chapter 40

I lazed around with Suzuran the next morning so it was almost evening when I reached the town . I inserted the key into the keyhole but when I turned it, I couldn’t hear the sound of it opening . I thought I might have just forgotten to lock the door but when I opened it, Latte was there .

「Caam-ku~un, welcome baーack~」

Latte suddenly jumped at me and rubbed her forehead on my chest .

「I’m back . And also, how did you get into my room without the key?」

I tried asking while patting her head .

「Eh? I just asked Kiska-san to open it for me you know~?」

Haa, my head hurts .

Now that I think about it, it was the same during the time Suzuran came here as well . Should I just completely let go of my previous life’s common sense, I wonder?

「Yeah yeah, I’m going to put down my luggage so let go of me for a bit . I also have a souvenir for you」

「Really!? That makes me happy~ . What is it, what is it~?」

「It might not look good since I just made it myself but it’s a hair ornament similar to the one Suzuran has . It has a different shape though」

After saying that, I took out the Cosmos hair ornament that I carefully wrapped so that it won’t break and showed it to her .

「How cuteー . What flower is it?」

「It’s a Cosmos」1

I don’t know if there’s a flower like that in this world though .

「Hmm~ . The pink and red on white is pretty, isn’t it~? . Hey, put it on me~**」

「Really? Well then…」

After saying that, I took a quarter of her forelocks and used the hairpin to hold it by the side of her head .

「Un, it really suits your white hair well」

「Let me see, let me see~」

She took out a really small mirror from something that looks like a small bag . Is that some kind of makeup pouch?

「Thanks~ . Eheheー」

With a smile on her face, she kept touching the hairpin and looking at it from different angles . That’s pretty cute in a different way from Suzuran .

While she was doing that, there was a sudden knock on the door .

「Coming~」

Why are you the one answering it!?

「Sorry for ruining your fun time but there was a letter that came for Caam」

「Eh? Ahー, thank you very much」

「The other party was a man so it would be better for you to turn him down quickly」

「Haa? Is this that kind of letter?」

「I didn’t look at the contents of course but I just thought it would be interesting if that were the case」

「Please don’t a.s.sume weird things just because you think it would be interesting」

「Well, either way, it’s still better if you act quickly」

After saying that, she left .

「Hmmー, what’s this? An invitation to a temporary party?」

I haven’t read it thoroughly yet but I can probably guess what this is about .

「Hn~? What does it sayー?」

「Well, to summarize, I’ve been asked to help obtain an undamaged slime’s core」

「HeeーUndamaged, is itー? That would be difficult you know~」

「Well, I haven’t fought a slime before so I wouldn’t know……」

「It would immediately weaken once you damage the core so you try to aim for it when you attack but before you even reach it, it would move its core around to protect itself . It’s also hard to cut is because the soft part can recover quickly . That’s the reason why you need two people to deal with it . Taking that into consideration, asking to obtain an undamaged core is pretty unreasonable, isn’t it~?」

「Hmmー, I see . Well, it seems like I can meet them at the guild to ask questions so I’ll just go and hear them out」

「Ehh? Already~? But I wanted to flirt with you a bit more~」

「Yeah yeah, once I get back okay? I’ll be going now because it seems like the other party wants to get in touch with me as soon as possible」

「’Kay~ . I’m just going to roll around on your bed」

「Don’t make a mess okay?」

「I won’t! I’m just going to sniff your pillow!」

「Ahー, sure sure . Just don’t strain yourself」

After saying that, I left for the guild branch .

「Ahh~, Caam-kun’s scentー」

As I went out the door, that happened . I would really appreciate it if you would lower your voice a bit more…… Seriously…

*

There weren’t a lot of people as usual when I entered the guild so I just headed straight for the rabbit-eared onee-san’s desk to try and ask her .

「Excuse me . My name is Caam and I received a letter from someone called Fader inviting me to be a part of a temporary party but, have you heard anything about this?」

「Yes . Could you present your card and wait for a moment please?」

With that, she pulled out some doc.u.ments and quickly flipped through them . After that, she took out one of the sheets .

「Here it is . There certainly has been a request from Fader-sama to form a temporary party . It says here that he will be waiting at the bar by the gates for a few days for Caam-sama’s reply . I’m sorry to be a bother but if you’re heading there, could you please take this doc.u.ments with you?」

「Got it . I’ll try going there since I won’t know anything if I don’t hear his story」

「Then, to confirm that it has been received, could you please sign here?」

「Okay」

After signing, I received the doc.u.ments then decided to go to the bar by the gate .

After entering the bar, I called out the client’s name then an imposing, cat-eared young man came to me and asked .

「You are Caam-san, right?」

「Ah, yeah」

After I replied, the young man guided me to a table to sit down .

