Kujonin

Kujonin
Author: Hanabokuro
—

There wasn"t anyone at the inn, so we borrowed the kitchen on our own.
We shouldn"t use the ingredients at our own convenience as well, so Ayl and I went out from the back of the inn for a bit and plucked the feathers off the bird monster from the wasteland that runs quickly. It"s about as large as a medium-sized dog, so it was quite the ordeal.
During that time, Merumo had come so I had her prepare the vegetables from the item bag.
The vegetables are things that Ayl bought in Floura.
We had finished plucking the feathers around when Velsa and Seth came over, so everyone helped Merumo out.
Merumo and Seth have begun to take charge of cooking, so it helps out a lot.
Ayl dismantles the monsters, and Velsa and I was the dirty utensils used for preparations.
Velsa and I, who aren"t very helpful, ended up talking about dowsing.

What we made was a thick soup, sweet-and-spicy meat and vegetable stir fry, and a large steamed chicken. And the usual crusty bread in addition.
It"s an amount that"s unthinkable for breakfast.
As we ate in the dining hall, I talked about the request and what we would do from now on.
"It"s fine if you continue eating, but listen up. The request has been accomplished. The Earth Spirit has been fired, and Garcisan is no longer a hero. We"ll leave it to Garcisan to decide when or if he wants to reveal that he"s no longer a Hero, but the rest of the aftermath is our work."
I started talking about it, but everyone is silently eating.
"Are you guys listening?"
"Hm? What?"
Ayl is the only one who responded; the other three are engrossed in eating.
"Well, I guess it"s fine if we do this after eating."
The food is honestly delicious.
"So good!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Should we hunt more down later?"
Everyone nodded in agreement with Ayl"s words.
When you chew the wasteland bird monster"s meat an umami flows out as you chew, so you just chew continuously.
That"s why everyone wasn"t saying anything as they ate.
"What is this monster?”
I asked Velsa.
"I think it"s an emyou. But I"ve never heard that its meat tastes good."
Velsa responded as such, continuing to chew the meat.

After having our fill of emyou dishes, we relaxed while drinking tea, as if my near-death experience earlier in the morning was a lie.
"Ah, Naoki"s protection charm split."
Ayl said as she pointed her finger.
"Heh?"
"You know, the misanga from Marina Port."
Ayl showed me her own revival misanga that was wrapped around her wrist.
Oh yeah, I"ve been wearing it this entire time without thinking about it so I didn"t notice, but the revival misanga has been broken.
The revival misanga was a magic tool I made for Ayl who was going to take part in the battle tournament in the port town we met Velsa in, Marina Port. It"s a magic tool that can completely restore you when you take an attack that could kill you, but I had completely forgotten about it.
For the misanga to have broken, that means that that one attack by the Earth Spirit really would have killed me.
"But if it broke then it should have fully restored me, but both my arms were completely broken, right?"
I confirmed it with Ayl.
"Eh! That charm had that kind of effect? But, well, couldn"t it have just gotten all worn and dirty and frayed off?"
That"s certainly possible.
"But I really don"t want to fight against a spirit anymore. I"ll make a lot of revival misangas for the next time we meet a spirit or hero."
"Wait a minute. What is the exact effect of this magic tool?"
Velsa broke into our conversation.
"No, well, like I said, when you receive an attack that could kill you, it fully restores your physical strength. Ah, even if you recover your physical strength, it won"t heal wounds, huh? No, it should heal them? Ah, was it because it was bone fracture? Was it because the bones were going in the wrong directions so it was slow to heal them?"
I muttered away with my own thoughts.
"No, rather than that, if we sold those misangas, wouldn"t we make an amazing profit?"
Velsa pointed out the main part.
"President"s as unreasonable as always."
Merumo seemed to have given up as she refilled her tea.
"But if we sold a lot of this magic tool, wouldn"t wars start happening?"
Ayl said as she looked at her own misanga, wound around her wrist.
"Hm~ that … is true."
Velsa made a complicated face.
Certainly, if we ma.s.s-produced them and put them into circulation, realistically speaking, it"s possible that some country some where will buy them all up and create an undying army.
"Alright! Let"s make this a magic tool to counter against spirits and not make too many."
It smells like nothing but trouble.
"Once in a while, I worry about just what kind of company I"ve become employed in…"
"That"s normal. There will be unimaginable things if you stick around Naoki. It"s dangerous for you not to get used to it!"
Ayl responded to Seth"s words.
"On the other hand, if you get used to it, you"ll just stop thinking."
Velsa told the newbies.
"So what exactly are we supposed to do, in the end?"
Merumo asked with a sorrowful face.
"Give up; you"ll get used to it in the end anyway. But don"t forget general common sense. If you don"t think, "It"s dangerous not to get used to it!" you"ll meet tough days. Just like now, don"t blurt out something that could lead to ma.s.s wars."
Velsa made a bitter smile, as if reflecting on her own words.
I listened to the conversation, thinking, "The way they"re treating me is kind of painful."

