Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Volume 8

by Funa

  Thus, even though they could only provide half of the usual stock, they could not afford to sell it for half of the usual pay. They had intended to send a representative of the village back to town along with the caravan, earnings in hand, and use it to buy a stock of medicine, as well as hired a skilled healing mage, if possible. To accomplish this would require a lot of money.

  “A healing mage? What? No, you should hire some hunters to get rid of those monsters, first! The way things are going, more and more of your miners are going to get hurt. And if things get worse, the village might even end up overrun! You need to contact the Hunters’ Guild immediately!!!” the merchant leader cried.

  The smith, however, shook his head.

  “For us dwarves to go cryin’ to a bunch of humans because we can’t protect our precious mines with our own hands would be a disgrace to our whole race! We’d be the laughingstock of the continent, and our village’s reputation would be in shambles. No one would ever want to buy anything we make ever again!”

  These guys are a pain in the neck!!! the humans silently screamed.

  Truly, these dwarves did place just a little too much worth on their own pride…

  “Well, at least now I understand the situation. My heart’s a bit more at ease knowing all this—and that you aren’t just arbitrarily holding some absurd price over our heads,” said the leader.

  “Oh, so you understand!” the smith replied, with a smile of relief.

  “Still, no matter what the circumstances may be, we can’t make any transactions that will put us in the red. We have a responsibility to ourselves, our allies, our families and employees, and of course, our valued customers. It’s one thing to make charitable contributions in more prosperous times, but to accept such unfavorable terms in the line of our main business would be truly idiotic. We’d lose credibility, and be made fun of, looked down upon. People would start provoking us, saying, ‘You bought at a higher price from those guys! Why are you trying to pull the rug out from under us?!’ and we’d never be able to negotiate for a good price ever again.

  “These monster problems are your problems, not ours. They are by no means a compelling reason for us to complete any questionable transactions and risk both our fortunes and our reputations. Honestly, this is an awful lot like how the chief imposed his arbitrary conditions on us in the first place. He doesn’t care about our circumstances at all!”

  The smith fell silent, his face clouded. He did not appear to have been expecting such a vehement refusal.

  He may have been a fool for his work, and a man of hubris, but he was not truly a fool. He seemed to be aware that they were asking something absurd of the merchants, and so he could not bring himself to rebuke or rage at the now-unhappy merchant he had done business with so many times before. He could only look on, his face vacant and bitter…

  “Well, I guess we should go and take care of those monsters then, huh?” Reina abruptly proposed, breaking the silence.

  “Wh-what are you—?”

  The smith was lost for words at how simply she had said this. The merchant leader looked surprised as well. The other three, however, chimed in, hot on her heels.

  “If you don’t have medicine, why not just use healing spells?”

  Who is she, Marie Antoinette?!?! Well, honestly, Marie never actually said that famous line. When the book that quote was written in first came out, Marie was only nine years old, and definitely was not yet on the throne…

  Pauline’s words had apparently sent Mile down one of her usual rabbit holes.

  “That’s right,” Mavis added, “If you failed once, you just have to come back stronger. Get more forces and fight for those mines!”

  W-wait, is this a Chrome-Shelled Regios situation?!?!

  As always, a thought floated through Mile’s head that no one else would understand, but it got her fired up nevertheless.

  “Have you all even been listening?! Like I said, our village’s fighters are in shambles, and we’re not gonna go crawling to the humans for help!” the smith shouted, forgetting his position.

  Mile looked at him, dumbfounded, and said, “What? You don’t have to go all the way to town to put in an extermination request. If you want to go for a second round, all you have to do is make use of the hunters who just happened to be in town along with a merchant caravan—hunters, who might join in for a little extra pay? It’s nothing but a little bit of work for a little bit of coin. That shouldn’t be a burden on your dwarven pride, right?”

  “Uh…”

  She was right. It might wound their pride, down in the depths of their hearts, but they were no longer in any position to have the luxury of worrying about that. However…

  “A-are you sure? Those monsters are really strong! We haven’t been living up on this mountain for centuries just for show. We never thought we’d fall so easily to some measly orcs or ogres. Honestly, how did it come to this…? You humans in this country, you’re adults at fifteen, right? Sure, those other hunters are one thing, but some of you girls are barely out of the nursery! You might be really hurt—hell, you might not even make it back alive! You shouldn’t be risking your lives!!”

  The smith tried to refuse the Crimson Vow’s proposal and urge them to reconsider.

  “Hah!” Reina said with a sneer. “Don’t underestimate a C-rank mage!”

  “Nor a C-rank swordfighter!” added Mavis.

  “And don’t underestimate us humans!!!” they said as one.

  Ignoring the master smith, who was now at a loss for words, Mile asked the merchant leader, “We’re only employed as your guards during the travel portion of the trip, yes? While we’re staying in town, we’re free to do whatever we like with our time, regardless of our employers’ wishes. That is what our contract says, correct?”

  “Yes, that is true, but…”

  “But?”

