Thanks to the precious herbs and potions provided by Edel, as well as an abundance of rest, Sel was declared fully recovered in just two weeks.

She was itching to get up after lying in bed for so long.

She’d even found history books interesting out of sheer boredom.

Sel got back to work immediately. Choro had been handling the weapons storage in her absence, so there was no backlog there, but the accounting was another matter.

The Cavalry Mercenaries accepted commissions from many nations, and payment was often made in various currencies. Converting these into gold, jewels, or other tangible assets was Sel’s responsibility.

It was challenging work to accurately assess and convert the fluctuating values of different currencies, given the various seasons and events.

It wasn’t easy for Sel either, but she was managing thanks to the formulas Eric had shown her.

Sel, Lavi, and Eric were all working together in Lavi’s office on the fifth floor.

Documents were stacked high on the rectangular black-wood desk.

Lavi, sleeves rolled up to his wrists, was swiftly scanning and signing papers. His unbuttoned shirt revealed a well-defined collarbone and toned muscles.

If the ladies of the capital saw him, they’d be hiding their faces behind fans and sighing in admiration.

But here, no one was paying him any attention.

Eric, dressed in his favorite silk robe, was half-reclined on the sofa, reviewing documents.

Since the robe barely covered his thighs, his long, pale legs were plainly visible.

The robe’s neckline revealed his lean yet firm chest.

Eric brushed his hair back lazily as he flipped to the next document.

Bang! Lavi slammed his fist on the desk. Eric looked at him, puzzled.

“You. What’s with your outfit?”

“Are you talking to me, Lavi?”

“Who else would I be talking to?”

Eric’s brown eyes flicked to Sel, who was sitting at the small table by Lavi’s desk.

With dark circles nearly reaching her nose, Sel finally looked up, sensing the unusual atmosphere.

Eric looked at her, his face pleading.

“I wear this every day.”

“It’s practically see-through!”

“What exactly is visible?”

Lavi, lips pressed together, gestured at Eric’s chest and legs.

“You’re a man, and yet your chest is out in the open, and that robe is so short! Sitting there with your legs wide apart—who are you trying to show off to? You look practically n*ked.”

Lavi glanced at Sel.

Though Eric was a man, Lavi assumed that even she would find his outfit distracting, and feeling a strange sense of rivalry, he undid two more buttons on his shirt.

“Why do you keep going on about it? Am I the emperor with no clothes? Are your filthy, perverted eyes so tainted that you can’t see what I’m wearing?”

Sel’s kind eyes can see just fine. That’s enough.

Eric cut him off sharply and picked up the stack of documents again, his lips mouthing what were likely silent insults aimed at Lavi.

Sel didn’t want to get caught up in this strange tension.

She just wanted to finish her mountain of work and head back to her room for some sleep.

Though she handled weapon repairs and accounting, Sel had never been directly involved in a mercenary mission.

But from looking at the logs, she could see the impressive clients they worked for.

And her friends were the ones accomplishing these great deeds.

Choro, who always gave her a friendly smile, and the standoffish Braeden—they both guarded royalty and nobles, slew fearsome monsters, and hunted down bandits.

On large-scale missions, Philip joined in alongside the commander, carrying out his role.

What Sel did was by no means insignificant. She knew that, too.

Still, a desire to join them on these missions was rising within her.

She wanted to live up to her new title of “Mercenary Sel” and make a small contribution herself.

‘I should ask to go along on the next mission. Until then, I’ll have to build up my stamina.’

With that thought, Sel quickly began scanning the accounting documents in front of her.

After reviewing all the ledgers that Lavi had given her, she stretched her arms.

“Nice work, rookie.”

Eric, who had just finished his own work, tossed her a strawberry-flavored candy.

Sel caught it quickly and popped it into her mouth. The sweetness eased her stress.

“How shameless.”

It was Lavi, who had recently become the main source of Sel’s skyrocketing stress. He leaned back in his chair with a scoff.

“Employees throwing food around in front of their superiors, eating snacks in the workplace with no regard for decorum.”

Hearing Lavi’s derisive tone, Sel closed her eyes in resignation, silently swallowing her 28th flash of irritation. She spat out the strawberry candy.

It was slightly smaller now, gleaming on its wrapper.

She crushed the wrapper into a ball and tossed it with emphasis into the trash bin at Lavi’s feet.

Lavi, watching out of the corner of his eye, relaxed his frown and turned back to his work.

He was preparing for the “Black Forest Expedition,” delayed due to a recent incident with a possessed elder.

“Are you going to be long, Lavi?”

“I’ve got quite a bit le—”

“He’s got a lot left to do, rookie. Let’s head down.”

“Yes, Eric.”

After giving Lavi a quick bow, Sel followed Eric and walked out swiftly.

In the now-silent room, Lavi stood blinking, suddenly feeling quite alone.

