The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 51

Even though there was a perfectly good sofa and table, Armiphera chose to sit on the floor.

The children soon gathered around her, sitting close by.

Each of them had a soft cushion placed under them.

Deter, who had been quietly watching just in case, had brought them over in a hurry.

But Nivellia confidently sat down right between the Mercenary King’s legs.

“Well, would you look at her?”

She was using the great Mercenary King as a chair?

Armiphera let out a dry laugh at her niece’s boldness.

Still, the sight was too cute and funny to scold her.

She also liked the cozy warmth of the little one leaning against her.

‘Who does she take after?’

Her brother and Sillec weren’t like this when they were kids.

“…Is it me?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just saying Nini’s adorable.”

“Nini already knows that.”

“Ahaha!”

Armiphera burst into laughter, just like Muniel used to.

Then she started showing the children the items she had brought.

“These are all from the Latro region.”

Latro—a rough, rocky land known as the only real base of the wild and free mercenaries.

On the far western edge stood towering cliffs that could make you dizzy just looking at them. If you climbed over them for two straight days, you’d reach a large basin formed by folded rock.

That’s where the mercenaries’ main stronghold, Latro, was located.

“The cliffs curve like waves. When I look at them, I realize how small the world I live in really is.”

Armiphera took a small round item from Nivellia’s hands. She pressed her thumb on it with a soft click.

A blue flame flickered to life.

“Wow!”

“Fire!”

“Hot!”

Soles, Aref, and Nivellia exclaimed one after the other.

“Cool, right? This is a semi-automatic flint made by Latro’s craftsmen. You don’t need matches when you have this.”

Of course, it had to be refilled with oil, but the great thing was it still worked after getting wet—just dry it and it’s good to go.

“My mom actually invented this 40 years ago.”

“Grandma did?”

Nivellia, still watching the blue flame in amazement, looked up. A small scar on Armiphera’s chin caught her eye.

“Yep. It’s called the Saintess’s Flame.”

Armiphera’s golden eyes softened as the fire reflected in them.

Soles quietly thought she looked just like Grandpa when he smiled at Grandma.

“There are still mercenaries in Latro who fought in the war 40 years ago. They all got help from the Saintess and the Holy Knight.”

Armiphera had earned the title of Mercenary King with her own skill.

But the reason a young woman like her could rise so quickly was thanks to the support of veteran warriors who were once saved by her parents.

‘In the end, I was helped by Mom and Dad too.’

She had struggled to live on her own.

But when real danger struck, what saved her was the blood and sweat her parents gave forty years ago.

“Be good to your parents,” Armiphera suddenly told the children.

“Don’t give them a hard time like I did.”

“Nini’s already doing great! I’m a good kid!”

To prove it, Nivellia pulled out her bankbook and proudly showed off the money she had earned.

“Wow, you’re more grown-up than me!”

“Heehee!”

Armiphera looked at her niece, smiling just like her older brother, and found her absolutely adorable.

The kids turned their attention back to the items.

They had expected lots of dangerous stuff, but there were only a few.

The really dangerous ones had been confiscated by Kaleo at the entrance.

“This pouch is something every mercenary must carry.”

Armiphera held up a round, drawstring pouch made of old black fabric.

She opened it and let them look inside.

“There’s nothing in it.”

Nivellia pouted, hoping there might be candy or coins to grab.

“Go ahead, put your hand in.”

After closing the pouch again, Armiphera handed it to her with a playful smile.

Nivellia bravely reached inside.

Her blue eyes went wide with surprise.

“Huh?”

She felt something in her hand.

When she pulled it out, it was an old, rough gold coin.

“Huh? What? Wait, how…?”

Stunned, Nivellia looked back and forth between the coin and the empty pouch, then turned to Armiphera with a confused face, wanting an explanation.

Armiphera smiled brightly and gave her the answer.

“That’s a subspace pouch—the pride of Latro and every mercenary!”

“Subspace?”

“What does that mean?”

Nivellia and Aref had never heard the word before.

“Oh! So that’s what this is!”

Soles’ eyes sparkled as if he understood.

“Subspace means a space that exists separately from our world.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Nivellia tilted her head in confusion.

“Hm…”

Seeing her puzzled expression, Soles thought for a moment and explained it in simpler words.

“You know how we have our house, right? But imagine there’s another house, somewhere else.”

