In truth, shortly after she began watching, Hulim Heyerar had already realized that Arthur was a hired helper or bodyguard for those nobles. She’d also deduced that the nobles must have promised him payment beforehand, only to renege when it came time to settle. Arthur had tried to demand the money forcefully, which had enraged them—leading to the beating he’d endured.

  Commoners in the royal capital were at an overwhelming disadvantage against nobles here. If he resisted, there was no telling what retaliatory measures they might take later. Arthur likely had someone he didn’t want to get dragged into this, which was why he hadn’t fought back.

  At first, Hulim had considered the possibility that Arthur had been tricked. But after their brief exchange, she’d realized the boy before her was no fool—he must have investigated the nobles’ character beforehand. Even so, he’d accepted the commission, which meant he was so desperate for money that he’d been forced to gamble on the decency of those scummy nobles......

  “......Well, I feel for you, but I should be going.”

  “Huh?! That’s it? You’re way too cold-hearted!”

  Arthur exclaimed in disappointment, hiding the flicker of gloom in his eyes from moments ago.

  “? Why say that? We just met, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah! We’ve known each other for whole minutes now!”

  “......”

  “......”

  “What exactly are you trying to say?”

  “Hmm......”

  Arthur put on a thinking face, but his eyes darted toward Hulim’s backpack.

  “Hulim—I haven’t seen it firsthand, but you’re really strong, right? So I was wondering......”

  “Do you have a party?”

  “......Not today.”

  “Ah, ‘not today’......”

  Arthur picked up on the implication in her words, then broke into a cheeky grin.

  “How about it, Hulim? When you’re diving the dungeon alone, want to team up with me? If we work together, we could even take on the lower levels, right?”

  Hulim didn’t answer Arthur’s proposal immediately, instead thinking it over carefully. The lower levels were filled with Tier C dungeon monsters—while she could handle them alone, being swarmed by a large number would be troublesome.

  Having a capable teammate to draw aggro would certainly make things easier. But......

  “......I don’t get it. You’re not weak—why haven’t you formed a fixed party?”

  Arthur looked embarrassed, scratching his head.

  “......Same reason as before—I need to make money. Good fixed teammates are hard to find, and even if you do, they’re not in it for the cash......”

  So he’d targeted her strength, wanting to team up to dive the lower levels for profit. It was clear he’d racked his brain to find a way to make money......

  “You want to use my strength?”

  Arthur’s eyes lit up, and he nodded hastily. “Yes! Exactly! What do you say? It’ll benefit you too—we can split the rewards based on contribution!”

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  “I see......”

  clang——!

  Without warning, a flash of sword light lit up the dungeon.

  clang!

  Arthur blocked Hulim’s sudden strike with his shabby iron sword, cold sweat breaking out on his face.

  “Whoa whoa whoa! That was out of nowhere!”

  But Hulim paid no heed to his protests, sheathing her sword before striking again at an even faster pace.

  In an instant, a relentless flurry of attacks rained down on Arthur. He parried desperately, his body retreating step by step.

  “Hey! You’re serious about this!”

  Naturally, his shouts fell on deaf ears.

  “Damn it—Reinforcement!”

  Arthur chanted a spell quickly, his body being enveloped in a faint white glow.

  At the same moment, Hulim activated Reinforcement as well.

  Seeing the identical glow on her side, Arthur’s face fell.

  “No way—you know this too!?”

  clang! clang! clang......

  With both sides using Reinforcement magic, the intensity of the fight surged instantly. Spurts of fire flashed across the dim dungeon space.

  “Bad—my sword won’t hold!”

  Watching the growing chips in his iron sword, Arthur winced inwardly. Even though it was a cheap piece of junk worth less than a thousand Kohl, it was still one of his most important possessions.

  “Ah, damn it! Sorry—but I’m gonna get serious now!”

  As he shouted, the mana around Arthur suddenly flared.

  Seeing this, Hulim jumped back to put distance between them.

  “Fire Sword——!!”

  Whoosh!

  Flames like serpents coiled around Arthur’s body before quickly covering his iron sword, transforming it into a massive blade of fire.

  “This fighting style......”

  This wasn’t a standard Fire Sword spell—it was a combat technique he’d developed by combining fire magic with melee attacks.

  “We can still stop and talk this over, you know.”

  Arthur held the giant fire sword pointed at Hulim, but didn’t attack immediately.

  “......Let me think.”

  Arthur: “?”

  How did he do it again......

  “【???????????????????????????????????????????】”

  “Fire Thorn Art.”

  This was originally a Tier 3 fire magic for binding and control—but the boy opposite her had developed a new application for it.

  Whoosh!

  “N-No way——!!?”

  Arthur’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he stared at the identical fire sword in her hand, overcome with absurdity.

  She...... replicated it after just one look?

  That’s my signature move!!!

  “Continue.”

  Boom!

  As soon as the words left her mouth, the roaring fire sword came slashing down.

  “Seriously? W-Wait a minute......”

  Some time later, Arthur sat slumped on the ground, covered in dust and grime. In front of him, a sleek, dark purple sword pointed directly at his face.

  “About the partnership.”

  Hulim said calmly,

  “I approve.”

  She then sheathed her sword.

  Arthur let out a huge sigh of relief before complaining. “Your way of approving is really dangerous......”

  He brushed the dust off his clothes as he spoke, standing up.

  Then he held out his right fist.

  “Let me reintroduce myself—I’m Arthur. Looking forward to working with you!”

  “Mm, Hulim.”

  Hulim held out her right hand, bumping fists with him.

  The partnership was sealed.

  ......

  Three days after meeting Arthur,

  Hulim witnessed a spectacle.

  Slap——!

  In the busy square of Manacos Magic Academy, a loud slap drew the attention of passersby.

  “Pervert! Trash! Scum! How dare you call yourself a noble!?”

  Two noble girls were yelling at a noble boy. One had tears in her eyes, while the other wore a look of righteous anger.

  Opposite them, the boy—who’d been slapped for no reason—clutched his red, swollen right cheek, staring blankly, at a loss for words.

  “Listen to me! I really didn’t do it!”

  The noble boy was breaking into a sweat from anxiety.

  “What more is there to explain!?”

  The angry girl shouted,

  “You’ve been caught red-handed! You underwear thief! Disgrace to the nobility! Filth!”

  The crowd erupted in an uproar.

  They stared at the boy in disbelief, never imagining that someone who looked so respectable would do such a thing!

  In an instant, whispers filled the air, and most gazes directed at the boy were filled with contempt.

  “I-I-I...... I’m not! I didn’t! Believe me—I really didn’t steal their underwear!”