It would take about 10 hours to travel from the imperial capital to Mintz village. Since we would need to change stagecoaches once along the way, we decided to rest for the night at an inn at the transit point and start the second leg again in the morning.
At the latest, we should reach Mintz village by noon tomorrow.
「My butt is so sore… I’m bad with stagecoaches…」
The stagecoach had arrived at the city of Yudra, the transit point.
Alma got off the stagecoach and sighed while rubbing her butt. I was in the same boat. The sun had already set and the stars were glittering in the night sky. After being shaken by the stagecoach for seven hours, my butt hurt and I also felt sick and nauseous.
It was the worst feeling. I wanted to quickly take a bath and sleep.
Worn out, both of us set out into the night to find an inn.
「Sorry, bro. We’ve only got one empty room left」
Yudra was a key transit point, so all of its inns were full. Even when we finally found an inn where we could stay, I was troubled by the fact that there was only one room. Since I was aiming for a wholesome party, I would prefer not to have men and women stay in the same room.
「Alma, you can stay in the room. I’ll rent the barn and sleep there」
「Eh, couldn’t we just sleep together?」
「It’s a problem for men and women to sleep in the same room, isn’t it?」
「You’re worrying too much about it. Could it be that you’re shy? So cute」
「No, it’s not like I’m shy or anything…」
But she might be right about me worrying too much about it. As long as we were in the same party, it was disrespectful to treat others differently because of their gender, even if you were thinking on their behalf. Being able to sleep even in the same bed without being concerned about each other was the correct way for a Seeker to act.
Apparently, my way of thinking had become biased without me noticing because of the love problems that my previous party had. We should sleep in the same room without worrying about it, just like what Alma said.
After we checked in and received the key, we headed to the cafeteria. We were tired, but we were also hungry. We were thinking of building up energy for tomorrow by having some lip-smacking food.
But the food at this inn was terrible. It was the first time in a long while that I had eaten food that was so bad that it gave me a headache. Even Alma, who had been secluded in the mountains until recently, was hugging her head in dismay at how horrible-tasting the food was.
We silently shoveled the horrible food into our mouths, and then entered our room.
「The food was terrible, but the room is pretty nice」
Alma sighed in relief after surveying the room.
The room was clean and there were no stains on the walls or floor. The bed was first-rate and looked soft. The furniture and furnishings were stylish and an incense had been left burning.
「I was wondering what to do if the room was terrible, but looks like I’ll be able to sleep well」
「Yeah. You can go take a shower first」
I accepted her offer and headed to the bathroom. I took off my equipment and clothes and entered the bath area. The bath area was large and had a large bathtub. It wouldn’t be bad to soak in the bath, but we would need to get up early tomorrow, so I made do with a shower.
When I twisted the faucet and the hot water rained down, my body relaxed all at once. There was a lot of hot water, so I could feel my tiredness draining away just by standing there in the hot shower. When I had stayed at inns while on expeditions, there were many times when the showers only had a small amount of hot water, but we had struck the jackpot with this inn. It was the best inn even if it had horrible food.
After washing my whole body carefully, I wore my clothes and returned to the bedroom.
In the bedroom, Alma was doing stretches. She had such a flexible body that even when she bent forward while doing an 180 degree split, her upper body was flat on the floor.
「Noel, are you done with the shower?」
「Yes, it was nice and hot. Alma should go too」
「I’ll do just that」
Alma went from her bent forward position into a handstand then a forward roll to get into a standing position. I was also fairly confident in how flexible my body was, but I was likely no match for Alma.
「As expected, when you take off your coat, I can clearly tell your body is well trained」
Alma’s line of sight was riveted on my upper body which was only covered by a shirt.
「Wonderful. Great. Just like a wild beast’s. There are no excessive muscles and they’re superb」
「Is, is that so? Thank you」
「Can I touch them for a little bit?」
「Well, if it’s only for a little bit…...」
When I consented, Alma started touching my body. Squeezing and stroking with her fingertips, she didn’t hold back at all when touching me. It was starting to feel ticklish and I wanted to laugh.
「You, that’s more than a little bit, isn’t it? I’m going to get angry」
「That’s true. Then I’ll stop here」
With a reluctant look, Alma took her hands away.
