The city located to the south of Rondéville Kingdom’s royal capital, Lunéville.
East of Lunéville was Pinéaville, next to the Akradist Kingdom’s territory. When it was known as Pinéadist, it had developed into a majorly fortified city-base as defense against invasions from the east.
However, the Pinéa region merged together during the king before last’s reign. When the previous generation’s king invited Akradist’s first princess to be his queen, its importance as a base was lost. Still, it changed into an important trade route to the royal capital. From then on, its walls no longer suited it as it transitioned into an agricultural city.
Not that it had a specialty product even though it was called an agricultural city either. Two big thieves guilds that were entrenched in Rondéville, led by [Sal of the Copper Paper] and [Mabelt of the Lotus], mutually fought for supremacy to rule its underground.
Of course, though most citizens would leave a city like that, some couldn’t for various reasons. They spent their days in fright and destitution while the guilds fought.
Then came Hector, demoted to a troublesome location (self-proclaimed) of such low importance.
And then was Frank, a man selected to become the Guild Association’s Lunéville Branch Manager at the young age of twenty-seven.
The two thieves guilds were expelled without a trace by these two people’s efforts, transforming the city into a safe place for everyone to live free from worldly cares.
It was this place that the girl, Ilya Schultz, set her eyes on.
“I’ll never forgive those who try to destroy its tranquility. O-other than the townspeople (mostly) that is.”
Finally finding Lunéville after her long life as a wanderer, it was her haven.
“An inn town?”
Ilya had met with Frank in the parlor. Haku was sleeping soundly while rolled into a ball on her apron.
“Does Ilya know that the amount of people coming here recently has increased?”
“Yes… mostly.”
She knew that the majority of people arriving came for the cooking.
The rest came sniffing out the money trail, Commerce and Industry Guild’s guild members aiming for travelers and guild members.
Ilya’s thoughts weren’t far off the mark.
“Though Lunéville has come to be acknowledged as safe and peaceful when compared to surrounding cities, even the royal capital has come to know of it. It seems that the budget compilation meeting the other day increased Lunéville’s development plan.”
Looking over the documents Frank presented to her, she certainly did see the fortunate contents to redevelop Lunéville into an inn town. Each of the documents had been carefully affixed with Rondéville king’s seal.
The contents were regarding boundaries and road maintenance. It was scheduled for a new road to be constructed, replacing the one they had had up till then.
“Was Hector-san at the royal capital?”
“Yeah… he was complaining about the aristocrats’ tastes. He just went there to plan ahead.”
(My condolences.)
Was it better to call it house arrest or imprisonment? Ilya expected the other aristocrats probably had something like an allergic reaction from the upstart aristocrat trying to stick around.
“Did Hector-san have something to say about the project?”
“No, I didn’t ask. He probably isn’t against it though. If that man said he seriously didn’t like it, he would have torn it up and thrown it away on the spot.”
“I-is that so?”
She held the impression of him being gentle, so that was surprising.
“Though the budget’s contents are normally assigned by the country, it appears that they won’t be issuing a quote for it until the next budget compilation. I’d like for you to put out a commission to the guild to calculate the costs.”
“To the guild…? To begin with, how far are they planning on turning this into an inn town? I don’t understand the plan.”
“By how far, do you mean the scale?”
“No, the kind of people that would stay here.”
If they made accommodations for upper class people, but made accommodations for others to be multiple people sleeping in a group, she wouldn’t approve.
“That is to say, the amount of people is directly tied to the deterioration of public security. Don’t remove Lunéville’s good point by attracting unsavory individuals.”
“Most would come as guild members though. I doubt they would spend much money on lodging.”
“I assume you have no problems with maintaining our current quality of clientele?”
Frank thought for a moment, nodding before long.
“I want to continue on how we are.”
“… Mmm.”
Recently, most of the inns had been at max occupancy.
The branch would lend private rooms to individuals that were unable to secure hotel lodgings in harsh weather.
The branch had also sent out a commission for citizens who owned houses to rent out rooms.
Marketing probably had some uneasiness over more being sold out than were left to sell, thinking it was a bad situation.
“Gathering all of the landowners and working with them to establish their residence areas and inns is Hector-san’s job right? The building costs of the landowners’ dwellings, including the explanation of the total infrastructure improvement costs by Hector-san, are you sure that is alright?”
“Yeah. Charon’s gotten in contact with the Industry Guild, so they’ll send some people out.”
The people called over this time were architectural engineers that belonged to the Industry Guild.
Housing construction was different from general commissions, each party (contractors rather than groups) would gather and carry out a construction commission meeting at the guild. Then, each party would estimate the construction costs for the commission, with the one with the lowest bid amongst the gathering getting the rights for the construction.
Whether they would participate in the meeting would depend on each party, with larger parties staying away from small profit commissions by an unspoken agreement.
Though it was also possible that a client would send the commission directly to a party and not the guild, since the merits like contribution compensation and rank-ups disappeared as well, so long as there wasn’t some special circumstance, such arrangements rarely happened.
Accordingly, if the Mercenary Guild’s duty was to manage and unify guild members belonging to it, the Industry Guild’s role was to maintain reasonable pricing and check for moral hazards in the construction industry. Though there were also the roles of maintenance and development, the current status quo had each business relying on others.
By the way, in the case of do-it-yourself people, they could accept commissions even if they weren’t qualified to be an Industry Guild member. Because there were no carpenters in Lunéville, Sullivan was the one to take orders and mend armor.
Now let’s return to the main subject.
First was to make arrangements for the Industry Guild representatives and calculate the rough expenses of the dwelling structures and facilities. Then, based on the costs, look for candidates to reconstruct inns for the landowners.
However, there was a point of uncertainty that had to be clarified before going any further.
“The budget is just for road maintenance materials, but will the subsidies regarding housing construction and immigration decrease?”
“That’s right… it’ll be carried out by the country. There’s no question that they would keep those expenses in mind as well.”
“… They may tell Hector-san to take it from the subsidies though.”
Although Ilya thought that a country should help those in it out to gain their favor, she didn’t expect the plan to stand on such wishful thinking.
At any rate, it wasn’t a waste for them to figure out uneasy factors.
“Then there would also be the transportation of the materials for construction and its guards, as well as guards for the road maintenance.”
“Yeah. Given the situation, we need to have the inn construction go through first before improving the road.”
“… For the increased amount of people.”
“That’s right. If mercenaries were used to guard Lunéville, the amount of personnel staying here would increase substantially. Could we cover it?”
By ‘it’, of course he was referring to meals.
“I don’t think there would be any problems with the distribution if we purchased a large amount of foodstuffs… What about food and drink shops?”
“That’s, well… people interested in setting those shops up haven’t turned up.”
“Is that so…”
Though to tell the truth, something like that was inconsequential for Ilya. What she was truly worried about was there being more monsters with the increase in people.
Considering the source of monsters, it wasn’t hard to fall into a vicious cycle since the amount of monsters increased proportional to people.
The number of monsters went up as the number of people went up. To exterminate monsters, people gathered.
Truly a vicious cycle.
In order for there to be more commissions for the guild, everything worked out with the increase in monsters. However, since the plan this time was simply inviting more monsters to come, it produced a contradiction. The guild, which should have been removing the town’s threats, was exposing it to more danger for the sake of profit. So even though it was against what she truly wanted, Ilya, who was a mere receptionist, couldn’t intervene.
More importantly though, she knew that the townspeople wished for the expansion.
(There’s no way I could go against it.)
Muttering that in her mind, she settled her murky feelings.
After a lot of conferences and meetings, around a month had passed for the documents and commission registrations to be completed in various places, as well as an additional several weeks for transporting the materials and the start of the construction.
“Ilya, sorry! Please bring this to Elizah!”
Accepting the dish from the kitchen next to the counter, she headed towards the temporary terrace established outside of the entrance.
When she was about to open the door, Elizah appeared after vigorously opening the door. Since Ilya was nimble, of course Elizah was as well, they passed by each other without colliding as though they were dancing gracefully.
“Ah, sorry Ilya! Thanks!”
“It’s alright, I can bring it. Elizah can leave it to me.”
“Got it!”
On the other side of the door, there were twelve large tables that faced the main street placed on the terrace. However, they were all packed. Even if it was always like that inside, they had to clean up despite people eating and drinking while they stood outside.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting, here is your yakitori.” [1]
“”” Oooh~! “””
“Allow me to take your empty dishes.”
They were getting drunk, so she immediately retreated when she sensed danger from the looks in their eyes. Elizah, who she had exchanged roles with, shared a wry smile with her after she returned inside, probably due to her working at the reception desk instead of Ilya. Frank was standing at the counter.
“Sorry, Frank-san.”
“No, you’ve had it tough. Sorry as well, Luke. You had to come in despite today not being your night shift.”
“It’s fine, I have a lot of free time on my hands after all.”
Frank smiled bitterly, that’s just how Luke was.
Currently, Ria, Rachelle, and the wolf beastkin Darren were on the second floor serving tables. Elizah, Clarice, and Cynthia were moving about the first floor serving tables. Ilya and Luke were at the reception desk.
In other words, everyone was working. They were so packed that they’d reached the point where Darren and Clarice, who mainly worked reception services, had to take turns waiting on tables.
“But this is an amazing amount of people…”
Catching Frank’s mutter, Ilya glanced over the dining area.
The faces of newcomers were mixed in with those of their regulars, primarily Industry Guild workers. With the inn construction and area development rush, Lunéville’s population had temporarily inflated considerably. In addition to the terrace they had added on, they were also delivering some directly to the construction site.
“I wonder if it’ll be bad if we don’t hire more waiters ahead of time?”
“Please don’t forget about the kitchen.”
“T-that’s right.”
Her endurance wouldn’t be a problem due to her cheat, but doing it alone would be mentally stressful.
Since they had already asked Hector for it, the Association’s Lunéville Branch was in the middle of extending its dining area. The building next to the branch was currently under construction, but Frank still hadn’t decided on its opening staff.
As for why Frank was still racking his brains, that was because of him being vigilant due to the assassins that had invaded the other day.
(Even though he said that he’d say something if he saw them…)
When she lightly scowled at Frank with a pout, the person in question felt Ilya’s gaze and turned towards her.
“Do you think the branch’s faculty are good as is?”
“Yes. With everyone’s capabilities, I don’t think we can’t do it.”
“Un. That’s right.”
“If the branch’s operations increase, we can just remodel the second floor’s dining area into an office.”
“Right.”
Nonetheless, the fact was that waiting on tables and being a receptionist right then was a big burden.
Ilya decided that she would snatch the people that seemed like they could help when she next got a chance.
Early morning the next day, Ilya was heading to the branch’s basement warehouse.
The whole warehouse was made so that it was impossible to enter or leave if you didn’t have the key. It was currently being used as a prison to confine the two assassins.
Though they were being confined, it was better circumstances than a bad inn with the provided bed and three simple meals.
However, the residents’ gazes that met Ilya opening the lock were exuding wariness.
“You’ve been restrained for so long, I’m sorry.”
Even though they heard Ilya apologize, the two didn’t let down their guards.
Ilya, who had judged that such roundabout methods wouldn’t make any progress, decided to immediately get down to business.
“Thieves Guild members, Bard-san. Katie-san. Your sentences have been decided, so I’ve come to inform you.”
Their names called, both of their bodies jolted.
Their restraints had been undone when they were put in the prison after their interrogation. And now, Ilya had opened the only escape route. However, their bodies couldn’t move.
It was as though they couldn’t go against this girl in front of them, like their bodies were ordered to stay still.