  “If you don’t come back in good enough shape to complete your guard duties on the journey home, that would count as a breach of contract.”

  There was no malice in the merchant’s words. It was merely a very merchant-like way of praying that they would return home safe.

  To a merchant, contracts were everything. If there was any danger of a promise being broken, the fury a merchant could summon would transform them into an army of one. This merchant was doing everything within his power to confront the Crimson Vow’s reckless proposal.

  “We’ll come back safe, I promise,” said Pauline. “I swear it in the name of the gods of commerce.”

  The leader was stunned to suddenly be addressed as a fellow merchant. The other three followed her lead.

  “I stake my honor on this, as a future knight,” said Mavis.

  “And I stake my reputation as a C-rank hunter,” chimed Reina.

  “And I swear on the name of the little old lady who runs the candy store!” added Mile, at which all the others asked:

  “And who the hell is that?!?!?!”

  “Still, in my opinion… At the very least, we need to propose this to the chief, and then get the approval of two-thirds of the smiths. If we make an extermination attempt and end up with that many more smiths injured, it’s gonna be a problem for the village’s future. I’m sure that most of the other smiths feel the same way I do, but they might agree, if I explain it to ’em. As for the chief… The chief ain’t hardheaded or crazy, but he has got the weight of the whole village on his shoulders, so he’s always gonna pick the village’s safety over anything else. Even if I as an individual think you’ve got the right idea, there’s still a chance the chief might have to say no. We can’t put this to him bluntly. If we just go bargin’ into the chief’s house like this, our little talk’s never gonna get anywhere…”

  The others were at a loss for a reply, but they understood what he was saying. Understanding this, and knowing that they could not simply march straight up to the chief’s house and demand his approval, the members of the Crimson Vow looked troubled.

  Just then—
/>
  “Youuu bashtaaards!!! What’sh the big idea shellin’ yer fancy-schmancy highfalutin shpiritsh t’everyone but me?!?! Y’think ya can messh with me like that?! Why you little…!!!”

  “Oh! It’s the chief!”

  The chief was angry. He had been in talks with the merchant leader the whole time Mile was selling her liquor, and so he had no idea that the sale was even going on, only hearing about it after the fact from those who’d been lucky enough to purchase something and let him try a tiny nip. Apparently he had tracked them down on the report of the other merchants.

  “Give it t’ me! Give me shome right now!!!”

  At first glance, Mile was a thoughtless idiot, and while that was in some ways true, she was also an unexpectedly anxious individual, who always put safety first. Therefore, she always had a backup plan, a “just in case” contingency that allowed her to live by the philosophy that one should always be prepared. Pauline knew as much from the way that Mile always spoke and acted, and from the morals in a number of the Japanese Folktales Mile told. So, she looked subtly over to Mile’s face to confirm, and…

  Nod nod.

  Mile nodded, with a warm smile.

  Seeing this, Pauline smiled as well, the grin on her face a wicked one…

  Chapter 67:

  Monsters

  “So anyway, it looks like we’ll be going monster hunting tomorrow.”

  “Hang on, hang on, now hang right on!!!”

  The Devils’ Paradise and the Fellowship of Flame were momentarily shocked at this sudden change of plans, but they were not truly all that taken aback. Including the Crimson Vow, they had fifteen C-rank hunters, enough that ten or even twenty orcs or ogres would not pose too much of a threat. Add some powerful dwarves into the mix, and there would be hardly any danger at all. Thinking about it that way, this really was no big deal.

  The merchants, meanwhile, were fairly well aware of the extent of the abilities that the Crimson Vow possessed—with Mile, who was a hunter despite her ridiculous storage magic; Mavis, who could wield her sword like a hatchet; and Reina, who was a master magical tea kettle—having observed them at the

  campgrounds and during the battle with the ogres. They were none too surprised by this news, either.

  “Phew! I guess we’re in this then. All right, we’ll come with you. When do we head out?” asked Wulf, of the Devils’ Paradise, a tired look upon his face. Vegas, of the Flames, nodded in agreement.

  “Huh?” Mile cocked her head curiously. “We’re going to be the only ones accompanying the villagers, actually. We need you all to stay here to guard the village while we’re gone. If all of the dwarves who are capable of fighting ogres are out on the mission, along with all of the hunters, it would mean the literal destruction of the village if some monsters decided to come here while we were all gone.”

  “Wh…?”

  The other hunters paused in disbelief, but as they paused to consider the idea, a group of orcs and ogres that had only recently settled in could not be particularly sizable in number. With the Crimson Vow in tow, the dwarfs really should be able to take out the monsters in one go. This in mind, the other two parties understood that it probably was best for them to stay behind to protect the village, just in case.

  Naturally, protecting the village also meant protecting the merchants. It was all just a part of the job.

  “Oh, and of course, since you’ll be protecting the village, you’ll get some extra pay from the village for that job as well.”

  Neither Mile nor Pauline would ever neglect to mention such a crucial item.

