Chapter 94

Chapter 94

94: The Hunt Fortunately, Eira’s prediction was correct. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that there weren’t many teams that had set out to catch a troll in the first place. In any case, it was certain that we were the first to bring one back. “…You actually did it. I thought you’d at least exceed the deadline.” The receptionist at the external adventurer’s guild muttered in surprise as she looked at the troll we brought in. “Here’s the confirmation.” We handed over the troll at the external adventurer’s guild, received the request completion confirmation, and then received the completion fee from the adventurer’s guild inside the city. The adventurer’s guild immediately paid an additional 3,000 Lard as a reward for completing the request, and informed us that the additional payment would be made after examining the quality after dismantling it. Even if I didn’t know, the additional payment wouldn’t be much different from the request completion fee, so if the share was divided by five people, it could be expected that the actual amount returned would be close to 1,000 Lard per person. 1,000 Lard in just five days, I could see why people wanted to become adventurers. It was an amount that ordinary commoners could only earn after working for about a month. The risk was high and you had to be skilled, but for those who dreamed of a quick fortune, being an adventurer was definitely an attractive profession. The reward for completing the request was divided equally, with 600 Lard paid to each person. Eira said that the expenses incurred would be deducted from the additional payment later and then redistributed. “Well, I have a conscience, so I have to give it to you fairly.” Eira smiled playfully and handed us the checks. There was a long-standing tradition among adventurers of taking a share from the newcomers, but that didn’t apply to us. Is this why connections are important? And even if taking a share from the newcomers sounded bad, it wasn’t always the case. Unless the newcomer had mastered martial arts like Nana or Elle, the chances of an inexperienced newcomer being as helpful as the regular members in a request were not very high. Among adventurers, it was more like they were just giving them experience and taking them along like baggage. It was probably because they thought that since they had one more person, they would use them as a gofer. I don’t know what Eira thinks, but I slaughtered goblins with my bare hands in front of her before, so she wouldn’t think of me as a burden, at least. After distributing the completion fee, she smiled and opened her mouth. “Then everyone rests on their own until dinner, and then we meet again later, okay?” Eira winked at us, especially Charka. It meant that we should have a drink together after completing the request. Charka didn’t seem to want to break the traditions of adventurers either, as he nodded quietly. “Okay.” Charka’s accommodation was different. But if we made an appointment in advance, that wouldn’t be a problem. Even if there were no portable clocks in this world, there were clock towers and bells. He would come on his own when the time came. Eira and Mien disappeared, saying they had separate business to attend to, and Charka was going in a different direction. Only Elle and I were left, so we headed to the bank side by side. We had to cash or deposit the checks, or do something with them. “Hey, look at this. It’s a real check. I’ve never seen one of these before!” Elle jumped up and down as if she was amazed by the check, which she was seeing for the first time in her life. But after hearing her next words, it seemed that the bank itself was a first for her. “Ryla, isn’t it amazing that there are banks in this world too?” “I guess so. Why are you so surprised now? But there are banks in Nerkard too, right?” “Ah, my family has bad credit, so I’ve never been there.” “….” Is that what the life of a cadet noble is like? I didn’t know much about the life Elle had lived, but I could guess that her life hadn’t been easy either. // When the promised dinner time came, we gathered at the Flying Squirrel Tavern. Although she didn’t participate in the request, Emily also joined the drinking party after the adventurer’s guild’s work was over. She was also a neighbor and was friendly with everyone else, so it would have been a shame to leave her out. Adventurers aren’t that heartless. According to Eira, they gather like this even if they aren’t members who participated in the request. I wondered if it wasn’t a forced company dinner, but seeing that they themselves didn’t have much complaints, it might not be so bad…? And since Elle, a new face, had joined this time, there were quite a few things to talk about. “Nerkard? Didn’t you come from too far away?” “No wonder, your accent is a bit unique…” Mien and Eira looked surprised when they heard Elle’s place of origin. That’s because Nerkard was at the western end of the Kilkard Kingdom. It was no wonder that they were surprised that she had come all the way to Karaldin, which was at the eastern end of the Kilkard Kingdom. Of course, Mien knew a little bit about the background, but she didn’t show it at this place. “Uh…is it that obvious?” “Well, it’s not that bad.” Elle asked back as if she was worried about her accent, but Mien shook her head with a calm smile. Even if the residential areas were far apart, perhaps because there was communication magic, all the territories under the former Robenium Empire used the Empire’s common language, so they could understand each other to some extent. Compared to other foreign languages, it was practically one country. It was natural that the characters were the same. Since I had never left the kingdom, I didn’t realize how convenient it was that two adjacent countries used a common language. “Hey, Ryla. What was the troll like?” While everyone was talking noisily, Emily asked me in a subtle tone. Her face was full of curiosity, as if she was