Adventurer Life with Exiled Daughter

Chapter 70

Chapter 70

'Longdagger's arms are short, and Pantile has golden eyes.'

Three months after enrolling in the academy in the capital.

A little over a year since becoming an adventurer.

Shin Longdagger, the second son of a shockingly poor viscount family who turned thirteen, was watching adventurers departing to other countries at the capital's gate in Faltarl Kingdom.

It was three in the afternoon on a holiday, after being released from training with his mentor, "Kindhearted Barbara."

Adventurers can be broadly divided into two categories.

Those who don't move from a specific country.

And those who operate across multiple countries.

Due to the unique circumstance that powerful monsters are more likely to appear in Faltarl Kingdom compared to other countries, most adventurers active in Faltarl prefer to stay there.

Or rather, Faltarl Kingdom attracts adventurers who prefer that.

However, naturally, there are those who don't prefer it, and such adventurers become the type who operate across countries.

Their numbers were curiously small, though.

Thirteen-year-old Shin Longdagger was watching those rare adventurers who worked across multiple countries.

The emotions reflected in his eyes were a faint admiration and an age-appropriate innocent curiosity.

Even Shin, who became an adventurer at twelve simply because he wanted to, despite being a noble, understood certain things.

Being a noble and becoming an adventurer, and furthermore living as an adventurer in another country, was likely impossible.

So he knew that this faint admiration he felt now stemmed from the fact that it was impossible for him to do so.

Though he understood this, when mixed with his innocent curiosity about unseen foreign lands, it still seemed quite appealing.

Shin mulled over that possibility in his heart for a while.

There was also an element of escapism from the training imposed by his adventurer mentor, "Kindhearted Barbara," which quite seriously required him to give it his all, but the imagining was rather enjoyable.

However, after indulging in his imagination for a while, Shin easily discarded it.

If Shin Longdagger were an ordinary boy, even as a member of the nobility, he might have enjoyed that appealing fantasy a bit longer.

But alas, he was Shin Longdagger, and it was a bit hard to call him ordinary.

In other words, there was no Erika Solnzari in other countries, and just for that reason, he threw away the dazzling, shining fantasy.

*

"I might die, huh."

Shin, walking home through a side street instead of the main road because he was carrying a weapon, was surprised at the words that came out of his own mouth.

Had he only just realized this now?

In other words, his mentor was a bit... off.

Had he only just noticed this now? Shin was astonished at himself.

A little over a year since becoming an adventurer.

His mentor was caring and highly skilled, and in fact, Shin was aware that he had become remarkably stronger in just one year compared to before becoming her apprentice.

However, his mentor, unfortunately, lacked any sense of restraint in certain crucial areas.

Shin, though an eccentric noble child who became an adventurer simply because he wanted to, was otherwise an naive kid, so at first, he thought that was just how adventurers were.

But after nearly dying more than ten times, he finally realized—ah, his mentor was... that kind of person.

That sudden realization was what led to the mutter that had just escaped his lips.

For a moment, the thought of changing mentors crossed his mind, but he couldn't think of anyone else who would train someone as below average as him, who could barely use magic, up to an average level.

In the first place, would there even be an eccentric adventurer willing to take a noble child as their apprentice?

The idea that his mentor took him on as an apprentice precisely because she was... that way, seemed quite plausible.

After all, the other apprentice taken by his mentor, "Kindhearted Barbara," besides Shin, was a kid his age and also... that way.

Shin, by now, concluded that it was inevitable his mentor was... like that, but he still wondered if it was okay to continue under her tutelage.

The question of whether he might die was, to Shin, quite a serious one.

But Shin shook his head while walking.

No, no, wait. Hold on, me.

Isn't his mentor imposing such harsh training on him to raise someone below average to average?

Otherwise, no matter how you look at it, his mentor's head would be too... off, doing such cruel things with a smile to a kid who just learned to use physical enhancement—unless she had a proper mindset, she couldn't do that, Shin convinced himself by arbitrarily assuming his mentor's thoughts.

Shin had a tendency to be quite stubborn in odd ways.

Ultimately, Shin concluded that he had met a good mentor, a conclusion that, to anyone who knew "Kindhearted Barbara," would fall into the realm of a miracle.

It was right after displaying such a miraculous assumption that Shin's eyes caught an unfamiliar, strange magical energy.

*

Jenniferin Pantile was satisfied that she had the composure to acknowledge she was in a bad situation.

She was targeted the moment she sent her bodyguard away after work.

That meant the opponent was methodical and held enough grudge to aim for her life.

Now, which one could it be? Jenniferin thought while looking at the masked assassin.

