The Spider That Collects Gold Coins
The ridge was so distant that even with my superhuman vision, I couldn’t see Arleah or Carla anymore. I let out a low groan and scattered the magic arrow I’d been gripping in my hand.
“God, that hurts like hell.”
When I clenched my fist, the arrow made of pure mana dissolved. But the lingering residue seeped into my skin. At the same time, my arm flared with heat, as if I’d been burned by flames. It was Arleah’s technique. The afterimage left on my arm felt exactly like a burn scar from fire.
I forcibly expelled the mana and ground my teeth toward where Carla must have been, far in the distance.
“Like commander, like subordinate. That crazy bitch actually talked Arleah into shooting an arrow at me?”
Her swinging a sword at me was something I could technically overlook. There was a certain logic to it that I could understand. The killing intent had been mixed with personal feelings, and the strikes carried what felt like genuine resolve, but at their core they were threats I could dodge. Besides, running away from danger was one of the first skills I’d mastered after becoming a wanted man in the Empire. It hadn’t been that difficult.
“But shooting an arrow into the back of my head? That’s crossing the line.”
And not just any arrow—an archer on the verge of breaking into the 6-Ring had infused it with an attribute and fired it? If that had hit anyone but me, they would have died instantly with an arrow through the skull. What’s more, Arleah seemed to have grown even more proficient at shooting while stripping away the power of the Outer God. The arrow’s force was stronger now than when she’d still carried that power. I’d only caught it with my hand while it was wrapped in mana, yet my palm was still throbbing.
Just what kind of threat had Carla used to make that girl shoot an arrow at me? If she’d said something like, “If you don’t shoot the arrow, the special forces recommendation letter won’t be approved”…
I clenched my fist tightly.
I can’t forgive this.
“I’ll have to tell Scarlet later that she’s been going too easy on her lately.”
With Scarlet Frausia, normal instructions were meaningless. Even if I told her that Carla had swung a sword at me or made Arleah shoot an arrow into the back of my head, Scarlet would simply tilt her head and ask what the problem was. So instead, I should go to her and say this:
If I said that, Scarlet—who lacked any semblance of ordinary human emotion—would take it upon herself to work Carla even harder. After all, Scarlet was going to come find me soon to hand over the remaining payment for this request. That would be the perfect time to slip it in casually.
“Mmm.”
Just imagining Carla getting worked to the bone made the throbbing in my arm feel a little better. I shook off the last traces of Arleah’s mana residue and stood up. Then I slowly opened my mouth.
“You can come out now.”
At that, a woman wearing a ridiculous pointed hat emerged from the rustling bushes.
“Did you enjoy your long-awaited reunion?”
It was Beatrice. As expected of a mage who had bound five rings, she had completely erased her presence and blended into the undergrowth. If I hadn’t drawn on my mana to disperse Arleah’s arrow, even I might not have noticed she was there.
“What are you doing here?”
“A simple escort mission turned out to contain far more than I expected.”
Beatrice unfurled the fan she always carried and lifted it to cover her raised lips. It was her signature habit—showing her smile first, then belatedly hiding her face behind the fan. I had asked her several times why she did that, only to be scolded that one should not question a woman’s habits.
“Far more than you expected?”
“Indeed, it contained quite a lot. An escort mission I thought would take at least two weeks ended in just two days. A massive legion of contaminants suddenly appeared right after the escort began. And then superhumans who began dealing with those contaminants as if they had been waiting for it.”
Beatrice closed the fan she had opened. Then she lightly tapped my solar plexus with it and said,
“And something that cut away black flames.”
The face she revealed alongside the fan was filled with a smile.
“With all this, wouldn’t you say there’s more than enough compared to what you told me?”
Her expression looked as if she found the information she had uncovered so amusing she could barely contain herself. Only then did I understand why she always carried that fan. And why she would show an ambiguous expression, subtly covering her face while letting only her eyes speak.
“If you already know everything, then you must have some business with me.”
“My, do I only come to see you when I have business?”
“On the contrary, you’ve never come without business, have you?”
Beatrice paused for a moment, seriously considering my question, then opened her mouth with a seductive glance.
“How cold of you.”
Which meant I was right. I let out a deep sigh at Beatrice, who had essentially confirmed it, and asked for her purpose.
“So, what is it?”
“Hmm, before that, let’s confirm one thing first. Do you remember how much you currently owe me?”
“…One hundred and forty million cells.”
In truth, once I received forty million cells from Scarlet, it would drop to one hundred million. But since I hadn’t received it yet, I was still in debt for one hundred and forty million cells. Why bring that up now?
“Hmm, one hundred and forty million cells. That could be considered reasonable, I suppose…”
“What are you trying to say?”
When I spoke with a hint of irritation at her continued evasion, Beatrice finally got to the point.
