tactics. They were a bad match for us; there were several times when the "Scarlet Wedge" was actually outplayed by the "Unison Mercenary Group" under Hetty's command.

"Oh, that reminds me. After I left, Noririn chased me all over the place. On the battlefield,"

I said, suddenly remembering.

I once went on a spy mission into the Unison Mercenary Group. I left the group after getting the information I needed, but those six months were so fun I almost forgot I was a spy.

When I said I was leaving, Noririn saw me off with tears in her eyes. At the time, I was a mercenary in body and soul... and even so, it made my heart ache.

"Well, of course, Becky! You said you were quitting to get married and have kids, but then you just casually showed up as a Scarlet Wedge mercenary! Even I was hurt by that!"

"Becky was a spy from the start. Miah had a hunch."

"But Becky didn't leak any truly dangerous information, did she? Honestly, you're too soft."

"If the enemy had countered our strategy for the Milda battle, Miah and the others might have been wiped out."

"...Wait, what? Miah, you noticed?"

"Because you often had such a guilty look on your face, Becky. If you want to be a spy, it's hard to do unless you have a vocation like [Swindler]."

To think I'd been found out... Honestly, which of them was the soft one? If they'd noticed, they could have interrogated and executed me.

"Well, that's an old story. Besides, as long as you were in our group, you were a comrade... Actually, I did receive a warning from Miya-miya, but I decided to believe in Becky anyway."

So that's how it was...

"...I'm sorry, Hetty. Even though I had such a great time in Unison back then. But I was a spy... and because I was a spy..."

Even now, I sometimes remembered that time and felt a twinge of pain. I had met Hetty and the others after my contract ended and apologized, and they all laughed and forgave me, but... a betrayal is a betrayal.

"Hey, hey! That conversation ended a long time ago, didn't it? I hate sentimental drinking! Stop it, stop it!"

"Right, it's ancient history. A mercenary's creed is to be free in body and soul once the job is done... right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Besides, Beckyn is our Captain now."

Captain...

Captain, huh...

"...But you know, if Hetty is joining, wouldn't it be better if Hetty was the Captain? It's not like I have experience with that sort of thing..."

Hetty was a heroine who led a force of over a hundred mercenaries. I was nothing more than a single member in the Scarlet Wedge.

"What are you talking about? Jirou-sama asked you to be the Captain, didn't he? If you don't show him your good side, the new girls are going to steal Jirou-sama away from you."

"Wha... uh, well..."

As I started stammering after being suddenly asked about Jiro, Hetty blurted out something outrageous.

"Ohh! Jirou-sama looked pretty handsome! Beckyn, is that how it is?!"

"Wha... uh, well..."

As I started stammering after being suddenly asked about Jirou, Hetty blurted out something outrageous.

"I like him, Jirou-sama."

"H-Hetty...?"

Like him? What did that mean? Did she mean she liked him like a younger brother?

"Ahaha! Neesama is a rival! That's intense."

Even Miah started joining in on the teasing.

"H-Hey, what's with you guys? Stop saying stuff like that, even as a joke."

"Oh, Becky's mad. What's in her heart?"

"Jirou is, you see... he's kind, so he might take that sort of thing seriously... Besides, I want to grow Artemis into something serious and proper... So, um... a harem is, you know, a bit different from what I... well, think it should be."

"Oh my." "Oh my." "Oh my."

"...What?"

"Oh, nothing~ It looks like teasing you is going to be worth it from now on... I look forward to working with you, Beckyn!"

Noririn laughed and slapped me on the shoulder repeatedly. It was a bit annoying, but this was just how girlfriends were.

But, realistically... with the new girls joining, Jirou was surrounded by more women than ever. Some of the new girls might start falling for him too. I had to keep a sharper eye out than before...

Ugh... I hated myself for thinking like this...

"Ah! Beckyn, that ring is lovely!"

As I was absentmindedly looking at the ring Jirou gave me, Noririn spotted it with her sharp eyes.

"Ah, that. Apparently, she got it from Jirou-sama. She gazes at it dreamily sometimes; honestly, Becky's such a maiden."

"Amazing. Isn't that a Spirit Stone? Miah wants to receive something like that from a man, too."

"Whoa, I'm so jealous!"

Noririn and Miah crowded around, demanding to see it. To be honest, I wasn't entirely displeased.

"He... hehehe. It's nice, isn't it? He chose a red stone to match my hair color when he made it."

"Uwahhh, Beckyn is totally head over heels!"

"Hey, hey, what's your relationship with Jirou-sama, really? The Elf-sama and that busty Turk girl are always with him, but you seem a bit distant."

"Miyamiya observes well. I was away in the Imperial Capital for a while, but it didn't seem like there was any progress between you and Jirou-sama. You really are slow to act, Becky."

They were hitting me where it hurt, but it wasn't as if I was actually lagging behind. According to what I managed to get out of Marina, even she hadn't kissed him yet despite always being stuck to him. Apparently, it was the same for the Princess.

"Hey hey! What about it, Becky?"

Noririn loved this kind of talk, even though she almost never talked about herself.

