Chapter 7
The guild was crowded with adventurers who had finished their day's work by evening.
On the guild's first floor, which had been turned into a tavern, the clinking of glasses mingled with the buzz of laughter and conversation.
"...."
Elena entered the guild and cast her gaze toward a particular spot.
The corner seat where the old man always sat.
It was empty now.
She set down the material bag containing the Blade Mantis and sat in the old man's seat.
The room suddenly fell silent.
"...?"
Noticing the change, she looked around, and the murmur gradually swelled again, permeating the room.
"If she's Eck's woman, she'll be fine. Hey, more importantly..."
"Do you think Eck will go easy on her just because she's a woman?"
"You don't know? These days, that girl..."
Elena swung her legs back and forth as she waited for Eck to return.
'Where did he go?'
She was curious, but there was no one suitable to ask where Eck was.
She almost asked Jeina, one of the waitresses, then stopped. She disliked the idea of looking as though she was desperately searching for the old man.
Just then, Jeina brought her a glass of water.
"What? I didn't order this."
"On the house."
"...Thank you."
She had been thirsty, so that worked out well.
"...."
"...."
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jeina slid onto the edge of the seat across from Elena and stared at her intently.
"You're Eck's regular, aren't you?"
"His regular?"
"I mean, are you selling your body to Eck?"
"Cough! N-no? I've never sold it...!"
Elena was so startled that she choked on the water.
Elena toyed with her glass.
"Then what are you two?"
"I-I'm just..."
I'm being used and worked like a sucker.
That wasn't an answer she could give, since she'd received too much from him.
He had said he was looking for a sucker to raise and have take care of him after he retired.
She was still being raised, so she understood how others might see her.
"I just take on jobs. Requests, you know. Look at this. The old man told me to hunt it, so I did. Do I look like I've... done that?"
She opened the material bag and showed her what was inside.
A Blade Mantis was a monster worth no less than twelve silver coins.
That was the same amount as thirty goblins, meaning she had brought back a monster thirty times stronger.
If she showed this, Jeina would stop thinking she was selling her body to the old man.
"What's that...?"
"It's a Blade Mantis. The old man is only using me to make money. Really."
Jeina's gaze fell into the bag.
Inside lay a green exoskeleton and sickle-shaped arms.
Jeina's eyes widened.
There was no way Jeina didn't know what a Blade Mantis was. She was a guild employee, even if she only served drinks. It would have been stranger if she didn't recognize it.
Even more so because it was a C-rank monster.
Blade Mantises wielded the blades on both arms as skillfully as swords.
Their insect-like bursts of speed made their attacks look as if their swords vanished for an instant. If you weren't prepared, you would already be cut by the time you realized what had happened.
They could also widen or close the distance in an instant with their wings, making them difficult both to hunt and escape from. They were the first 'wall' adventurers encountered after reaching the center of the forest.
Jeina remembered the faces of those who had entered the center of the forest and never returned.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through Jeina's mind.
The first emotion that came to her was disbelief.
Jeina narrowed her eyes.
"Don't act so high and mighty just for catching one bug."
She crossed her arms.
She lowered her voice as though looking down on a child bragging about something unimpressive.
"If Eck tells you to catch a bug, you catch a bug, and if he tells you to catch a goblin, you catch a goblin. If you do everything you're told, how is that any different from selling your body?"
"Huh?"
What was she talking about? Was selling your body not what Jeina meant? Elena's mind spun in confusion.
"And Eck... You haven't seen this side of him, but you really need to be careful around him."
Jeina leaned forward and lowered her voice.
"Eck once took a female adventurer with him. They got along well, and everyone thought they would even get married. But then something happened."
"...What happened?"
"You don't know? Monsters go crazy whenever they see a woman."
"...."
She knew.
Wolves, goblins, and Blade Mantises had all become excited and charged at her when they saw her.
She had also heard that they did it so they could impregnate her.
Her father had always told her to be careful in the forest.
Monsters were all male, so they kidnapped human women to breed.
Even now, somewhere in the forest, human women captured by monsters were probably giving birth to monsters while being cared for by them.
That was why her father had always told her so.
If she was ever captured by a monster, she was not to resist, but to watch for a chance to escape.
He had said they did not use excessive violence against docile prey.
That was why the higher adventurers rose in rank, the greater the proportion of women became.
Men died the moment they were caught by monsters, but women could survive and wait for another opportunity.
Elena understood what Jeina was trying to say.
"Eck threw his girlfriend to a monster as bait."
"But he killed the monster, didn't he?"
"Well... He did. But he could have caught it easily even without doing that. That bastard Eck just wanted to watch a woman be violated by a monster."
