Chapter 204 - Blessing (4)

Misha had been kidnapped. In the city, no less.

That alone made it sound as though something terrible had happened, but I calmly checked the rest of the story first. If it were true, wasn't it strange that Aynar had been sleeping so peacefully in her room?

"Kidnapped? Explain properly. What happened? Start with when it happened."

"It happened yesterday!"

The incident had occurred just a day ago. According to Aynar, she and Misha had been on their way back from a quick meal out. But what should they find when they reached the inn?

Therianthropes dressed in black were waiting for Misha.

"Oh! From what I heard, they came from Misha's family home!"

Her family home? Then the family head must have sent them.

"... And?"

"What do you mean, 'and'? Those Therianthropes whispered something to Misha, then took her away against her will!"

Hmm. Could you really call that taking her against her will?

I asked to make sure.

"Didn't Misha say anything to you before she left?"

"She said she'd be back tonight, so I should manage on my own for a day. Oh! She told me to go meet you too, Bjorn... But I slept badly because I was worried, and then I overslept!"

An incredulous laugh escaped me. Never mind the part about oversleeping—she'd told Aynar before leaving, so how was this a kidnapping?

When I asked, I received a rather striking answer.

"When Misha told me that, her face said she absolutely didn't want to go! If that's not kidnapping, what is?"

They'd taken someone who didn't want to go, so it was kidnapping. Typical barbarian logic.

But I, too, was a barbarian.

"Right. Misha really was kidnapped."

I knew how pointless it was to argue with a barbarian over whether something counted as kidnapping.

"Exactly! I was so shocked yesterday that I went to see Aruru, but she acted like it was nothing. That upset me!"

"What did Raven say?"

"She told me to wait at home until you came back, Bjorn, and not do anything strange. So I haven't even reported it to the City Watch yet!"

Okay, she'd handled that well. It was best to leave barbarians to other barbarians. Failing that, the best option was not to engage them in conversation.

"So! What are we going to do, Bjorn? We're storming the place, of course, right? Misha is our companion!!"

Who knew what trouble we'd cause by storming in there?

I answered firmly.

"Misha is a warrior too. We must give her time to handle this on her own."

"That's... true!"

"She said she'd return today. We'll wait until tonight, and if she doesn't come back, I'll go look for her myself tomorrow."

"Understood!"

Once I put it in terms a barbarian could understand, Aynar readily accepted without digging in her heels.

"Anyway, it's morning. Aren't you hungry?"

"Of course I am!"

First, I took her to breakfast. Over the meal, I asked what had happened while I was away.

There wasn't much to tell. Her days had simply been a cycle of training, meals, and coming home. Apparently, they'd also decided to skip the regular meetings with Raven and Mister Bear until my return.

"Oh, Misha was impressed then too. She said you really were amazing, Bjorn. Even if it didn't look that way, you were the team's center, and without you, the rest of us couldn't come together!"

"Uh... I see."

A strange embarrassment washed over me. Well, it was a hundred times better than them talking behind my back, but...

I changed the subject.

"Did Misha leave you money for food?"

"Yes, but I spent it all."

"... I'll leave you some money. Make sure you eat properly until tonight."

"You're going out? You're not waiting for Misha?"

"Sitting at home won't change anything. I need to take care of my own business. Misha would want that too."

After we finished eating, I sent Aynar back to her room and went out. My first stop was the Magic Tower.

"Oh, you're out? How are you feeling?"

"I seem to be fine. Perhaps it's thanks to the antidote Mozlan gave me."

"That's good. You've been through a lot. Anyway, you've heard about Miss Karlstein, right?"

"Yes. If she doesn't return today, I'll go check on her myself, so don't worry."

"I wasn't worried in the first place. Miss Aynar's the strange one. She just went to her family home. Why make such a fuss?"

I smiled wryly and held my tongue. Unlike Raven, I knew about Misha's circumstances with her family. Naturally, I couldn't help worrying.

"More importantly, I heard you couldn't divide the proceeds because I wasn't here. Let's meet tomorrow."

"What if Miss Karlstein isn't back yet?"

"Then I'll come tell you."

After briefly catching up, we settled on a time and place and parted ways. My next stop was Mister Bear's tavern.

"Oh, you're finally back. That must have been rough."

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing worth mentioning. But shouldn't I be asking you that? Were you all right in Bifron?"

"It wasn't bad. A comfortable place to live."

As with Raven, I briefly caught up with Mister Bear, then arranged to meet by telling him the time and place.

"We'll finally get our share of that money."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. You could have collected yours first."

