Proofreader: Xemul
“Collaboration with a silver rank adventurer?”
After ending his conversation with Ivy, Loren returned to Lapis and Gula, who were in the adjacent dining hall, and explained the condition to accept the commission as Ivy had told him about. And after hearing him out, Lapis let out such a comment with a raised eyebrow.
Perhaps Lapis had in mind the name of a silver rank adventurer they had known in the past, like Loren, but she did not mention the name as he was uncomfortable with the idea of having someone accompany them on a job that had a 40% non-return rate.
“Should we take the promotion test, Loren?”
“Let’s not.”
Loren answered immediately, and Lapis looked a little dissatisfied but did not say anything more, as if she did not want to force the issue.
“We don’t have to take that commission, do we?”
“It’s a bit of a shame to not take what you can, isn’t it?”
Lapis once again objected. However, if one thought about it calmly, even if they could take the commission to investigate Mt. Fire Flute, it would require the collaboration of a silver rank adventurer, and that would not be free; they would have to take into consideration the rather hefty sum they would need to pay too. Of course, having a commission would be better than nothing at all, but considering the time and effort it would take to be able to accept it, it would be less troublesome if they just worked on their own.
“But it can’t be helped, can it…? I thought we would be able to make some easy money at last.”
Lapis looked extremely disappointed, but Loren did not understand what she was saying. This commission was a dangerous one with a 40% non-return rate, but she was saying that it was a way to make easy money. Someone with a normal thought process would never utter such words about such a commission.
Loren was about to ask if there was a reason for her remark, but before he could open his mouth, someone sat down at the table they were sitting without asking.
“A job to make easy money? Tell me more.”
Emotionless blue eyes, long blond hair so smooth that it seemed to be made from gold with the utmost precision and skill, ears so sharply pointed that they looked like blades of daggers, clothes that were easy to move in, and the bow on her back; everything about her screamed a hunter in the forests.
Her appearance was so abrupt that Loren was unable to utter the girl’s name for a moment, but Lapis, who was sitting next to him, immediately spoke the name as she looked at the girl’s chest rather than at her face.
“It’s Nim, isn’t it?”
“Lapis, where are you looking? Depending on the situation… I can be ruthless in battles.”
The coldness in her voice sent a shiver down Loren’s spine, even though the words were not directed at him. But Lapis, to whom those words were directed, immediately turned her gaze to Nim’s expressionless face and smiled softly.
“It’s been a long time, Nim. No change at all.”
“Elves live longer… and our changes can’t be seen by humans.”
Loren retorted in his mind that Lapis was not human, but of course he couldn’t say such a thing out loud and so just kept silent. As if being beaten by Lapis, whose smile did not falter no matter how much she was glared at, Nim let out a sigh and turned to Loren.
“Let’s change the topic. I heard that there is an easy way to make money, and I’d like to be a part of it.”
However, Loren had no idea why Lapis evaluated this commission as such. Nim was an elf hunter and a registered adventurer, and moreover, her rank was silver. In other words, considering their current circumstances, she was a godsend, but there was no way he could explain to others what he didn’t understand. So Loren lightly elbowed Lapis, whose face still wore an unnatural smile.
“It is relatively easy, but I’m not talking about something you can do while humming. Would you like to hear about it, Nim?”
“I do. Actually, I need money.”
Loren’s eyes widened a fraction with Nim’s words.
The elves, who basically lived in the forest and were said to live off the bounty of the forest, had little value for money. The same was true for elves who had come to human villages; although their way of thinking may change somewhat, there were very few elves who voluntarily strive to earn money.
‘Very few’ meant such elves did exist, but they had some reason to do so and often had no choice in the matter.
“What happened?”
Nim gently extended her hands and slowly stroked the head of Loren, who was more concerned about her, an elf, possibly being trapped in a situation where she needed money than about the commission or money.
“Loren is a good child. Now you’re worried about me.”
“Loren has always been a good person. He’s mine.”
“I’m not a thing…”
Loren protested in a not-very-serious manner as Nim petted him. But Lapis, either pretended not to hear him or really didn’t hear him, turned serious again and spoke to Nim, who removed her hand from Loren’s head, perhaps satisfied that she had petted him enough.
“I’m happy to tell you about it, but just as Loren is concerned about your need for money, I’m curious.”