"...."
Elena toyed with her glass.
"A man like that suddenly starts treating you well and even personally teaches you how to defeat monsters? There is no such thing as kindness without a reason. There isn't."
Jeina looked straight into Elena's eyes.
"Eck is after you. He's raising you so he can throw you out as bait somewhere and use you for something. Understand?"
"...But."
Even if everything Jeina said was true, Elena had no other choice.
"You need money, right? Don't worry. I'll find you a better-paying job than this. You don't need to cling to Eck."
"Um..."
Elena felt a vague sense of discomfort.
When dealing with monsters, she did not look at their expressions.
That was because monsters' expressions were different from humans'.
So she read their thoughts by watching their gestures, the movements of their hands, and where they placed their feet.
Though spoken languages differed, the languages of the body had much in common between humans and monsters.
When afraid, the body fidgeted restlessly, and when interested, it leaned forward.
Jeina wore an expression of concern for a young girl who had only just become an adult and was working as an adventurer, but her hands and feet betrayed the irritation of someone dealing with a nuisance.
"Sister Jeina, do you dislike me being by the old man's side?"
"W-what? Of course I do."
"Why?"
"Why? Does a clueless little kid like you need a reason to be saved from a lecherous wolf like him?"
A reason.
Elena mulled over Jeina's words.
She was still missing too many pieces of the puzzle to understand Jeina's intentions.
"Where is this job?"
"You're interested now? Then I'll take you there after I get off work!"
"Could you at least tell me what kind of work it is?"
"You'll find out when you go."
"At least tell me a little. The old man told me that if someone tried to take me somewhere, I should ask why first."
"You believe Eck?"
"It sounds like advice that makes sense regardless of whether I trust him or not."
But when it came to explaining the job, Jeina rolled her tongue around in her mouth.
"You smile and chat with customers. It's really easy. You just sit there and take away their fatigue."
"...."
What kind of job was that? There were many jobs in the world she knew nothing about.
But Elena's answer remained the same.
It wasn't enough just to have the money for her younger sister's medicine; Elena had to obtain it herself.
"Then why don't you do that job, Sister Jeina?"
"Me? I'm a guild employee, aren't I?"
"You looked tired earlier. If it involves dealing with people, I don't think it would suit me. I'm sorry for troubling you after you went to the trouble of looking out for me."
"Ah, damn it. Why can't you just listen?"
"What?"
"Ah, nothing."
Elena asked casually.
"Do you perhaps like the old man?"
"What?"
Jeina's mouth snapped shut.
Her eyes wavered. Color rose in her face. Her mouth opened and closed. She looked as though she was trying to say something, then swallowing it back down.
"W-who would like that... Why would I like that drunk?"
Her face turned pale.
Apparently, Elena had guessed wrong.
"What's going on, with two beauties gathered around big brother's seat?"
"...!"
A man dropped into the seat beside Jeina and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"M-Mr. Darko? Would you let go of me?"
"Where are you going?"
"I've been sitting here too long. I should be getting back."
Jeina muttered some excuse to him, slipped out of his embrace, and hurried toward the kitchen.
"...?"
While Elena blinked, the man stared intently at her.
His gaze swept slowly down from Elena's face.
Then a burst of laughter erupted from his lips.
"Puhaha! Eck that bastard brought home a kid, so I wondered what kind of girl she was. She's a complete child! Did his taste change?"
Elena's brows drew together.
"Pretty face, but small breasts and short, too. Hey, stand up. Let's see what your ass is like. No, never mind. I can already guess."
Darko accepted the glass Jeina had brought and smacked her butt hard with his palm.
Jeina's butt jerked at the adventurer's rough slap.
"Women are better when they're big. What good are breasts the size of beans? The child you have someday will starve."
"I-it's not small!"
They fit perfectly in one hand!
"Oh? Talking back to my appraisal? If you weren't a woman, I'd smash your head in."
Darko shook his head.
Every word he spoke was violent. Elena, who had never heard such abuse in her life, was too stunned to think straight.
"Did big brother's tastes really change? Do you have some hidden fortune in your family?"
"No..."
Darko propped his chin on his hand.
"What does he plan to do with a brat like you? An errand girl? Bait? Or does he plan to sell you later? Hmm, it doesn't seem to be any of those..."
Darko scratched his chin and pondered.
Elena's hand clenched tightly beneath the table.
She tried to endure it.
The old man had once told her.
He had said that running one's mouth carelessly in this line of work was the same as asking someone to kill you.
But Darko would not stop.
"Hey, kid. You use a sword, right?"
"Yes..."
"I'm the swordsmanship instructor officially recognized by this guild, you know?"
