#011
Unaware that I had frozen up, Elmer continued his explanation.
“If you’re going to bring your own equipment, that’s fine, but if you’re thinking of renting armor, weapons, and other gear, I can recommend something suitable for the location. We’d need to put down a separate deposit, but the commission fee would be reasonable at around 50,000…”
Elmer continued mechanically listing how much armor cost, how much weapons cost, how much small inventory pouches cost, until he finally noticed my frozen state and stopped talking. Looking at me with a puzzled expression, he examined my appearance from head to toe and frowned.
“…How much money do you have on hand right now?”
“…50,000 rual.”
“……”
Elmer also seemed to be at a loss for words, closing his mouth and just staring at me for a moment. His expression was even more dumbfounded than Eira’s had been.
“Puhahahaha.”
The thugs standing behind burst into loud laughter.
“Well, well, we kept calling him a beggar bastard, and he really is a complete beggar!”
“That gigolo bastard who wasn’t satisfied with just the village women and went around seducing all the men too finally hit rock bottom. Is this what they call karma?”
“Look at this, he always calls us trash, but heaven knows everything. Which one of us is the real piece of garbage?”
“If you look carefully, there are probably still some empty-headed fools who’d be fine with him even as a beggar. The term ‘kept man’ exists for a reason.”
“That’s true. Hey, farmer. Try working that pretty face of yours well. Who knows? Maybe someone will step up to pay your commission fees and let you sleep with them. Whether you swing your dick or offer up your ass, do it well.”
“Forget commissions and all that – your farming is done for anyway, so why don’t you just rent a room in the central district and start an ass-rental business? Should I scout out a good location for you?”
Muchi’s gang started chattering excitedly, giggling. A stream of flashy and vulgar bullshit that I wouldn’t have heard outside of gangster movies in real life flew around. But I was still in a dazed state and couldn’t even think to fight back, just staring blankly at Elmer’s face.
Elmer, who came to his senses before I did, sighed and spoke.
“If you get up early and diligently gather and sell things as soon as the sun rises tomorrow, you’ll have some margin left over even after the commission fee. Medicinal herbs are rare these days, so they fetch quite a good price. But no matter what, a commission can’t be established without any contract money or fees at all.”
“Then, I guess I’ll have to go in alone…”
At my muttering, Elmer’s frown deepened further.
“…Do you have weapons and armor?”
Without a word, I held up my only tool – a hoe.
“……”
Elmer was speechless again, and Muchi’s bunch roared with laughter. I drooped and turned away. Feeling like my soul had separated from my body, I went to a corner of the lobby and sprawled out, when that disgusting Muchi persistently followed me, squeezed into the seat next to me, and whispered.
“Hey, I’m only saying this because it’s you, but don’t go through the guild – make a direct contract with me. I’ll take you for a contract fee of 50,000 rual and lend you basic equipment for free. Instead, the commission fee is 400,000 rual. You can pay after the job’s done. Since you won’t have guild fees deducted, it’s not that unreasonable a deal. Actually, you’d be getting a huge advantage.”
“……”
“If you really don’t like being protected by me, there’s also the option of borrowing money from me to commission the guild. How about it?”
Muchi grinned slyly as he presented another option.
“The interest is a bit steep, but hey, you’ll only be borrowing for a day or two anyway, right? If you gather diligently for one day, you can easily make over a million, so you can pay back all the money and make the next job possible. Do that a few times and you’ll accumulate money quickly. You’re not the only one who’s gone broke lately – everyone makes their comeback this way these days.”
It was unavoidably tempting talk. Honestly, I knew I should reject it without a second thought, but what other options did I have? Going through the guild would be safer, but I didn’t even have the minimum commission fee, and no amount of hesitating would make money or medicine appear from somewhere. In the end, as time passed, it would be an ending where I died alone.
“…No thanks.”
But you have to trust someone trustworthy. Ever since the world became this chaotic and dangerous, even originally good people were questionable to trust, so how could I trust this kind of thug?
I refused and pushed him away. But since my pushing hand was noticeably weak and my expression and voice clearly showed hesitation, Muchi backed off obediently while giggling unpleasantly.
“I’m staying in room 306 here, so come anytime if you change your mind. The deadline is tomorrow morning. Even if you come late wanting to make a contract, I won’t reduce the commission fee, so if you’re going to do it anyway, it’d be to your advantage to come early, right?”
