Erika: My Friend Is Obsessed with Me
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Erica – When a Friend Becomes Obsessed with Me
“What’s the matter? What are you unhappy about?”
“How could I dare be unhappy with anything?”
“Your cheeks are puffed full of complaints like a squirrel. If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“I’m sure you’re the one with something to say, Chaud-ssi.”
“……”
Chaud bent down and sat beside her.
Roar—
The crackle of the burning nest filled the surrounding air, thick and suffocating.
“Erica.”
“What.”
“Why are you so good at this?”
“……”
Good at what? Was he mocking her? Erica narrowed her eyes.
He was definitely teasing her.
His voice was so gentle it sounded like genuine praise, though.
His gaze was so brimming with warmth that it seemed ready to drip like honey.
“I thought you were amazing yesterday, but today you were even better. Why keep doing this? You’re just trying to get me excited, aren’t you?”
“……”
“I’ve never seen anyone like you.”
“……”
There was no need to exaggerate so much.
Erica merely dragged an arrowhead across the innocent ground, scraping lines into the dirt.
Carrying out difficult commissions alongside Pechenik since childhood had taught her one bitter truth.
Swordmasters were not human.
Since his physical realm was already far beyond mortal limits, he was simply taking it easy on an ordinary person like her.
That soothing tone of his was probably just empty words, too.
Her wounded pride kept her completely silent.
She had thought she finally found a friend of a similar age whose skills matched her own.
“Erica, let’s be a fixed pair.”
They weren’t similar at all. They were on entirely different levels. That was why she was so annoyed with herself.
“I was actually planning to move my base of operations to the Southern Guild anyway. I’m a free mercenary, so I don’t have any affiliation.”
“……”
“Pair up with me, and let’s work exclusively together. It’ll be fun picking only S-rank commissions to take on.”
“……”
Erica stared at the ground without answering.
Chaud lowered his head, persistently trying to catch her eye.
“Erica.”
His low, pleasant voice carried an unmistakable air of sincerity.
Erica lifted her head.
She knew it was nearly impossible to find someone among mercenaries who meshed this well with her.
Even so.
“No.”
“……What?”
“I said no.”
Looking at Chaud’s rigid, frozen expression, she repeated it once more.
“I’m not pairing up with you.”
* * *
Dangtus.
The Southern Mercenary Guild headquarters.
The towering structure exuded majesty. It was considerably larger in scale compared to the headquarters in other regions.
The first floor was an expansive lobby hall, while the second floor and above housed treatment rooms, weapon storage chambers, and more, layered floor by floor.
On the highest floor was the Guildmaster’s office, which had long sat vacant.
Guildmaster Pechenik’s absence was dragging on.
In a situation like this, many people ought to be troubled, yet at the moment, there was only one.
The chief healer of the Pechenik Mercenary Group, Shurin.
She flicked and picked at her fingernails, clack, clack. A quiet murmur echoed in the silent treatment room.
“Am I seriously the only one anxious right now?”
No matter how elite and small the Pechenik Mercenary Group was, there were still around ten members, yet not a single one showed their face.
Why was a frail healer the only one worrying?!
To make matters worse, she was truly all alone at the guild headquarters today.
The lower floors were swarming with other mercenary groups like a colony of ants.
‘Seriously, where did everyone go?’
Even after Pechenik took over the Southern Guild long ago, the Pechenik Mercenary Group had not disbanded.
Just like the countless mercenary groups registered under the Southern Guild, they had continued operating as simply one among many.
It didn’t matter that the Guildmaster was concurrently a mere mercenary group commander. It was just a nominal title back then, as it was now.
That was how thoroughly individualistic the Pechenik Mercenary Group was.
If everyone was going to act so selfishly on their own, it would be better to just disband.
Even so, did these people have no sense of solidarity or belonging whatsoever?
When Pechenik was away, shouldn't the members at least step up to defend the Guildmaster’s seat?
It was a position Pechenik had seized by force long ago. They would have no right to complain if it was taken away by force just the same.
‘What if someone loots an empty house?’