「That was a good experience. Thank you」
「You’re welcome……」
「You’ve really built such a nice body. ……But, it’s such a pity」
「What do you mean by that?」
「You need unyielding hard work to build a body like that. It’s impossible using normal methods. But no matter how much Noel trains, you’ll never be a match for someone with a vanguard Job. It’s ultimately something built through only hard work and not through talent. That’s why it’s a pity. If Noel’s Job was Warrior, just like Over Death, you could have been the strongest Seeker」
When she gave it to me straight like that, I couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.
「……Alma」
「Yes?」
「Close your eyes」
「Huh? Like this?」
Alma closed her eyes as instructed. I gave her defenseless forehead a hard finger flick.
「Ouch! Why!?」
「That’s for not minding your own business」
I clicked my tongue and pointed to the bathroom as I laid flat on the bed.
「I’m going to sleep first, so hurry up and shower」
「Muuu…… Got it……」
As Alma headed to the bathroom, a sigh naturally escaped me.
「Something like that, I know it better than anyone……」
I knew only too well that my talent for Jobs was lacking. Still, all I could do was to keep trying without giving up.
For the sake of keeping my promise to Grandfather, and for the sake of not giving up on my dream…… Even if there was a possibility that none of my hard work would pay off, I had absolutely no intention of stopping my feet.
While I was thinking about tomorrow with my eyes closed, I heard the sound of water filling the bathtub coming from the bathroom. Apparently, Alma intended to soak in the bathtub.
「That woman, she had better be able to get up tomorrow morning……」
There were only two stagecoaches heading to Mintz Village, one at 8 am and one at 3 pm. So if we missed the morning stagecoach, we would have to kill time in this city.
Indifferent to such worries of mine, Alma started singing in a good mood from within the bathroom.
It had a gentle melody and calming lyrics. It was a song that healed a person’s heart. As I listened while lying on the bed, I found my consciousness gradually drifting away.
「――become a Seeker that will never lose. Become a man that will never bring shame to our Stollen name. That is my wish」
In my dream, I could hear Grandpa’s voice. Since that day, this was a dream that I had seen over and over again. A hometown that had been turned into a scorched plain, Grandpa turning cold in my arms.
「……I promise, Grandpa. I’ll become the strongest Seeker」
And the me who proclaimed to Grandpa my resolution.
Every time I dreamed this dream, cold sorrow and burning passion swirled in my heart. And just like how strong winds were born between hot and cold extremes, a strong will that consumed everything was born from my passion and sorrow.
One that said that I would definitely become the strongest Seeker.
I faintly heard a little bird’s chirping. It told me that morning had arrived. Probably because it was a dream that I had seen countless times, my consciousness had been clear the entire time. The dream had ended and it was time to open my eyes. A new day had started.
「……Unn. …..Unnn?」
My first impression was, that it was hard to breathe. Then, I smelled a flowery scent and felt a softness on my face. It was warm and strangely a little moist. The instant I realized that it was the feel of human skin, I jumped off the bed.
「This idiot woman…」
Alma was sleeping peacefully next to me. That was fine. We had originally planned to sleep in one bed after all.
The problem was that Alma had slept stark naked. She didn’t even have a towel wrapped around her and was as nude as the day she was born. In other words, it was Alma’s uselessly big breasts that had enveloped my face. Apparently, it appeared that I had been her replacement for a body pillow.
「Even if you’re not concerned about it, there’s got to be limits……」
I was feeling a dizziness that didn't come from just waking up. It was because I was me that I could restrain myself, but if this was another man, there would be a big problem. Men were simple creatures. If you buried a man’s face in nude breasts, he would be downed in one shot. Considering all the trouble that would occur if that happened, let alone feeling dizzy, I was starting to get a headache.
「Yum…… lots of fried buns…… Hehehe」
Alma mumbled her sleep talk blissfully while I was holding my head in worry.
「Just go die while buried in fried buns!」
Having passed the limit that I could endure, I swung an open palm down onto Alma’s breasts.
