Episode 29 Solicitation II
As it turned out, the dish that came out was a spicy chicken sandwich that was just plain good.
However, it tasted like it was seasoned for young people, with a strong taste and a lot of fat on the tongue.
I guess she uses fatty thigh meat instead of breast meat.
The sauce was also sweetened with honey or something to match the spiciness.
There was also plenty of butter and mustard on the bread.
For Kian, who was almost thirty, this menu was too rich.
But Serena didn't know what Kian liked, and if she had grown up in a world where there was no concept of nutrition education, she wouldn't have thought of using less salt and removing as much fat as possible. She was simply recreating the taste of her own home.
『Not to your taste?』
(No, I think it's good. It's just that my taste buds are a little different.)
If you add Arueno's and Serena's dishes together and divide by two, it's about right.
「Is it good?」
Serena, who was sitting expressionlessly across the table from him, asked him as he was silently munching on his chicken sandwich.
Kian nodded with a smile.
「Yes, it's very delicious. Thank you.」
「............. I guess it wasn't to your liking.」
Serena said nonchalantly.
It seems that his lie has been detected again.
She looked like she didn't care about Kian's reaction, but her dog ears were hanging down.
「You seemed to be in a state of shock.」
「No, it's very good. If you're in a tavern, for example, they make the food taste strong to attract repeat customers. The Pig Foot Pavilion also had this kind of seasoning, and I think this is the standard.」
「We were a family of twenty, and there were only five women: me, my mother, and my three mothers-in-law. ...... We all loved meat and strong flavors.」
「Twenty people? And three mothers-in-law. ......」
「It's normal in my tribe.」
「Oh, I see.」
The family situation of the Silver Wolf Tribe is becoming clearer.
It seems that harems are the norm in the tribe.
But still, four wives?
I wonder how they did at night.
They took turns a day at a time, and it took four days to complete a cycle.
Or was it a daily routine of multiple plays with two wives each?
No way, four people at once?
No, no, no, for sure he doesn't have enough limbs to take on four people at once.
..........For what it's worth, Serena's father must have been a prodigy.
Kian stirred the water.
「If there are twenty people in a single family, ten families could make a great army.」
「We did. We grow our mercenary army by having children. We only take in outside blood once in a while. ......」
「A mercenary group? A mercenary group of the Silver Wolf Clan? Don't tell me.」
「"Storm Crowd". I'm sure you've at least heard of them, right?」
「It-It's the most powerful mercenary group in the west!」
He couldn't help but raise his voice.
Fortunately, there was no one but Kian and Serena in the hall, so there was no need to worry about being overheard.
However, feeling a little embarrassed, Kian slunk back into his seat.
Serena's reaction, on the other hand, was calm.
She crossed her legs and reached for a plate of nuts.
「No one believed me when I told them, but you do. You believe I'm a former "Storm Crowd".」
「If you ask me, ......, why are you acting alone as a member of a mercenary group? And if there are fifteen men in a family of twenty, how come you're a swordsman in the vanguard?」
「Are you saying that a woman shouldn't wield a sword?」
「I just thought it was unusual. I mean, it's rare, isn't it? There are only a few adventurers who are female swordsmen. If you go out on the street and catch a hundred of them at random, you'll probably find that most of them are magicians or monks.」
With today's medical technology, simple wounds can be healed with healing techniques, but severe wounds and missing parts can only be healed by a very high-ranking healer. Even if you can find a high-ranking healer, all they ask for in return is a lot of money.
So, most of the time, they just leave it at that.
Aside from men, most women choose to work in the rear guard because they don't want to have ugly scars on their faces and bodies.
「It means that there are some unusual beastmen like me. ...... That's enough of my personal story. It's not like I'm trying to be your friend. Instead, I'd like you to tell me something about the Deadly Swordsman of Azrair.」
「Eh......, hmm.」
Information about the warrior monks of Azrair is kept secret by rule.
If Kian were to leak it, he would be breaking the rules.
But now that he has been banished, he doesn't have to be bound by the rules of that city.
(Is it okay if I tell her what I know while withholding personal information?)
Kian put his hands on the table and was about to express his thoughts about the Deadly Swordsman - when he suddenly closed his mouth.
Can I honestly give out the information here――?
Talking would get him out of Serena's sight, but all he would get out of it would be a chicken sandwich.
The Kian behind the scenes would probably try to negotiate for something more favorable.
Maybe money, or the loan of a sub-weapon she has.
(What would I do in the back scene?)
Kian thought about it for a moment and then approached Serena.
「Why don't we make a deal before we talk?」
「A deal?」
「Yeah, you belong to the Falcon Clan now, right?」
「No, I'm not.」
Serena shook her head.
Her silver tail swished once behind the back of her chair.
