Chapter 15

Ghost ran through the forest like a whirlwind.

From Ariel’s perspective atop Ghost, the scenery of the forest whizzed by, and a refreshing breeze blew against her face.

‘This is it.’

Ariel nodded in satisfaction.

Riding the Silver Wolf, Ghost, was much more enjoyable than she had imagined. It felt like riding an amusement park attraction.

Of course, if Ariel decided to run, she could go much faster than Ghost, but that was a different kind of thrill.

Ghost ran for a while before stopping at the edge of a hill.

A place where the entire forest could be seen at a glance.

Ariel hopped off Ghost’s back.

“Well done, Ghost.”

She then gently stroked Ghost’s chin.

Ghost also seemed to be in a good mood, its expression looking refreshed.

Sticking out its tongue and panting heavily, it almost looked like it was smiling.

“Nunim!!”

Roo flew in at high speed from behind.

“What if you suddenly go off alone!!”

Roo, exhausted from flying, landed on Ariel’s shoulder and struggled to catch her breath.

“Huff huff… This Silver Wolf… it doesn’t seem wary of you anymore, Nunim?”

At Roo’s words, Ariel nodded.

“Ghost.”

“Ghost…?”

“Name.”

“Ah…”

Roo made a somewhat puzzled expression.

Ghost. This Silver Wolf was clearly female, but the name didn’t quite seem to fit.

“Ghost, do you want to travel with me?”

Ariel asked Ghost. Ghost seemed to understand Ariel’s words.

It nodded and licked Ariel’s cheek.

Ariel smiled faintly, while Roo crossed her arms arrogantly.

“Hey, Ghost. I get that you’re a spirit beast, but I’m still higher in rank. I’ve been with Nunim longer… Eek!”

Ghost licked Roo too.

Roo, who was only the size of a finger, was instantly drenched in Ghost’s saliva.

“Stop licking me!”

Roo shook herself off and flew into the air, while Ariel climbed back onto Ghost’s back.

“Let’s go, Ghost.”

“Awoo!”

Ghost howled powerfully and began running through the forest as fiercely as before.

The direction was toward the city.

*

Thanks to Ghost’s fast speed, Ariel arrived at the city of Sierra not long after.

In front of the city gate, people were lined up in a long queue.

Ariel joined the line. It seemed she would have to wait in line to enter the city.

“Gasp.”

“What’s that?”

“A wolf?”

People’s gazes naturally focused on Ariel.

Because she was still riding Ghost.

Ghost’s silver fur and massive size naturally drew everyone’s attention.

“Hmph, everyone’s looking at us.”

Roo stood on Ghost’s head and shrugged her shoulders.

They had experienced this in Harrington Village, so they were used to people’s stares now.

Back then, it was because they were an elf and a fairy, but this time, a giant Silver Wolf was added to the mix.

“Being popular is tiring, huh. Haha.”

Roo seemed oddly pleased, but Ariel paid no attention to the people’s stares.

She sat upright, looking straight ahead, while continuously stroking Ghost’s soft fur.

She was worried Ghost might act up among the people, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

It seemed Ariel had perfect control over Ghost.

The line toward the gate slowly shortened, and finally, it was Ariel’s turn.

The guard, upon seeing Ghost, gasped in surprise and had Ariel dismount. They needed to check her identity, after all.

“Uh, an elf…?”

The guard was startled again upon seeing Ariel’s pointed ears.

It was rare for an elf to pass through the city gate.

Moreover, in such cases, the elf was usually a slave captured by humans, so there was no need to check their identity separately.

They only needed to check the identity of the elf’s owner.

“Ahem…”

The guard decided this matter was beyond his authority and called for a senior officer.

The senior officer was also startled upon seeing Ariel, Roo, and Ghost.

“Do you have anything to prove your identity? Like a mercenary badge, a merchant guild’s guarantee, or a noble family’s invitation?”

At the senior officer’s words, Ariel made a troubled expression. She had nothing like that.

“Um, without proof of identity, you cannot pass through the gate.”

Normally, even without such proof, they could let someone pass after collecting a toll and recording the purpose of the visit.

But given that the other party was an elf, a fairy, and a wolf, it was a tricky situation.

Currently, the city of Sierra was in a state of emergency.