†
†
「Unbelievable, how could you smack a girl’s boobs like that……」
「Shut up, it’s all your fault」
「Could it be that Noel likes these kinds of things? Big sister is a bit scared」
「Shut up, you aren’t my big sister. ――Oh, we can see it now」
We had been able to get on the early stagecoach without incident. After three hours of the old stagecoach speeding down badly paved roads, we had finally arrived at our destination, Mintz village.
「Long time no see, members of Blue Beyond! Thank you for coming despite the urgent request……?」
A thin-hair old man――the village chief, who had come to welcome us, tilted his head as he looked at us.
「Um, umm, where are the rest?」
「The other three from before have already left. This is all of our current members」
「What? ……That is, will it be alright?」
It was only natural for the village chief to be worried as there were only two subjugators. Also, since Alma and me were the types that didn’t look strong to normal people, I was sure that it was causing him even more anxiety.
However, if subjugation was really impossible, we wouldn’t have taken the 10 hour journey just to get here. We had a proper chance of winning and by my calculations, there was a 99 percent chance for us to come out on top.
「Don’t worry, village chief. We’ll massacre the group of bandits by today」
「Ma, massacre……」
The village chief was startled by my disturbing words.
At times like these, it was better to push the act of a rough Seeker. It was actually more reassuring for the client that way. As proof, the worried look disappeared from the village chief’s face.
「I, I understand, I’ll leave it all up to you. Then please come to my house so I can tell you the details」
Mintz village was a remote village that you could find anywhere. It had no local specialties and the lord was also the incompetent type, so the villagers didn’t have an easy life. Even the village chief’s house, which we were being led to, was a wooden building that no one could have said looked respectable even when trying to flatter him.
「Please have some tea」
When we sat at the table in the reception room, the village chief’s wife offered us tea.
His daughter was also behind him. If I remembered correctly, she should be 10 years old now. She had freckles and wore pigtails. While she looked every bit a village girl, her features weren’t bad. If she learned some fashion sense after she grew up, she would probably become the village Madonna.
Maybe she got embarrassed when I looked reminiscently at her after I remembered that I had played with her a year ago, but she ran into the back of the house.
「I’m so sorry, she’s at a difficult age…… In truth, she had been looking forward to the arrival of everyone from Blue Beyond」
When the village chief bowed his head to apologize, I gave a bitter smile.
「In that case, we’ve done something bad. Our most popular ex-leader is not here today, so she must be feeling disappointed」
「No, the one my daughter always talks about…… Well, let’s put that topic aside. I’ll start explaining about the group of bandits」
According to what the village chief said, the group of bandits had appeared in the area five days ago. The neighboring village had already suffered damages and many villagers had been killed. They had been left scattered after all of their valuables and food had been stolen.
There were about 20 bandits. Their faces were not familiar to the locals, so they were most probably drifters. Their hideout had not been found, but the villagers said that they had witnessed them disappearing into the eastern forest.
「Understood. The information that you’ve given is more than enough」
Even if I took the village chief’s words at face value, I was sure that we could annihilate them easily.
The reason why the bandits had been able to ravage the neighboring village with a middling number of people like 20, was probably because they had a few decent fighters that could force their way past the villagers’ defenses. Even if we took that into account, it didn’t change the fact that it was an easy job. They were ultimately bandits who preyed on the weak. Their fighting ability would be several levels below that of a professional Seeker.
Of course, I had no intention of get conceited just because of that. It was the Seekers’ way to go full force and destroy them as long as the request had been accepted.
「Now, let’s talk about the reward. In the case of annihilating about 20 bandits, it’ll come up to a total of 500,000 Fil, an advance of 200,000 Fil now and another 300,000 Fil after the request has been fulfilled」
「500,000 Fil…… That’s quite a lot, isn’t it……」
「I think that 500,000 Fil is an exceptionally cheap price, considering the fact that you’re asking us to kill 20 people. After all, it’s only 25,000 Fil per person. Or will you let your village suffer the same fate as the neighboring village just because you can’t bear to part with your money?」
「N, no, nothing of the sort! I’ll pay! I’ll pay right away!」
With quick steps, the village chief left the reception room and then returned quickly with a dirty bag.