“Sentences huh. Is there any use negotiating with the guild?”
Bard had trouble holding back his voice from quivering, doing his best to hold up his facade.
“Well, even though I said your sentences have been decided, the final decision is based on what happens next.”
“…?”
Both of them expressed a questioning look from Ilya’s strange phrasing.
“Let’s play a game of tag.”
“Huh…?”
They doubted their ears.
Although they went through childhood without its normal naivety, they knew the rules for tag.
Due to that, they couldn’t understand her intentions at all.
Ilya watched the two perplexed people in satisfaction, continuing to speak.
“The range is the entire town of Lunéville. You run away, I look for you. If either of you two manage to keep away until nightfall, you will be acquitted. If you are caught, both of you will have to do what I say.”
“—”
Don’t fuck with me.
Though he wanted to shout that, he did his best to suppress it.
“… Any other rules?”
“At the point in time you go out into Lunéville, please know that your lives are forfeit should you injure any citizen.”
Her expression hadn’t changed at all. This girl’s dangerous manner of speaking caused them to hold their breath.
“There are no additional rules. Please, any questions?”
Seeing the two react with silence, Ilya nodded.
“Well then, I’ll return to the branch. Feel free to take this time to leave.”
Ilya saw them off with a bow, leaving Bard dumbfounded.
It was good he was being underestimated. If she had any ulterior motives, he just had to overcome them.
“Katie. We will operate separately after leaving this warehouse. Focus on that woman, think only about staying away from her.”
“Got it.”
When Ilya’s presence was completely gone, Katie nodded at Bard. Carefully, the two quickly distanced themselves from the warehouse.
Though he thought that Ilya would go for them right from the start, it was later that afternoon before she actually left the branch.
Currently, Katie was hiding a distance away and could just barely sense Ilya’s presence and had kept her distance in order to secure her escape route. Bard was erasing his presence while concealed in a spot where he could see the branch, outwitting the premise of him running away. He was contriving to escape detection while shadowing the oni’s actions. [2]
Since it was early morning when Ilya went down to see them, half of the time had already passed.
(Is she planning on exhausting us mentally…?)
The anxious Bard didn’t look weary at all. He smiled, thinking it was unfortunate for her.
But in the next moment, Bard stopped smiling and immediately left as fast as he could.
(I-impossible!)
Ilya, who had just exited the branch’s staff entrance, uneventfully stopped for a moment and stared at Bard, beginning to walk straight towards him.
(Didn’t I erase my presence!?)
He reconfirmed his situation in a confused state of mind, but none of the citizens payed attention to Bard, not a single one.
Bard was running away at full speed thinking that Ilya was in pursuit, but there were no signs that she would catch up.
Since he was calming down thinking that he wouldn’t lose in leg strength, Bard started to search for a suitable position to watch for Ilya’s approach again.
Meanwhile, Katie was flustered.
(Eh…? She disappeared…!?)
When she left the group of presences… the branch, she lost track of the feeling.
Though Katie couldn’t sense presences down to breathing fluctuations like her partner, Bard, she couldn’t feel Ilya’s presence in the slightest.
With that, she was incredibly shaken.
(What do I do…)
Bard told her to devote herself to evading that presence.
She couldn’t find the presence. So now she had to run.
But where?
Based on what?
Her mind only able to think about finishing that thought, her body naturally didn’t move.
(What do I do…—)
A chill ran through her. Thinking was hopeless. Her head started to issue complaints from the problem continuing to make its rounds.
Katie couldn’t hold back a feeling she’d forgotten for a long time now, the feeling that she was [Caught].
“Be at ease, please rest for now.”
Sensing her presence and hearing a voice, it was without a doubt Ilya.
She was caught.
Immediately after realizing that, Katie lost her hold on consciousness without even seeing Ilya’s face.
Several hours after Katie lost.
Bard was completely exhausted.
Even though he hid himself while running away, Ilya slowly approached him no matter what he did.
Her walking never paused; she obviously knew where Bard was at all times.
(I can’t run away…)
At least, so long as he was inside Lunéville. As soon as he thought that—
“You’ve obviously slowed down. Are you becoming tired?”
Ilya, who should have been about as far away in the distance as to be as large as his thumb, was in front of him.
Did I black out?
Although Bard thought that for a moment, the positions of people around him had hardly changed.
(So I can’t win in speed either?)
Bard, who was standing still in a daze from realizing that, felt Ilya’s touch on his shoulder.
“Caught you.”
Bard looked at Ilya.
Although the elf girl’s smile was beautiful, she was more like a monster or monster.
Bard was drained of strength, losing his will to run away.
“Allow me to guide you to the inn Katie-san is resting at. Since the inn is also the branch’s lodging, please don’t do anything strange there okay?”
“… Like I have a choice.”
Obediently, he followed Ilya’s guidance.
In this way, Ilya first goal of determining their treatment was achieved, as well as her second goal of having them recognize the difference in their abilities.
The next day.
A man and woman standing in front of Ilya were wearing the branch’s uniform.
“… Hey, why do I have to wear something like this?”
“I thought it suited you nicely though? Don’t you think so too, Katie-san?”
“Un. Bard, it fits you.”
Praised by Katie, Bard seemed to lose himself a bit.
However, when he noticed Ilya looking at them, he immediately went back to scowling.
“… You really think we can do something like serve customers?”
“It’s not impossible and you can do it, so do it. You lost the game right?”
Bard held his tongue with that line.
Bard, who was a black panther beastkin, had black hair and tanned skin. His slim and tall figure’s muscles were moderately showing through the branch uniform that looked like butler clothing. Katie had soft black hair and was fair-skinned, and with her being a saluki-type dog beastkin, her ears hung down. Her black-based uniform provided a wonderful contrast with the white frills that swayed as she moved. [3]
The only thing that dissatisfied Ilya was that she was trained so that her tail wouldn’t react alongside her emotions.
(Such a waste.)
By having offered up more information on the Thieves Guild, their punishments were deferred. Though even if they were on parole, it was unclear how they would eventually deal with the two of them.
Ilya got Frank’s permission to meet them, but seeing that they didn’t kill themselves or do anything weird despite having their restraints undone, she once again judged that they weren’t brainwashed.
Accordingly, she suggested a game.
As for what Ilya, the winner, told the two to do? Of course, it was to work as staff for the branch.
“And so, you two will work here from now on. I’ll give you both manuals, so Bard-san, please learn reception duties from Luke. And Katie-san, please learn waitress duties from Ria.”
“Got it.”
“… Tch.”
She poked Bard in the forehead.
Even though she was suppressed by her equipment, if she put in a bit of effort it would be like being hit from a blunt weapon.
“Owww~…!”
“Take this lightly and I’ll seriously beat you up.”
“O-okay…”
Training at the start was important. Although she didn’t like violence—other than love taps on her enemies—she boasted to Frank beforehand that she would take responsibility, so she wouldn’t do this half-baked. Somehow or another, it seemed to be effective.
It was still early in the morning so there weren’t many guests coming in. It could be called the optimal time to learn their duties. Learning the basics of their job while the amount of people eating breakfast continued to increase, they would learn while following their surroundings. Nothing was to be left to chance.
… At least, nothing should have been.
“Bastard, say that again!”
“I’m saying, with you guys’ skills, this commission is waaay to dangerous for you!”
“O-oi, Bard-kun!”
Across from Bard was a group of five guild members. Luke’s restraint on him wasn’t effective either, so it turned into a head-on confrontation.
“… Haaah.”
“Pi?”
When Ilya moved while letting out a small sigh, Haku followed her without the least care in the world.
Although she also had trouble abandoning the subject out of care, she would subdue herself and give a clear cut attitude while working.
“The fuck would a receptionist like you know!?”
“I said you’re in for a painful time if you take this li—”
“Could I have a moment, Bard-san?”
She addressed him with a sweet smiling face, but he quickly shut his mouth as though out of fear.
(That’s odd~. Even though I smiled normally.)
“Monster…”
“Aah!? Who are you to call Ilya a monster, bastard!!”
Everyone blinked towards Luke’s sudden anger, Ilya included. Let alone exhibiting anger, this was the first time he’d even shouted.
What brought that on?
(… Wait, not that!)
Coming back to her senses, she recovered her expression and asked the two.
“Could you explain what happened?”
“Ah, yeah. I looked at the commission chart he handed me and told him it was dangerous.”
“Oi, that’s not what you said! Don’t lie!”
Temporarily leaving the apology towards the exasperated customer to Luke, she checked the commission charts.
There were two of them, the first was for Rondélocusts. Then, the second one was—
(A Laoloa Boar…)
She had seen its name in the registry relatively recently. In addition, the commission’s designated area was the same place too. The subjugation commission for the Laoloa Boars before was successful and their numbers should have decreased, but—
(I wonder if I should check to see if they are multiplying or not?)
A thought floating in the corner of her mind, she looked at the guild members that tried to accept it again. Their formation was one swordsman, two pugilists with one of the two having a chain technique skill, one mage, and an alchemist. [4]
“Bard-san. Please properly explain why you think it is dangerous.”
“A-ah? Nah, too troublesome.”
“Did you want to pick a fight? Or did you want to advise them?”
“…”
His silence meant that it was without a doubt the latter. Taking his gauche character into consideration, his way of speaking bluntly when giving advice would generally be due to embarrassment.
(… Is he a child!?)
While giving him a tsukkomi in her mind, she once again smiled outwardly. [5]
“If you were just picking a fight, will you accept the suitable punishment?”
“I-I get it! I’ll say it okay!? You guys… you fought against a locust-type or Laoloa Boar before?”
“Aah? ‘Course we have.”
“In the warrior examination.”
“Then, have you fought them together?”
“… No, but—”
(Bard-san, success.)
Convinced, Ilya was relieved.
“If you’ve fought locusts you know they have a toxin… you know that right? Laoloa Boards have low toxin resistance, it infects their whole body very fast. It’s the same with the Rondélocust… get it?”
“Ah…”
The two pugilists frowned. Though the other three were puzzled, they immediately frowned when they also figured out what he meant.
“It’s not a problem if you hunt ’em separately. But if you encounter them together and the boar is infected?”
At a time like that, a Laoloa Boar would probably be enraged. It was a terrifying condition where you’d have to keep running until it loses sight of you or you kill it (or until you yourself die). You’d be afflicted by the toxin if you weren’t careful.
Rear guard mages were good still. Though its body fluids would spread if its cut by the swordsman and the pugilists would have to hit it directly. If they touched its body or blood that was infected by the toxin, they would probably only hold on for a few seconds with their resistances.
Could they defend their comrades while fighting a group of enemies infected with the toxin?
Seeing them, Bard had judged it to be difficult. That’s why he advised it was dangerous.
“… What’ll we do?”
They were also beginning to worry.
Especially the pugilists that had particularly high levels, his other comrades seemed to be avoiding saying anything direct.
Ilya decided to ask Bard a question to advance the conversation.
“Well, what does Bard-san think they should do?”
“Huh?”
“It’s not advice unless you give a suggestion. You shouldn’t just say it’s impossible to people alright?”
“Even if you say that…”
Bard brooded over it, but couldn’t easily reach a conclusion.
Luke, who had been watching the situation progress from the side, opened his mouth after being unable to endure any longer.
“You could also bring someone from the Magic Guild, how about trying to have your main offense be magic?”
When Luke spoke, the five just looked at each other awkwardly.
Although mages belonged to the Magic Guild, their ability varied widely. Mages that were able to kill a lot of things even with low class magic like Lula and York were rare, and it was unusual for excellent practitioners to join a faction to begin with.
