Chapter 9: Adventurers

Chapter 9: Adventurers

“Hey! No fair!” Beatrice was livid.

Mitsuha had been taken to the Bozes capital mansion, where she was instantly put on trial. The judge and prosecutor was none other than the Bozes’ youngest child and only daughter, Beatrice. Mitsuha had no defense, as both Alexis and Theodore had run away.

“Why didn’t I get to go to the party?!” she asked.

“You’re thirteen. You haven’t come of age yet,” Mitsuha replied.

“B-But all that tasty food! And sweets!”

“Sorry...”

“What about my debut, huh?! You’re gonna make it up to me by throwing me the best one ever, right?!”

In the end, Mitsuha had to promise that her debut would have an electric parade, a fireworks show, and food stalls, including ones for takoyaki and cotton candy.

Let’s hope she forgets about it in the next two years.

Come dinner, she was barraged with questions.

“What was all that food?”

“How about those pictures?”

“Just where did you get the odd things you’re selling in your store?”

Knew this was coming. I guess it’s time to make something up.

Mitsuha ran with the following story: The friends she’d left behind in her country were so worried about her well-being that they’d secretly sent her things by boat. Since they sent so much, however, Mitsuha had decided to sell the extras. She added that the boats were small and swift, and that they only brought the supplies at night.

What a crock, she thought when she finished. Hope it lines up with my story so far... Then again, they’d probably understand a little white lie or two, considering I’m trying to hide my identity.

H-Huh? You won’t pry any further...? Wow, Count, you really are a stand-up guy.  Wait, “We’re dealing with Mitsuha, after all”? What’s that supposed to mean, Lady Iris?! Ah, sorry. Forget I said that!

Once the matter was over, the rest of the family joined in to chat.

The what, now? “Artificial golem soldiers?” Huh? I told you about them? Doesn’t ring a bell, sorry. Salt-making? You’re hell-bent on that, huh, Count? Oh? Your territory has a coast? All right, I’ll look it up on the internet.

Alexis? You found me more charming than Adelaide? Yeah, right. Are you okay in the head? Know your place, I’m older than—Hold on. Count? Lady Iris? Why are you encouraging him?!

Ah, Theodore and Beatrice are on my side! You guys want me to spend the night here because it’s late? Okay. I expected this, anyway. I’ll have a glass of wine and it’s lights out.

The next day, Mitsuha returned to the store right after breakfast. She had to open, after all. Diligent girl that she was, she couldn’t skip out on work for no reason.

Well, there goes the weather, she thought, watching a murky wall of clouds move in. A drizzle soon followed, which grew to a downpour in no time. It was the first rain Mitsuha had ever seen in this world.

How does everyone get by when there’s barely any rain? she wondered. Maybe I missed some when I went to Japan? Either way, there’s no way I’m getting any customers now. The locals probably don’t have umbrellas... Ah! Maybe I should start selling them myself!

The bell rang not a moment later, catching her by surprise.

Customers?! In this weather?!

“Sorry,” came a woman’s voice as she stepped inside. “We’d like to stay here until the rain passes, if you don’t mind.”

Oh. Well, that’s fine by me. I like people with manners, and she’s easy on the eyes. Hmm, so there’s three other people with her... Wait, hold on a sec!

“A-ADVENTURERS!” Mitsuha cried.

“Huh?” The four raised their eyebrows in unison.

Two of the party members were male, and two were female. One of the men had black hair and a muscular frame that supported the greatsword on his back. The other was a slim blond who wielded a spear. The woman who’d spoken had red hair and a sword in her belt, while the girl had silver hair, a bow on her back, and a dagger in her belt.

Mitsuha guessed the larger man was nearing his thirties, the blond just over twenty, the redhead about twenty or so, and the girl no older than sixteen. Though petite, she was at least more mature than Beatrice, so Mitsuha assumed she was about as old as Adelaide. She took a look at the girl’s chest, and a feeling of camaraderie washed over her.

Anyway, it’s a ragtag group of specialized fighters! There’s no way they aren’t adventurers!

“Actually, we’re just mercenaries...” one of them said.

Well, I stand corrected.

Although the group hadn’t come to buy anything, they still took a look around the store, perhaps as a courteous gesture. Whatever the reason, they found Mitsuha’s inventory extraordinary enough to have a good time browsing. The bigger man was mesmerized by the knives, the blond captivated by cookware, the redhead charmed by the accessories, and the archer transfixed by the tools.

“They’re so cuuute,” said the redhead as she looked through the trinkets. They weren’t too expensive, but “mercenary” wasn’t the most lucrative career during peaceful times, to put it lightly.

The rain showed no signs of abating, so Mitsuha boiled some water and prepared tea and snacks for her guests.

“Would you like some?” she asked.

“Huh? I don’t have any money...” An instant response from the redhead.

“Oh, this is free. I’m not getting any customers in this weather, but I can’t just leave either, so I’m kinda bored. I was hoping we could chat.”

“Oh, then sure thing!”

“Ah, hey...” The bigger man cracked a strained smile at his companion’s lack of caution.

