Living However the Fuck (1)
"Uh..."
I stared at the old man's smile for a moment before responding with a somewhat perplexed smile of my own. The old man lowered his gaze again and resumed his meal. The hulking woman seated across from him didn't even glance our way, utterly indifferent to where he was looking. I grabbed Della as she brushed past me and asked,
"Those folks. Guests?"
"Yes. They're leaving tomorrow morning."
"Just those two? No one else?"
"Yes. So I gave them two single rooms. Why?"
"Nah... never mind."
Della tilted her head quizzically and headed off. I watched their table for a moment longer before rushing to another table calling my name.
In the afternoon, I headed into town. I still hadn't properly checked on the aftermath of the chimera hunt on the northern road. When I entered Hardo's mercenary office, he jumped up from his seat with a warm welcome, the only one left inside.
"Welcome, boss! I was just thinking of stopping by the inn, but things have been crazy busy."
"Everyone else is out, huh?"
"Requests have been piling up for days now. I just wrapped one up myself and was taking a short break."
The office was spotless, not a speck of dust, just like the last time I'd visited. The work desk held neatly arranged request forms, receipts, and writing tools, while a corner armory displayed razor-sharp weapons and polished armor. And there was a new addition I hadn't seen before: a chimera skull propped upright next to the fireplace. It was so massive—nearly chest-high on a man—that they couldn't hang it as a trophy and had to leave it on the floor.
Hardo followed my gaze and spoke up.
"Word's spread far and wide about the mercenary band that took down the chimera. Looks like we'll need to recruit more and expand the guild. All thanks to you, boss."
"Haha... well, I'm not doing it for free. But hey, there were two chimera heads—where's the other one?"
"The guard captain borrowed it. Said he's using it to train the soldiers."
Lambert's company, detached from Bue's main forces, had probably dealt more with criminals than monsters up to now. A big city like Bue didn't see monsters popping up often. So when something as massive as a chimera showed up in his jurisdiction, it must've been a nightmare. Leading green troops with no anti-monster experience into a subjugation mission? Talk about a headache. This incident probably drove home the need for proper monster combat training to Captain Lambert.
I bid Hardo farewell and headed straight to City Hall. It was buzzing with officials now, a far cry from its empty days. Back when I first arrived, Hildeva's desk had been the only thing in an otherwise barren corner. Now a proper Grade 6 administrator, she worked in a dedicated space on this floor. She was frowning over some documents when I entered, but her face lit up with a bright smile as she stood.
"Bertrand!"
"Hey, Administrator. You look swamped."
"I am. Insanely so. But I can always make time to chat with you."
Hildeva pulled up a chair for me and poured lemonade from the table pitcher into a pewter mug. I'd donated a whole oak barrel of it to the city hall staff, but it was probably running low by now. Time to bring another.
"Here, drink up. Not ice-cold, but it'll quench your thirst."
She gulped hers down first. Through the gap in her unbuttoned shirt, I could see sweat beading in her cleavage. A few drops of lemonade trickled down into it.
"Oops, spilled some."
Hildeva wiped between her breasts with a handkerchief like it was no big deal and laughed.
"What brings you here, Bertrand? Miss me?"
"Something like that. You haven't stopped by the inn at all lately."
"What can I do? I'm swamped."
Her gaze drifted to the cot in the corner of the office. She was handling all her meals and sleep right here.
"At least eat properly."
"Marim delivers on time every day, so I'm good. Don't worry."
Hildeva gazed at me warmly through her glasses before changing the subject.
"You know what? The city's population might hit its old peak before summer's out."
Just like she said, Rosens had ballooned in the past half-year—not grown, exactly, but returned to its former glory. Neighborhoods were full, and downtown now boasted administrative offices like the post office, courthouse, relay station, and tax office, plus a bustling commercial district of shops and markets. Hildeva's contributions to making the city functional again were immeasurable, which was why the capital had promoted her instead of sending a new Grade 5.
"Remember when we first met? What Rosens looked like back then?"
"How could I forget? Hardly anyone left, all huddled near city hall to avoid the golluks, the rest of the city a ghost town."
"And now look at it—thriving."
Hildeva murmured to herself, gazing out the window at the city below. Her face radiated boundless affection for it.
"Speaking of... glad the northern road issue wrapped up well. Otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here chatting like this."
She nodded at my words.
"Tell me about it. Without Hardo's mercenaries, I'd have lost my head by now, the nobles would've been chomping at the bit, and the whole area sealed off... Shudder to think."
"Just came from the mercenary office. They decked it out nicely with that chimera skull."
"I saw it. First time I've seen a skull that huge. Three times bigger than the troll one at your inn."
"A troll's got nothing on a chimera."
As I chuckled, Hildeva fixed me with a meaningful look.
"But isn't it kinda weird?"
"What is?"
"The day before Hardo's crew hunted the chimera, you told me to wait just one day."
"Yeah."
"Did you... already know it'd turn out okay?"
I shrugged with a laugh. When I quipped that knowing the future was ridiculous, she adjusted her glasses and said,
"So you were just reassuring me, then. But even so, it's too coincidental. Same with the golluks before."
"Haha, you aren't seriously thinking I took them out solo, right? That's absurd."
Hildeva was sharp. Better to deflect with a straight-faced joke than dodge awkwardly.
"Not that, but... two coincidences like this? Hard not to wonder. Though it's impossible, obviously. You're no Avenger King."
"Exactly. The Avenger King crawling out of his grave to slaughter monsters would be more believable."
She gave a weak laugh at my joke. As I stood to leave, she vaguely promised drinks at the inn whenever she got free time.
Circling south through town brought me to the guard barracks. A large awning shaded one corner of the parade ground, where Lambert had the guards seated, pointing at the borrowed chimera skull and lecturing. He didn't seem too knowledgeable himself, flipping through his manual whenever he got stuck.
That manual was probably Monster Combat Basics, the one I'd helped review. Detailed entries on major monsters' appearances, habits, attacks, and weaknesses. Chimera was in there, though my memory was fuzzy. But chimeras varied so wildly in form that the book alone wouldn't cut it for training.
Still, on this sweltering summer day, Lambert sweated buckets but did his captain duties. First impressions aside, the more you knew him, the better a guy he seemed.
The Illian sergeant craned her neck from the back row, scribbling furiously in her notebook. This year was long-term service selection, right? I exchanged greetings with the sentries at the gatehouse and passed the barracks toward the inn.
The inn was packed with drinkers even late into the night. The recent heat waves had everyone lingering for the Asenaris's chill. Pretty waitresses for eye candy, Francois's upscale snacks for a few silvers—couldn't beat it.
The hulking woman and old man nursed beers quietly in the dimmest corner. I checked the hall and kitchen for issues, then approached their table. As I stood beside it, the old man looked up from his mug, smiled kindly, and greeted me.
"Long time no see, Bertrand."