Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Shrimp
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Under the scorching sunlight of the beach resort one afternoon.
The members of the Ian Mercenary Corps were all sprawled out in the living room of their lodging.
"Huaa..."
"I can't get up..."
The members, each claiming their own spots and lounging around, had been half-asleep since early morning.
It had already been several days since they arrived in the city.
Having swum and played in the sea to their hearts' content during that time, the members' stamina was finally completely drained.
The wonder of seeing the ocean for the first time had gradually worn off, and after swimming all day every day for days on end, they were thoroughly sick of it.
It was no surprise—they'd spent every day in the water until they collapsed exhausted into bed.
In the end, with no energy left even for swimming, the members had all amiably collapsed in the first-floor living room.
Even as they did absolutely nothing, time slipped by, and lunchtime was drawing near.
Rin, slumped on the sofa, muttered.
"What should we have for lunch? Hit the market?"
"Too much hassle..."
"Wonder if Lia'll catch something again today."
Mika, draped over a chair, replied offhandedly.
Everyone was wiped out from the endless swimming, but Lia was the sole exception.
Even now, she was the only one who'd headed out to sea bright and early that morning.
No sooner had Lia's name come up than she returned from her solo trip to the ocean.
"I'm back."
"Lia doesn't even get tired."
"She goes way deeper than us, too..."
"You get used to it after a while."
While the others were too drained to even swim, Lia roamed the sea as if it barely touched her stamina.
Lia, who had ventured deep into the ocean again today, set down the basket she was carrying.
The basket was brimming with fish she'd caught.
Seeing that, the exhausted members slowly roused themselves.
"What'd you catch today?"
Thanks to Lia always bringing back different fish, they'd been feasting on rare catches not sold at the market.
Everyone crowded around to inspect the fish Lia had brought this time.
"Ah, got lucky today."
Lia opened the basket with a faintly proud look on her face.
Mika peeked inside and recoiled with a start at the sight.
"Eek..."
"What... is that?"
A somewhat odd reaction compared to usual.
Ian drew closer too, peering casually into the basket from the side.
What Lia had caught today was shrimp.
Still oblivious to the members' lukewarm reactions, Lia spoke up with a touch of smugness.
"Found a spot nearby swarming with shrimp. Normally tough to snag 'em like this—pure luck."
"Uh... this edible too?"
"Huh? Of course."
Mika spoke to Lia with a slightly queasy expression, eyeing the shrimp wriggling in the basket.
"Lia, don't you hate bugs? What about sea bugs?"
"...Ha?"
Lia stared at Mika, clearly not grasping what she meant.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she realized Mika had called the shrimp bugs.
"What did you just say?"
"Yeah? Don't you hate bugs...?"
"......"
Lia gaped at Mika in shock, then hurriedly scanned the surroundings.
Soon spotting what she wanted, she snatched up her sword leaning against the wall.
Lia drew her blade in an instant.
"Fine... I accept your duel."
"Why?!"
Mika panicked and scrambled backward at the sight of Lia unsheathing her sword.
As Lia advanced with sword in hand, she bellowed at Mika.
"You just called shrimp bugs!"
"No... they are bugs! All those legs, antennae..."
"Die!"
"Did you just tell me to die?!"
Lia's sword flared with heat.
Mika, seasoned by numerous real battles, had nearly mastered the basics of barrier magic.
The barrier sprang up in a flash, blocking Lia's strike.
A metallic clash rang out amid sparks as Lia's sword bounced away.
But against Lia, who knew the barrier's durability inside out, it only bought a few seconds.
Lia's immediate follow-up charge shattered the barrier in a heartbeat, and she seized Mika.
"Kyaa!"
In the close-quarters brawl right after the barrier fell—mage versus swordswoman.
The one-sided duel ended with Mika planted face-first into the sandy floor.
Lia quietly turned her sword tip toward the rest of the members.
By majority vote under swordpoint, the shrimp were officially deemed not bugs.
Time for lunch, right on cue.
They lit a fire and prepared a meal from Lia's catch of fish.
"......"
"......"
Everyone stole glances as they swiftly grabbed the fish.
