Temptation (1)
Three days had passed since Er brought down the orc warrior.
Trusting Rozo's word that he would report their achievement to the guild, the three of them had returned to Carpe and made a point of showing their faces at the guild every single day, hearts in their throats the whole time.
And every time, the only thing waiting for them was Lise's expressionless face and a shake of her head.
The anxiety kept them from taking any other requests. Day after day they simply waited, nerves frayed thin—until at last, after that long stretch of waiting, Lise looked at the three faces she had grown thoroughly used to and spoke in her usual blunt tone.
"A short while ago, headquarters approved Er's promotion to Silver rank. Congratulations on becoming an official Silver-rank adventurer."
"…Really?"
"Yes. We look forward to your continued—"
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
The one who shouted was Ahin.
Being the sort of man who knew how to celebrate a partner's promotion, he beamed from ear to ear as he cried out.
"The quest payouts are gonna go up!!"
"Is that really something to get this excited about?"
"Of course it is. Making a killing and then living it up somewhere fancy is my dream, you know. Now that we can take Silver-rank requests, we're a little closer to that dream! Because the pay goes up!"
"…Wouldn't it have been easier just to stay a priest, then?"
The one who said that was Jina, shoving her face in beside Ahin's.
"You could've just taken over some little village church out in the sticks and stayed there till you died of old age."
"…You think she would've just let that slide?"
"Not unless Master completely lost her mind."
"Then what's the point?!"
Shoving Jina's face away as he said it, Ahin turned to look at Er.
"Er, let's throw a celebration party. A party!"
"A party? Hmm… well, that doesn't sound bad. All right!"
Er raised a hand with confident flair.
"I'm covering everything tonight!"
"Ooooh…?"
Ahin whooped along with her—then froze mid-cheer as a thought suddenly struck him.
"Hmm…?"
"Ahin, what is it?"
"I just had a thought…"
He lowered the hand he'd been holding up, looking faintly suspicious.
"Er, aren't you kind of a big spender?"
"…W-w-what is that supposed to mean?!"
"I mean, come on… the first time we met you handed me twenty silver coins, you buy meals like it's nothing, every time your gear breaks you show up with something shiny and brand-new, and you just throw money around at the weirdest stuff…"
Especially not long ago, when she'd handed three gold coins to some strange woman.
"Er, what do your parents do for a living, by any chance…?"
"S-stop talking nonsense and get to the tavern already! Or do you want to go Dutch?!"
"Yes, ma'am! Understood, Party Leader!! Come on, Jina!"
"H-huh? Why me?!"
"It'd be awkward grabbing a table alone!"
"Ahin, since when do you care about that kind of thing?!"
At a single casual line from Er, Ahin spun on his heel and bolted for the tavern. Watching Jina get dragged along in his wake, Er finally let out a small sigh.
Parents, huh.
She didn't want to think about that.
Right now, she just wanted to be happy about the Silver plate she'd been handed.
"Two more plates of fried chicken over here!"
The towers of empty dishes stacked on either side of Ahin wobbled precariously—then the waitstaff came rushing over, snatching them up and hurrying them back to the kitchen.
"That guy's here again…!"
"Is today an early closing day or what?!"
Whenever Ahin visited a tavern, ingredients tended to vanish at an alarming rate, so the staff had learned to brace themselves the moment he walked in.
"Th-this maniac… he's back!!"
"Stop standing around and move your hands!! We've got twenty plates backed up!!"
Of course, the kitchen staff who actually had to keep up with Ahin's appetite were another story entirely.
Whether or not he was aware of the emotional roller coaster he put the tavern workers through, Ahin—having just finished off an entire roast chicken—looked thoroughly satisfied.
"Man, the food here is always so good. They must have a real pro in the kitchen."
"You're the one working those people into the ground, though."
"Hey, it's not like I'm doing anything wrong. If they don't like it, they can quit!"
With that, Ahin drained the beer in his mug in one go, let out an appreciative sigh, and grinned.
"Aahiiin… I… hehehe…"
"Jina's completely wasted, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's always been a lightweight. Master would give her one or two drinks and she'd be out cold."
Ahin himself already looked pleasantly buzzed, a rosy flush coloring his cheeks.
Er, on the other hand—despite having drunk nearly twice as much as he had—hadn't so much as blinked. She separated the meat from a chicken leg with her fork as she spoke.
"I honestly can't remember the last time I got drunk. Beer alone is never going to do it…"
"Yeah… I'm getting that impression."
"What's with that look? Like you're staring at a monster."
"I-I wasn't."
Ahin glanced away as he said it—then his eyes went round as a sudden thought hit him.
"Come to think of it, Er, what did you do with those magic stones?"
"Magic stones? You mean those black ones?"
"Yeah. We've got two of them now, right? One from the skeleton, and one from the orc warrior."
Ahin was thinking of the black magic stone they'd pulled from the body of the male orc warrior they'd taken down not long ago.
"That thing is pure mana. Those black magician bastards definitely messed with the orc warrior too. That thing was nowhere near a normal warrior-class."
"I think so too. Considering how its eyes had gone completely red… the black magicians must have done something."
"…First the catacombs, now the orc warrior. What the hell are those black magician creeps even trying to pull?"
Ahin rocked back in his chair with a chicken bone still clenched in his teeth.
