Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Me?
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"Next! Cart three!"
"Hurry up and move it!"
Beyond the city's walls, in a clearing deep in the forest past the plains.
Mercenaries had gathered there, loading stacks of lumber like mountains onto carts one piece at a time.
The supervisors' urgent shouts rang out without pause, and the mercenaries swallowed their rising complaints, sweat pouring down their faces.
Anyone imagining a mercenary's life would picture fierce battles with monsters or perilous escort missions—glamorous scenes like that.
But this site was the cold compromise awaiting rookies who arrived in Labyrinth City with such dreams.
It was the Mercenary Guild's public service support mission.
"Hey! The line behind's backing up! Get over here and unload it quick!"
"Huff... haa."
Rin staggered as she barely managed to haul one piece of material over, then slipped to the side and collapsed in the corner of the clearing.
A few other mercenaries were sprawled there too, resting from exhaustion just like her.
"They said... it was moving wood...."
"It's wood, alright."
"I thought it was just firewood!"
Rin muttered like she'd been tricked, taking the canteen Ian offered her.
She'd arrived at the site with a light heart, having plenty of experience helping gather firewood back home.
But waiting for her were construction logs.
The job was transporting logs felled by lumberjacks in the forest outside the walls—along with all sorts of materials—back into the city.
These public support missions were less like typical mercenary work and more like day labor.
Hauling resources, maintaining roads, clearing brush, and so on.
With so many E-rank mercenaries idle in the city, the guild paid them daily to secure the labor needed for city upkeep.
The nearby resting mercenaries dragged their weary bodies upright.
Breaks were free, but to earn the day's pay, they had to hustle and meet the minimum workload.
No one was glaring at them, but after too long a rest, eyes would naturally turn their way—so Rin hauled herself up too.
She grumbled with a hollow expression. It was Ian who'd suggested this mission.
"You were buying all that expensive stuff without a care... So the money really did run out, huh?"
"Nah, we've still got some left."
"Then why are we doing this?"
"'Cause your stamina's too low. This is great training for it."
In the game, these missions were training schedules that slightly boosted your stats.
You could even snag traits like [Stamina Boost] or [Strength Boost] at low odds, so having your first mercenary run them two or three times was standard procedure.
One thing that deviated from Ian's expectations, though: these missions were popular, so you had to line up early morning to sign up.
The workload was heavy, but guild-run jobs paid reliably on time and counted toward your mission record.
For E-rankers who struggled against monsters, they were irresistible.
Ian's original plan had been three rounds to aim for traits, but...
Once he saw the fierce competition and felt bad snatching jobs from desperate rookies, he settled for just this once.
"Who trains like this!"
Rin rubbed her already aching arms and vented at Ian, but since he was right there working silently beside her, she couldn't complain too harshly.
As Rin's stamina bottomed out, a shout came from the wagon where a staffer was checking work.
"Lunch break until the hour is up!"
"...Haa."
Rin staggered to the wagons and plopped down nearby.
This felt way more draining than monster hunting.
"...Ah! Lunch...."
Sensing the bustle around her, Rin belatedly snapped her head up.
In her newbie inexperience, she'd sat right away at "break time."
In a blink, the lunch handout line stretched long.
Usually, the mercenary fetched for the leader too.
Feeling guilty for delaying Ian's meal, Rin glanced apologetically his way.
"S-sorry, Leader...."
"Here. Eat this, Rin."
Ian handed her a packed lunch he'd brought separately.
It stood out sharply from the handout menu being served.
Rin took it with flustered thanks, staring down at the pricey-looking bento.
This proved it wasn't about saving money....
So he really meant it about stamina training.
Abandoning any hope of understanding Ian's whims, Rin sighed quietly and picked up her fork.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"Sure, wherever... Huh?"
Rin nodded without looking, but nearly dropped her lunch when she saw who sat beside her.
Messy short hair, eyepatch over one eye.