With Princess Illiana’s birthday approaching, many high-ranking nobles were passing through Sierra on their way to the capital.

Elves and fairies were one thing, but if they let this giant wolf through and something happened, it would be a disaster.

“……”

At the words that she couldn’t pass, Ariel’s face fell.

She wanted to eat delicious food in the city and see how people lived, but she couldn’t pass.

Seeing Ariel’s expression, Roo flared up.

“Hey, human! Our Nunim won’t do anything! Last time, our Nunim didn’t harm anyone in the human village. In fact, she helped! We plan to behave in this city too!”

“But given the current emergency… If you leave the wolf outside the city, we can let you pass.”

The guard suggested a compromise, but Ariel wasn’t keen on the idea.

She didn’t want to leave Ghost, who she had just befriended, all alone.

“How troublesome! Humans really live complicated lives!”

As Roo grumbled, someone approached.

“Oh, Ariel?”

A middle-aged man with a friendly demeanor.

It was Lloyd, the merchant from Harrington Village to whom Ariel had sold the troll.

“What brings you here?”

Lloyd seemed very pleased to see Ariel.

After all, thanks to buying the troll from Ariel, he had made a considerable profit.

“Who…?”

Ariel didn’t remember Lloyd.

At the time, Ariel was only interested in selling the troll and hadn’t paid much attention to Lloyd.

“Nunim, it’s the merchant who bought the troll in Harrington Village.”

At Roo’s whisper, Ariel finally nodded.

Of course, Roo’s whisper was also heard by Lloyd, who scratched his head awkwardly.

“Haha, anyway, are you trying to enter the city? If needed, I can write a guarantee for you.”

Lloyd was a merchant affiliated with a guild. A fairly well-known large guild in the empire, at that.

If Lloyd vouched for her, Ariel could easily pass through the city gate.

“Please.”

Ariel said so, and Lloyd gladly wrote the guarantee.

“Then, have a pleasant time.”

The guard still seemed a bit worried, but ultimately let Ariel, Roo, and even Ghost into the city.

*

Once inside the city, Lloyd spoke to Ariel.

“Thank you so much last time. Thanks to buying the troll, I received a lot of praise from the guild. If you ever have more monster corpses to sell, please let me know.”

Lloyd was a merchant. He hadn’t written the guarantee for Ariel out of pure goodwill.

He thought it would be good to maintain a connection with Ariel in case he could buy another troll from her in the future.

With just a bit more success, Lloyd could get promoted within the guild. That’s why he was so motivated and working hard.

“I have some.”

Ariel blurted out.

“Troll corpses.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Lots of others too.”

“!!”

Ariel had defeated all the monsters she encountered in the forest.

The corpses of those monsters were all neatly stored in her inventory.

Just the troll corpses alone numbered seven.

There was no real need to keep them, so selling them to Lloyd would be good for Ariel too.

“I’ll show you.”

As Ariel said this and stretched out her hand, Lloyd quickly stopped her.

“No, no, not here. People are passing by.”

Last time in Harrington Village, a troll corpse had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

If the same thing happened here, the guards would swarm in.

“Let’s go to our guild’s warehouse instead. Moving them would be a hassle anyway, so it’s better to show them there.”

Following Lloyd to the guild’s warehouse, Ariel took out the monster corpses from her inventory.

Since Lloyd seemed to like the troll corpses, she first laid out the seven troll corpses on the floor.

“……!”

Seeing the seven troll corpses lined up, Lloyd was speechless.

“Y-you defeated all of these?”

“Yes.”

“That’s amazing…”

Lloyd was genuinely surprised.

Not only did she have seven hard-to-obtain troll corpses, but their condition was also impeccable.

Last time, even with the head missing, he had made a considerable profit, but this time, there was only a small hole in the forehead.

Lloyd couldn’t contain his excitement.

If he could buy all these troll corpses, it wouldn’t just be a promotion. He might even become the branch manager overseeing the entire city.

With a trembling voice, Lloyd spoke.

“A-Ariel… I’ll buy all of these…”

“Okay.”

But what surprised Lloyd didn’t end there.

From Ariel’s inventory, an endless stream of monster corpses emerged.

Orcs, goblins, minotaurs, owlbears, wyverns, and even the corpse of a Hob Goblin known as the Goblin King—all of the highest quality.