very curious. A troll, I wondered if I could have won if I had fought alone. If I were to review the battle at that time, I would have had enough chance of winning, but at the time, I was a little flustered. I smiled bitterly as I recalled the memory. “…It was a bit shocking. It was also very strong, the skin was tough, and the sword didn’t go in.” I managed to make a few scratches, but the wounds healed in a minute. Even though Eira had burned half of its body, all the wounds were completely healed by the time it was handed over to the adventurer’s guild about two days later. In the case of the axolotl, its vitality was disgustingly tenacious, but since there was a difference in perception between a giant salamander and a humanoid monster, the impact was greater with the troll. It was enough to think of using it as a potion ingredient. “I see, if you say that…no wonder the guild people say that the mortality rate is high for troll requests.” “How much?” “Uh…about 17 percent.” It was a number that I didn’t know whether it was dangerous or safe. But after hearing her next words, I knew for sure that it was dangerous. “In our guild, we only give troll requests to parties that have been verified to be reliable.” “….Then it’s definitely dangerous.” If the reliability was verified, then the mortality rate was high. It meant that one out of five people would die. Still, the probability didn’t feel that great. In this world, people tend to take their lives a little lightly, so many people die from reckless honor and arrogance. And the security is so low that it’s a shame to compare it to Earth in my previous life, so many people die from crime. “What about other requests? Are they dangerous?” “Well, all of them are a little bit…? Actually, monsters that are a bit strong are all similar. Monsters that use poison have a higher mortality rate, and basilisks have a much higher mortality rate…?” “Ryla.” While I was chatting with Emily, I heard someone calling my name. The person who called me was Mien. When I turned my gaze towards her, Mien gave me a mysterious smile and added. “I’ve talked about that matter. I’ll tell you again when the results come out later.” It was an unexpected remark, but I could tell that she was talking about Elle. She said she would ask a reliable person. I don’t know who he is. “What matter?” However, Eira, who didn’t know about it, asked Mien as if she was curious. In Charka’s case, he was drinking alcohol as if he wasn’t interested. He didn’t seem to be completely uninterested in our story, as he had been listening to the conversation since earlier, but he didn’t show his emotions very well. “It’s a secret between master and disciple.” “Is it about magic?” “Similar.” Mien vaguely passed over Eira’s question and drank the brandy on the table. And I also smiled back and drank the glass in front of me. I realized after drinking a glass, but my underwear was already getting wet. …I shouldn’t get too horny, so I have to drink in moderation. // For three days after completing the request, there was nothing special to do. The daily routine of learning magic from Mien during the day and helping Emily with her martial arts training at night was repeated. And if I felt horny, I went to Charka. It was a bit of a problem that Emily said she would join me when she saw me leaving the room around dinner time, but Charka seemed to like that even more. I guess that kind of threesome is a man’s fantasy. Charka is an orc, so his stamina is excellent, and he has the ability to do so. I understand even if he likes it. It’s a bit of a waste to have to share my essence, but it’s okay if it’s Emily. Anyway, while I was spending a peaceful daily life like that, a familiar face came to find me. “It’s been a while.” “….Huh?” It was Muren. He was leaning against the wall in front of the inn where I was staying, as if he was waiting for someone. Of course, I could tell that the someone was me without him having to say it. “Why are you reacting like that? You greeted me happily last time.” “…Um, that’s right. I’m happy to see you today too.” “That’s an amazingly formal greeting.” I had to sneak Elle in at that time, so that’s why. Still, it’s true that I don’t have any ill feelings towards Muren. In fact, so many things have happened in the meantime that the Sartun organization itself had become so faint in my memory that it was almost forgotten. Come to think of it, I told someone to cut off an arm a while ago, I wonder what happened to that. “The preparations have been completed as scheduled. The ‘show’ will be held soon, so I came to ask you what you want to do today. You don’t have to answer right away, I’ll come back at this time tomorrow, so please answer then.” “When does the show start?” “Three days later.” “….But you’re coming tomorrow?” “Yes, the boss said that he had something he promised you.” Was there such a thing? I searched my memory for a moment, and something came to mind. He was talking nonsense about sex slaves the other day. If it starts in three days, does he think he’ll use me as a sex slave for two days? “….I remember.” “Then that’s a relief. I thought the boss was going back and forth.” “Your organization is like a family.” “….Does it look like that?” “No. I’m just saying.” I think about Muren’s proposal while having a pointless conversation. If I was hungry as usual, I would have followed him happily, but now I felt a bit annoyed. The reason was that I was satisfied with nomming on Charka with Emily yesterday, and I felt like I was being disturbed because I was just getting up to speed on learning magic. Still, I have to go for now. “Okay. I’ll try my best.” The opportunity to extract inner strength from a monster is rare. When I absorbed essence from Kwaidun the other day, I was staggering from the poison, but it wasn’t clear whether that was the unique property of magic power or whether the monster was holding poison. But this time, I’ll be able to know for sure. ….Please don’t let it be Kwaidun again.

