I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 18 - Chapter SS

Side Story:

The Perfect Balance

“I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION for you, Mile.”

“Oh, sure, what is it?”

A few days had passed since the Crimson Vow’s arrival on the new continent. 

Considering it an information gathering exercise-slash-tutorial, as well as a chance to make a bit of a name for themselves in the region before heading to the capital, the girls had made the port city where they were currently staying their temporary home base.

It was mostly coincidence that this had been their landing point on the continent, but a port city was also a good place to gather information and ingredients from all over the land, and a great place for seafood. This latter fact meant that all those who appreciated Mile’s culinary skills and knowledge—and Mile herself most of all—had been quite eager to hang around.

Meanwhile, Reina seemed to have something to ask Mile.

“Just how much are you planning to screw us here?”

“Pardon?” Failing to understand the meaning of Reina’s question, Mile shot her a blank look. And then…

“R-Reina, how could you?! Have some shame!”

“P-Pauline’s right, Reina! Mile is the youngest of us all, a minor, a somewhat respectable girl…and a noblewoman yet to be engaged! Don’t talk about her as if she were some kind of harlot!”

“Huh? What are you guys talk—ah! Y-you’ve got it all wrong! I didn’t mean it like that!”

Apparently, Pauline and Mavis had wildly misconstrued her meaning.

***

“Oh, so that’s what you meant… Why didn’t you just say so?”

“That’s some attitude to take when you jumped to the wrong conclusion!” Reina snapped.

“Sorry.” Pauline and Mavis backed down without a fight.

“So what you actually meant to ask Miley was…”

“Right. I wanted to ask her how much trouble she’s planning to get up to on this new continent. She has stupidly strong magic and a stupidly huge storage capacity, friendly relations with the elder dragons, and incredible spells she can cast by calling upon the spirits of the magic realm. If we do all the same things we did on the last continent, we’ll end up right back where we started, with merchants, nobles, and royalty hanging all over us. Then we’ll be forced to pack up and flee to the next continent, right?”

“Umm…” Mile had nothing to say for herself. 

“Reina makes a good point,” Mavis and Pauline agreed.

“So the first thing we need to do is lay down some clear ground rules as to what’s acceptable and where we have to be more careful.”

All three girls had to admit that was a good idea. “Okay…”

“Although, frankly, I think that ship may have sailed.”

“Ha ha…” Mavis and Pauline couldn’t help but laugh. 

Even Mile could concede that there might be some truth to that statement.

“Okay, it’s been a while since we’ve done this, but it’s time for a group meeting!”

***

“The first question is whether or not to make Mile’s storage magic public knowledge. It’s inconvenient not to be able to use it freely, and we can’t make much money if we can’t bring back the spoils of our hunts. Besides, I think the secret’s already out…”

The other members of the Crimson Vow all nodded. 

“However, the existence of the spirits and Mile’s role as the divine messenger need to stay top secret. We can’t tell a soul.”

More nodding. 

“Everything that happened on the old continent should be confidential as well. We did tell some of our stories to the elder dragons, but they wouldn’t bother repeating those to humans, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Oh, and of course, our connections with the elder dragons are also classified. Our recent dealings with them were a one-time thing where we just happened to run into them by pure chance! Got it?!”

Again, all nodded.

“Well, that much has always been our default policy, so there was no real need to go over it again. The real problems start after that. First of all, we have to present ourselves as a young, up-and-coming party with upper C-rank capabilities that’s aiming for a promotion to B-rank. It’s not like that’s a lie, really. If we do that, we can take on whatever missions we want without worrying about our clients or the other hunters looking down on us. But we won’t mention our rank back on the old continent, our peerage, or our kill record. Okay?”

There were more nods all around. 

“Now, as far as money goes… We’re not really hurting for coin, are we? Aside from Mile, we’ve all left most of our old fortunes back at our manors, but it’s not that hard for us to make a living from scratch. To be fair, most of that is thanks to Mile’s storage magic, but the fact remains…”

Indeed. It took more than just raw strength to make an easy living. While being strong did allow one to accept high-paying requests, those were inherently dangerous and difficult endeavors, with a high probability of serious injury or loss of life. There were no other jobs as relatively safe and lucrative as the Crimson Vow’s mass orc deliveries. 

“So we can stop being so stingy and—”

“I disagree!” Pauline interrupted Reina.

