“Oh? This grows here, too?” Parein murmured to himself, but I caught a flicker of excitement in his tone. Moving without hesitation, he crouched down, fingers carefully digging through the soil. His movements were deliberate, almost cautious. After a few moments of dirt brushing, he abruptly straightened his back. A root that resembled wild ginseng or bellflower appeared in his palm. Before I could ask, Parein’s gaze locked onto the herb with gleaming eyes. “Amazing! This is fantastic for stamina.” Considering he looked to be in his mid-thirties, his reaction made sense. Muttering to himself, Parein promptly took a bite of the herb. He chewed a few times, then suddenly paused. His head snapped toward me, his lips smudged with dirt on full display. His widened eyes flickered between me and the herb. After a brief moment of hesitation, his expression morphed into a half-smile, half-grimace as he extended the half-chewed herb toward me. “Errr, Kwon. Want a bite?” My face twisted in disgust. Nobody in their right mind would accept something offered with that kind of expression. And he pointed the already bitten-off part at me? I can see it glistening with saliva! Suppressing a sigh, I shook my head. “No thanks.” Parein’s expression brightened noticeably. He held his breath, as if savoring his victory, before flashing me a knowing smirk. “Heh. You hesitated for a second. That means you’re a man through and through. Well, since you refused, I won’t ask again.” He chuckled, eyes gleaming mischievously. With a smug grin, he stuffed the rest of the herb into his mouth and chewed with exaggerated satisfaction. His look screamed enjoyment. Is he taunting me? Yeah, he definitely is. Asshole. Just like he had promised, he didn’t repeat his offer a second time. Normally, people insisted at least three times before giving up. While I silently swallowed my irritation, Parein hummed a tune under his breath, “Once this mission’s over, where should I put all this stamina to use?” His voice was light and teasing, clearly directed at me. It was working, but I refused to react. That was exactly what he wanted. Some people were just wired . Luckily, I knew how to handle them. Maintaining my placid expression, I turned and started walking. “Let’s go.” I had kept my tone even and indifferent, deliberately dismissing his nonsense. Unfortunately, Parein remained unbothered, and he nodded with an easygoing grin. Still chewing, his words came out muffled. “Sure, sure.” Since he was our guide, he took the lead. Maybe it was the thrill of finding an herb, but his movements grew sharper, and he swept the ground with his gaze faster. As I followed, he glanced at me before picking up his pace. The distance between us widened. What the hell? Is he trying to get ahead? Is he planning to find something else and keep it for himself? I stopped in my tracks, staring at the back of his head in disbelief. “Annoying... bastard,” Ryun complained in a quiet tone, barely more than a murmur. Ryun hadn’t spoken up to this point, and it was only after some distance had grown between Parein and us that he had. In fact, he had even kept his eyes closed up until now. I had assumed he was asleep. Guess he was practicing his acting skills, also. It made sense; others generally found his appearance strange. I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he is a bit irritating.” “Want to... mess with him...? I could... tell you... where an elixir... is...” “Huh? How do you know that? Have you been here before?” “You seem... to have forgotten... but I’m... an ent. Hurting plants... isn’t exactly... ideal... but... death is... inevitable...” Few species were as attuned with nature as ents. Still, it seemed ridiculous that he could locate plant elixirs whenever he wanted. “That works for me. I get an elixir, and I get to mess with him. Do you sense anything nearby?” “Nothing... that would make... your eyes roll back... but... turn left...” I immediately changed direction. “A little... more...” Before I could take more than a few steps, Parein caught on. “Hey! Kwon! Where are you going?” I ignored him. Ryun lowered his voice and whispered, “There... Look below... to the left... You see it? The one... with four leaves. Find... its root...” I scanned the ground. “Oh... yeah.” Just as Ryun had said, a small plant with four leaves was growing at the base of a tree trunk. Maybe because Parein was coming up behind me, Ryun shut his eyes again. “I will... remain silent... once more...” I bent down and carefully dug through the soil. Parein’s voice, laced with suspicion, echoed from behind me. “What the heck? Why are you suddenly doing that?” As the damp soil gave way, it unveiled a dirty-looking and reddish root. It definitely appeared distinct from the herb Parein had found earlier. At first glance, it resembled red ginseng, but I could feel the magic radiating from it. A notification popped up. [Essence of the Red Mountain Elder] - A rare herb that appears once every thirty years. - Restores vitality and rejuvenates the body, even in old age. - Effective regardless of age. This was far more valuable than Ryun had let on. Although it didn’t boost stats, something that could rejuvenate anyone regardless of age was still rare. Wealthy old men would salivate at the opportunity to restore vitality, and would likely treat this like wild ginseng that had aged for hundreds of years. At the very least, it would probably increase my stamina. Before I knew it, Parein was right behind me. “Did you find something?” I deliberately let out an exaggerated exclamation. “Ah!” Right on cue, Parein’s interest spiked. “What? What?!” He craned his neck to get a look at my hands. I waved the herb in front of him. “I found something good.” In an attempt to see better in the dim light, he narrowed his eyes. Then, his expression froze, and his jaw dropped. “No way. This’s fucking insane!” His lips trembled slightly. “Th-that’s Essence of the Red Mountain Elder, isn’t it?! If you auction that, it’d go for at least one hundred thousand gold—” “Hmm. Not planning to sell it. May as well eat it before it spoils.” Seizing the opportunity to be petty, I