Chapter 88:
A Job in the Empire
“I see… So we’d be guarding a merchant’s family,” said Mile.
“Well, I guess any nobles would have their own retainers or personal troops, so they wouldn’t need to hire hunters. And normal commoners rarely have either the means or the reason to bother hiring a personal bodyguard,” added Pauline.
“I guess it’s inevitable that it would be a wealthy commoner, then—whether a merchant or some other influential person in town,” Mavis agreed.
It was true that there were some nobles who hired hunters as guards. There were cases where they encountered sudden dangers away from home or needed a temporary addition to their guard forces. On other occasions, they might need something specific: a female guard for their daughters, for example, or an escort who did not look like a guard at all. Indeed, these were just the sorts of demands that kept the Wonder Trio in business.
However, given that the one they would be guarding was not a noble, all that had nothing to do with the job in question.
“Yes. We are only able to reveal the name and details of the client to interested hunters after they have heard a preliminary explanation. Then, the details of the job itself will have to be delivered directly from the client,” the guild clerk explained. This was obvious. Of course, the guild could not go about blabbing the circumstances and movements of a merchant to someone who had not yet decided to take on the job. There was a chance that kind of carelessness might even lead to an attack of the kind the client was hoping to avoid in the first place.
“Understood. We have no issue with the general requirements of the job, so we’re interested. Please continue.”
The clerk looked rather relieved at Reina’s reply. There were very few parties who fit the listed requirements, and, as noted, the pay was not particularly high. On top of this was the fact that guarding a merchant’s family was far more tedious than escorting a caravan. Of course, it would be less boring if they were to encounter an attack, but fighting the sort of people who would attack someone with a guard escort was not worth the measly two and a half gold apiece on offer.
Thus, the job had been left untouched, but the period when escort was needed was swiftly approaching, and at this rate, it looked like it might be passed by without any takers. This was, of course, an issue for the client, and it looked quite bad for the guild.
In the case of something like a harvesting request from a merchant, usually it was not a huge issue if no one accepted the job—except in cases where it was a special medicinal herb that someone’s life depended on or something else that was needed in a hurry. An escort job was typically more time sensitive; if there were no takers, the client would be unable to go forward with their plans or forced to do something risky without the benefit of a guard, so there could be human lives at stake. Therefore, it only stood to reason that the clerk was thrilled to find a party interested in this assignment.
Still, the Crimson Vow had not yet formally accepted the request. Hearing only the preliminary explanation, without any of the details, was only enough to determine that they should not rule the job out completely. There was still a chance that they might decline after hearing the rest. At the very least, being able to get someone qualified past the preliminary stage, and sending them to speak with the client, was a win for the guild. If the prospective applicants declined once they heard more of the details, that was on the client’s head. Whether they explained the situation poorly, or whether there were unfavorable conditions in the job itself… At that point, it wasn’t the guild’s problem.
***
After conversing with the Crimson Vow, the guild clerk sent a messenger ahead and arranged the time and place for a meet-up. The Crimson Vow then headed to the designated location, where they were greeted by a trim-looking middle-aged man.
“Thank you so kindly for coming. I am Webdel of the Worrell Company, the one who issued this request. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“We’re the C-rank party, the Crimson Vow. We’ve come to hear more about the job.”
Mavis offered the man a formal greeting. At meetings like these, when an emphasis on the party’s “sincerity” was needed, Mavis was the obvious choice. Besides, she was, in fact, the Party Leader…
According to the merchant, a get-together had been set up with another merchant family for the sake of deepening the friendships between them. It was to take place on the riverbanks just outside the city gates, where they would play in the water, picnic together, and generally become better acquainted.
Apparently, they thought that eating somewhere outside of the restaurants in town and engaging in some family activities outside of their normal locations would help to strengthen mutual relations, as well as be a good experience for their children. In modern Japanese terms, it would likely be the equivalent of going camping with a friend’s family. Clearly, these merchants were not hurting for money, so it was not a bad idea to spend a bit of extra coin on deepening relationships and providing some cultivation for their children at the same time.
“Both of our companies deal in similar merchandise, so I suppose you could consider us rivals, but we consider work and private life to be separate affairs. Just because we’re enemies in the business world doesn’t mean that we have to detest one another as people. Professional competition aside, we are people of the same trade, after all, with the same worries and concerns.”
These merchants seemed to be fairly reasonable people.
This wasn’t the sort of activity for which a guard would normally be necessary. However, no matter how close they stayed to the capital, they were still venturing outside the gates, which meant that some amount of danger was likely. The other family had hired a guard as well, but apparently the notion had been put forth to hire some female hunters, so as not to frighten the girls by surrounding them with scary, craggy-faced men. Sir Webdel had agreed.
It made sense. Most hunters were coarse, crude, somewhat filthy, and smelly; not the sort of people you’d want to have nearby at a meeting such as this. It also made sense that each family had hired their own guards. Considering both the costs involved and the natural distrust that might exist as a result of their business dealings… No matter how friendly they might be outside of work, rivals were still rivals. It would be one thing if the merchants were the only ones involved, but where the safety of their wives and children was concerned, they couldn’t risk it.
“That sounds fine. Once our job duties are complete, would it be all right for us to join in the meal? Naturally, we aren’t asking you to let us eat your food—we’ll cook our own meal to eat. We can provide all of the cookware and ingredients ourselves as well. But I’m assuming there won’t be any reason for your guards to be standing around the whole time with swords and staves at the ready, right?”
“Of course. As long as you deal with any monsters or brigands that should happen to appear, that’s all we ask. Though there’s almost no chance of an attack like that in the first place…”
Obviously, it was not as though there was truly no chance of danger when one left the fortified walls of the capital, even if the merchant was right that it was quite unusual for such threats to appear right outside of the city walls. Moreover, if they had no guards, there was a chance of interference from small bands of ne’er-do-wells—even if actual bandits stayed far away. Having at least a minimal guard contingent was a way to deter even these lesser rabble-rousers from causing trouble. The Crimson Vow would essentially be bug repellant.
Hearing the merchant’s reply to Reina’s question, the members of the Crimson Vow grinned. Indeed, they were getting to kill two birds with one stone—both work and play.
“We will accept your request!” the four said as one.
There could be no other reply.
***
The next morning, the Crimson Vow joined the Worrell family in front of their shop and accompanied them to the meet-up site.
The merchant’s party consisted of Worrell and his wife, along with their five young children—two boys and three girls—as well as several servants. Obviously, even if it was just an excursion for two merchant families, there would be more present than simply the families and their escorts. The family of the head of an influential mercantile firm would neither carry their own food and cookware to a site nor cook it once they got there. Therefore, they were accompanied by servants and maids, along with a head of staff in charge of managing the attendants. There could be no errors permitted in front of a fellow merchant’s family, and it was clear they had brought their most experienced staff.
The group piled into three carriages and departed the capital through the rear gates, finally arriving at a riverbank a short distance away. The other family had already arrived, also in three carriages, and were currently unloading their supplies.
“So sorry to keep you, Mr. Galadle!”
“Goodness, no, we only just arrived. You are still here ahead of schedule!”
Sir Webdel disembarked his wagon and called out to the other merchant, one Sir Galadle. The other man was accompanied by his wife and children, some escorting hunters, and a contingent of servants as well.
As promised, the other hunters were another all-female party, a group of five women. They seemed to be older than the Crimson Vow, all in their late twenties to early thirties, based on their appearances. This was normal, of course—the posted request had specified a party of C-rank or higher, and it was unlikely that there was any C-rank party younger than the Crimson Vow.
As the two families greeted one another, the other party approached the Crimson Vow.
