Taming The Villainesses

Episode 281.2

Yesterday, she pretended not to care and stormed off to her room. Did she spend the night thinking it over and decide to change her mind in a more positive direction?

She has a cute side to her.

However, if I were to tease Mirna too much here, her pride might take a hit, and she could get even more upset. So, I pretended not to care and said.

“How to earn points….”

“You’re not saying you haven’t thought about it, are you?”

“……”

I hadn’t really thought about it.

I was just giving out points arbitrarily whenever I felt like it. Maybe she sensed that, because Mirna let out a deep sigh early in the morning.

“There will definitely be complaints. So, I thought about it last night. Thanks to that, Narmi will be taking my place tomorrow and the day after.”

Shaaak—.

Mirna showed me a long scroll.

The contents written on it were…

「Morning wake up call +10 points

Preparing a meal +10 points

Listening to worries +10 points

.

.

.

Childbirth bonus +100 points」

“What is this?”

At my question, Mirna elegantly puffed out her chest and proudly said.

“There needs to be clear standards for scoring and earning points to avoid confusion. With a clear criteria, things can become more specific. I’ll also be creating a section for point deductions soon.”

“Deductions?”

“If there are points to be earned, there should also be points to be lost. Isn’t that the balance of yin and yang, the principle of all things?”

She’s pretty serious about this.

But as my mind slowly started to wake up, I realized that Mirna was actually right.

I hadn’t been able to set clear reference points like this because I’d been fumbling around on my own. Now that we have a scorecard, it really feels like a proper competition.

“Okay, I’ll keep this in mind.”

Shwiiish.

I carefully rolled up the scroll I received from Mirna and tucked it into my pocket.

After that, I washed my face, changed my clothes, and stepped outside, where I saw adventurers drinking from early in the morning, with Stella sitting among them, chatting.

“Ah, there’s my companion. Theo-kun, over here.”

She noticed me and waved. As a result, I could feel many people turning their gazes toward me.

━Isn’t that boy over there not even of age?

━He’s a half-fairy. He might look young, but he’s probably much older than we think.

━For being called the ‘Demon Monk’, I thought he would be a grizzled man with a thick beard. This is unexpected.

Hearing their murmurs, I asked Stella.

“What’s going on here?”

“These people are adventurers from Sandora. I’ve been listening to what’s happening there. It’s where we’re headed, after all.”

According to the adventurers, the roads from Big River to Sandora were infested with bandits, causing great commotion. At the same time, monsters were attacking people.

“Aren’t there guards in the north? What are they doing?”

A young witch with a pointed hat and glasses scoffed disdainfully.

“The northern guards are mostly focused on the Great Wall Clarice right now. Because the fickle Queen has been pouring excessive troops and resources into the wall.”

I see.

It seems that by concentrating too much on the wall, other areas have been neglected. It’s only natural since resources and manpower were limited.

“If you’re a politician, why don’t you do something about it? There are already too many dungeons appearing in the north. There’s a lot of problems.”

The witch adventurer grumbled. Before I could respond, Mirna, who had been listening to the conversation, jumped in ahead of me.

“Sir Theo is an archmage who has surpassed the 5th rank. He can easily deal with those bandits, so the situation will be resolved soon.”

Only then did the tension in the faces of the people around us start to ease. An archmage was kind of like a tactical weapon or troubleshooter.

However.

A dwarf adventurer with a bandage on his face uttered a pessimistic story.

“A mage might not be enough. Not long ago, a young archmage party from the White Mage Tower raided the bandits’ hideout. But, we haven’t heard anything from them since. They’re missing.”

Archmage from the White Mage Tower.

Missing.

At those words, the people around us became agitated again.

━Is he talking about that white mage, Tefer, from the White Mage Tower?

━Missing…

Tefer.

I thought the name sounded familiar. But it was the mention of ‘an archmage from the White Mage Tower’ that helped me remember. Wasn’t she the Ark student who placed 4th in the Queen Contest?

I remember her because she was a genius who had achieved the 5th rank at an age similar to mine. She had brown curly hair, braided into two and wore glasses. She looked like a gentle lamb.

But despite her meek appearance, her skills were extraordinary.

And yet, she’s missing.

With a genius archmage gone missing, I can only imagine the uproar in the White Mage Tower.

This situation might not be as simple as I initially thought.