In the end, they all accepted her invitation and joined her at the table in the kitchen. As it turned out, they were all mercenaries from the same village. The black-haired man was Sven, twenty-seven years old, the blond was Szep, twenty-two, the redhead was Gritt, twenty-one, and the silver-haired girl was Ilse, sixteen. Mitsuha was disappointed to find out she wasn’t a mage.

What a letdown!

She did find it strange that a sixteen-year-old was working as a mercenary, but she considered that her own worldview was the problem. Any villager who couldn’t feed herself had the option of becoming a merc or bandit. Gritt said that she had also started out at sixteen.

At present, wars and local disputes were scarce. With so little demand for mercenaries, many of them had switched to marauding. These four, however, didn’t stray from the more righteous path and continued making a living doing odd jobs, foraging, gathering, or going on hunts. Sadly, they earned so little they couldn’t even afford replacements for their damaged weapons, let alone treat themselves to any luxuries.

“So yeah, we can’t buy anything from you. Sorry.” Looking apologetic, Gritt bit into a steamed bun Mitsuha had served with the tea.

Ilse was eating one too. Stuffing her face with it, actually. Mitsuha found it cute. She looks like a hamster, she thought. Though she probably wouldn’t want to hear that from me, of all people.

The men were reluctant at first, but they couldn’t resist the allure of hot food and were soon gobbling them up.

“Don’t be shy,” said Mitsuha. “Like I said, I’m really bored... Can I ask some questions?”

“As long as that’s all you want, then yeah, ask away!”

They happily obliged her inquisitiveness about all sorts of things: their gathering and hunting trips, the guilds that referred them to jobs, the troubles and unexpected joys of travel, goals for the future, and so on.

This is it! Mitsuha thought. I smell some serious money... and my nose never lies!

“Umm, do the mercenary guilds take jobs from anyone?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Sven nodded, still eating a bun. “All that matters is that it ain’t illegal and doesn’t break the guild’s guidelines. They charge you a bit, though.”

“And designated jobs work just like you said they do, right?”

“Right.”

“Then how would you like to take a designated job from me?”

“Huuuh?” they blurted, all at once.

Mitsuha’s request was simple: she wanted them to take her on their next hunting and gathering trip, protecting and supporting her the whole way through. She claimed she wanted to learn how these jobs were done so she could stock up on items that might be useful.

The party considered her offer. Although she was a child, Mitsuha ran an impressive store. They appreciated that someone of her status was so considerate of people like them.

And most importantly, they’d be paid. Hunting and gathering didn’t always go well, but these kinds of requests always guaranteed money. The guild would take the payments and distribute them to the mercenaries once the task was done. Plus, the only way they could fail this request was by getting attacked and wiped out by bandits, and what kind of bandit would attack armed and penniless mercenaries?

“We’ll take it!” they shouted in unison.

The mercenaries told Mitsuha that they would move out in two days. Once the rain passed, Mitsuha would close the store and they’d all head for the guild.

Oh, I forgot to ask about the pay, thought Sven, ever the party leader. Well, whatever, I won’t mind even if it’s just a couple silver. Needless to say, the gold coin she presented to the guild moved him. Things are really looking up!

The next day, after closing up shop, Mitsuha began preparing for the three-day trip. Besides the bare necessities, she stuffed her backpack with some odds and ends, the usefulness of which she’d asked the mercs about ahead of time. That was all well and good, but keeping the bag at a weight she could carry was a challenge. Some items were light, but too large, while others were small, but too heavy, and so on and so on.

The food and water were especially heavy. The place where they’d set up camp was near a stream, but she needed water for the journey there. At the very least, a quart didn’t seem like enough. She most likely wouldn’t be able to use world-jumping to stock up, either. One of their objectives was to protect her, so they’d surely keep an eye on her for the whole trip, nights included. Trying to jump in that situation would be too dangerous.

On the day of departure, Mitsuha woke up earlier than usual. She had a filling breakfast, then jumped back home to use the bathroom, as she didn’t want to have to answer nature’s call on the way there. She’d been told that they’d only be eating two meals on the first day, so she ate well in the morning to hold her over until evening. Though she did intend to have a snack or two regardless.

This world’s travelers had a difficult relationship with food, as it was both heavy and took time to prepare. During trips like these, they could live off the land by eating wild plants and animals, but mercenaries preferred to take anything they could sell back with them, often fighting off hunger for the money.

Because of all that, they only brought along the absolute minimum, then hoped to get by with just the wild goods that weren’t worth much on the market. And if that didn’t work out, they’d just make do with the little food on them. They said they’d prepare shares for Mitsuha as well, but she refused.

“Hey, I just wanna give this food a try! Don’t look at me like that! There’s nothing to worry about! Boil-in-the-bags are awesome!”

Boy, do I talk to myself a lot recently, she thought. Well, I don’t have anyone else to talk to. Anyway... Knife? Check. Dagger? Check.

Mitsuha had given up on taking the short sword. It was way too heavy for her. There was a world of difference between short swords and daggers in that regard. The differentiation between “short sword” and “long sword” was actually based on what kind of soldier used them—the former for infantry, the latter for cavalry—so there were long short swords as well as short long swords. That basically meant that short swords were weapons used by adult foot soldiers. The term “short” was pretty deceiving.