“You’re the guards for that other merchant, yes? You’re young! I haven’t seen you all around before. Are you on a training journey? We’re looking forward to spending the day with you. As it stands, this isn’t formally a joint assignment, but let’s try and get along!” said the woman who appeared to be the party leader.
“O-of course! Pleased to make your acquaintance!” Mavis swiftly replied, as the other three members of the party bowed their heads in unison, showing a natural deference to their seniors.
With that, the woman retreated, without giving her own name or even the name of their party. Mavis had no chance to offer this information, either. Perhaps the woman had judged that there was no need to exchange such details. Given that this was not a joint assignment, it was unnecessary to brief one another about their battle styles or go over other logistics.
Mavis simply shrugged, deciding not to correct the woman’s assumptions about them.
Meanwhile, both families’ servants had begun setting up some outdoor tables and chairs, and arranging the dishes that had been prepared back at their mansions. Apparently, the plan was to dine first and then let the children play while the adults snacked and drank and talked. Naturally, the children would be expected to remain within view, and there were servants in charge of minding them.
At this point, there was nothing much for the Crimson Vow to do beyond observing the surrounding landscape. Should a battle erupt, this kind of preliminary scouting could prove crucial.
It was still a bit early to start preparing food. The Vow’s own food preparations would be over swiftly, and it would look terrible if they were to begin eating before their employers…
***
“Huh…?”
Everyone on the riverbank looked agape at the tables, chairs, cooking table, three stoves, iron grates and kettles that came piling out of Mile’s “storage.” They were followed by meats and vegetables, seasonings, sauces, and a water cask.
One by one, the stoves were lit in a flash with Reina’s magic. One of them had a kettle atop it, filled up about two-thirds with water magic. Then, Reina produced a fireball and submerged it into the water to bring it to a boil.
Shnkshkshkshkshk!
At the same time, Mavis diced meat with Mile’s specially made cooking knife. Orc meat, venison, and other scraps. The vegetables had been stored already pre-washed and cut. Next to them were some sausages Mile had made, pickles, salad, and a few other dishes.
“St-storage magic…”
Naturally, that was the first thing that would catch a merchant’s eye.
“And such a large capacity…”
The cask alone would weigh tens of kilos. Furthermore, these girls had far more than just food and seasonings. Once you factored in the table and chairs, three stoves, firewood, and more, you were looking at a weight in excess of 100 kilograms.
The merchants, their servants, and the other hunters were all stunned silent, their curiosity plain on their faces. Yet they were clearly aware of the hunters’ taboos, and so they were bound to silence.
The members of the Crimson Vow had waited for their employers to take their seats before beginning their own meal prep. In a short while, their own food was finished, and they began to eat. Not wishing to forfeit their clients’ safety, Mile was still keeping an eye out for threats via her surveillance magic. However, she did this quietly, without telling the other members of her party. It wouldn’t do for them to think they could always rely on the convenience of her magic…
“Hey! Where’d she get all that stuff from?”
“That smells good…”
“I wanna eat that !”
No matter how much self-restraint the adults had, the same could not be said for the children. The offspring of both houses stood up from their seats, flocking around the Crimson Vow.
For a moment, both sets of parents’ faces froze in dismay at their inability to stop the gathering of children from bombarding the Crimson Vow with questions. However, they were only young children, and the hunters were a group of young ladies, half of whom appeared to be underage. It was unlikely, the parents reassured themselves, that the hunters would take offense at their children’s natural curiosity. They were, of course, correct.
“Well, this is called ‘storage magic.’ It’s a kind of magic that lets you carry lots of things around. Watch this!” Mile pulled a doll from her storage and handed it to one of the girls.
“And just why have you been carrying that thing around?” asked Reina, glaring at Mile.
“Huh? Isn’t it every gentleman’s habit to keep jerky and dolls on their person at all times in case they should come across a cat or young girl?”
“That’s horrifying ! Exactly what ‘gentleman’ are you referring to?!”
Mavis and Pauline could only watch this exchange, resigned.
“Whoa! Hey, Miss, how much stuff do you have in there?” asked one of the girls.
Mile, getting carried away, replied, “Hm, well? I could probably fit a hundred of your houses in there…”
At this wild exaggeration, the merchants forgot all of their nerves and began to grin.
“That’s amazing! So what else do you have in there? I wanna see! Show us!”
“Hm? Really? Is it really that impressive? You wanna see?”
“Yeah!!!”
“Well then, I guess I have no choice! He he he he…”
Mile could never control herself in the face of a young girl’s admiration. There was no time for Reina or Pauline to stop her from—
“Well then, here we go… Hup ! ”
Boom, bam, kabooom!!!
A massive tent, washroom, and stone outhouse appeared out of thin air.
“Waaah! That’s so cooool!!!” The children cried out in delight.
“ What the heeeeeeeck?!?!?!” The adults could no longer hold back their disbelief.
The children immediately began to amuse themselves running in and out of the structures that had appeared, while the other members of the Crimson Vow’s shoulders slumped at having been unable to prevent this outcome.
“Hey, I want some of that,” said one little girl, pointing to the meat and vegetables and sausage grilling atop one grate.
“Coming right up!” Mile exclaimed, with all the gusto of a waiter at an izakaya, and loaded a plate full of grilled meat, vegetables, and sauce. Clearly, there was no way she could refuse a request from a little girl.
“It’s so good! This is sooo good!!!”
Seeing this, the other children crowded around Mile at once.
“Me, too!” said one boy.
“Me, three!” said one girl.
“Me, four!” chimed another lad.
Mile could not have been happier.
“Can we have some of this, too?” asked the first girl, pointing not to the barbecue but the food atop the table. It was filled with other dishes and desserts that Mile had prepared beforehand.
“Sweets, sweets, have some sweets!” said Mile, in a phrase one was certain one had heard somewhere before. The little girls dug into one dish after another.
Meanwhile, the first girl’s mother watched, agape, as her daughter gobbled down Mile’s creations. “Chelnet is so picky about her food and won’t eat vegetables, but she’s eating up every last bite…” the mother muttered to herself.
Meanwhile, the other hunting party appeared to be utterly petrified. They had not intended to eat during a job that would be over in just a few hours, and battling on a full stomach was dangerous, both because it slowed one’s movements and might exacerbate the effects of any gut injury. Wisely then, they had not eaten before this job either. Now, they were stunned at how wonderful-smelling and delicious-looking the Crimson Vow’s meal looked—and more importantly, at what an absurd amount of space Mile seemed to have in her storage. Naturally, the merchants and those who guarded them were of the same mind.
This was storage far outside the realm of common imagining.
The merchants’ children, who had been given plenty of wonderful things to eat, were completely ignoring the dishes made by their own skilled chefs in favor of the foods prepared by these youthful hunters.
The parents had completely halted their conversation and sat in silence, but the children were still full of spirit, forgetting all their manners and chattering about the meal, their cheeks still stuffed full of food.
At this rate, it was impossible to say if this excursion had been a success or a failure…
Twitch.
Though she was surrounded by clinging, chattering children, and looked to be having the time of her life, Mile’s expression suddenly sharpened.
She was still smiling, but her eyes were not. She instantly put away the food, the chairs, the table, the tent, and everything else, and told the startled children, “Go back over with your parents for a bit, okay?”
The children were all quite young, but they were not stupid. They had grown up watching their normally kind parents’ faces grow severe when it came to talking business and seen their hardened expressions when they refused to back down from a deal. Thus, the bulk of them immediately picked up on Mile’s sudden change in demeanor and the serious look in her eyes.
Ah! Something’s going on…
Indeed, Mile’s demeanor closely resembled that of their father’s, whenever urgent news arrived during a quiet family moment. Experienced with such things, the children only nodded in understanding, the older kids taking their younger siblings’ hands and returning to their parents.
