"What are you joking about, Dad!"

While I haven't even started speaking on my end, Sami had already slammed the table and stood up.

"I'm only 19 years old, I haven't... I haven't..."

"You mean you haven't reached the age to get married? Don't joke around, in the empire, both boys and girls enter the social scene at the age of 16. Do you think you can escape everything just because you ran away from home four years ago?"

"But I..."

"Stop it, in these four years you've been away, who knows what has happened to you? Do you know what those people call you? 'Mother wolf!' I'm already grateful that you didn't bring back some wild child!"

"That's impossible! I'm not someone who lacks morals like that!"

"I hope so!"

"Cough, cough!"

I coughed twice.

"Ah..."

Jans looked at me, with an apologetic expression.

"Sorry, I apologize for showing you our family's ugly side..."

"Please don't mind, Lord Jans, we didn't notice at all. I was just having a drink of water."

I took another sip of tea and continued.

"Anyway, let's stop joking. Lord Jans, let's speak frankly, do you want... me to become your subordinate?"

"Hahaha, just as others have said, you are someone who likes to speak directly. This kind of straightforward character is very rare nowadays."

"In my opinion, it's not necessarily a good character trait."

"No, no, no, speaking less can to some extent reduce the possibility of wasting time. I admire this. Why don't I have someone who speaks less and does more?"

Because speaking less doesn't do anything for me. Either I can obtain information from your title, or I don't need to know.

"Is that so? However... as someone who prefers to keep a low profile, I don't want to get too involved in things that I can't easily extricate myself from, and personally, I desire freedom. So..."

"Oh, don't rush to refuse, think about it more, maybe you will change your mind."

"No, I'm not refusing, I won't directly join you or the national forces, but you can tell me some... more challenging tasks, and I will choose the ones I want to do inside them, what do you say?"

"...More covert?"

"Exactly, more covert."

"Good!"

I didn't expect the other party to agree without even thinking, and he seemed to be quite satisfied or... it was within his expectations?

Interesting, it seems that this person is even more formidable than I imagined. Dealing with him won't be a simple matter.

"At least for now, it's not a simple matter.

"Okay then, for the first task... you will join the 【Crimson Rose】mercenary group as an advisor, and the most important thing you have to do is... protect my daughter and don't let her do foolish things, especially those that threaten her life."

"This..."

I looked at Samehi, who also stood up at the same time.

"Even if you're my father, there's no reason for anyone to be sent to my mercenary group!"

"Or maybe you don't plan to receive this year's sponsorship? Huh? Isn't 5,000 gold coins a considerable amount?"

"I..."

The other person suddenly became speechless, then silently looked at me.

I shrugged, but at the same time, I folded a small piece of paper I had just finished writing into a small piece and threw it at her.

"I believe there are more things you want me to do, right?"

I redirected Jans' attention towards me.

"Yes, and at the same time, you need to report to me what my daughter is doing. After all, from now on, many things will have an impact on me. Although I really want to forcibly make my daughter stay, but... I know that with her personality, she will definitely find a way to escape. Instead of that, I'd rather let her have some freedom, but compared to before, I will keep an eye on her."

"Is that so... What do you think, Miss Samehi?"

"...Alright."

The person nodded as they looked up at me.

"But this is the limit, I won't allow any other conditions!"

"Oh, like making her your husband?"

"Father! Please don't joke around!"

"Oh... Well, let's talk about it later."

The person sighed and shook their head helplessly.

"So, we..."

Just as they were about to say something else, there was a sudden knocking sound at the door.

"Seriously, why at this time..."

Jans' face showed displeasure, but still pressed the switch next to them.

"Lord Jans!"

As soon as the door opened, a man wearing black armor walked straight in.

He had a scar on the side of his face, but there were no stitches, indicating that it was just a scrape.

After entering, he walked directly to Jans' side and said something in his ear.

The person's face changed several times in succession, then immediately stood up.

"Sorry, you can continue, I have something to attend to."

"What happened? Is there something we can help with?"

"...This time, I don't want to rely on the mercenaries' power. I want our citizens to know that we have the ability to protect them!"

"Is it a monster attack?"

"Yes, this time it's two bird-shaped monsters and one dragon-type monster. I won't say more, I have to go."

After speaking, he and the man quickly left the room.

I glanced at Samehi and realized that she was also looking at me.

"Let's go, Miss Samehi. I think your team members are waiting for you."

"That's true... Well, for now, you can stay by my side as my assistant, but you..."

"No, no, that would be too troublesome, right, Aliyah?"

"Hmph, I thought you didn't notice me."

A section of the ceiling suddenly opened, and Aliyah in her normal form jumped down from the ceiling, her two white ponytails swaying in the air.

"Aliyah, how did you...?"

"I was probably worried about you, so I came to check, and I also have a new proposal."

I smiled at Samehi.

"How about I become Aliyah's assistant? It's great that we know each other."

"Well..."

Aliyah next to me nodded in agreement.

"Alright... Let's go with that. We still have to deal with the monsters."

"Yes, indeed."

It seems that more interesting things are about to happen. I smiled and said as I looked at the newly appeared information on the status bar.

Character information update:

Samehi: Known as the "Mother Wolf" in the imperial noble circle, although she is mocked by most nobles, there are also some female nobles who have a high opinion of her.

Jans: A conservative noble who seized everything from the duke's family through cruel means, but has no way to deal with his daughter. He is trying to control his daughter while suppressing the unfavorable opinions of his family in the noble circle.

Looking at these intelligence reports, I scratched my head and looked up at the sky.

Dear World... what strange game have you come up with this time... or perhaps, is an unexpected game about to begin?