Even without being able to distinguish ability like Ilya, you could roughly predict how capable a mage travelling with a group of warriors was.
“But my magic isn’t that strong.”
Luke wasn’t perturbed by his confession. On the contrary, he smiled to relieve them.
“By prioritizing safety over efficiency, you can do it with either a large or small power. Even with a moderate power, you can defeat it if you shoot several.”
“Well, more or less.”
“Even if you could defeat one, isn’t it your end if other ones showed up?
“Does everyone know how the boars chase after foreign invaders?”
“With their legs… wait, that’s not it. Isn’t it with their eyes?”
“Though they do of course ultimately find their enemies by their eyesight, in general, boar-types living in forests have poor eyesight. They are unable to search for enemies while running like carnivores are able to. They use their protruding snouts to search for their enemy’s smell, chasing after the scent. Due to that, I recommend everyone to use a sachet or perfume. [6]
“So that disturbs the scent huh?”
Understanding that they needed more experience, the group of five devised a strategy.
If they were the standard party, they would put something that had a stronger smell than themselves in bags or the like to use as decoys. If they left it on a tree they could even likely come out of it without taking damage at all.
However, they had an alchemist with them. Ilya knew that he could only grow plants, but he could improve by making a trap by growing thorn-like branches on a tree and placing the scent there or something like that. She also expected that setting up a bundle of vines in the shape of a person at a cliff or waterside would be effective enough.
Of course, she wouldn’t go so far as to interrupt their conversation. It was probably enough with just Luke’s advice this time.
“Prepare your stuff at a tool shop. If you do that, I got no complaints about you accepting the commission.”
“… Please remember about the Rondélocusts as well.”
“We get it.”
While receiving Luke’s support, Bard falteringly completed registering that they accepted it.
Seeing off the group of five leaving in high spirits as though they’d already forgotten about the quarrel, Bard felt relieved.
“… You… helped me. Reception work is hard too, heh.”
“That’s right. That just now was second-hand information though.”
“It was? Did the Branch Manager say it?”
“No no, Ilya did. Most of what I just said, she said beforehand.”
He looked towards Ilya with a sour expression.
(… I wonder if he dislikes me that much?)
Though it wasn’t like she felt Luke didn’t have to give out her name, she felt a bit unpleasant that her attempt at modesty was denied.
“Whether or not they’ll be able to put the information to use is up to them. Bard-san could also learn various things from Luke, too.”
His shady-looking face had eventually gone away, but this time Bard straightened his posture without any of his rebellious attitude.
As for Katie, who was still carrying trays timidly, Ilya merely wanted her to acquire and improve her skills.
(From the looks of it, Bard-san is predicting what commission people will bring over to accept.)
And he would check over the raw materials upon a subjugation’s completion.
Just that was plenty enough of a change, he was likely striving to improve.
Ilya, who was returning to the counter while thinking so, locked gazes with a person who came into the branch.
“Morning. Is Frank in?”
As for who went towards the counter, it was Hector, the lord.
“Good morning. I think he is in his room right now, should I call for him?”
“Yeah, thanks. Could we use the parlor?”
“Yes. This way, please.”
Holding Haku, Ilya went up to the third floor accompanied by Hector.
“Those were the people you mentioned at the counter?”
“Yes. I had them help starting today.”
“I believe it’ll be fine since it was your decision… but busy waiters aside, was it necessary for him to be at the reception desk?”
“Of course.”
The reason she proposed to hire them wasn’t just for their sake.
“I expect that there will be more commissions from now on, I’m preparing for it.”
“More commissions? The construction work?”
“… It’s not unrelated to that, at least.”
Ilya held her tongue, not saying anything further.
She couldn’t disclose information that no one other than her knew. That was one of the bans she’d imposed on herself. She couldn’t tell them the cause of there being more monsters. Still, knowing what the outcome this time would be, she would make sure to ambiguously tell them to prepare.
“… Is that so. The Elves’ Precepts are troublesome.”
“They are… I’m sorry.”
Though there really were things called the Elves’ Precepts, in truth they held no influence. They were just used to cover over the elves’ behaviors as they weren’t concerned with other races.
The restoration magic used to treat the beastkin group attacked by Bard, as well as things like their knowledge of seasonings, were hidden by the elves’ wit.
The elven race was an intelligent one, widely known as having insular personalities. No one would even hold a doubt to her lie.
“Frank-san, good morning. Hector-sama is here to see you.”
“… Morning, Ilya. Haku too.”
“Pi!”
After that, she prepared black tea for them in the parlor and tried to run away. However—
“Ah, it’d help if Ilya stayed to listen as well.”
“… Certainly.”
Like the time before, she wasn’t able to get away this time either. Although they were her superior’s orders, she felt it wrong for a mere receptionist like her to be present in such an important conversation.
(Even though I’m not something like Frank-san’s butler or secretary…)
Their conversation primarily comprised of the construction work’s progress and the cost of hiring people for additional construction. Another thing was guards for an investigation around Lunéville to study the monsters.
Monsters were a threat to all races, all nations would cooperate in studying their ecologies and capabilities… Be that as it may, they wouldn’t release all of the information regarding their ecologies to those who weren’t their allies. This lead to the present state of going to a guild for information regarding a monster’s capabilities for practically any subjugation.
Though you may think that each nations’ research facilities would feel ashamed from it, they probably didn’t want to compromise their position. It was just better that they weren’t disseminating strange information with empty theories.
When their business talk ended, the two proceeded into small talk.
Even though Hector and Frank weren’t direct acquaintances, their careers held things in common. A lot of places other than Rondéville came up in their talk.
Since Hector built up a considerable amount of stress every day in the royal capital, he was more talkative than usual.
Ilya was doting on Haku since she thought it would be boorish to interrupt their conversation when there was a knock at the door.
Ilya walked over and opened the door. Coming into sight, Ria bowed.
“Frank-san. Aryune’s mayor is here to see you. Should I ask him to wait on the second floor’s private room?”
“Did you hear his business for coming?”
“He said it was about monster subjugation.”
“… If it’s alright, I’d like to attend as well. Do you mind?”
Receiving Hector’s proposal, Ria left to guide Aryune’s village head to the parlor.
Ilya stayed as though it were natural.
(Either way would be fine though.)
She would likely hear about it afterwards if it’s about a commission.
Thinking to herself, Ilya made some black tea for the village mayor as well and moved to wait behind Frank.
Taking the signal, the village mayor started talking falteringly.
“Branch Manager-dono. Do you know about the presence of monsters surrounding my village recently?”
“Yeah. We received a subjugation commission for that, and if I recall it was registered as accepted at our reception desk.”
“… Yes. Though that is true…”
Frank and Hector each frowned at his vague behavior.
However, if what he was hesitating to say was what Ilya expected, it would be a difficult situation for the two. Judging so, Ilya helped.
“Did the same kind of monster reappear?”
“—! You knew?”
“No, it simply felt that would be something difficult for you to speak about. Should we put out an emergency commission?”
“Well, that’s…”
The village mayor looked down again.
(Well, I understand what he wants to say.)
“Though I tried to put together the funds from the village to put out a commission…”
“There are those who doubt that they were hunted at all the previous time?”
“—… Yes.”
There were few monsters in the Lunéville region. If the same kind of monster reappeared so soon, it might not have been hunted at all. It was reasonable that people might think that and harbor doubts.
Even though it was impossible to deceive the amount subjugated in the subjugation book’s system, there was a possibility that the Guild Association could be suspected of pocketing money.
“Then, this time we will show proof they were hunted. As soon as you consent, how about we pay the intermediary fee and commission reward?”
“Is that alright!?”
As for who the village mayor was looking to, it was Frank, the branch manager, and not Ilya, the one who proposed it.
Though that was natural when you took their positions into account, his reaction was something not seen that often in this town and was something fresh to relish.
“… We’ll handle it as a special case.”
“Thank you!”
After village mayor signed the commission chart created after that and left, Ilya was asked for an explanation by Frank.
“The problem didn’t look to be enough to go that far for though?”
“Treat it like a sort of investment for the future. When the amount of monsters increase from here on, there will be more damage if there are people who are unwilling to pay for commissions from them holding distrust towards the guild.”
The two agreed with her.
However, Hector still hesitated.
“Still though, you think there’s going to be more monsters in the future?”
“… It’s likely, at least. The village may have trouble bearing it. You might want to think about some countermeasures, such as increasing taxes or taking a loan.”
“To go that far…”
Frank wore a serious look.
(Ah, oops. Did I say too much?)
Without changing her behavior or tone, she continued to explain to the two as though it weren’t something to be too concerned about.
“There’s no downside to being prepared, I think it’s fine so long as you keep it in mind.”
“… Understood.”
Though Ilya was trying to avoid fanning the flames of anxiety as much as she could—
(It’s better than making it worse.)
She decided to think positively.
This was the first time Katie had a respectable job and it was hectic enough that she felt dizzy.
In the morning, she woke up before the sun rose. She took a shower and dressed herself while fighting her drowsiness.
Walking from the inn she was lodging at with unsteady feet, she walked in from the staff entrance. The office appeared in front of her.
“Ah, morning Katie.”
“… Morning.”
“Morning-san~… you look sleepy. Don’t fall asleep while standing and drop the dishes okay?”
“I’m alright… I think.”
Coming out of the office, Katie headed into the dressing room beyond it.
Though she was confident in her endurance, she wasn’t accustomed to living a normal life among a group of people and was more exhausted than she’d expected.
There was also a mental source for her fatigue as well.
For instance, that interaction with Desiree and Claude from a moment before.
She wondered if they knew what she did.
She felt guilty from deceiving them if they didn’t know, and she couldn’t understand their accepting behaviors if they did.
She couldn’t deal with her own feelings and couldn’t figure out a solution.
Even so, the reason she was reporting to work without running away was because of the order Ilya gave her.
Arriving at the locker with her name written on it in the changing room, Katie started changing into her uniform.
“Ah, Katie. Morning~”
“Morning, Ria.”
Her change of clothes laying limply next to her, Ria promptly put on her uniform.
Katie was troubled by being unable to get the string on the lower back through that well when it suddenly disappeared from her hold.
As she was trying to somehow turn around to see her back, Ria bent forward to help.
“Hold still a second.”
Probably due to her lack of sleep, her ability to concentrate had fallen so low that she didn’t notice that Ria had moved behind her.
“Alright, it’s done.”
Katie bowed to Ria, who was wearing a gleeful smile.
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh? It’s fine it’s fine. The uniform is cute, but I had trouble at first too. You don’t have to say thanks.”
“That… so? Got it.”
Next to Katie who was blinking her eyes, Ria closed her locker and headed to the office.
“Nee-chan, my order?”
“Coming.”
“Katie-chan, can you get the next one?”
“Y-yes.”
“Katie, take empty plates away if you see them while taking orders.”
“G-got it.”
“Katie—! Take this to table three—”
Going this way and that, she was kept busy.
So busy that she felt dizzy, she couldn’t find room to doze off.
If there was something close to relief for her, that would probably be her lunch and two breaks.
Fatigue dampens appetite if it’s in excess, but you would need the power of magic to forget about eating the branch’s cooking after eating it once.
“But you know Jimmy-san? Looks like he’s looking to woo Ninonne.”
“Aaa~h. My condolences…”
“He’s looking at Ninonne-san even though it’d make his wife cry.”
“Wooow…”
There was gossip being exchanged during their break in the office, but the only one who was uninterested was Katie.
Even she didn’t know what kinds of conversations she would be interested in to begin with. Though she was struggling serving tables, it didn’t look like the office staff had it any easier.