“Please prepare yourselves for battle!” Mile shouted to the other party.
The Crimson Vow still had no idea of these women’s names, or even their party name. If they had accepted this job as a joint assignment, they would have made some self-introductions, or told one another about their specialties, or gone over plans for procedures during a battle situation, but in this case they had not done so. They were simply two parties hired by separate clients who happened to be in the same place at the same time. Had the members of the Crimson Vow asked, such a conversation might not have been out of the question, but the other party did not appear to be interested in this kind of collaboration, so they had left it alone.
Perhaps the others simply felt that there was no point in making any accommodations for a group of rookies, or else they assumed that there would be no credible threats right outside of the capital. They might encounter some jackalopes or a few local ruffians at most—but in this job, they didn’t expect much more than that.
Judging by the fact that the Crimson Vow had ascended to C-rank at such a young age, and having seen Mile’s absurd storage magic earlier, they likely assumed that it was on the merit of this magic that they had achieved their rank—which made them the sort of party valued more for their utility than their combat prowess.
Indeed, the value of a little girl who could carry several carts’ worth of luggage would be incalculable for any merchant, high-ranking party, or even army platoon. Imagine how many people would flock around her, wishing to hire her and promising to protect her…
With that in mind, the other party rightly assumed, it did not matter how skilled she was in combat. It would not be surprising to see her on detail with a B-rank, or even an A-rank party. She was an immensely valuable little girl, both in terms of her rarity and usefulness.
So certain of this was the other party that they had already judged that the Crimson Vow’s battle strength would be nothing to write home about. However, seeing the confidence of Mile’s warning, and thinking it best to obey the commands of a girl who could wield storage magic so handily, they raised no objections, swiftly taking their positions, weapons in hand.
Indeed, any hunter who could not work out what was going on at times like this would not live long.
“Everyone please huddle up and keep your backs to the river!” Mile said to the merchants and company as she took up a battle stance.
After a short pause, a group of around twenty men appeared. They had a crude, filthy appearance and were not wearing the sort of garments one would expect to see on anyone walking the streets of the capital. Their expressions were uncouth, and they wielded cheap swords, spears, and bows in hand.
Indeed, there could not be a more stereotypical group—these were bandits, with a capital “B.”
That said, it was a truly rare occurrence to be attacked so close to the capital, especially given that they were not even part of a cargo-laden caravan. The only thing these men could be aiming for was a kidnapping.
However, the Crimson Vow cared little for the bandits’ motives. All they had to do was get the job done. And so…
“Fall back! Get over here, and just protect us !”
“Huh…?”
The other party was bewildered to hear their employer’s command. Similarly confused expressions appeared on the faces of the Webdel family, who had hired the Crimson Vow. And while the members of the Crimson Vow themselves held back their utterances of shock, the emotion was clear upon their faces.
“Wh-what…?” stammered Sir Webdel of the Worrell Company. He looked on in confusion as the members of the Dilabolt Company huddled together at their patriarch Sir Galadle’s command.
“I hired you lot to protect us . That’s what was in the job description. I will not have you ignoring that to defend any unrelated parties. If you all leave our sides to try and protect anyone else, we will file a suit with the guild for your egregious nonfulfillment of contract in the face of an enemy!”
“Wha…? ”
This was unthinkable.
The company of hunters hired by the Dilabolt Company looked shaken.
In times like this, it was only natural to combine the strengths of everyone present and work together to take down the enemy. What would be the point of purposely dividing the combat forces? From the looks of them, these bandits could be easily crushed by a combined effort.
The problem here was that what Sir Galadle was saying was not necessarily stuff and nonsense.
Had this been a joint job, the calls made by the one designated battle leader would take precedence over any other orders. Furthermore, in battle, the calls made by any of the hunters, rather than the client, would take all precedence, provided that all actions were taken for the sake of defending clients.
Yet here, Sir Galadle’s assertion that the other hunters would be in breach of contract if they did not prioritize the protection of his company was not entirely wrong.
If this were a joint job, and all of those they were meant to protect were currently present, then they could have easily ignored such a ridiculous command. However, this was not a joint job. When it came down to it, their employer was Sir Galadle, head of the Dilabolt Company, and their job was to defend the members of the Dilabolt Company—no more and no less.
The party leader was troubled.
They would be fine, of course. They had made their way to a C-rank, soon enough to rise to B-rank, and there were five of them. Even if they were to sustain some injury themselves, they would be plenty able to protect their employers, and they could at least keep up the fight long enough to kill or gravely injure enough of the bandits to send them packing. Surely, the bandits would not wish to see too many of their own men killed, so it was unlikely they would keep fighting to the point of mutual destruction.
That said, it was peculiar that there would be an attack here in the first place, where there was little of value present, and there were guards around…
The main issue here was the other merchant family and their guards. They were young, unfamiliar faces. These young ladies, who had just risen to a C-rank due to special circumstances (namely, their party member’s storage magic), had gotten carried away and set out on a journey that they were not yet skilled enough for, accepting a guard job that should have been relatively safe just to earn a bit of money for the road. They had just four members, presumably with modest battle skills. No matter how shabby these bandits might be, they would be helpless in the face of such numbers.
Still, it would be inappropriate for them to ignore the job they had accepted and break the terms of their contract in any way. It would be one thing if it merely delayed their promotion to B-rank, but if they were to put aside their obligation to protect their employer in the face of the enemy, there would likely be significant consequences. There was no telling whether the hunters’ guild would take the extenuating circumstances into account, and they might see even harsher treatment from the merchants’ guild. Would they have to risk their own futures for the sake of these strangers?
There was still one way to save the other party. They just needed to get them to come closer and join forces with them. Which would mean leaving their employers behind…
Or, they could surrender. It was an embarrassing thing for any hunter to do, but in the face of an overwhelmingly superior enemy, the right of a combat leader to issue a surrender would always be recognized. Even if they had been hired as guards, it was clearly absurd to compel anyone to fight to the death with such a disadvantage in numbers.
It was not as though the other merchants would lose their lives, anyway. The bandits would probably just make off with any valuables, and perhaps kidnap the girls. They were so close to the capital that the city guards would arrive soon, and there was no way that the bandits, trying to lead the girls away on foot, would be able to escape. It was possible they might even just take the valuables and run. The others could see everything that was happening, so there was no point in killing the merchants and risking harsh punishments at the hands of the law.
As party leader, this hunter’s job was to think not only of herself but of every member of their party. She agonized, unable to make the choice that she truly wished to make but knowing that she had few options.
“W-we are going to prioritize the job we were hired to do! Everyone, to the Dilabolts’ side!”
“Wh…?”
For a moment, the other hunters’ eyes went wide, as if in disbelief, but in times like this their leader’s word was absolute. There were not enough lifetimes to pay for what would happen if they started a quarrel now.
Thus, they all swiftly followed orders.
I’m sorry…
Though they might wish to work as allies, in this moment, they were but two separate parties working for two separate clients. This was clearly foolish from a tactical standpoint, but given their contract, their client’s word was their command. It was a tricky sort of order that even the guild would be hard-pressed to call faulty or outrageous. Furthermore, their choice was between their own futures and a group of young out-of-towners, who they had never seen before.
Perhaps she was making the wrong call here—perhaps even one she would regret for the rest of her life. Even so, there was no other choice she could make. She would bear this burden, and she would do so alone. The rest of them would simply have been following orders. This was her duty as a leader, after all…
“Huh?”
The veteran hunters were bewildered as they watched the bandits completely ignore the Dilabolts and head straight for the Worrell Company, guarded by the young ladies.
