"Who are you?" The guard stood imposingly before me.

"I am a traveler from Althemer," I told the gate guard.

"Hm? Althemer?" He frowned. "Why are you here?"

"We just signed a peace treaty, so I thought it would be okay to travel." I considered getting inside discreetly, but it would be troubling if they had unique identification for this fort, so I opted to be honest.

"What's your business in Elderan?"

"I wish to visit the Elderan city."

"Ah, you wanted to see our capital?"

"Yes, I wanted to see the Monster Tamer Guild."

"I see. Good. You may rest here. The entrance fee is one gold."

"One gold?"

"Yes, you are from Althemer and thus not in the Western Alliance. We might have peace for now, but we don't know about the future. Pay or be gone."

"Okay…" I am a mage, so I could pay them. But this was obviously a robbery. They essentially asked for half of a knight's monthly wage for entrance to the city. Moreover, I have to do this for every city. I regretfully paid him the gold coin.

Even though we are enemies, the inside of this fort strangely reminded me of Shadowstep County. Most houses were made from wood. There were dirt roads with pavement only covering the front of a few houses. I didn't need to guess which houses belonged to nobles or affluent families.

"Damn you! I worked ten years for you, and you just cut me off when I was in trouble?" A mage shouted to the innkeeper. From my mana sensing, he was about a level 3 mage.

Wow. Was this country so full of mages that they could afford to fire any? In Althemer, people would hire any breathing mage with a pulse. Well, it was not my problem. I nudged my horse to walk forward until I found an inn. It was expensive, 5 silver per night. I grumblingly paid the innkeeper and went on to my own room.

"Are you a traveler? You look like you could fight. How about registering as a mercenary?" the innkeeper assessed. Was it because of my intimidation? Or was it because she saw my dagger? It was nice not to be treated like a kid due to my petite body.

"I want to go to the capital."

"Then all the more reason to register as a mercenary. You get to have an identification card. With it, you could go inside any city for free. It does not work for all cities though, but at least you might get a discount." The innkeeper gave me a tip.

"Really? Okay!" I only had 5 gold at the moment. I could always draw more from R25B, but it would cost me 10 points to deliver it here. So, I rode toward the guild immediately.

When I came inside the guild, it looked more like a tavern. I was suddenly reminded how I was recruited as a reaper. I certainly passed through taverns like this one. They say it was a mercenary guild, but it looked more like the adventurer guild we have back in Althemer. Was the difference simply that they also accepted commissions from the military?

"Little miss, do you want to make a commission?"

"I want to register. The innkeeper recommended it. They said you could pass the city gate for free if you were registered."

"I see. There is a test. After you pass, we will give you a temporary guild card. You have to complete at least two quests using that temporary ID. Then, you can have the real one."

"What's the test? And what quests do you do here?"

"The test is combat with our veteran members. You don't have to beat our tester, but at the very least, you need to hold out for two minutes. Well, even if yo lose, i will be the judge whether or not you will pass."

"I see." I looked out the window. The sun was almost down. "When does the test happen?"

"Right now, if you wish. Hey! Hellhound! You're up!"

"Huh? What's a kid doing here?" A bald bandit appeared. His smug look was the epitome of a small fry in the fantasy anime I used to watch to pass the time back on Earth.

"She said she wanted to become a mercenary. Go to the ring," the receptionist smirked.

"I don't hit women or children."

"I am not a child! I am 16!" I said. The legal age here is 15, so I am an adult.

"Oh? Is Hellhound scared?" I widened my eyes at the receptionist who was egging him on. I took a closer look at the punk bandit before me, he looked at me cautiously. Was he some powerful guy? There was no such thing as an appraisal system here, so looks could be deceiving. Since there were skills, even a kid like me could match the strength of an adult. So, size was not a guarantee either.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I went to the training area with dread. The punk used a scimitar sword. However, the blade was sheathed. Looking at him, I immediately sheathed my dagger. Even though he looked like a bandit, I guess he had the decency to sheath his blade when sparring.

"Begin," the receptionist volunteered to be the referee in addition to the judge. As soon as he said begin, the punk disappeared. My danger sense quickly told me that I would lose my head, so I ducked down. Part of my hair was whizzed by a passing object above my head. I quickly stepped away from the skinny man behind me.

"I see you have quite the skills. That was some superb dodging there. If you pass, wanna join our party?"

"I need to get to the capital first."

"Good. We have an escort commission there. I will recommend you. Only if you can actually beat me or survive for two minutes." He smirked. This punk was not your typical bully but a battle maniac! Once he knew I had some skills, he suddenly acted cozy and warm.

"I will beat you in 20 seconds," I retorted. I am an experienced assassin. I have killed tens of people. I really wanted to put a bump at his punk, handsome face.

"Oh… we shall see." He chuckled. A hint of mockery was seen on his face. His expression said a lot about how he would put me in my place by kicking my butt.

