Two days later, Duracal called me over early in the morning.
My entire body still ached from Siena's sparring sessions and Bharam's training.
When I walked over, Duracal handed me a leather belt.
Attached to it were five small pouches.
Inside each pouch, I could see the handles of throwing knives sticking out.
I pulled one from the pouch and examined it carefully.
It wasn't a normal throwing knife.
Instead of having a handle and straight blade, it curved into an S-shaped design. A circular hole sat near the center, allowing it to be gripped securely before throwing.
Both edges were sharpened, making it dangerous no matter how it struck.
The weapon looked small enough to conceal easily but deadly enough to kill with a single well-placed hit.
I turned it over in my hand, studying it beneath the morning sunlight.
Duracal crossed his arms.
"Normal throwing knives require a lot of practice."
"You need to control the rotation, distance, and angle."
He pointed at the blade.
"You don't have the time to master all that."
"So I made these."
"They aren't perfect, but they're easier to use."
"The design helps them stay stable during flight."
I nodded slowly.
The weapon felt balanced.
Dangerous.
Practical.
"What are they called?" I asked.
Duracal scratched his beard.
"Butterfly knives."
I blinked.
"Why?"
He shrugged.
"Because I wanted to call them that."
That was the entire explanation.
I decided not to question it further.
That day was unusually quiet.
Neither Siena nor Bharam showed up.
Apparently they had decided to take a day off from training.
I spent most of the time helping around the forge.
Then, sometime in the afternoon, a rider galloped through the street.
His voice echoed across the district.
"Attention!"
"All available mercenaries are required to assemble at the Mercenary Office tomorrow morning!"
"The operation to eradicate the lizardman nest will begin!"
The rider repeated the announcement several times before disappearing down the road.
My anxiety and excitement both rose immediately.
The nest operation.
It was finally happening.
The next morning, I woke before sunrise.
After washing up, I prepared my equipment carefully.
Armor.
Bow.
Thirty arrows.
Sword.
Spear.
Leather arm wraps.
And finally, the belt holding the butterfly knives.
After fastening everything securely, I walked toward Rusty.
He was already awake.
I gently patted his head.
"Let's go."
Rusty snorted softly.
By the time we reached the Mercenary Office, the place was overflowing with people.
The crowd was larger than anything I had seen since becoming a mercenary.
Mercenaries filled every corner of the building.
Voices mixed together into a constant roar.
Inside, officials were assigning groups and recording participant information.
Since I was a two-star copper-ranked mercenary, I was directed into a specific queue.
The line barely moved.
After standing there for nearly two hours, I finally reached the counter.
The clerk looked up.
"Identification."
I handed it over.
He began writing.
"Name."
"Age."
"Rank."
One by one, he filled in the details.
Then he paused.
"What weapons do you use?"
"Bow. Spear. Sword."
The clerk stared at me.
Then sighed.
"Of course."
He wrote everything down.
Next came another question.
"Attribute?"
I frowned.
"Is that mandatory?"
The clerk looked annoyed.
"If you don't want to tell me, then don't."
I nodded.
"Then I won't."
He sighed again before handing me a paper.
"Check if everything is correct."
I reviewed it.
Name.
Age.
Rank.
Weapons.
No attribute listed.
Everything looked fine.
I handed it back.
The clerk immediately shouted,
"Next!"
And just like that, I was pushed aside.
Since nobody explained what came next, I simply left the line and spent some time with Rusty outside.
Over the last few days, training had occupied almost all my attention.
I hadn't spent much time with him.
The hours passed slowly.
Eventually, around lunchtime, I ate at the Mercenary Office cafeteria.
The food wasn't impressive.
Hard bread.
A bowl of curry with just enough flavor to make it enjoyable.
Still, it was better than fighting on an empty stomach.
Meanwhile, more mercenaries continued arriving.
The office grew even more crowded.
Then suddenly—
Thump.
Something hit the back of my head.
I turned around immediately.
Siena stood there grinning.
Rubbing the back of my head, I frowned.
"What was that for?"
"To make sure you're awake."
I rolled my eyes.
Siena laughed.
"Good."
"Don't miss this opportunity, kid."
"This operation is important."
I looked at her.
"You're joining too?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"We've already participated in several nest-clearing operations."
"Experienced mercenaries are being kept in reserve."
I frowned.
"In reserve?"
Siena nodded.
"If something goes wrong inside the nest, we're the last line of defense."
She said it casually.
But her expression told me otherwise.
A lizardman nest wasn't something to underestimate.
Not even for veterans.