took a bite. A bitter, earthy taste spread across my tongue. The sand that had lingered on its skin crunched faintly between my molars. Medicine is supposed to taste unpleasant, so I will just ignore that. Leaving only a small piece, I turned to Parein. He was frozen, staring at me like I had lost my mind. “Y-you actually ate it? Do you know how much that’s worth?!” “Hmm. Guess I took a bigger bite than I meant to. There’s a little left, though. Want some?” Parein’s pupils trembled violently. His conflicted gaze flickered between me and the herb. How the tables had turned. I watched his eyes closely, and once I noticed that he had made up his mind, I popped the remaining herb into my mouth without hesitation. Since it was only about the size of a fingertip, it didn’t even muffle my speech. “Silence means no, you know.” Parein had been on the verge of accepting my offer, but now his jaw simply hung open. His face was a mixture of shock and helpless frustration. The satisfaction of winning settled in my chest. I turned and started walking, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Alright, let’s get going. Time is money, man.” [Support the agent in their espionage mission. Time remaining 91 hours 47 minutes.] Parein was playful, but he wasn’t an idiot. After testing me a few more times, he eventually realized two things. Firstly, I would retaliate immediately, and secondly, I wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt “The Nameless is as they say,” he muttered under his breath. From that point on, he didn’t openly mess with me like before. Though his expression carried a hint of disappointment, that wasn’t my problem. Without further conversation, we continued searching for herbs as we traveled and camped in the mountains at night. By the time we were nearing the empire’s borders, Parein’s pack was stuffed to the brim with herbs. Occasionally, Ryun would quietly point out the locations of elixirs, but I didn’t go out of my way to collect them. Most of them weren’t as rare as the Essence of the Red Mountain Elder, and it would’ve been suspicious for someone like me—who supposedly knew nothing about herbs—to keep stumbling upon valuable ones. I was lost in thought when Parein, who had been leading the way, suddenly stopped and turned to me. “We’re about to reach the North. The imperial agents made their move so openly that every nation’s intelligence agency is bound to have noticed. From here on out, security’s going to be tight. Keep your guard up.” Doing one final inspection, he noted, “Also, you should probably hide that axe now. Like I told you before, no herbalist carries an axe. That’s a guaranteed way to draw suspicion.” This was probably the third time we had gone over this subject. Although he didn’t seem to believe me, I had assured him I had a solution. “Okay.” Nodding, I wrapped the axe in Shadow Veil, instantly causing it to vanish from sight. Parein couldn’t quite hide his surprise. “Wow, that’s a neat trick you’ve got there.” “Just a little gimmick.” “If I asked how you did it, you wouldn’t tell me, would you?” Parein hadn’t expected an answer in the first place. Instead, he tilted his head back and scanned the darkening evening sky. Despite not having a map, he narrowed his eyes and assessed our bearings. “Looks like we’ll be sleeping at an inn tonight if we pick up the pace a little. Are you good with that?” He had spoken in an offhanded manner, but I could tell he was checking in on my condition. We had been moving at a pace far beyond what any normal soldier could maintain. Of course, this world had magic, and no normal Earthling’s strength could compare to ours. Instead of following the established routes, we cut straight through the brush and across the mountain. He was leading us along the shortest possible route to Kalin. Despite his easygoing and mischievous personality, he was undeniably skilled as an operative. After a little while, I noticed that Parein was starting to show signs of fatigue. Still full of energy, I smirked confidently. “We can even run if you want.” He studied me for a beat. His gaze deepened slightly. It was as if he was evaluating whether my words were a bluff or backed by confidence. “Hmm. Maybe we should run a little?” “You did say the North isn’t too far away.” Still making jokes, huh? I exhaled slowly before responding, “Let’s just pick up the pace a little, but nothing too noticeable.” “Fair enough.” Parein nodded and quickened his steps. I trailed behind him, maintaining a steady pace. After he had given the warning earlier, I had been expanding my senses slightly every so often. Up to this point, I hadn’t caught any signs of movement nearby. This continued for another thirty minutes or so, until the faint glow of a village came into view beneath the darkening sky. At the moment, Awareness caught something. I immediately crouched down and called out, “Parein.” “This is an herb, right? It’s hard to tell in the dark.” Parein turned to me the moment I spoke, catching on immediately. Grabbing whatever plant was nearest, I uprooted it and held it up. For a brief moment, we exchanged looks. With a convincingly exasperated sigh, Parein shook his head. “Ugh, this is just grass! I knew your night vision was bad, but I didn’t think it was this bad.” I played along, matching his light and natural-sounding tone. “Hey, anyone can make a mistake. No need to rub it in.” “I’m exhausted, and now we just wasted more time. Let’s go. The village is right there.” “It’s already late. No harm in taking it slow.” “Still, I’d rather have a drink before sleeping. We had a good harvest today.” Parein picked up the pace, but at a speed that wouldn’t seem unnatural. To anyone watching, we were just two herbalists hurrying back to town before nightfall. As if on cue, the presence from before grew closer. “They’re coming,” I muttered under my breath, and Parein gave the slightest nod. Twenty seconds passed before the sound of rustling reached my ears. Whoever it was, they weren’t even trying to be subtle. They were approaching us deliberately. Another few seconds later, a woman stepped into view from behind the trees.