Chapter 22: Novice Hunter

“I’d like to turn this in, please.”

“Right, thanks.”

Emile placed an item at the exchange counter of the Hunters’ Guild, which the guild worker accepted.

Emile and Belle had been working as novice hunters since a few days ago. Emile hadn’t missed a day of sword training since that day four years ago. When Kaoru had approached Emile and Belle when they were street urchins and asked, “How would you two like to help me as my servants?” he’d decided to become her sword and shield... And although his style was his own, he’d become somewhat proficient.

He’d used a wooden sword for training at first, but Kaoru got him a practice sword and then a real sword upon finding this out. He’d been training from early morning to late at night outside of the time he spent to earn living expenses and taking care of the young ones. He had a goal that was more important than his own life. With such intense training, there was no way he wouldn’t improve.

Natural talent? An efficient training regiment? A capable training instructor? None of that mattered to a demon.

When Kaoru had realized Emile’s self-taught swordsmanship had no regard for protecting himself and solely focused on defeating the enemy and shielding others with his own body, she’d forced him to find a swordmaster and train under them in a fluster. It was run by a retired veteran hunter who’d trained others as a hobby, but Emile was trained in the way of the sword and in mental fortitude as well, and was now able to call himself a fully-fledged swordsman.

More important than his improvement with the sword was that he learned there’d be no one to protect those he cared about if he sacrificed himself for their sake. True service meant ensuring his own survival in order to continue protecting others.

And so, Emile had learned to think about his own survival as well.

Emile was now quite skilled in combat against human opponents for his age, but that was strictly against other humans. He wasn’t able to hunt swift, horned rabbits, take down flying birds, or kill a boar. Essentially, he could only escort others or gather materials, making him quite inflexible as a hunter. This meant the jobs he could take on were quite limited.

As for Belle, the extent of her fighting abilities was limited to tackling and stabbing someone with the knife she was hiding. She could hardly be counted on for combat.

Despite their shortcomings, there were those who would invite them to their party. Though of course, they were far from the respectable kind. Their goal was to have Emile die quickly so they could share Belle among themselves. Even if they didn’t kill him directly, it’d be easy for the rest of the party to coordinate and put him in a dangerous situation. Whether Emile was aware of this or not, he’d avoided accepting such offers.

Within the past few days, they’d become known as the “new, but not stupid, straight-laced as hell brother and sister duo.” The two had been living together for as long as they could remember, so anyone who saw them would think they were as close as brothers and sisters.

Right when Emile received his payment for the herbs and food ingredients he had collected, “it” appeared...

Cling...

The door opened along with the ring of the door bell, and the hunters reflexively turned toward that direction. This was none other than a hunter’s instinct.

Then...

Twitch!

Everyone flinched at once. A little embarrassed, they soon relaxed and went back to what they were doing. Whether it be talking or eating...

The person who’d walked into the guild was just a little girl. The hunters who’d flinched at her arrival all felt shamed by their own reactions. Even though it was only for a moment, they’d gotten scared by the look in the girl’s eyes...

As for the girl, she had an unconcerned expression on her face. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel it was unpleasant... she’d just gotten used to it. That was all.

She continued walking toward the quest counter with purpose.

“Please process this.”

With that, she handed a piece of paper to the receptionist girl that read:

“Guards wanted.

Duration: Until the client or contractor wishes to end the terms.

Reward: One small gold coin per day.

Number of People: 2

Conditions: Both must be in a party, and one or both of them must be female.”

“Huh...?” The receptionist couldn’t help but react upon receiving the form. “E-Excuse me, about the listed conditions...” She seemed to be flustered about having to mention something that went without saying. So she explained hesitantly to the little girl, “Um, I don’t think there will be any party that would accept this request with these conditions... You won’t be charged the commission if no one accepts it, but it will still incur the quest registration fee. Would it be possible to soften the conditions...?”

“No, this is all the reward I can give. And we’re all women, so I won’t accept a party unless it’s only women as well, or a pair of a man and a woman. If no one takes the offer after waiting some time, I will decide what to do then.”

She couldn’t refuse to take it at that point; she did try to advise the little girl. Therefore, she’d completed her duty and acted in good faith.

With that in mind, the receptionist proceeded to do her job. And so, a new request card was put up on the board.

“What the...?!”

“A small gold coin for two people? That’d barely pay for a room and meal. Who’d wanna take this?”

The hunters all laughed upon seeing the request.

“To top it off, it’s an escort job. That’s gonna take up way too much time. They should’ve at least checked the market price before posting this...”

After the laughter went on for some time, a two-person party walked up to the request board, read the card, then peeled it off.

“““What...?”””

They walked away from the surprised group of hunters and approached the receptionist.

“We’ll take this.”

“Huh...?” The receptionist looked at them in disbelief with her mouth ajar. “...Oh, e-excuse me! Um, you can accept it, of course, but the client is still here, so you may want to check the details with her now.”

The boy and girl nodded, and the receptionist called over a young girl.

“I’m Kaoru, the client and owner of the medicine and workshop, ‘Layette’s Atelier.’ The conditions are just as they’re written there: One small gold coin per person, per day, and this will be a live-in job. Food expenses, consumables, and other miscellaneous expenses will all be provided. The fact that hunters live with us as bodyguards will be enough of a deterrent, so unless I specifically request something, you are free to take on any other jobs. Do you have any questions?”

“None. We’re Emile and Belle. We may be novice hunters, but it’d be an honor to serve you.”

“Yes, thank you for your service.”

“““Whaaat?!””” the others shouted from all around them.