Then, cutting to the chase, he immediately asked .

「Are you here to accept?」

He seems to be in a hurry .

「I more or less got the gist of it from your letter and by asking the receptionist onee-san . However, I don’t know the full details so I can’t accept it yet . That’s why I’m here」

「Ah, yes . To put it simply, it seems like an alchemist acquaintance of mine suddenly had a need for an undamaged core of a slime so they came to ask me」

「Yeah, I see . So, why did you ask me?」

「That is…… That’s because you’re a pretty famous freelance magician in this town」

「Ha? Me?」

「Yes . You’re pretty famous you know? You’re mixing ingredients to make bricks even though you’re a magician . Getting carried away, you mixed it into a huge mud ball that was seen all over town . Also, during the monster outbreak, even though it was just to wash away the blood, you made multiple waterb.a.l.l.s . Moreover, you can even take on the vanguard role as well」

「Ahー, I had no idea」

「We might be moving too quickly but I’d like to talk about your compensation」

「Yeah, I don’t mind」

「I’m sorry to be rude but can I ask how much you make in a day?」

「Hmmー I make 8 large copper a day making bricks in that Rank 1 quest of repairing the protective wall . There is a risk when fighting slimes how about we double that to 1 silver 6 large copper . We can also split the subjugation parts equally between us so, how about it?」

「Eh? Just that much?」

「Eh? Is that strange?」

Was it too expensive I wonder? He’s considerably shaken for some reason .

「No…… That is…… To be honest, that’s too cheap . For someone like Caam-san who has a high amount of magic power and can continuously produce those kinds of magic without breaking a sweat, it would be rediculous to hire you for such a cheap price」

「Even if you say that, I haven’t really been hired before . Even that large monster outbreak was a request from the guild . I don’t really know the market price because of that . How much do you think would be good?」

It’s best to ask what you don’t know .

「Let’s see, it would usually depend on your own rank and the strongest monster you defeated on your previous subjugation request」

「Hmmー, is that so? Then how would that work for someone who’s Rank 4, can do both vanguard and rear guard roles, and subjugate a high goblin by himself? I really have no idea about this so to spare us from all the trouble, let’s just go with the amount I said earlier」

「But……」

「If I can also get paid for today then I don’t see any problems . Also, please don’t tell anybody else about this okay? I’d hate it if rumors get out about me being cheap to hire . Even though I’m like this, I’m actually a coward and I absolutely hate dangerous things . If possible, I just want to live peacefully you know?」

「Eh? Ah, okay . I understand」

「Uhm, will it only be Fader-san and I?」

「No, there’s one more person . My partner Stilo will be joining us making it three」

「Understood . Where is the place we’re going?」

「Leaving the gate, if we just head straight, we’ll reach a swamp inside a forest in half a day using a horse」

「H-horse is it?」

「Yeah . However, since the slime’s core is so brittle, we’ll have to use a carriage so that we can place it inside a barrel filled with water」

「Ah, that’s a relief . This is embarra.s.sing to say but I don’t know how to ride a horse . It’s just a half day walk to here from my village so I’ve only ridden a carriage once before」

「It’s pretty uncommon for someone to not know how to ride a horse」

「I have completed all of my journeys with just my own feet after all」

「It’s convenient if you’re going to someplace far away you know? If you have a chance, it would be better for you to learn it」

「Well, I’ll consider it . When do we depart?」

「It would be better if we leave as soon as possible so tomorrow the earliest and the day after tomorrow the latest」

「Hmmー, how many days are we going to be away? I need to prepare food and daily necessities so leaving tomorrow might be too much」

「Like I said earlier, it’s only half a day away by horse . If we leave first thing in the morning, we’ll be there by noon . If everything goes smoothly and we get the cores immediately, we’ll be back here by night . The gates close at night though so we’ll have to camp outside until they open . It’s dangerous on the road to the forest and by the forest’s vicinity so even though it might be unreasonable, I want us to reach the gate in the middle of the night and just camp there . 」

「That only if everything goes well . How about if it doesn’t?」

「We’ll camp at a slightly further distance away from the forest . At that time, the three of us will have to take turns keeping watch」

「Then, it would be fine if I just make preparations for one night’s stay then?」

「Yes . Even if we stay longer than that, we’ll probably manage somehow if we hunt」

「What is the least number of undamaged cores required?」

「When I asked my acquaintance, they said that we should at least have two . There’s a lot of demand for it so it would help if we get more, or so they say」

「Got it . Then I gratefully accept this request」

「Really!? Thank you very much!」

We stood up from our seats and he came close to shake my hand .

