by Ao Jyumonji
“...I’d really rather you forgot that.”
“Impossible. The Yorozu is a Yorozu, and so I cannot forget. If I were to forget, the Yorozu would have to cede the Yorozu position to the next Yorozu. Such is the code of the Yorozu.”
“It sounds... kinda tough, being a Yorozu,” Haruhiro said, looking around the hall. Perhaps by coincidence, Haruhiro was the only customer at the moment. He didn’t see anyone who looked like an employee, either. “...Could it be that you run the deposit company by yourself?”
“Of course not. The Yorozu is the symbol of this company, as well as its chairperson and president. For the transportation of items and money, appraisals, warehouse management, and other duties, we employ a large number of clerks and apprentices. Do you know what sort of business this company does?”
“Well, I hear you take deposits of money, and you can act as a money changer.”
“We handle more than just money. This company can take deposits of items, as well. If your deposit is money, the deposit fee is 1/100th of the total. If it is an item, the deposit fee is 1/50th of the appraised value of the item.
“1/100th...” So if I leave 100 copper coins with her, she’ll charge me one for the privilege, huh. “...Kinda expensive, isn’t it?”
“If you feel that way,” Yorozu drew a long puff from her pipe, “you simply need not make a deposit. It matters not in the least to our company. Though, as Yorozu, I will say that you, as a volunteer soldier trainee, will gradually come to understand how useful our company is. So, what business have you come for today, insolent one?”
“‘Insolent one’...” He wondered if she was going to keep calling him that forever. Haruhiro withdrew one... no, two silver coins from his pouch. “I came because I wanted to convert these to copper coins.”
“Hmm. Incidentally, our money changing is provided as a wonderfully free service, so your two silver coins will get you 200 copper coins. Do you understand how bulky all those coins will be, insolent one?”
“Ah.” Haruhiro recalled the copper coin that the paunchy man at Dory’s Skewers had shown him. It had been a pretty small coin, but 200 of them would add up to a good weight. “I see... Carrying around a large amount of money is a hassle. That’s why people pay the deposit fee to deposit it here, huh?”
“Well, there you have it. Furthermore, the Yorozu can calculate down to 1/100th of a copper instantly, so if you leave just one copper coin with us, your deposit fee will be 1/100th of a copper. The Yorozu will remember this, and also note it down in the ledger. When it accumulates to a full copper, the amount will be taken from your funds on deposit. So you needn’t try to get clever by depositing your copper 99 at a time.”
“Basically, you’re telling me there’s no cheating the system. I get it.” Haruhiro laid one silver coin down on the counter. “Okay, I’ll have one silver coin converted, then.”
“Very well.” The Yorozu struck a bell sitting out on the counter with her pipe, and a young boy in sparkling silver clothes came out from a door in the back. Yorozu didn’t spare a glance in the boy’s direction before gesturing with her fingers for him to do something. When she did, the boy silently bowed, headed back through the door, then returned shortly with a black tray. Atop the tray were copper coins. The boy left the tray on the counter and then took his leave.
“100 copper coins is 100 copper. You may take them, insolent one.”
“Can you drop the ‘insolent one’ thing already...?” Haruhiro muttered as he took the coins and slid them into his pouch. The coins were about the size of the tip of his little finger, but with 100 of them, the pouch was stuffed full. “It’s pretty bulky. It might not fit in my pocket like this.”
Yorozu snorted smugly. “I could take a deposit for you right now, if you like. Insolent you may be, but our company makes a policy of treasuring all its customers.”
“Nah, I’m good for now. I can carry it in my hand. It’s just a bit of a hassle.”
“If you say so.” The Yorozu took another puff on her pipe. “Then come again when you need us, insolent one. Our company is open year-round, never taking a holiday. We are open from 7:00 in the morning to 7:00 at night. At any time, for any purpose, I, the fourth Yorozu, will be waiting at this window to take your business.”
“At any time, you say? What, you don’t take lunch breaks?”
“I do no such thing. The Yorozu is here from 7:00 to 7:00. This, too, is the code of the Yorozu.”
