"Hey! What do you mean by that?"

Startled by Shuma suddenly approaching, the mercenary leader hesitated for a moment before taking a step back, looking somewhat flustered. Seeing this, Shuma couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.

"What, am I that scary?" The female knight crossed her arms in front of her chest, smiling mysteriously at Beinrich. Observing his reaction, quite similar to what she had just experienced herself, she suddenly felt a lot more at ease.

"It's just that I'm not used to your attitude towards me."

Beinrich cleared his throat and unconsciously turned his face away for a moment under Shuma's gaze, realizing that as a mercenary who had seen many big scenes, showing such a girlish gesture seemed a bit embarrassing. He quickly turned back, meeting Shuma's gaze with a blank expression.

—As if saying, "What's the matter?"

The knight and mercenary, inexplicably caught in a strange competitive mood, stared at each other for a while, and in the end, Beinrich relented, spreading his hands and saying, "Come on, do we really need to keep glaring at each other like this? My eyes are drying out. Are we children?"

"It was you who—"

Shuma was about to retort but then thought better of it. Indeed, if she were to argue back, it would really resemble a child stubbornly competing over trivial matters. She could only sigh and fall silent.

Why did she care so much about what this mercenary said? Although Shuma was aware that she wasn't particularly good at dealing with people, she could usually maintain normal relationships with most of her colleagues. Why did she always feel different when facing this mercenary?

"Oh, by the way, let me tell you something."

Beinrich shifted the conversation to another topic, "I plan to prepare for a few days and then take some people to the Frost Forest up north."

"…Frost Forest? You're planning to do mercenary work again... I mean, a job?" Shuma raised an eyebrow, "Don't forget, your mercenary group is currently hired as guards by Prince Tiran."

"I know, I've already discussed this with Prince Tiran," Beinrich shrugged, his eyes eager, "Although we are hired as guards, the initial contract was made because Prince Tiran had temporarily lost his power. Now that the war is over and the young prince has regained his strength, our role as Snow Wolf in defending the castle is no longer necessary, isn't that right?"

"—Moreover,"

The mercenary leader looked into the distance, at the castle at the foot of the rear mountain and beyond the horizon, "I am a mercenary, an adventurer. While I have done many illegal things, my original goal has always remained the same."

The thrill of adventure had become ingrained in his blood. After all, although a peaceful life was nice, it was no more than an interlude. What he truly desired was to roam through snow and wind, battle dangerous beasts, and celebrate with his brothers in the camp after a successful adventure.

"Hah, even though I may look like I'm on a tropical island vacation right now, in the Frost Forest, I would maintain this attitude of catching snow to clean myself. After all, this place is too warm for me, and the ice and snow in the north suit me better." Beinrich boasted.

"Tsk, who is interested in how you bathe, trying to tease me at this level is not enough."

Shuma clicked her tongue, but she felt an intense sense of loss welling up inside.

What a joke? This feeling... Could it be that she was afraid of him leaving?

"Hey hey, seeing your expression, are you going to miss me?"

"What...?!" Shuma's expression turned to one of surprise, wondering if her emotions were so clearly visible. The Shadow Knight was always particularly careful when it came to concealing her emotions.

The surprise only lasted for a moment, as she realized she had been tricked by the mercenary's mischievous gaze.

"You rascal!" An exasperated Shuma lifted her foot to kick.

"Well, this is the method you taught me!"

The mercenary leader dodged to the side, laughing triumphantly, "And don't worry, I won't easily give up on such a great opportunity to establish connections with the Elysian Royal Family. I not only consider myself but also my brothers."

"What do you mean?"

Shuma hesitated for a moment, not quite catching Beinrich's meaning.

"It means that the employment relationship is not over. I just submitted a request to Prince Tiran to take a team to hunt and kill magical beasts, gather fur, crystal cores, and other magic materials to trade directly with the Magic Guild of Beacon City through the castle, bypassing the vampire-like middlemen of the adventurer town. The direct sales prices benefit both us and the Magic Guild. The money obtained will be divided equally between us and the castle treasury."

As Beinrich spoke, he appeared quite different from his usual tough and masculine demeanor, adopting the shrewd look of a businessman.

"Tsk." The female knight released her arms, one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead as she sighed, realizing she had been completely outwitted by this wily man.

Although reluctant to admit it, Shuma did feel a sense of relief and relaxation upon understanding his intentions...?

At that moment, Shuma suddenly felt her heart being squeezed by an invisible hand.

This sensation was not unfamiliar to her— it was a keen premonition or a sense of smell that emerged when facing a threat teetering on the edge of life and death.

"Mercenary!"

Almost simultaneously, both of them sprang into action. Beinrich rolled to the side, while Shuma deftly coordinated her movements with his evasion, drawing her blade precisely to cut a man-sized man-eating flower in half that had lunged towards them.

"Damn, that's disgusting!"

The pus-yellow, foul-smelling digestive fluid flowed freely on the ground, and the mercenary leader's eye twitched, a curse slipping from his lips, "I mean, does the young prince still have an interest in keeping these dangerous things in his backyard?!"

"Of course not, it's not the prince who keeps them, it's an attack."

Shuma's voice was unusually calm.

Though she was in a bikini swimsuit, not the most suitable attire for battle, she disregarded its inconvenience. With her sword held horizontally in front of her chest, Shuma surveyed the surroundings.

As if in the moment the man-eating flower struck, the entire forest seemed to come alive, with shadows flitting about and even the escape routes being cut off. Upon closer inspection, one would see tendrils and vines wildly growing even beneath the soil.

It was as if the video footage of spring plant growth from a documentary had been accelerated several dozen times over, making the sound and visuals chilling.

The serene and pleasant garden hill had in an instant turned into a deadly trap, revealing its fangs to the two intruders.