It made sense, when the enemy was divided in two, to focus all your battle strength on the weaker half and wipe them out first. Yet normally, would they not start out with some kind of threatening demand, such as “Hand over your valuables!” or “Give us your girls!”? In this case, they said nothing, merely heading for the Crimson Vow and their clients with weapons drawn.
It was as though they were attacking with the intention of a slaughter… There was no money to be earned from that. Why…?
As the veteran hunters went pale, they heard a carefree, almost chipper, voice.
“Okay! Let’s do this!”
“All right!”
“Firebomb!”
“Flame Rondo!”
“Fire Shot!”
Kaboom!
Bwoom!
Fwoooo!
“Gyaaaaaah!!!”
There was no issue with using magic here on the rocky edge of the river. And so, Reina, Pauline, and Mile had all chosen long-range fire spells of the type Reina normally specialized in. By the time the three spells struck simultaneously, Mavis had already covered more than half the distance to the men. As she continued running…
“Wind Edge!”
There was no way she would pass up the opportunity to show off her special skill on a stage as big as this one.
Mile swiftly caught up with her, sword in hand.
“No way! All four of them can use attack spells, including the sword fighters in the vanguard?” one of the veteran hunters asked in shock. By the time she finished speaking, Mavis and Mile had already jumped into the melee.
“Godspeed Blade!”
“Godshock Blade!”
Shunk!
Shink!
Thwunk!
Crack!
More projectile spells from Reina and Pauline struck.
Twenty seconds later, all twenty-ish bandits were writhing on the ground of the riverbank. About half of them were crispy and covered in burns.
“No way… Even though they were only fighting bandits, not soldiers or hunters, it’s remarkable to go up against those kinds of numbers and come out unscathed! And their opponents are only injured—no one is dead or missing any limbs or anything… Just how much of a difference in strength was there?!” The leader of the other party was utterly flabbergasted.
***
“We did it! What a huge haul! Not only are we gonna get paid for this job, there’s the reward for taking out these bandits, a bonus from the merchants’ guild, and a commission for the indenture of all these guys! What a day!” said Pauline, practically giddy, while Mavis beamed as all the civilians—women included—gushed over how gallant she was. She was especially pleased to have shown off how cool she could be in front of the children.
Mile quickly began pulling tables and food back out, while Reina menaced the bandits.
“So, not only did you attack these merchants, you attacked a group that included their children, here for a fun outing, as well as a guard contingent, huh? On top of that, you immediately went in for the kill, not demanding their money or trying to make off with their children… After they’ve finished questioning your boss and everyone involved, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were hanged. At best, you’ll be sold into the mines, where you’ll toil the rest of your lives, or else be used as human subjects for testing out healing spells…”
All of the fallen bandits who had still retained their consciousness shrieked.
“Y-y-y-you’ve got it all wrong! We ain’t bandits!!!”
“That’s what all bandits say,” Mile interjected coldly as she finished setting the table, watching the huddle of children out of the corner of her eye.
“N-no, it ain’t a lie! If you look into it, you’ll get it! We’re just… I guess you’d call us punks or thugs, but we’re just normal dudes!”
“Are you saying that punks and thugs are ‘normal dudes’?!” the Crimson Vow snapped back in perfect unison.
“Well then, I guess we just go contact the guards and have them come out. We’ll leave it for them to decide whether or not you all are bandits… However you might think of yourselves, that has nothing to do with what the investigation might turn up and whether they judge that your actions are those of legitimate bandits,” said Mavis.
The merchants nodded along with this…save for one portion of them.
As for the bandits, they were speechless, though they had no right to be so surprised. What exactly had they thought would be the result of committing criminal actions?
“N-no, that’s—! We were just doing a job—”
“So, you accepted a job to attack a family picnic? That would mean that not only are you bandits, you’re also attempted murderers,” badgered Mile.
“And now you’ve confessed that you have an employer. You realize that any investigation is never going to end until you give up the name of that employer and the job you were hired to do. They might bring your friends and family in for questioning too, until they get to the bottom of this…” added Pauline.
“Wha…?! Our families have got nothin’ to do with this! M-my little sister, she just got married—”
Reina cut him off. “That’s none of our business. You’re the ones who did this, aren’t you? If you don’t want to cause trouble for your friends and family, then I suppose you have no choice but to hurry up and spill everything in order to make it clear that no one else you know is involved. You might start by telling us who the mastermind behind all this is—and precisely what it was that you were hired to do in the first place.”
At this, the bandits immediately began talking.
“We were just hired on by a black-market employment agency. So we’ve got no idea who the client is. We were told to dress up in these rags and act like bandits and attack one of these two families here that we were told was the target…”
“Huh?”
“ Huh?! ”
“Huuuuuh?!?!”
There was a sound of confusion from among the merchants.
It was obvious which of the two groups was the “target.” And it seemed significant that the “bandits” had been told to attack only one group, leaving the other alone.
The parties gathered at the riverbank fell silent as all eyes fell on Sir Galadle, head of the Dilabolt Company—including those of his wife and children.
“Uh, mm…”
If his expression had been one of speechlessness or confusion, he might still have had room to talk. However, the fact that he had gone pale and appeared to be slowly unraveling did him few favors. The jig was up. It would have been one thing if only the Worrells were looking at him with suspicion, but the horrified gazes of his own family and attendants were clearly too much to bear.
Reina ignored all of this, turning back to the bandits and asking, “Tell us clearly, what were you instructed to do when you attacked them?”
It was already too late to run. And so, hoping to lighten whatever sentence was coming for them, one of the bandits spoke up frankly.
“We were supposed to kill all of the merchant family, except the youngest girl. We were told to kill the older men among the servants and leave the women and younger men alone. And we were not supposed to harm the female hunters guarding them, with the exception of anyone who resisted.”
Silence fell once more.
It was far too easy to puzzle out what was going on here.
A young girl, left all alone after she lost her family in a bandit attack.
A fellow merchant family who had borne witness, in the same business, who were old family friends.
A business in shambles, left without its president and all its veteran staff, only a little girl remaining.
And furthermore, a merchant who had a number of sons, right around the same age as this girl.
The hunters who just so happened to be working during this attack would be able to give a testimony of everything.
“………”
The silence dragged on.
The members of one of the merchant groups had gone red in the face, the other, utterly pale. A third group—the bandits—lay writhing on the ground, a number of them moaning.
And then, Mile spoke up. “So, let’s get this picnic going again!”
“What are you talking aboooooout?!?!”
There could be no other reply.
The Crimson Vow’s employers sent one of their attendants to fetch the city guard. The rest of the attendants tied up the bandits while Reina and Mavis kept lookout, and Pauline healed the most injured of them to keep anyone from dying.
Mile returned the plates that the children had already picked clean to her storage while throwing meat and vegetables onto the grill to replace them with new dishes.
Only the younger children were really able to eat. The smallest among them appeared to have no idea what was going on, but the older ones had some inkling and wore dark expressions. They looked after their younger siblings, all the while lamenting that this might be the last time they might ever get to spend with their friends. Until the guards came…
It was apparent that Galadle’s wife and children had no prior knowledge of his unscrupulous plan, so no harm would directly befall them, at least. That said, the company was another matter. If they were lucky, the children might still inherit. If not, his wife would probably have to take the children and return to their family home.
The other hunters had done a complete 180—rather than focusing on protecting their employer, they were watching him closely to make sure he did not escape. He might have been the one paying them, but if they had been hired in the name of criminal activity, that contract was now null and void. That said, they would still expect both their payment and bonus pay for breach of contract…
At some point, the members of the Crimson Vow realized that Sir Webdel, their client, was walking directly towards Sir Galadle. Mile left the tending of the barbecue to the older children and started in the same direction, while the other party members left the oversight of the bandits to the attendants of the Worrell Company and made their way over, too.