Muchi waved his hand lazily as he headed toward the stairs, then turned his head back toward me.
“Oh, right. With your entire fortune being 50,000 rual, you won’t be able to pay for lodging tonight either, so if it gets cold later, come up to my room. I’ll let you into my bed. If we sleep hugging each other tight, even the early spring cold won’t be much.”
I felt nauseous at his words delivered with a wink. Seeing my face, which must have been completely distorted, Muchi’s gang giggled and finally disappeared from view.
“Haah.”
The noisy bunch had disappeared, but that didn’t make my heart particularly peaceful. I absolutely had to depart for Wanderer’s Plains as soon as the sun rose tomorrow, but other than that, I had no idea what to do.
From the atmosphere, the monster danger level in the plains would definitely be higher than in the forest. In that case, it would certainly be dangerous for me to go in alone with just a hoe. But would relying on Muchi really be safe? At least judging by how he’d been doing hunter work without incident so far, maybe he was doing his job properly despite appearances?
As I was struggling with these thoughts alone, something suddenly dropped on my head, blocking my vision.
“Oh.”
It was a blanket. When I raised my bewildered gaze, Elmer was standing in front of me with a gruff expression.
“Cover yourself and sleep for now. You don’t seem to be in any condition to pay for lodging anyway… Over there is near the heater and less drafty, so it should be bearable.”
“…Thank you, Elmer ahjussi.”
Elmer looked at me quietly for a moment, then spoke in a low, quick voice.
“Don’t go with Muchi. I don’t know what his scheme is, but… the guild can’t protect privately made contracts. He commits a lot of illegal acts, but he’s hard to punish because he seems to have backing.”
“Backing?”
When I asked back in puzzlement, Elmer brought his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture and shook his head. Then, as if he hadn’t just said anything, he didn’t answer my question and continued what he’d been saying.
“There won’t be any brilliant solutions even if you worry about it, so just get some good sleep for now. That way your condition will at least be good tomorrow. If you’re lucky, a more trustworthy hunter than Muchi might return tonight and take on work privately. I’ll try talking to them for now.”
“Yes…”
“…It’s unfortunate that your farm ended up in that state, but you’re originally someone who took good care of yourself, so you’ll be able to get back on your feet somehow. The way people treat you harshly… when you think about it, it’s your own doing, so what can you do.”
“…Yes. I’m sorry.”
The “your own doing” probably referred to my trashy dating habits. Even though it was a game, it was still something I had done, so I apologized with complicated, subtle feelings – unable to say whether I felt wronged or not wronged.
“What do you have to be sorry to me for? It’s just that… you’re not a complete stranger to me, and aside from romantic issues, you’re a decent and sincere guy, so I feel bad for you. Living like that, you might get stabbed in the back eventually. People who make others cry tears of blood and live well – there’s no such law.”
I could feel his sentiment of being displeased with me becoming a notorious playboy, but still unable to completely ignore me since I was his friend’s nephew, caring for me with the feeling of looking at a wayward child.
“…Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
When I obediently bowed my head, Elmer, who had been wearing a disgruntled expression even while taking care of me, finally relaxed his stern face a bit.
“Dinner. Did you eat anything?”
“…No.”
Elmer clicked his tongue and returned to the counter. What he brought back when he returned was something like a small token made of plastic.
“Go downstairs and eat. I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste, but you need to eat something to regain your strength.”
It seemed to be a kind of meal ticket that came with being a guild employee. He seemed to be in better circumstances than Eira, but judging by his gaunt and rough appearance, he was clearly not in a comfortable situation either. Should I accept this? By giving this to me, wouldn’t Elmer have to skip a meal?
But I wasn’t in a position to politely decline saying it was fine. Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything today. I had gotten through the entire day on the additional (slight) stamina recovery effects provided by the calming potion and Eira’s healing potion. In this state, even if I slept properly tonight, my stamina wouldn’t fully recover by tomorrow morning.
I did have the carrot I got from Eira, but I was actually planning to save that as emergency food. When the stamina bar hit rock bottom, it didn’t just end with being tired and hungry – you would inevitably lose consciousness. If you stayed in that state for long or encountered monsters, you’d have no choice but to die, so I absolutely needed something to eat in urgent situations.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely pay you back.”
My words were sincere. I was planning to pay him back somehow. No matter how much of an NPC he was, it made me uncomfortable to just wipe my mouth clean after receiving kindness shared in obviously difficult circumstances.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