"No, things like this need to be settled properly with everyone present. That prevents disputes. Besides, it's not as if you were off enjoying yourself."

"Thanks for understanding. I'll be going, then."

After leaving the tavern, I found myself at a bit of a loss. There was still plenty of time before evening. What should I do now?

After thinking it over, I headed for the library. There were few better places to kill time... and there was someone there who needed to know I was still alive.

"... Bjorn Jandel."

When I arrived at the library, Lagna saw my face and stiffened in surprise.

"Been a while, hasn't it?"

I grinned and spoke as casually as could be. I was about to explain why I hadn't appeared for twenty days, but she spoke first.

"I heard. Not content with using an Ability in the city, you entered the Labyrinth in defiance of the restrictions and were exiled to Bifron for it."

Oh, she already knew. Come to think of it, I'd heard at the Round Table that the story had become fairly well known, since the punishment was political.

"I'm glad you seem to have returned safely. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

The apology came completely out of nowhere. When I tilted my head, Lagna continued cautiously.

"I asked the butler whether there was anything I could do to help, but he only said there was nothing to be done..."

I still didn't understand. Why was she apologizing, and what butler?

When I asked, she pressed her lips shut as though she'd let something slip. So I didn't press further. It wasn't as though she'd tell me anyway.

'... It does sound like she's talking about her own household.'

My fading curiosity about Lagna flared up again. A mage in her twenties who was at least grade five. Clothes and a staff that practically advertised her wealth. And now this butler she'd mentioned.

Her job as a librarian had sometimes made me doubt it, but to my eyes, she was unmistakably a noble.

But...

'That's a little strange too.'

I'd gotten curious and looked into it before. There was no noble family with the surname Pefroch. Then who exactly was she?

"... Will you be staying to read?"

"Oh, yes. That's the plan."

Perhaps uncomfortable with my staring, Lagna changed the subject. I went inside to read, leaving it at that.

'Well, if the opportunity arises, I'll find out someday.'

It wasn't as though she'd done me any harm. As an outsider, it wouldn't be right for me to pry into family matters she didn't want to discuss. Whatever she was, our relationship was fine as it stood.

'... Still, I couldn't find any of the Comprehensive Record series today either.'

After sitting in one place reading until it grew dark outside the windows, I tidied up and rose. Ever since I'd stumbled across a Comprehensive Record here, I'd looked for them now and then, but once again, I'd found nothing.

"Are you leaving?"

"There's someone I'm waiting for."

"... I see."

After returning to the inn, I had dinner with Aynar and asked how she'd spent the day.

"Today? I took a nap, then got bored and visited the sanctuary."

"The sanctuary?"

"Teaching the young warriors is fun. It brings back memories too."

To me, she didn't seem much different from back then... but her combat strength had certainly grown enormously.

"Come with me next time. Everyone wants to see you. It's already been twenty days since you last went."

"All right. We'll go together next time."

Since declaring my intention to become chieftain, I'd been visiting the sanctuary whenever I could to start educating them early, so I agreed without much hesitation. I needed to build support within the tribe in advance.

"Hehe. The young warriors will be pleased."

We were both barbarians, so by the time we'd exchanged that much conversation, we'd already finished eating. But instead of going upstairs to our rooms, we waited on the first floor, which doubled as the dining room.

Misha still hadn't returned.

'Has something really gone badly wrong?'

I grew more worried as the night wore on, but fortunately, Misha appeared about an hour later. Unlike her usual preference for bright colors, she was dressed in black.

"Oh? Bjorn?"

"It's Misha!! Misha's back!!"

Aynar immediately ran over and hugged her.

"Ah! Don't, nyah. I'm not in the mood!"

Misha sighed, peeled Aynar off, and sat down across from me.

"... Sorry, nyah. I was going to wait outside for you."

"It's fine. I'm not a child. More importantly, how did things go? Aynar told me something happened."

"Oh, that..."

Misha trailed off, glancing at Aynar.

"Aynar, go upstairs and sleep."

"Huh? Why?"

"Tsk."

"Fine! I'll go to bed, all right!!"

Once I'd sent Aynar upstairs, we talked.

"So, why did your family summon you?"

"Well... one of my older brothers died, so I had to attend, nyah. I'm still part of that family, technically."

"So it was for a funeral."

Contrary to my worries, it seemed she really hadn't been dragged away by force. But one thing puzzled me.

"That's a little strange. At this time of the month?"

The Labyrinth hadn't just closed. A funeral now? Didn't that mean something fatal had happened in the city?

"Don't worry about anything strange, nyah. He was always sickly. They had to call a priest to treat him all the time."