“Well, aren’t you a hard worker...”
Thinking, She seems to have it together, but it must be hard on a young girl, he went to leave the Yorozu Deposit Company and his stomach rumbled.
Meat. There were meat skewers waiting.
Haruhiro rushed back to Dory’s Skewers in the market and, after taking a deep whiff of their delectable scent, he bought himself a freshly cooked skewer. Unable to resist, he chowed down right there, and the savory taste and juiciness of the meat scored a direct strike on his brain.
“De-licious!”
After polishing off that first skewer in no time, he agonized over whether or not he should buy another, but after a grueling battle, his self-control won out. I don’t care about Ranta, but I’ll tell Shihoru and Yume, and I can come here again with them later. Haruhiro danced through the market in high spirits, then came to a sudden stop.
“Oh, crap. This isn’t the time to be munching on meat skewers. I need to be gathering information...”
He looked around the area, his eyes falling on an arch-shaped sign reading “Flower Garden Road.” A man in whitish clothes was walking from that direction. While the man wore a cape over metal armor, with a shield over his back and what looked to be a sword at his hip, he had a different vibe from the guards at Tenboro Tower. Haruhiro had a vague sense that maybe, just maybe, he might be a volunteer soldier.
He exhaled deeply, trying to compose himself. Then, psyching himself up a bit, he hailed him with a “Hey!” and the man stopped and turned in Haruhiro’s direction.
“Need something?”
“Um, well, excuse me, and sorry if I’m mistaken, but are you... a volunteer soldier, perhaps...?”
“Yes, I am, why?” the man said, blinking a few times before breaking into a smile. “Ohhh. Could it be you’re a volunteer soldier trainee?”
“Ah, yes, yes I am! I just became one! I dunno what to say, I barely know left from right at this point, so I was hoping...”
“It’s like that for all of us at first. I know you feel lost, but step by step, if you keep on moving forward, you’ll gradually find your way.”
“Is that... just how it is, you think? But, still, I’m feeling really uncertain about where I head from here...”
“I understand,” the man said, nodding with a gentle smile. “However, this experience you’re going through now is something you’ll be able to put to use later. If you can’t grope around blindly in the darkness, you’ll never be able to reach anywhere.”
“Is... that how it is? No, I mean, if you don’t mind, could you...”
“I’m Shinohara of Orion.”
“Oh, I’m Haruhiro.”
“Haruhiro-kun, the members of Orion are often at a place called Sherry’s Tavern. If something comes up, please come find us there.”
“Huh? Uh... Yeah, Sh-Sherry’s Tavern, was it? O-Orion...?”
“Yes. I wish you luck, Haruhiro-kun. Until we meet again.”
Shinohara left, leaving behind only the bright, refreshing air he had brought with him.
“...Did I just fail at gathering information?” Haruhiro hung his head. He should have stopped him and been more insistent. But it had felt like he was being rejected gently, but firmly.
The man might not have seemed it, but perhaps he was a bit mean-spirited. Or maybe he had been trying to teach Haruhiro something, as one with more experience?
“A tavern, huh...” Haruhiro looked skyward, narrowing his eyes at the glare of the sun. He wasn’t sure, but it felt too early to be visiting a
tavern.
Walking down Flower Garden Street for lack of any better option, he looked about for anyone who might be a volunteer soldier. He passed a few, but they all either glared at him as their eyes met, had blatantly frightening faces, or looked like ruffians, not the kind of people he could bring himself to call out to.
“I’m already getting tired of this...”
As he exited Flower Garden Street, Haruhiro crouched down at the side of the road. There was a flowerbed and a number of large buildings that looked to be boarding houses. He stayed there unmoving for a while.
Maybe if he stayed like this, someone would come up and see if he was all right. He wasn’t doing it with that sort of ulterior motive, though. Well, maybe he was, just a little.
“...Maybe I’ve been a little naïve.”