Mitsuha needed something about half as long as a normal sword—a dagger, basically, like the one owned by Ilse. Twenty inches in overall length with a thirteen-inch blade would’ve been perfect. When she had mentioned this to the leader of the mercenaries, he’d made a face that said, “Yeah, had a hunch you didn’t know what you were dealing with”, much to her annoyance.

The knife was mostly a generic tool for survival and work, including skinning and whatnot. It wasn’t as though she’d be doing that, but she felt it was good to have one for appearances’ sake. Plus, it could easily work as a weapon.

It’s kinda hard to tell the difference between knives and daggers. Like the “Mythril Dagger” in End-All Escapade IX, or whatever that game was called... It’s clearly as short as a knife, but it’s shaped like a sword. Then again, “Mythril Knife” doesn’t sound nearly as cool. Guess it goes to show that feeling often trumps function! she thought, equipping both blades and a couple of guns.

By the time the four arrived at the mercenary guild early in the morning, Mitsuha was already there, despite the fact that they themselves came early to keep her from waiting.

Just how excited for this is she?! The group was at a loss for words.

They found Mitsuha’s get-up a little strange. She was wearing a plain top that had a surprising number of pockets and a tough-looking pair of blue pants.

Well, that’s a whole lot better than some flashy, frilly dress.

She had a knife and a dagger at her waist. That was all good, but they didn’t know what to think about the metallic object hanging on her belt. It wasn’t too big, but looked pretty heavy. On her back, she carried a large bag, a small quiver, and some other strange tool. It looked like a bow at first glance and had a string on it, so they guessed it was a ranged weapon. Besides that, there were two large, cylindrical objects. They didn’t look that heavy, but they were certainly long.

What’s with all that stuff? Is it a girl thing? Is that bag full of spare clothes, make-up, and skincare or something? They hadn’t even started, yet Sven was already feeling exhausted.

Once they were assembled, they set off. Sven was slightly moved that the young lady insisted on carrying the huge load by herself.

I don’t have much stuff on me, so I really don’t mind being a mule for her, he thought. I guess she’s at the age when she wants to show off. I’ll just wait till she’s tired and asks for help. I’ll have game to carry on the way back, though, so I won’t be able to help her then...  But she’ll probably have less to carry, too, what with the food she’ll be eating and all.

I don’t even want to think about a case where we don’t have much to carry at the end. Then again, there’s still her payment, so... Damn it! No! Get a grip, Sven! It won’t always be this easy!

Their leader’s tendency to overthink things always gave him too much to worry about.

After several hours of walking with a few breaks in between, they arrived at the forest. They’d left early, so it was still only noon. The party had walked past a lot of merchants and other travelers, but overall, it had been a pretty uneventful trip.

The only thing Mitsuha took note of was how populated the road had been compared to the one in Colette’s village. The path that branched off into the forest was just as empty as that one, however, and all she could hear were birds chirping in the distance. The presence of a footpath at least indicated that people walked through the area. According to Sven, they were mostly hunters, foragers, and mercenaries like themselves.

The group walked through the forest for half an hour before putting down their bags. They’d chosen a clearing not too far away from a stream.

Yep, looks like a good place to camp in, Mitsuha thought. Going any further would make hauling their equipment or any game they might catch all the more tedious, and it wasn’t as though they’d gain much by setting up camp closer to the forest’s center.

The mercenaries didn’t want to let the daylight go to waste, so they started working right away, saying they’d set up camp once it was too dark to find anything. They wouldn’t hunt today, since the meat would go bad over the next couple of days, so everyone took to gathering herbs and wild plants that sold for a pretty penny.

Yams, maybe? wondered Mitsuha. Ugh, but they’re so hard to dig up. When I was little, I tried getting one that was about as wide as my pinky, but I gave up after digging down, like, five or six inches.

She tagged along with Gritt, asking if she could teach her the ropes as she prepared to help out. I’ll give her whatever I find, obviously. I’m not that greedy!

There were no yams to be found. They looked mostly for wild fruits, vegetables, and that sort of thing. It was hard to tell whether some of these were herbs or food. Once it started to get dark, they went to set up camp.

If you can call this “setting up,” anyway, Mitsuha thought as she looked at their bed. It was a piece of cloth draped over some grass clippings they’d spread on the ground. No need for shelter when it’s not raining, huh? And uh, am I supposed to join them? Not a chance.

She walked several feet away, plucked a large cylinder from her belt, and started fiddling with it. A few seconds later, it made a loud shuffling sound as it popped open and spread out.

“Wh-What?!” Gritt jumped in surprise.

“Ta-da! The ‘anywhere tent’!” Mitsuha proudly presented the one-person pop-up tent she’d scored from the home improvement store’s bargain bin. It was small, but meant for adults, which made it pretty spacious for someone with her petite build.

“Urethane sheet!” Mitsuha spoke in a grandiose manner, but naturally the mercenaries had no idea what was happening. It just made things awkward. Slightly embarrassed, Mitsuha undid the other cylinder and spread out the sheet.

