Chapter 30: Last-Minute Cancellation
When Mr. Owen called for me and I went to him, I was stunned by an unexpected situation.
“The search for you cost eight large silver coins. Naturally, you’re footing the bill, so keep that in mind.”
Huh?!
No, wait a minute.
Eight large silver coins?!
The search was only for one day, right? How could it cost that much?
I heard that a little over one gold coin is the average monthly salary for a commoner, you know?
“Don’t worry so much. Even if you don’t have it on hand, it’ll just be automatically deducted when you deliver materials.”
That’s not what I’m worried about.
Well, I mean, I’d heard about that before, but…
Why do I have to pay for it…?
Damn it!
This is all Listol’s fault!
I’ll never forgive him. And now, it’s time for our duel.
I’m going to vent all my frustrations. I’ll make him pay for everything up until now.
“Understood…”
“Ah, also, I’ll let Razbel know you’ve returned. I have to send some documents anyway. Is there anything you want me to add?”
Eh?!
Seriously?!
That’s a huge help.
“Um, could you tell her that I’ll go see her once I become a Hunter?”
“Got it. I’ll send a letter letting her know you’re safe and include your message.”
With that, Mr. Owen said, “That’s all,” and left the classroom.
Now then, I wonder where that scumbag is, I thought, looking around the classroom, but he was nowhere to be seen. With no other choice, I returned to Riana-san and asked her what I should do from here.
“…The fact that Listol isn’t in the classroom is strange, to begin with.”
“Does that mean we wait here?”
“Yes. For a while…”
And so we waited, and waited, but Listol never came. The A-class students who had remained out of curiosity were also tilting their heads in confusion.
“Does this mean he accepted the shame and ran away?”
“Well, he’s probably planning something else elsewhere. Before that happens…”
Saying that, Riana-san stood up and addressed the waiting students.
“It seems he will not be coming. I myself am perplexed by the fact that he initiated a Sacred Duel and then failed to appear at the dueling site, but since that is the case, everyone, I apologize, but let’s call it a day.”
As she announced this with an exasperated look, the other noble scions smirked and made light of Listol.
“He’s finished, isn’t he? What a foolish thing to do.”
“To take a Sacred Duel so lightly shows a severe lack of breeding.”
“It’s utterly pathetic. As his classmate, I’m thoroughly ashamed.”
Leaving such words behind, they each dispersed.
I also informed Hiroki and the others of the situation, telling them, “Listol seems like he might try something, so I’d like you to keep a little distance.” They still said to let them know if there was anything they could do to help, but since there wasn’t anything in particular, I just thanked them.
“Well then. Guess I’ll go earn that search fee…”
“Excuse me? Do you understand your current situation?”
Riana-san, whose speech becomes polite in front of others. Finding it a little amusing, I replied.
“It wouldn’t be a problem if I just counter him when he makes his move, right?”
“In that case, there’s a possibility you could be falsely accused, you know.”
Ugh, that would be a problem.
I see. So he ran away because he has various tricks like that up his sleeve.
He probably intends to either frame me as a criminal or kill me to hush things up.
But either way, I still have to go to the Dungeon. Not just for the money, but for my reputation too.
“I understand. I shall accompany you. Fortunately, we’re at a level where we can work together.”
“Ooh. For everything… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Yukina, you’re alright with this too, yes?”
“Of course.”
Taking them up on their kindness, I hurried towards the Dungeon.
Our destination: the fifteenth Floor.
If I hunt the Monsters there indiscriminately, I should be able to pay off my debt in less than a month.
“Well then, I’ll leave the rearguard to you, okay?”
“No, I’m going to show you my trump card now. Would you mind joining me for some serious hunting?”
“Oh my, that sounds a little exciting. Very well. What should I do?”
“Just follow me. Let me know if you get bored.”
She looked surprised by my words but agreed.
Relying on my hearing, I instantly killed Monsters with my Gun and loaded them onto the Cart.
Without even taking the Magic Stones, I piled them up one after another and ran around the fifteenth Floor.
Then, after about two hours, it finally got to the point where we couldn’t load any more.
About eight Carts’ worth were piled up.
I guess this is all we can do for today.
“We can’t fit any more, so my business here is done. Riana-san, are you and Yukina-san going to hunt? If you are, I’ll provide support.”
“…No, I think we’ll pass for today.”
“Yes. If possible, I’d like to ask you various things after we return.”
Huh?
Something’s off about those two.
Yukina-san is acting somewhat distant…
Well, if they want to talk, I’ll go along with it.
And so, we headed to the Dismantling Yard. As usual, I requested they process the haul on a first-come, first-served basis and divide the earnings equally, then waited for them to finish.
“Why are you waiting? Your share will be applied to your debt repayment, won’t it?”
“Well, yeah, my share will, but there’s your share and Yukina-san’s, right?”
“No, we didn’t lift a finger today, so we can’t accept anything, can we?”
Eh?!
I thought it would be wrong not to give them anything after they spent the whole day with me, but she said that for this amount of money, the hassle of waiting was more trouble than it was worth, and I remembered they were wealthy nobles.
While I was bewildered by her words about the hassle of waiting being worse, she informed the students doing the dismantling that this time it was my solo hunt, and then turned on her heel.