Normally, I only filled my inner force to about half capacity, using the rest for martial arts training, but today, I thought I could lower that limit to about a quarter. Because of various events, I felt somewhat lacking in martial arts. If my martial arts had been stronger, I could have dealt with the troll and the griffin rider more easily. “…Understood. Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Muren replied and walked away into the distance. I watched his disappearing back and pondered inwardly. How should I tell Emilie, El, and Mien? // First, Emilie was at work, so that was on hold, and El would probably be shocked, so that was also on hold. In the end, the first person I had to talk to was Mien. I had an excuse prepared, but I wasn’t sure if telling it would be the right thing to do. Well, I should just face it head-on.

-Knock knock.

“Yes, come in.”

-Click.

Opening the door, a familiar scene came into view. As a long-term resident adventurer, Mien’s room resembled her own atmosphere. Potions and books were placed on shelves, along with various parchments, magic books, and a staff. It was a scene that anyone could confidently call a mage’s room. What was a little funny was that only about half of the room felt like a mage’s. Since Mien and Eira shared the room, the other half was like an ordinary adventurer woman’s room, with clothes piled on the bed and things scattered everywhere. “Ryla?” Mien was sitting at her desk, holding a quill. Glancing at it, I saw the content she would teach me tomorrow written on the paper. Did she always practice like that before our lessons? “What’s wrong?” Mien sat at her desk, turned to me, and tilted her head. Meeting her deep, dark eyes, the heart that was trying to make up a false excuse disappeared. “Mien, I have something to tell you.” “Hmm… sit there for now.” It was okay to call her “Teacher,” but she preferred her name, Mien. She pointed to the chair next to her and had me sit down. “What is it you want to say?” “Well… I have to go somewhere for three days starting tomorrow.” “Is that so? Where do you have to go?” She asked me without any particular surprise. Should I tell her this? I hesitated for a moment, but since I had already made up my mind, I decided to just tell her everything. After all, she knew that I was reincarnated, knew about the magic sword, and knew that I absorbed essence. Anyway, she knew almost everything. It wouldn’t make a difference if she knew one more thing. I decided that and opened my mouth to her. “…The Black Street.”