A tent and an insulating sheet... My bed, made in just a few seconds!

Sven’s eyes went wide.

“Do you think this would sell?” Mitsuha asked.

“Y-Yeah.”

The mercenaries said they’d normally make food out of any animal they encountered while foraging, but they weren’t so lucky today. Surviving out in the wilderness was far from easy. Thankfully, they’d found some edible, albeit bitter, plants. Trying to sell them just wouldn’t be worth it, but they could be used to make a soup that was mildly filling when paired with the hard bread they’d brought. Throwing in a bit of dried meat would give the stock a bit more flavor... but not much.

Gritt was hard at work trying to start the fire so they could make the soup, if it could be called that. She was using a bit of flint, but not having much luck. The wood and leaves here were still a bit damp from the rain.

“Umm, excuse me...” Mitsuha stood beside her, and she looked up. “Can I do it?”

Gritt—a veteran at firestarting—was having a hard time. Mitsuha also wasn’t some housewife who lit the hearth daily. In fact, they probably figured she’d never held a flint in her life. If Gritt couldn’t do it, there was no way Mitsuha could, right? Actually, she was more than capable... of starting a fire, at least. But the group had no way of knowing it, so they assumed she stood no chance. However, one of the reasons they’d brought her here was the experience, so they couldn’t ignore her request.

Gritt extended the flint toward her and said, “Sure. Try it.”

Mitsuha held up a palm and refused. “No, thank you. I’ve got my own.”

She crouched down, squeezed a gel-like substance out of a tube, and rubbed some twigs into it. Then, she ignited them with a disposable, long-reach lighter.

“Wh-What?” Gritt was flabbergasted.

“Science wins!” All smug, Mitsuha puffed out her chest... though it was hardly noticeable. Shut up, you!

“How did she...?” Sven whispered.

By this time, Gritt had moved on to preparing the soup, while Mitsuha was making her own food. Curious about what she was doing, they talked among themselves.

The particular item that had them so perplexed was her micro camping stove. It was about half the size of a regular one—so small you could see half of the gas cartridge. Simmering above it was an aluminum pot full of soup. Beside Mitsuha, there were plates, utensils, some empty soup cans, a 148-yen pack of miniature red bean buns, and canned peaches that had been poured onto an aluminum dish.

Needless to say, it was too much for one person.

“The rest of her stuff’s all food?” Sven was awestruck.

“Ah, this is a bit too much for me to eat all by myself. Think you can help me? I’d like to have a taste of your soup in exchange, though.”

“GLADLY!” they shouted in unison.

This is so unfair... I feel like the owner of some shady gastropub.

“It’s so good...” said Sven after trying a spoonful of the rich soup. “When did you have the time to make this stuff? I thought you were just the spoiled daughter of some noble or merchant, but this just proved me wrong. You’re so good you can easily run a fancy restaurant.” He could hardly believe what he was eating.

Sorry, bud, that’s just concentrated minestrone I bought at a supermarket.

“Wait, this is bread? It’s so soft! And what’s this inside?! It’s so sweet!” Gritt stuffed her mouth with the cheap buns.

Ilse munched on her food without saying a word. Always the silent one, that girl. Speaking of silent, Szep didn’t have much of a presence. Mitsuha had almost forgotten he was there.

And to think I was expecting him to be a womanizer like Alexis... Oh, I get it—he thinks I’m a child. That was a little ignorant of me, sorry.

“Well? Do you think this would sell?” she asked. “Everything besides the bread stays fresh for a long time.”

Sven took a moment to think before answering, “Depends on the price, but nobles, rich people, and the army would go crazy for this.”

“I see.”

The army, huh?

Mitsuha felt that getting involved with army stock would bring her unwanted attention. Not to mention it’d make her so busy, she wouldn’t have any time for herself. They’d probably buy things by the thousands. She doubted that even the count could protect her from the military.

“I can’t provide that much,” she said, “and rich people have good food all the time. Let them eat some nasty stuff while they’re traveling, at least. I’ll just try to sell these at a price that people like you can afford.”

“Huh? Are you crazy?! D’you have any idea how much you’d make if you played your cards right?!”

“It’s fine, I make enough off my other stuff.”

Hmm... If I got one can for 150 yen on Earth, it’d be worth six small silver—the equivalent of 600 yen—here. And if I used fair prices instead of ripping off—I mean, using my shop’s usual profit margins, they’d be eight to ten small silver each... 800 to 1,000 yen, basically. That’s still a little too much to replace a poor merc’s diet. At most, it’d be a once-every-few-trips luxury. Also, cans are kinda heavy, although freeze-dried food is even more expensive...

Ah, what about CalorieMates? Those little Japanese energy bars would be a good emergency snack in case they had terrible luck hunting or got lost or something. I could sell them for a higher price, since the mercs wouldn’t be buying ’em every time. Welp, I guess I know what I’ll show them tomorrow morning! I already have something in mind for lunch. Uhh, why do they all look so moved? Is the food that good?