But I can’t help that, can I? I mean, I don’t even know where I am. I mean, not remembering anything but my name? It makes no sense! Then I suddenly became a volunteer soldier trainee or something. Like, what even is that? While I stood around, all the capable-looking people took off. I can’t rely on any of the ones who stayed. I can’t rely on myself, either. Despite that, I somehow got stuck having to gather information all by myself. And that’s not going well at all.
“Of course I’d lose my nerve after all that...”
What’s wrong with losing my nerve? It wouldn’t be strange at all for me to give in to despair. I know. I’ll go eat another skewer. I’ll eat as much as I can by myself. Not just meat skewers: I saw plenty of other tasty food around the market. I’ll try every last one of them. When night comes, I’ll hit a bar. There’s got to be a place somewhere with girls to pour my drinks for me. Any kind of booze, I’ll drink it. I’ll play around. I’ll just screw around until the money runs out.
Haruhiro stood up. “Not that I’d actually do that.”
He couldn’t bring himself to be optimistic, but giving in to desperation was just as hard.
He went back through Flower Garden Street to the marketplace.
Well, now what? Back to the front of the office? I have practically nothing to show for my effort, but it’s been a while. Everyone’s got to be hungry. If I want to get them fed, we’ll have to go to the Yorozu Deposit Company and get their money converted there.
When he thought about it, what he’d learned about the Yorozu was valuable info. He had met Shinohara, too. Looking for Sherry’s Tavern as a group once they’d eaten was an option. Besides, it wasn’t like Haruhiro needed to do all the work by himself.
Yeah. Yeah, that’s right! Everyone’s got a stake in this.
On that note, he decided to return to the office in high spirits, but... how odd. Though he was heading in the right direction judging by the location of Tenboro Tower, no matter how many corners he turned, he didn’t see the office.
“...Am I lost?”
I don’t want to, but I kind of have to admit it. What else can I do? Haruhiro headed towards Tenboro Tower. Once I get to the plaza, I’ll carefully check my route. The road I first came to the plaza through was, if I recall, that one. If I go down it, I can get back to the office— I think. Probably.
“No, hold on, was it really that road...? Or the one over there? Maybe I’m wrong. Am I wrong? Which one was it again? I-I’m not sure anymore. This is bad...”
“Haruhiro!” someone called out.
“Huh?” He hadn’t imagined anyone would call his name, so he was pretty shocked.
The voice’s owner looked like he had a halo of light behind him. That was an optical illusion, of course, but the smile of the man who waved to him and rushed over was truly radiant.
“Manato...!” Haruhiro cried, rushing over to the man. “Manato! I’m trying to make my way back to the office, but I can’t find it! Meeting you here feels like stumbling across the Buddha in Hell!”
“You’re exaggerating,” Manato said, looking around. “Haruhiro, are you alone? Are there any others?”
“Yeah. Ranta, Shihoru and Yume are in front of the office... or should be. Shihoru started crying, see. After that, we agreed that I was going to go gather information while they waited there.”
“Oh, so that’s it. So, you figured out a bunch of stuff, and you’re on the way back now?”
“Well...” Haruhiro scratched his neck nervously. He wanted to show off a little, but if he lied now, the truth would come out in no time, so there probably wasn’t much point.
“I don’t know that anything I figured out counts as figuring stuff out. What was there... the Yorozu Deposit Company, maybe...?”
“Yorozu? Deposit Company? I don’t know about those yet.”
“No way. Seriously? It’s a place where you can deposit your money, or have it converted. It seemed kinda important. Oh, also, there was a good meat skewer place in the market... Nah, that one’s not so important.”
“I took a peek at the marketplace a bit myself. So there are meat skewers there, huh? If they’re as good as you say, I’d like to try one.”
“I’ll show you the place. I remember exactly where it was. ...Though I forgot the way back to the office.”
“Okay, should we go together, then?” Manato said that as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “I was just thinking of heading back to the office.”
“Huh...?” Haruhiro was stunned silent.