「Because I got fired.」
「Then it's much faster if we talk now. I want you to form a party with me.」
「Eh?」
Her eyes widened, and Kian nervously repeated his words.
「Of course, I understand that you don't want to team up with a small fry like me. If we run into a strong enemy, I'll slow you down, and if I die, the guild's death penalty and the lord's death tax will fall on you. But you don't have to protect me. On the contrary, we can go our separate ways.」
「Does that mean you're going to do the quest by yourself? ...... I see. Party special points.」
Serena nodded as if she understood.
Party special points are the points you get when you form a party, in addition to the guild points you get for completing quests.
To put it simply, if you form a party, you get more guild points than if you go solo, making it easier to get promoted to a higher rank.
These points are ridiculously large.
After the 6th class, which is the intermediate level, it would take 5 to 10 years at best to move up one rank without party points.
You can get points from a party of two.
When there are more than four people in a party, the points are maxed out.
If you have more than ten people, you get special points called "Clan points" (This is even more enormous than party points, but the quests it applies to are limited to large scale. For example, large-scale requests such as defeating a dragon or powerful vampires.), but let's not talk about that.
「While you're looking for the Deadly Swordsman, your guild points will increase on their own. However, if you don't participate in my quest, I'll take all the reward money.」
「That's good terms.」
Serena's blue eyes crawl over to Kian with a sticky gaze.
She looked at him as if she wanted to trade blades in a duel rather than join a party.
「I've always wanted to see your sword up close.」
「Does that mean you'll go along with my quest?」
「Yes. I need the money too, so let's split it 50-50. We'll also share exactly the materials from the enemies we defeat in the quest. ...... By the way, did the guild collect all the materials from the Griffin yesterday?」
「Yes, they did. Neither Robert-san nor I were in a position to dismantle the Griffin and take the materials home with us.」
「What a waste. ...... If it was in good condition, it would have been worth a gold coin of the Kingdom of Franz, not including the amount to be paid to the guild.」
Serena muttered and frowned.
She bites her lip, her eyes downcast as if she regrets something.
(Maybe I should have forced myself to bring back the material after all..)
『So what do you do when the sun goes down and you run into a pack of demons? You had to pass through the streets where the carcasses of wild dogs lie.』
（Do you think I made the right decision back there?)
『It's important to know where to put your life and where not to. Once you've defeated the Griffin, your top priority is to get home alive.』
(I see, it's not good to be too reckless. I learned a lot. I've literally experienced it firsthand.)
As he was talking to the glasses, Serena got up from her chair and held out her hand to him.
She bent forward and he could see the white sarashi from the chest of her shirt.
「If I had accompanied you, I might have made a lot of money by now. But let me tell you, after today, you will not lose money on Griffin. ...... I'm looking forward to working with you, Kian.」
「Likewise」
He shook the hand that was offered to him.
Serena's hand was slightly sweaty and hard.
It was the hand of someone who wielded a sword daily.
「Then, what do you know about the Deadly Swordsman?」
「With the information I have, I can't tell you who he is. What was the cause of your brother's death? Poison? Insects? Slashed by a sword?」
Serena's eyes twitched.
「He was slashed to death with a sword. ...... He was killed right in front of me. I was stuck in the darkened halls of the dining hall because of the poison, and my brother came to my aid. ...... My brother fought bravely. But after several sword fights, my brother's body ......, his body, was torn apart.」
「――――」
Serena clutched her chest.
Her light blue eyes widened as if she was now seeing the events of that moment in her retinas.
「And then, that guy covered my brother's body, which had stopped moving, and took a knife to cut off some parts of him. ...... When I checked later, his heart, his ring finger of the right hand, his right eye, and his lips were gone.」
「That's too much. Usually, the proof of assassination is enough to make a handkerchief suck the blood of the target. Old-fashioned apostles bring back body parts, but four is a bit much.」
Kian put a finger to his chin and continued.
「The Apostles of Azrair don't kill people just because of personal grudges. It's possible that it wasn't Azrair's apostle that killed your brother.」
「He was using the same technique as you. It's called "Impulse".」
「"Impulse." so he knows the basic technique.」
「He also swung his sword as if he were carrying it around his right ear when he slashed down. My dad told me about it. He said it's called a curling slash, a special slashing technique that allows for a quicker slash than swinging it over the head.」
「It is true that the curling slash is an Azrairian sword technique. It is a unique stick swinging method that focuses on speed rather than power, pulling the blade rather than striking and slashing.......」
「When I came here, I checked with some informants, and they said, 'It was the work of the legendary deadly hand, known around the world as the Deadly Swordsman of Azrair."」
Kian raised an eyebrow.
「The "Deadly Swordsman of Azrair" is a title given to one of the Twelve Divine Generals at the top of the Apostles. It's not something that just anyone can claim.」
He looked back at Serena and continued.