Chris, the guild mercenary supervising this support mission—the same one who'd led their first job.
Leading combat personally like last time was the exception; usually, guild mercs oversaw public duties like this.
Chris glanced at Rin and Ian's lunches from the side, then spoke in his gruff tone.
"Hans's place, huh. Gotta go early to snag those...."
"Want some?"
"Nah. Save it for the workers."
Ian chatted casually with Chris, but Rin was frozen, fork unmoving.
Rookies stiffening at her sight was routine, so Chris gave Rin a wry smile.
People like Ian, who talked to her without a care, were the real oddballs.
"Your record lately looks solid."
"You checking?"
"Comes with the guild staff gig... Kinda a hobby."
Chris touched the scar over his eyepatched eye.
A deep gash ran down his cheek, too severe to fully hide.
"Can't do real work anymore. So watching other mercs grow's my one hobby."
"I think this counts as real work."
Guild mercenaries were always player allies.
They held the front lines during monster invasions, so newbies often asked weekly how to save them in the final siege.
Ian felt the same fondness for them, Chris included.
"Someone's gotta do it for the city, right?"
Probably a line from one of the guild merc NPCs.
Chris chuckled softly at the junior echoing it back.
"Back to work!"
"Ugh...."
Sandwiched between them, Rin had barely tasted her lunch before gulping it down—and now drooped her head at the call.
As the other mercenaries rose, Chris stood to oversee the afternoon shift and tossed casually to Ian.
"Leader Ian. Need one more for inventory check over here. Lend a hand?"
"Sure."
Ian moved to tallying the wagon's wood supply.
Rin shot a betrayed look and went back to hauling alone.
* * *
"Traitor...."
"Sorry. But doesn't your stamina feel a bit better?"
"As if!"
Ian checked after work: Rin's stamina had ticked up a little.
Best case would've been [Strength Boost] combining with [Agility Boost] into an evolved trait, but plain stamina gain was solid for her low base.
Too wiped to notice, though.
Rin could only rub her trembling arms and complain.
"Next."
The line ahead cleared fast, soon their turn.
They handed over their tags; the clerk muttered, checking the list.
"Ian Mercenary Corps... two people."
The clerk's finger paused.
Ian spotted a note in what looked like Chris's handwriting by their names.
"Hold on."
The clerk reached under the counter amid jingling coins, handing them pouches.
Each had a few extra coins beyond the agreed pay.
"......"
Looks cold, but weak to praise, huh.
They pictured the one-eyed merc's stoic face and shared awkward chuckles.
Thus ended their fiercer-than-monster-fighting day.
Heading back to the inn, they sensed an off vibe.
"...?"
Leaving the guild, Ian and Rin spotted a crowd around the mission board.
"Something going on."
The board refreshed at morning open; good missions vanished then.
This time of day, only unpopular duds remained.
A crowd meant... a new mission posted.
Ones added mid-day without waiting for tomorrow were urgent.
Pushing through, Rin read the fresh flyer smack in the center.
"Night Tail? You know what that is, Leader?"
Rin turned to Ian at the unfamiliar monster name.
He knew, answering right away.
"Variant wolf. About twice the size of what we've been hunting."
"Whoa... Pay's several times the usual too."
D-rank paid better than E base, but this topped even standard D-ranks by multiples.
"Why's it urgent, though?"
"Those beasts pack huge packs when one's alpha. They raid villages. Best to hunt 'em before they group."
The high pay lit eyes across the guild hall as mercs buzzed.
High reward meant high risk—but at this coin, reason faded to greed.
All the mercenaries murmured the same thoughts.
But Rin, fresh E-ranker without even a newbie label shed, was gaining a realistic sense of her limits lately.
She spoke to Ian calmly, ambitions curbed.
"D-rank's too much for us."
"Nah, we're taking this."
"Huh?"
Rin stared, flustered.
"Who's gonna hunt that?"
"You are."
"Huh?"
Ian had been waiting for this mission to post.