“So what were you doing instead of getting yourself a weapon?” Jade muttered back as he aimlessly dug at the ground with his shovel.

“I didn’t get one because I didn’t have the money. You’ve been making plenty of cash, though. Haven’t you got yourself even one magical artefact? You’ve been wandering around taking on high-paying jobs as if your life meant nothing.” 

“As if that money’s really mine. It just slips through my fingers as debt.” 

“Watch your mouth. Are you serious about paying off that 200 million Elysia?” 

“Otherwise, why would I be tangled up with that precious princess?” 

Jade tried hard to conceal the turbulent emotions that arose whenever he thought about Kirona. Marlon, who had been watching him and looked like he was about to say something for a while, finally got to the point. 

“How long have you been accompanying the princess?” 

“Not long. Just a few days.” 

It had been only a few days, but he had witnessed quite a lot during that time. Marlon signalled him to lower his voice. Jade followed the instruction. 

“Did you know that she… doesn’t have much time left?” 

“No, I didn’t.” 

That’s why his mind was a chaotic mess. Jade struggled to shake off thoughts that kept spiralling in unproductive directions. 

“I hope you haven’t been disrespectful to the princess.” 

“What disrespect?” 

Jade genuinely didn’t understand what Marlon was referring to. He couldn’t guess what ‘disrespect’ Marlon was talking about because there were too many possibilities. Marlon looked him up and down for a while before speaking. 

“I’m worried that you might’ve been taking advantage of your looks. If you’ve tried to get close to her with the idea of maybe getting her pregnant, considering she’s not in good health…” 

“Are you out of your mind? Say something disgusting like that one more time, and I’ll take your head off.” 

Jade nearly threw his shovel at Marlon’s face. Marlon sighed in relief and then continued to speak nonchalantly. 

“Well, you’ve been pretty restrained in that regard so far, I’ll give you that. Still, even if the princess makes an advance, you must reject it. It’s dangerous to engage in such things with someone in poor health.” 

“…” 

“But the thing is, girls who’ve been given a terminal diagnosis tend to be reckless. My daughter was the same way…” 

Jade looked down at Marlon’s head with a disgusted expression. Were all older people only capable of thinking about such disgusting things? They assumed that any man hanging around a young woman was just looking to get her pregnant. It was infuriating. Did they think that whenever two people of the opposite sex were together, that was all they could think of? 

“Don’t treat me like some lust-driven dog.” 

“When you’re young, it’s easy to lose your head over such things. The body reacts, after all.” 

Marlon’s tone was full of conviction. His gaze was filled with suspicion as he looked at Jade. Jade glanced over at Kirona, who was chatting with Zelda, and then turned back to glare at Marlon. 

He understood what Marlon was implying. After all, he had grown up in a mercenary guild full of debauchery. 

And if someone were to ask him if he had absolutely no shame, even in heaven’s eyes… well, that wouldn’t be entirely true. As he grew older, he found it increasingly difficult to deal with his body’s natural reactions in the mornings. Sometimes, he even had to stick his head in cold water to shake off the persistent heat in his lower abdomen. 

If he claimed that he hadn’t had a single physiological reaction while spending several days with a princess of a similar age, that would be a lie. 

“Mind your own business.” 

But that didn’t mean he had to listen to a pointless sex education lecture from Marlon Deha. He wasn’t some lust-driven animal. Besides, the feelings of love often associated with such desires were something he found utterly tiresome. 

“I worry because I made mistakes at your age! I fooled around with all sorts of bastards back then. Since she’s not in good health, you need to be careful. Girls her age don’t have good judgement; they’ll accept any guy who’s at least decent-looking.” 

“Are you calling me a bastard?” 

“Well, aren’t you?” 

“If the princess asks me to keep her company at night, what’s a lowly mercenary to do? I’ll just say yes and strip.” 

Jade made a sarcastic comment, even though he didn’t mean it. He picked up the shovel again and urged Marlon to get back to work. 

“Stop talking and start lifting these rocks. If we die here, none of this will matter anyway.” 

He had expected it to be heavy, but the weight of the magic stone was beyond what he had imagined. Despite their combined efforts, the stone wouldn’t budge. Sensing that they needed more help, Zelda Black ran over. Kirona also stood up and approached.