“I-I don’t know anything about this! I’ve got nothing to do with those bandits!” Galadle wailed, pale in the face, but Sir Webdel merely shook his head.
“I’m not the one who’s going to be in charge of the investigation, so it’s pointless to say anything to me. I’m not going to listen. Please save all your claims of innocence for the guards who will be questioning you. I merely came here to inform you that our friendship dissolved the moment you insisted that the hunters only protect you, instead of joining forces in the fight, which was clearly a poor tactical decision. This is truly an unfortunate day,” he said, turning on his heel and returning to his family and staff.
Galadle could do nothing but sink to the ground.
“Come to think of it, why did that man insist on having only female hunters?” Mile wondered. “I mean, we heard it was so that the women and children wouldn’t be scared, but now that I think about it, I wonder if there wasn’t some other reason…”
“Well,” replied the leader of the other party, “it’s probably because we were the only all-female party of an upper C-rank or higher with our hands free currently present in the capital. All the rest are lower C-ranks, or even lower than that. Galadle had already hired us on beforehand, so that restricted the parties your client could hire to those of lesser experience. It would have caused a hitch in Galadle’s plans to have a more skilled escort team on the Worrell Company’s side. Who could have imagined that a party like you would appear in the capital and take on a job like this?”
Another member of the party spoke up. “We only accepted this job because we wanted to have a nice barbecue with some sweet little kids around, but you all… Are you B-ranks? Or perhaps even A? Or are you secretly a lot older, like half-dwarves? She might even be a half-elf, or—eep!” The woman swiftly corrected herself. “I-I’m sorry. I’ve been so incredibly rude!”
It was true. Never mind the taboo against prying into another hunter’s lineage—if the members of the Crimson Vow were what she supposed, then she had been extremely brash in the face of her elders and superiors. It was no surprise that the color drained from her face.
However…
“Actually, we’re all pure-blooded humans—and still rookies. We’ve only been at C-rank for about a year. Though I suppose it might be about time to stop referring to ourselves as rookies at this point…”
The opposing party stared at them in silence, until…
“You’ve gotta be kidding us!!!”
***
“…So anyway, we wrapped up our first proper journey as a C-rank party, took some time off, and now we’re out on our first job after our break!” Mile finished her explanation, but the other party was still standing in silence.
It was more than disbelief. They did not want to believe it. Recognizing that it was possible for a “rookie” C-rank party like this to exist would shake their faith in the natural order of things.
They did not wish to recognize this fact. They simply could not!
“But here we are, right before your eyes, as you can see…”
The hunters slumped, their heads hung.
“Oh, that reminds me, we never did introduce ourselves. My apologies. In retrospect, it seems quite rude of us. We are the C-rank party, the Blue Gale. Most say we’ll be B-rank soon.”
“We’re the Crimson Vow, C-rank as well. As Mile just explained, it’s been about one year since we were promoted.” Mile had already given their name during her previous explanation, but as the party’s leader, Mavis bowed her head in official greeting and gave their names once more.
The two parties’ discussion continued until the guards finally arrived from the capital. Given their proximity to the city gates, and the number of people who were to be arrested, there were quite a few of them. Indeed, there were not only guards present but some who appeared to be hunters or soldiers as well.
While the guards first moved to apprehend the bandits, these others approached the Crimson Vow and company.
“I’m Orvin, the assistant guild master. I must apologize, for it seems you fell into a trap of a job. We’ll be taking care of everything from here, so I simply ask your patience, and I hope you won’t be too angry at the way events have unfolded.”
Apparently, Sir Webdel had sent word not just to the guards but to the guild as well… This was probably a great help to the Blue Gale, who would receive not only their payment that had already been deposited with the guild but extra for breach of contract. They might even be able to squeeze an apology fee out of the guild itself. Sir Webdel was quite the prudent merchant to try and appease a group of hunters who were not even in his employ.
The Crimson Vow, meanwhile, were just fine. They had been under no illusions about either their employer or the job they had been hired to do, and even though some assailants and their mastermind had been present, everything that had come to pass was within the bounds of their escort duties. Of course, they would probably still receive some additional compensation from the guild. They had been caught up in the midst of a heinous crime, in the course of a job that the guild had brokered, so it would be bad for the guild branch’s reputation if they didn’t do everything they could to smooth things over.
At the guards’ direction, the captured bandits, Galadle, and his attendants all began to walk in the direction of the capital. Though the attendants had not been formally captured, they were surrounded by guards, who would keep them from any attempt at flight. Galadle’s wife and children, who appeared not to have been involved in the plan, walked along more freely.
The Crimson Vow—along with their employer, his upper ranking attendants, and the Blue Gale—followed behind so that they could give their eyewitness testimony. Meanwhile, the other staff of the Worrell Company would remain behind to start breaking down the site.
The Webdel children watched sadly from afar as their friends slowly grew more and more distant. With luck, perhaps they would one day meet again in the world of commerce…
***
“Thank you so much for everything. If we had hired a different party as our guards, then right now we might be…”
Sir Webdel trailed off, not wanting to state the obvious. It was clear that his thanks came from the bottom of his heart, and so the Crimson Vow simply accepted his kind words, not bothering to demur out of humility. The manners of Japanese people aside, in other countries (fantasy worlds included), it is considered foolish to belittle your own accomplishments, so even Mile behaved accordingly. If nothing else, it would be troublesome for other hunters if the Crimson Vow downplayed the value of good work. It was important to maintain market standards.
Besides, even if their employer was truly thankful, that did not mean that he intended to give them a bonus. Thanks were free to give, no matter how lavishly… In this way, Sir Webdel was truly a skilled merchant.
Still, he had given them an A-grade on their job completion report, so the members of the Crimson Vow were not unsatisfied. Even Pauline seemed plenty pleased with the extra funds they were getting as a reward for turning in the bandits—and the commission on their criminal indenture.
And so, the incident drew to a close. The assistant guild master had already been present when they gave their testimony and witness account at the guard headquarters, so all they had to do was give their job completion report and receive their pay. The only question that remained was simply how much of an apology fee they might receive from the guild…
“Well, then…” said Mavis.
“Thank you for your request!” all four chorused in their usual ritual.
Just as they moved to leave the Worrell Company behind, Sir Webdel called out to them, “Please wait!”
They stopped, wondering what he might want now.
“Could I convince you to accept another job? I’d like it if you could use your storage magic to transport some things to a place four days’ carriage ride from here, and—”
“No, thank you.” Mavis replied before the man could even finish speaking.
“Wh…?”
Sir Webdel was stunned to hear his request so quickly denied.
“There are two reasons for our refusal,” Mavis explained. “First off, we are only free until tomorrow. And furthermore, we are C-rank hunters. A C-rank hunter might take on an escort job, but simply serving as pack mules is not within our job description. If you’d like to hire some movers, you should look for some E-ranks or lower—or perhaps head to one of the moving companies on roll with the merchants’ guild, or contact an employment agency. Now then, if you’ll excuse us…”
As she implied, E-rank or lower hunters truly would do anything, from serving as porters to carry a party’s luggage, to doing odd jobs, acting as underlings, and more. If they wanted to eat, they could not afford to be choosy about work. However, no hunter would ever do something so menial once they had achieved a C-rank or higher.
For a full-fledged hunter to do a job like that would be as good as stealing the food from the mouths of brand-new guild recruits, often less than ten years old. No matter how hard up they were for money, no hunter could possibly bear such shame.
As such, these sorts of jobs were best issued to low-ranking hunters, or else left for those with no combat abilities outside of the hunters’ guild all together.
