Useful Bullshit Accountant (1)
Her cheeks were sallow, shadows pooling under her eyes. "You... stayed up all night...?"
"No...? Why would I pull an all-nighter...?"
"Then why's your face like that...? If you're sick, ask the saintess for some healing..."
"It's just fatigue from pushing myself a bit. I'm not sick."
"Pushing yourself...? Don't tell me you... stayed up all night doing it...?"
Della's eyes stayed still while only her mouth curved into a smile, shaking her head. "Ha... ha... As if..."
A little later, Bertrand and Celereja came downstairs. "Everyone's up early."
Seeing the two of them, Idwild was shocked for the second time that day. The saintess Celereja had her hands politely clasped, head slightly bowed, following demurely behind Bertrand. Her face flushed, she stuck right to his back, never letting the distance grow beyond a set limit. Just a few days ago, she'd been glaring daggers at the mere sight of him, like she wanted to devour him whole... What's gotten into her all of a sudden...?
Bertrand stopped at the doorway and turned to the saintess. "You're sorting out the temple today, right?"
"Yes... New priests might arrive soon, so I'm preparing in advance..."
Celereja spoke softly, the picture of a heavenly lady. Unable to meet Bertrand's gaze directly, she'd glance up fleetingly, flash a quick smile, then drop her eyes again. Idwild couldn't make sense of it at all. No way... Did the saintess get a scolding from the Holy Sword like me? For being arrogant?
Utterly baffled, she turned to Della—and was shocked for the third time. Della stood with her head bowed, tears streaming down her face.
"Della... why are you crying...?"
"It's nothing..."
"Did you rub too hard and now it stings...?"
But Della said nothing, just hurried off that way. "What the...? Everyone's acting weird..."
By the time morning customers flooded in, Della had fully perked up, back to her old self. Watching her brightly answer Bertrand's call and trot off, Idwild felt relieved. Guess she just overdid it last night after all... hehe...
The day Wangseong issued its official announcement that Golruk had been fully eradicated and the northern road secured, a huge number of civil servants were dispatched to Rosens' city hall. This included not just administrative staff but people from relay stations, courts, and other agencies. At last, Rosens had a proper administrative system in place.
Hildeva had been promoted to grade 6, with word from the palace that she'd jump straight to grade 5 once the city stabilized.
After that, an enormous wave of settlers poured in—returnees who'd fled the city, merchants looking to make a killing with a fresh start, and more. The inn hall was packed just as I'd hoped, but the problem was the staff, as expected. Della and Idi were running ragged, and while Celereja helped in the evenings, she might have to return to the temple anytime. Hmm... Need at least one more, minimum.
Let's see... Smart girl good with numbers, water-boiling black mage, healing saintess... In an adventurer party, this'd be where the elf archer or axe-wielding dwarf warrior joins up. But this is an inn.
Should hire normals. With the city's population booming anyway, maybe go big: two waitresses and a head chef. Hmm... Waitresses can be anyone, but the chef's the issue. Without real skill, we lose our edge...
Anyone decent out there...?
In the late afternoon lull, I sat on the woodpile in the back yard, lost in these thoughts. From there, the Buren River stretched out below at a glance. Mid-spring, the weather was perfect—clear skies, warm breeze. My head was a mess, but the wind and flowing water eased my mind a bit.
"Hiiing... What do I do... The meat's spoiled..."
Della's wail came from the kitchen. Warmer weather was nice, but food storage was getting tricky. Rosens still lacked normal supply chains, so we bought in bulk to stockpile. But perishables spoiled fast. Couldn't serve just smoked or salted meat every time in a proper inn. Maybe renovate part of the basement into a storage room.
I stood from the woodpile to head inside when something glinted along the Buren riverbank. What the hell...?
Something was crawling out of the water. Six legs scrabbling over the gravel, heading this way. Its water-slick skin gleamed in the sun, a long tail as thick as its body still half-submerged. Its face was horrific, plastered with what looked like human hair but was really slimy seaweed. Fish-like eyes stared blankly ahead without focus; two holes instead of a nose opened and closed endlessly. Its lipless mouth stretched wide with rows of saw-like tiny teeth, gills flapping at its neck.
Aquatic monster, Sunada. Lives in warm water, mostly down south—why here? And they rarely surface; too slow on land...
It steadily climbed the bank toward me. I grabbed a fist-sized rock from the ground and took aim. Weird or not, with Golruk officially gone, a monster showing up wouldn't look good. Time to kill it.
Right as I reared back to throw, I remembered the Nerugama incident before. That one had shown up out of nowhere too, spouting off about the goddess's puppet and whatnot. Maybe this guy's the same? If it talks, better hear it out.
By then, the Sunada had reached me and stopped. Bull-sized adult, it worked its mouth like it wanted to speak. Then, in a strangled, grotesque rasp:
"Hero... Bertra... nd... Goddess's... puppet..."
Bingo... Tied to Nerugama...
"Bertrand... lame... cripple..."
The moment it finished, its mouth gaped wide. Just as a sucker-covered tongue shot out—
I shoved a log right down its throat. "Kwek!"
A few teeth shattered; it staggered. I lunged, wrapped my arm around its neck, and slammed it to the ground. "You disgusting fuck. Who sent you?"
"Krrgh...!"
Fishy stench turned my stomach. It flailed its legs to pry me off; I smashed a fist into its head. "Kweeeek!"
"You shitty bastard. Still not talking?"
A few more punches, and its skull started caving. "Demon King? Huh? That piece of shit resurrect or what?"
"Kwegek..."
One more smash—skull exploded, body went limp. Aw, fuck... Dead already. Weak-ass monster.
I unwrapped my arm from its neck. My shirt was soaked and reeking, so I stripped and chucked it far away. Prodded the limp corpse—no obvious clues. It could talk, so something's up... "Goddess's puppet"—only the Demon King ever called me that. But his head got lopped by the Holy Sword. What the hell's going on...?
Better dispose before anyone sees this thing. I grabbed its thick tail and dragged it back to the river.
Back inside after dumping the Sunada, Della rushed over. "Master! That sword just glowed agai—kyaak!"
She covered her face with both hands, peeking through her fingers. "Why'd you come in without a shirt?!"
"Don't yell. Ears hurt."
Up the stairs, Idwild coming down plastered herself flat against the wall. "Y-you... why're you...?"
"What."
"I-I'm not ready yet..."
"The hell you on about. Go work."
I shoved the sweating black mage's back and headed to my room. Changing clothes, I mulled it over. Two monsters in a month, both trash-talking me. If a third shows, about a month from now? Getting annoying. Just stabilized after Golruk, and now this shit? Can't have monsters stirring trouble.
I've sunk nearly a third of my capital here. If it goes south... Don't know if the Demon King's back or some psycho's pranking. But one more monster, and I'll track 'em down and rip 'em apart. Anyone fucking with my business goes down.
That night, Della slipped into an empty third-floor room, lost in secret thoughts of Bertrand's body from earlier. One hand clamped over her mouth to stifle sounds, the other frantically rubbing between her thighs—until a sudden bellow startled her rigid.
She yanked on her panties and skirt, dashed out. Idwild emerged from her room at the same time. "Huh...? Why're you coming from there...?"
"Ah... Just doing something... But what was that noise?"
"Dunno... From Bertrand's room..."
Then another rage-filled shout. "You fucking dog bastard!"
Crashing, curses, weird sobs leaked from Bertrand's door. Trembling, they inched closer.