As Pechenik’s absence lengthened, her anxiety only swelled.
Right now, the guild was an empty house. At least, that was how Shurin felt.
Even though hundreds of mercenaries came and went each day, Shurin had the illusion that this place was utterly desolate.
Thinking about the Guildmaster’s office on the top floor, it wasn’t just desolate; dust was practically piling up.
Even watching other mercenary groups boisterously entering the guild lobby to accept commissions made her uneasy.
Since the guild headquarters was a shared facility used by mercenaries, there was no justification to block their entry.
‘……I’m probably worrying over nothing, but still.’
She wished at least Erica would return soon.
Shurin opened the window and looked outside.
She leaned out toward the direction of Lygis, where Erica had gone.
A girl as quick as a squirrel and stronger than a beast of prey.
Today of all days, she particularly missed that cheeky voice.
* * *
Erica concluded her commission.
It felt a bit earlier than originally scheduled, but she decided to leave Lygis without any lingering regrets.
Clack-clack, clack-clack—!
Inside the carriage.
A merchant transport carriage happened to be departing for Dangtus, so she hitched a ride.
When Erica showed her S-rank mercenary plaque, the merchants welcomed her with open arms. From their perspective, they were getting top-tier transport escort for free.
Thanks to that, she was given an entire, neatly cleared carriage compartment to herself.
Clack-clack, clack-clack—
Only the faint sound of horses galloping could be heard, and the inside of the carriage was peaceful.
“Why don’t you want to?”
If not for Chaud’s voice, that is.
“Talk to me. You must have a reason why you don’t want to pair up with me.”
“……”
Erica simply crossed her arms without a word and leaned deep into the backrest.
Sitting across from her in an identical mirrored posture, Chaud’s face was entirely expressionless.
Because of that, there was no way for Erica to tell that he was, uncharacteristically, overflowing with frustration.
“Erica.”
“……”
Erica met him with consistent silence throughout.
“……”
She had no idea what to do about Chaud, who had been prowling behind her like a wolf all the way from Lygis.
He had casually hopped into the carriage claiming he was heading to the Southern Guild too, making her miss the chance to kick him out.
From the merchant group's perspective, they had hit the jackpot. It looked like they were getting escorted by two S-rank mercenaries for free.
Erica propped her arm against the carriage window and turned her head away.
Her intention was to just look out the window, but Chaud was relentless.
“Then just answer me this one thing.”
“……”
“Do you hate me, or do you hate being in a fixed pair with me?”
“……”
Did she really need to distinguish between the two? Weren’t they the same thing?
Erica ignored his question again, gazing indifferently out the window.
After spending a few days with him, she had realized one thing for sure: Chaud was remarkably smooth-talking with that quiet, gentle voice of his.
To avoid getting tangled up with a sly snake, ignoring him was the best policy!
“Erica. To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever been treated like this.”
She refused to lend an ear to that pitiful, bitter voice.
“How could you dump me?”
Anyone listening would think he had just confessed his love.
His act of playing the innocent victim was truly something else.
Don't get dragged in. Don't get dragged in.
“Well, fine. All right.”
“……”
“If you don't want a fixed pair, I can't help it. What can I do if you don't want to?”
“……”
“Just so you know, though. The moment I get to the Southern Guild, I'm going to follow you on every single commission you take. Seriously, every single one.”
“You little bas……”
Tard.
How was that any different from being in a fixed pair, then?
Erica bit her inner lip. As he continued to pester her, spite welled up inside her chest.
‘Is a Swordmaster really this free?’
Are you bored to death? Did you lose your sanity in exchange for attaining the physical realm?
All sorts of nasty retorts came to mind, but she didn’t let them past her lips.
She knew it was an inferiority complex, but she couldn't help it.
If Chaud operated out of the Southern Guild, Pechenik would soon return and see this punk.
She didn't want him to see him.
Not an extraordinary eighteen-year-old Swordmaster of the exact same age.
Chaud was tall, too. He had a great build, broad shoulders, and an impeccably toned, ideal physique.
What if Master wanted to replace his disciple?
