Smoke rose in clouds over the campfire as the meat slowly cooked. Ethan, who had cut it into suitable pieces and skewered them on branches, had placed them around the edge of the fire.

Now he spread out the skin of the grips. Though he had drained the blood, the unmistakable stench of the beast still lingered.

Rubbing his stinging nose, Ethan sharpened his dagger and began to trim the inside of the hide. Normally this fur would be too tough to cut easily, but under his hands it sliced smoothly.

Because of this quality, the hide was often used in place of armour, as blades couldn’t cut through it.

Although the heavy fur was usually made into hoods, Ethan had sold every by-product of the grips he could get, given the tools and manpower available at the time.

Now he no longer had to worry about earning coins from the sale. If only he’d had the hide earlier, it would have blocked the poison, and if he’d fought with just his right arm, he wouldn’t have been so badly injured.

From the start, Ethan had the ability to win without a scratch – if only he had been properly armed.

“……”

She brought her along because she seemed useful, but she ended up being nothing but dead weight, and now she’s just a source of unnecessary worry.

Ethan’s forehead furrowed.

He had thought that treating wounds would be as simple as making a prosthetic hand – quick and easy. Who would have thought that blood would be the cure?

He had seen many people die, but he had never imagined that someone else’s sacrifice would save him.

It was something he had never even considered.

Even mercenaries formed close bonds, but that was as far as it went. No one ever sacrificed for another.

A life where dying at any moment was nothing out of the ordinary – that was their way of life.

It was common for someone who had been drinking and laughing a few hours before to return in the morning as a corpse. And if there was a body at all, it was considered lucky – if it was intact, it was a miracle.

They risked their lives with every strike, and if they died, it was simply the end.

Even if a friend who had once been like a brother died, the mercenaries still had to concentrate on killing the beast in front of them.

Paying respect to the dead could always come later.

“…Ethan.”

The voice calling to him sounded strangely hushed. Ethan turned his head quickly to look at the woman crouched beside him, concentrating on her mouth.

Soot clung stubbornly to her lips, along with a bit of red flesh – charred skin that burned before the flesh inside had a chance to cook properly.

“Hey, look at me.”

The hand that gripped her chin was rough, almost forceful. Her pitifully sunken cheek was pressed in, causing her small lips to protrude awkwardly.

“Mmfh.”

“Open your mouth.”

“Mmgh…”

When her trembling lips parted slightly, Ethan pressed hard against her jawbone. When her mouth opened wide, he saw half-chewed pieces of flesh inside.

With a grimace, Ethan stuck his fingers in, pulled the pieces out and threw them on the floor.

“I told you not to eat just anything, didn’t I?”

“You left it there for me to eat… so I ate it.”

And yet you couldn’t even wait for it to cook properly before shoving it down your throat.

Ethan looked at the skewer by the fire and snapped, raising his voice.

“Who eats monster meat raw like that?”

“I do?”

“Don’t eat what you see. You’ll get sick.”

‘Why do I have to teach something so basic as if I’m dealing with a child…’

Ethan clicked his tongue at his own situation.

“You said it was good, but this isn’t.”

If, who had barely escaped his grip, glared at the piece of meat thrown to the floor. Her face full of dissatisfaction left Ethan unable to hide his disbelief.

“It’s no good because it’s not cooked. That’s it – from now on you eat nothing unless I give it to you. You said yourself you don’t need to eat, right?”

It would be better to forbid her than to have to stop her every time.

“Why? Eating is fun.”

“And yet you’re the one who just said it tasted bad. When have I ever given you anything that didn’t taste good?”

Red and yellow berries hanging from the grass. Monster meat stew mixed with crushed herbs. There hadn’t been many meals, but everything she’d eaten so far had been to If’s liking.

Thinking for a moment, she shook her head quickly.

“No.”

“I’ll only give you good food.”

After all, she didn’t need to eat at all.

If nodded quietly.

“Okay.”

Because that last piece of meat had really tasted awful.

***

Wrapped in the well-dried grip skin instead of an old blanket, Ethan held If close to his chest. Even though she wasn’t really lying down – just dozing in a sitting position – there was no sign of fatigue on her face.

Nothing alive had ever been held in Ethan’s arms before.

As a child it had been chains binding his limbs. As an adult, it had been a greatsword meant to strike down others.

Awkwardly, he looked down at her head resting on his arm.

Lately, finding it strange that he slept, she had begun to sleep as well, following a strict routine at his side.

Since he was the only human who was constantly by her side, she had begun to copy his every action – from eating to sleeping.

At least she didn’t follow him when he went to relieve himself – for which he was immensely grateful. If she ever saw him like that, he might die of shame.

As Ethan threw more wood on the fire to keep it from burning out, his mind raced.

Geographically, Belphirn was part of the Granat Empire, but the Empire didn’t recognise it as its own land. It was bad enough that they went so far as to leave the area blank on their maps.