“Would you be interested in giving private lessons?”
Private lessons? I looked at Beatrice with an incredulous expression. When she said “private lessons,” she probably meant one-on-one tutoring for the children of noble families. Was she seriously suggesting that I do something like that?
“Just looking at your past record, it doesn’t seem like teaching others would be particularly difficult for you. And your credentials hardly need mentioning, do they?”
“…Did it look like I wasn’t doing it because I didn’t know how?”
As Beatrice said, if I wanted to give lessons, I certainly could. The path to becoming a superhuman varied wildly, but I could teach the fundamentals one needed to master, the proper mindset, and even the specific techniques for each skill. After all, Arleah herself had reached the rank of superhuman using the unconventional weapon of a bow. Of course, that was only possible because I had remembered her talent and preferred weapon from the game and sought her out. That didn’t mean I couldn’t teach those of lower rings. I had given advice to several superhumans before, even if it was imperfect, so I could conduct lessons based on that experience.
“Private lessons would be charged either by the number of classes or as a monthly salary. As far as I know, the fees for such tutoring are usually only in the tens to hundreds of cells.”
Before I became a criminal, I had been a member of the Empire’s special forces. Naturally, I had been entangled in politics and thus heard news about the nobility. Among those stories were tales of nobles hiring suitable superhumans as private tutors for their children to raise their children’s rings and skills before sending them to the academy or the special forces.
A million cells per month would be terrible value.
Private tutoring wasn’t that simple. Especially when teaching those aiming to become superhumans—mages, swordsmen, or martial artists. Once money was received, results had to be shown. But rings didn’t rise easily, so one had to produce results worthy of the payment. And yet the compensation for all that effort was only around a million cells a month? When the money I had earned from requests over the past two weeks already exceeded ten million cells?
Of course, this recent windfall had been a rare opportunity that might only come once every few years. Still, spending my time for mere hundreds of thousands of cells per month was too much of a waste. I’d be better off using that time for other work.
“Ah, this particular tutoring job is a little different. I’ll compensate you far more generously than you’re imagining.”
“Far more generously?”
I looked at Beatrice with a lukewarm expression. No matter how generously she paid, tutoring was still tutoring.
“Hmm, how about this much per month?”
Beatrice raised her index and middle fingers. I frowned slightly at her offer. Only two million cells a month? At that point I might as well hunt monsters and sell their byproducts. Of course, it was a large sum for tutoring fees, but two million cells was still a bit…
“Twenty million cells per month.”
…What?
“H-how much per month?”
“Twenty million cells. We can try it for about a month first and then discuss further—”
“I’ll do it.”
There was no way I could turn down such a sweet deal. Twenty million cells a month. And it wasn’t even dangerous work involving fighting or time limits—just teaching someone. This was the very definition of easy money. There was no better way to leech off the system.
Then a question suddenly occurred to me.
“But who would request tutoring at such an exorbitant price? Which noble family’s child is it?”
At my question, Beatrice slowly opened her mouth.
“It’s not a child from a noble family. It’s a superhuman.”
“A superhuman, huh.”
The word “superhuman” made the absurd amount slightly more understandable. Considering that one was called a superhuman starting from the 5-Ring, the person requesting lessons had probably hit a wall and couldn’t find a way to advance to the next ring. Superhumans were those who built their rings upon absolute self-belief. They were beings with extremely strong pride. For such a person to request private tutoring, the situation must be quite desperate.
This might be a bit difficult.
With that thought, I listened to the next piece of information.
“She is twenty-three years old. A woman with light brown hair and eyes like polished amethysts. She is primarily a manipulation-type mage.”
“A female manipulation mage… That is a very rare lineage. It’s impressive that she reached the rank of superhuman.”
“Indeed. Because manipulation is such a special lineage, she faced envy and jealousy, but she overcame everyone’s interference and settled at the 5-Ring. A true genius.”
“A 5-Ring manipulation mage. I can see why she would request tutoring. She must be lacking something to move forward.”
“Ah, that’s not it?”
A sudden objection interrupted my speculation based on the information. I widened my eyes and stared at Beatrice. She was looking down at me with a completely serious expression. She wasn’t even using the fan she usually wielded.
Sensing something from that serious look, I cautiously spoke.
“Genius is also a matter of personal judgment. If she were truly a genius, there would be no reason for her to be stuck at the 5-Ring.”
“She’s not stuck. She simply doesn’t have the time to break through…”
“Time is not such an important issue for superhumans. Once they find the path, all they need to do is walk forward.”
“If she could just find that path, the client would probably…!”
I couldn’t watch this any longer. I let out a deep sigh and slowly stood up. At the same time, I approached Beatrice, grabbed her fan with one hand to stop her from moving it, and asked,
“Why did you take on this request, Beatrice?”