I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 44

Chapter 44:

A New Blast 

“We should make it to the next town pretty soon,” said Reina, hunched over a map. The Crimson Vow were taking a short break. 

They were on a journey, so naturally, even they had a map on hand. Without one, they would find themselves lost very quickly. However, said map was nothing like the kind in use on modern-day Earth. It was a rough thing, much like the maps you might find in the guidebook of an RPG . Indeed, it was the sort of thing that marked only mountains and forests and rivers, and paid no regard to scale. Nevertheless, if one were to encounter a road with three forks or something of the kind, a map was still indispensable. It was the sort of world where taking a turn onto the wrong path could mean death, after all. 

After somehow slogging through what they had begun to think of as “the celebration with delicious food but super bad 

vibes” at the Wild Bear Lodge, the Crimson Vow had booked it out of that town first thing in the morning. There was nothing left for them to do there, and even if they wanted to stay, they could not bear the atmosphere any longer. They could not handle having to watch the continued flirtations of the two young couples—or the grim and ghastly looks upon Meliza’s face as she looked upon the same. 

Plus, the discussion of the previous evening had quickly morphed into the tale of why not one of the four, cute as they were, had managed to find a boyfriend their age who was their equal. They all came from very different circumstances. There was Mavis, who was aiming to become an A-rank as quickly as possible. Reina hoped to be a B-rank. And Pauline wanted money. Still, they all had one thing in common: none of them had any time to waste on something so frivolous as men. 

Only one amongst them, Mile, thought to herself now and then how nice it would be to make friends with some boy sooner or later. However, such a thing was impossible while they were on a journey such as this one. In any case, Reina was a horrible saboteur, even if Mile was never aware of it. 

At any rate, though the owner and his wife had tried again and again that morning to offer them a monetary reward, the party refused, saying that they had no intention of profiting off a project that they had merely undertaken for the sake of amusement. With that, they bid farewell to the owner, his wife, their pitiful sons, Lafia and Alile (who looked somewhat relieved), and Meliza, who was still down in the dumps, before leaving the town behind. 

“I really hope that Miss Meliza can be happy,” said Mile. 

“She’ll be fine,” Reina replied. “The owner and his wife said they’d find some men who suited Meliza and try to sway them into a proper career. She’s a beautiful girl who comes with her own inn! I bet there are tons of guys who would love to get their hands on her. She’ll have the pick of the litter. There’s no need to worry!” 

Somehow or the other, Reina and Mile had begun to grow fond of the girl, and together, they prayed for her happiness. 

Why they felt such a kinship with her was unclear… 

*** 

It was late that same afternoon. 

Thanks to Mile’s inventory, the Crimson Vow moved much quicker than most hunters, traveling over 40 kilometers a day on average. Most travelers could only make it thirty kilometers if they were feeling particularly sprightly, so needless to say the four were incredibly fast-paced for a group of young girls, rookie hunters or not. 

It was mostly thanks to the inventory. Furthermore, they had healing and recovery magic on their side. 

In any case, after arriving a bit early at the next town where they planned to stop for the night, they popped into the local guildhall as always, to make themselves known and check out the job and information boards. Then they headed to an inn to rent a room. 

In this town, there was little difference between the inns. The rates differed very slightly, but the food and amenities were more or less the same, so it seemed that the choice was up to them. 

This was how things usually were, anyway. 

After picking a suitable inn and scarfing down dinner, they headed up to their room. Weary from a full day’s travel, Mavis, Reina, and Pauline tidied themselves up with cleaning magic and then headed straight to bed, 

Mile, as always, was burning the midnight oil. 

Aside from the times they were camping out, the three other members of the Crimson Vow always got a full eight hours’ sleep, while six hours was more than enough for Mile. Such had been her pattern even in her previous life. 

And so, after erecting a magical cloak to keep the light from leaking out and disturbing her companions, Mile illuminated the area around her with a spell and withdrew from her inventory a ratty piece of paper, along with the ballpoint pen-like object that she had asked the nanomachines to make for her, and began to write. 

In the beginning, she had attempted to use the quills that people in this world normally used for this purpose, but having to dip the quill in ink over and over again was such a bother, and when she had tried to create something like a fountain pen, the paper was so thin that the nib snagged it and ink spread everywhere. It was quite the disaster. 

Next, she tried a pencil, the simplest and most reliable implement, but of course it dragged on the paper, and she kept having to erase things, so all it did was irritate her. 

Mile had a rather short temper. 

