Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: The Rental Contract
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After training wrapped up, we spent the night at Barundel's place and headed out the next morning.
Today's agenda was straightforward.
Head to the black market with Barundel to formally seal the rental agreement for [Anatakh's Great Axe].
Barundel had already made up his mind the night before.
"Looks like we're ready to go."
"Got everything prepared?"
"Of course."
Barundel patted the pouch of gold coins I'd brought and the bag stuffed with other necessities.
The bag felt hefty, so it seemed like nothing was missing.
"Alright, let's head out."
We left the house and made straight for the black market.
It wasn't far from Barundel's place—about an hour's walk without stops.
Sure enough, roughly an hour later, we arrived at the tavern in the alley from our last visit.
The guide still eyed me with that same parched gaze.
"Party's grown, huh?"
"You see it."
He was a bit prickly, but after I handed over 100 gold for Barundel's entry too, he wordlessly opened the door to the basement without complaint.
"Hoo... So this is the black market."
"First time?"
"First time coming myself. Back in the day, my comrades handled it for me..."
Barundel trailed off after that.
'Old comrades...'
Whoever they were, his expression said he wasn't keen on talking about it.
I took the hint and didn't pry, keeping my steps steady until we stopped in front of the shop with the golden sign.
*Ahem!*
Barundel cleared his throat, steeling himself.
It was probably his first time with a deal like this, so he was tense.
"Follow me in."
I led the way into the shop, and a staff member greeted us right away, like they'd been waiting.
"Ah, you're here."
The staffer bowed politely, then their gaze lingered on Barundel trailing behind me.
"This is him...?"
"Yeah, the dwarf I mentioned yesterday."
"Name's Barundel."
"Ah, yes, nice to meet you. The boss is waiting upstairs. This way, please."
The staffer led us straight to the boss's office on the second floor.
After a knock, we entered to find a beaming bald man welcoming us.
This shiny-headed guy was the one we'd be hashing out the contract details with today.
"Ohoho. You must be the one...?"
"Yuhaness."
"Ah, Mage Yuhaness. A pleasure! I'm Edward Gallen, the owner here."
No wonder the place was stocked with nothing but high-end goods.
It was a noble-run operation.
Dripping with wealth, he was decked out head to toe in luxury, reeking of thick cologne as he finished greeting Barundel and gestured for us to sit.
"So, I hear you want to rent [Anatakh's Great Axe]?"
"Yes, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, we'd love to."
"No trouble at all. My staff said it was a solid offer."
"Right. Barundel, hand it over."
"...Here."
Barundel's hand trembled as he offered Edward the document.
It outlined ownership of the training hall.
He clearly hated letting it go—it must've meant the world to him.
But what could be done?
Unless you're swimming in cash, you have to offer what you've got to get what you want.
"Hmm..."
Edward stroked his curled mustache while scrutinizing the document.
True to form for a noble running a operation this size, he was quick with numbers.
"It's a bit off the main trade routes, but not a bad spot. For the size... I'd say it's worth 20,000 gold."
Spot on.
I'd heard beforehand that Barundel's training hall was valued around 20,000 gold.
Edward clearly had a sharp eye for this stuff.
This would speed things up.
"Exactly. So our offer is ownership of the training hall plus a 5,000-gold deposit. Of course, the ownership only transfers if we fail to uphold our end."
"And in exchange, we lend you [Anatakh's Great Axe] for five years."
"Yes. And when we return it, it'll be upgraded to mythic-grade, per the contract."
"Ohoho..."
Edward stroked his mustache again.
A brief silence followed, then he smiled.
"Deal. No losses on our end."
I instinctively glanced at Barundel as the words landed.
His eyes churned with emotion—understandably so.
It was all positive, no doubt.
He might actually end up with a mythic-grade (prospective) weapon in hand.
"Really? You're in?"
Edward nodded kindly when I double-checked.
"Ohoho. Absolutely. Just one sticking point."
"Ah, sure. Shoot."
"This."
*Tap.* Edward pointed to the contract on the table.
More precisely, the final clause.
The lessee shall return [Anatakh's Great Axe] to the lessor in perfect condition upon the end of the five-year rental period. Perfect condition herein refers to the axe having grown into a 'Mythic-grade Artifact.'