Gulp, gulp.
Darko drained his drink.
"You'd better get on my good side. How much money have you saved?"
"Why are you asking?"
"There's nothing on you worth touching anyway. Teaching you would cost me money, so I'm telling you to bring some. Beg that bastard Eck if you have to. I know him, and he'd give you money if you asked him now."
"N-no, I mean, why are you asking whether I have money?"
"So you were a stupid bitch after all."
Darko's eyebrows rose.
"Of course you pay to learn swordsmanship. What, you didn't know even that basic common sense? Good grief. How spoiled have you been? I bet it would be fun to see your reaction when I finally had my way with you."
"Excuse me..."
Fucked?
Without understanding what he meant, Elena corrected one of his assumptions.
"What?"
"I don't plan to learn swordsmanship from you."
"What?"
"I said I'm not learning from you."
Darko dug a finger into his ear.
"Did that bastard Eck actually teach you swordsmanship?"
"Yes."
"Hmm... Strange. Did he even have the talent to teach anyone else?"
Darko scratched his beard.
"Hmph. It must be awful."
"He said I have talent."
"You don't. I've taught students as a swordsmanship instructor, so I know. A brat like you couldn't reach even D-rank, let alone C-rank, no matter how talented you were."
"I do. The old man said I do."
"Eck did?"
Darko held his belly and laughed.
"Puhaha! That's the funniest thing I've heard in ages! You actually believe him? Eck, of all people?"
"He's an amazing teacher! Even I can tell, despite knowing nothing!"
While fighting the Blade Mantis, she had felt how much stronger she had become.
Elena could feel the improvement in her swordsmanship firsthand, regardless of Eck's intentions.
"Hey, girl."
"What?"
"Eck may be an accomplished adventurer, but he has no talent for teaching others. That bastard is a temperamental genius who swings his sword according to whatever he feels. He's an irritating bastard."
"Why is that bad? Isn't it a good thing?"
"Good, my ass."
Darko accepted a glass from Jeina and gulped it down.
"If you teach in a way nobody can understand, is that really teaching? Obviously, you've just deluded yourself into thinking you've grown stronger on your own. It's obvious. This is why brats like you are so..."
"I mean it."
She had seen adventurers fighting several times, even when she was young.
Compared to them, she was completely different.
She could be certain.
'I'm stronger than a D-rank adventurer.'
But she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud in case it was merely a delusion.
"Then!"
Elena rose from her seat.
"Fight me!"
"What? Me? You?"
"Yes! If we cross swords, you'll be able to tell how incredibly well the old man taught me. If you're a swordsmanship instructor, that should be easy, right?"
"Hmm..."
Darko toyed with his beard, then grinned.
"All right. A spar? Sounds good. But a plain spar isn't much fun."
"...Should we bet money?"
"Money? That's a given. But money alone is boring..."
Darko pointed at Elena with his index finger.
"How about you?"
"Huh?"
"If your skill doesn't meet my passing standard, you'll have to comfort me."
"Comfort you? If that's all, then fine. I may not know anything else, but at least acknowledge that Uncle Eck is a good teacher."
"Of course. I'll acknowledge it. Want me to quit as the swordsmanship instructor if you like?"
Darko rose from his seat with a mocking laugh.
He turned and announced to the adventurers at the table.
"You all heard her, right? Eck's disciple says she'll comfort me if she doesn't meet my standards! She's someone Eck raised, so shouldn't we see what she's really got?!"
Darko pulled a pouch of silver coins from his pocket.
"I bet fifty silver coins that I'll win! Jeina! Take this! Collect bets from those bastards over there."
Jeina accepted Darko's money and collected bets from the adventurers.
Most of the adventurers bet on Darko.
"He's using that obvious trick again."
"Leave it. That girl walked into it first."
"If Eck finds out, there'll be hell to pay."
"What can Eck do? He'll just lament losing a toy he was playing with for a while."
"I'm betting on the other side. Wouldn't it be hilarious if Darko lost?"
The adventurers welcomed the news of the bet.
For people with no entertainment beyond drinking, playing cards, and trading jokes, the bet was an event to enjoy for the first time in a while.
Darko snorted and walked out of the guild.
"Where are you going? Weren't we going to fight in the backyard?"
"Do you think I'm like you or Eck? I'm a busy man as the guild's swordsmanship instructor. I came here intending to see Eck."
He set a date for the spar.
"Hmm, three days should do."
"Three days... You mean three days from now?"
"Yeah. Learn from Eck whenever you can in the meantime. Though I doubt even three days will be enough."
"Just wait. I'll leave you unable to say a word."
Elena glared at Darko as he left the guild with a sour expression.