In truth, she was normally quite patient, but when it came to anything that interfered with her reading or writing, she morphed into a Mr. Hyde very quickly. This was the sort of girl she was. 

And so, what she finally landed upon was something like a ballpoint pen. 

Mile had instructed the nanomachines to make the item however they liked, but of course, that was a little bit outside of the rules, and they could not accept such an instruction. Fortunately, Mile herself knew enough about the basic function and construction of a ballpoint pen to guess that, given time, such an item might come to appear in this world even without the nanomachines’ intervention. Thus, the instruction was not to make an item that couldn’t exist in this world, but rather, to simply cut down on the time it would take for such a thing to be invented. As such, the nanomachines accepted the task as something that was within the bounds of Mile’s knowledge and gave her order the okay. 

It was always rather difficult to determine precisely where the limits lay… 

All that aside, Mile now continued writing with her ballpoint pen-like object. 

The fact that the tip of that pen was made from something like orichalcum or mithril was, again, of no great concern to the nanomachines. The paper was what was going to someone else, and it was not as though Mile had any plans for mass-production or putting the objects on the market. Even if she tried, it would be a wildly, absurdly expensive venture to undertake. 

And so, around the stroke of midnight, Mile finally tucked herself into bed. 

*** 

The next morning, once the Crimson Vow had finished eating breakfast, they packed up at the inn and headed over to the guild. 

They had no intention of lingering in such an ordinary town as this one. Indeed, they planned to continue heading straight on to the capital of this kingdom. Just in case, however, they decided to stop in and check if there were any good jobs that would take them in the direction of the capital or any relevant bits of intel to be had. 

It was normally quite rare to find jobs that were difficult, unusual, or even interesting in such a small town as this. Therefore, they deemed that it was best to ignore these small places and instead carry on to a bigger city, where they could stay a short while. 

Sure enough, once they checked the board, they found that there were no interesting or good-paying jobs. The next merchant caravan bound for the capital was not leaving for several days yet and had already assembled its full escort. 

“Well, guess that’s it for us here, then,” said Reina. “If we set out now…” 

“Oh, wait a minute!” Mile interrupted. “I need to send something out. Give me a few moments, please.” 

With that, she pulled some sort of bundle out of the pack that she carried for those times when she wanted to appear as though she were a normal hunter. 

“I’ll just be a moment!” 

She rushed over to the reception window. It was not the job acceptance and completion window that the four were so familiar with, but the request window, a place that was as good as foreign territory to them. 

“Excuse me! I’d like to have this sent out, standard service. Certified delivery to the capital of Tils.” 

Such delivery requests were a standard service of the guild. Normally, if one needed to transport something from one town to another, you did it yourself, or else made a request to a merchant to do so by way of the Merchants’ Guild. However, if it was an unusual item—a bulky package or something valuable—one could also go to the Hunters’ Guild to make a standardized transport request. Even if it was a fair bit more expensive than hiring a merchant… 

So, why would one contract the Hunters’ Guild, despite the higher cost? 

For one, it was overwhelmingly more secure. 

Even if the Merchants’ Guild were involved in the request process, for requests made through the guild, the individual who was transporting the item would still be a normal merchant. Among such people were those of poor character, and moreover, the possibility that even honest merchants would be attacked by bandits. 

In the case of the Hunters’ Guild’s standard service, transporting guild documents was the carriers’ main job, so even if they were attacked, there was little chance of them having much money to steal on their person. Plus, because they were carrying such important documents, they often had an escort of other skilled hunters in sufficient number to ward off attacks. Furthermore, assaulting an official guild convoy would make one an enemy of the Hunters’ Guild throughout the land, meaning that a large-scale subjugation force would immediately be organized, regardless of cost or profit, extending to all of the neighboring lands. 

This subjugation force would advance from the country where the incident occurred and from the neighboring lands on every side. It would capture any criminals it found, not stopping until every last one was dead. Anyone who picked a fight with the Hunters’ Guild—anyone who underestimated their might—would not be allowed to get away. If the guild failed to retaliate, such assaults would happen again and again. 

Don’t mess with the Hunters’ Guild. 

They would spare no expense, no measure, to burn that message into the mind of every evildoer. This was the Hunters’ Guild’s way. 

Finally, on top of hiring a number of skilled hunters as escorts, the guild transport had only one wagon, so its carrying capacity was limited. And because unlike a merchant’s caravan, they valued speed over cargo volume, a guild transport rarely set out fully-laden. 