“Katie, good work today. Elizah’s already arrived, you can finish up.”
“Got it.”
The branch’s waiters worked in three time slots, morning to evening, noon to night, and evening to night. Katie still wasn’t entrusted with the busiest time slot of evening to night.
When she changed her clothes in the dressing room, a voice called out to Katie from the office.
“Good work today. Ilya said she would prepare a meal for you, do you want to eat?”
“Un. I’ll eat.”
Unhesitatingly agreeing, she would eat anything made by Ilya with relish.
Katie had returned to her inn after forgetting about her fatigue due to the satisfaction of her full stomach, but it surged back again as soon as she entered her room. She rushed to bed without showering.
Then, she realized it was the next day.
After that, she repeated a similar day again.
In an unchanging daily life, she worked without being able to calm her mind.
She wasn’t dissatisfied. She even felt she was lucky.
Waking up early to shower.
Heading to the branch and changing into her uniform.
Waiting on tables and taking her breaks.
She finished her work and slept like a log.
But with every day like that, dregs accumulated in her heart and mind.
“Well, with today, your training is finished. You did well.”
“Eh…?”
As for what the end of her training period entailed, she would lose Ria’s assistance. Seeing Katie making a blue face, Ria smiled wryly.
“It’ll be fine even if you don’t worry about it. I’ll be in the dining hall too, just do what you’ve been doing.”
“G-got it…”
What she’d been doing.
Guide guests to their seats as they arrive, give their table order menus, pass the order on to the kitchen… Katie repeated it in her head to memorize it.
“Welcome.”
Coming to her senses from Ria’s voice, her body panicked in response.
“Katie, what’s today’s set menu?”
(What I’ve been doing.)
“Sorry, could you take these plates?”
(What I’ve been doing.)
“Another helping sounds good.”
(What I’ve been doing.)
“Ah, you, a moment?”
“I’d like to ooorder.”
(What I’ve…)
“Katie——”
“Ah——”
“——”
(What I…)
“—”
“—”
There was the sound of something cracking. Katie looked down, glass had shattered directly below her.
“—ie! Katie! Are you alright!?”
“Eh…?”
In front of Katie, whose consciousness returned by being shaken, was Ria looking at her in worry. Then, she realized everyone around her was focusing on her as well.
“Alright? I’m not… injured.”
Ria exhaled in relief while Katie looked at her in a daze.
However, Ria frowned in the next moment as Katie’s body stiffened.
Although the atmosphere was quite different, Katie recognized their expressions.
They wore the expression of an adult just before they fired off angry shouts.
What they said if she disobeyed just a little.
What they said if she couldn’t diligently do something.
When adults raised their voices, she would be beaten.
If she let out a voice she would be beaten all the more.
They would beat her if she begged them to stop.
She didn’t want to be beaten, she didn’t want pain, so she would frantically do as she was told.
Even if she was no longer beaten, she recalled the pain just by seeing others being beaten and would freeze from just hearing the sound. After she realized there weren’t any children that couldn’t do things they were told, she struggled in desperation.
As for how she had managed to live thus far, that was because of Bard.
While hiding it from the adults, only her companion would come to cheer her up. It saved her.
Even that was something very small, like a spider’s thread.
Even though she survived and became an outstanding assassin, she wasn’t able to easily dispel her past trauma.
She made a mistake.
She was beaten.
She didn’t want the pain.
She did what she was told.
So please, don’t beat her.
Don’t kill her—
However, the words put to her made her tremble.
“Come on! If you aren’t well, take a rest!”
“Eh—…?”
She didn’t expect it.
Katie was unable to understand what she was told and was forcibly pulled by Ria.
As for where she was taken, it was the break room next to the assessment room. She was made to sit on the leather sofa, still in a daze.
“That’s enough for today. The dining hall will be alright. Ilya arrived.”
Though it would have been hard to deal with if two people left, there was no problem with Ilya there.
To be followed up by the person she didn’t want to know of her mistake the most, Katie’s expression darkened.
“Are you tired?”
Towards Ria’s question, Katie raised her head that was hanging in shame, but immediately lowered to gaze.
Guessing her inner thoughts, Ria spoke cheerfully in a panic.
“You’ve been taking quite a few consecutive shifts after all. I’m sorry for not noticing even though you’re so tired.”
“N-no…”
Katie grew flustered by Ria’s apology.
“I’m not helpful, sorry…”
“It’s nothing like that!”
With her strong denial, Katie was at a loss from her unexpected reaction. She didn’t understand why Ria would assert it so strongly.
“We’ve been helped so much by Katie coming here you know? Bard too of course.”
Katie returned with an expression that seemed to say she didn’t know. Ria smiled back.
“There’s been more people, and because it’s come to the point where we’re exchanging our breaks for shifts, you’ve been a huge help… Though even if I said that, it seems Katie’s been unreasonably overworked huh?”
“My endurance… there’s no problem.”
“Really?”
When she nodded while looking straight at her, Ria nodded in assent.
“At any rate, Katie coming here has saved us.”
She would remember that.
Ria spent the rest of the break changing the topic to gossip.
Then, when Katie decided to return to the dining hall after her break, Ilya came in after being swapped with.
There was a porcelain cup on a saucer in her hand, a vivid red transparent glass teapot in the other.
Although Katie tried to apologize—
“… …”
“How are you feeling?”
“… … I’m fine.”
She wasn’t able to speak that well. In the end, Ilya spoke first.
Despite scarcely having an expression, Katie seemed uncomfortable.
“Your schedule originally had a rest day tomorrow, but how about one for the following day as well?”
“Eh…?”
“I’ve worked consecutive shifts before. Though being able to only give you two consecutive rest days is shameful.”
Although Ilya was smiling bitterly as though she were trying to cover up embarrassment, Katie on the other hand was surprised. Two consecutive rest days. Guessing what those words meant, she was puzzled.
“… I’m not fired…?”
“Just that much isn’t enough to fire someone.”
“But… I—”
“Katie.”
She interrupted her pessimistic thought.
“Everyone fails. Even Ria, even Cynthia, even Elizah, we’ve all failed.”
“… … Ilya too?”
“Of course.”
Ilya answered without changing her expression.
“It might have been different before you were in the guild, but you just need to try again if you fail.”
She just needed to try again.
Those words were said easily, but they were hard to take in.
Ilya somehow felt that Katie’s blank gaze stirred. She was staring straight at the teapot and cup placed on the table.
“If you fail, what did you fail doing… if you don’t think about it, won’t you be setting yourself up for it happening again in the future?”
That certainly might be true. She had no confidence that she could do it, and though she didn’t agree to it, she didn’t deny it either.
Taking her smile as though it said plenty enough, Ilya continued speaking.
“If failure was the end, your chances of growing up would just be wasted. Even if you’re fired to teach you a lesson, it would just have the opposite effect from what was intended by making you be nervous about failing.”
Even if she failed, that wasn’t the end. Katie’s chest tightened.
Seeing her expression, Ilya changed the subject.
“This is the problem.”
“… Eh?”
She was perplexed by her somewhat cheerful voice.
“This time, why did Katie fail?”
“T-that’s… why?”
“Let me hear it.”
Her tone and expression were both gentle. However, Katie felt as though her path of retreat was cut off.
Why?
While she thought, it felt like her back was crawling.
She wanted to stop thinking, but then she wouldn’t be able to answer her.
Katie was rushing.
(If I don’t answer…)
Rushing.
But unable to respond. Rushing more and more.
Just as she’d fallen into a vicious cycle—
“Alright, stop there.”
She calmed down by hearing Ilya’s voice right in front of her.
She was directly in front of her nose. Close enough that she could see her own reflection in Ilya’s blue eyes.
“How about I change the question? What work did you do today?”
“Serve tables…”
It seemed as though her question was answered. Moving away, Ilya continued with her questions.
“Was today’s work tough?”
“…”
Hesitating a slight bit, Katie nodded.
“I see. Were you tired?”
“That’s… a little, maybe…”
“From the continuous shifts? Consider taking less shifts then.”
“… Can I?”
While meager, Katie didn’t hide her surprise. Ilya laughed, “Of course.”
“Think about that later… For now, wasn’t there another cause that made you a bit tired?”
“… As usual, I couldn’t do it…”
Katie could usually do something if it was pointed out to her.
That much was clear from Ria and the others’ help. However, she wouldn’t be able to adapt unless she learned to do it on her own.
If you couldn’t figure something out by yourself, you wouldn’t be able to handle unexpected situations. But there was a way to fix the problem.
“… What do you mean by that?”
“That’s… when I get told to do so many things all at once, I don’t know which to do…”
By working while being confused after that happening, she’d suddenly just lose control.
Katie’s voice was small, like she were confessing a crime.
Still, that much was enough. She properly answered.
“At times like that, what did Ria and the others do?”
“Come to me, and ask… me.”
While she answered, Katie hung her head even further.
“Well then, do that next time.”
“…!”
Ilya smiled at Katie, who looked up.
“If you don’t know what to do, it’s not that hard to find it out. Take a deep breath, then try to think of how other people handled it. If you still don’t know, ask for them to wait a moment and ask someone else.”
She clasped Katie’s hands.
“To avoid failing, try again.”
“Again…”
Katie murmured.
“Right, failure isn’t the end. Just make use of the mistake and try again.”
Ilya looked straight at her. Seeing Katie look back at her, she slowly let go of her hands.
“But you know, it’s better to not fail right?”
“… Un.”
“Try and look to see what the other staff do when they don’t have any hands free for guests.”
“Others…?”
“Right, look to them. Watch and study what they do at those times.”
This wasn’t written in the manual, and Ria had forgotten to teach her this as well.
At any rate, what Ilya was saying right now was something not unlike what parents told their children. To someone who hadn’t learned it… or rather, to Katie who had been made to forget, expecting for her to learn so quickly would be unfair.
Could she do it?
Towards Katie’s uneasy expression, Ilya smiled.
“It’s alright. Bard-san isn’t your only friend. Everyone here will help you.”
“… Un.”
Her consent was rushed, but Katie didn’t take it back.
The next day, and the day after that as well, Katie visited the branch despite them being her vacation days.
Of course, her purpose was to watch how the staff worked.
Katie watched them, trying to learn. She discovered various things.
For instance, the day’s break times.
Claude and Desiree spoke to each other casually.
She’d often seen the two chatting with each other while working.
However, now that she took a closer look, their hands didn’t stop working at all despite them chatting.
When she understood, she felt ashamed for thinking the office work was easy.
To her, it was a world she hadn’t seen.
Katie, who changed her perception of them, started to see the others more positively after seeing their great efforts.
Their industrious appearances were pleasant, too. Not only the spontaneity of the staff, but the people that came in as guests and cooperated with them too.
Then she noticed. When she looked around, her surroundings were brimming with smiling faces.
Smiles containing lust. Smiles stemming from an appeased greed. Smiles of those who tease the weak. All of the smiles she’d seen up to now had brought shivers to her mind and body.
But the smiles here were different.
She didn’t feel a chill from them, they were smiles that calmed her mind.
“Thank you.”
The voices that hung in the air from leaving patrons, their smiling faces, Katie didn’t know how to reciprocate them.
“Thank you, very much.”
So she bowed as she usually would to leave.
But this time, just barely, the corners of her mouth… had lifted a little.
Let alone her bustling surroundings, it was such a small change that she herself hadn’t even noticed.
Before long, the bustling branch, as well as her bewilderment from some time before, were gone.
In an unchanging daily life, she worked without being able to calm her mind.
But now, the steps of the woman leaving the inn she used as lodgings as she walked towards an awfully imposing building… were happy ones.