Since turning twelve and getting permission from her parents to conduct business freely, she was aware she had "caused quite a stir."

But even so, an opponent who suffered enough damage to send an assassin wouldn't be someone engaged in legitimate business.

The opponents she went all out against were almost always involved in borderline illegal or completely illegal dealings, so naturally, she had taken precautions for situations like this.

"Hmm, was I a bit careless?"

Jenniferin muttered that and activated a magic tool to recall her bodyguard.

It would take a few minutes for them to return.

People of the Pantile family were often targeted, so Jenniferin had been taught magic and combat skills for self-defense since before entering the academy.

So she thought that even if she was separated from her bodyguard, she could buy time until they returned if something happened.

No, this opponent is impossible.

Jenniferin's eyes accurately assessed the masked man's strength and reached that conclusion.

The appraisal skill, which occasionally appeared among members of the Pantile family, was incredibly useful and frustratingly accurate.

The rarely used warehouse district of the Adventurer's Guild was deserted, and no matter how much she screamed or resisted with all her might, she would likely be killed before anyone arrived.

In the middle of a narrow crossroad in the warehouse district, Jenniferin's eyes accurately predicted her future.

Being satisfied with not panicking in the face of certain death was, to Jenniferin, a way of dying that suited her, and she let out a faint smile.

That's probably why, when she saw a man—also masked and completely unknown to her—fly over her head, spinning round and round, accompanied by a short scream of "gya" from behind her.

She couldn't help but let out a scream of "kya" herself and blushed at her reaction.

In truth, she wasn't at all prepared to die, and her calmness and composure were just a facade, which she felt had been exposed.

Thus, to the boy who appeared, inserting himself between her and the remaining masked man in front.

Before she could even register when he appeared or question whether he was friend or foe.

Jenniferin directed a resentful gaze at the boy.

*

Shin spotted a strange magical energy in the warehouse district owned by the Adventurer's Guild.

Whether it was a skill or a trait, Shin had the ability to see magical energy.

He couldn't see all magical energy, but from experience, Shin knew he couldn't see magical energy just floating in space, only the kind with intent or will, or that which had just left a living being.

The magical energy Shin saw clearly had intent, and based on a simple gut feeling that it was somehow hard, he judged it to be from a magic tool.

Tracking the source of that magical energy was half out of curiosity, but also because he sensed a desperate urgency in it.

And so, Shin found a girl surrounded from the front and back at a crossroad in the deserted warehouse district.

She was a girl with short, dark brown hair, dressed in fine clothes.

Her attention was entirely on the front, seemingly unaware of the masked man behind her.

The man behind her held a dagger in his hand.

There was no time; Shin hesitated for just a moment before deciding to follow his mentor's teachings.

As his mentor Barbara said, he used physical enhancement magic, which he had finally become able to use at the level of a low-rank adventurer.

Shin thought he was lucky.

If the opponent had been a proper adventurer, as his mentor would say, even a surprise attack with his half-baked physical enhancement wouldn't have worked.

Shin was grateful that the masked man he kicked and sent flying had only enough skill for a surprise attack to succeed.

Without losing the momentum of his kick, he positioned himself between the girl and the other masked man.

Feeling a slight doubt about why the girl was looking at him with accusing eyes, Shin spoke.

"If a woman and a man are in trouble, first beat up the man—that's what my mentor taught me. If the villain turns out to be the woman, I can beat her up later, so forgive me if I'm wrong."

Shin said this to the masked man, then glanced at the girl.

"Though the chances of that seem low."

If a well-dressed girl and a masked man were having a dispute in a back alley, and the girl turned out to be the villain, Shin felt he'd lose faith in humanity.

A voice of protest interrupted Shin's common-sense thinking.

"Wait just a minute. So you're saying that I, a delicate girl, am less villainous than a petty crook who has to hide their face with a mask just to deal with someone like me? Are you saying that I, Jenniferin Pantile, am losing in terms of villainy?"

Shin was startled by the girl's voice, clearly laced with anger.

"Sorry, judging villainy by appearance was rude to villains."

Jenniferin nodded with a satisfied smile at Shin's sincere apology, while the masked man responded with a thrust of his dagger.

Fast, but.

I can handle it. Shin swiftly swung his sword at the point of magical energy in the masked man's gaze.

He's not a master of skill like my mentor, whose gaze is impossible to read.

Shin could see the masked man's eyes widen as his sword was deflected.

Then, he parried all three thrusts with his sword.

"It's too fast to see."

Jenniferin said in exasperation.

Hearing her words clearly, Shin realized she must have some level of physical enhancement.

"Regardless of who's the bigger villain, did I interrupt something?"