They were fast, secure, and carried very little. Obviously, it would cost a premium to take advantage of such a service. 

“Would you mind holding on a moment?” 

As Mile handed the parcel over to the clerk, a voice called to her from behind. When Mile turned to look in the direction of the voice, she saw… 

“A-an elf?” 

Indeed, there stood a tall and slender middle-aged man, with long hair, a warm and gentle face…and pointed ears. No matter how you looked at him, this man was an elf—an elf among elves, even. 

“W-whoooa! It’s a real live elf! This is the first time I’ve ever seen one!” 

Reina smacked Mile on her head. 

“Did we or did we not spend several days with Dr. Clairia?!” 

“Oh, I guess you’re right…” 

With Dr. Clairia’s ears, inconspicuous as they were, mostly hidden behind her hair, Mile had completely neglected to recognize her as an elf in her memory. 

“Wh-wh-wha-what can I help you with?!” 

Though she had had no trouble talking to Dr. Clairia, Mile was suddenly stiff with nerves. The other three shared her sentiment wholly. Because Clairia’s ears had been hidden, she looked like nothing more than a normal human; in fact, they had at first taken her for the guild master’s daughter. So, even after they were made aware of the fact that she was an elf, it still did not really feel that way. 

This particular gentleman, however, was far too elf-like. 

“What?! Are you ladies acquainted with the young Miss Clairia?!” asked the elven gentleman—it would be rude to call someone who was middle-aged an “elder,” after all. But then again, given that he was an elf, who knew how old he actually was? “When did you meet her and where?! Is she doing well?” 

“Oh, yes, she seemed very well indeed. As for where we met her—wah!” 

Mile’s attempt at a reply was interrupted by Reina seizing her shoulder. 

“You can’t just give some strange man you’ve never met information about a lady! Especially not without her consent!” 

“Ah…” 

Indeed, the people of this world were surprisingly persnickety when it came to personal information. Hunters had always been incredibly tetchy about others looking into their pasts or their capabilities, and a lot of quarrels arose because of it, so at some point or other it had simply become an unspoken agreement that it was taboo to inquire into a hunter’s personal information. Just as they maintained this practice amongst themselves, hunters often refrained from enquiring into other people’s personal information as well, except when necessary to complete a job. 

Obviously, needing to establish confidence in someone else when it came to contracts or hiring was another matter, but for the most part, the rule was, “If it doesn’t have to do with work, you don’t need to know about it.” Slowly, this sentiment had begun to spread to the rest of the population as well. 

Furthermore, most humans—the Crimson Vow included—knew little of the mysterious societies of the highly secretive elves. 

Why would Dr. Clairia be living as a scholar alongside humans, when elves rarely resided with humans at all? 

Why had she left her elven village? 

What was her relationship like with her family and clansfolk? 

Did she have any enemies? 

Mile could certainly not go handing out information about the professor without knowing the answer to a single one of those questions—doing such a thing could mean revealing the current whereabouts of a victim on the run from some past danger to a stalker. 

A dark feeling overcame Mile, who had been pursued herself many times in her previous life, and she unconsciously, reflexively, began chanting a spell of protection. 

“O water, come forth and become shackles of ice to bind… Gah! ” 

Smack! 

Reina’s karate chop landed straight in the middle of Mile’s forehead. 

“Stop that!” 

“Hold it, hold it! Hold it, I say! I am no one suspicious!” the elf protested. 

“That’s exactly what a suspicious person would say!” 

“Then what exactly would you like me to say?!” 

“‘I’m a suspicious person?’” 

“………” 

The group sighed. Suddenly, they realized that they were surrounded by other hunters, hands on the hilts of their swords, gripping their staves with spells at the ready. Given that one of the party had begun a close-range combat spell in the middle of the guildhall, and it seemed as though a battle with the elf was about to unfold, this was an incredibly natural reaction. 

“S-sorry everyone, we’re fine! Nothing’s going on here! J-just having a bit of a laugh with an old friend. Isn’t that right, Uncle?!” 

“Huh? Oh, yes, yes indeed, oh, uhm, you little prankster!” 

The elf was momentarily perplexed at Mile’s sudden change in attitude but quickly played along. Truly, with age came wisdom. 

Tch… 

Pfft… 

Heheh… 

The air, thick with tension, began to thin again. Everyone let their hands fall from their weapons, and, chuckling, returned to their original positions. Normally, the others would have been irritated at this clear misconduct, and even berated the Crimson Vow, but as one of the two parties was an elderly elf who seemed to be minding his manners, and the other was a cute, rather clueless-looking young girl, the veterans were happy to simply laugh it off. 