After they’d eaten, the group went on to sit around the campfire and chat. Mitsuha boiled water and prepared some tea. Powdered black tea au lait, to be precise. It was cheap, easy to make, and tasty, which made it one of Mitsuha’s favorites. Everyone loved it, so she mentally tacked it onto her growing list of future goods.

When she found a good opportunity, Mitsuha excused herself from the group. Having heard in advance that there would be a stream nearby, she’d prepared a little something to make bathing easier. She retreated into her tent and changed into a bikini. Well, it wasn’t showy in the least. Simply put, it was hard to properly wash oneself in a one-piece swimsuit, so Mitsuha had purchased this one for just that. It was purely functional.

I’m not gonna use any soap. The water’s just too clean to pollute, and using it in a swimsuit is a pain, anyway. I’ll just take a quick dip and be done with it.

She left the tent, towel in hand, and immediately locked eyes with Szep. The cup he was holding slipped out of his hand.

“Y-Young lady... Y-You... You...”

“YOU IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!” Gritt yelped. “MEN, TURN AROUND AND DON’T YOU DARE LOOK AT HER!”

Ilse ran up and threw her cloak around Mitsuha.

Huh? What’s going on? Mitsuha thought.

“What are you thinking?! Why would you walk out naked?! There are men here! I know you’re a child, but you’re not that young anymore!” Gritt shouted, red as a tomato, while Ilse nodded furiously. Sven and Szep had escaped off to... somewhere.

“Hey, it’s just a swimsuit. It’s okay to show it...”

“Shut up! It’s not even underwear! You’re naked!”

Oh, right. Girls here wear those so-called “bloomers” or “drawers”. Now that I think of it, when I tried selling underwear to Beatrice and showed her mine, she actually fainted. Whoops... Sorry, girlfriend.

Following a long scolding session, they let her bathe, but Gritt kept an eye on the men while Ilse watched over her the whole way through.

The next day, Mitsuha woke up with the sunrise. The mercenaries had planned to go out and forage without any breakfast, then have a relatively filling brunch before hunting till evening. By the time they woke up, however, Mitsuha was already waiting for them with some water boiling on the micro camp stove beside her. Good work, little guy! They would’ve needed to start a fire for this, but you’ve made it real easy.

“Try these, please,” she said, presenting two boxes of fruit-flavored CalorieMates along with some tea. “They’re really nutritious, keep fresh for a long time, and are easy to carry around!”

Each of the four of them hesitantly took one and gave it a try.

“It’s delicious...” said Gritt.

“There ain’t much of it, but it feels... nutritious?” added Sven.

Nice, they like it! Oh, they want seconds? I don’t think so. They’ve got foraging and stuff to do, after all.

While the mercenaries left, Mitsuha stayed behind at camp. They didn’t stray very far, however, so it wasn’t a problem. Huh? You’re wondering why I’m not going? I got bored of it, okay? Get off my case!

They returned before midday, at about ten o’clock. Mitsuha was thoroughly prepared. She already had water boiling, so all there was left to do was throw in some noodles.

“Welcome back! I’m almost done cooking!”

They were rather used to it by now, so no one said anything back. A few minutes later, Mitsuha gave them a dish that looked a little like stew. But rather than giving them spoons, she handed each of them a fork.

“What’s this?” Sven asked.

“My family’s secret recipe! We call it ‘Bagged Ramen’!”

They “oohed” and “ahhed” appropriately.

Glad to see you can play along now.

“Oh, man, what is this stuff?!” Gritt said.

“It’s so good!” Sven joined in.

It feels like that’s all you ever say, Mitsuha thought bitterly. Work on your vocabulary. That wasn’t to say that instant ramen wasn’t great. It was cheap, warm, light, and easy to cook.

You know all those people who eat cup ramen every day and act like they’re totally broke? Fakers! All of them! If they were really poor, they’d go for the bagged stuff or some bread crusts. And let’s not forget bean sprouts! Those little guys used to be just 34 yen, but they’re just 26 now. Do companies even make any money off those?! Well, I can’t sell cup ramen to mercs, anyway... The packaging would probably break inside their bags.

But, hey, I’ve found a real power product! Now we’ll have a little post-brunch rest and start the main event—hunting!

Unlike when foraging, they didn’t split up and instead hunted as a single group. Everyone had a fighting style and range they were good at, so they picked the best person depending on what game they came across. Plus, larger prey was much easier to handle when they worked together. Some animals had to be herded or surrounded to be caught, while others were too tough for one person to take out. Such beasts could be worth as much as two gold, and one alone would make the trip a huge success.

The five of them quickly and quietly moved through the forest, keeping an eye out for prey. Their first target was a large bird perched in a tree overhead. Ilse took a shot at the animal, but missed.

“Sorry,” she said. Gritt patted her head, and they resumed their search.

Is that... a bird?

Despite being an amateur tracker, Mitsuha found another bird before anyone else in the group. She crept closer to Sven, tapped on her crossbow, and whispered, “Can I have that one?”

Bows and arrows weren’t all that accurate to begin with, and considering the target was in a tree, the leaves and angles involved would make it even worse. Skilled as she was, Ilse would probably miss again.

