The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

Merchants were one of the professions that tried to avoid laziness the most. Of course, it was the same for Rina. Generally, her days began before even the sun started to rise.

“Mmm…”

With a soft moan, she stretched her body beneath the blanket as she woke up. After tying her hair up in a messy bun, Rina then began fixing her bedding. The dawns of late autumn were quite chilly, and the bed looked very inviting, but she ruthlessly suppressed the urge to climb back into its warm embrace. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop the yawn that burst out.

‘Did I sleep for about 4 hours?’

She hadn’t slept for more than six hours in the two weeks since they’d started this journey, and the fatigue she felt was beginning to accumulate. But she knew that she just needed to hang in there a bit longer. Because once they got into the empire, her work could be considered half finished.

‘But I can’t relax just yet.’

It would only take one more day before they arrived at the border. If nothing special occurred, they would be able to see the Rulan river by the next morning.

There wasn’t much time left until they reached their destination, but it was all the more reason why she couldn’t release her tension yet.

Usually, if something were to happen, this would be the time.

Of course, with Peran Jun accompanying them on this journey, most risks would not turn into crises.

Tap tap…

As she walked out of her tent, she saw a few mercenaries sitting around the dying bonfire. They were the night watch.

They all bowed their heads slightly when they saw Rina step out.

“You woke up early today too.”

“Was your bedding comfortable enough?”

While it might seem like they were being rude by talking like this to their employer, their behaviour could actually be considered very polite for mercenaries. Rina, who had the experience of hiring mercenaries dozens of times, understood this fact well.

“Of course, it was much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. And I wasn’t cold since I was using blankets imported from the northern snowfields.”

“Kuh, I’m so jealous.”

“I really want a blanket like that. How much did you say it was again?”

“Since we’ve become friends after working together, if you buy one now, I’ll sell it to you for 3 gold and 47 silver coins.”

When Rina spoke with a professional smile on her face, the mercenaries all shrank back slightly. If they worked hard for a month, they could probably earn around 10 gold coins a month. While this might be a lot for mercenaries, no matter how much they made, it would be impossible for them to waste a third of their salary on a single blanket.

“…ah. You could probably drink as much black beer as you want with that much.”

Rina let out a laugh when the mercenaries tried to change the subject.

“Just bear with it a bit longer. You will all get a day off when we arrive in Bairak.”

“Oh!”

“Hearing that really does cheer us up.”

They chatted for a while longer in a jovial tone, but the atmosphere soon changed.

“By the way… who the hell is that guy?”

One of the mercenaries pointed towards one of the carriages with an expression of dissatisfaction on his face.

Without even looking, she knew who he was referring to. It was the carriage carrying the white haired man they’d found unconscious on the road.

Apparently, his name was Lukas.

“We’re taking him to the city for free, can’t he do a few chores to show his gratitude?”

“That’s right. That’s common morality, but that guy doesn’t seem to have that. Just look at how shameless he is, resting in the luggage compartment as if it’s only natural.”

Such complaints were natural.

After all, sleeping in the luggage compartment was much warmer and more comfortable than sleeping outdoors.

Of course, it was difficult to secure much space in the luggage compartment that was filled with all kinds of packages.

So the only ones who usually slept in the luggage compartment were the employers Rina and Peran, or the leader of the mercenary group Idail and the vice leader Garp.

Apart from them, there was only enough space for one other person. The mercenaries usually decided who got this spot through bets, but now, Lukas, who had recently been picked up, had taken it from them.

Of course, this was only allowed because of Peran.

Rina spoke in an ambiguous tone.

“Please bear with it a little longer. We are only taking him to Bairak.”

“…yeah yeah.”

“Well… If that’s what the employer says.”

The mercenaries nodded their heads as though they understood, but their attitudes showed that it was insincere.

This was natural. After all, there was no coercion or deterrence in Rina’s words. So unless their leader Idail or vice leader Garp directly ordered them, they would continue to complain in the future.

Of course, Rina didn’t actually intend to stop them. After all, she was also somewhat dissatisfied with Lukas’ presence.

After greeting the mercenaries again, Rina headed to the carriages to inspect the luggage.

This was to confirm the amount of luggage they were carrying, as well as to make sure the mercenaries were doing their work properly.

After all, if she managed to catch any of them slacking off, she would be allowed to legally cut their wages.

Just as Rina stepped between two carriages to get to the other side.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“…!”

In an instant, her heart leaped into her throat.

Forcefully suppressing the chill that swept up her spine, Rina turned to look behind her.

There, she saw Peran giving her an awkward smile.

“I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”

“I-, It’s fine.”

‘Don’t just appear like that.’ Those were the words that she wanted to shoot back at him, but she only gave an awkward smile instead. If it wasn’t for the influence of the other’s family, no matter how handsome he was, her harsh words would have come out without hesitation.

Nevertheless, they were fortunate.

If she had let out a loud scream at the crack of dawn, it would have created an embarrassing situation for them, and especially for her. Even if she was just an employer, she still needed her own prestige in the group.

Ahem.

After letting out a soft cough, Rina spoke.

“What’s the matter? You woke up much earlier today than usual.”

“Something came up.”

“…huh?”

“I think I need to leave immediately.”

Rina’s expression became even more confused.

He wasn’t joking. In the first place, Peran was not the type to joke around, and a topic like this was not something to mention lightly.

“…seriously?”

“I’ve embarrassed myself.”

For the first time since they’d met, Rina saw a crack in his persona.

Unlike before, he wasn’t able to completely control his facial expressions.

Rina knew that at a time like this, the best response would be to put on a bright smile and tell him it’s okay. In fact, it would be best to hide some awkwardness in the smile in order to make Peran feel guilty and owe her a debt in his heart…

But she couldn’t do that.

‘At a moment like this…’

She had just been thinking that this was the most dangerous period of their journey.

…Did Rina have the authority to stop Peran? Of course not.

In the first place, the fact that Peran had even decided to join her on this journey was outside of her expectations.

So, in all honesty, this situation wasn’t Peran’s fault, it was Rina’s mistake. Because she believed in Peran’s presence over the mercenaries, she’d directly cut the number of mercenaries she hired in half in order to cut costs.

“Is it very urgent?”

“I heard that an undead was found in Lake Comos in the south.”

“Undead…”

She gulped subconsciously.

The Legion of the dead was now shaking the entire continent. So she knew how important it would be to properly investigate and deal with such a situation. Perhaps this was part of the reason why Peran had agreed to go with Rina.

“Will you come back after you’re done?”

“If it doesn’t take too long. Still, you should continue ahead at the planned speed without waiting for me. When you get to the Academy, you can hand the goods over to Dio.” (TL: I’m assuming this is Professor Dio)

“…”

There were many things she wanted to say, but in the end, only one of them came out.

“Understood. Please take care of yourself.”

“Right. I apologise again.”

After saying that, Peran turned to look at the carriages once again. To be precise, he was looking at the carriage Lukas was staying in.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, so he was probably still asleep.

“Please take good care of him.”

“Ah. Yeah.”

Peran nodded. Then he directly used the warp spell and, without any regrets, left.

Rin looked at the spot he had been standing for a long time.

“…dammit.”

Unable to suppress it any longer, a curse slipped from her lips.