Besides, most of the hunters had already had their eyes on this group from the moment they had entered, seeing as they were a party of four lovely girls they had never seen before. As a result, they were already aware of what was going on. In truth, they should have chided the girls so they’d know better next time, but there didn’t truly appear to be a need for it. 

Indeed, behind Mile stood the combat mage, red in the face and her fangs bared. “Honestly, Mile, what were you thinking, chanting a combat spell in the middle of the guildhall like that?!” Reina shouted. “If the other hunters had attacked us without asking questions first, it would have been entirely your fault! First off…” 

After being thoroughly chewed out by Reina, Mile abandoned her delivery request for the moment, and the Crimson Vow, along with the elf, moved to the dining corner of the guildhall. 

“So, what did you want to talk to us about?” 

Through all the commotion, the tension that Mile felt toward the man had faded. 

“Oh, right. Sorry. I heard earlier that you were sending something to the capital of Tils, so I was hoping that I might be able to hitch something on to your parcel…” 

“Oh!” 

Parcel hitching. 

Even if you added a small letter or document to a parcel, the price of shipping would not change up to a certain size or weight. So one could combine shipments and still come up with the same price. Then, after breaking the seal, the person who received the original package could take the enclosed item and deliver it themselves or else forward it on via some other method. 

The cost of forwarding something to another town would vary by country, but it still tended to be fairly expensive. However, as long as the item was destined for somewhere else within the same capital, one could hire on one of the young children who hung around the guild as hopefuls, and the job would be completed with just a few half-silver spent. It was fortuitous to come across someone else who was sending a parcel to the very same city, so it was no surprise that the elven man hoped to get in on Mile’s shipment. 

“So, what do you say? Might I ask you to do this?” 

“As long as you pay half of the shipping costs.” 

As far as Mile was concerned, there were no downsides. The destination of Mile’s package would be the original one, so there was no risk, and she would not complain about getting someone else to shoulder half the cost. 

“Oh, splendid! For the most part, our kind live rather self-sufficiently, so we don’t have very much of what you humans use as currency. This is especially true for elders such as myself, who rarely make it out of the village. Now I’ll be able to use the leftover money to buy a souvenir to take home!” 

The elf seemed joyful. Mile smiled. 

“So then, about Miss Clairia…” 

As Mile unsealed her parcel to add the letter in and write a note about the addition, the gentleman turned to Reina, explaining, “I don’t wish for you to tell me her place of residence or anything like that. I just wish to know if she is well in health and spirit, if that is no bother to you.” 

“Just what connection do you have with the professor?” Reina asked suspiciously. 

The elven gentleman—whose name, it turned out, was Elsatorc—replied, “I’m just an old fellow whose clan has ties to hers. Miss Clairia is very popular among the adults of the local clans. Everyone hopes for their children to grow up to be just like her—there are even portraits and dolls of the young miss in families’ nurseries.” 

“Whoa…” 

All four of the Crimson Vow, including Mile, still in the midst of her writing, looked stunned. While it was true that Dr. Clairia was particularly beautiful, her looks could not have stood out all that much amongst elves, who were beautiful by nature. Besides, she had left her village to live among humans, and personality-wise, she was no saint. Given the fact that she was doing a job so lofty that she could be called “Doctor,” she was likely getting on in age. So, how she could possibly be so popular amongst other elves was wholly beyond them. 

The dubious looks on their faces were plain to see, so Elsatorc explained further. 

“We elves are rather solitary creatures by nature. Once our children reach forty or fifty years of age, they lose their fondness for their parents and soon leave home to live on their own, drifting further and further away from their families.” 

Fifty years! the four silently thought. That’s a really long time to be living at home! 

“However, no matter how old she got, Miss Clairia always stuck by her father. Everyone was so very jealous of him.” 

“Aha…” 

Everyone thought back on the time they had fled with the freed captives from the excavation site. Suddenly, they remembered something: Dr. Clairia’s reaction, the way her cheeks reddened and her eyes shimmered when they mistook her for the guild master’s daughter and told her, “Your father asked us to look after you.” 

“She really loves her father…” said Mavis. 

“She’s daddy’s little girl, huh?” said Pauline. 

A fondness shone on both their faces. 

Mile, however, was once again compelled to shout a word that did not yet exist in this world: “Are you all a bunch of fathercons?!?!” 

