CH 85

“Fu~ Fu~, it seems you’re interested~”

“Yeah, so what can you tell us about it?

Ataru urged Miran, who was smiling at their unexpected enthusiastic response, to continue.

“I got….. please look here”

Miran flinched slightly under Ataru’s gaze as she laid out several documents on the table.

“This…….”

Ataru and Caro looked at the contents.

“Yes, these are reports of unusual monsters, etc. that have been reported in the past few months.”

This information was useful for Ataru and Caro, as they would not have been able to find it just by looking at the request board. However, because they wouldn’t be able to find it by looking at the request board, they wondered.

“……Why?”

Ataru asks just that without losing his expression.

“Is it…… why I am providing you with this information? deshou ka?[1]“

Ataru and Caro nodded in agreement as Miran’s expression straightened.

“It is only natural that you would think so. It’s a bit blatant to say …… but it’s because I was a little curious about you guys. Of course, I didn’t approach the two of you without any intention. I have a pretty good intuition about what people are capable of. And with a fair amount of accuracy, too.”

With her last words, her glasses gleamed. The eyes behind them were hidden in the shadows, but I didn’t feel as if Miran was lying.

“Hmmm……… this means you want us to do something for you. We may belong to the Adventurers’ Guild, but we don’t want any trouble, okay?”

Ataru, who had somewhat guessed the circumstances behind the reason for her to provide this information, turned his head away in displeasure. But she seemed to have expected this answer and smiled.

“Of course! I want you two to research what you are interested in ~nodesu[2]. And I would like you to report back to me about your findings ~nodesu. If the subject of your investigation is dangerous, the Adventurers’ Guild will take action. And if there is no problem, I will either release the information or try to prevent it from spreading unnecessarily.”

Miran looked completely like a proper Guild Master as she said this.

“I see, well…… let us take a good look at the information for the time being. I’ll have to take a good look at it to see if it’s really what we’re after. Caro, take a look at that half of it. And I’ll take a look at this half.”

They divided the documents in half and checked them by hand. Ataru and Caro began to examine the documents with a serious gaze, making sure not to miss a single detail.

In the meantime, Miran accepted the drinks that had been delivered and gently placed them in a position where they could easily drink them.

Ataru and Caro sipped their drinks while checking their documents from time to time.

“I’m curious about this one. …… This one looks like a regular monster.”

“Hmmm, I wonder if this one is different. …… this one might be!”

Mumbling to themselves, they both found a few documents that they thought might be the thing they were looking for.

Less than an hour later, they had finished checking all the documents.

“I found some…..  that might be of interest”

“Yes, I found some that I thought might be of interest too!”

Although both Ataru and Caro were tired from staring at the documents for over an hour, they were satisfied with the information that Miran had brought to them.

“That’s great! Now would either of you two like another drink?”

Miran pleased to see the smiles on their faces and presented them with some of the newly ordered drinks from the pitcher.

“N~please”

“Thanks, my throat is dry.”

The two had been so focused on reading the documents that they had forgotten to drink water, and now that they had settled down, they felt thirsty.

“Go ahead…… so did you find any information on what you are looking for?”

Miran asks them as she tilts the pitcher and pours some juice into the empty glass.

“Well, I found some interesting information. I think this might be related to what we’re looking for.”

Ataru downed his drink in one gulp and held a piece of paper in front of him.

“The same goes for me. This one.”

(Please read the original translation on bit.ly/ShadowGarden1)

Caro also held a piece of paper in front of her. She then held the cup with both hands and quenched her thirst.

“I see. It seems that what you two are looking for is a very rare kind of monster.”

Miran looked at the two sheets of paper and nodded in agreement. This was because it was obvious from the papers each of them had chosen.

“Mine is a giant monster with wings. The information is rather vague, but if it is a monster that has been seen before, it wouldn’t be one of these sightings, would it?”

Ataru’s first choice was the sighting of an adventurer who had gone to a mountain a short distance away to gather medicinal herbs.

“Here’s mine. It is a huge wolf-like monster that was found in the forest. A normal wolf-like monster would not be mentioned in this way, and it is said that the adventurers missed it because the monster did not attack them when they encountered it.”

The information Caro chose suggests that this was the work of something intelligent.

“The two sightings you two have selected, and both of these are the subject of our investigation. In other words……”

“You mean you want us to do that investigation for you?”

Miran nodded with a smile at Ataru, who answered finishing her sentence.

“I think it would be mutually beneficial, what do you say?”

“I don’t see how we can turn down the offer as you have given us the information. We are willing to accept it, but I have two questions first.”

Ataru said, raising two fingers.

“What is it?”

Miran, who had given his permission without hesitation, seemed to be ready to answer any question that came her way.

One; are you sure you want us to do this? The sightings suggest that both of them are powerful monsters. Even if your eyes are right, is it safe to ask outsider adventurers to do the job?”

Miran responded with a soft smile.

“That is fine. If they leave with only the information, it means that I was not a good judge of character. Although I would have a problem if you were to tell people this information…… but I’m sure you wouldn’t do it.”

“Either we’re that trustworthy, or you’re just that gullible……. But, I get it. We won’t run away or talk about it, so don’t worry.”

Miran nodded with a confident smile, expecting him to say those words.

“Then, the next question. Is this request officially from the guild? Or is it a private request from you to us?”

Although there seems to be little difference between the two, if the request is from the guild, you will receive an official reward and it will be registered as an achievement. As an adventurer, one would be more inclined towards the former rather than the latter.

“This is from me personally. I don’t think either of you would want it to go through the guild, would you?”

Miran’s smile turned serious, and she was right. Ataru did not care about making a mark as an adventurer, but he did not like the idea of being questioned after making a report either.

Since Ataru and Caro’s objective, this time was to make a contract, it was easy to imagine the trouble they would get into if they did so.

“Fu~ I’m no match for you. It seems that you are more skilled than I thought you would be. …… Okay, we’ll accept your request this time. Although it’s an investigation, we may end up defeating them. Just be prepared for that.”

Do you mind if we handle it ourselves? That was what Ataru was asking.

“I understand. Since my objective is to check the danger level or eliminate the danger, of course, you can take them down.”

Ataru and Miran’s mutual interests were now aligned, and the two shook hands firmly.

Footnotes

[1]

desu ka is factual and to the point, “is it?”

deshou ka is softer and more like “could it be?”

“softer” phrasing is often seen as being politer

[2]

to explain something; show emphasis

Ayo? How’s it going? Life’s been going slightly better for me as we finally got some money from my grandpa’s stocks(Around 25k USD)! So I finally got myself a new pair of headphones that are not falling apart and are being held together by tape. We also got a Microwave(Yay)!

Oh yeah, I also made a credits page thing for the chapters! I think I did a good job for someone with nearly zero graphical design experience. Also in case you haven’t noticed you can click on the [1] and such and it will take you to the footnotes!