Leo was greatly shocked. How is this setting exactly like the game? What the hell! However, he wouldn't yield that easily: "My Lady, there is one more problem."
Seeing Leo's awkward expression, Kashya licked her lips: "Speak then. Though, the more you resist, the more I want to force you to do things you're unwilling to do."
Leo's hair stood on end; those lines were truly terrible. If Rogues were already this overbearing, he wondered what the Amazon warriors would be like.
He pulled off his left glove and raised his hand: "Please look at this, My Lady."
When Kashya saw the pattern on Leo's hand, a look of anger appeared on her face: "Shika, come in."
"Yes, Lady Kashya." Shika walked in dutifully, looking at Kashya with an inquiring expression.
Kashya was still angry and gestured with her eyes toward the back of Leo's hand.
As soon as Shika saw the spider pattern, a hidden flash of joy crossed her eyes for a fleeting second, but she rebuked Leo with righteous indignation: "Lord Leo, just because you've become a Hero in Green now, does it mean you look down on us women?"
With these two women putting on such a performance, Leo was completely dazed. What act are you two trying to pull?
"Can the mere curse of a Demon Queen truly make us retreat? My Lord, just how much do you look down on us women?" Shika directly pinned a massive label on Leo.
"Wait, wait! That's not what I meant." Leo didn't dare accept such a label; he couldn't shoulder that kind of accusation.
"So, you agree then, My Lord? I remember that between us, could it be that we still need..." Shika revealed the triumphant expression of a little fox.
"Fine, you win. Shika, we are even now. But since we are a three-person squad, out of respect for the other two ladies, I'll take the Mercenary Contract back to sign it. No problem, right?" Leo wasn't stupid; the little fox still wanted to keep that previous favor he owed her. Only someone whose head had been caught in a door would agree to that.
"Stingy man," Shika muttered in a low voice.
"Very good, Leo. I knew I didn't misjudge you," Kashya revealed a rare smile. "There aren't many who respect women as you do. This is my most excellent subordinate. If there's anything in the future, you can tell me through Shika. This is the only 'Blue' Rogue; I'm entrusting her to you from now on."
"Yes, Lady Kashya. I will take good care of her. After all, a Paladin's shield is raised for those behind him."
Seeing Kashya's satisfied smile, Leo grumbled internally. She had emphasized it three times now—what an adorably competitive woman. Couldn't you have just said 'please take good care of her' and be done with it?
"Lady Kashya, what is this?" Leo brought out the Rogue's Bow that had dropped earlier.
Kashya took the bow, a look of reminiscence appearing in her eyes: "This bow is a specially crafted Rogue Composite Bow; it's the equipment that rookie Rogues dream of. Although the top rookie of every generation receives one, this one is special—Morena's name is inscribed upon it.
She was once as dazzling as the sun in the sky, breaking the records of all previous generations of Rogues. Her records have yet to be broken by any rookie, and she is the idol of all Rogues."
After speaking, Kashya handed the bow to Shika: "Hero, although the value of this bow isn't high, it is very significant as a memento. Is there anything else you need help with?"
"Lady Kashya, our squad doesn't have a proper residence. Not being able to rest well greatly affects our cultivation." A house was Leo's greatest obsession from his past life.
"Hero, the Encampment will reward you with a house." Kashya didn't care about such small requests at all.
"Is there a deed to guarantee ownership?" What was the point of having a house without a property certificate?
"No problem. I'll leave it to you, Shika." Kashya was starting to grow impatient.
"Lady Kashya, I heard the Blacksmith's Forge belongs to the military." Leo finally bared his fangs.
Kashya gave a playful smile: "Hero, you are quite well-informed. However, the forge can only craft Magic items; surely a hero like you wouldn't be interested."
"No, no, no. Lady Kashya misunderstands. I simply think the blacksmiths' craftsmanship must be excellent. If our squad has equipment that needs sockets added..."
"That's no problem then. However, their skill can only add sockets to Normal items."
"Then I shall have to trouble you in the future, My Lady."
"Shika, handle this matter."
Seeing that Kashya was already waving her hand to dismiss them, Leo took his leave.
Back at their temporary lodging, the gazes from Majesty and Gerdie made Leo a bit unable to hold his ground. He said he went to turn in a quest, and he ended up bringing back a beautiful young woman. Are you making us risk our lives just so you can find a girlfriend?
"Haha... don't look at me like that. I didn't expect the 'mysterious reward' wouldn't be an object." Knowing wouldn't have helped; anyone facing that tigress would have had to kneel.
Shika was hardly a pushover and immediately counterattacked: "Who are you calling 'not an object'? If it weren't for Lady Kashya's orders, do you think I'd be willing to join you, even using up the favor you owed me?"
Hearing her mention that, although Majesty was unhappy, she turned her head away and said nothing more, effectively accepting Shika's addition to the team.
Seeing she had convinced one person, Shika triumphantly turned her gaze to Gerdie. After an exchange of looks, they seemed to reach some sort of consensus, and Gerdie nodded silently.
Sigh, I still need to find a way to ease the atmosphere of the squad. "This is Shika's Mercenary Contract. To prove my innocence, which of you will sign it?"
"I will." Majesty suddenly snatched the contract.
"Wait, let me make things clear first. Read the contract carefully. This is an Equality Contract; you and I are merely comrades-in-arms. However, I will follow your lead in battle, since the contract still prioritizes you." Seeing it was Majesty signing the contract, Shika quickly explained.
Majesty read the contract and found it was exactly as Shika said, then signed her name: "These things aren't important. You'd better stow your little schemes; I'll be watching you constantly."
Seeing Shika preparing to retort, Leo hurriedly stepped in to play peacemaker: "Alright, alright, that's enough from both of you. We're all human after all, and we'll be teammates sharing life and death from now on. Harmony is most important. Shika, lead the way; let's see our other rewards."
Shika wasn't annoyed by Leo's interruption. Instead, she led the way with a giggle: "It's your good fortune that this young lady joined your squad. Setting other things aside, at least in the Rogue Encampment, I can cover for you."
The group soon arrived at the newly built residential area for Practitioners, featuring identical two-story tiled houses.
Shika began to explain proudly: "These houses were newly built by the Encampment. The combined area of both floors is 240 square meters. The upper floor has four bedrooms, a washroom, and a hall. The lower floor has a living room, kitchen, dining room, washroom, and two spare rooms. The partitions between the roof and the second floor can be used as storage. Currently, these houses are only rented out to Practitioners; only our squad has the right to pick one as a reward."
Although Shika's expression and tone were somewhat annoying, the content of her words made everyone feel very comfortable.
The group chose a small house that balanced good lighting and quiet. Shika familiarly found the Rogue in charge of housing management, and the names of the three were quickly registered.