Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!

Chapter 113 : Commission

The country road was particularly muddy in the heavy rain, the soil softened and slippery after being soaked. The carriage moved slowly along the path, its wheels occasionally sinking into mud puddles with a dull, clattering sound.

Raindrops pattered against the windowpane, and water streamed down from above in continuous sheets.

Patunasankus leaned back in her seat, one hand supporting her head while the other turned the pages of her book. Immersed in the story, she tuned out the clamor of the world, gradually experiencing the most serene joy Latifa had spoken of.

It had been some time since they set off again, their destination long decided. A hazy downpour had caused them to lose their way. Loranhir was at the front, acting as the coachman, while Elaphia sat beside her, map in hand, trying her best to guide a directionally challenged companion. Everyone was busy, and as usual, Patunasankus had nothing to do.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

Patunasankus turned to the window again, smiling at the rain outside. She breathed on the glass, fogging a small patch, and traced three strokes to sketch a smiling face.

She only needed to be a proper princess.

Patunasankus thought the drawing on the glass resembled a mist-shrouded lake—hazy yet delicate.

A short while later, she noticed the carriage had stopped, the wheels no longer turning. Loranhir pushed the door open, letting in a cool breeze and a few stray raindrops.

"Did you find the way?" Patunasankus asked.

"Nope," Loranhir stuck out her tongue and sat opposite.

"The fog’s a bit too thick to get our bearings. Luckily, there’s a small town ahead where we can rest for a while."

Loranhir held an oil lamp that cast a warm glow.

"The only problem is it might take me a little longer than expected," Loranhir said.

"What’s wrong?"

"We’re out of money." Loranhir spread her hands, revealing empty palms.

"Didn’t we have plenty before?"

"Princess, the price you offered Shatina was way too high. After calculating, we realized we’re almost broke," Loranhir said regretfully. "If I’d known, I would’ve just ditched her without paying."

Patunasankus thought it over—she had indeed been a bit extravagant with spending. But it wasn’t entirely her fault; she’d never had much concept of money. After all, the evil dragon’s lair was piled high with gold coins, left to gather dust.

In this situation, she couldn’t simply say, "It’s easy, I’ll cover the expenses," as she might have before.

"So, if we don’t find some extra income, we won’t have enough for living expenses. Elaphia and I can manage by foraging, but it wouldn’t do to let you go hungry, Princess," Loranhir said.

"What should we do then?" Patunasankus asked.

Loranhir perked up immediately, her expression turning serious. "Of course, we’ll take on adventurer quests from the bulletin board!"

This time, she had no intention of setting up another Sword Drawing Arena. Now that the holy sword had shown signs of activity, it was best not to disturb it unnecessarily.

"Quests? You? Can you handle them?" Patunasankus instinctively questioned."Rest assured, when it comes to making money, leaving it to a hero definitely won't be a problem." Loranhir pushed open the door, looked up at the pouring rain, turned up his collar to cover his head, and dashed out with a lantern in hand.

Patunasankus thought for a moment but still felt uneasy.

"Elaphia!" Patunasankus called out toward the window.

In less than a second, Patunasankus saw Elaphia appear beside the carriage window.

"Your Highness, what is it?"

"Elaphia, could you follow along and keep an eye on things?" Patunasankus pointed at Loranhir's retreating figure. "Compared to her, I think you're more reliable."

○

The weather had gradually turned cold, and the Dawn Kingdom was nearing winter. On days like these, taverns always tended to attract crowds. Even though this tavern, named [unnamed], liked to water down its alcohol, as the cheapest tavern within ten miles, down-and-out mercenaries and adventurers still packed the place.

Five-copper-coin drinks always left patrons full of grievances, forcing them to vent their frustrations elsewhere—slamming tables, hurling curses at each other, with brawls and rowdy cheers rising one after another.

This was exactly the kind of place Loranhir needed to find.

Where mercenaries and adventurers gathered, there were always bulletin boards plastered with plenty of commissions.

"This atmosphere seems pretty good—relaxed. I quite like it," Loranhir said, glancing back at Elaphia. "Are you sure you don't need to go back and take care of the Princess?"

"I used a Guard Rune Scroll. If anything happens to the Princess, I can be there immediately," Elaphia explained.

"If you're not comfortable, you can head back. I'm the best at blending into places like this," Loranhir said.

"It's actually fine," Elaphia replied, glancing at the rough drunks around and the orc singing folk songs on stage. She began to feel grateful the Princess hadn't come along.

Loranhir pushed through the crowd to the bulletin board, which already had many commissions posted—some newly added, others with yellowed corners from age.

"Let me see," Loranhir mused, stroking her chin. "Hmm... Townspeople have spotted ghosts in the fields at midnight. Interesting, I'll take it."

Rip.

Without another word, Loranhir tore it off.

