Chapter 300: The Mercenary of Japita
We've reached chapter 300~
Congratulations and thank you for reading this far~
Yay for me~
Now, 260 chapters are left. My target is to finish them by my birthday on October 18. If nothing goes wrong, that is. But well, who knows what will happen in life.
Anyway, thank you. I hope you will stick with me until the end.
Chapter 300 The Mercenary of Japita
Alezel was in a good mood on her way home, a complete change from when she visited the casino. While being frightened, Sango quietly saw her off until she disappeared from his sight.
「S-She's gone, right? She's really gone, right?」
「Yes, she has left this place. They are no longer conscious of us.」
Hearing the eye-patched man's words, Sango fell to his knees. Perhaps the thread of tension had broken, he's breathing roughly and sweat is pouring from his forehead like a waterfall.
The eye-patched man is calmly looking at Sango who's showing such a pitiful figure. Even in the face of Alezel, he didn't show any agitation and was making the best choice he could. That fact acted as a refreshment for Sango, making him forget his fear of the demon's threat.
「... So, what do you think? What was your impression of the President?」
「She's a real monster. At first, I doubted her appearance as an elf girl, but that foolish thought was instantly dispelled. I'm sure the others also have the same thought.」
「That ain't what I wanna hear! What I wanna know is whether you guys can defeat that monster! I'm a merchant, so I understand. She has no intention to let me live, and she's gonna kill me after messing with me thoroughly! What if she found even one piece of evidence!? I dunno what kind of horrible things will she do.... So, how's it!? Is it impossible!?」
Sango is stuck between fear and relief, and which way the balance will tilt depends on the man's next words――
「It's not only Alezel that we need to watch out for. I'm guessing that the man and woman behind her, the ones she said were her bodyguards, are also quite powerful. If Alezel is really the Great Eight Demons, then it would mean that we will be up against three people of the Great Eight Demons.」
「... Huh? Three? Huh?」
「This is very difficult for us, and it's not something we can just nod and say we can do it.」
「T-That's different from what I heard! You guys are unbeatable, right!? Ain't you the legendary mercenary group!? Do you have any idea how much money I've spent!?」
The agitated Sango grabbed the man's collar. However, the man didn't make any slight movements, and Sango himself, conscious of his gaze, immediately let go of his hand.
「Don't be hasty. I never said that it's impossible. I'm just saying that it's difficult as it is.」
「...? What do you mean?」
「I mean we need to make various preparations. We need to spare no money and fight thoroughly.」
「R-Really!? I'll spare no money! I'll give you money no matter how much it is!」
「But even if we can defeat Alezel, you will be accused of various things, you know? Our contract is only to eliminate obstacles. We can't guarantee your social credibility.」
「I don't care about that! As long as Alezel is gone, the power of money will do something about it! Money is power! That's what that woman always says!」
Unfortunately, it's easy to imagine her saying that.
「And you created this kind of situation in order to gain that power.... Well, that's not for us to say. All right, we'll do the preparations. We are the Mercenary of Japita, and we will work for the amount of money you give us.」
The man bowed to Sango and disappeared from the room without a sound.
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「The Mercenary of Japita? What's that?」
On the way back, as Alezel and I were discussing the identity of the eye-patched man, Nell responded to one of the names.
「Aah, it's not well known in the continent of Jiba, huh. It's a famous mercenary group that always survives and returns from any battlefield. Rumor has it that some of them have fought against Vakala's army and survived.」
「But, Vakala-han's army will leave the opponents neither alive nor dead, and they will go easy on the opponents every time, right? If they are serious, it'll be one-sided and there will be nothing but despair. Even if that rumor is true, I don't think we can expect much from them.」
「Even so, they are even called the legendary mercenary group, you know? They are famous on the battlefield, that's for sure. Some say they will do anything, even dirty things, as long as you pay them.」
Because the Great Eight Demons are so active, the war between human nations doesn't occur so much now. To put it in a good way, it's a necessary evil. Thus, the mercenaries' business is doomed, and some of them end up doing bad things. Even worse are those who love war itself. In the case of these people, killing people is their goal. When there's no more war to give them a convenient excuse, they would easily become corrupted. People like them are really annoying.
「Uwaah~, that's the worst. Doing anything for money is the worst~. That's disgusting~」
「Alezel, try saying the same thing again while looking at yourself in this mirror.」
I took out a hand mirror from my bag and held it out in front of Alezel.
「Uwaah~, that's the worst. Doing anything for money is the worst~. That's disgusting~」
Alezel easily said the same thing without changing her expression. Rather, she seems to be enjoying it.
「...... You, did your heart not hurt even a little?」
「And you, Deris, making a maiden do something like that is ridiculous. Your heart is a mess that you could come up with such a mean thing. Come on, take a look at my beautiful face to relax your mind. If it's now, I'll give you a special discount.」
This damn elf, is she going to charge me?
「Okay, okay. My bad. My heart is fine now, so give me back that hand mirror.」
「It can't be helped. From now on, you're gonna help people as a pure Deris.」
「Hey, Alezel, what are you talking about? A pure Deris is not Deris anymore.」
「――! You are right!」
「You guys, did you arrange that beforehand?」
No man can win against two women in a words battle. Thus, I gave up saying anything more.
「Hmm. Well, we can expect them, I guess? Good for you, Alezel. You'll be able to vent it on those with good prospects rather than on ordinary people with unknown origins.」
「I hope so~. Ah, that's right. Can I start training Haru and the others tomorrow?」
「Yeah, it's fine. By the way, where are you going to do it?」
「I don't wanna bother the people around us~, so it's got to be sturdy, soundproof, and spacious―― I've got a few ideas. Well, just look forward to it tomorrow morning!」
「I don't know what I should look forward to, but I'll tell that to Haru and the others.」
「Alright! Now that we've decided on our future plans, let's go for a drink~!」
「Ha? Now?」
The current time is still before noon.
「Ara, don't you have any work to do today?」
「Alezel-chan who belongs to the team Unprecedented is a free person! Alezel-chan who's a full-fledged member of society is a different person! Deris~, Nell~, let's drink a lot~. Let's enjoy ourselves today~」
「Drink a lot, huh.... Hm? I feel like I'm forgetting something....」
「......Ah.」
I just remembered. This elf is the root of all evil when I made a blunder with Nell.