Chapter 18: The Bear Sells Things

Chapter 18:
The Bear Sells Things

 

I LEFT THE GUILD and headed to the exchange counter next door. Two of the three counters were serving customers, so I naturally went to the open one.

“Yo, bear girl. You selling wolves again?” Mr. Gentz said, smiling as he greeted me.

“I have other monsters, too.” I pulled ten wolves out of my bear storage. The adventurers in the room broke into slight consternation at the sight of them.

Mr. Gentz called over two employees from the back and directed them to move the wolves. When the counter cleared, I pulled out ten horned hares next. The commotion around me in the room grew even louder. Incidentally, horned hares were meter-long bunnies. They looked cute, but they could jump like hell, and if you didn’t have good defenses, they could run you through with their horns.

“What? You’ve even got horned hares? These all look fresh, too.” Mr. Gentz called into the back again and directed them to take away the hares. “As always, you didn’t butcher them.”

“I don’t know how to, and it’s a pain in the butt.”

“Well, it gives the guild work, so we’re happy to do it, but you’re going to lose money if you don’t learn.”

“I’ll learn,” I told him, but I had no intention of doing anything of the sort. It might have been more accurate to say I didn’t think I could learn. I’d only stopped being grossed out by monster corpses. Butchering them was just too much for me.

“So, just ten wolves and ten horned hares for today?”

“There’s more. There’s something the guild master told me to bring.”

“The guild master told you to bring something?”

I pulled out an orc.

“Hey there, you’ve even got an orc? Wait a second. You’re not going to tell me you’ve got ten whole orcs, are you?”

The smaller orcs were about two meters tall; larger ones could grow up to three. It was impossible to carry one in alone, and it’d get in the way if I put them all on the counter.

The assembled adventurers started whispering again. “There’s no way that’s an orc.” “But that’s definitely an orc.” “Did she beat it alone?”

I ignored their fussing and answered Mr. Gentz’s question. “I do.”

“Seriously? What kind of bottomless bag is that? We’ll be in a fix if you pull ten orcs out here. Come over to the refrigerated warehouse in back.”

I followed Mr. Gentz’ behind the counter to the warehouse, hearing the adventurers’ voices as I went. “There’s no way she could have ten of them.” “How’d she beat them?” “It’s because she’s a bear.” “The Bloody Bear could do it.” “Don’t diss the Bloody Bear.” “What’s the Bloody Bear?” “You don’t know…”

What was that about a “bloody bear”? I thought. I wanted to pause and listen in, but I couldn’t risk losing sight of Mr. Gentz.

The inside of the warehouse was lined with ice mana gems that kept it chilly. “Make sure to close the door once you get in, or you’ll let in too much warmth,” Mr. Gentz directed.

I shut the door behind me. There were countless cuts of meat, and hair, horns, hide and other parts of butchered monsters piled up inside. The wolves and horned hares I’d just taken out had been brought in, too. The employees were clearly earning their paychecks.

“I know it’s cold but bear with me. The meat rots if we let it get warm.” Mr. Gentz headed towards the largest table in the back. Even then, there was only enough space to lay down one orc. “Can you put one on top of this, then lay the rest down on the floor nearby?”

I pulled them out of the bear storage like he asked.

“Thanks. It must be hard to carry them around. Are you sure about this? You get a smaller cut if we butcher them for you.”

“I can’t butcher them, and I don’t need the money, so it’s fine.”

“I guess you’re still selling a lot. What’s your rank now, bear girl?”

“I just got to D-rank.”

“D-rank, huh. That would be the case if you can defeat orcs. Could I ask you for something?”

“What’s that?”

“You can’t skin or butcher them, right?”

“…”

“So, could you give the work to a young worker who comes in to butcher things for us?”

“Wouldn’t the guild lose money?”

“We’ll do fine without your business. How many adventurers do you think there are?”

That was true. The guild was managing just fine before I came by. One customer was a drop in the bucket. “But, why just that person?”

“Well, she’s still a minor and not an employee at the guild. You know her.”

“You’re not talking about Fina, right?” There was only one underage girl I knew.

“You know what’s going on with her family, too, don’t you?”

I nodded. She didn’t have a father, her mother was sick, and she had a little sister three years younger than her.

“I’ve been giving her work, too, but I’m supposed to keep work in the guild.”

“In other words, you want me to hire Fina directly to butcher my kills?”

“That’s right. She’s pretty good at it, even for her age. She’s also good at skinning, so I don’t think she’d damage the merchandise, either.”

“I don’t mind, but I don’t know how long I’m staying in town.”

“That’s fine. Just do it as long as you’re around.”

“Actually, how much should I pay her? I don’t know the market rate for harvesters.”

“The guild takes twenty percent. You can just give her ten percent of how much you sell the harvested materials for.”

“Is ten percent enough?”

“That’s actually on the high side. You can even give her less if you think it’s too much.”

“Got it.”

“Well, I’ll call in Fina, so just wait here.”

Mr. Gentz happily headed into a back room. I thought he’d be gone for a bit, but he immediately returned with Fina.

“Yuna!” She ran over and hugged me. Yeah, she was cute. I gave her a pat on the head.

“Fina, how’ve you been?”

“Good. Is it true that you’re giving me work?”

“Yeah, could you butcher the monsters I’ve brought in?”

“Thank you so much.” Fina’s face broke out into a wide smile.

“So, Fina,” said Mr. Gentz, “you don’t have to come over here for a while.”

“But…”

“The reason why we’ve had more work lately is because your big sis was bringing in stuff without harvesting it. If she gives you the work, we won’t have as much to do in the guild. I’m going to have you put in a good day’s work today though, so don’t worry. She brought in some wolves, horned hares, and orcs—ten of each.”

“That’s so many!”

“So, what should I do starting tomorrow?”

“Can I come over to your inn tomorrow, Yuna?”

“Sure.”

“In that case, I’ll come around seven.”

It was kind of early for an appointment, but the people in this world started working as soon as the sun came up and finished once the sun went down. Nobody worked under the light of a mana gem.

I left the freezing warehouse for the muggy heat outdoors. I collected my cut from Mr. Gentz and went back to the inn.