by Funa
Reina seemed deep in thought, but in a good mood.
And Mile’s head swirled as she tried to decide what to say to the others about her impervious nature—or the times that she accidentally used something beyond ordinary magic…
The capital was still two long days away.
They made camp in the same spot they’d used on the way out. There was still some time until sundown, but it was better to rest in a place they were already familiar with—to increase their chances of survival if something dire occurred.
Even the littlest things could become a matter of life and death, so they avoided anything that would lower their chances of survival. Even if the possibility of dire injury fell just one percent every time they encountered a dangerous circumstance, if it happened ten times then that was ten percent, and if it happened a hundred times…
After they ate, Reina kicked off the discussion, as always.
“About what I was saying last night… I want you all to get some experience in interpersonal combat—and soon. I don’t just mean practice. I mean real battles, to the finish.”
“Wh…?”
The other three were stunned, but Reina continued.
“From now on, we’re going to start taking escort jobs. Even if we don’t, there’s still a chance that, as a party of young women, we could be targeted and attacked by bandits, disgraced hunters, or even fellow active hunters—some of whom are more than happy to break the law. Should that happen, even a moment’s hesitation could mean death.
“This is not just about you. Are you prepared to leave others to fend off an attacker if you get captured or cut down?”
The other three were silent as she spoke.
“B-but,” Pauline piped up, “can’t we just incapacitate our opponents without killing them?”
“The only times you’ll have that kind of luxury is when there’s an immense difference in power between you and your opponent. For example, if you were a B-rank and your opponent a D-rank or lower. Even then there’s still a chance that something could go wrong and cause a humiliating defeat. Isn’t that so, Mavis?” Reina asked.
“Yes. In a normal contest, there’s a pretty strong chance that you’ll be able to win if you’re stronger. But if an opponent comes with the intent to kill, and you meet that with the intent to incapacitate, then no matter what your strength difference is, it’ll be a difficult fight. And if your enemy can sense that, you’ve already lost. Once he knows his opponent has no intention of killing him, he’ll attack at leisure—fighting recklessly without any attention to defense. Once it comes to that, there isn’t really much you can do.
“I have no intention of sacrificing my own life, that of my friends, or that of someone I’m meant to protect, just to honor the life of a criminal.”
“……”
At Mavis’s words, Pauline fell silent.
Mile merely watched, but inside she agreed with Mavis.
“I’m surprised…” said Reina, looking Mile’s way.
Mile tilted her head.
“Huh? About what?”
“I would’ve expected you to start shouting, ‘We can’t hurt people!’ right away…”
“What are you talking about?” Mile laughed. “My motto is, ‘No mercy for villains!’”
In truth, Mile had a very straightforward manner of thinking.
In her previous life, when people showed her good will (or at least no particularly ill will) she was always as kind as she could be. She didn’t bother herself with people who showed spite or animosity, but she wouldn’t do them any favors. And when it came to people who meant her harm, she would respond in turn—within the bounds of the law, but in such a way that they would never dare touch her again.
She was an attractive honors student, and plenty of people had tried to entangle Misato in their schemes. She’d had no choice but to devise coping methods.
Of course, in this world she’d decided to live a carefree life unfettered by the worries of her previous existence. But she had been unable to shake her old philosophy. There’s nothing you can do about bad people, so it’s best not to worry. That was what she told herself.
Besides, the “bad people” in this world killed others without a second thought, for petty cash or just for kicks—and given that the laws were far less strict than those in her past life, reacting “within the bounds of the law” gave Mile more options than she had previously. That was just how it was.
Anyway, Mile thought, if you let bad people escape, then they might kill tens or even hundreds of innocent people in the future. And they might even attack again for vengeance. Not just you—but your allies and your friends…
Such an outcome would be truly regrettable, so it was prudent to nip those possibilities in the bud. Then you could rest easy. Nevertheless, Mile was not certain whether she would be able to kill another human if it came down to it. For now, she could only guess.
“I want us to take on an escort job as soon as we can,” said Reina. “If we’re acting as guards, we’ll fight to defend our employer from any bandits who come calling, and there won’t be any time to negotiate. We’ll have no choice but to face them, whether we like it or not. If you don’t have this experience at least once, you might hesitate when suddenly attacked, and it will be the death of you.”
“That’s true,” said Mavis. “We’ll leave it to you, then.”
“I’ll follow whatever you say,” Mile added.
After a brief pause, Pauline finally agreed too, looking somewhat grim.
“…I-I guess I’m fine with that…”
Mile assumed Pauline would have answered happily, but she stopped for a moment, reflecting on her three friends. Glancing over at Reina and Mavis, she was a little bit relieved to see their faces.
Ah! It looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking it…
***
The following evening, the Crimson Vow arrived safely in the capital and headed for the guildhall. If nothing else, they had to show that worried clerk they hadn’t died.
When they entered, she was at one of the counters.
“We made it back safe!” Mile shouted, waving her hand.