Sven let her give it a try. She didn’t think he believed she could take it out—he probably just didn’t mind wasting an opportunity to satisfy his employer. The fact that she’d found it herself probably had something to do with it, too.

Well, whatever, Mitsuha thought. A grin slipped onto her face as she pulled back the crossbow string.

As an archer herself, Ilse seemed pretty curious about the horizontal contraption.

A sharp twang cracked through the air as the metal bolt flew out. It was followed by the soft thud of the bird falling to the ground. The mercs couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Ilse in particular was so dumbfounded she couldn’t close her mouth.

Did I mention I actually had some crossbow training at the captain’s base?

“That’s going straight to the market. We’re not eating it.” Sven overcame his shock and made that point clear. A true leader, indeed.

A few more hours passed. Szep was carrying the bird Mitsuha had taken down. Gritt said he must’ve felt guilty about last night, but Mitsuha still couldn’t make sense of his actions. Well, whatever. We already agreed that anything we pick or catch here goes to them, so carrying it sure isn’t my job.

When they stopped for a short break, Mitsuha told them she was “going to pick some flowers” and headed off by herself.

“For decoration? I’ll come with you,” said one of the guys in a profound display of density. It earned him a whack from Gritt.

I have to go far enough to not be seen, heard, or smelled, and find solid ground that’s slanted enough for it to flow in one ejection—I mean, direction! It’s a “number one”, okay?!

Huh? What’s that rustling in the bush—whoa! Something just came outta there!

It was clearly a wild animal. The creature was pretty boar-like, but even if it wasn’t a boar, Mitsuha’s brain interpreted it as such. More importantly, it was glaring at her. Their eyes met.

Did I invade its territory? Or does it see me as prey? Ahem. Sweetie, I’m the one doing the hunting here, thank you very much.

It wasn’t too big by boar industry standards... Not that Mitsuha knew whether something like that existed. Is it a juvenile? A wild boar piglet? A boarlet? Well, it doesn’t seem that small. It looks big enough to send little ol’ me flying, at least. It’s already got tusks, so maybe it’d stab me? Or would it ram into me after throwing me down? It doesn’t look the least bit afraid, so maybe it’s an adult?

Before Mitsuha could finish her train of thought, the boar bellowed, pawed the dirt, and threatened her with a “ready to charge” pose. She felt no obligation to hang around and wait for it to launch.

My dad was from the sticks—uhh, I mean... the countryside. Specifically this one town where it wasn’t unheard of for the local newspaper to have headlines like “Local Boar Goes Ham on Car” and for foragers to get badly injured in boar attacks. Of course I know all too well that these animals aren’t to be messed with... I know exactly what to do!

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

She ran. Or rather, she skedaddled.

Boars can’t make sharp turns, so I just have to run to the si—HUH?! It’s still gaining on me! Dad, why would you lie about something so important?! Oh, yeah... He probably didn’t think I’d ever be chased by a boar. That probably never happened to him, either. He’d probably heard it and accepted it as fact without confirming it himself.

The boar wasn’t very nimble, but it gradually closed the distance between them whenever it had a straight path. It wouldn’t be long until it caught up. If that happened, Mitsuha would be in for much more than a world of pain... Its tusks were deadly. The forest was hardly a good place for running, either, so she quickly ran out of stamina. She felt as though she could trip at any moment.

This is bad! she panicked. But before she realized it, her right hand was reaching for the holster on her waist and pulling out a gun. It was the Beretta 93R—the handgun with the three-round burst mode. Her left hand joined in, setting it on semi-auto—the single-fire mode.

Dry, loud pops sounded off as she shot at the animal three times. There was a noticeable lack of echo; she wasn’t indoors, after all. There wasn’t much for the sounds to bounce off of.

The boar dropped dead on the spot. Only one of the three bullets had missed. Good thing I’d changed to single-fire mode. I’d have been lucky to hit a single one in burst.

What? You think using guns is unfair? Come on, now, it’s not like this is pro wrestling and the boar is some heel. I’m lookin’ to survive out here, not have some honorable “fight of the century” or whatever. Mitsuha rushed to grab two crossbow bolts from her quiver before shoving them into the boar’s wounds.

“What happened?!” The mercenaries dashed onto the scene and came upon Mitsuha next to a boar with two bolts sticking out of it.

“O-Oh, it attacked me outta nowhere,” she said. “I panicked and shot it, and it kinda worked out...”

Four pairs of eyes cast a suspicious look her way.

Ah, that’s gotta be ’cause the crossbow wasn’t that loud when I used it in front of them.

They took the boar and carried it back to camp, only to go out hunting again. Gritt stayed behind to gut the game and protect it from other animals. The rest of them went out, Mitsuha included. Ilse was an obvious choice, being the token archer, but it looked as though they now recognized Mitsuha as a valuable asset, too.

Ilse took out a rabbit and a bird, while Mitsuha shot only a single rabbit. She could’ve gotten two, but the second had run away when she missed. Quite a shame. Both rabbits and birds sold for a decent price, so they’d be going on the market. That was enough for the day, so the group returned to camp for the night.