Although two kingdoms bordered Belphirn on the edge of the Empire, neither claimed it as their territory.

That’s how much of a headache Belphirn was – a troublesome land that no one knew how to deal with.

Monsters don’t usually live in packs. There are occasional exceptions, like the hyena, but they’re so weak and never come down to the villages that they don’t cause much trouble.

The monsters that do make it to villages or noble estates usually come alone – two or three at most. Most requests for mercenaries were to deal with this kind of threat.

But Belphirn was practically an area ruled by monsters. They were everywhere – on the shores, on the ground, in the trees, in the caves and even in the sky. There were even plant-like monsters, easily numbering in the hundreds at least.

A hellish place with no people and nowhere to rest. The fact that Ethan had survived was nothing short of a miracle.

Meeting an Ancient here at all was a miracle in itself.

It was impossible to travel through a place like this with extra baggage – without even a weapon.

It was a fact that Ethan himself had overlooked, as he had never brought anyone with him before.

‘I need a weapon.’

So far, he had managed to pick up any weapon that was available. Even inferior swords with blunt edges were no problem for him, as his physical abilities allowed him to handle them with ease.

But now he had someone to protect – someone who depended on him.

The easiest way to get a weapon was to buy one, but this basic solution was complicated for him.

For one thing, he had no money.

Slaves and mercenaries were people without status – lives that could be discarded without consequence. Of course, they couldn’t use the official banks of the Empire. The only place that would hold money for them at all was the Mercenary Guild in Rigo.

A place built around the Empire’s only mercenary guild, often referred to as the Nation of Mercenaries. Ethan had also kept all the money he had earned there.

If he went missing and a certain amount of time passed, that money would be given to a friend or family member according to the will he had left behind.

Ethan had set the waiting period at one year. As only half a year had passed, if he returned within that time he could claim his money and buy a gun.

The second problem was location.

Even if there were villages near Belphirn, they would be nothing more than small settlements patrolled regularly by soldiers – no place that would sell proper weapons.

And even if he hunted monsters here and tried to sell them, the infamous title of “One who hunted monsters in the Execution Grounds” – a mercenary from Belphirn – would attract far too much attention.

Especially as he was still a fugitive who hadn’t escaped his status as a condemned man.

Being a convict held him back in every way.

It wasn’t just that he couldn’t fight without a proper weapon – even running away would be all he could do, and considering the distance to Rigo, that was a huge risk.

“Damn, if only I had a weapon…”

“What kind of weapon do you need?”

Although she had been asleep only moments before, her voice was clear and bright.

Ethan looked down at If, who poked her head out from under the hide.

“What? Are you going to start making weapons for me?”

“I’ve never made one before. But I don’t think I can’t.”

Still, there was no way she could actually read someone’s mind – even if they were connected.

If casually slid her hand out from under her skin and drew a line through the air.

In an instant, a holographic screen filled Ethan’s vision and If began to move her fingers through it.

On one side, various graphs with numerous data points fluctuated rapidly, while in the centre, a blue 3D model began to take shape.

Thousands of polygons made up of triangles and rectangles came together to form the shape of a dagger – identical to the one Ethan owned.

“Huh.”

“It’s not mapped, so texture and weight aren’t implemented. But as a weapon… would this do?”

“You mean this can actually be used?”

Ethan eyed the dagger wavering in front of him with suspicion and reached for the hilt.

But he felt nothing – as if his hand had brushed against an invisible, formless web.

“That’s not how you use it. It’s for 3D printing… Hang on, you probably don’t have that here. Um, outputting… hmm.”

If kept correcting herself in mid-sentence, then finally gave Ethan a sullen look.

Frowning under her gaze, Ethan narrowed his eyes.

“It’s hard to explain because your brain is too stupid, Ethan. I can’t make it any easier.”

“Well, look at you.”

If making someone feel like crap without using a single curse word was a skill, she definitely had it.

She jabbed a finger at Ethan’s right arm.

“It’s the same as this. When I give the command that I want to create this shape, nano-machines smaller than ants gather and form it like this.”

More precisely, they output it.

And unlike old 3D printing technology, which just printed and was done, this could change shape even as it was being used.

At her explanation, Ethan stared intently at the dagger in his hand.

“So… you can make it longer too?”

“Like this?”

As she pulled on the tip of the blade, the polygons stretched rapidly and the blade of the dagger grew longer.

“How about wider?”

“Like this?”

Pressing the blade between her thumb and forefinger, she spread them apart and the blade widened.

Ethan laughed breathlessly at the sight – it wasn’t clay, but the shape changed instantly, as if it were nothing.

A weapon, not a drawing, was being created before his eyes, just like that.

‘This is seriously dangerous.’

Now he understood why there were rumours that offering an ancient artefact to the royal family could earn you a noble title.