Everyone gathered on the first floor of the guildhall turned to look at them.
“Eeek!” The four girls shrieked at suddenly being the center of attention.
“Aha! You all came back safely!!!” the clerk shouted from the counter. “That job was in a dangerous place—just after you all left, some merchants were attacked by orcs along that same road, and we were extremely worried. I’m so glad to see you back.”
“A merchant was attacked by orcs?” asked Reina, a mite concerned.
The receptionist laughed softly. “Yes, a merchant we’ve been keeping an eye on because he has a history of parasitic traveling. His party was attacked by a horde of orcs while he was camping, and he lost his wagons—goods and all. One of his guards was injured, but it seems that the whole group managed to get away safely.
“Apparently they complained that some nearby hunters ran off without coming to their aid, but a hunter who isn’t on their payroll has no obligation to assist. This man’s a known offender as far as parasites go. According to the hunters who were serving as his guards, by the time they were attacked, the other hunters had already moved on.
“The guild master investigated their claim and warned that if they tried to slander other hunters they would be stripped of their qualifications. When he asked for the truth again, they panicked and spilled the beans!”
Judging by the way she was snickering, the clerk had no idea that those other hunters were Reina’s party.
The girls were relieved to hear the situation was resolved with no loss of life. The only thing that pained Mile was that something might have happened to the horses.
“Well,” said Reina, “Let’s turn these in and get someone to sign the job completion certificate.”
The girls left the guildhall behind. They’d only stopped there to let everyone kn
ow they were back, anyway.
Once they delivered the rock lizards, their client would inspect the goods and decide on a rate of pay. They’d record that amount on the job completion certificate and sign at the bottom. Then, the girls could take the certificate back to the guildhall and withdraw their earnings.
To prevent anyone from skipping out, the guild handled all the money. If they didn’t get a signature, they wouldn’t hand over the goods.
The girls’ other catches would be inspected by the guild officials when they came to exchange the certificate. With no fewer than five rock lizards in good condition, they’d earn at least 75 half-gold pieces—three quarters of their monthly goal. And they had a ton of other catches stored away in Mile’s storage space. At this rate, they’d be able to relocate to an inn with a bath soon.
They faced the client’s shop, smiles bursting at the seams.
“When we see the client, please don’t tell them we have tons of rock lizards. Let’s bring out the first one and have them inspect it before we get the other four. And wait until we find out what they will pay for the first five before you let them know that we have even more available.”
Mile tilted her head at Pauline’s request, but she trusted Pauline when it came to matters of business just as she trusted Reina when it came to battle, and she nodded in reply.
Chapter 14:
The Client
The Crimson Vow arrived at the Abbot Company, the client that had posted the rock lizard job.
“Pardon me. We’re the hunters who accepted the rock lizard job. We’ve come to deliver our goods.”
Mavis, their leader in all official exchanges, called an employee over.
“Oh, hello! I’ll fetch the owner straight away. Please wait a moment.”
The employee went into the back, and after a short while, a man in his forties emerged. His rotund physique was very much that of a merchant.
“Oh, you’re the hunters who took on my request, are you? You sure look young…”
He spoke with a smile, but there was a suspicious glint in his eyes. For better or worse, they were also very much the eyes of a merchant.
“Yes, we are the Crimson Vow, a C-rank party. We would like to deliver the requested goods and have you sign the job completion certifi—”
“Yes, yes. Where are the goods?”
“Bring it out, Mile.”
“Okay!”
At Mavis’s direction, Mile pulled one of the nicely intact rock lizards out of her loot box.
In this case, “nicely intact” meant the head, body, and tail of the rock lizard, neatly separated into three pieces.
“Oh? Storage magic? I see. That’s how you did it with so few… never mind, that’s impressive!”
It was rare for a merchant to let his true feelings show, but the man showed a hint of real surprise that someone as young as Mile could pull an entire rock lizard out of storage. But just a hint.
He scrutinized the rock lizard, glanced at the four girls and, after some thought, gave his assessment:
“Twelve half-gold.”
“Huh????”
The Crimson Vow shouted in surprise. Mavis was the first to protest.
“B-but why? It’s in almost perfect condition. Why would you subtract so much from the standard reward of fifteen half-gold?”
“Now, look. The head and tail are detached, so you can’t get as big a hide off of it. Plus it’s been, what, at least three days since you hunted it? So the pieces are probably a bit bruised…”
Mavis protested again. “Don’t you chop it up for processing before you skin it anyway?! And it hasn’t even been a full two days since we killed it!”
“Even so, that’s our assessment criteria…” replied the owner calmly.
Mavis protested again, but Pauline reached out and tapped her hand near the wrist. This was another of their signals.
“Um, that isn’t the only lizard we hunted. Is that the price you’ll be offering for each of them?”
“Oh, you’ve got another, do you? Might I see it?”
“Certainly. Mile, please bring out the other two.”
At Pauline’s direction, Mile brought only two more of the lizards out of storage. Their condition was almost exactly the same as the first.