"So it wasn't that bastard from the Floor lord incident."

I asked her outright.

"Who was it, then? You look upset. Your eldest brother, the one you said always looked after you?"

"... Probably someone you don't know, nyah. I've never mentioned him."

"Really?"

If she'd never mentioned him, he was probably one of the bastards who'd bullied her and looked down on her. Why did she look so dejected, then?

"Now I see. It wasn't just the funeral. Something else happened there."

"... How did you know, nyah?"

As if that was anything new. I thought she'd get angry if I said it was written all over her face, so I put it another way.

"If it were only about the funeral, there'd be no reason to send Aynar away."

"Why are you only ever so perceptive about things like this, nyah?"

"... Just tell me. What happened?"

"Well..."

Misha gave a deep sigh before continuing.

"Father... No, that man wants me to bring you to him again, nyah."

Why was everyone so determined not to leave me alone?

* * *

The head of the Karlstein family wanted to see me. I wondered whether he'd uncovered some new clue about the Frost Spirit Ring, but...

"Anyway, that's beside the point. You don't need to go, nyah. I already refused him outright."

Since Misha had already taken care of it, it seemed I didn't need to worry about the matter any further. Apparently, she'd told him that if he wanted to see me, he should come himself instead of ordering her around.

If we heard nothing, it would mean it hadn't been important.

'If he really does come... I'll hear him out and think about it then. Going there for no reason would only invite trouble.'

That settled this matter.

"Argh, the more I think about it, the angrier I get, nyah. What does that man think I am? Funeral or not, I'm never going again, no matter how often he calls."

After that, I caught up on twenty days' worth of conversation with Misha, who was renewing her determination to be independent, then went to my room and slept.

The following afternoon...

"It's been ages since we all got together. Has everyone been well?"

Every member of Team Apple Naraq had gathered in one place: the familiar three-story tavern where we'd been meeting ever since our first get-together. Our goal was the final division of proceeds, which we'd yet to complete.

"I heard before, but I'd like the details again. What was our total income?"

"Including the Foxfire Knot that sold a few days ago, 159 million Stones."

"Does that include the fee they paid you?"

"Yes. I thought about it, and we ended up killing all of them, didn't we? It felt ridiculous to claim that the fee I'd received beforehand was mine alone. So I only deducted the cost of the test tube for myself."

True. Even without that arrangement, it would have ended up in our hands as loot after the fight.

'Still, that's unexpected. Honestly, I thought she'd insist it was hers.'

She seemed to have mellowed a little. Compared with when we'd first met, at least.

"Anyway, I brought a breakdown of the final accounts. It'll be easier to discuss things while looking at this."

With the documents Raven had prepared, receipts and all, we began settling up in earnest.

The magic crystal income was divided equally, as were the proceeds from fighting explorers. The herbs gathered in Doppelgänger Forest, however, were classified as special loot, giving Raven a 40 percent share. Rather than selling the potions, we set them aside as communal supplies.

With everything laid out clearly on paper, the complicated accounting proceeded smoothly.

And...

"Thirty million Stones..."

Though the exact amounts varied slightly, each of us received the enormous sum of thirty million Stones. It was an income worthy of being called a record.

But now it was time to cough some of it back up.

"Now, all that remains is to settle the loot everyone kept personally. I've had some spare time lately, so I worked out rough figures for that too. As usual, I priced everything at around 70 percent of the average market value, so it'll be much cheaper than buying it."

Raven looked at each of us in turn as she spoke.

"First, Miss Karlstein. The Half Troll leather boots enchanted with Acceleration and Size Adjustment are 2.1 million. The laetium necklace engraved with Cold Enhancement is 2.7 million. That's 4.8 million altogether. But we have to subtract your own share... so you only need to pay 3.84 million Stones."

"Ugh..."

"Miss Aynar, your Expanded Backpack is 1.5 million... and that's everything. Just pay 1.2 million Stones."

"Urgh."

"Mr. Urigfried, the subspace quiver is 2.1 million. The large steel breastplate is 550,000... But why did you keep the breastplate?"

"... I'll have Size Adjustment cast on it and put it on Iron Bear."

"Not a bad idea. Though putting it on every time you summon him sounds like a nuisance. Anyway, you owe 2.12 million Stones."

Apart from Raven, who hadn't chosen any personal loot, everyone paid the stated amount onto the table without complaint. Then, at long last, my turn came.

"Finally, Mr. Jandel."

Just how much would I have to cough up?

"First, the Idium Gaiter is 3.1 million Stones. No. 8667 Outlaw of the Barren Lands is 3.3 million."

