「Takato, do your bestー!」
「Don’t loseー!」
Bisha and Mebi cheered for me as I trained under Kainzel-san. What happened to their caution from a few days ago? They’d gotten so familiar it was almost suspicious.
According to Ladarion, once they understood that I was the boss of the group, the one who gave them food and protected them, they tore down their walls all at once and grew attached to me. Like dogs. Well, they look like dogs, so I guess that fits.
The two are sisters. Bisha is the older one and Mebi the younger. Their exact ages are unknown, but judging by appearances, they look about twelve and ten.
「……This is kind of hard to do……」
Not that it would be easy even without them. Kainzel-san still beats me down regardless. But with the two of them being so noisy, I can’t focus.
「Teacher!」
Then even Marg showed up, and training became impossible. Haa.
「Well, days like this are fine too」
Kainzel-san said that with a look that was half enlightened, half resigned, so I agreed with him.
On rainy days, we try to spend time together as a group of seven, eating together and deepening our bonds. Thanks to that, Bisha and Mebi also got used to Marg, and now they even follow him to the giant village.
The rain continued into the fifth day, with no sign of letting up. According to Kainzel-san, this was the peak, and it might last about ten days.
……If it doesn’t stop soon, I’m just going to keep bleeding money……
With more people, expenses increase too. Daily living costs have gone over one hundred thousand yen. If I don’t go into the mountains and clear out a lot of goblins before autumn, we won’t make it through the winter.
On the seventh day of rain, great oni came to visit in the early afternoon.
「Came to buy」
Buy what? I tilted my head at those opening words.
「Takato. Sweets」
Ah, right. That’s right. Despite his looks, Azur Rise has a sweet tooth.
He looks like he’d suit drinking whiskey far better, yet he likes sweets. You really never know people’s tastes.
「This, then」
He held out three silver coins. Couldn’t he say something like, this is all I can buy with this? How did he manage to get by like that? No, maybe he didn’t manage, which is why he works solo. Sorry about that.
For now, I asked Miriel to prepare some cocoa, then returned to the Sefuti Home with Ladarion.
Under Ladarion’s supervision, we bought sweets worth three silver coins. We set one silver coin as ten thousand, so thirty thousand yen total.
「I’ll throw in a toothbrush and toothpaste as a bonus」
His teeth looked sturdy, but if he eats this many sweets, cavities are inevitable.
I put the thirty thousand yen worth of sweets into a plastic bag, went outside, and handed it to Azur Rise.
「Can I eat some here?」
I guess he can’t wait until he gets home. What is he, a kid?
「Takato, I want some too!」
「Me tooー!」
The dog girls were demanding it from me, not Ladarion.
Ladarion is generally kind to Bisha and Mebi, but when it comes to sweets, she’s merciless. No matter how much they beg, she never gives them any. They figured that out and moved on to Miriel, but she prefers rice crackers and dried foods over sweets.
After being given dried clam strips and cheese snacks, Bisha and Mebi must have learned. Ah, this person is no good. So that left either me or Kainzel-san. But Kainzel-san also favors dried foods, so he was immediately eliminated. By process of elimination, they came begging to me. You do recognize me as the boss, right?
「Alright, let go already! Don’t pull on me!」
「Takato, you’re being taken way too lightly」
「That’s right. Please be more firm」
Then you two train them properly! There’s no way I can handle these two!
Even if they’re still children, beastkin physical abilities are incredible. I can’t even catch them. Damn it. This is why I hate workplaces full of women. No, it’s all my fault, though.
「Tch. One whole banana each, that’s it」
「Yay!」
「We did it!」
So stop pulling already! You’re stronger than me, you know!
「Looks tasty」
Yeah, yeah. I’ll give some to sweet oni too, so don’t glare at me. Your eyes are scary as hell.
Somehow, time passed in a way I didn’t quite understand, and Azur Rise left, radiating an air of satisfaction.
Just as Kainzel-san predicted, the rain kept falling for ten straight days, and on the eleventh day the sky finally cleared.
I wanted to go to the Adventurers Guild and consult the guild master about forming a goblin extermination guild, but in those ten days alone, two million yen had vanished. My savings had dropped below three million.
As long as this clear weather holds, I need to focus on goblin extermination and push that three million back into the black. At the very least, I want to make a profit of two million.
「Bisha, Mebi. Work hard」
I explained to the two of them that if they worked as contract members and exterminated goblins, they would get to eat lots of delicious food.
「Yeah. We’ll kill lots」
「Leave it to us」
They seemed to understand, and both were fully fired up to slaughter.
Giving them guns right away would be dangerous, so I handed them two kukri knives instead, making use of their leg strength.
Their sense of smell wasn’t as sharp as Ladarion’s, but it was still good enough to distinguish individual human scents. Their dynamic vision was also excellent. Beastkin really aren’t just for show.
「Today, you’re teaming up with me. Kainzel-san, please take care of Ladarion」
We were going to split up anyway, so it made more sense to exterminate goblins one settlement apart.
「Yeah. Got it」
After the meeting ended, we headed for the hut.
「Kainzel-san, please use Pioneer One. We’ll be using Pioneer Two」
The reason I ended up spending two million yen in just ten days was because I bought another Pioneer.
The Pioneer seats four people, so with five of us, one would be left out. I also plan to bring Miriel along eventually, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a second one.
I considered buying a Talon, but it was about three hundred thousand yen more expensive, so I gave up on that. I figured it was better to stick with the Pioneer and add some options instead.
We each climbed in and headed out for goblin extermination.
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