Of course, it would be a different story if they had been asked to guard a transport caravan, and the client had inquired if Mile might carry some additional items or valuables in her storage. In fact, Mile had done this multiple times in the past. However, if the job itself was only transporting goods, then the Crimson Vow, a C-rank party, could not accept it—something that was especially true for Mavis and Reina, who valued their reputation and pride highly.
“Ah…”
Sir Webdel realized his misstep, but it was already too late. Even if he were to attempt to reframe the job as a guard duty, the Crimson Vow would never be party to it. And yet, as they attempted to leave, he asked them once more, “P-please wait!”
“You can ask us all you like, but we aren’t going to accept your job. As I said, we’ve already got an engagement that begins the day after tomorrow,” said Mavis. Still, Sir Webdel was not ready to give up.
“N-no, I’m not worried about that anymore! I have a new request to make of you.”
“A new request, you say…?”
She could not help but at least listen. Even if he had not formally issued the job through the guild, it would reflect badly on all hunters if they did not at least hear his proposal. Furthermore, they had nothing to lose by simply listening. If the conditions did not suit them, they could simply refuse again. Besides, their schedule was tight enough that they probably wouldn’t be able to help him even if they wanted to. And so…
“Go ahead. We will listen to your request,” said Mavis.
Sir Webdel turned to Mile. “I’d like for you to provide some meals for my family tomorrow, along with their recipes, if possible. Thanks to what became of our carefully planned outing, a nice day out for my children was ruined. Now, they’ll be separated from Sir Galadle’s children, of whom they were all quite fond… So, tomorrow, I’d like to arrange a do-over… Thankfully, Sir Galadle’s family had nothing to do with any of this, and they haven’t been taken into custody. Still, there’s no doubt they have a long, hard road ahead of them, and I’d like to give them at least one final enjoyable memory before the moving and reorganizing and rebuilding begins.”
“………”
A request like this was hard to decline. It presented no conflict in terms of their schedule, and the duties of the job itself were no trouble either, as it was a direct request based on a special skill of Mile’s.
In trust, Sir Galadle’s previous request—which had also been predicated on a special skill of Mile’s—had not been so different from this one. However, if they had accepted a job like that, all that would have gotten around was the fact that a C-rank party had taken a transport job, rather than an escort request. A job like this was not so bad for the Crimson Vow’s pride or dignity.
Still, this request was also less a job for the hunting party the Crimson Vow and more a job for Mile herself. Which meant that it was not the sort of thing that Mavis could make a decision about on her own, as party leader. Thinking this, Mavis puzzled over her reply. Until…
“We accept!” cried a gleeful Mile. “We’ll happily do it for the sake of the children.”
“You really just want to play with those kids again, don’t you?”
“You didn’t get enough of them, after everything that happened?”
“You want a do-over, so you can get some more…”
The other three members of the Crimson Vow could well understand Mile’s enthusiasm. But in truth, they had no objections themselves either. Thus, the job was accepted.
“Well, given the details, it doesn’t seem like we would get a lot of contribution points from the guild for this task. We can leave this as an independent job. However, in exchange, we’d like payment up front.”
Normally, upfront payment consisted of no more than half the total, but Reina, knowing that they had the advantage here, was proposing that Sir Galadle offer up the full sum. The man agreed without a second thought, drafting up a contract on the spot. After all, this was something that the man wanted very badly to happen, and not only did he trust the Crimson Vow, but they had saved his life and those of his family members.
***
“Mile, do you have enough food stored up? If you don’t need to do any extra prep…”
On their way out of the Worrell Company offices, the members of the Crimson Vow were talking among themselves when they were suddenly greeted by the leader of the Blue Gale.
“Huh? Did you need something else from us?”
The questioning of the hunters regarding the incident had already been completed. Afterward, the two parties had quietly parted ways after sharing a bit of intel and gossip. So what could the party leader want now—and why was she standing here all alone?
“I apologize. There’s something I wanted to say to you all…” she said, turning to Mavis. “First, I want to thank you for everything. I nearly did something I might have regretted for the rest of my life, but you all saved me. I truly must thank you…”
She had already thanked them plenty back at the guild. However, it was probably difficult to speak her mind fully in front of her other party members, knowing that to do so was to take all their guilt onto her own shoulders.
The leader bowed her head to them, but Mavis frantically waved her off. It wasn’t right for her to lower herself to a party so much younger and less experienced.
“Anyway,” the leader continued, “my thanks aside, I have a question for you girls. The order that we received from our employer in that moment—if you had been in our shoes, what would you have done? I’m dying to know.”
At this, Mavis replied without a moment’s hesitation.
“Obviously, we would have protected our client. That is our job, as stipulated in our contract.”
“I see…”
The leader of the Blue Gale looked relieved, though there was another emotion on her face that was harder to place.
“Of course, while we left Reina and Pauline to act as our client’s bodyguards, Mile and I would go for the enemy, counting on them to fortify the area from a distance. We’d move in a direct line, from the client to the enemy—which wouldn’t contradict the need to only protect the client, right?”
“Huh?”
The leader was speechless.
“Then, we would eliminate the enemy—without letting them harm a single hair on the client’s head. And if they wished to complain about that, they could take it up with the guild,” Mavis added, grinning.
As a matter of fact, this was exactly what the Crimson Vow had done during the incident. Mavis was not boasting about something that was beyond their abilities but casually stating the fact of what they might do, as though it were no big deal.
The leader of the Blue Gale was lost for words, but she had no choice but to accept the Crimson Vow’s explanation.
“Well then, what if there were fifty bandits?!”
“We would leave Reina and Pauline behind to act as the client’s bodyguards. Mile and I would go for the enemy, counting on them to fortify the area from a distance—”
“Sorry to bother you.”
Sensing that she could not hope to get any useful information out of these girls, the leader headed home, dragging her feet the whole way.
“Finally! I got to talk for myself and give some leader-like advice instead of Reina! I was pretty cool, wasn’t I?” Mavis innocently rejoiced.
The other three, silent, regarded her with lukewarm expressions.
***
The next morning, another luncheon was held, this time in the courtyard of the Worrell Company home. Worried that the children might be frightened so soon after the attack, they had settled on a more contained event, safely within the city walls. The scenery was not as appealing, but the area was at least plenty spacious.
The participants this time, besides the children of both houses, were Sir Webdel, his wife, Galadle’s wife, the Crimson Vow, and three chefs. The rest of the household staff was not present.
Of course, the food was all provided by the Crimson Vow, so the chefs would not be doing any cooking. Instead, they were present in order to carefully observe Mile’s cooking technique and take notes for the future.
As it happened, the chefs had grown rather depressed the previous day upon seeing how much of their food had been brought back home untouched. The adults had tried to comfort them, telling them that the event had merely had to conclude before everyone could get back to the meal, but the children were far more brutal. They could not stop talking about all the delicious food they had eaten…foods prepared by Mile.
Although Sir Webdel had requested that Mile provide her recipes, she was more of an intuitive cook, which meant that she rarely committed every single step of her cooking process to memory and found it a pain to write such things down. Thus, the contract had been written with the provision that Webdel’s chefs would watch and learn as Mile made her preparations.
As Mile saw it, cooking was something that differed greatly each time based on the circumstances. Particularly in this world, even something like “high” or “low” heat varied based on the size and efficiency of the stove, the firewood, and the chef’s own judgment. Thus, there was no way to write a truly accurate recipe.
Moreover, while Mile had no reservations about giving away her recipes for free—thinking that if delicious cooking started spreading in this world, then one day she too would get to benefit—her fellow party members had forbidden her from giving away her recipes to just anyone. Pauline had admonished her to consider food safety, for example, in the case of the dishes she made with raw eggs—such as mayonnaise, egg rice, sukiyaki, and so forth. “These are fine for you, Mile, with your special storage and the magic you use to process stuff when you’re cooking, but if normal people tried to do the same thing, people would get sick!”