“Oh my! You can hold three of them?!”
This time, the shock on the owner’s face was clear. He gave the lizards a quick once-over and delivered his assessment.
“I’ll give you nine half-gold a piece for these, so thirty altogether. I’d say that’s a pretty good salary for just a few days’ work, wouldn’t you? So, let’s go ahead and get that certificate signed. By the by, I couldn’t persuade you all to join my staff, could I? If you’re on our payroll, you’ll never have to worry about work. You’d be earning a steady salary and could live without a care.”
It was clear that what he was after was Mile’s storage magic, but seeing the way that his glistening eyes roved over their figures, it surely wasn’t the only thing on his mind.
“And the reason that the prices of the second and third one were lower is…?” Pauline asked, straight-faced and ignoring the merchant’s words.
“Ah, well, to tell you the truth, I was being generous with the first one, giving you a good price and taking a loss myself as congratulations for doing such a good job as novices. However, I can’t afford to pay that for the other two…”
It was a lie.
He underestimated them, assumed that because they were young he’d be able to bargain them down. However, if the four of them traveled for days and earned little, they were unlikely to take the job again. So, there was a limit to how far he would go. Now that he knew they had caught three of them, he must have thought he could safely undercut them further, knowing that they’d still earn a decent wage and might come back again in the future.
“I understand,” said Pauline.
The owner’s face beamed brightly.
“Mile, please put all three away.”
“On it!”
At Pauline’s command, Mile stored all three of the lizards away in the blink of an eye.
“Huh…?”
The owner was taken aback. He didn’t understand what was happening.
“It seems that the goods were not in the condition that you desired, so we will consider this job a failure. Now, we shall take our leave.”
As Pauline pressed them all to leave, the owner raised his voice in a panic.
“H-hold it! We’re the ones who requested those, so I can’t allow you to just take them and leave!”
“Oh? You’re only offering 60 percent of the pay promised on the posting, so surely these are no good. Getting a reputation for returning such inferior goods would be an embarrassment for us. Thankfully, since the job completion certificate hasn’t been signed, the contract isn’t complete. We can simply count this job as a loss…
“We deposited the proper two half-gold penalty fee at the guild, so don’t worry about that. Come girls, let’s go home.”
“W-wait! Please wait! Let’s talk this over!”
Ignoring the owner’s shouts behind them, the four girls left the shop.
“I’m sorry I acted on my own in there… we went through all that effort to complete the job, but now we’ve failed it thanks to my indiscretion.”
“What are you saying, Pauline? If you hadn’t refused, I would have. And probably a bit less politely.”
“Exactly! How are we supposed to do business with someone who disrespects us? If we let a guy like him get the jump on us once, then it will keep happening. Good hunters never let someone take advantage of them.”
Pauline tried to apologize again, but Reina and Mavis answered her with smiles.
As for Mile…
“I bet you have another idea, don’t you Pauline?”
Pauline wasn’t the type to ruin a business deal on pride alone. Reina and Mavis should have realized this, too.
Pauline grinned shrewdly.
“Here’s the new plan…”
“There it is!”
Though they meant to say it only in their heads, the three girls spoke aloud, sighing with relief.
***
“Please process this!”
The four girls returned to the hunters’ guild and approached the clerk.
“Nice work, hunters. Let’s see, we’ll process the… huh?”
The certificate had no signature with the assessment fee. The clerk puzzled over the form.
“Ah, yes. It’s incomplete. We failed the request. Please, go ahead and take the two half-gold penalty.”
“Wait… didn’t you say earlier that you’d completed the job?”
Other hunters began to gather around, noticing the rookie party was having trouble. Guild officials began to cluster on the other side of the counter as well.
“To tell you the truth,” Mile explained pitifully, “when the client assessed the goods, he only wanted to pay us nine half-gold, even though the job promised fifteen. We couldn’t in good conscience hand over any goods that were in that poor a condition, so we just took them and left.”
Mile was the perfect actor for this role, although her casting had nothing to do with her acting abilities. As the youngest, she would garner the most sympathy.
“What?! That’s only 60 percent! Miss Reina, did you burn them up with your fire magic?”
“No, though I can see why you might think that…”
As they spoke they motioned the gathered hunters back, and Mile pulled one of the rock lizards out of her loot box, placing it in the space before the counter.
“Wh-what is that?!”
“I’ve never seen such a pristine-looking rock lizard—other than one that was still alive!”
“How on earth did you hunt this thing? And just the two of you with swords…?”
“What? Isn’t taking down a rock lizard pretty simple for two or three C-rank hunters…?” Seeing the hunters’ stunned looks, Mile asked the first question that popped into her head.
“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s just a matter of taking one down. You can fire attack spells from far away, shoot it with arrows and spears from mid-range and then, once it’s weakened, you can approach it close up and hit it with swords. If you approach when it’s lively, the tail poses a serious threat… even a standard-priced rock lizard should be full of holes. This should have garnered a bonus reward for its condition.