Chapter 01

“Ah, that feels good. It’s been a while since I really got my body moving.”

On her way out of the capital’s public training grounds.

Tamia, who had worked up a pleasant sweat once again today, urged her horse forward with a happy hum.

Her destination was a small townhouse on the outskirts of the capital—the new home she had moved into a few weeks ago.

“People really do need to move their bodies a little!”

In high spirits, Tamia was about to draw her sword and ride around shouting to her heart’s content, just as she always had back home, when—

“Oh, right. Father told me not to cause any trouble.”

She shook her head vigorously and obediently took hold of the reins again.

Not long ago, the guards had come after her because she had swung her sword around in the street, and she had nearly spent the night in jail instead of at home.

Apparently, she had caused anxiety among the residents.

This was the problem with the capital. You couldn’t do anything you wanted!

Fortunately, her father, Count Arderin, had heard about it and rushed over in a panic, allowing her to avoid spending the night in prison.

“A daughter who doesn’t cause trouble is going home nowww—!”

Tamia increased her horse’s speed a little.

She planned to hurry home, eat a delicious dinner, soak in some hot water, and then dive straight into bed.

But apparently, it was her father who had caused trouble this time.

“Hm? Why is it so noisy?”

Tamia blinked as she dismounted and was about to enter the Count’s residence.

Her father was standing in front of some unfamiliar men, looking utterly flustered.

“W-We have to prepare one thousand der by next week?”

“You do understand that it’s an absurdly small amount compared to the principal, right? If you fail to repay it, the mansion in Arderin Territory will be seized.”

“W-Wait! How am I supposed to prepare that much money by next week?”

“That’s not our concern. We’ll come back in a week.”

“Wait, please hear me out—!”

Count Arderin desperately tried to stop them, but they shook him off as though their business was finished and walked away.

“Father? Who were those people? Do we have debts?”

Tamia widened her eyes as she dismounted, and the Count greeted her with a half-dazed expression.

“…Oh, our daughter’s home.”

“How much debt do we have? Is it a lot? Damn it, if I’d known our family was poor, I wouldn’t have had a new sword made at Rippel’s Blacksmith Shop last week!”

She had picked it up, felt how perfectly it fit in her hand, and immediately decided it was the one for her. Had it really been that expensive?

“The sword is perfectly fine. The problem is…”

“What’s the problem?”

“I borrowed some money to buy this townhouse…”

“…And?”

“But it turns out the place wasn’t a legitimate bank. It was an illegal loan shark! I’m sorry, Tamia!”

He plopped down onto the bare ground.

“If I can’t come up with one thousand der by next week, they’ll seize our mansion back home! What are we going to do?”

Listening to her father’s desperate wail, Tamia thought hard.

…Then thought some more.

……

‘I can’t think of anything!’

Naturally. Thinking with her head simply wasn’t Tamia’s forte!

“Wait here, Father.”

Seeing her father burst into tears, Tamia muttered,

“I’ll go make some money.”

At times like this, she needed to use her body, not her brain.

“You’re going to… make money?”

The Count, who had been pounding the ground, suddenly froze in that exact position.

Ever since they came to the capital, he had paid for the damage after hearing that his daughter had smashed the wall of someone’s house.

Then he had paid again because his daughter had beaten someone to a pulp.

And just recently, his daughter had been arrested by the guards and caused such a commotion that he had to pay out another large sum.

He had certainly spent plenty of money because of his daughter, but he simply couldn’t imagine that this troublemaker could actually go somewhere and earn money.

“T-Tamia. Don’t push yourself unnecessarily…”

“I’ll be back. Father, you trust me, right?”

Tamia climbed back onto her horse and quickly disappeared from Count Arderin’s sight.

The Count stared blankly at the cloud of dust raised by the horse and muttered,

“Our daughter grew up in the countryside, so her head is just too innocent…”

What if she went somewhere and got completely scammed?

His voice dispersed helplessly into the air.

Although Tamia had boldly left home, she had never earned money in her life and had no idea where to go.

To make matters worse, this was an unfamiliar capital.

“Hmm… Should I apply to work as a maid for some noble family?”