The city located to the south of Rondéville Kingdom’s royal capital, Lunéville.
East of Lunéville was Pinéaville, next to the Akradist Kingdom’s territory. When it was known as Pinéadist, it had developed into a majorly fortified city-base as defense against invasions from the east.
However, the Pinéa region merged together during the king before last’s reign. When the previous generation’s king invited Akradist’s first princess to be his queen, its importance as a base was lost. Still, it changed into an important trade route to the royal capital. From then on, its walls no longer suited it as it transitioned into an agricultural city.
Not that it had a specialty product even though it was called an agricultural city either. Two big thieves guilds that were entrenched in Rondéville, led by [Sal of the Copper Paper] and [Mabelt of the Lotus], mutually fought for supremacy to rule its underground.
Of course, though most citizens would leave a city like that, some couldn’t for various reasons. They spent their days in fright and destitution while the guilds fought.
Then came Hector, demoted to a troublesome location (self-proclaimed) of such low importance.
And then was Frank, a man selected to become the Guild Association’s Lunéville Branch Manager at the young age of twenty-seven.
The two thieves guilds were expelled without a trace by these two people’s efforts, transforming the city into a safe place for everyone to live free from worldly cares.
It was this place that the girl, Ilya Schultz, set her eyes on.
“I’ll never forgive those who try to destroy its tranquility. O-other than the townspeople (mostly) that is.”
Finally finding Lunéville after her long life as a wanderer, it was her haven.
“An inn town?”
Ilya had met with Frank in the parlor. Haku was sleeping soundly while rolled into a ball on her apron.
“Does Ilya know that the amount of people coming here recently has increased?”
“Yes… mostly.”
She knew that the majority of people arriving came for the cooking.
The rest came sniffing out the money trail, Commerce and Industry Guild’s guild members aiming for travelers and guild members.
Ilya’s thoughts weren’t far off the mark.
“Though Lunéville has come to be acknowledged as safe and peaceful when compared to surrounding cities, even the royal capital has come to know of it. It seems that the budget compilation meeting the other day increased Lunéville’s development plan.”
Looking over the documents Frank presented to her, she certainly did see the fortunate contents to redevelop Lunéville into an inn town. Each of the documents had been carefully affixed with Rondéville king’s seal.
The contents were regarding boundaries and road maintenance. It was scheduled for a new road to be constructed, replacing the one they had had up till then.
“Was Hector-san at the royal capital?”
“Yeah… he was complaining about the aristocrats’ tastes. He just went there to plan ahead.”
(My condolences.)
Was it better to call it house arrest or imprisonment? Ilya expected the other aristocrats probably had something like an allergic reaction from the upstart aristocrat trying to stick around.
“Did Hector-san have something to say about the project?”
“No, I didn’t ask. He probably isn’t against it though. If that man said he seriously didn’t like it, he would have torn it up and thrown it away on the spot.”
“I-is that so?”
She held the impression of him being gentle, so that was surprising.
“Though the budget’s contents are normally assigned by the country, it appears that they won’t be issuing a quote for it until the next budget compilation. I’d like for you to put out a commission to the guild to calculate the costs.”
“To the guild…? To begin with, how far are they planning on turning this into an inn town? I don’t understand the plan.”
“By how far, do you mean the scale?”
“No, the kind of people that would stay here.”
If they made accommodations for upper class people, but made accommodations for others to be multiple people sleeping in a group, she wouldn’t approve.
“That is to say, the amount of people is directly tied to the deterioration of public security. Don’t remove Lunéville’s good point by attracting unsavory individuals.”
“Most would come as guild members though. I doubt they would spend much money on lodging.”
“I assume you have no problems with maintaining our current quality of clientele?”
Frank thought for a moment, nodding before long.
“I want to continue on how we are.”
“… Mmm.”
Recently, most of the inns had been at max occupancy.
The branch would lend private rooms to individuals that were unable to secure hotel lodgings in harsh weather.
The branch had also sent out a commission for citizens who owned houses to rent out rooms.
Marketing probably had some uneasiness over more being sold out than were left to sell, thinking it was a bad situation.
“Gathering all of the landowners and working with them to establish their residence areas and inns is Hector-san’s job right? The building costs of the landowners’ dwellings, including the explanation of the total infrastructure improvement costs by Hector-san, are you sure that is alright?”
“Yeah. Charon’s gotten in contact with the Industry Guild, so they’ll send some people out.”
The people called over this time were architectural engineers that belonged to the Industry Guild.
Housing construction was different from general commissions, each party (contractors rather than groups) would gather and carry out a construction commission meeting at the guild. Then, each party would estimate the construction costs for the commission, with the one with the lowest bid amongst the gathering getting the rights for the construction.
Whether they would participate in the meeting would depend on each party, with larger parties staying away from small profit commissions by an unspoken agreement.
Though it was also possible that a client would send the commission directly to a party and not the guild, since the merits like contribution compensation and rank-ups disappeared as well, so long as there wasn’t some special circumstance, such arrangements rarely happened.
Accordingly, if the Mercenary Guild’s duty was to manage and unify guild members belonging to it, the Industry Guild’s role was to maintain reasonable pricing and check for moral hazards in the construction industry. Though there were also the roles of maintenance and development, the current status quo had each business relying on others.
By the way, in the case of do-it-yourself people, they could accept commissions even if they weren’t qualified to be an Industry Guild member. Because there were no carpenters in Lunéville, Sullivan was the one to take orders and mend armor.
Now let’s return to the main subject.
First was to make arrangements for the Industry Guild representatives and calculate the rough expenses of the dwelling structures and facilities. Then, based on the costs, look for candidates to reconstruct inns for the landowners.
However, there was a point of uncertainty that had to be clarified before going any further.
“The budget is just for road maintenance materials, but will the subsidies regarding housing construction and immigration decrease?”
“That’s right… it’ll be carried out by the country. There’s no question that they would keep those expenses in mind as well.”
“… They may tell Hector-san to take it from the subsidies though.”
Although Ilya thought that a country should help those in it out to gain their favor, she didn’t expect the plan to stand on such wishful thinking.
At any rate, it wasn’t a waste for them to figure out uneasy factors.
“Then there would also be the transportation of the materials for construction and its guards, as well as guards for the road maintenance.”
“Yeah. Given the situation, we need to have the inn construction go through first before improving the road.”
“… For the increased amount of people.”
“That’s right. If mercenaries were used to guard Lunéville, the amount of personnel staying here would increase substantially. Could we cover it?”
By ‘it’, of course he was referring to meals.
“I don’t think there would be any problems with the distribution if we purchased a large amount of foodstuffs… What about food and drink shops?”
“That’s, well… people interested in setting those shops up haven’t turned up.”
“Is that so…”
Though to tell the truth, something like that was inconsequential for Ilya. What she was truly worried about was there being more monsters with the increase in people.
Considering the source of monsters, it wasn’t hard to fall into a vicious cycle since the amount of monsters increased proportional to people.
The number of monsters went up as the number of people went up. To exterminate monsters, people gathered.
Truly a vicious cycle.
In order for there to be more commissions for the guild, everything worked out with the increase in monsters. However, since the plan this time was simply inviting more monsters to come, it produced a contradiction. The guild, which should have been removing the town’s threats, was exposing it to more danger for the sake of profit. So even though it was against what she truly wanted, Ilya, who was a mere receptionist, couldn’t intervene.
More importantly though, she knew that the townspeople wished for the expansion.
(There’s no way I could go against it.)
Muttering that in her mind, she settled her murky feelings.
After a lot of conferences and meetings, around a month had passed for the documents and commission registrations to be completed in various places, as well as an additional several weeks for transporting the materials and the start of the construction.
“Ilya, sorry! Please bring this to Elizah!”
Accepting the dish from the kitchen next to the counter, she headed towards the temporary terrace established outside of the entrance.
When she was about to open the door, Elizah appeared after vigorously opening the door. Since Ilya was nimble, of course Elizah was as well, they passed by each other without colliding as though they were dancing gracefully.
“Ah, sorry Ilya! Thanks!”
“It’s alright, I can bring it. Elizah can leave it to me.”
“Got it!”
On the other side of the door, there were twelve large tables that faced the main street placed on the terrace. However, they were all packed. Even if it was always like that inside, they had to clean up despite people eating and drinking while they stood outside.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting, here is your yakitori.” [1]
“”” Oooh~! “””
“Allow me to take your empty dishes.”
They were getting drunk, so she immediately retreated when she sensed danger from the looks in their eyes. Elizah, who she had exchanged roles with, shared a wry smile with her after she returned inside, probably due to her working at the reception desk instead of Ilya. Frank was standing at the counter.
“Sorry, Frank-san.”
“No, you’ve had it tough. Sorry as well, Luke. You had to come in despite today not being your night shift.”
“It’s fine, I have a lot of free time on my hands after all.”
Frank smiled bitterly, that’s just how Luke was.
Currently, Ria, Rachelle, and the wolf beastkin Darren were on the second floor serving tables. Elizah, Clarice, and Cynthia were moving about the first floor serving tables. Ilya and Luke were at the reception desk.
In other words, everyone was working. They were so packed that they’d reached the point where Darren and Clarice, who mainly worked reception services, had to take turns waiting on tables.
“But this is an amazing amount of people…”
Catching Frank’s mutter, Ilya glanced over the dining area.
The faces of newcomers were mixed in with those of their regulars, primarily Industry Guild workers. With the inn construction and area development rush, Lunéville’s population had temporarily inflated considerably. In addition to the terrace they had added on, they were also delivering some directly to the construction site.
“I wonder if it’ll be bad if we don’t hire more waiters ahead of time?”
“Please don’t forget about the kitchen.”
“T-that’s right.”
Her endurance wouldn’t be a problem due to her cheat, but doing it alone would be mentally stressful.
Since they had already asked Hector for it, the Association’s Lunéville Branch was in the middle of extending its dining area. The building next to the branch was currently under construction, but Frank still hadn’t decided on its opening staff.
As for why Frank was still racking his brains, that was because of him being vigilant due to the assassins that had invaded the other day.
(Even though he said that he’d say something if he saw them…)
When she lightly scowled at Frank with a pout, the person in question felt Ilya’s gaze and turned towards her.
“Do you think the branch’s faculty are good as is?”
“Yes. With everyone’s capabilities, I don’t think we can’t do it.”
“Un. That’s right.”
“If the branch’s operations increase, we can just remodel the second floor’s dining area into an office.”
“Right.”
Nonetheless, the fact was that waiting on tables and being a receptionist right then was a big burden.
Ilya decided that she would snatch the people that seemed like they could help when she next got a chance.
Early morning the next day, Ilya was heading to the branch’s basement warehouse.
The whole warehouse was made so that it was impossible to enter or leave if you didn’t have the key. It was currently being used as a prison to confine the two assassins.
Though they were being confined, it was better circumstances than a bad inn with the provided bed and three simple meals.
However, the residents’ gazes that met Ilya opening the lock were exuding wariness.
“You’ve been restrained for so long, I’m sorry.”
Even though they heard Ilya apologize, the two didn’t let down their guards.
Ilya, who had judged that such roundabout methods wouldn’t make any progress, decided to immediately get down to business.
“Thieves Guild members, Bard-san. Katie-san. Your sentences have been decided, so I’ve come to inform you.”
Their names called, both of their bodies jolted.
Their restraints had been undone when they were put in the prison after their interrogation. And now, Ilya had opened the only escape route. However, their bodies couldn’t move.
It was as though they couldn’t go against this girl in front of them, like their bodies were ordered to stay still.