While keeping his eyes on the masked man, Shin asked Jenniferin, who was now behind him in a protective stance.

If I get attacked from behind now, I'll look like a complete fool, he thought.

"No, I'm grateful to you."

The self-proclaimed greater villain, the girl, said.

"Unfortunately, my skills aren't enough to win. I won't lose in a verbal fight, though. So, I'm glad for the help, Longdagger, was it?"

"You know me?"

"Rather, it's impressive that you don't know me, classmate."

After parrying five thrusts, Shin glanced at the girl for just a moment.

No good, I can't remember.

Shin quickly gave up on trying to recall.

Though Shin was confident he could remember every pore on Erika Solnzari's face, he couldn't recall Jenniferin's.

Perhaps sensing through his demeanor that he didn't remember her, Jenniferin shrugged.

"Well, fine. Expecting a classmate to remember my face after being saved is probably asking too much. I won't call it unfair that I remember you, since you did save me."

Noticing a sarcastic tone in Jenniferin's voice, Shin thought, she's quite the talker.

"If you can hold out for a few more minutes, my bodyguard should arrive. I'll make sure to repay you, so can I count on you?"

As Shin nodded in agreement, the masked man, who had been silent until now, let out a roar and slashed at him with a reckless, wide swing of his dagger.

This is bad.

Shin barely restrained himself from clicking his tongue.

*

Jenniferin Pantile genuinely thanked her luck that the boy who suddenly appeared wasn't her enemy.

His physical enhancement was on a completely different level, his speed practically invisible.

Seeing the boy effortlessly parry the assassin's three thrusts, she couldn't help but say something pointless like, it's too fast to see.

It was because she felt an insurmountable gap between herself and this boy, who seemed to be her age.

The result of her reflexive appraisal skill made Jenniferin wonder, are you really human?

She felt a sense of relief when the boy responded with human words.

But what surprised her most was the appraisal result indicating she should know this boy, Shin Longdagger.

Pantile's mind went into overdrive.

She considered the fact that the boy before her, with appraisal results that made her question his humanity, was her classmate.

Her first thought was that there's no way she could have overlooked or forgotten a human with such results.

Her appraisal skill was something she used reflexively on anyone she met for the first time.

There's no way she'd forget someone as monstrous as this if she'd seen him before.

Yet, at the same time, she did have a memory of a classmate named Shin Longdagger.

Jenniferin knew the names and faces of not just her classmates, but everyone at the academy.

The boy before her was indeed Longdagger, and she knew it.

So that's it, this must be what it means.

A saying passed down in the Pantile family for generations.

Don't drown in your appraisal skill—Jenniferin felt the meaning of those words for the first time in her life.

Indeed, it's true. If she were to drown in a skill that could overlook something like this, she'd be unworthy of the Pantile name.

The most Pantile-like girl of the Pantile family, who obsessively, cautiously, passionately, fanatically, and blindly invested in people, objects, land, knowledge, art, valuable things, and even things deemed worthless, felt gratitude for her ignorance and her luck.

Meeting someone who could dispel her ignorance at such a young age was truly a golden opportunity.

If that's the case, she could forgive the fact that he didn't know her.

Precisely because of that.

——Jenniferin Pantile had absolute confidence in her eyes, more than in her appraisal skill.

Even when Shin Longdagger's sword shattered under the assassin's wide swing, she wasn't worried in the slightest.

According to the tutor her family provided, her physical enhancement was at the level of a rank 4 adventurer, a prodigy for her age, they praised. Yet even she could only see Shin's form as a blur, and she thought to herself.

"There are people in this world worth investing in."

And so.

The assassin's figure vanished at an incredible speed, and the next moment, crashed into the warehouse wall and collapsed.

Her appraisal skill confirmed the assassin was still alive, meaning he had the strength to survive that single blow.

She was truly fortunate to have survived and to have made the acquaintance of someone extraordinary.

Feeling her heart race slightly, Jenniferin took a step forward to speak, but stopped herself.

The person she owed thanks to, Shin Longdagger, was on his knees, hands on the ground, head bowed.

She could hear him muttering to himself.

"I've done it, I broke it. Money, more money gone. No, worse, if my mentor finds out, what kind of 'kindness' will they show me..."

Jenniferin let out a wry smile at the content of his muttering.

Does this guy even understand who he's made indebted to him?

"Normally, I should start with thanks, but let me say this instead. Are you an idiot? Or are you looking down on me? Do you understand that you've made Jenniferin Pantile, called the once-in-a-century Pantile, the most Pantile-like Pantile, indebted to you?"

While saying this, Jenniferin struggled to hide her inner surprise at Shin's change.