  The village chief was not the sort of person to change his mind merely because he wanted alcohol. He had come to realize, however, that with all of the damages they had taken, their current forces were not enough to escape from their current predicament. His hesitation was due mostly to the fact that he still lacked the resolve to go and petition the humans for help, fearing that, should they take any more damages, there would be no coming back. However, a single offer from Mile had changed everything.

  “If we accept your extermination request, then we will also heal all of your people who are currently injured. We have two very skilled healing mages in our group, and we can recover all of our magic quickly with a good night’s sleep. It’s for the sake of strengthening our forces and preparing for the upcoming battle, so it won’t cost you another copper. Naturally, we can provide the same guarantee for any injuries incurred in the battle tomorrow as well.”

  This was the first that chief was hearing about the Crimson Vow’s healing magic. With two healing magic users, any serious injuries—short of death or the loss of limbs—could be repaired. Given that the opponents they were facing were not people armed with blades or magic, and could not go chopping or blasting off anyone’s arms or legs, most injuries would be easily dealt with. Granted, if anyone’s limbs or fingers or toes were smashed or torn off, no magic could fix them, and if they had their heads bashed in or their bones or organs twisted up, they would surely die. However, there was nothing to be done about that.

  At any rate, the chief would never be foolish enough to pass up on the chance to have access to skilled healing mages and added combat strength to bolster up the forces protecting the village—along with the chance to bring the already injured villagers back to fighting shape.

  Why would he go and pay just for healing if he could get it included as part of their extermination services entirely for free? They would have to deal with the monsters either way, for the sake of the village’s future.

  Indeed, once he had heard Mile’s offer, the chief had no other choice.

  Of course, that “just in case” item that Mile had pulled from her inventory hadn’t hurt. Just a few bottles of spirits she had set aside, pressed into the chief’s hands, had been enough to get the conversation rolling.

  Once they were alone, Mile said to the other members of the Crimson Vow, “Okay, guys. We can’t let our guard down on this one. The villagers honestly should have been successful in eliminating those monsters last time, so there must be some reason why they ended up so badly hurt. I’m pretty sure this isn’t a case of the villagers just slipping up or having bad luck. If they could sustain injuries like on a fluke, then there’s no way that this village would have been able to stand in this spot for centuries. In any situation, it’s always important to try and imagine the worst-case scenario. Then, you can prepare yourself for an eventuality three times worse and come at it from every angle. That is the nature of reality.”

  Silence fell following Mile’s words of warning.

  ***

  “You have my thanks.”

  The battle leader of the dwarves, head of the Mine Recovery Operation Force, Part 2, bowed his head toward the members of the Crimson Vow. Previously, he had been one of the individuals laid up with an injury, but now his broken left leg and the deep wound on his side had been completely healed, allowing him to return to the front lines.

  Dwarves were not often ones to show such deference to other races, particularly not to humans or elves. Unaware of this, the Crimson Vow politely waved their hands and shook off his thanks, but the eyes of the members of the other two parties were wide with shock.

  “Roll out!” the battle leader decreed, and the operation was underway.

  There were twenty-eight dwarves and four members of the Crimson Vow—a force of thirty-two in total.

  The first extermination force had apparently consisted of exactly thirty men. Of those thirty, six were never to be heard from again, and three lost fingers or limbs and were no longer able to return to the battlefield.

  If Mile really pulled out all the stops, she might have even been able to do something about the missing body parts. However, that was beyond the bounds of what the people of this world considered to be healing magic. Obviously, she had no intention of displaying such unimaginable skills to outsiders, unless it were under the most extreme circumstances. No matter how much anguish a person was in, it
was impossible to save absolutely everyone, and even Mile could guess what might happen if a person of influence were to find out that such an ability existed.

  At any rate, with seven volunteers to replace the missing nine, and with the Crimson Vow in tow, they had thirty-two people.

  They moved out, thinking of those who had lost their lives, and those who had lost their limbs, and with them, any hope of a future as a craftsmen. This time, the villagers were giving it their all, the lost hopes of those fallen nine carried on their shoulders.

  Soon after they departed, Reina issued a complaint: “Why are we right in the middle?!”

  “I mean, it should be obvious,” answered a dwarven youth, “You always put the women and the weaklings in the very middle.”

  “Just what do you mean by ‘weakling’?!” Reina raged. “Besides,” she added, as the lad began to look troubled, “it makes way more sense to put Mile at the front—she has location magic!”

  Here, the combat leader interjected. “If anything happened to the little lady booze-seller, every one of us here plus that old geezer would be slaughtered! Now settle down and stick to your positions!”

  The other dwarves desperately entreated them to stay put, fully in agreement with their leader. This arrangement was, first and foremost, meant to protect the one who had supplied their booze.

  If anything were to happen to Mile, they would never be able to get in another shipment of high-quality liquor the way they had this time. And, if this were to happen because of this mission, and the others in the village determined that it was due to some mismanagement on the part of the extermination team, none of the men involved would ever have standing in the village again—even if they were successful in today’s mission.