“Okay.”

“But do you know who lives in that house, or what’s inside?”

“Umm… no.”

Nivellia slowly shook her head.

Her imagination began to wander.

She pictured a warm, fairy-tale-like home with a kind woman baking delicious bread and laughing gently.

But she sensed that now wasn’t the right time to say something like that.

And she was right.

“Exactly. No one knows. That’s what subspace is.”

A strange space that definitely exists, but can’t be seen or entered.

Some say a mad wizard created it after years of research. Others believe a god sliced through the world and left it behind.

There are even stories that it’s the remnant of a forgotten dimension, left empty after monsters vanished.

“This pouch is connected to that subspace.”

It was made from monster leather.

“Why is that something mercenaries are proud of?” Aref asked.

“Because only mercenaries use monster leather. Ordinary people think it’s cursed. Even the temples strongly forbid it.”

But mercenaries didn’t care about things like that. They were rough, free-spirited—and poor.

They needed materials that were strong enough to protect them, but also light and practical.

So they naturally turned to monster leather, which others avoided.

“Most monster-related inventions actually came from mercenaries in Latro. This subspace pouch is one of the best examples.”

It was also mercenaries from Latro who first discovered the subspace phenomenon.

Someone made a pouch out of monster hide without much thought—and found that it could hold endless items.

After that, mercenaries began collecting all the monster leather they could. It wasn’t hard—nobody else wanted it anyway.

And just like that, the subspace pouch became a symbol of mercenaries.

Owning one even became proof that you were a real mercenary.

“Does Latro make a lot of money from those pouches?” Nivellia asked, eyes sparkling with interest.

But the answer wasn’t what she was hoping for.

“Not anymore. The monsters are gone, so we can’t make them.”

“Aww…”

She frowned sadly.

“What do you mean, ‘aww’? That’s a good thing.”

Monsters killed everything in their path and left fertile lands in ruins.

Humanity had sacrificed countless lives over many years to finally wipe them out.

It was hard-won peace.

“It’s better that they’re gone,” Armiphera said with sincerity.

In truth, the mercenaries’ era was ending too.

What had brought wanderers together under the name of “mercenary” was the shared threat of monsters.

But now, that threat no longer existed.

And as Mercenary King, Armiphera could clearly see the decline that was coming.

“Still… I’m going to do my best,” she said gently, playing with Nivellia’s small, pudgy hand.

“If a woman draws a sword, she should at least cut something with it!”

Right?

But the kids didn’t answer.

They just stared at her in stunned silence.

Soles and Aref even pulled Nivellia away and shielded her behind them.

“…Oh.”

Realizing her poor choice of words, Armiphera turned to Deter.

“You won’t tell my mom, right?”

“I think I should.”

“…Of course.”

In the end, Armiphera got a serious scolding from Muniel.

“You’re free to do what you want, but you can’t be reckless in front of children.”

Then came more scolding from Caleo and Celletina.

“Watch your language around the kids.”

“Especially around Nini. Please be more careful.”

Knowing she was in the wrong, Armiphera had no choice but to quietly agree.

‘But Nini already talks like a grown-up…’

Was it really all up to her to be careful?

Of course, she didn’t say that out loud. She simply nodded.

“Oh, right.”

Armiphera suddenly remembered something.

“The gift—did it arrive safely?”

At that, Caleo raised one eyebrow sharply.

“…What?”

Armiphera looked at him with a nervous smile, as if thinking Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up…

Still, Caleo was a wonderful older brother.

A bit overbearing, sure—he was the type to come back with blood on his sword if another man even looked at her wrong.

But even now, he didn’t glare at her. He just looked… annoyed.

“Phera.”

“Yeah?”

“You do realize that was a real egg from the Archdragon Ather, right?”

“…What?”

It was the first day of spring.

She had wanted to give her niece something truly special for her fourth birthday—something unforgettable from her cool aunt.

So she had sent the egg that had been the grand prize of the Mercenary King tournament. Said to be from the archdragon Ather, it felt like the perfect gift.

She hoped that dragon would grow up to protect her precious niece.

Though deep down, she’d chuckled and thought, There’s no way it’s a real dragon egg…

So, in her mind, she had simply sent a very expensive charm for good luck.

“I thought it was just a fancy-looking rock.”

Caleo buried his face in both hands, completely exasperated.

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