In this case, Mile figured that no one could fault her for recipes that they had written themselves—so she decided to simply let them watch her in action. If they tried to replicate her results, anything that happened afterward would be their own fault.
The luncheon was now underway. However, the circumstances weighed too heavily on the hearts of the older children for them to truly have fun—even with such a delicious menu. Still, as they watched the younger children, blissfully ignorant, having their time of their lives, smiles gradually began to come to the faces of the older children as well, and they seemed to realize that they ought to enjoy these final moments with their friends while they had the opportunity.
Knowing that her cooking had played some small part in this, a slight smile drifted across Mile’s face…
“Big Sis! Some karaage! Make some karaage!”
“On it! Let’s make some karaage, everyone! Ah, Sir Webdel’s chefs, please come here and watch this so you can remember it for later!” said Mile, starting to explain the cooking process.
She pulled some meat from her inventory. “I take the fresh rock lizard meat, then cut it up…” She swiftly chopped the meat and laid it on a plate. “Make the secret sauce and apply some magical pressure to force it into the meat…” She drew the liquid from the pot and mumbled some kind of spell. “Mix together the spices that I’ve picked up from different countries to make the secret karaage spice powder…” She drew a strange powder from her inventory and sprinkled it over the meat. “Then I use some shielding magic and circulate hot air at a temperature of 180 degrees all around the meat for exactly twelve-and-a-half minutes! Now, I’m sure it’s boring to wait, so here’s some that I prepared beforehand…”
With that, she pulled out a plate of freshly made, piping hot karaage. The batch she was currently making could be stored away and taken out when everyone was ready for seconds.
“Whoa, that’s amazing!”
“You’re so good at this, Big Sis! I knew it!”
Mile looked as though she were about to melt from hearing the children’s earnest praise.
“Ha!”
“What happened to that wistful look she had when she picked up on how sad the older children were?!”
“Well, that’s Mile for you…”
Meanwhile, the three chefs who had been hoping to master Mile’s craft merely looked on silently, their eyes like those of dead fish.
“There’s no way we could do thaaaat!” one of the chefs shouted.
“We figured,” shrugged the other members of the Crimson Vow.
That was when the youngest of the chefs piped up. “I mean, it’s probably possible to replicate these cooking techniques with other methods. The marinade at least is one thing, but she called that spice blend a secret, so I’m not sure…”
This chef, at least, seemed certain that this was not an impossible task, something that could be achieved only by magical methods.
Yes, this is how a chef should be! Even in the face of difficulty, they keep on fighting, undeterred! Maybe there is some hope for the future. Time to do them a little favor in hope of seeing even more gourmet dishes discovered! thought Mile.
She decided to share her secret and tell the chefs the ingredients of her spice powder. It involved nothing that was easily perishable, so there could be no worry of that causing food poisoning.
“Well, so, for the spice powder, it’s made up of wheat flour, starch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika for coloring, yeast powder, some experimental amino-acid-type flavoring, baking powder, emulsifier, powdered soy sauce (also experimental), dextrose, sugar, black pepper…”
By the middle of her list, even the young chef’s face had soured, and by the end, all three of them had collapsed to the ground, cradling their knees.
“Ingredients I’ve never heard of, rare and expensive ingredients, and black pepper… You’d be hard pressed to even find that at a king’s table! There’s no way I could…”
After the karaage, Mile made ice cream using both refrigerating and churning spells, along with other various sweets that could not possibly be recreated by normal cooks. She used her magic to magically melt granulated sugar, surrounded it with a magical barrier filled with countless tiny holes, and spun it out into thin threads to make cotton candy.
“Typically you just rotate this, and it’s extruded by centrifugal force, but using both kinds of magic together is a bother, so this time I just used straight pressure.”
Snap!
Mile had broken them.
The other three members of the Crimson Vow stared pityingly at the young chef, whose sanity appeared to just have snapped in two. Even Sir Webdel’s shoulders slumped, seeing all these dishes that his chefs would never ever be able to replicate.
Naturally, Mile had not set out to torment anyone or break their hearts, so afterward she taught the chefs a number of dishes that could be replicated without magic. After all, this had been at least part of her job description, so she could not overlook it entirely.
After the cooking was done, and the members of the Crimson Vow were taking a break from the children, Sir Webdel approached them, a forlorn look upon his face.
“How could Galadle be so stupid?” he wondered aloud. “If he felt he had no other choice, he should have just talked to me… Though I guess hindsight is 20/20.”
Webdel sighed, continuing, “I suppose he thought it better to cut down a friend’s household from a position of safety than gamble to save his own family and employees. You’d think that a dealer of military supplies would be able to make a killing with war on the horizon, but and all the good contracts have been monopolized by larger companies, relegating us mid-sized operations to subcontractor status. And when it’s those mid-range companies who turn on you without a moment’s notice as soon as the going gets tough… Still, Galadle was probably under some pressure from the higher-ups. Pressure that made him feel he had no choice but to destroy or absorb the Worrell Company.”
In fact, Galadle had been asked at the hearing the previous day why he would have devised such a scheme. (Really, what in the world would the guards have even been investigating, if not that?) Naturally, both Sir Webdel and the Crimson Vow had been present at this hearing.
According to Galadle himself, it had gone something like this:
Both the Dilabolt Company, headed by Galadle, and the Worrell Company, headed by Sir Webdel, dealt in the same variety of goods: chiefly easily preserved food supplies, seasonings, and other comestibles indispensable to daily life. These were the so-called military supplies, or munitions—the sort of supplies that would be transported to the front lines in a military campaign.
On modern-day Earth, “military supplies” and “munitions” typically referred to things like weaponry, armor, and ammunition, but in a world without guns and cannons, these terms mostly just meant provisions—things like wheat, salt, sugar, alcohol, sweets, salted goods, etc.
When troops were dispatched to other countries, the importance of these goods rose, their scarcity and value skyrocketing. Therefore, some of the larger companies had begun colluding with politicians and the military, hoping to monopolize these trades to their own benefit.
For certain people, this had its merits. Merits such as immense profits for one portion of the population, in exchange for driving most people into poverty and jeopardizing the well-being of the country as a whole. Others, meanwhile, were entirely opposed. It would be one thing if necessity forced the government to temporarily take control of one of these industries for the sake of the war effort. However, using war as an excuse to take over a wide range of supply chains for an indeterminate period would have negative repercussions on the country’s economic future, which in turn, would cause people to suffer.
And so, even as certain larger merchants, political masterminds, and their cronies began to pull strings, others made efforts to voice objections. As it stood, Galadle’s company, Dilabolt, had ties to the former faction, while Sir Webdel’s company, Worrell, had ties to the latter.
Even the controlling, monopolistic factions were not necessarily reviled by all. The first faction had its supporters, particularly among the upper brass of the military and national government. These people were no traitors. Many of them were patriots in their own way, fighting for the continued existence and development of their nation, along with prosperity for their own flesh and blood. And even though some of the more audacious advocates of such market monopolies had been known to prey on the resources of the common folk and turn a profit at their expense, there were still plenty of those commoners who supported with this monopolization of supplies, thinking it for the good of their country and the war effort.
That said, it would seem that there was a very small portion of this faction who did indeed cross lines that should never be crossed. These were not even money-hungry corporations who would commit any atrocity for the sake of bolstering their ledgers, but mid-range merchants, who were in charge of distributing supplies to the front lines. Through various machinations, these merchants grew by eliminating anyone who did not agree with them.