The boy before her didn't seem like the same person from moments ago; his appraisal results were utterly ordinary, and to be more precise, there was nothing beyond ordinary to discern.

What a mysterious man.

As Jenniferin thought this, the boy stood up, muttering something incomprehensible to her about how his mentor might really kill him with kindness.

"Jenniferin Pantile, was it? Sorry, seems we're classmates, but I don't remember you. By the way, I do at least know the Pantile name as a noble family, so this isn't some noble roundabout insult, okay?"

"Rest assured, anyone who's exchanged words with you would know, even on first meeting, that such noble insults or high-level tactics are beyond you."

She felt a strange sense of humor seeing Shin Longdagger's eyes widen at her words.

"You're quite the talker, aren't you?"

"I told you, didn't I? I won't lose in a verbal fight."

She felt a fondness for this extraordinary boy disguised as ordinary, whose attitude didn't change even after learning she was a Pantile.

"Whatever broke, it's thanks for saving my life. I'll buy a replacement. If it's something with value, leave it to me."

What kind of sword should I buy for him? Jenniferin Pantile pondered.

A sword made by a famous craftsman? No, why not buy the craftsman themselves? He's bound to keep growing, so I'll have custom weapons and armor made to match his progress.

Imagining it, she found it quite enjoyable.

Jenniferin felt she understood why her ancestors sponsored poets and painters; investing in people was fun.

But Shin's words to Jenniferin betrayed her expectations.

"I don't need that kind of thanks."

As Shin sheathed his broken sword, his face genuinely showed he didn't seek such thanks. There was no hint of trying to raise the stakes, just a plain look of boredom.

That expression irritated Jenniferin quite a bit.

"Oh? Are you looking to negotiate with a Pantile?"

Though she didn't think that was the case, she felt the Pantile blood stirring within her.

Assigning the right value to the right worth was enjoyable, especially since this time it was her own life.

"But rest assured, Shin Longdagger. This will likely be the easiest negotiation of your life. After all, the one assigning value to my life is me, and I'm the one you're dealing with. A town? A castle? Or perhaps a country? A country might take some years, but fine, I'll grant it to you."

The value of her life was, in essence, the same as asking how much she was capable of achieving.

Jenniferin grew curious about what value Shin would assign to her.

So, how will he answer?

"I don't need anything like that. The thanks you mentioned at the start are enough."

Oh no, I might cry, Jenniferin thought.

Far from a country, it's less than even a town.

"Ah, wait, what do you mean by the thanks I mentioned at the start?"

Regaining her composure, she asked Shin.

What did I say at the start? Jenniferin tilted her head inwardly.

"What, you know..."

Shin's exasperated tone made Jenniferin flustered.

Was she overlooking something so important?

"You said at the start that you should thank me, right? That's good enough."

And yet, Jenniferin Pantile would later recall this moment and blush with laughter.

She greatly perplexed the bodyguard who rushed over, pale with concern.

*

"Let me thank you, thank you, Shin Longdagger. Can I call you Shin?"

"Call me whatever you like, Jenniferin Pantile. But that's a long name, Jenniferin. My tongue might get tangled. Is Jen okay?"

"Feel free to shorten it as much as you want."

While watching the bodyguard swiftly tie up the unconscious assassins and prepare to hand them over to the knight orders, Jenniferin responded.

"Today is a good day. I got to know you—or rather, since we were already classmates, I suppose I already did—but I made a mark in your memory. It's a good day."

"I don't think knowing me holds that much value. Sorry to disappoint you, but my family is a shockingly poor viscount family, and I'm the incompetent second son."

How could a human with such monstrous appraisal results belittle himself so much? Jenniferin wondered as she shook her head.

That's not what it's about.

"Even if you were a business partner, no one in Pantile cares about the shortness of one's reach."

Shortness of reach—a phrase used to mock someone's limited influence or power—but as expected, Shin didn't get it.

Seeing Shin's clearly confused expression, Jenniferin laughed and said,

"Don't worry about it, my friend. We Pantiles are drawn more to interesting stories than profitable deals with our golden eyes."

Even after she said that, Shin still looked like he didn't understand. After a few moments of silence, he said with an exasperated tone,

"What a troublesome clan."

And yet, you, who values a simple thank you over a whole country, are quite troublesome yourself.

Jenniferin muttered this in her heart while nodding at Shin's words.

A smile naturally formed on her face.

At the cost of her life being in danger, she gained the acquaintance of Shin Longdagger.

Today was a huge profit.

It was a great day, one that did a merchant proud.

Jenniferin Pantile thought this to herself, oblivious to the fact that Shin was looking at her with eyes that said, 'Ah, this one's a weird one too.'