「In order to become one of the Twelve, the other eleven generals are judged on their fidelity to the precepts of Azrair, not to mention their swordsmanship and political power. Those who kill out of a personal grudge or bring back body parts as a hobby are not chosen first. If they are not yet adults, they are re-educated. If they are adults, they are banished or purged with the sword.」
「You know a lot, don't you?」
Serena looked at Kian in surprise.
「Maybe you were a former official of Azrair?」
Kian chuckled.
If he was, he wouldn't be working as a 9th-level adventurer in a place like this.
He would have been locked up or killed to prevent any unnecessary information from leaking out.
「I'm not much better than that. I just learned a little at the monastery.」
「Hmm. ......」
「So the person who killed your brother was someone other than the Deadly Swordsman of Azrair. Azrair's swordsmanship has few users, so it was probably someone who was trained at the monastery. He was good enough to kill a member of the Storm Crowd but was most likely expelled due to character and behavior problems. ―If you go to the monastery in Azrair and ask one of the instructors there for some money, you might be able to get the names of those who dropped out or were expelled after graduation. If you check the names against the time of your brother's murder, you should be able to narrow it down to a few people.」
「Kian!」
Serena stood up from her chair with a clatter and walked around to Kian.
She came in front of him and took his hand.
「Thank you. No way........I didn't expect to get such decent information. I can't thank you enough for what you've done.」
When she said that, her face, which had been expressionless the whole time, relaxed a little.
When you look at her up close, she looks so cute, no kidding.
He could smell the dry sweat coming from her and felt his penis become erect, but he quickly crossed his legs to save himself.
「So, now that you have a plan for the future, are you going to leave for Azrair as soon as possible?」
Serena lowered her eyebrows.
「I would love to, but ......, unfortunately, I don't have enough money. I need to earn money for the ship and for my stay there. I also need money to get information about the outcasts over there. Also, ...... I've just registered as an adventurer and a resident in this city, so if I leave the land I'll have to pay a departure tax on both sides.」
「You don't have to pay the departure tax if you take some kind of quest in Azrair. They'll take plenty of tolls, though.」
Serena shook her head.
「The only quests in Azrair that can be accepted in the Kingdom of Franz are large requests. I'm a 9th-class adventurer, so I'll never get one. I'll just save my money.」
「How many gold coins do you need to save up for this ......? Maybe you could talk to one of the senior parties about your situation and ask them to let you in temporarily? I mean, if you talk to all the senior parties in the East End, maybe one of them will be kind enough to let you in.」
「I don't want to spread the word about my situation too much. I don't want to get into it, especially with the Storm Crowd, and I can't talk about it for the safety of my friends. ...... I've been poisoned before and used as bait to lure my brother. If I get caught again, and this time I'm used to summon my dad, I'm ......」
Serena turned her light blue eyes to Kian and smiled a little.
「Do you think there is a party that would unconditionally let me join their party and take me to Azrair with all these hidden things?」
「I see. Well, that's your situation. You can do what you think, Serena-san.」
「I will. Anyway, I can't start without money, so ......, Kian, please take care of me from now on.」
「Yeah, please take care of me too. Then let's go register our party at the guild as soon as possible. We'll tell the receptionist that we'll be working on the request as a party, and then we'll continue with the interview about the request.」
「Interview? Everything you need to know is written in the request.」
Serena tilted her head curiously, and Kian shook his head.
「There are some things you can't see without actually going to the client and asking about the situation. You can't just look at a request and storm in, because you'll never do that if you're more than an advanced party.」
「I see. Then I'll go with you. Wait a minute. I'll go upstairs to wipe off my sweat and put on my jacket.」
That was all Serena said and disappeared up the back stairs to the upper floor.
Kian, who was left behind, popped the last piece of his chicken sandwich into his mouth and stood up.
『You've successfully added her to your party.』
（Yeah, that'll get us some extra points for the party, I don't need an S rating, I can do all four up to a B rating, that's enough to reach the line for promotion.)
『Once you're done asking around, it's better to put up the glasses and go over the necessary tools and strategies. In particular, I have a feeling that the quest for the Rose Labyrinth will be very difficult, so don't neglect your preparations.」
(You're right. Just because you have one more companion doesn't mean you can let your guard down. If I wear the glasses, I might be able to notice things I wouldn't have noticed on the outside, and I agree.)
Kian nodded and picked up his own backpack.
Then...
He met up with Serena who had come down from above.
They went to the guild together and conducted interviews with the remaining three clients.
Based on the information obtained from the investigation, he consulted with Serena to come up with the necessary tools, and they split up to get them from the street vendors and the guild's store... and that was the end of the day.
On his way home, Kian put on his glasses again, trying to sort out the information about the request.
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Tftc
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