"I remembered once we started talking about profits, but what would the rewards for G.o.d"s request be?"
Velsa asked me.
"Aah, that"s right. I have to think about that, too. Let"s talk a little bit about what"s going to happen from now on."
We"d eaten and calmed down, so I began to speak.
"First of all, we will stop up the ca.n.a.ls. That will be me and Seth doing it, I guess?"
"Okay, roger-ssu."
"And then we"ll dig a well. I think it will take some time for the villagers and merchants to abandon this village. And if the discussion about the public road corps goes well, it"s quite possible that this will become a vital location."
"Oh, how did that discussion go?"
Velsa asked me.
"Yeah, well, remember when Ayl took that job in Floura?"
"The request to clean a rich old lady"s warehouse?"
Ayl said as she remembered it.
"That"s right. So it looks like that rich old lady is someone that"s like the mentor of the Ruginia Alliance"s Central Government."
" "Heh~!" "
Velsa and Ayl made a silly sound.
"It was an unexpected connection."
"Yeah, so I had Riddle-san introduce me, and we talked about the plan. So I think an official or executive from the Central Government will come to meet Garcisan. And, to wrap up this discussion about the public roads, our role in the matter is over."
"Eh? We"re not going to partic.i.p.ate in making the roads?"
Merumo asked.
"We won"t. Since we"re an extermination company. I believe it"s enough if our after-service ensures that Garcisan and his household can live normally. We shouldn"t meddle, doing anything and everything so that they end up relying on us. There are still more Heroes in the world, too. And besides, they probably want to be independent, right? He"s an adult after all. I believe Garcisan is capable of earning a living as an adventurer."
"And so, did you antic.i.p.ate the problems that could happen during the time it takes Garcisan and everyone to be able to live normal lives?"
Ayl asked.
"The northern country might come to attack HillLake. For that, I was thinking of having the dragons go to the border. I believe if they lightly burn around and then return while using humanification magic, the opposite country will find it difficult to make a move. Aside from that, I believe the traders will be thrown into confusion, but as for that, I believe they"ll understand once the roads appear; clever traders will be able to think up all kinds of businesses, right? And after that is just survival of the fittest. Just in case, I told the Central Government"s mentor about a lot of businesses and things regarding business rights. More importantly, I"d like to support Garcisan and his household"s livelihoods."
"And so, it"s enough for us to dig a well, right?"
Ayl understood and nodded her head in agreement as she spoke.
"Yeah, I was thinking, as expected, they"ll die without water."
"Ro-ger-that."
Velsa responded as she drank her tea.
"And so… what would you like as remuneration for G.o.d"s request? I don"t think there"s anything he"ll say he can"t do."
"Hm~ new skills?"
"Money is fine too."
"Or levels."
As everyone voiced out their desires, they chuckled at their imaginations.
All except for one.
"I … want it to rain."
When Seth said so, I thought, "What"s this guy saying?"
But if it rains, the lake water level will rise, and even in the wasteland, plants might be able to grow, huh? If that happens, the salt concentration in the lake will be diluted, and it might be able to make farms in the wasteland.
It would be the rain of blessings.
In the end, we lost to Seth"s kindness.
In the sight of our own desires, we might have lost sight of the ability to care about others.
"I"m embarra.s.sed to call myself an adult! Even meals taste better with everyone eating together. And so, what was that? Skills? Money? Levels? A warm reception at a brothel? My own abilities are enough for those kinds of things."
Ayl, Velsa, Merumo, and I all hang our heads in defeat.
"No, it wasn"t like I was saying it with those intentions… It"s okay, everyone here is kind, so."
Seth became confused.
"Stop! You"ll only make us miserable."
"If you say any more, I"ll cry!"
Ayl and Velsa yelled.
"I"ll clean up."
Merumo said in the middle of this desolate atmosphere.
"Then, let"s move out."
When I, in a gloomy mood, said so, everyone stood up.
"Um… is everyone okay?"
Only Seth was panicking.
"We"re fine. I just thought of something important. Everyone"s going to partic.i.p.ate in Pastor Romeo"s funeral, right?"
" "Yeah." "
"Yes."
"OK-ssu!"
With a bead of sweat on his brow, the bright-mannered Seth appeared to be sparkling.
—
A/n:  The revival misanga from story 23 has reappeared.
I forgot about it.