“Sentences huh. Is there any use negotiating with the guild?”
Bard had trouble holding back his voice from quivering, doing his best to hold up his facade.
“Well, even though I said your sentences have been decided, the final decision is based on what happens next.”
“…?”
Both of them expressed a questioning look from Ilya’s strange phrasing.
“Let’s play a game of tag.”
“Huh…?”
They doubted their ears.
Although they went through childhood without its normal naivety, they knew the rules for tag.
Due to that, they couldn’t understand her intentions at all.
Ilya watched the two perplexed people in satisfaction, continuing to speak.
“The range is the entire town of Lunéville. You run away, I look for you. If either of you two manage to keep away until nightfall, you will be acquitted. If you are caught, both of you will have to do what I say.”
“—”
Don’t fuck with me.
Though he wanted to shout that, he did his best to suppress it.
“… Any other rules?”
“At the point in time you go out into Lunéville, please know that your lives are forfeit should you injure any citizen.”
Her expression hadn’t changed at all. This girl’s dangerous manner of speaking caused them to hold their breath.
“There are no additional rules. Please, any questions?”
Seeing the two react with silence, Ilya nodded.
“Well then, I’ll return to the branch. Feel free to take this time to leave.”
Ilya saw them off with a bow, leaving Bard dumbfounded.
It was good he was being underestimated. If she had any ulterior motives, he just had to overcome them.
“Katie. We will operate separately after leaving this warehouse. Focus on that woman, think only about staying away from her.”
“Got it.”
When Ilya’s presence was completely gone, Katie nodded at Bard. Carefully, the two quickly distanced themselves from the warehouse.
Though he thought that Ilya would go for them right from the start, it was later that afternoon before she actually left the branch.
Currently, Katie was hiding a distance away and could just barely sense Ilya’s presence and had kept her distance in order to secure her escape route. Bard was erasing his presence while concealed in a spot where he could see the branch, outwitting the premise of him running away. He was contriving to escape detection while shadowing the oni’s actions. [2]
Since it was early morning when Ilya went down to see them, half of the time had already passed.
(Is she planning on exhausting us mentally…?)
The anxious Bard didn’t look weary at all. He smiled, thinking it was unfortunate for her.
But in the next moment, Bard stopped smiling and immediately left as fast as he could.
(I-impossible!)
Ilya, who had just exited the branch’s staff entrance, uneventfully stopped for a moment and stared at Bard, beginning to walk straight towards him.
(Didn’t I erase my presence!?)
He reconfirmed his situation in a confused state of mind, but none of the citizens payed attention to Bard, not a single one.
Bard was running away at full speed thinking that Ilya was in pursuit, but there were no signs that she would catch up.
Since he was calming down thinking that he wouldn’t lose in leg strength, Bard started to search for a suitable position to watch for Ilya’s approach again.
Meanwhile, Katie was flustered.
(Eh…? She disappeared…!?)
When she left the group of presences… the branch, she lost track of the feeling.
Though Katie couldn’t sense presences down to breathing fluctuations like her partner, Bard, she couldn’t feel Ilya’s presence in the slightest.
With that, she was incredibly shaken.
(What do I do…)
Bard told her to devote herself to evading that presence.
She couldn’t find the presence. So now she had to run.
But where?
Based on what?
Her mind only able to think about finishing that thought, her body naturally didn’t move.
(What do I do…—)
A chill ran through her. Thinking was hopeless. Her head started to issue complaints from the problem continuing to make its rounds.
Katie couldn’t hold back a feeling she’d forgotten for a long time now, the feeling that she was [Caught].
“Be at ease, please rest for now.”
Sensing her presence and hearing a voice, it was without a doubt Ilya.
She was caught.
Immediately after realizing that, Katie lost her hold on consciousness without even seeing Ilya’s face.
Several hours after Katie lost.
Bard was completely exhausted.
Even though he hid himself while running away, Ilya slowly approached him no matter what he did.
Her walking never paused; she obviously knew where Bard was at all times.
(I can’t run away…)
At least, so long as he was inside Lunéville. As soon as he thought that—
“You’ve obviously slowed down. Are you becoming tired?”
Ilya, who should have been about as far away in the distance as to be as large as his thumb, was in front of him.
Did I black out?
Although Bard thought that for a moment, the positions of people around him had hardly changed.
(So I can’t win in speed either?)
Bard, who was standing still in a daze from realizing that, felt Ilya’s touch on his shoulder.
“Caught you.”
Bard looked at Ilya.
Although the elf girl’s smile was beautiful, she was more like a monster or monster.
Bard was drained of strength, losing his will to run away.
“Allow me to guide you to the inn Katie-san is resting at. Since the inn is also the branch’s lodging, please don’t do anything strange there okay?”
“… Like I have a choice.”
Obediently, he followed Ilya’s guidance.
In this way, Ilya first goal of determining their treatment was achieved, as well as her second goal of having them recognize the difference in their abilities.
The next day.
A man and woman standing in front of Ilya were wearing the branch’s uniform.
“… Hey, why do I have to wear something like this?”
“I thought it suited you nicely though? Don’t you think so too, Katie-san?”
“Un. Bard, it fits you.”
Praised by Katie, Bard seemed to lose himself a bit.
However, when he noticed Ilya looking at them, he immediately went back to scowling.
“… You really think we can do something like serve customers?”
“It’s not impossible and you can do it, so do it. You lost the game right?”
Bard held his tongue with that line.
Bard, who was a black panther beastkin, had black hair and tanned skin. His slim and tall figure’s muscles were moderately showing through the branch uniform that looked like butler clothing. Katie had soft black hair and was fair-skinned, and with her being a saluki-type dog beastkin, her ears hung down. Her black-based uniform provided a wonderful contrast with the white frills that swayed as she moved. [3]
The only thing that dissatisfied Ilya was that she was trained so that her tail wouldn’t react alongside her emotions.
(Such a waste.)
By having offered up more information on the Thieves Guild, their punishments were deferred. Though even if they were on parole, it was unclear how they would eventually deal with the two of them.
Ilya got Frank’s permission to meet them, but seeing that they didn’t kill themselves or do anything weird despite having their restraints undone, she once again judged that they weren’t brainwashed.
Accordingly, she suggested a game.
As for what Ilya, the winner, told the two to do? Of course, it was to work as staff for the branch.
“And so, you two will work here from now on. I’ll give you both manuals, so Bard-san, please learn reception duties from Luke. And Katie-san, please learn waitress duties from Ria.”
“Got it.”
“… Tch.”
She poked Bard in the forehead.
Even though she was suppressed by her equipment, if she put in a bit of effort it would be like being hit from a blunt weapon.
“Owww~…!”
“Take this lightly and I’ll seriously beat you up.”
“O-okay…”
Training at the start was important. Although she didn’t like violence—other than love taps on her enemies—she boasted to Frank beforehand that she would take responsibility, so she wouldn’t do this half-baked. Somehow or another, it seemed to be effective.
It was still early in the morning so there weren’t many guests coming in. It could be called the optimal time to learn their duties. Learning the basics of their job while the amount of people eating breakfast continued to increase, they would learn while following their surroundings. Nothing was to be left to chance.
… At least, nothing should have been.
“Bastard, say that again!”
“I’m saying, with you guys’ skills, this commission is waaay to dangerous for you!”
“O-oi, Bard-kun!”
Across from Bard was a group of five guild members. Luke’s restraint on him wasn’t effective either, so it turned into a head-on confrontation.
“… Haaah.”
“Pi?”
When Ilya moved while letting out a small sigh, Haku followed her without the least care in the world.
Although she also had trouble abandoning the subject out of care, she would subdue herself and give a clear cut attitude while working.
“The fuck would a receptionist like you know!?”
“I said you’re in for a painful time if you take this li—”
“Could I have a moment, Bard-san?”
She addressed him with a sweet smiling face, but he quickly shut his mouth as though out of fear.
(That’s odd~. Even though I smiled normally.)
“Monster…”
“Aah!? Who are you to call Ilya a monster, bastard!!”
Everyone blinked towards Luke’s sudden anger, Ilya included. Let alone exhibiting anger, this was the first time he’d even shouted.
What brought that on?
(… Wait, not that!)
Coming back to her senses, she recovered her expression and asked the two.
“Could you explain what happened?”
“Ah, yeah. I looked at the commission chart he handed me and told him it was dangerous.”
“Oi, that’s not what you said! Don’t lie!”
Temporarily leaving the apology towards the exasperated customer to Luke, she checked the commission charts.
There were two of them, the first was for Rondélocusts. Then, the second one was—
(A Laoloa Boar…)
She had seen its name in the registry relatively recently. In addition, the commission’s designated area was the same place too. The subjugation commission for the Laoloa Boars before was successful and their numbers should have decreased, but—
(I wonder if I should check to see if they are multiplying or not?)
A thought floating in the corner of her mind, she looked at the guild members that tried to accept it again. Their formation was one swordsman, two pugilists with one of the two having a chain technique skill, one mage, and an alchemist. [4]
“Bard-san. Please properly explain why you think it is dangerous.”
“A-ah? Nah, too troublesome.”
“Did you want to pick a fight? Or did you want to advise them?”
“…”
His silence meant that it was without a doubt the latter. Taking his gauche character into consideration, his way of speaking bluntly when giving advice would generally be due to embarrassment.
(… Is he a child!?)
While giving him a tsukkomi in her mind, she once again smiled outwardly. [5]
“If you were just picking a fight, will you accept the suitable punishment?”
“I-I get it! I’ll say it okay!? You guys… you fought against a locust-type or Laoloa Boar before?”
“Aah? ‘Course we have.”
“In the warrior examination.”
“Then, have you fought them together?”
“… No, but—”
(Bard-san, success.)
Convinced, Ilya was relieved.
“If you’ve fought locusts you know they have a toxin… you know that right? Laoloa Boards have low toxin resistance, it infects their whole body very fast. It’s the same with the Rondélocust… get it?”
“Ah…”
The two pugilists frowned. Though the other three were puzzled, they immediately frowned when they also figured out what he meant.
“It’s not a problem if you hunt ’em separately. But if you encounter them together and the boar is infected?”
At a time like that, a Laoloa Boar would probably be enraged. It was a terrifying condition where you’d have to keep running until it loses sight of you or you kill it (or until you yourself die). You’d be afflicted by the toxin if you weren’t careful.
Rear guard mages were good still. Though its body fluids would spread if its cut by the swordsman and the pugilists would have to hit it directly. If they touched its body or blood that was infected by the toxin, they would probably only hold on for a few seconds with their resistances.
Could they defend their comrades while fighting a group of enemies infected with the toxin?
Seeing them, Bard had judged it to be difficult. That’s why he advised it was dangerous.
“… What’ll we do?”
They were also beginning to worry.
Especially the pugilists that had particularly high levels, his other comrades seemed to be avoiding saying anything direct.
Ilya decided to ask Bard a question to advance the conversation.
“Well, what does Bard-san think they should do?”
“Huh?”
“It’s not advice unless you give a suggestion. You shouldn’t just say it’s impossible to people alright?”
“Even if you say that…”
Bard brooded over it, but couldn’t easily reach a conclusion.
Luke, who had been watching the situation progress from the side, opened his mouth after being unable to endure any longer.
“You could also bring someone from the Magic Guild, how about trying to have your main offense be magic?”
When Luke spoke, the five just looked at each other awkwardly.
Although mages belonged to the Magic Guild, their ability varied widely. Mages that were able to kill a lot of things even with low class magic like Lula and York were rare, and it was unusual for excellent practitioners to join a faction to begin with.