By the time they arrived, Gritt was boiling some intestines. Ahh, yeah. Those rot pretty quickly, so it makes sense that they’d eat them instead of taking them back. I bet it’s a delicacy for these guys. I’ll eat some, too, of course. I like intestines, and they’re plenty nutritious.

Everyone was in high spirits. Though they didn’t catch a fox or anything else with an expensive pelt, the two rabbits, birds, and of course the boar more than made up for it. Their trip was a success, no question about it. There was also the mountain of herbs they’d picked over the last day or so, and they’d go hunting again tomorrow. All that combined with Mitsuha’s reward would make for some good money. Probably not enough to get new weapons, but enough to take it easy for a while.

Even if it was intestines, everyone was excited for their first meat in a long time, and their laughter rang out until it was dark.

The next morning...

“Huh? Food? What are you talking about? You’re going hunting, then having brunch, and then we’re all going back to town, right? Why are you wasting time here?”

Saddened by Mitsuha’s cold response, the four trudged off.

Huh? Me? I’m looking after the camp. Hunting is super bori—I mean, I need to preserve energy for the trip back. I will make something for them to eat, though.

Since visibility was low, Mitsuha took the chance to properly arrange her inventory. She jumped back home with the items she wouldn’t use again, like the camp stove. She left them there, and instead picked up some spices, like salt, pepper, and other herbs.

I think I’ll boil the leftover intestines, she decided. If she brought back the camp stove, she wouldn’t get another chance to leave it at home, since everyone would be back by the time I was done. She decided to use Gritt’s stone stove.

The four came back way earlier than she’d expected. She was doubly surprised upon seeing the deer they’d brought with them. No way, we’ve got venison now! The average American, sick of eating beef at every meal, will rush out of work for this legendary meat!

This stuff’s worth a lot. Everyone looks happy as a lamb! Ugh, yeah, I know it’s “clam”. But really, how does that make any sense? Imagine a bunch of lambs just hopping around a pasture, grazing without a care in the world. That works better, doesn’t it? I mean, really, can clams even feel happiness?

Whoa, went off on a tangent there. Back to the matter at hand... What a waste of good intestines! I already made stew out of last night’s guts! We’ll have to throw away the ones from the deer, even though they’re obviously better... Then again, even if we started cooking them now, we’d be back really late, so we would’ve had to throw out its intestines regardless.

Everyone began carving up the deer. It was too heavy to bring back in one piece, so they would only keep the parts worth selling. They threw away the innards, cut off its head, and set aside the antlers. The legs would be helpful in carrying it, so they tied them together using some ivy, then attached them to a branch so two people could lift and haul it. That was Sven’s and Szep’s job. Gritt and Ilse would carry the boar, of course. As for the birds and the rabbits...  Well, Mitsuha was grateful she’d gotten rid of some of her things when she’d had the chance.

“It’s so damn gooood!”

Of course it is! There’s tons of spices in that! They pack a punch, don’t they?! Eat up!

On the way back, Mitsuha became keenly aware of how heavy their spoils were. The others were having even more difficulty, but imagining their load as a sack full of coins was all they needed to keep on trucking. By the time they returned to town, it was already dark. They’d had to take many breaks on the way.

The next day, Mitsuha met them in front of the mercenary guild. By the time she arrived, they’d already sold the game to the guild. Mitsuha signed the paper saying that they’d completed her request and gave them an “A” rating, which they were quite pleased with. The guild gave Sven the one gold coin they were promised, and he tucked it away with great care. That was half a month’s worth of modest food and rent in a cheap room, which was pretty big.

What was even bigger, though, was the party they were about to have. They’d decided to celebrate their successful trip out in the wilderness. Between the earnings from the game and the herbs, the mercenaries could afford to have a good time. Additionally, they likely thought that getting close to Mitsuha would be beneficial, so this clearly wouldn’t be a waste of money.

Mitsuha had been too exhausted to even have dinner the night before. They were most likely the same on that front, and just like her, they probably hadn’t eaten anything in the morning to leave room for the party food. All five of them were hungry as bears, so not wasting any more time, they headed to their favorite place.

It’s only midday, but hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right?

“Here’s to our success!” Mitsuha raised her ale.

“CHEERS!” all four of them shouted back.

After the toast, they ordered more and more food and enjoyed some leisurely chit-chat. They talked about the hunt, the food... that sort of thing. None of the mercenaries mentioned the crossbow. In all likelihood, they assumed Mitsuha didn’t want to talk about it. An employer was entitled to her own private matters, so they didn’t dig any deeper.

Among mercenaries, there were some lowlifes who cared for nothing so long as they got paid, but Sven’s group was on the other side of the spectrum. They took the mercenary rules to heart, because if they didn’t, they couldn’t complain when someone else broke them.

“Anyway, the... ramen? And uhh, CalorieMates? Those are pretty good,” said Gritt.

“Yep, they really are,” Mitsuha nodded.

“Your little stove was really useful, too, but looked like a pain to carry around. I think it’s better to just use makeshift stone stoves. That thing’s expensive, too, isn’t it? It uses fuel, and if it breaks, then you’re outta luck.”