But she had never heard of maids being paid one thousand der.

“Or maybe… a mercenary guild?”

Mercenary guilds definitely paid well. But Tamia was a complete beginner who hadn’t even made a name for herself in the mercenary world.

By the time she managed to raise her value in a world where reputation determined everything, her family’s house would probably have been seized a hundred times over.

“Tch. I guess I have no choice.”

Without hesitation, Tamia crossed mercenary guilds off her list and began searching for her next target.

“Hmm, then where should I go… Huh?”

Suddenly, an advertisement in the magazine section of a newspaper lying on the ground caught her eye.

“‘The 15th Marital Love Protection Monster-Hunting Competition’ is being held. The prize is… two thousand der?!”

This was it!

Tamia quickly dismounted and picked up the monthly magazine .

[…This is a competition hosted by the Empire to strengthen marital love, which has been gradually fading over the years. Married couples must hunt as many monsters as possible within the allotted time. However, in keeping with the theme of ‘strengthening marital love,’ a couple will be immediately disqualified if the wife suffers even the slightest injury…]

The magazine went on to explain the competition in detail, but Tamia’s brain automatically filtered out everything she didn’t need.

The first thing that caught her eye was ‘2,000 der,’ followed by the date of the competition printed at the bottom.

Words like ‘marital love’ and ‘wife’ looked like nothing more than patterns on the page to her.

“The prize is two thousand der? I can pay off the urgent debt and still have money left over!”

But when was it?

“Oh! It’s exactly three days from now! The date is perfect, too. I need to go register right away!”

Tamia tore the advertisement out of the magazine and clenched it in her hand before hurriedly mounting her horse.

She didn’t have a husband, or even a boyfriend, but she set off alone toward the competition registration office.

“W-Wait! I’m here to register for the competition!”

The sun was already sinking below the horizon.

A civil servant who had just finished tidying up his desk and was about to leave work frowned when he spotted a woman running toward him, panting heavily.

“It’s two thousand der in prize money, right? It’s a monster-hunting competition, right?! I’ll participate!!”

The woman leaped down from her horse and charged forward with such momentum that she nearly overturned the registration desk.

“What’s your name?”

The civil servant, annoyed at having his departure interrupted, asked her name with an indifferent expression.

“Tamia Arderin.”

“And your husband’s name?”

“My husband?”

The woman—Tamia—looked puzzled and asked the civil servant in return,

“Why do I need a husband?”

Suppressing his growing irritation, the civil servant patiently explained.

“The competition you’re trying to enter is the ‘Marital Love Protection Monster-Hunting Competition,’ and married couples are required to participate together.”

“What?! That’s ridiculous! I’m single!”

“If you don’t have a husband, you cannot participate in this competition.”

The two thousand der seemed to sprout wings and fly away into the sky.

‘No! My prize money! My two thousand der!’

Tamia stretched a sorrowful hand toward the heavens before seemingly making up her mind. She clenched her fist and told the civil servant,

“I’ll go find a husband right away. Don’t start the competition without me, okay?! You understand?”

Before the civil servant could even respond to the absurdity of the situation—

Tamia immediately climbed onto the horse she had ridden there and began racing away at the speed of the wind.

“…Hmm. But who should I marry?”

Tamia, who had rushed off simply because she felt she had to hurry, suddenly slowed down as a question occurred to her.

“Since it’s a monster-hunting competition, I guess I should marry someone who knows how to use a sword?”

If she wanted to find someone skilled with a sword in the capital…

“Hmm. I suppose there’s only one place.”

The first place Tamia headed was the guild said to be where the strongest mercenaries in the Empire gathered.

However…

“Hello! I’m here looking for an incredibly strong mercenary!”

“Welcome, miss. Mercenaries start at fifty der. What rank are you looking for?”

“W-Wait, I have to pay money? But I don’t have any money?!”

Since Tamia had no money, she was promptly kicked out of the guild.

The next place that caught her eye was the tavern beside the guild. The tavern happened to be packed with people.

‘The people gathered there must definitely be incredibly strong mercenaries!’

Tamia kicked open the tavern door and called out in a booming voice,

“Who here wants to marry me?”