I dashed toward him. I wasn't as fast as him, but with my enhanced agility and petite body, I was like a speeding bullet or a flying arrow. My sheathed dagger aimed for his throat. However, he disappeared once again. Without looking back, I unleashed my dark bindings and felt a feedback. The tentacles hit him. Then, I hugged him using my tentacles and slammed him on the ground. As he groaned in pain, I prodded him with my sheathed knife.

"How many seconds was it?" I asked the referee.

"All right. You passed. It seems like Hellhound didn't pull any punches, either. Since you are a mage, your commission will be deducted by 40% according to tax law compared to other mercenaries. Welcome to the Elderan mercenary guild, Eli." he ignored me! I merely stood agape. They took almost half of what I might earn in the future simply because I am a mage. Well, I registered as a mercenary, not for money. So, I reluctantly accepted the guild card.

"You didn't tell me you were a mage," he cursed.

"You said you have an escort quest to Elderan City, right?"

"Not really. The escort will be to the city before it, Sami City. After reaching there, you can simply take any request or go there by coach. There is no direct route from here to Elderan city."

"I see. Can I join you?" I tried to remember the Elderan map but drew a blank. I could vaguely remember the geographical terrain leading to Elderan, but I had no idea about the surrounding villages and cities.

"All right. Since you have the recommendation of Hellhound, I will make an exception and allow you to leave the city. I will also make your registration free," the guild receptionist nodded. "Normally, I would ask you to take some quests around filling feystones, construction, killing monsters, or healing others. But if you were recruited directly, I can't interfere. Those Claire's faction is pro-mage, after all. You should help others while at it, though. It's your duty as a mage."

The receptionist left, leaving me stunned. I turned to Hellhound and asked, "Is that how you normally treat mages around here?"

"Ever since Claire's faction arrived, mages born in Elderan could work anywhere. Before, all mages were required to sign with Elderan's government and were employed directly by them. Anyone who wanted to employ mages would need to call the government. It was a good thing for us! We mercenaries could finally get mages! Don't worry. My group will treat you better than others! I promise."

"I hope Claire will gain more power here… I thought she already owned all of the Western alliance."

"Where are you from again?"

“I am from Althemer.”

"Ah. I see. It's the land where we commoners have to kneel and kiss your feet whenever you pass by, huh? It might be rough for you to move here. And word of advice, don't ever mention Princess Claire's name recklessly. You might get killed."

"Hm?" I thought Princess Claire was loved everywhere like a goddess. Why would mentioning her name get me killed? But before I asked further about Claire, I needed to correct their misunderstanding about mages. "Althemer isn't like that. That's the Theocracy."

"But you guys are allies, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess." I was stumped. So, it was a crime by association, huh? I shouldn't talk about Althemer recklessly now. If towns in the borders were like this, I can't imagine what the capital would look like. I wanted to shout that they were the ones who attacked us first, but that might prompt them to answer that our lands didn't belong to Althemer but to the now-conquered and defunct country of Shadowland.

"I want to talk about Claire. How is she perceived here?"

"We like her. She is fair and just. Thanks to her, the mages aren't monopolized by the nation, and even us mercs could finally get a hand on some. But don't ever mention her to rich guys or nobles. You might get into some trouble."

"I see. So nobles hate her, huh?"

"Nope. Not all of them. That's the tricky part. If someone asks you if you're a Claire follower, answer, 'I don't like her very much, but she saved Elderan from the Althemer invasion.' If they're in Claire's faction, they'll nod and try to preach her benevolence, justice, fairness, yada-yada. If they're in the opposing faction, they'll say something about how Claire isn't fit to be the Western Alliance figurehead despite her merit. Her behavior supported mages like Eastern nations. Either way, you won't earn much ire."

I gazed at him incredulously. "I see. But I'll still get a sermon, huh?"

Hellhound smirked and nodded. "How is she perceived in Althemer?"

"I think it's about the same. She sided with the anti-mage faction despite being a mage. That puts her in the middle ground. Many have tried to assassinate her, both from the anti-mage and mage factions."

"I see. I personally support her. Rather than those corrupt nobles."

"I agree." I nodded. I'd read about the Western Nations' policies regarding mages, but reading and experiencing it are different. I really support her from the heart despite her trying to kill me.

Despite her trying to kill me. I need to say it twice. I support her, but I must remind myself that she might hate me. We did try to kill each other not a few days ago. She seemed amicable during the Dregorn case, but her eyes said otherwise. I have no idea what she's thinking.

I wonder whether we became friends during our talk that night. I have no idea what I said to her during that night since it happened in another timeline. I only planned to tell her about Dregorn, Monster Tamer, and Reaper's commission about killing her. But was the talk spread out to other stuff? Did she know about my parents? I hope she forgives what I did to Dregorn. I'm not stopping, though. I might need to kill more of her followers. I hope she doesn't have many followers in the monster tamer guild.

"See you tomorrow. Don't forget to gather at the mercenary guild at dawn. We'll depart two hours after," Hellhound said, breaking me out of my daze.

"Okay," I answered.