“Oh, yeah.” Mitsuha had learned a great deal from this trip and had a good time, too. If only carrying stuff back wasn’t so har—Ah! “Hey, don’t you think it’d be great if you could carry more stuff?”

“Well, of course. We could take more game with us, so we’d obviously earn more. But we can’t buy a carriage or anything like that. The maintenance costs waaay too much. Just getting one carriage and some horses would cost us an arm and a leg.”

At that moment, a certain search result came back to Mitsuha. It said “Foldable Aluminum Bike Trailer, Non-Bursting Tires: 37,900 yen”. If they bring one of these on their trips... The possibilities are endless!

“Hey, does that lighting stick cost a lot?” Gritt asked.

“Oh, not really. Especially the smaller ones. They can be used hundreds of times, and they cost less than a silver.”

“HUHH?!” Gritt and Ilse were dumbfounded.

Yeah, I got them in sets at the discount store. Each one probably had a value of about a small silver each. With my store’s insane profit margins, that’d be one silver. Also, why are the girls the only ones surprised? Mitsuha wondered. Oh, I get it, they’re the only ones handling fire and food, huh? I see how it is.

The chatter went on and on, but Mitusha didn’t mind. She found the conversation topics both fun and useful. Suddenly, she remembered something.

“Oh yeah, look at this,” she said, taking a magazine from her bag and placing it on the table. “Remember how you said I was being reckless on the first night? Look! Where I come from, it’s pretty normal to wear this when swimming!”

The four opened the magazine and immediately gaped at the content. Men and women of all ages clad in swimsuits were making merry in pools and beaches. A seductive bombshell in a bikini gazed out at them from one of the... special pages.

The group was frozen at the sight. Except Szep, whose shaking hands were flipping through the pages on some sort of autopilot.

“No way...” said Gritt.

“Th-This is just...” Sven couldn’t even form a sentence.

Ilse had no words.

Szep, however, was pretty talkative. “Hey, these are just pictures, right? They’re detailed, yeah, but this can’t be real! A heaven like this just... can’t exist...”

Yesterday evening, Mitsuha had jumped back to Earth. It had been a struggle, considering how tired she was, but she’d dragged herself to a secondhand bookstore and purchased a gravure magazine, which was full of sexy photography. Mitsuha had made sure it was both cheap and impactful. Her nation’s honor had been on the line, after all.

Man, even though I changed before I went in there, I still totally reeked. No wonder I got all those weird looks. There was that old guy with a mean look in his eyes... He stared daggers at me like the smell of blood made him get flashbacks or something. What was his problem?! Ugh, I really should’ve taken a bath...

After the party was over, Mitsuha and the mercenaries said their goodbyes and that they hoped to work together again. One of them tried to ask more about her crossbow, but the others got in the way. With that chapter over, she went back to her store.

Man, I close up way too often. I’ll really have to open up tomorrow, she thought.

Before they had parted ways, Szep had inquired about the magazine. It had served its purpose, so Mitsuha had let him keep it.

A few days later, Mitsuha returned to the place where they’d had their little gathering. She had really enjoyed their food. Even I like eating out every now and again. Cooking for myself too often always drains my veggie supplies, so saving them is nice, too.

The four mercs happened to be there, as well. Upon seeing her, however, they jumped as though she were a ghost. What the hell’s up with that attitude?!

“Hey, it’s been a while. What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing, just, uh...”

That was when she noticed that they had different gear.

“Huh? You got new weapons? Congratulations!”

“W-WE’RE SORRYYYY!” The four of them bowed down and apologized in unison.

Uhh... What? Oh, they sold the gravure magazine to the fourth son of a noble for seven gold coins? That’s just fine and dandy. I gave it to them for free ’cause I didn’t need it. I didn’t care whether they threw it out or sold it.

Reselling something I didn’t know the value of probably made them feel guilty, like they swindled me or something, but really, I’m not bothered by it at all. Then again, for me to make seven gold, I’d have to sell 140 generic shampoos. I sold them for eight silver each, but only five of that was profit. And these four went and made it all with just a single resale, huh?

No, really, it’s fine. I don’t think much of it. Seriously. Honest. I do feel like I might be popping a blood vessel and that my smile’s a little stiff, but that’s probably just my imagination. They look kinda pale... and like they’re shivering, huh? Nah, gotta be my imagination.

“All right! You’re buying my lunch!” she declared.

“Y-Yes ma’am!”

Mitsuha went on to enjoy a long stretch of peace. The country she was in became her second home. She was fairly safe in this world, and the people were kind. The world had its share of bad seeds, but the same was true for Earth.

Don’t fret the details or you’ll go bald, I always say!

She aimed to acclimate at her own pace, then think of a way to strike it rich. For now, she was leading a comfortable life and had all the time in the world.

I’m gonna take it easy and bring happiness to everyone!

...Ah, so there was a time when she’d believed that, wasn’t there? Well, it’s not as though you could blame her. She had only known of this one, relatively prosperous nation, after all. There was no way she could have noticed the shady activities of its neighbors or seen the writing on the wall that said war was coming.

Mitsuha spent her days blissfully unaware of the political intrigue, never sensing the oncoming danger...