"What does that have to do with me? You can deal with it using your magic."
"I can't use magic to attack humans! In the first place, its your fault for throwing the gold coins at me in front of everyone! Isn't it technically your responsibility if I get targeted by these greed-blinded humans and then have my dead body found in the woods?"
Even Riftan, who didn't bat his eyes at anything, was momentarily speechless at the man's impudent attitude. After doing as much as I could for this guy, I'm hearing these words come out of his mouth.
Riftan frowned and spoke harshly.
"If you don't appreciate it, then give it back!"
As soon as his temper escalated, the wizard, who had been clinging so closely to him, created a significant distance from him. Riftan glared at the man who was stunned as he wrapped his hands tightly around the pocket that contained his share of coins, then sighed and resolutely turned away from him. However, the wizard was not intimidated by him, in fact he continued to follow him and whispered discreetly.
"I mean, at least I know I'll be safe if I stick around you. Other people won't dare harm me then."
"..."
"You have nothing to lose. Wizards come in handy in many ways. As you've seen before, I can lift heavy objects. If you're tired, I can restore your strength through magic. If you get wounded, I can give you a quick fix with healing magic. You see, it will be a give and take affair."
Riftan pretended not to listen as he bent into the wagon and rummaged through the various equipment. Despite the chaos that the wyvern has caused, nothing in that wagon was damaged. He picked iron pliers for skinning the monster and a saw made of special material to cut its joints.
Other mercenaries had already finished assembling the retractor and were draining the blood from the wyvern's body. Among them, Riftan found Samon and glared at him fiercely. Sensing his anger, he turned around in a hurry, pretending to be busy and went away.
Riftan looked at his retreating figure and clenched his teeth, dragging a saw as tall as him and walked in front of the wyvern's corpse. He was contemplating on how to deal with Samon later, but the wizard followed him everywhere he went and chattered endlessly.
"I realized I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Ruth Serbel, please feel free to call me Ruth. I heard the other mercenaries call you Calypse... is it alright if I also comfortably call you Calypse?"
Riftan grinded his teeth. The wizard groaned and shed an awkward laughter.
"Of course, I won't! I was being presumptuous. I will be polite and call you Sir Calypse."
Riftan thought that the man's nerves were probably so thick that he was not a normal human being who shivers at hostility. Riftan shuddered at the thought of having such an irritating person stuck to him like a bothersome bump on his skin.
***
Due to the decrease in number of the mercenaries, dismantling the wyvern took longer than expected. It took half a day to drain blood from the monsters' bodies and remove their skin for leather, and another full day to separate the flesh from their bones.
All that time, the wizard literally never left his side. Whenever he tried to go someplace, he would follow. It made the air feel dense, he was following him like male sirens follow females during mating season—making him completely sick of his presence.
The wizard was always on edge, nervous that someone would steal his gold coins shall he let his guard down even for a moment. As time passed, the bags underneath his eyes became darker and his pale face became noticeably exhausted. Riftan thought it would have been much better if he didn't give him any money.
Chapter 10
Bắt đầu từ đầu