Black magicians were like cockroaches—too unsettling to just ignore and move on.
"The temple and the royal court won't lift a finger without hard evidence… so I guess all we can do is stay careful."
"Wouldn't those black magic stones count as evidence?"
"Not enough. Not unless there's a black magic ritual going on somewhere, or a Chimera turns up—something on that level. The Church's Holy Knights are slow to get off their asses. And don't even get me started on the kingdom's knights."
"…But there are special cases like Jina, aren't there?"
"Jina's a little different. Officially, she's probably still operating under Master's orders."
As he said it, Ahin reached over and tugged on the cheek of Jina, who had her face planted on the table. Even with him teasing her like that, all she managed was a miserable groan, nowhere near getting up. Watching her, Er spoke.
"Your master must be quite something."
"…Yeah, she is. Which is why she's got plenty of enemies, too."
The more outstanding a person was, the more people there were who envied them. Ahin had watched that play out from closer than anyone. An unpleasant memory from the past seemed to surface; he shook his head a couple of times to clear it away, then went on.
"It'd be nice if we knew someone well-versed in magic. At the temple, spotting a mage was like finding a star in broad daylight. The old-timers hated them—said they were the type who twisted the mana the Goddess created however they pleased."
"There should be at least a few mages in Carpe. I believe the Adventurer Guild has a couple on the books…"
"You think guys like that would listen to me? A mage is Silver rank at minimum."
Anyone skilled enough to handle mana was automatically Silver rank or higher. That was the same reason Er herself had been promoted to Silver just today.
"Why would people like that spare a second thought for some Scrap Iron nobody like me?"
"…Then shall I look into it?"
"You?"
Ahin tilted his head. Er explained.
"Yes. If we go through the guild, we should at least be able to get a message through. We already reported the black magic stones—with the skeleton, and again with the orc warrior this time—so the guild side might be willing to put in some effort, don't you think?"
"Hmm… you think so?"
"It's not like we lose anything by trying. Let's give it a shot."
Er drained her beer, then spoke with a little curl at the corner of her mouth.
"It's not just anyone's business. It's Ahin's."
"…"
"I'm not so cold-hearted that I can't do at least that much for someone I like."
She flashed a grin at Ahin, who was pointlessly looking anywhere but at her—and that was when she started making her move, bold as anything.
"Ah, I think the alcohol's hitting me… it's getting a little warm."
She undid a button near her collar, revealing the Rosario hidden underneath—and the upper curve of her chest along with it.
"Ahin, want to dump Jina in a room and go have a few more drinks, just the two of us?"
"W-wait a second, Er. I think you might actually be drunk…?"
"Yes, I do seem to be a bit drunk. So won't you keep me company for a little while?"
"N-no way. You, drunk? You're totally fine!"
"I'm telling you I'm not."
Er poked the tip of her finger into Ahin's cheek and gave a little smirk.
"If you're curious… why don't you check for yourself?"
"Ch-ch-check for myself…"
Startled by the loaded suggestion, Ahin swallowed hard without meaning to.
Since they weren't on a request, Er had left her armor off. She was dressed lightly—just a tunic and a pair of pants. As a swordswoman who lived by her body, she had long, well-toned limbs she made no effort to hide, and she was the kind of striking woman who drew stares from men simply walking down the street. Countless of them.
Those green eyes, faintly warm with heat, fixed on Ahin. She brushed a loose strand of blonde hair back behind her ear with easy composure. And what, exactly, was Ahin supposed to do in the face of that?
"Ah—ahaha! I'm stuffed! I could sleep like a rock right about now!"
"Sleep, you say? Then shall we—"
"My wallet's been pretty comfortable lately, so I can even afford a place with a roof! It's dirt cheap compared to the inn you're staying at, of course! Not really the kind of place a woman should be wandering around, you know?!"
"…"
Er narrowed her eyes at Ahin, who was delivering all of this in a manner awkward enough for anyone to notice. Something about that look of hers was terrifying. Ahin shot up from his seat.
"Th-then I'll see you at the guild tomorrow! Take care of Jina for me! All right, I'm out!!!!"
And with that, he bolted out of the tavern in a panic.
Er stared blankly at the empty space he'd left behind—then a laugh escaped her before she could stop it, and she ducked her head.
He was a complete softie.
For all the wild, runaway-horse nonsense that came out of his mouth, the way he flailed and stammered at the slightest bit of temptation was just too adorable.
"Ah… what am I going to do with him."
She was already wondering how she might tease him tomorrow—when a voice cut in.
"…You fox."
"My, Jina. I was wondering how long you'd keep pretending to be drunk. Decided to drop the act?"
"Shut up! J-j-just because you got a Rosario doesn't mean you get to strut around like that!"
Jina lifted her face from the table and dumped the rest of her beer down her throat like it burned.
"Damn it, this isn't what I wanted… if things had gone according to my plan, by now we would've done it once… no, twice? At least three times…"
"Don't say weird things, and have another drink. You barely got to enjoy any, what with watching Ahin the whole time."
"Don't act so relaxed!! Ahin is mine!!"
"Yes, yes. You're free to think whatever you like."
"Hey!!"
Jina bellowed. Er wore the smile of a victor.
It looked like the two women's drinking session still had a long way to go.