Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: I Bought It
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From early morning, laborers were bustling back and forth through the streets of Labyrinth City.
It had only been a short while since the monster invasion swept through, but to the people here, it was like an annual event.
The devastated city had immediately begun recovery work and was quickly returning to its original state.
"Coming through!"
"Watch out!"
Carts piled high with monster corpses kept rolling down the streets.
"That's a harpy..."
"I've never seen so many before."
Merchants from other cities, not the usual vendors in Labyrinth City, could be seen gawking curiously everywhere along the roads.
Right now, Labyrinth City was overflowing with rare monster materials—literally rotting away in excess.
To restore the city, they had to dispose of the monster corpses as quickly as possible, and with such massive quantities, prices were inevitably dropping.
It was only natural that merchants from across the continent flocked here to snag monster materials on the cheap during this period.
The immediate aftermath of a monster invasion was when Labyrinth City enjoyed its biggest boom of the year.
They said half of the city's work came from these invasions.
Likewise, it wouldn't be wrong to say half of Labyrinth City's vast wealth was generated during this time.
Ian walked through the chaotic, lively streets and arrived at the guild.
He had received a summons from the guild for the first time since the invasion ended, so he was visiting after a long while.
Having made an appointment in advance, Ian greeted a familiar staff member and headed straight up to the second floor.
"You're here."
Camilla, buried in stacks of papers on her desk, welcomed him.
"You look busy."
"Must be nice being a mercenary with no worries."
Ian sat in the chair in front of the grumbling Camilla.
She was swamped as always, with no time for their usual leisurely chat.
Camilla immediately handed Ian a document.
"The Underground Sewer cleanup is done."
"Faster than I thought."
"Yeah. No monsters left, so we wrapped up the repairs right away."
Outside the walls, it would take much longer to finish sorting things out.
They had to drag out the mountain of corpses one by one, recover them, and dismantle them.
Work continued day and night, but there was no end in sight.
In comparison, slimes melted away upon death, leaving no corpses behind.
Once the loot was collected, that was it—so it was only natural that the sewer cleanup finished first.
"And since you folks were the only mercenary corps involved, the shares weren't complicated. Made it easy."
The document Camilla offered was the loot settlement sheet for the monsters defeated in the Underground Sewer.
Normally, it would span several pages listing all participating mercenary corps, but only Ian Mercenary Corps was named on this one.
Ian hadn't recruited any other groups, so his corps was the sole participant in the sewer defense.
There was no need to adjust ratios based on contributions or distribute payouts.
All the loot went entirely to Ian Mercenary Corps.
Ian took the final document from Camilla.
The amount listed there was substantial, even by his standards.
Most of it was from ordinary slimes, but in such numbers, it added up to a fortune.
"Congrats. This is enough to retire on the spot."
"I've still got things to do, so retirement's a ways off."
"What else is there for a mercenary besides making money?"
Not many corps in the whole city would net this kind of solo reward.
Ian signed at the bottom of the document.
"Alright. Head to the guild warehouse, and they'll exchange it for gold coins... but for this amount, you'll need to go to the central vault."
Confirming Ian's signature, Camilla handed over a certificate redeemable for gold.
It wasn't an amount they could pull from the counter safe, so he'd have to collect it from the guild-operated warehouse.
Camilla glanced at the figure.
Honestly, it was absurd.
"Think you can carry it all? I hear you're still at the inn."
Transporting this to the inn or storing it in an inn room would be impossible.
"How about signing a contract and leaving it in the guild vault?"
There was no convenient bank here for deposits and withdrawals.
If you didn't have your own private storage, entrusting it to the guild was the only option.
Of course, the guild wasn't a bank.
It wasn't a charity offering free storage; you'd pay hefty fees for the service.
Still, as Camilla said...
There was no way he could haul this back to his inn room.
Pay fees to the guild for safekeeping...
Or spend it all right now so he wouldn't have to.
"Can I use this right away?"
"Right away?"
Rather than paying fees to store it, Ian had come with a plan to spend as much as possible.
Fortunately, the settled amount was more than enough for his plans.
Ian handed back the gold certificate and all the guild coins he'd received this time.
Camilla eyed the guild coins submitted alongside the gold.