“What’s a ‘father-cone’?” asked Reina. 

“Um, it’s when a little girl is in love with her father to an abnormal degree.” 

“Ah.” Reina was not so far off from that herself, and somehow or other, she understood. 

“Well, anyway,” said Elsatorc, “All I wanted to know is that she’s happy and healthy. The next time I’m in touch with her parents’ village, I’ll let them know. Really, I have no doubt that girl sends her parents letters all the time, though I’d bet you she lies and says she’s fine, even when she’s sick or in trouble, so as not to worry them. I’m sure hearing it confirmed by a third party would put them at ease…” 

The Crimson Vow accepted this explanation. They understood what he was saying, and there shouldn’t be any problem with telling him how she was. It wasn’t as though they had given up her location or anything. With that in mind, they told him only that she was doing well, careful to avoid offering any information about the ruins. Instead, they relayed an amusing story of a blunder that Dr. Clairia had relayed to them when they were sharing gossip—the time when she was standing in line at a festival, pretending to be a child so as to get free candy, and got to the front of the line to find that the one handing out the candy was a nun who recognized her and chased her away…and so forth. 

In all the hubbub, Mile finally finished making the revisions to her letter, and she slipped the envelope she had received from Elsatorc in with the original two of differing sizes, then rewrapped the parcel. She handed the parcel over to the clerk and paid the delivery fee, then collected her share from Elsatorc, who thanked them over and over. Finally, the four of them left him, and the guild, behind. 

With that, the parcel would be sent on to the next guildhall, then transferred again and again until it finally reached the capital of Tils, where it would be delivered to the one whose name was written on the parcel. The recipient could deal with the rest of it from there. Whether or not the recipient would follow the instructions written within was a matter of mutual trust, but Mile had full faith on that front. 

The guild would never reveal from where the parcel had been sent. The fee had been paid in advance, and as soon as the package was opened, the guild would know for whom it was intended, so there was no trouble there. The sender was free to choose how much she revealed of her name and address. 

With this, it was unlikely that a third party would ever discover the Crimson Vow’s current whereabouts. When it came to matters of secrecy, the guild could be trusted in full, and the letter itself had nothing in it but the bare essentials. 

“All right now, on to the capital. Let’s roll out!!” Mile called happily. 

The other three smirked. 

“Now that I think about it,” she continued, guilelessly, “if elves normally live with their parents until they’re forty or fifty, and Dr. Clairia is an exception to that rule, then just how old is the professor?” 

“………” 

Mavis, Reina, and Pauline were silent. 

However, there was something that none of them yet realized, and that was what might come of the information that they had given to Elsatorc. Sure enough, they had told him nothing of Dr. Clairia’s location. However, there was someone who would know where the professor was. 

The next time that the clans made contact, Elsatorc sent on a letter addressed to Dr. Clairia’s parents, along with various other documents. The professor’s parents were overjoyed to receive this letter from the clan elder, and wrote about it in their reply to their daughter’s next letter. 

*** 

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” 

Dr. Clairia’s beloved father now knew about the bungled candy fraud incident—an embarrassing blunder that Dr. Clairia didn’t even like to think about. She writhed on her bed, clutching her father’s letter, which suggested that she shouldn’t “behave in such an unbecoming way.” 

“Grrrgh! How dare he cast such shame upon me—my own dear father! I won’t forgive him. Or rather, I won’t forgive them , those careless girls! I’ll find them! I’m gonna find them!!!” 

The professor continued to writhe on her bed, howling, before suddenly realizing that she was gripping the precious letter from her father so hard she was wrinkling it. Moving fast, she neatly smoothed it back out and placed it gently into her desk drawer. 

*** 

“So how long do elves live, anyway? I’ve read a lot of books that mention them, but none of them ever seem to have an exact figure,” said Mile. 

Of course, Reina and Pauline—both commoners who had not read nearly as many books as Mile—could not be expected to reply. However, Mavis, the daughter of an influential count, who grew up surrounded by a father and brothers who favored her by talking of a great many things, knew much about the enigmas that were elves. 

“The thing is, it’s actually hard to accurately determine, and no one can say for certain. Most elves, though they have long life spans, don’t usually die of old age, but of accidents, or illness, or fights with monsters. Plus, even among those who do succumb to old age, it seems that there’s a huge range in the ages at which that happens. 