No one touched the grilled shrimp, leaving Lia's face downcast.
In the midst of it, Ian quietly picked up a shrimp.
Lia's expression brightened noticeably.
"Ah, how to eat it... Huh."
Ian peeled off the shrimp shell with practiced ease, ignoring Lia's explanation.
As Ian ate the shrimp without batting an eye, the other members hesitated before edging toward the shrimp.
...So it really is edible, huh.
They muttered inwardly, making sure Lia couldn't hear.
"Wh-whoa... it's good..."
"Yeah. Bu—ahem."
Mika nearly let the word slip, caught Lia's glare, clamped her mouth shut, and quietly ate her shrimp.
Before they knew it, the sun had dipped below the horizon.
Rather than heading to the sea, they lay in their beds, recovering their depleted stamina.
Thanks to resting all day, the somewhat revitalized members gathered in the living room.
"Huaa... Even playing's starting to wear me out."
Rin, utterly spent, muttered as she massaged her shoulders.
It had already been several days of plunging into the sea and playing from dawn till dusk.
They'd toured the entire market and bought souvenirs too.
They'd more than gotten their fill of vacation fun.
Ian glanced around at the members.
"Time to head back?"
"Yeah, we've played plenty."
Everyone nodded.
Any more fun, and their stamina just wouldn't hold up.
Ian decided to inquire tomorrow about schedules back to Labyrinth City.
Escort requests were mostly one-way trips.
Perfectly matching a return escort was ideal but rare.
If nothing lined up, they'd have to shell out for a carriage ride home.
But the Ian Mercenary Corps was now a C-rank outfit from Labyrinth City.
Labyrinth City mercenaries outclassed others in real combat experience and skill.
C-ranks were commonplace there, but outside, they commanded serious respect as elite units.
Word spreads at the request broker about heading back to Labyrinth City, and carriages would line up to fit their schedule.
Camilla had let them know that when they'd asked about return carriages during this very request.
"Prep tomorrow, depart the day after."
"Sigh. It was fun, but yeah, starting to get a bit stale."
"Feels like we've eaten a year's worth of salt..."
They were lounging around, chatting idly like that.
-This is troubling...
-Just let us pass the message!
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the lodging.
"Sounds like someone's outside."
"Probably just tourists."
This wasn't a guild house, and there was no reason for visitors seeking the Ian Mercenary Corps specifically.
A tourist spot, so noise outside was par for the course.
With that in mind, they stayed put—but the racket outside showed no signs of stopping.
"Wanna check it out?"
"Come back if it's nothing."
Tanya cracked the door open and peeked outside.
"Ah!"
The lodging manager from a nearby building was tussling with a crowd gathered in front of the place.
One of them spotted Tanya peeking out and rushed over.
"Apologies for interrupting your vacation!"
"Wh-who are you?"
"From the Merchant Association."
"Pardon?"
Tanya blinked in confusion at the abrupt introduction.
The commotion didn't look like it'd die down anytime soon, so everyone got up and headed outside.
The group milling about outside wasn't just from the Merchant Association—there were folks from city hall and the guard too, affiliations all over the map.
They'd all gathered to hash something out, and it looked urgent.
Opinions still not fully aligned, a bit more bickering ensued.
Finally, the city hall representative stepped forward.
"Uh, we heard the Ian Mercenary Corps from Labyrinth City is staying here..."
The members all snuck glances at Ian.
Sensing those looks, the visitors' gazes turned to him as well.
"That's us. What is it?"
"S-sorry to bother you on vacation. It's a city emergency—we had no choice..."
A city running purely on tourism, with only guards for security—no standing army or mercenary guild.
Not like Labyrinth City, but money flowed freely here too. When force was needed, they hired mercenaries.
Labyrinth City's power was an anomaly thanks to the dungeon right on their doorstep; this was more the norm.
From the looks of it, they desperately needed a top-tier mercenary group right now.
Something so urgent they couldn't wait days to summon hires from Labyrinth City.
"...We'll hear you out."
"Thank you!"
VIP treatment had its perks.
But so did headaches like this.
That's the real reason for all the special handling, after all.
A flashy finale to their long vacation.