「There’s 200,000 Fil in there. Please go ahead and confirm it…」
I took the bag and counted the coins inside. There were no gold coins, half were silver and the other half copper. Moreover, they were darkened with dirt and grime. It appeared that they were leading a harsher life than it had seemed.
However, this was a profession where we were also risking our lives. I couldn’t be bound by feelings.
「I’ve certainly received 200,000 Fil. I’ll ask for the rest when the job is done. Oh, assemble the youths of the village as well」
「The youths? Why?」
「It’s for collecting the belongings of the bandits that we’ve subjugated. For a group of 20 bandits, the amount you can get from selling their equipment probably won’t be a large sum, but they should be holding onto a lot of money since they’ve just attacked a village. It ought to help if you add those to your finances, right?」
「U, understood! I’ll assemble them right away!」
Once the village chief realized that money might be coming his way, his greasy face shone even brighter.
Originally, how the belongings of the targets of subjugation were handled varied depending on the party or clan. Most of the time, the policy was that the subjugators would have ownership, and did not have to relinquish them to the client. Empire law also stipulated that the belongings belonged to the subjugators unless there was a contracted agreement in advance.
For me as well, even if the money that could be obtained was small, it was better to have it than not. However, collecting the belongings from corpses was also tough work, and above all, it was a request accepted for the purpose of testing the power of the party, so I shouldn’t be fussy about it like I usually was and let Mintz village have it.
「We’re heading out right away. Just relax and wait for our return」
We left the village chief’s house and headed for the eastern forest where the bandits were said to have been spotted.
「That thin-hair baldy kept staring at my boobs」
「Eh, really?」
Alma said with a grimace on her face while walking.
「Really. Even though his wife and daughter were there, it was disgusting」
Come to think of it, Tania had said something similar. I vaguely remembered her saying his gaze was indecent and disgusting.
I could understand being drawn to pretty women, but like Alma said, he was in a position of responsibility, so I wished that he would control himself better.
「Mister Noel!」
Hearing someone call my name, I looked back and saw the village chief’s daughter panting as she ran towards us.
「Haa, haaa…… A, are you heading out for the subjugation now?」
「Yeah. It be done in a jiffy, so don’t worry about it」
「I see…… T, then…… G, good luck! I’m rooting for you!」
「Eh? Yeah, thank you」
I was taken aback by suddenly being told that I was being rooted for. But it didn’t feel bad. The honest, good intentions of a child made me feel a bit embarrassed but happy.
「Do you still remember the method of making bamboo dragonflies that I taught you a year ago?」
「Yes! Of course! My bamboo dragonfly flies the highest among all the children! Whoosh!」
「That’s amazing. Then it was worthwhile teaching it to you」
The girl’s face reddened at my smile and she took out a bamboo dragonfly from her skirt’s pocket. It didn’t look new and was a little tanned by the sun.
「This is the bamboo dragonfly that Mister Noel made for me. I’ve been taking good care of it since that day… it… err… It’s my treasure! That’s why I’ll wait! I’ll make food together with Mother and wait for Mister Noel’s return!」
She said the final part in a rush and ran back the way she came. As I sent her diminishing figure off with my eyes, I saw Alma with a profound smile out of the corner of my eye.
「……What’s with that smile?」
「Noel is such a smooth operator. Leading such a pure girl around by the nose. So indecent despite your cute face. Big sister is shocked」
「Shut it, useless-boobies-idiot-woman」
「Useless-boobies-idiot-woman!? Are you referring to me!?」
「Don’t say such pointless things and let’s go find the group of bandits」
「Wait, Noel! Big sister can’t ignore that!」
Behind me, who had went on ahead, Alma was indignant, but it was a pain so I ignored her.
Leaving Mintz village, we stepped into the deep forest. As we walked through the dark and cold forest, I was thinking of something that had been on my mind the whole time.
That girl, what was her name? I wondered.
Hello, FBI? There’s a crime in progress against a minor I would like to report.
For the sharp-eyed readers, at least we now know why the letter was addressed to Noel instead of Lloyd.
What? Idiot woman is evolving!
Congratulations! Idiot woman has evolved into useless-boobies-idiot-woman. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Bandit hunting next chapter, how will Alma and Noel work together? Stay tuned to find out. (ᵔᴥᵔ)
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