“There are a lot of theories about this. Some say it’s due to differences in magical power, or that it’s decided by a roll of the dice at the Goddess’s hand when they’re born, and so forth… In addition, from the time elves are born until they’re about fifteen or sixteen, they develop at the same rate as humans, but after that their development slows, and for about half of their lives they continue to appear as though they’re between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. After that, they go through a period of rapid aging again, and then they fade slowly into their twilight years. 

“Actually, that means that Elsatorc, the man we were talking to before, is probably pretty old. With respect to Dr. Clairia, he wouldn’t be a grandfather, or even a great-grandfather, but even some earlier generation than that.” 

“Fwah!” 

Mile let out a gasp of admiration. 

And then, she suddenly thought of another race that looked young for a very long time. 

They’re like saiyans! 

After many nights of traveling and camping out, stopping now and then along the way to do some hunting and gathering, or exterminating monsters, the Crimson Vow finally arrived in Shaleiraz, the capital of the kingdom of Vanolark, through which they currently were traveling. 

Vanolark was adjacent to Mile’s home country, the kingdom of Brandel, in the direct opposite direction from Tils, the home country of the other three members of the Crimson Vow and the place where Mile had first become a hunter. Naturally, not a hint of any rumors about some party of rookie C-rank hunters from another land would have made it this far. Therefore, they decided to make a home of this capital for a little while, not as a party who had made something of a name for themselves by standing out a little too much, but instead, as just another bunch of no-name rookies. That would be their objective, at least for the moment. 

Back in the capital of Tils, they had become a little too well known, thanks to the graduation exam. Having a reputation that was a bit beyond one’s station could only be a barrier to leading an honest life. 

“First off, we find an inn. We’ll be staying there for some time, so we better pick a good one. After we book our room, we pop in at the guild, let them know we’ll be around for a little while, and gather some information. And then, for dinner, we feast! To celebrate the start of the third chapter of the legend of the Crimson Vow!” 

“Yeah!!!” 

“Wait,” asked Mile, “What were chapters one and two?” 

Reina smiled at this naive question and replied, as though the answer were obvious, “Our meeting at the Hunters’ Prep School was Chapter One, and our adventures in the capital of the kingdom of Tils were Chapter Two. Somewhere around Chapter Ten, we save the kingdom from danger and become S-rank hunters!” 

“………” 

*** 

“This is the place!” 

The Crimson Vow stood before an inn. Indeed, it was the inn where they had chosen to stay while they were in this city. 

At first, they had stopped by the guild to ask for recommendations, but they had been met with refusal, and the explanation that, if the guild recommended any one specific inn, this would be seen as favoritism and a disruption of fair trade. It was annoying, but it made sense. In a small town, they could expect to get information in the event that the town’s two inns were clearly divided into one for the wealthy and one for the common man—or if there was important background knowledge that would safeguard them against unfortunate happenings. However, in a large place with many inns, one had to choose for oneself. 

Now that they thought about it, in the town where they had found the House of the Maiden’s Prayer and the Wild Bear Lodge, both inns had been meant for commoners, and yet the opinions of the guild staff had been incredibly split, which had been quite a problem. 

Probably what had happened when they asked was that the people there thought they were being helpful to some strange little girls who didn’t know the way of things in that town. They decided not to dwell on it. 

At any rate, the four of them went around to a number of inns, examining the exteriors to see if they were clean and well maintained, checking any rates posted outside, and paying attention to the sort of people who were entering and leaving. After careful consideration, they made their decision. If this inn turned out to be a dud, they would simply reflect on their failure of judgment and use the experience to help guide them next time. 

Plus, they weren’t taking on a monthly contract this time, so if it was a dud, they could simply change inns the next day. 

Ka-cling! 

“Welcome!” 

As the four of them entered the inn, they were greeted by the chime of the doorbell as well as the cheerful voice of the young girl at the front desk. 

Why was it always a young girl at the front desk of inns? 

Well, the answer was obvious. 

In this world, the death rate for children was particularly high, so everyone had a lot of them. Well, actually, the death rate was high for people of all ages, but children were, of course, most susceptible to illness and accidents. So when one had both boys and girls, which of the four major job types—jobs requiring strength, dirty jobs, dangerous jobs, and jobs where you dealt with customers—were the girls most likely to be directed toward? 

It was barely even worth thinking about. 

The only time you didn’t see a girl at the front desk was at inns that were staffed only by one family, when that family had no young daughters of their own. 

When hiring someone for the job, of course one would hire a young girl, preferably one who was not yet of age. That way you could pay them less. Of course, there was, well, that … which should go without saying. 

