Let's Live Kindly (2)
Rydia glared at me with an icy tone. “I got all worked up after tracking down the thief who stole my wallet.”
“Ah.” Busted? I tried to slink away, but it was already too late.
“Yona! You didn’t…!” Elly’s jaw dropped as she snatched me by the scruff of my neck. I flailed my dangling limbs in midair and shook my head frantically.
“No way, Elly! Would I really steal from Lady Rydia of all people?! I’d be dead meat if I got caught!”
“Yeah. You absolutely would. Be honest. You got your feelings hurt by Rydia’s reaction and swiped it on impulse, didn’t you?”
“I’m telling you it’s not like that! I might be a little fearless, but I still look before I leap! And do I really look like the kind of guy who repays kindness with betrayal?”
“Hmm. That’s…”
Elly mulled it over for a second, then lifted me higher and glanced at Rydia. “He says no. Look, this little brat’s close with me. Sorry, but without solid proof, I can’t just hand Yona over.”
“…Proof? I have it.”
Rydia tilted her head with that deadpan expression and pulled a small amulet from her pocket. It was a plain silver disc set with a red gem. But Elly’s eyes narrowed like she knew exactly what it was.
“An anti-theft amulet. The red color means it wasn’t lost—it was definitely stolen.”
“…Yeah. I only found out after filing the subjugation report at the guild.”
“Still, isn’t that a little weak on its own?”
“I placed a tracking spell on the wallet. Asked Beni to confirm the location and it pointed right here. Not a coincidence.”
“Open and shut.”
“Open and shut.”
Both women’s gazes slammed into me. When I subtly looked away, Elly hoisted me even higher, forcing eye contact.
“Yona. It’s been fun. See you around.”
“E-Elly?!”
With a bright smile, Elly hurled me. Before my feet could even touch the floor, Rydia caught me. Her expressionless face suddenly filled my vision. That strict, solemn, deadly serious look made a scream rip out of me.
“Kyaaaaah! Elly! You sold me out!”
“Who told you to pickpocket Rydia’s wallet? I did my best!”
“That’s true… that’s true! But I never expected a tracking spell! Who does that?!”
It wasn’t Elly who answered my desperate complaint—it was Rydia.
“Most people don’t. Adventurers are the exception. We often carry our entire fortune. High-rankers like me take security very seriously.”
“Ugh…”
I never wrote this setting!
For a split second I considered converting every coin I’d lifted from Rydia into gacha tickets, but… I’d already spent it all. Acting tough now would only make things worse, so I decided to return it quietly.
“Here… I barely used any of it. Can’t you at least spare my life?”
“?”
Rydia tilted her head like she had no idea what I was talking about.
Come on…. Sure, this world is the kind where getting caught pickpocketing gets you beaten half to death, or worse, your wrists chopped off. But still.
“Are you actually planning to kill me?! I helped you catch the boss! E-Elly…! Save me! Your future husband is about to die!”
“What are you saying, Yona? We’re not at that stage yet, are we?”
Elly cut me off with clinical detachment. This was bad. She really wasn’t going to help. Had I trusted her too much? She was fundamentally kind, but that same kindness might be why she refused to shield me when my crime was so obvious.
Only one option left. Time to cry and beg Rydia for mercy.
I forced tears into my eyes until they glistened, blurring my vision. Just as I opened my mouth to craft a trembling, pitiful voice designed to trigger sympathy—
“Lady Rydia!”
“…Misunderstanding.”
Rydia let out a small sigh and set me down. She straightened my rumpled clothes and spoke.
“Your name is Yona, correct? Stealing my wallet was wrong. But it’s also true that I completed the request thanks to you.”
“Then…?”
“We’ve both given and taken. We’re even. Let’s set emotion aside and only count the gains and losses.”
Rydia raised a single finger and continued.
“First, the Twin Dagger Clan leader’s head was worth one gold. Converting guild contribution points and credibility into cash comes to roughly thirty silver.”
“The reward difference for taking out the leader is bigger than I expected?”
“It has to be. Sets an example.”
Made sense. Most clans moved according to their leader’s will, so nailing the head was far more effective than rounding up small fry. One gold and thirty silver, though. That was serious money. The potion I’d used on my hand had seemed expensive, but if I factored everything in, I might actually come out ahead…
“Intermediate potion for the hand treatment was fifty silver. My daily rate as a high-ranking adventurer is at least thirty silver. Tracking magic commission was sixty silver. I recovered the wallet, but the amount you spent in the meantime…”
Rydia muttered flatly, extending a finger for each item. The numbers kept climbing. My face must have been growing paler with every digit. Naturally, one gold and thirty silver had been blown past long ago.
I sneaked a glance at Elly. She just kept nodding like every word was correct. So this was what proper accounting looked like. But why go this far just to catch me?!
While I stood there stunned, Rydia finished her calculations and delivered the verdict.
“…Rough estimate puts you at an eighty-silver loss.”
“Uh, ‘rough estimate’ means the exact number is different, right…?”
“Precisely eighty-three silver and twenty-seven copper.”
“Let’s just round it to eighty silver for simplicity! Yes!”
The words flew out before I could stop them. So that was the amount after she’d generously cut it down… While I stood there trembling, Rydia placed a hand on my shoulder and asked in a low voice.
“Eighty silver. Pay it back and I won’t pursue the matter further.”