Although they had met Nim and her companions several times, none of them seemed to be in need of money as far as Lapis could see. It had been a while since the last time they had met, so she thought that something might have happened in the meantime. But no matter how she tried to imagine it, none of the members of Nim’s party, as she knew them, seemed the type to suddenly be in desperate need of money. Even Chuck, the rogue who seemed to be the most careless, didn’t seem to be a man who didn’t know the limits of what was possible.
“Lapis is also worried about me. Thank you, but there’s nothing to be worried about.”
A party might need money suddenly if, for example, they had failed in a commission and had to pay a large amount of compensation or penalties as a result, or they had made an expensive purchase that has caused them to lose their cash flow. None of these scenarios could be considered good, so it was natural to be concerned about Nim’s statement that she needed money.
However, neither Loren nor Lapis felt any lies in Nim’s words, which were said with a smile.
“Actually… Chuck finally fell.”
If they were truly in trouble, silver rank adventurers would hesitate to complain to iron rank adventurers about their plight. However, as Loren and Lapis seemed to imply that they would not allow the conversation to proceed unless they were told about the situation, Nim seemed to have given up on the idea of remaining silent. She bashfully clasped the hands she had placed on the table together, and after looking down and saying nothing for a while, she somehow managed to squeeze out those few words.
“Pardon?”
Afraid that she had misheard, Lapis had to ask Nim again.
The way Lapis asked back was a little sharp, and Nim involuntarily shrank back. But when she saw that Lapis was not angry in any way, she began to explain the situation in a whisper while still hanging her head.
According to her explanation, Chuck and her, who had been showing signs that they were quite close for quite a while, had managed to get married within the party.
Hearing this, Loren and Lapis congratulated the couple, but the story did not end there. The next part of it was the reason why Nim approached them.
“In my clan, the man and woman who are to be married must give each other a gift.”
Nim explained that although there was only one tribe of elves, there were many different clans within that tribe, and each clan had its own customs and traditions that it continued to observe. And among those customs, the clan to which Nim belonged had such a rule.
It was not like Nim and Chuck didn’t have any savings, but since it was a one–in-a-lifetime event, they wanted to put real effort into the gifts. However, Nim was a little short of money to purchase her gift, which was the reason why she needed money so urgently.
“What the hell are you going to buy? Is it that expensive?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s a secret between husband and wife. The first shared secret.”
Seeing Nim blushed to the tips of her ears while still looking down at the table, Loren thought that it would be too much to ask for more information and kept his mouth shut. Lapis seemed to have the same thought, and while she frowned a little at Nim’s talk, which could be considered boasting about her lovelife, she didn’t seem inclined to say anything unnecessary.
“That’s why I need money. As soon as possible.”
“Why are you alone? Chuck should need money too, right?”
Loren looked around, but there was no sign of Chuck or any of Nim’s party members. He thought that it would be more efficient to work together if they both needed to earn some money, but Nim explained to them that since they were keeping the gifts a secret, they couldn’t be together when earning money or purchasing gifts. Both were currently acting alone.
“Ritz is probably helping Chuck.”
There were only four members in the couple’s party. If the leader of the group, the warrior Ritz, was helping Chuck, then the magician named Koltz was the only one Nim could turn to. But Koltz was a bit too old to accompany a hunter like her; it would be extremely regrettable if she forced him to accompany her and he got hurt.
Thinking that she wouldn’t manage by herself, Nim remembered Loren’s party, whom she had met before, and went to them for help. That was when she overheard Lapis talking about the commission.
“I think I am good enough to not cause you trouble.”
Nim said. Loren’s impression was that Nim was indeed capable by normal standards, but considering the true identity of Gula and Lapis, he must say that she was somewhat inferior to them. Still, not knowing the difficulty level of this job, Loren decided to leave the decision of whether or not to take Nim to Lapis.
“Though I did say that it would be fairly easy, I can’t guarantee your safety. Is that alright with you?”
“No problem to me. That is the nature of an adventurer’s commission”
“The rewards will be equally splitted into four. Do you have any objections?”
“No, I don’t. But I would like something extra.”
It was a request that could be considered as brazen, but Loren thought it was a reasonable one, since Nim was originally a silver rank adventurer, one rank higher than them. And without her, they would not be able to accept this commission from the Adventurers’ Guild.
Lapis seemed to feel the same way. She nodded without any complaints about Nim’s term, then offered her hand to the elf as if to say ‘Please take care of us’. In return, Nim took the offered hand as if to reply ‘Please take care of me, too.’