Sure, Manato had said, “See you all later,” before leaving the office, but hadn’t that just been an ordinary turn of phrase, a polite way of saying goodbye? That was how Haruhiro had interpreted it. Had he been wrong? Had Manato meant to come back to the office after gathering information all along?
Something warm swelled in his chest.
Manato said, “Hm?” He cocked his head to the side a little. “Is something wrong?”
“N-Nothing at all, actually!” Haruhiro said, slapping Manato on the back. “L-Let’s go. To the office. I don’t care about Ranta, but I’m sure Shihoru and Yume are feeling alone and helpless.”
“Yeah.” Manato nodded and started walking.
As he followed after him, Haruhiro was glad he had met up with Manato again.
Manato strode along, showing no sign he wasn’t sure of where he was going, down a path completely different from the one Haruhiro had been betting on.
Apparently Haruhiro hadn’t remembered the way back properly.
4. The Joys of Guild Life
Haruhiro was now standing alone in one corner of an area called West Town.
“This ought to be the place...”
West Town was where the poor and destitute lived, a slum town, apparently. The buildings were all old and run-down or crumbling. It was all very shabby. Most of the people you would meet there were miserable wretches. Honestly, it wasn’t the kind of place you wanted to walk around alone.
Why did I go and choose this place? I shouldn’t have. But I’ve made my choice now, so it’s too late.
Haruhiro was trying to walk around a building that was like a complexly interwoven amalgamation of various other stone and wooden buildings, but it was impossible to do so. When he went down the narrow alleys, he would be obstructed by wooden or stone walls, and there was no way to get around to the back of the building.
However, as he tried, he ran into a ridiculously low doorway at the end of one alley. It was a rusty door, and a hand with a keyhole in the palm had been carved into it.
Suspicious. So this is the entrance, huh?
“H-Helloooo.” He tried calling out, but there was no response, so he tried knocking. It made his hand hurt. He decided to try at least turning the handle and pulling. It didn’t budge.
“Is this the wrong place? What the hell...”
As he muttered to himself, turning to leave, a low voice echoed through the alley. “State your business,” it said.
Where had the voice come from? He couldn’t tell. He was the only one in the alley, and the door was still closed. But he didn’t think he was just hearing things. There had definitely been a voice.
“
Um, well... I was hoping you’d let me join the guild.”
“Enter,” the voice said, and the door clicked.
Had it just been unlocked? Haruhiro put his hand on the knob and turned. He tried pulling. It was heavy, but it opened.
Beyond the door was a cramped, dusty hallway. There were shelves on either side of the hall, packed full with rope, metal clasps, wheels, and assorted other things he couldn’t make any sense of. Closing the trick door behind him, Haruhiro saw there was a bright light coming from deep inside. Its source was a wall lamp, and the hall turned there. The hall got even narrower as he went.
Turning his body diagonally, he managed to progress down the hall and finally come out into a room. It was dimly lit, and he couldn’t tell how big it was. There was a desk in the room, and a woman was sitting on it cross-legged. She was playing with a knife. Her hair was long, long enough to cover half her face, but she didn’t seem as eager to cover up her skin. The woman’s arms, chest, and thighs were all boldly exposed.
“You want to join our thieves’ guild?”
“Y-Yes,” he said, gulping despite himself. I probably shouldn’t stare too much. He averted his eyes, just to be safe. “That was... my intent.”
“From the look of you, you’re a volunteer soldier trainee. The second one today.”
“Huh? Second one?”
“Well, that doesn’t really matter. If you’re joining us, you’ll be going through the seven-day training by yourself, anyway. It’s one-on-one. I’ll be responsible for you. An honor, no?”
“Huh? Well, sure...” Haruhiro looked up at the woman. He figured it would be rude to stare at her chest or legs, so he looked at her face. I wonder how old she is. She’s probably not that young. Thirty or so? That sounds about right.
For Haruhiro, who was sixteen, she seemed pretty old, even though that wasn’t nice to say. But she was beautiful. And dangerously sexy. “...I-It’s an honor. Yeah.”
“If you’re dissatisfied, I can leave you to someone else, you know.”