[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 37

Jade leaned against a tree, pressing his hand to his forehead, feeling overwhelmed. His thoughts were a tangled mess. He had fallen into the classic dilemma of a mercenary in debt.

As time passed, the debt accumulated exorbitant interest. If he paused repayment even for a moment, he would find himself struggling just to cover the interest, unable to touch the principal.  

To escape that vicious cycle, he needed to pay off the debt as quickly as possible, which meant taking on life-threatening jobs. The greater the risk, the higher the reward. 

For Jade, life had always been a balancing act on that precarious tightrope. He thought he had managed to keep his balance well enough until now, but this time, he had slipped. He looked at the troublesome girl who was as much a threat to his life whether he left her or kept her, and let out a deep sigh. 

I'll worry about tomorrow when it comes. First, let's just get out of this forest and think about it then. Whether I abandon the job or hand her over to Beatrice, I can't just leave her here. 

"Get some sleep. Even a little rest will help us survive tomorrow," he said. 

"My name is Natalie. What's yours?" 

It seemed her stubbornness was greater than his. Jade answered indifferently, "Call me whatever you want. Keep calling me an ungrateful kidnapper for all I care." 

"Stubborn, aren't you? How much is your debt?" 

"What?" 

"I asked how much debt you have. There's only one reason a noble would become a mercenary: money. Just how much are you in debt that you had to come into Nabimi Forest?" 

This time, he genuinely reached for his knife. Something was off. This could all be a test of his loyalty by Beatrice or a real attempt to recruit him by another mercenary guild. The strongest mercenary guild in the East was still Beatrice's. 

The fate of those who were swayed by large sums to defect was always terrible. It was better to die than face Beatrice's revenge. He had no intention of making such a foolish choice. 

No, it didn’t make sense. Anyone working in this region knew the origin of Jade "Eclipse," so if this was about recruiting him, they wouldn’t have bothered with this approach, especially from a captive… 

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Don’t deny it. You're more transparent than you think. Habits ingrained from a young age aren’t easily hidden or erased." 

The girl grinned annoyingly as she continued, "The way you walk, your movements, your posture, your expressions—even though you try to disguise it with rough language and accent, your speech is still sophisticated, standard capital speech. Nobles have a different way of holding a water bottle. We’re trained to change, aren’t we?" 

"......" 

"Let’s see, shall I list the noble families that have recently fallen?" 

"If you don’t want to die right now, I suggest you shut up." 

Jade brought the blade up to her chin, the edge so close it could shave the peach fuzz off her skin. But the girl stared straight back at him, unwavering. She had guts, that was for sure. 

"Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t kill me. My ransom is far too high. No mercenary would risk entering Nabimi Forest for pocket change." 

"So what? You want me to release you, and you’ll pay off my debt?" 

"Why couldn’t I?" 

"Do you even know how much it is? Are you that wealthy? There's no one in Mihadas who could pay off 200 million Elisia." 

Jade scoffed. Even the wealthiest merchants in the Central region would freeze at the mention of such a sum. It wasn’t a reasonable amount. Unless someone was using high-interest loans, it was hard even to accrue such a debt. 

But the girl smiled confidently and declared, "I'll pay it." 

"What?" 

"In return, you have to help me. I'm not asking you to let me go. I still need to stay in the East." 

"......" 

"I’m looking for something. I must find it, even if it means tearing apart this entire forest." 

"This girl is completely insane." 

Jade let out a bitter laugh. This nonsense was so outrageous it wasn’t even worth pretending to entertain. He tossed a blanket to the girl and closed his eyes. 

* * * 

Something was off. Nabimi Forest was already notorious for its strangeness, but even by those standards, the current situation was abnormal. 

The forest was too quiet. By dawn, they should have encountered and dealt with at least two monsters trying to approach their camp. 

Instead, they were advancing smoothly towards the forest's edge, breathing in the cold morning air without any interruptions. Kirona seemed to have forgotten she was a captive, chatting endlessly with him as if they were friends. Jade felt an overwhelming urge to cover his ears.