Even without being able to distinguish ability like Ilya, you could roughly predict how capable a mage travelling with a group of warriors was.
“But my magic isn’t that strong.”
Luke wasn’t perturbed by his confession. On the contrary, he smiled to relieve them.
“By prioritizing safety over efficiency, you can do it with either a large or small power. Even with a moderate power, you can defeat it if you shoot several.”
“Well, more or less.”
“Even if you could defeat one, isn’t it your end if other ones showed up?
“Does everyone know how the boars chase after foreign invaders?”
“With their legs… wait, that’s not it. Isn’t it with their eyes?”
“Though they do of course ultimately find their enemies by their eyesight, in general, boar-types living in forests have poor eyesight. They are unable to search for enemies while running like carnivores are able to. They use their protruding snouts to search for their enemy’s smell, chasing after the scent. Due to that, I recommend everyone to use a sachet or perfume. [6]
“So that disturbs the scent huh?”
Understanding that they needed more experience, the group of five devised a strategy.
If they were the standard party, they would put something that had a stronger smell than themselves in bags or the like to use as decoys. If they left it on a tree they could even likely come out of it without taking damage at all.
However, they had an alchemist with them. Ilya knew that he could only grow plants, but he could improve by making a trap by growing thorn-like branches on a tree and placing the scent there or something like that. She also expected that setting up a bundle of vines in the shape of a person at a cliff or waterside would be effective enough.
Of course, she wouldn’t go so far as to interrupt their conversation. It was probably enough with just Luke’s advice this time.
“Prepare your stuff at a tool shop. If you do that, I got no complaints about you accepting the commission.”
“… Please remember about the Rondélocusts as well.”
“We get it.”
While receiving Luke’s support, Bard falteringly completed registering that they accepted it.
Seeing off the group of five leaving in high spirits as though they’d already forgotten about the quarrel, Bard felt relieved.
“… You… helped me. Reception work is hard too, heh.”
“That’s right. That just now was second-hand information though.”
“It was? Did the Branch Manager say it?”
“No no, Ilya did. Most of what I just said, she said beforehand.”
He looked towards Ilya with a sour expression.
(… I wonder if he dislikes me that much?)
Though it wasn’t like she felt Luke didn’t have to give out her name, she felt a bit unpleasant that her attempt at modesty was denied.
“Whether or not they’ll be able to put the information to use is up to them. Bard-san could also learn various things from Luke, too.”
His shady-looking face had eventually gone away, but this time Bard straightened his posture without any of his rebellious attitude.
As for Katie, who was still carrying trays timidly, Ilya merely wanted her to acquire and improve her skills.
(From the looks of it, Bard-san is predicting what commission people will bring over to accept.)
And he would check over the raw materials upon a subjugation’s completion.
Just that was plenty enough of a change, he was likely striving to improve.
Ilya, who was returning to the counter while thinking so, locked gazes with a person who came into the branch.
“Morning. Is Frank in?”
As for who went towards the counter, it was Hector, the lord.
“Good morning. I think he is in his room right now, should I call for him?”
“Yeah, thanks. Could we use the parlor?”
“Yes. This way, please.”
Holding Haku, Ilya went up to the third floor accompanied by Hector.
“Those were the people you mentioned at the counter?”
“Yes. I had them help starting today.”
“I believe it’ll be fine since it was your decision… but busy waiters aside, was it necessary for him to be at the reception desk?”
“Of course.”
The reason she proposed to hire them wasn’t just for their sake.
“I expect that there will be more commissions from now on, I’m preparing for it.”
“More commissions? The construction work?”
“… It’s not unrelated to that, at least.”
Ilya held her tongue, not saying anything further.
She couldn’t disclose information that no one other than her knew. That was one of the bans she’d imposed on herself. She couldn’t tell them the cause of there being more monsters. Still, knowing what the outcome this time would be, she would make sure to ambiguously tell them to prepare.
“… Is that so. The Elves’ Precepts are troublesome.”
“They are… I’m sorry.”
Though there really were things called the Elves’ Precepts, in truth they held no influence. They were just used to cover over the elves’ behaviors as they weren’t concerned with other races.
The restoration magic used to treat the beastkin group attacked by Bard, as well as things like their knowledge of seasonings, were hidden by the elves’ wit.
The elven race was an intelligent one, widely known as having insular personalities. No one would even hold a doubt to her lie.
“Frank-san, good morning. Hector-sama is here to see you.”
“… Morning, Ilya. Haku too.”
“Pi!”
After that, she prepared black tea for them in the parlor and tried to run away. However—
“Ah, it’d help if Ilya stayed to listen as well.”
“… Certainly.”
Like the time before, she wasn’t able to get away this time either. Although they were her superior’s orders, she felt it wrong for a mere receptionist like her to be present in such an important conversation.
(Even though I’m not something like Frank-san’s butler or secretary…)
Their conversation primarily comprised of the construction work’s progress and the cost of hiring people for additional construction. Another thing was guards for an investigation around Lunéville to study the monsters.
Monsters were a threat to all races, all nations would cooperate in studying their ecologies and capabilities… Be that as it may, they wouldn’t release all of the information regarding their ecologies to those who weren’t their allies. This lead to the present state of going to a guild for information regarding a monster’s capabilities for practically any subjugation.
Though you may think that each nations’ research facilities would feel ashamed from it, they probably didn’t want to compromise their position. It was just better that they weren’t disseminating strange information with empty theories.
When their business talk ended, the two proceeded into small talk.
Even though Hector and Frank weren’t direct acquaintances, their careers held things in common. A lot of places other than Rondéville came up in their talk.
Since Hector built up a considerable amount of stress every day in the royal capital, he was more talkative than usual.
Ilya was doting on Haku since she thought it would be boorish to interrupt their conversation when there was a knock at the door.
Ilya walked over and opened the door. Coming into sight, Ria bowed.
“Frank-san. Aryune’s mayor is here to see you. Should I ask him to wait on the second floor’s private room?”
“Did you hear his business for coming?”
“He said it was about monster subjugation.”
“… If it’s alright, I’d like to attend as well. Do you mind?”
Receiving Hector’s proposal, Ria left to guide Aryune’s village head to the parlor.
Ilya stayed as though it were natural.
(Either way would be fine though.)
She would likely hear about it afterwards if it’s about a commission.
Thinking to herself, Ilya made some black tea for the village mayor as well and moved to wait behind Frank.
Taking the signal, the village mayor started talking falteringly.
“Branch Manager-dono. Do you know about the presence of monsters surrounding my village recently?”
“Yeah. We received a subjugation commission for that, and if I recall it was registered as accepted at our reception desk.”
“… Yes. Though that is true…”
Frank and Hector each frowned at his vague behavior.
However, if what he was hesitating to say was what Ilya expected, it would be a difficult situation for the two. Judging so, Ilya helped.
“Did the same kind of monster reappear?”
“—! You knew?”
“No, it simply felt that would be something difficult for you to speak about. Should we put out an emergency commission?”
“Well, that’s…”
The village mayor looked down again.
(Well, I understand what he wants to say.)
“Though I tried to put together the funds from the village to put out a commission…”
“There are those who doubt that they were hunted at all the previous time?”
“—… Yes.”
There were few monsters in the Lunéville region. If the same kind of monster reappeared so soon, it might not have been hunted at all. It was reasonable that people might think that and harbor doubts.
Even though it was impossible to deceive the amount subjugated in the subjugation book’s system, there was a possibility that the Guild Association could be suspected of pocketing money.
“Then, this time we will show proof they were hunted. As soon as you consent, how about we pay the intermediary fee and commission reward?”
“Is that alright!?”
As for who the village mayor was looking to, it was Frank, the branch manager, and not Ilya, the one who proposed it.
Though that was natural when you took their positions into account, his reaction was something not seen that often in this town and was something fresh to relish.
“… We’ll handle it as a special case.”
“Thank you!”
After village mayor signed the commission chart created after that and left, Ilya was asked for an explanation by Frank.
“The problem didn’t look to be enough to go that far for though?”
“Treat it like a sort of investment for the future. When the amount of monsters increase from here on, there will be more damage if there are people who are unwilling to pay for commissions from them holding distrust towards the guild.”
The two agreed with her.
However, Hector still hesitated.
“Still though, you think there’s going to be more monsters in the future?”
“… It’s likely, at least. The village may have trouble bearing it. You might want to think about some countermeasures, such as increasing taxes or taking a loan.”
“To go that far…”
Frank wore a serious look.
(Ah, oops. Did I say too much?)
Without changing her behavior or tone, she continued to explain to the two as though it weren’t something to be too concerned about.
“There’s no downside to being prepared, I think it’s fine so long as you keep it in mind.”
“… Understood.”
Though Ilya was trying to avoid fanning the flames of anxiety as much as she could—
(It’s better than making it worse.)
She decided to think positively.
This was the first time Katie had a respectable job and it was hectic enough that she felt dizzy.
In the morning, she woke up before the sun rose. She took a shower and dressed herself while fighting her drowsiness.
Walking from the inn she was lodging at with unsteady feet, she walked in from the staff entrance. The office appeared in front of her.
“Ah, morning Katie.”
“… Morning.”
“Morning-san~… you look sleepy. Don’t fall asleep while standing and drop the dishes okay?”
“I’m alright… I think.”
Coming out of the office, Katie headed into the dressing room beyond it.
Though she was confident in her endurance, she wasn’t accustomed to living a normal life among a group of people and was more exhausted than she’d expected.
There was also a mental source for her fatigue as well.
For instance, that interaction with Desiree and Claude from a moment before.
She wondered if they knew what she did.
She felt guilty from deceiving them if they didn’t know, and she couldn’t understand their accepting behaviors if they did.
She couldn’t deal with her own feelings and couldn’t figure out a solution.
Even so, the reason she was reporting to work without running away was because of the order Ilya gave her.
Arriving at the locker with her name written on it in the changing room, Katie started changing into her uniform.
“Ah, Katie. Morning~”
“Morning, Ria.”
Her change of clothes laying limply next to her, Ria promptly put on her uniform.
Katie was troubled by being unable to get the string on the lower back through that well when it suddenly disappeared from her hold.
As she was trying to somehow turn around to see her back, Ria bent forward to help.
“Hold still a second.”
Probably due to her lack of sleep, her ability to concentrate had fallen so low that she didn’t notice that Ria had moved behind her.
“Alright, it’s done.”
Katie bowed to Ria, who was wearing a gleeful smile.
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh? It’s fine it’s fine. The uniform is cute, but I had trouble at first too. You don’t have to say thanks.”
“That… so? Got it.”
Next to Katie who was blinking her eyes, Ria closed her locker and headed to the office.
“Nee-chan, my order?”
“Coming.”
“Katie-chan, can you get the next one?”
“Y-yes.”
“Katie, take empty plates away if you see them while taking orders.”
“G-got it.”
“Katie—! Take this to table three—”
Going this way and that, she was kept busy.
So busy that she felt dizzy, she couldn’t find room to doze off.
If there was something close to relief for her, that would probably be her lunch and two breaks.
Fatigue dampens appetite if it’s in excess, but you would need the power of magic to forget about eating the branch’s cooking after eating it once.
“But you know Jimmy-san? Looks like he’s looking to woo Ninonne.”
“Aaa~h. My condolences…”
“He’s looking at Ninonne-san even though it’d make his wife cry.”
“Wooow…”
There was gossip being exchanged during their break in the office, but the only one who was uninterested was Katie.
Even she didn’t know what kinds of conversations she would be interested in to begin with. Though she was struggling serving tables, it didn’t look like the office staff had it any easier.