“They get a small gold coin each?!”

“Food expenses are paid for and they’re free to take other jobs? They basically got a place to stay for free!”

“No way... But I guess if you need to be a two-person party with a woman, we didn’t qualify anyway.”

There may have been resentment if there were other qualifying parties, but having a woman as part of the party being a prerequisite, they settled down with a few envious comments.

I had a reason for taking such a roundabout method of course. It would’ve been suspicious for someone to take the request card without reading its contents, as well as if someone else happened to meet the conditions and took the card first. But it would’ve also been strange if the conditions were too unfavorable, not to mention how bad it would’ve been for Emile and Belle’s future prospects. That’s why I made it a great deal that seemed bad at first glance, making them seem like quick-witted and observant hunters.

In any case, Emile and Belle were now officially residents of Layette’s Atelier. They simply had to help out at the store and continue improving as hunters from then on. Then, once we parted ways, they’d be able to return to the kingdom of Balmore and live on protecting the orphans of “The Eyes of the Goddess.”

I couldn’t have them traveling with me forever. Emile and Belle both had their own lives, and I wanted them to take care of themselves.

...They didn’t plan on staying with me even after I got married, did they...?

＊　　　＊

I gave one of the rooms on the second floor to Emile and Belle, and we began our life together with the four of us. They’d be sharing a room, but they’d been living together like brother and sister since childhood, so it was no big deal. After all, they were living together in that dilapidated, one-room building that could barely withstand the elements. And now, they were lovers.

...Though I didn’t think that pushover Emile had it in him to make a move on Belle, who was still twelve years old and like a younger sister to him. Besides, if I’d split them up, Emile may not have said anything, but Belle may have been upset.

In any case, things were going as planned so far. Francette and the others were next, but we were sure to “meet” them soon. For now, they could spend some time in their room flirting with each other.

Urgh, some day, I’ll also...

As our post-late-breakfast break ended, it was time to begin opening up the shop.

“Time to get ready.”

“Okay!” Layette answered from atop my lap.

Belle stared at us with an envious look in her eyes. I hoped she knew she was much heavier than me. I’d get crushed... It would’ve been a different story if it were four years ago, when we’d just met, but...

Emile’s group went off to the guild to find more work. I went down to the first floor with Layette, opened the curtains, then opened the inner glass window. Once I opened the glass window and the outer wooden one...

“Whoa!”

...Ah, oops.

I was supposed to say, “Kya!” I was so bad at being girly...

No, now isn’t the time for that! The heck is this?!

There were nearly twenty people gathered outside.

Wait... are they all customers?

I mean, there were about ten people who visited out of curiosity and it had been pretty slow since, so why?

I composed myself and locked the wooden window open, closed the glass window, opened the door, and...

“Welcome!”

“W-Welcan!”

Layette, you’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you? You usually speak pretty clearly... Ohh, you sly child!

“I’ll take some medicine for soldier’s disease!”

“Me too!”

“I-I’ll take some too!”

Ahh, look at all these people who needed my drugs to go on!

...Just as planned!

“I’ll take the one worth three silver.”

“Me too.”

“Me three!”

It seemed they’d realized the medicine was effective, so they wanted to cure the condition instead of getting temporary relief. Though even if they were cured, they’d probably get it again because everyone else around them had it, and they probably weren’t going to change their shoes anytime soon.

I figured there were more buyers now because people were beginning to see the effects on others, or tried some of their friends’. In any case, I was glad to see it gaining publicity.

“I’ll take three.”

“Same here.”

“I’ll take five.”

Huh?

“Um, you’ll get better with just one. You could purchase another one if it happens to come back, so isn’t five four too many?”

“Oh, I’m going to earn some points with my boss by giving him a bottle as a gift.”

“I’m getting a bottle for Eliza.”

“Hey, you bastard!”

“I’m going to resell them at wor—er, never mind.”

Like hell you are!

“...Only two per person! This is a pharmacy and a retail shop. We do not do wholesale!”

They began arguing and blaming each other, but they settled down and left with two bottles when I threatened to reduce the limit to one.

“I’ll take one diarrhea and one constipation medicine.”

“Huh? Why do you need medicine for opposite symptoms?”

Normally, sales associates shouldn’t infringe on a customer’s privacy. But this was a pharmacy. Since I was selling medicine, there were some things I just couldn’t let pass. I wouldn’t allow someone to use them in a way I didn’t agree with.

“Well, my diet tends to get unbalanced when I travel to different regions and get food, and sometimes there’s weird stuff in there. I get constipated at first, then the next day, it’s like an explos—”

“Thankyouforyourpurchase!”

“Tank you!”

Our sales continued increasing. I was selling medicine for stomach pain, toothache, and general pain relief as well. But if those were signs of more serious illnesses, there was a chance masking the pain would lead to the issue getting worse without the patient’s knowledge. To prevent that, I added an effect that would halt the progression of the illness while the pain reliever was in effect. I didn’t make it fully cure an illness, since that would garner the attention of more powerful and sinister people. It was just to maintain the current status.

Curing malignant diseases wasn’t a job for medicine from “Layette’s Atelier,” but the blessing of the Goddess herself: The “Tears of the Goddess.” Eventually, I planned on having Emile and Belle work as “The Eyes of the Goddess” and find those who were worthy of being bestowed the blessings of the Goddess.

Though all this wouldn’t be done all at once. It wasn’t as if everyone who was deserving of the Goddess’s blessing would receive it. Only a select few, who happened to be very lucky, would get it.

Gods are fickle creatures. The Goddess of this world in particular...