And so, it was no surprise that at this inn, as with most inns, the one at the front desk was a young girl. 

“W-we’ve gotta stay here! For a while! In fact, why don’t we live here forever?!” 

Mile tugged on Reina’s arm, her eyes glinting. 

“Wh-what’s gotten into you?” 

What had gotten into her was this: The girl at the front desk of this inn was a very young girl of five or six. And atop this girl’s head were a pair of ears. 

Er, well, every human in the world has two ears on their head. However, this little girl’s ears were not on either side of her face but on the very top of her head. 

Indeed, she was what the youth might refer to as a “catgirl.” 

“A-a beastgirl…” said three of the Crimson Vow. 

“We’re in luck!” 

One voice stood out—and you should already know by now whose it was… 

“Sorry, did my daughter do something?” 

Hearing what sounded like a quarrel, a man suddenly came rushing out of the kitchen, flustered. Given that he had referred to the girl as his daughter, he was likely the manager of this inn. In other words, the owner. 

With a beastperson as the receptionist, it was probably not rare for guests to try and pick a fight. He was probably used to such a thing. 

However, judging from his looks, the owner appeared to be a normal human. Was his wife a beastwoman, then? Or did he have one somewhere in his bloodline? 

Sure enough, the beast blood in the young girl appeared to be weak. The beastfolk they had met in the forest were a lot more bestial, with a layer of fluffy fur, but this girl appeared to be mostly human. Except, of course, for the ears. 

What about a tail? Did she have a tail? Mile couldn’t help but wonder. 

“Ah, no, everything’s fine. This one here is just kind of a beastfolk enthusiast…” said Reina. 

“B-beastfolk enthusiast?” 

The owner appeared to be in disbelief. 

Indeed, the fact that Mile was something of an anthro-lover was a well known fact amongst the Crimson Vow. They had heard from her, again and again, just how terribly splendid beast-eared girls were. Again and again , to the point of fatigue… 

“U-uhm, can I touch them?” asked Mile, a peculiar glint in her eyes. 

Reflexively, the owner moved to stand between her and the counter. Perhaps sensing danger, he stepped forward to tend to the reception duties himself. 

“So, were you looking to lodge at this inn?” 

“Yes. We wanted a four-person room for an indefinite stay. Might you have any rooms available?” 

Glancing Mile’s way, the owner looked ready to refuse, but after several seconds of internal conflict, finally he squeaked out, “U-unfortunately, we do…” 

“………” 

“Have some decency, Mile! Keep a handle on those weird desires! You made us look ridiculous out there!” 

The moment they entered their room, Reina immediately began laying into her teammate. 

“B-but she had cat ears! Cat ears! ” 

“There were people with cat ears at the ruins, too!” 

“Th-that was different! Those things on the tops of stinky old men’s heads were different! They may have looked the same, but they were completely different!!!” Mile protested desperately, bristling at Reina’s assertion. 

Unable to understand why Mile had gotten so terribly worked up, Mavis and Pauline stood slack-jawed. 

“Hang on, I’m going downstairs. Be back in a minute!” 

Barely a few moments had passed since they entered their room on the second floor, but now, for some reason, Mile was heading back down to the first. 

“………” 

There was no point in stopping her. Seeing how she kept fidgeting, she would be useless in any further discussions. They would have to give up on going by the guild today. Having come to that conclusion, they decided to let Mile do as she pleased. 

Mile’s heart was pounding with joy, but she crept down to the first floor, walking silently so that the owner would not take notice of her, and took a seat at the table closest to the front desk. She then removed from her inventory some jerky, some dried sardines, some milk…and some catnip . 

This was just unfair! Mile was playing dirty! 

In her previous life, too, Mile had always kept some fish sausages and Baby Star ramen in her bag, just in case she should run into a cat or a pigeon. (Baby Star ramen is very popular with pigeons, you see.) So of course, she would never go about unprepared in this world, either. 

In her storage, she had jerky and dried sardines that were low in sodium; milk that was nutrient-rich and free of lactose, which cats could not properly digest; and a small sprig from a catnip-like plant that she had spotted one day while in the midst of a gathering request. All of these she had stored away in the inventory for safekeeping. 

Jerky and sardines that were meant for humans were too salty for cats, and the cow’s milk that was drunk by humans did not have enough nutrition for the little creatures either—plus they got diarrhea from the lactose, and under the wrong circumstances, they might perish. Mile would never allow herself such a misstep, yet the catnip was still rather dangerous. 