“Come on, Pauline, you’re making more than enough money from your business now! You even said that while you’re away, the head clerk you left in charge of your store and the deputy you left in charge of your territory are working hard to rapidly grow your own personal assets and those of your lands. There’s no need to get so worked up about your earnings as a hunter when they’re nothing compared to the income from your company.”

“Wrong! If we go around talking like that, we won’t look like ordinary hunters in our attitude toward work and money! That will invite suspicion from others, as well as give the impression that we’re financially illiterate fools and easy marks to exploit and suck dry, which will be detrimental to our personal relationships and safety!”

“That’s…actually a good point.”

“Yeah. That’s thinking I can get behind…”

Mavis and Mile both saw where Pauline was coming from on this one.

“Besides, a game we don’t play seriously is no fun at all!” Pauline continued her rant. 

“Okay, true… Then as far as money goes, let’s treat our finances like any ordinary C-rank hunters would. We’ll go back to the basics and operate with the same sense of money we had six months after graduating from the Hunters’ Prep School. Still, everyone here knows that we’re making money off Mile’s storage magic, so let’s not worry about being too cheap. Certainly, we can keep staying in decent inns and preserve our dignity as a party of young women.”

“No objections!” the other girls cheered.

Pauline wasn’t the same miser she had been right after graduating from the Hunters’ Prep School. In the intervening time, she had experienced six months of life as a countess and the noble’s education that came with it. As such, she seemed more willing to pay a small price for safety and comfort, and she no longer insisted on staying in the cheapest back-alley inns. 

Of course, the Crimson Vow could use their magic to deal with fleas and mites, and human pests—thugs, that is—were easy enough to subdue, but none of them wanted to be fighting for their lives where they were supposed to be sleeping.

“Also, Mile’s definitely banned from flying.”

“Aww…” Mile whined, none too happy with Pauline’s suggestion.

“No sending others flying, either!” Reina added, some past trauma perhaps bubbling to the surface.

“Aww, come on…”

Mile puffed out her cheeks, looking more and more displeased.

“Now, now… Let’s say that rule only applies when other people are watching, okay?” Mavis cut in to mediate. 

Mile looked more cheerful, almost certainly thinking something along the lines of, Well, if I put up an invisibility field, that means I can do whatever I want! 

“Also, since it would be crazy for two out of the four of us to know storage magic, Mavis is banned from using hers in public.”

“Whaaaaat?!” Mavis yelped in surprise.

“Well, what did you expect?” Pauline asked. 

“It’s a statistical impossibility, and I’m sure people would say, ‘It’s not fair to have two storage users in one party!’ or ‘It’s a total waste of talent!’ and try to poach one of us. Worst case, the guild or local lord might even step in,” Mile finished as Mavis’s frown deepened. 

“Of course, if that were to happen, we would pack up and move on to another town, territory, or kingdom,” Reina added. “We’re the Crimson Vow! We would never give up one of our own to serve someone else’s interests or agenda! Our own agenda is the only one that matters. Who cares what some strangers think?!”

“You said it!” the others chorused.

Threats and coercion were only effective if the victim had a weak point—such as family, relatives, dear friends, or their own well-being. However, the Crimson Vow had no family, relatives, or friends in the whole continent, let alone in this town or kingdom, and not a single one of them was concerned for her own well-being.

The party was invincible in both position and skill.

“Well, all that matters is that no one knows we have two storage magic users, so it’s okay for Mavis to use hers when there’s no one else around, like when we’re in our room at the inn, or in the woods where we work, or on the road with no one in front of or behind us. Be careful, though, because if someone sees you, you’ll have to keep them from talking.”

“K-keep them from talking?”

“You heard me.”

Mavis and Reina exchanged serious looks.

“Like with a kiss?”

“OBVIOUSLY NOT!!” Both girls shot down Mile’s attempt at a joke.

“Actually, if the person is a girl, Mavis could make it work,” Pauline quipped.

“Shut up!” Mavis howled. She was even-tempered compared to the others, but even she occasionally rose to their bait. 

To be clear, what Reina had been implying with “keep them from talking” was nothing so cruel as murder. She simply meant that Mavis would have to talk to them and persuade them not to say anything.

Probably, you know, while holding a giant fireball or magic explosive over the person’s head…

“Well, the bottom line is, let’s take things one step at a time,” said Reina.

“Yeah!” the other three cheered, pumping their arms.

Mile beamed with delight, unaware that all three of her friends were thinking, I wonder how long our peaceful life on this continent will last…