“R-Right. Our statuses are different, aren’t they? Hahaha.”
“Stop saying such trivial things and let’s quickly move to a place where we can relax.”
“Y-Yes, Milady!”
Overwhelmed by the power of wealth, I followed after the two of them.
It seemed we were going to Yukina-san’s room again today.
When we entered the room, she naturally prepared drinks for us, and I thanked her and settled down.
“That Maso you taught Razbel-san, was it about that?”
As I thought, the two of them were curious about the Gun.
“Yup. Yuri can use it now too.”
“I see. Is it something you could perhaps teach me as well?”
“Hmm, if it’s you two, I don’t mind, but you have to keep it a secret that you learned it from me, okay?”
Yukina-san, with a startled look in her eyes, asked, “Are you really sure about this?”
“Yeah. I like you two, so I don’t mind teaching you. It’s just that, things like this that are out of the ordinary tend to attract trouble, right?”
“Yes. You can rest assured on that front. I swear on my family’s name that I will keep secret what I learned from you. More importantly, I want to ask you various things about it. Is the Magical Power consumption high, as expected?”
And so, her barrage of questions continued, and as I was carefully answering them, a pleasant aroma wafted in, and food was placed before my eyes.
“This is to return the favor from the other day. It’s not as grand as what you made, though.”
“It looks incredibly delicious. Can I eat it?”
Unlike what I make, it had a luxurious appearance. The portions on each plate were small, but every dish looked appetizing.
“Yes, please eat.”
Hearing her permission, I materialized a knife and fork and dug in.
“You really can create anything in an instant, can’t you? How did you train yourself to that extent?”
“Creating that Maso requires an incredible amount of precise control. I’ve been tinkering with it ever since I was five years old. So, I naturally got trained up.”
“Oh, since such an early age? Were you from that kind of family line?”
As Riana-san asked that, her gaze was somewhat sharp.
Is she suspecting I’m an agent for some noble house or something?
“No, I told you, didn’t I? I was raised by people so far removed from fighting they didn’t even know about enhancement.”
“Um, I can understand not knowing if something is usable or not, but there’s no such thing as an adult who doesn’t know about enhancement, you know?”
“As long as you live in a town, it’s absolutely impossible.”
Eh? Is that so?
Yuri also seemed to say something like that was strange…
But I told them I wanted to become a Hunter, and they didn’t teach me, you know?
“If that’s the case, perhaps your parents didn’t want you to become a Hunter?”
“I-I see. It’s true, they did recommend safer professions to me many times in the past.”
“Hmm. So, you’re a complete natural, then?”
“Hey, calling me ‘a natural’ is a bit… Well, it’s true that everything related to Maso was self-taught.”
While making such small talk, just like I did with Yuri, I laid out the disassembled Gun parts.
“Even Yuri, who’s pretty good at control, took quite a while, so it’ll require patience until it’s complete. Are you sure you’re up for it?”
“Th-This looks quite difficult. Can’t I just learn it by channeling Magical Power through it?”
“You can, but then you won’t be able to change its size to increase its power.”
Yeah. At this current form’s level, it can be easily blocked by a normal Maso.
Ah, maybe I should have them copy a slightly larger pattern.
Yeah, since it took even Yuri that long, they might not be able to master it unless they copy everything.
Thinking that, I asked the two of them.
“I see. First, I’d like to try it. May I channel my Magical Power through it?”
“Sure. But it can’t be done right away. We need an explosive Magic Tool.”
“Oh my, a custom-made Magic Tool sounds like it would be quite expensive. How did you obtain one?”
“I don’t need a Magic Tool. Because I can make this.”
Saying that, I created gunpowder and let it fall smoothly onto the workbench I had materialized.
“What is that?”
“This stuff burns with incredible speed. If you light it in a sealed state, it explodes.
I had Yuri try her best to replicate this, but it was impossible, so I had her substitute it with a Magic Tool.”
After explaining that, I actually lit it to show them, and with a shubatt sound, it burned out in an instant.
“Did she mention the greatest strength of this Maso Weapon?”
“Yeah, isn’t it the range? You can aim for about ten times the distance of Elemental Magic.”
“T-Ten times?!”
“Yukina, could you go to the Magic Tool craftsman’s place tomorrow?”
“Understood. But how should I place the order?”
She asked me that, but since it was something Yuri had made for me, I don’t know the fine details.
I told her it was a sphere about this big with a Magical Power adjustment function.
“Ah, if that’s the case, want to try actually firing it tomorrow?”
“Don’t you need a Magic Tool for that?”
“Nah, in my case, I don’t need one, right? Anyone can fire it as long as they’re within my control range.”
“I’d certainly like to try that. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
And so, it was decided that we would go to the Dungeon together tomorrow as well, and I parted ways with the two of them then and there.
Since it was earlier than usual, I decided to play with Raku and entered the large building near the grounds. I headed to Raku’s room, but seeing that Fuu’s room was empty made my spirits sink a little.
That’s right.
If it were you, you’d take her along, wouldn’t you.
Happy, yet lonely. Tormented by such feelings, I still played with Raku until late at night.