“Uh, well. The thing is…”
Where would I get that kind of money? Even if I had it, I would’ve dumped it into the gacha already. Seeing me hem and haw, Rydia shook her head.
“…You don’t have it? Then I have no choice. You’ll repay me with your body.”
“Y-you’re going to cut me open and sell my organs to the Magic Tower?!”
“…Illegal organ trafficking is a crime.”
“Then… gasp! You’re planning to do dirty things to me?! Like that red book Elly keeps hidden in the third drawer of her desk…!”
“…That’s not it.”
Behind me, Elly’s face flushed crimson as she hopped around demanding to know how I knew about that, but that wasn’t important right now. Rydia denied it with a straight face. I studied her features carefully. She didn’t show much expression, which was a little scary, but she was fundamentally very beautiful. Oh…
I flopped dramatically onto the floor and shouted.
“Fine! If my body is what you want, I have no choice but to accept!”
“I said that’s not it.”
“But remember this! You might be able to do whatever you want with my body, but you’ll never touch my heart…!”
“Enough nonsense. Keep going and I’ll drag you up by force.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She clenched her fist like she was about to punch me, so I scrambled to my feet. Rydia pressed a hand to her forehead, clearly fed up with my lightning-fast attitude change. In a slightly tired voice, she continued.
“I’m heading into the labyrinth. Yona will be my baggage carrier.”
“You’re using me as a pack mule…?”
“Yes. That will be your repayment. I can advance necessary equipment. …But you remain my baggage carrier until the debt is cleared.”
“That’s…”
It was a good deal. Almost too good. Suspiciously good. It wasn’t like I hadn’t looked into baggage carrier work. Most of the setting I remembered revolved around the labyrinth. To make use of that knowledge, I ultimately had to become an adventurer and step inside.
But the labyrinth was a place where, as long as you came back alive, you could gain power—big or small. That applied to baggage carriers too. That was why more people than you’d expect tried to enter even as pack mules, and a half-grown kid like me inevitably got pushed to the bottom of the list.
Sure, there were parties that would take even me if I searched hard enough… but those groups had shady vibes. They probably planned to use me as both baggage carrier and portable toy. If things got dangerous, they’d abandon me in front of monsters. There were plenty of real cases, so you had to choose your party carefully. Anything could happen in the labyrinth.
In that sense, Rydia was trustworthy. She wasn’t someone I’d meticulously designed like Elly, but her reputation for having the title The Noble spoke volumes about her character. Hadn’t I seen it myself? The way she’d tried to save me even if it meant abandoning her achievements and leaving future trouble behind.
…Wait. Did that mean that I, who had pickpocketed such a person’s wallet, was actually the trash here?
I shook my head vigorously to clear the thought. I’m not bad. The world is what’s bad.
“Understood. I’ll work as your baggage carrier and pay you back. But how deep are you planning to go? As you can see, I’m pretty fragile. I probably can’t handle wherever you usually go.”
“Party member Beni is currently on break. I don’t enter dangerous areas alone. No need to worry.”
“That’s a relief.”
I let out a sigh of genuine relief. Rydia gave a satisfied nod. A faint smile touched her lips.
“…Good. Then tomorrow morning, right here. Need anything?”
“I’ll need a dismantling dagger for baggage carrier work.”
“I have one. Anything else?”
“…If I asked you to buy me armor or weapons, would you?”
“If it falls under the guild’s support program for low-ranking adventurers, as much as you want. Of course, it adds to your debt.”
“Lady Rydia…!”
I looked up at her with sparkling, moved eyes. She averted her gaze like it was too much to handle.
“Don’t misunderstand. Normally I would have handed you over to the guild for trial. However…”
“However?”
“You’re still young. You have talent. If there’s room for reform, guiding you is a knight’s duty.”
She declared it proudly, snorted, and left the shop. I stared blankly at her retreating back before turning to Elly.
“Elly. Did you know it would turn out like this?”
“More or less. Unlike other people, Rydia isn’t emotional or sly.”
“Ugh… Wait, more importantly, you know Lady Rydia?! Were you a bigger deal as an adventurer than I thought?”
“It’s nothing special. I just helped her out a few times when she was a rookie. Anyway, is it okay to be standing around here? The labyrinth isn’t a place to take lightly. You should start preparing now.”
“Ah, I don’t have anything on me right now. Nothing to prepare.”
“Didn’t you say you rented a room after saving some money last time?”
“After I was locked up for a few days, they assumed I was dead. Sold all my stuff and rented the room to someone else. When I complained, I nearly got beaten. Well, I expected it.”
Thanks to that, my entire fortune consisted of the new clothes I’d recovered from the Twin Dagger Clan that Rydia had wiped out and the thirty-two copper in its pocket. I only stole because I needed to eat too.
“…So you didn’t just stick your hand in Rydia’s wallet without thinking, purely because you were angry?”
“Ahem.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
Elly clicked her tongue and pulled out another magic herb. I gently tugged at her empty sleeve.
“Elly, Elly.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t have anywhere to sleep.”
“Oh dear. How sad.”
“It’s not just a house I’m missing. No family, no friends, no strength, no money. All I have is this cute face?”
“……”
“Can’t you let me stay just one night? In return, I’ll give you full rights to do whatever you want with my face for today…!”
“I don’t need it! I’ll clear out a room upstairs, so sleep there tonight! But it’s paid starting tomorrow, got it?!”
“I love you, Elly! So will you marry me?!”
“A debtor is a bit…”
Too bad.