"Wait. Leave out Outlaw of the Barren Lands. I intend to keep it as communal team equipment, not personal loot."

"... Communal team equipment?"

"It'll come in handy if we meet that bastard on the fifth floor, won't it? I think we should keep it for then."

"Hmm."

Raven looked at me like a tax official eyeing a tax evader. But ultimately, her answer was yes.

"That's a reasonable argument. Though somehow I feel like you're pulling something on me. Let's move on, then."

Before I could even feel relieved at having saved some money, Raven moved on to the final items—the centerpiece of this settlement.

"The Manticore Essence. And No. 2988 Guard Corps’ Symbol."

"..."

"The average trade market price of a Manticore Essence is about fifty million Stones, but I've already deducted the test tube cost, and I used the guild's listed price instead."

"So, what's the listed price?"

"Thirty-two million Stones."

Fuck.

Then, if we applied the customary 70 percent rate and subtracted another fifth, since I'd get 20 percent back as my own share anyway...

"You'll need to pay 17.92 million Stones for the Manticore."

It was still expensive.

"... What about the Guard Corps’ Symbol?"

"Its average trade market price is fifty-two million Stones."

That hadn't changed much from its price in the game. Applying the same discounts brought the final cost to 29.12 million Stones.

"Add the Idium Gaiter to that, and your total comes to 48,776,000 Stones."

Raven smiled and continued.

"Have you been saving up?"

"..."

I pressed my lips shut. Then I looked at Aynar.

"Huh? Why are you suddenly looking at me?"

"Aynar, how much did you borrow from me again...?"

"Y-you're taking it away...!!"

No, I'm getting it back.

* * *

This expedition had brought in truly record-breaking profits. Yet after paying everything I owed, even emptying out all my savings hadn't been enough. The sum was too large to cover even after including the money I'd lent Aynar.

Of course, that wasn't a problem.

"Aynar, while you're repaying me, lend me a little extra."

"H-huh...? Lending money between companions is—"

"I said I'll pay you back."

"O-okay...!"

"Misha, I'd appreciate it if you lent me some too."

"Good grief. How short are you, nyah?"

I covered the thirteen-million-Stone shortfall with unsecured loans from Aynar and Misha. In the end, I'd become a debtor.

When was I going to pay this off? Should I hope we ran into some plunderers in the Labyrinth?

"I'm rich now!!!!"

Aynar's dejection over lending me money lasted only a moment. Until a few days ago, she'd been unable to afford even her living expenses and had depended on Misha and me. Now she started throwing money around wherever she went.

Hmm. Was "throwing money around" really the right way to put it? She bought snacks without restraint, but they were so cheap that no matter how much she ate, she could hardly make a noticeable dent in her funds.

"Bjorn, what should I do with this money?"

"Keep it for now. We'll get you new equipment after we come back next time."

"Okay."

"Oh! Me too! I'm getting new equipment too!"

"Hold off this month. We'll have a few things made, and they won't be finished before the Labyrinth opens anyway."

Since settling the accounts had taken so long, I decided to put off any serious spending until next month. With such a large sum coming in for once, I planned to get equipment that would last us through the seventh floor, even if we could only replace a piece or two.

Of course, I couldn't tell them to spend everything on that.

"Still, you earned plenty. Don't be too frugal. Spend some on things you want too. Isn't that why you earned it?"

"Huh? I-is that really okay, nyah?"

What did she think I was? Growth mattered, but I had no intention of making her give up her entire life outside it.

"Sounds like there's something you wanted to do."

"Yeah."

"Why are you looking to me for approval? It's your money."

"Well, it's not entirely just about that..."

"...?"

When I gave her a questioning look, Misha spoke cautiously.

"Could we move somewhere else while we're at it, nyah?"

"... What?"

"We're making good money now, so I thought it might be better to live somewhere nicer... We can't even cook here, nyah."

Hmm. No wonder she'd been watching for our reactions.

After a moment's thought, I agreed. This inn had been starting to feel cramped anyway. Besides, Misha's cooking was much tastier than restaurant food. Healthier too.

"Then we'll look for a place to move into in due time. For now, we need to prepare for the Labyrinth."

"Okay!!"

After that, we returned to the everyday routine we'd been away from for so long. Peaceful days of gathering to plan the expedition, visiting Rotmiller again to resume my interrupted navigator lessons, and occasionally stopping by the commercial district to check for anything worth buying.

As always, those days flew by.

And...

"If everyone's here, let's get going."

We gathered at Mister Bear's tavern, just as we had last time.

「You have entered the first floor, Crystal Cave.」

It was time to enter the Labyrinth.