"Any issue with...?"
"The core of this contract: the upgrade. Just how do you plan to pull that off? Ohoho."
"Ah..."
Fair enough—Edward had every reason to doubt.
From a normal person's view, slaying 10,000 demons was damn near impossible.
Even for non-normals, it was the same.
How many in this world could even fill that quota?
It had to happen within five years—two thousand per year, minimum.
You'd need to throw yourself into every war, every hunt, without missing a beat.
Of course, our party planned to do just that, so no issue for us...
'How do I convince him?'
The real hurdle was selling Edward on it.
"Uh... well..."
Barundel looked stumped too.
I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"See, he's a pretty famous demon hunter."
"Oh? Famous, you say? I know a fair few myself."
"Ah... really?"
Damn, bad call.
Never figured a noble would know demon hunters.
'Guy's in business—gotta have eyes everywhere, huh?'
This could backfire if he saw through the hype.
"What's your name again?"
"...Barundel."
"Hm, Barundel? Sorry, doesn't ring a bell..."
But then.
"Ah! Barundel—the dwarf demon hunter who made waves about ten years back?"
Edward knew him.
And "made waves"?
I shot Barundel a baffled look, but he just scratched his mustache sheepishly.
"Ah... yes. Honored you remember."
"Ohoho! How could I forget a legend like you?"
"Heh, heh heh..."
"Perfect. I can trust [Anatakh's Great Axe] with a man like you. Let's sign!"
The moment Barundel's hunter creds came out, the contract flew through at warp speed.
*Thud!*
Edward stamped it without a second glance.
Even better.
"No need for the deposit."
"Huh? What do you...?"
"Can't take a fortune like that from folks doing such fine work."
"...For real?"
"Of course. Ohoho."
He'd waived the promised 5,000-gold deposit on his own say-so.
Chump change for a guy like Edward, maybe, but a windfall for us.
Totally unexpected bonus.
"Take care."
We sealed the deal smoothly, collected [Anatakh's Great Axe] from the staff, and stepped outside.
"..."
"..."
Awkward silence hung in the air.
I was still dazed.
What the hell just happened?
"...Explain."
"...Explain what?"
"You know damn well."
*Ahem...!*
Barundel coughed awkwardly, pondered a beat, then spoke.
"Not the place for it."
"Then where?"
"Remember that drink we planned? How about we honor it today?"
"Oh."
Right, we'd made that promise.
Got sidetracked by other stuff and forgot.
Perfect timing now that we had some breathing room.
Sure, it was bright midday, but...
"Sure, why not."
When it's serious talk, day or night doesn't matter.
We headed straight for a tavern.
***
"Oh, kid, been a while!"
"Hey."
The tavern we'd frequented since first stepping into District 6—the one above the old Athis Request Office.
Plenty of nicer spots, but this felt like home.
Plus, the prices were easy on the wallet.
"Moving out or something?"
"Yeah, kinda. Two beers, boss. Usual grub."
"Flamebird roast? Coming right up."
True to his word, drinks and food hit the table fast. I couldn't hold back anymore.
"Spill it. What was that?"
"...Impatient, aren't ya."
*Gulp, gulp.*
Barundel downed his beer and continued.
"Back when I hunted demons, I was kinda famous."
"For what?"
"What else? Smashing demons."
"Hm."
Makes sense, really.
A guy at Barundel's level standing out was only natural.
I'd just never looked into him.
He'd never brought it up either.
"Were you hiding it on purpose?"
"Not hiding, exactly... but I wasn't itching to talk about it."
Barundel's face darkened fast.
This tied straight into why he quit hunting.
"Ah... you don't have to say more."
I tried to keep it light for his sake, but he chugged another beer and shook his head.
"Nah. If I didn't wanna, we wouldn't be here."
He was committed now.
"...You sure you're okay?"
"...It's about time."
Like he was dredging up old ghosts.
Barundel's expression grew stormier.
"Guah."
I slammed my beer too and leaned in to listen.
"Go on, then."
"...Alright."
I could feel it instinctively.
This story kicking off was dead serious, brutal...
And it'd reveal who Barundel really was.
At the same time.
It was essential if we were to become true comrades.