Galadle had probably been backed into a corner. It was easy to imagine him getting caught up in something out of his league. Or perhaps coming across some information that was mean to be secret…
He would have been in big trouble.
If he’d been willing to go to such extreme lengths, he must have had no other choice to protect himself, his family, and employees. No matter how long he had been friends with Sir Webdel, if his own family’s well-being was at stake…
Even Sir Webdel would acknowledge that, if his own wife and children had a blade held to their necks, he could not say for certain that he would not have betrayed Galadle to save them.
“I can’t deem him a truly evil person. We all have beliefs, allegiances, obligations, and even people who we would give anything to protect. Despite everything that’s happened now, I can’t forget those early days—back when we had first inherited our companies from our fathers, when we shared our worries and talked, and drank together…” Sir Webdel trailed off, hanging his head.
Galadle had confessed everything with candor at the hearing the day prior. Clamming up would have caused more trouble for his family and employees down the road, leaving him no choice but to tell the whole truth. And indeed, it seemed all the blame had fallen squarely on the shoulders of Galadle himself, leaving his business, his family, and his employees unscathed…though it was still too soon to say what the government’s final verdict would be.
It was possible that the specifics of this incident would make their way up the chain and others would be brought to justice, but either way, that had nothing to do with the Crimson Vow. At the end of the day, there was no telling if this would have any impact on their home Kingdom of Tils, and even if it did, they had no intention of involving themselves in such matters.
For now, all they could do was pray that Galadle’s children would not face too much hardship going forward.
Sir Webdel was probably hoping that Galadle’s wife and children could take over the Dilabolt Company. As did Reina and Pauline, who had both lost their own merchant fathers…
The Crimson Vow were of course under no obligation to be gathering intelligence. After all, it was not part of their job duties. However, they believed that if they had the opportunity to learn anything that might be of use to their employer, it was only right of them to do what they could. Therefore, they listened silently as Sir Webdel spoke.
In truth, this was probably not the sort of thing that Sir Webdel should be talking about. It was only out of a consideration for his fragile emotional state that they allowed him to continue to ramble.
Even if this was by no means classified information, was it really a good idea for him to be nattering on about such topics in front of traveling foreigners? Though, he really hadn’t shared anything that went too far beyond common sense…
As if reading the party’s minds, Sir Webdel gave a wry smile. “Of course, even for all this talk of conflicts and impending war, I don’t think that there are really any current plans to invade other countries.”
“Whaaat?!”
This was incredibly important information.
To think that they would be able to obtain such intelligence in a place like this ! The members of the Crimson Vow were speechless.
“I-If there’s no invasion being planned, then does that mean it’s a civil war? Like a battle over the succession of the throne, or a usurpation, or one of the regional leaders rebelling and making a play for independence?”
The Empire was incredibly vast, and the mountains were both towering and expansive. It would not be at all surprising for some frontier earl out on the outskirts, far from the capital, to mount a revolution. In territories like these, even those who carried titles like earl might actually have influence more akin to that of a marquis or even beyond that. Therefore, it was quite likely that a war might develop this way, even without the involvement of another country.
Pauline’s question had been a reasonable one. However…
“Wha—?! Wh-wh-wh—”
Sir Webdel looked suddenly frazzled. He took a swift glance around them. Seeing that no one else had been listening, he let loose a sigh of relief and hissed, “ Don’t say things like that! ”
The members of the Crimson Vow were taken aback at Sir Webdel’s sudden outcry. After all, he himself had been the one to broach the subject in the first place. That said, on reflection it would not look good for him if it got out that he was talking about things like wars of succession around both foreigners and the family of a criminal. To do so was to risk suffering an even greater tragedy than the execution currently awaiting Galadle.
If you didn’t want us to talk about it, then you shouldn’t have brought the topic up in the first place!!! the Crimson Vow thought to themselves. However, they put this objection aside out of maidenly good manners, and instead, continued the conversation in the hope of learning more.
“So, what sort of enemy are we talking?”
The Crimson Vow was inclined to believe him. After all, it seemed he had no reason to hide the truth—other than, perhaps, fear of eavesdroppers.
“I-It’s not really a secret or anything,” Sir Webdel began. “That said, it isn’t widely advertised, and it isn’t the sort of information that would get around on its own, as there aren’t a lot of people who know about it, and it rarely comes up at all amongst the commoners…”
And so, he began to explain.
“A war with the demi-humans?” the girls cried in unison.
Demi-humans .
These, of course, were the beastfolk and demons, who despite sharing a similar appearance with and having the ability to converse easily with humanoids—humans, dwarves, and elves—were thought of as different species entirely. As a result, they had long been subject to significant discrimination, persecution, and even murder. Yet most did not consider it in those terms. Killing a demi-human was considered to be the same as killing monsters or wild beasts.
When a human kicks a stray dog, is that considered discrimination ? Animal rights activists would probably have a thing or two to say about this, but most of us would not use that word. Even if someone kicked a dog to death, they would never be called a murderer …
That said, while there had been a time when demi-humans were frequently hunted, killed, and enslaved, currently they shared equal rights with humanoids and were on at least relatively equal terms. In most parts of the world, relations were somewhat strained, but mostly amicable…as long as neither side managed to let the deeply rooted prejudices that lay dormant in their hearts come rising up to the surface.
“But beastfolk and demons all live in individual tribes, right?” Mile asked. “They haven’t established a nation or anything, so…”
Sir Webdel nodded. “I did tell you previously that there were no plans to invade any other country , per se. Our enemies are the demi-humans settled within our own lands. More specifically, the demons and beastfolk—as well as any half- or quarter-humanoids mixed with them, who operate alongside them. As you correctly pointed out, Miss Mile, these demi-humans only congregate in settlements of individual tribes, so our current quarrel is just with a small portion of the demi-humans who have set up colonies within our lands…at present.”
“At present?” Pauline asked.
Mile, who seemed to have grasped the situation, replied. “In other words, that’s the case for now. But based on how this battle goes, it might lead to demi-human totalitarianism, and war might spread throughout this whole country—across the continent even. Just like in those Great Demi-Human Wars we learned about at prep school…”
The Great Demi-Human Wars had spanned the continent, pitting the humanoid races—humans, elves, and dwarves—against the demons, beastfolk, and their allies, which included the fairies and various others who leant their strength to the demi-human cause.
When it came to head-on battles, the humanoid forces fought valiantly, but the demons and beastfolk had the overwhelming advantage in terms of individual battle power. Additionally, there was no way that the humanoids could keep up with their opponents in surprise attacks or smaller skirmishes in the forests and mountains—where the demi-humans had the advantage of sharp night vision and overwhelming physical strength.
Thus, the humanoids were unable to enter the mountains or forests, and could not assure their safety in the open plains without a vast number of soldiers.
In other words, they were trapped inside their own citadels. The farmers, the huntsmen, the smiths…and even the merchants.
Furthermore, the humanoid alliance’s attempts to burn down the demi-humans’ forest strongholds had angered the elder dragons, who then allied themselves with the demi-humans, resulting in the destruction of many humanoid towns.
At that point, it was checkmate for the humanoids.
Despite their advantage in terms of sheer numbers, the humanoids were forced to concede to a large-scale compromise. Henceforth, the demi-humans would be accepted in society on equal terms and recognized as having equal rights with the humanoids. Though some mutual enmity remained, both sides wished to avoid further conflict, which meant that any foolish actions that might have served to fan the flames of war were severely punished. This way, the current tentative peace was maintained. And yet, it was a fragile mockery of true peace and might be shattered by the slightest foul wind…
“Is it just me, or is this a big deal?”
“This is probably a big deal…”
“This seems like a big deal.”
“For sure!”
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