Left by himself, Lavi’s face tightened with disappointment. The edges of the document he was holding crinkled under his grip.

With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes with his arm.

Whether due to stress or perhaps some internal tension, Lavi felt increasingly unsettled and emotionally volatile these days.

“I don’t have time for this. I need to finalize the deployment routes and weapon formations quickly.”

Determined to refocus, Lavi slapped his own cheeks and shook his head. Just then, his gaze landed on the trash bin. Inside was the strawberry-flavored candy that Sel had thrown away, still wrapped in its cute packaging.

“…….”

He could vividly recall the candy disappearing between Sel’s red lips and the shine it had when he spat it out. Lavi furrowed his brows as he stared intently at the candy, willing it to float up as if he had telekinetic powers.

‘What’s wrong with me? Why am I acting like this?’

To his shock, his right hand reached out, seemingly against his will, to pick up the discarded candy.

‘Is someone controlling my body?!’

Lavi tried to regain control by tensing his body, which momentarily stopped his hand. But then his fingers closed around the candy, bringing it up toward his nose. Instinctively, he sniffed it.

‘Crazy fool!’

Lavi mentally cursed himself, mortified. Just as he was about to throw it back into the trash, Sel and Eric entered the room, both staring in surprise at the sight. Lavi dropped the candy in shock.

“…If you wanted some, you could have just asked… It’s odd to eat something someone else tossed aside….” Sel was too shocked to finish her sentence, her expression frozen. Meanwhile, Eric diligently scribbled something into his notebook.

“Must be some ghostly influence…”

That’s what Lavi wanted to say, even if he wasn’t sure. But before he could, Eric shook his head sympathetically.

“Rookie was right, Lavi. You really wanted that candy, didn’t you?”

The man who normally wouldn’t touch sweets.

“…Seems so.”

Sel’s face remained skeptical as she stepped closer, taking Lavi’s wrist and placing a handful of strawberry candies in his palm.

With his gaze fixed on the candies now in his hand, Lavi’s eyes trembled.

“You’re a wealthy man; why go for something discarded? Speaking from experience… it doesn’t feel great to eat something off the ground.”

Sel recalled her own time in a cottage, where she’d sometimes picked up candy from the dirt. She left the room, leaving the remark like a piece of advice from a senior to a junior. Eric, looking amused, followed her out, leaving the room in silence once more. Alone, Lavi swallowed hot tears he hadn’t felt in a long time.

***

“Sel, I’m not feeling well; could you cover the first floor for me for just three hours?”

Holding his stomach, Philip, who was visibly pale and sweating, urgently asked for help, saying that Sel was the only one left with others out on assignments.

“Sure, don’t worry. Just rest and remember to take your medicine.”

Sel generally wasn’t the type to accept personal requests, especially one involving assisting at the first-floor counter, but with many mercenaries out on assignments, staffing was tight. Philip rarely asked for favors, so Sel understood the urgency and agreed.

The first-floor lobby was bustling with a variety of people. Among them were those as varied as a man drunkenly demanding the death of a neighboring kingdom’s prince and a foreign noblewoman veiled in lace, begging for help to rescue her lover from the king. There was even an emissary requesting aid to subdue a giant monster in the southern desert region.

‘The scale of these requests is incredible.’

As Sel arrived in the lobby, a woman seated at a table abruptly stood and gestured to her. She was a cute lady wearing round glasses, clad in a fine dress that indicated she was a noblewoman from the royal capital.

“You’re a mercenary here, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. How can I help you?”

“I’m here to request information.”

“Yes, please wait a moment. Another mercenary will come to consult with you soon….”

As Sel moved to leave, the lady grabbed her sleeve.

“No, I want to request information from you specifically.”

The lady’s half-lidded eyes blinked rapidly, betraying her poor health. Sel quickly set down a plate of shrimp crackers on the table for her, a courtesy snack rich in magnesium.

“I’m still a newcomer, so I can’t handle consultations.”

“No, this is information only you can provide.”

She placed a 50-rouble bill on the table. Swallowing nervously, Sel reluctantly sat across from her, her curiosity piqued.

Resting her chin on her hands, the lady studied Sel’s face.

“Big brother.”

“Are you looking for your brother? Shall I register it as a request?”

“No, you *are* my big brother.”

“…Excuse me?”

“When someone’s that handsome, they’re my big brother. What’s your name, Brother?”

Momentarily unsure if it was proper to take on the title of brother to a noble lady, Sel decided to humor her question.

“…Sel,” she replied.

“Wow, even the name is gorgeous.”

“…Pardon?”

“I meant to say you’re exactly my type.”

With a bashful smile, she pulled a notebook from her pocket. Sel’s eyes narrowed; she recognized the familiar leather scent from the deep brown cover of her notebook.