Catnip affected a cat’s central nervous system, so in some very rare cases, their breathing could become over-labored, which too could lead to death. Yet as long as it was only used in small amounts under observation, there wasn’t a huge danger of that, at least. 

And so, Mile looked over to the front desk and the girl who stood there, and began to wave at her, sprig of catnip in hand. 

Twitch. 

The young girl’s ears perked up in Mile’s direction. 

Sway sway. 

Twitch twitch. 

Sway sway sway… 

Twitch twitch twitch… 

Sw— 

Grab! 

“Gyahh!” 

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” 

The owner stood behind Mile gripping her by the head, an expression of pure anger on his face. 

“I, uh, well I was…!” 

Mile panicked. 

“My daughter is not a cat! Catnip has no effect on her!” 

“So you’ve tried it, then?” 

“Er…” 

It would seem that he had. 

Well, there were , in fact, many cases where catnip had no effect on a kitten or female cat to begin with… 

After an extended discussion with the owner, Mile somehow managed to get across the fact that she harbored no ill intentions. That said, he still refused to believe that she had anything but a wicked heart. However, Mile could not even bring herself to accept that. 

“So you don’t hate people with beast blood—in fact you adore them. But still, what the hell were you thinking? Are you stupid?” 

“Are you really one to say that?!” 

“I, uh, well…” 

Indeed, as Mile implied, he certainly was not one to talk. 

Finally, after Mile promised the owner three things—one, that she not give the girl so many snacks that it would interfere with her eating three square meals; two, that she was forbidden to use catnip or any other suspicious items on her; and three, that Mile not interfere with her work—she was granted permission to play with his daughter, little Faleel. 

Still, when Mile requested that, at the second evening bell, after Faleel finished her work at the front desk-slash-dinner register, she come up to their room to play until she got sleepy, the owner screamed, “Then when am I gonna get to play with her?!” 

It was a reasonable objection. 

*** 

“You really brought her up, huh?” Reina asked wearily. 

After her discussion with the owner, Mile had returned to the room, and the four discussed their upcoming plans. Afterwards, they returned to the first floor and ate dinner. Mile waited with baited breath, and when the second evening bell finally rang, she swept Faleel up princess-style and carried her back up to their room. 

At the moment, the owner was busy cleaning up the kitchen and getting started on the next day’s preparations. As soon as he finished, he would come up to collect his daughter. 

Mile hugged Faleel from behind, sitting the girl on her knee. And then she began scratching behind her ears, just at the base. 

“Bwah, that tickles…” 

Faleel was in turmoil. 

“Stop that!” 

Crack! 

The side of Reina’s hand smacked down upon the crown of Mile’s head. 

“M-my turn next!” Mavis cut in from beside her. 

Naturally, Mavis, the youngest of her family, who was always one-sidedly doted upon by her elder brothers, had aspirations… of spoiling and cherishing a little brother or sister of her own, that is. 

“Wh-what about my turn?” Pauline asked, fidgeting. She was nostalgic for the days when her little brother was young and she had to look after him while their parents were busy at the shop. 

“You all, I swear…” 

With a weary face, Reina rebuked all three of them. 

“Obviously, it’s my turn next!” 

*** 

About an hour after the second evening bell rang, the owner came up to the girls’ room to collect his daughter. 

“Wha…” 

He knocked and opened the door, then stopped, his eyes wide in shock at what he saw inside. It was Faleel, playing with the Crimson Vow, rolling around laughing. 

“I-Is that really my shy little daughter?” 

Indeed, those who patronized the inn never discriminated against or bullied little Faleel, whose beast lineage was quite clear. Anyone who might be keen to do would flee the inn the moment they saw her sitting at the desk—or if they were to make a fuss about it, the owner would chase them off. Nonetheless, the girl maintained a rather reserved manner, very unlike the overly familia…er, not thinking of guests as gues…ahem, um, friendly sort of manner that little Lenny had with her customers. 

Of course, Lenny was ten years old, while Faleel was only six. She had few topics to make conversation about, most jokes went over her head, and so forth. 

At any rate, until now, the owner had never seen Faleel even smile, let alone roll with laughter, around anyone who wasn’t her family. Come to think about it, though she was a shy girl, he could not recall ever having seen her laughing so joyfully before, even around her own family. 

“………” 

Though working at the inn did keep him busy, perhaps there was a problem here. 

The owner hung his head in shame.