If it were just buying items, gold would suffice.
Submitting coins meant he wanted preferential treatment for the purchase.
"Something from the guild's inventory you want to buy?"
"Yes."
Ian pointed to one wall of the office...
The district map of Labyrinth City.
Rin, Mika, and Tanya.
The three members of Ian Mercenary Corps gathered in Ian's room.
Beside Ian sat a large sack fetched from the guild.
The corps funds had their own uses, but this was the members' shares.
He'd brought it separately to settle their pay.
"This is your cut."
As Ian set the sack on the bed, it toppled, spilling gold coins.
Everyone gulped at the sight of the gleaming gold.
A mountain of coins piled up on the bed.
"I-is this really our pay?"
"Yeah. Split it three ways."
"They're not taking it all as fees like last time, right...?"
"I already deducted everything."
Ian picked up a few coins and placed them in each of their hands.
They all instinctively took them and stared down at the gold in their palms.
Real gold coins...
They'd heard rumors that working in Labyrinth City let you amass gold easily, but holding actual coins was a first for all of them.
"All this..."
The sack held an enormous amount.
Split three ways, how much would each get...?
Rin suddenly noticed something odd.
If this was their three shares...
That meant Ian's portion was separate.
"Wait, if this is ours... what about you, Captain?"
The captain naturally got a bigger cut than regular members, but there were also hefty deductions for corps operations, tributes, and such.
They'd heard mercenaries only pocketed a tiny fraction of total rewards...
If each of them was getting this much, how vast was the total the corps received?
It was almost funny calling this a "mountain"—the corps haul must have been a real mountain of gold.
Rin swallowed hard without thinking.
"It was too much to carry."
"You left it with the guild? They charge a fortune for that..."
"So I just spent it."
"Pardon?"
Rin felt a surge of intense unease at Ian's casual tone, as if it were no big deal.
She'd thought this corps was finally escaping chronic deficits.
It was ridiculous for a mere member like her to worry about corps finances...
But she wanted this group to last.
Watching Ian's precarious spending habits up close felt like staring at a bomb that could go off any second.
With this much money earned, she'd hoped they could relax and coast for a while...
All spent? That sum?
"Perfect timing. Want to go see it?"
"See it?"
Everyone nodded with puzzled expressions.
The members followed Ian through the streets.
If he hadn't brought it himself, it must be something too big to carry.
Rin pondered what Ian might have bought.
He was taking them to see it, so... maybe a warehouse?
She thought it wasn't a bad choice.
Cramming gear into inn rooms and sleeping together was pretty uncomfortable.
Inns were great for convenient lodging, but everything else was a hassle.
The more stuff they acquired, the more the cramped, poorly secured rooms became a limitation.
A rented corps warehouse would make things much easier.
They could store gear and supplies better than now.
But the direction Ian headed wasn't the warehouse district.
Everyone followed him past the square toward the heart of Labyrinth City.
They soon arrived at a massive building on the main boulevard.
"This is... a Guild House, right?"
One of the many buildings owned by the mercenary guild.
It was the Guild House, rented at exorbitant rates to corps that passed inspections.
"I heard these places cost a fortune..."
Mika muttered, staring up at the Guild House.
Rumor had it you could buy an inn or a whole house for the price of renting one.
But inns were cramped, and residential areas were far from the guild.
This building, designed from the ground up for mercenaries, was ideal for living, managed by the guild, close to headquarters, and perfect for corps activities.
That's why these Guild Houses, scattered throughout Labyrinth City, stayed popular despite the steep prices.
They were like symbols of top-tier, successful first-class corps.
Rin's eyes sparkled as she asked Ian.
Bringing them to a Guild House meant...
"Did you rent a room here?"
"No. I bought it."
"Pardon?"
All eyes turned to Ian.
"Do they even sell Guild Houses...?"
"If you offer enough, they will."
Of course, they didn't sell to just anyone.
It took a bit of luck.
For instance, if by chance some gold coins of unknown origin happened to be in the vice-guildmaster's drawer...
Leading to an accidental approval stamp on paperwork that should have been rejected.
Everyone looked up at the Guild House.
It was so tall the whole structure didn't fit in view at once; they had to crane their necks.
Ian Mercenary Corps' first stronghold.