"..."

Elaphia stood nearby without speaking.

"The Valenka family vanished from town without a trace. Hmm, seems suspicious," Loranhir said, reaching out to tear off another commission.

"..."

At first, Elaphia didn't see any problem with this, but she soon realized her mistake.

"Most of the northern forest has withered for no reason, covered in spore-like parasites. Hmm, how strange."

Rip.

Loranhir unhesitatingly tore off another commission.

"...Loranhir?" Elaphia froze for a moment, her gaze fixed on the growing stack of commissions in Loranhir's hands.

She began to sense something was wrong.

"Werewolf sightings?"

"Griffin preying?"

Rip.

"Oh? What's this one?"

Rip.

"Loranhir, stop, stop, stop," Elaphia warned. "No more, no more. These commissions are already enough."Loranhir seemed not to have listened, instead increasing his intensity with a series of tight, rhythmic sounds.

"Someone's drowning."

——Rip.

"A troublemaking evil dragon?"

Rip.

"Alright, this is the last one," Elaphia warned, as nearby mercenaries and adventurers began to notice the commotion, their gazes gradually focusing on them.

"Loranhir, I'm not joking, stop it now. One or two commissions are enough. We've already taken on many tasks; your sword will be overloaded."

Rip.

"Loranhir, what are you doing?!" Elaphia couldn't bear to watch anymore. 1AQ1j

"Hmm… this one looks interesting too."

Rip.

"Good, that's it." Loranhir looked at the now-empty bulletin board and nodded with satisfaction. "Let's go."

"Uh..." Elaphia's gaze fell on the stack of commissions in Loranhir's hands, leaving her speechless. "Are we going to complete all of these commissions? Or are you planning to pick and choose a few?"

...

"Hero?"

In the blink of an eye, Loranhir had already left the bar.

"..."

At that moment, Elaphia noticed the attention of the other tavern patrons was fixed on them.

"Sorry, my friend... she really likes commissions."

She stood up and slipped out after Loranhir.

As soon as they left the bar, Elaphia eagerly questioned Loranhir, "Please tell me, why did you take so many commissions?!"

"Huh? Does accepting commissions cost anything?" Loranhir set down the commissions in his hands and retorted.

"Well, no, it doesn't." Elaphia nodded blankly.

"If it costs nothing, doesn't that mean it's a free commission? Since it's free, why not take it? Besides, we're already here; if we take them all now, we won't have to make another trip later."

Loranhir said.

"…Free?" Elaphia was stunned, not understanding.

"You don't get it, do you? Aside from having a pile of papers, we haven't spent anything. And if we don't take the tasks, what if we happen to solve a problem? How would we know who to ask for payment?" Loranhir patiently explained.

"Uh, that does make sense. So, which commission should we tackle first now?" Elaphia suddenly had an epiphany, as if enlightened.

"Not sure, let's go play some cards first."

"Huh?"

○

"Alright, let me sort out the sequence of events." Patunasankus rubbed his temples and spoke softly, not looking at Elaphia and Loranhir in front of her but instead gazing at the pile of commissions and the empty money pouch on the table.

"In the short time you two were away, you took every commission within a ten-mile radius, and then couldn't resist going to play cards to pass the time, thinking you'd win some meal money while you were at it."

Loranhir didn't dare speak, nodding vigorously.

"At the tavern, you ran into a card-playing expert with a terrifyingly complete deck. You fought with all your might but still couldn't win, ending up losing the last bit of money you had," Patunasankus sighed very, very softly. "Is that right?"

Loranhir nodded like pounding garlic."What about you? Why didn't you stop her?" Patunasankus looked at Elaphia.

"I wanted to win her money back after she lost half her chips," Elaphia whispered.

"And the result?" Patunasankus asked.

"I lost the other half," Elaphia said with a bitter expression.

Patunasankus silently covered her face, unsure how to describe the speechless feeling in her heart. She wondered whether these two living treasures before her were a case of "one takes on the color of one's company" or simply "birds of a feather flock together."

"Forget it, I won't bring this up anymore," Patunasankus shook her head.

She glanced at the commissions Loranhir had taken on.

"I can understand taking on scattered odd jobs like helping find lost cats and dogs—after all, even a mosquito is still meat. But what kind of commission is 'improving Stone Pine Village's public toilets'? And this commission directly conflicts with another one. Are you trying to play both sides?"

"I didn't look carefully, just accepted them casually," Loranhir rubbed her hands together enthusiastically. "But existence implies reason—these commissions must be useful somehow! Besides, earning all the money back won't be a problem. Let's start with the one with the highest bounty—we might complete the others along the way."

"What's the highest bounty?" Elaphia beside them craned her neck to look.

"Three..."

Loranhir fell silent for a moment, then handed the commission to Elaphia.

"Dragon slaying."