"Uh... actually... we haven't even kissed."

"Whaaaa! It's purely platonic! And at your age!"

"My age has nothing to do with it! But, look, it's not just my problem. I mean, you know. Jirou is, how should I put it, shy himself... I feel like I've been giving him plenty of signs, though..."

Jirou shouldn't be uninterested... probably...

"Jirou-sama certainly doesn't come on strong. Wait... could it be..."

"...He did originally get the princess intending her as a slave, so he's definitely not uninterested in that way. For some reason, he just hasn't made a move yet, which is why it's a mystery."

"...Maybe he's just timid?"

"But they've been living together this whole time. Surely..."

"Hmm..."

I crossed my arms and started thinking.

Because the Unison Mercenary Group was all-female, there were many men who tried to hit on us. But Jiro was completely different from those men. After all, he came from another world (as he called it), so the world he lived in was different. The culture was different. Maybe the relationship between men and women was different too.

"Well, then Beckyn just has to work harder, doesn't she?"

"Yeah... I know that's how it is, but..."

Even knowing that, I had no experience, so I couldn't bring myself to be aggressive. And with the Princess and Marina watching...

"As the Chief of Staff, I suggest a night raid."

Miah proposed.

"Then let's have a race to see who can steal Jirou-sama's lips first."

"Hetty!"

If Hetty got serious about it, I didn't feel like I could win. She was quiet in front of Jiro, but the real Hetty was more of a predator—she had the drive to do whatever it took to achieve her goals. I couldn't help but feel like that maid uniform was suppressing those impulses of hers.

I felt like if she put on armor and joined the Knight Order, a Reaper of the battlefield that nobody could stop would be born. Jiro would be a goner in an instant. Though, whether the "like" Hetty spoke of was serious was quite questionable.

"...At least, well. Give me a reprieve until winter is over,"

I proposed as a compromise. Or perhaps I was just procrastinating on the problem.

"Ah, winter. I see."

"Winter is long, though... are you sure?"

"I won't have anything else to do, so I'll make it happen."

Once the Hitotsuzuki is over, winter will come. This area gets a fair amount of snow. Movement will be quite restricted during that time, so the things we can do will naturally be limited. If I'm going to launch an offensive, that's the only time.

"Ehh, then we'll be bored all winter!"

"You guys can just have a snowball fight like you always do."

"Whaaaa, that's mean! Treating us like kids!"

"I want to fall in love too!" Noririn shouted.

"Me too, me too." Miah joined in.

It was a very nostalgic vibe. It had been like this ever since we were in the Unison Mercenary Group. Despite saying they wanted to fall in love, there were never any rumors of romance for either of them. And it seemed there still weren't.

If the two of them planned to settle down in Erishe, I might introduce them to some other boys... Though I didn't think it would go well at all.

"Changing the subject entirely. Is it really okay for everyone to join the Knight Order? Since it was Miya-miya acting on her own, I could just make them my personal subordinates," Hetty said.

Jirou owned the Knight Order and I was technically the Captain, so she was being considerate. And despite everything, Hetty was kind. The idea of abandoning the girls who gathered didn't seem to have crossed her mind.

"Jirou said it was fine, so it's okay. I was happy to see everyone again after so long, and everyone's skills are guaranteed."

"I'm glad to hear that. Yeah... I'll have to thank Jirou-sama too."

Hetty's eyes gleamed mysteriously. This was the look she had when she was thinking of something mischievous.

"...Hey, what are you planning? Stop it."

"It's fine. I'll just give him a little 'lick-lick'. Miya-miya, you join in too."

"Yay. That sounds fun. I'll do it, I'll do it. Lick-lick."

"I might as well join in too-lick."

"Seriously, stop it. What is wrong with you guys?"

As I put my head in my hands, Hetty answered with a somewhat serious face.

"Listen, Becky. I think I might actually have a bit of a thing for Jirou-sama. It's strange even to me... maybe because of that matter with Ion... Somehow, I feel like I want to dedicate various things to him. I'm really sorry, Becky."

"Hyuuu~! To think the day would come when Nee-san says something like that!"

"Miah's interest in Jirou-sama is suddenly spiking too."

"Are you serious, Hetty?"

"I'm serious."

"Serious, huh... ahhh... uh..."

I had too many rivals as it was, so what on earth... Maybe it was my fault for not doing anything because the current situation felt comfortable.

Does Jirou really have that many elements that make him popular? He must have... Lately, even Ion had been acting a bit strange around him too.

"Anyway, wait until spring comes! That's the Captain's order!"

"Whoa, she's exercising her authority!"

"If it's the Captain's order, I guess we have no choice."

"Ahaha, Beckyn is desperate."

At this point, a harem might be the only realistic outcome.

I'm soft too... Even though I say these things, I want everyone to be happy. And there's a part of me that thinks Jirou might be able to make that happen, which makes me a lost cause.

I thought I could handle the Princess and Marina, but it looks like things are going to become quite intense.

* * *

In the end, we drank until morning, and I ended up skipping both work and training the next day.

Honestly, drinking with other women is dangerous; you just end up overdoing it.