「Then let’s head out tomorrow morning . I think I can finish my preparation immediately but is it alright if I just prepare my own things?」

「Yeah . We’ll prepare other necessary things so it would be enough if you just focus on your own equipement」

After that, we went over everything once more to make sure we didn’t miss anything first then we separated .

First, I should tell the boss about this . After telling him that I’m going to be away for a little while longer, I started making my preparations .

For the time being, six portions of some kind of portable food would be good I guess . Taking this opportunity, I also bought stuff for dinner . Latte is probably still doing something to my futon so I don’t think she’s eaten dinner yet .

「I’m backー」

「Ah! W-welcome back~」

「Ohー, uhm……take your time . I’ll go make dinner……」

Err, she was on top of my bed, embracing my laundry in the nude while in ecstasy .

I’ll just act like I didn’t see anything . Iyaーー I was careless since I’m used to living alone .

This is probably how mothers of middle school boys feel . I really want to consult with Celesso-san right now .

After making dinner, I went back to my room . There wasn’t a particular awkward mood between us as we ate together . Or rather, we just acted like nothing ever happened .

「Heyー, now that I think about it, how did it go with Suzuran-chan’s father? Did he get mad after all?」

「I was almost killed by my father」

「Why!?」

「Suzuran’s father said he can’t complain if his daughter has already decided on it but my father was like, ” Do you have the strength to protect your women?” . Because of that, we had a fight a serious fight before dinner」

「Was that because of me?」

「Probably」

「……sorry」

「It’s fine . I won so I got his consent」

「Uhmー, did somebody get injured after all?」

「Ahー, un . I almost lost my arm . At worst, I could have even gotten my ribs injured . I was somehow able to defend against it though」

I won’t specify how I won against father though .

「Uhm, I’m sorry that that happened because of me」

「Sorry sorry, we shouldn’t be talking about this while eating . That’s right, I joined a temporary party and we’re leaving starting tomorrow . We plan return after two days but you don’t have to mind me and just do whatever you want to my room」

「U-un . Thanks . It that really alright~?」

She was a bit timid a while ago because she felt guilty but she’s probably alright now since she went back to trailing the ends of her sentences .

「It’s fine . I’ll ask the landlady to make a duplicate key so when that’s finished, I’ll give it to you」

「Ehehe~ . Thanks~」

「Ah, naturally, I’ll give Suzuran one too」

「Of courseー . Giving me one but not Suzuran-chan is absolutely forbidden!」

Well yeah, we would get killed after all .

After we finished eating, I started preparing for tomorrow . Latte was interested in it so she clung to my back to watch . I could feel her breast hitting me but I think that’s probably on purpose so I just decided not to mind it .

「Say Caam-kun~, you weapons and armor are pretty unique, aren’t they~」

「Really? The shovel is really convenient to say the least」

「But stillー, what about your armor? It won’t be able to defend against swords, spears and arrows you know?」

She traced my back with her fingers while saying that .

「Either way, if the spots without armor get hit, I could still die so I figured it would be better if I just had one that’s easy to move in」

It was like this in my previous life as well . You may have a bullet-proof vest but if you get hit in the head or an artery in your arm or leg, you’d die . On certain TV show’s experiment where they equipped pig’s meat with armor from the Middle Ages and shot it with a crossbow, it still pierced deep enough to hit the meat . Also, you may not get cut if you get hit by a sword or an axe but the impact looks like it would be enough to break a bone or two . That’s the reason why I decided not to depend on armor and just opt for something that’s easy to move in from the start .

The things I’m bringing with me are the usual medical supplies, food, sugar and salt, and some fruits . As an insurance, I’ll bring along with me some recovery potions but if the worst happens, I’ll just have to use my recovery magic .

「Hmmー, it’s true that there are people who prefer to fight with light equipment and I haven’t seen magicians who wears armor so I guess it’s the same as that . 」

After saying that, she once again clung to my back . This time she started rubbing her cheeks against me . I’m more or less done with my preparations but I didn’t stand up and just let her do as she pleases . Then she became quiet and gradually stopped rubbing her cheeks against me .

I’m not sure if it’s because of her excitement but she got even closer and started tracing her tongue from the back of my neck to my ear .

I give up . I have to leave first thing in the morning but with the mood we’re in right now, I can’t really tell her that I don’t want to do it today, can I? I still want to go to the baths after this thoughー .

While I was thinking that, Latte went around and faced me while sitting on my lap . Then she started pestering me by kissing my neck .

*

Okay…… It might The may be an old man inside but the body is really is that of a 10-year-old . 2

I was engulfed in a completely different mood from Suzuran . I was still able to take my bath but it 3 hours later than planned .

It’s good that I was able to sleep before the date changed though . I don’t want to be sleep deprived and be a bother while we’re out on the field after all .