“Katie, good work today. Elizah’s already arrived, you can finish up.”
“Got it.”
The branch’s waiters worked in three time slots, morning to evening, noon to night, and evening to night. Katie still wasn’t entrusted with the busiest time slot of evening to night.
When she changed her clothes in the dressing room, a voice called out to Katie from the office.
“Good work today. Ilya said she would prepare a meal for you, do you want to eat?”
“Un. I’ll eat.”
Unhesitatingly agreeing, she would eat anything made by Ilya with relish.
Katie had returned to her inn after forgetting about her fatigue due to the satisfaction of her full stomach, but it surged back again as soon as she entered her room. She rushed to bed without showering.
Then, she realized it was the next day.
After that, she repeated a similar day again.
In an unchanging daily life, she worked without being able to calm her mind.
She wasn’t dissatisfied. She even felt she was lucky.
Waking up early to shower.
Heading to the branch and changing into her uniform.
Waiting on tables and taking her breaks.
She finished her work and slept like a log.
But with every day like that, dregs accumulated in her heart and mind.
“Well, with today, your training is finished. You did well.”
“Eh…?”
As for what the end of her training period entailed, she would lose Ria’s assistance. Seeing Katie making a blue face, Ria smiled wryly.
“It’ll be fine even if you don’t worry about it. I’ll be in the dining hall too, just do what you’ve been doing.”
“G-got it…”
What she’d been doing.
Guide guests to their seats as they arrive, give their table order menus, pass the order on to the kitchen… Katie repeated it in her head to memorize it.
“Welcome.”
Coming to her senses from Ria’s voice, her body panicked in response.
“Katie, what’s today’s set menu?”
(What I’ve been doing.)
“Sorry, could you take these plates?”
(What I’ve been doing.)
“Another helping sounds good.”
(What I’ve been doing.)
“Ah, you, a moment?”
“I’d like to ooorder.”
(What I’ve…)
“Katie——”
“Ah——”
“——”
(What I…)
“—”
“—”
There was the sound of something cracking. Katie looked down, glass had shattered directly below her.
“—ie! Katie! Are you alright!?”
“Eh…?”
In front of Katie, whose consciousness returned by being shaken, was Ria looking at her in worry. Then, she realized everyone around her was focusing on her as well.
“Alright? I’m not… injured.”
Ria exhaled in relief while Katie looked at her in a daze.
However, Ria frowned in the next moment as Katie’s body stiffened.
Although the atmosphere was quite different, Katie recognized their expressions.
They wore the expression of an adult just before they fired off angry shouts.
What they said if she disobeyed just a little.
What they said if she couldn’t diligently do something.
When adults raised their voices, she would be beaten.
If she let out a voice she would be beaten all the more.
They would beat her if she begged them to stop.
She didn’t want to be beaten, she didn’t want pain, so she would frantically do as she was told.
Even if she was no longer beaten, she recalled the pain just by seeing others being beaten and would freeze from just hearing the sound. After she realized there weren’t any children that couldn’t do things they were told, she struggled in desperation.
As for how she had managed to live thus far, that was because of Bard.
While hiding it from the adults, only her companion would come to cheer her up. It saved her.
Even that was something very small, like a spider’s thread.
Even though she survived and became an outstanding assassin, she wasn’t able to easily dispel her past trauma.
She made a mistake.
She was beaten.
She didn’t want the pain.
She did what she was told.
So please, don’t beat her.
Don’t kill her—
However, the words put to her made her tremble.
“Come on! If you aren’t well, take a rest!”
“Eh—…?”
She didn’t expect it.
Katie was unable to understand what she was told and was forcibly pulled by Ria.
As for where she was taken, it was the break room next to the assessment room. She was made to sit on the leather sofa, still in a daze.
“That’s enough for today. The dining hall will be alright. Ilya arrived.”
Though it would have been hard to deal with if two people left, there was no problem with Ilya there.
To be followed up by the person she didn’t want to know of her mistake the most, Katie’s expression darkened.
“Are you tired?”
Towards Ria’s question, Katie raised her head that was hanging in shame, but immediately lowered to gaze.
Guessing her inner thoughts, Ria spoke cheerfully in a panic.
“You’ve been taking quite a few consecutive shifts after all. I’m sorry for not noticing even though you’re so tired.”
“N-no…”
Katie grew flustered by Ria’s apology.
“I’m not helpful, sorry…”
“It’s nothing like that!”
With her strong denial, Katie was at a loss from her unexpected reaction. She didn’t understand why Ria would assert it so strongly.
“We’ve been helped so much by Katie coming here you know? Bard too of course.”
Katie returned with an expression that seemed to say she didn’t know. Ria smiled back.
“There’s been more people, and because it’s come to the point where we’re exchanging our breaks for shifts, you’ve been a huge help… Though even if I said that, it seems Katie’s been unreasonably overworked huh?”
“My endurance… there’s no problem.”
“Really?”
When she nodded while looking straight at her, Ria nodded in assent.
“At any rate, Katie coming here has saved us.”
She would remember that.
Ria spent the rest of the break changing the topic to gossip.
Then, when Katie decided to return to the dining hall after her break, Ilya came in after being swapped with.
There was a porcelain cup on a saucer in her hand, a vivid red transparent glass teapot in the other.
Although Katie tried to apologize—
“… …”
“How are you feeling?”
“… … I’m fine.”
She wasn’t able to speak that well. In the end, Ilya spoke first.
Despite scarcely having an expression, Katie seemed uncomfortable.
“Your schedule originally had a rest day tomorrow, but how about one for the following day as well?”
“Eh…?”
“I’ve worked consecutive shifts before. Though being able to only give you two consecutive rest days is shameful.”
Although Ilya was smiling bitterly as though she were trying to cover up embarrassment, Katie on the other hand was surprised. Two consecutive rest days. Guessing what those words meant, she was puzzled.
“… I’m not fired…?”
“Just that much isn’t enough to fire someone.”
“But… I—”
“Katie.”
She interrupted her pessimistic thought.
“Everyone fails. Even Ria, even Cynthia, even Elizah, we’ve all failed.”
“… … Ilya too?”
“Of course.”
Ilya answered without changing her expression.
“It might have been different before you were in the guild, but you just need to try again if you fail.”
She just needed to try again.
Those words were said easily, but they were hard to take in.
Ilya somehow felt that Katie’s blank gaze stirred. She was staring straight at the teapot and cup placed on the table.
“If you fail, what did you fail doing… if you don’t think about it, won’t you be setting yourself up for it happening again in the future?”
That certainly might be true. She had no confidence that she could do it, and though she didn’t agree to it, she didn’t deny it either.
Taking her smile as though it said plenty enough, Ilya continued speaking.
“If failure was the end, your chances of growing up would just be wasted. Even if you’re fired to teach you a lesson, it would just have the opposite effect from what was intended by making you be nervous about failing.”
Even if she failed, that wasn’t the end. Katie’s chest tightened.
Seeing her expression, Ilya changed the subject.
“This is the problem.”
“… Eh?”
She was perplexed by her somewhat cheerful voice.
“This time, why did Katie fail?”
“T-that’s… why?”
“Let me hear it.”
Her tone and expression were both gentle. However, Katie felt as though her path of retreat was cut off.
Why?
While she thought, it felt like her back was crawling.
She wanted to stop thinking, but then she wouldn’t be able to answer her.
Katie was rushing.
(If I don’t answer…)
Rushing.
But unable to respond. Rushing more and more.
Just as she’d fallen into a vicious cycle—
“Alright, stop there.”
She calmed down by hearing Ilya’s voice right in front of her.
She was directly in front of her nose. Close enough that she could see her own reflection in Ilya’s blue eyes.
“How about I change the question? What work did you do today?”
“Serve tables…”
It seemed as though her question was answered. Moving away, Ilya continued with her questions.
“Was today’s work tough?”
“…”
Hesitating a slight bit, Katie nodded.
“I see. Were you tired?”
“That’s… a little, maybe…”
“From the continuous shifts? Consider taking less shifts then.”
“… Can I?”
While meager, Katie didn’t hide her surprise. Ilya laughed, “Of course.”
“Think about that later… For now, wasn’t there another cause that made you a bit tired?”
“… As usual, I couldn’t do it…”
Katie could usually do something if it was pointed out to her.
That much was clear from Ria and the others’ help. However, she wouldn’t be able to adapt unless she learned to do it on her own.
If you couldn’t figure something out by yourself, you wouldn’t be able to handle unexpected situations. But there was a way to fix the problem.
“… What do you mean by that?”
“That’s… when I get told to do so many things all at once, I don’t know which to do…”
By working while being confused after that happening, she’d suddenly just lose control.
Katie’s voice was small, like she were confessing a crime.
Still, that much was enough. She properly answered.
“At times like that, what did Ria and the others do?”
“Come to me, and ask… me.”
While she answered, Katie hung her head even further.
“Well then, do that next time.”
“…!”
Ilya smiled at Katie, who looked up.
“If you don’t know what to do, it’s not that hard to find it out. Take a deep breath, then try to think of how other people handled it. If you still don’t know, ask for them to wait a moment and ask someone else.”
She clasped Katie’s hands.
“To avoid failing, try again.”
“Again…”
Katie murmured.
“Right, failure isn’t the end. Just make use of the mistake and try again.”
Ilya looked straight at her. Seeing Katie look back at her, she slowly let go of her hands.
“But you know, it’s better to not fail right?”
“… Un.”
“Try and look to see what the other staff do when they don’t have any hands free for guests.”
“Others…?”
“Right, look to them. Watch and study what they do at those times.”
This wasn’t written in the manual, and Ria had forgotten to teach her this as well.
At any rate, what Ilya was saying right now was something not unlike what parents told their children. To someone who hadn’t learned it… or rather, to Katie who had been made to forget, expecting for her to learn so quickly would be unfair.
Could she do it?
Towards Katie’s uneasy expression, Ilya smiled.
“It’s alright. Bard-san isn’t your only friend. Everyone here will help you.”
“… Un.”
Her consent was rushed, but Katie didn’t take it back.
The next day, and the day after that as well, Katie visited the branch despite them being her vacation days.
Of course, her purpose was to watch how the staff worked.
Katie watched them, trying to learn. She discovered various things.
For instance, the day’s break times.
Claude and Desiree spoke to each other casually.
She’d often seen the two chatting with each other while working.
However, now that she took a closer look, their hands didn’t stop working at all despite them chatting.
When she understood, she felt ashamed for thinking the office work was easy.
To her, it was a world she hadn’t seen.
Katie, who changed her perception of them, started to see the others more positively after seeing their great efforts.
Their industrious appearances were pleasant, too. Not only the spontaneity of the staff, but the people that came in as guests and cooperated with them too.
Then she noticed. When she looked around, her surroundings were brimming with smiling faces.
Smiles containing lust. Smiles stemming from an appeased greed. Smiles of those who tease the weak. All of the smiles she’d seen up to now had brought shivers to her mind and body.
But the smiles here were different.
She didn’t feel a chill from them, they were smiles that calmed her mind.
“Thank you.”
The voices that hung in the air from leaving patrons, their smiling faces, Katie didn’t know how to reciprocate them.
“Thank you, very much.”
So she bowed as she usually would to leave.
But this time, just barely, the corners of her mouth… had lifted a little.
Let alone her bustling surroundings, it was such a small change that she herself hadn’t even noticed.
Before long, the bustling branch, as well as her bewilderment from some time before, were gone.
In an unchanging daily life, she worked without being able to calm her mind.
But now, the steps of the woman leaving the inn she used as lodgings as she walked towards an awfully imposing building… were happy ones.
