A Ring in Amber

The store was open for business again today.

I was preparing medicine to deliver to Newman tomorrow while Rit

was watching the shop. Every once in a while, I could hear

exclamations of surprise at Rit's presence, but there had been no

particular problems.

"It's just a matter of time before rumors start to spread, though."

Zoltan's strongest adventurer had quit and started working at an

apothecary. Once word got out, it would definitely cause some

controversy. It would be a lie to say I didn't think that was going to

be a pain when Rit first said she wanted to work at the shop, but…I

didn't feel that way anymore.

"But still, what else can we do about it?"

Should we tell the other B-rank adventurer, Albert? That would

promote him from the number two adventurer in Zoltan to number

one, after all. I'd only talked to him once before, though, so we were

hardly acquaintances.

In the first place, it wasn't like being an adventurer had any fringe

benefits or the like. There wasn't any severance payment or pension,

so was there any obligation to keep doing it? Wasn't being an

adventurer a free-spirited sort of job? If you decided to be one, you

could be. If you decided to quit, couldn't you do that, too?

"Right, right. Whether it causes a fuss has nothing to do with us."

After thinking about it awhile, I convinced myself of that desperate

theory and focused on the rest of my work, pushing dealing with the

problem to a later date.

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It was toward the end of the day, nearing sunset.

The standard in this town was for work to end a bit before dark and

for people to head home during the twilight hours. Because of that,

shops that expected sales from customers returning home from their

own jobs would close just a little bit after sunset. The red-light

district opened in the evening and maintained hours well into the

night for customers who had called it a day.

Red & Rit's Apothecary operated until sunset; we'd be closing up in

about an hour. Rit and I were both sitting at the counter, chatting as

we waited for customers.

"Oh yeah, I want to get some mead to drink," Rit said.

"Why all of the sudden?"

"No particular reason; I just had an urge to have a drink was all."

"Ah, that happens. But I don't have any mead."

Mead was an alcohol made using honey. It wasn't a particularly highclass liquor, but it was a bit on the expensive end to be drinking all

the time. Generally speaking, a cheap wine for the masses was about

one-fourth of a payril—one quarter payril coin—per bottle. Whereas

mead was two payril per bottle, eight times more expensive.

Incidentally, one cup of coffee was one one-hundredth of a payril, a

common bronze coin. A four-liter jug of ale or apple wine, lowerclass standbys, cost half a payril, which meant fifty commons or two

quarter payril.

I had a jug of apple wine and a leather bladder full of a strong alcohol

made from tree sap that I had gotten way back as payment when I

had taken care of a wounded zoog I ran across in the mountains.

"Mind if I go out to buy some real quick?" Rit asked.

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"Sure, just come back before we have to close up," I responded.

"Thanks! Make sure dinner is something that goes with mead."

"Roger. So then bread and something on the heartier side. Snacking

on an apple while we drink after dinner would be good, too. We

bought groceries yesterday, so that shouldn't be a problem."

I gave her the go-ahead, and Rit leaped from the shop. Literally, not

metaphorically. She used the superhuman physical strength she had

been granted by her blessing to leap out the door, accompanied by a

gust of wind.

"…But why mead all of a sudden?"

And why was she so excited about it? I could feel the time passing

idly as I pondered that, when the bell rang as the door opened.

"Wel…come." I unconsciously did a double take, making sure I wasn't

seeing things.

"Pretty small setup."

"Good evening," I responded.

The newly minted top adventurer in town, Albert the B Ranker, was

standing there with his usual self-important air.

"Um, could I inquire as to the kind of medicine for which you were

looking?" I had just decided to make a point of avoiding him, yet

here he was, coming to me.

"Hmph, I didn't come to buy medicine."

"…"

I had a feeling this was going to be a pain in the ass. Honestly, I was

tempted to tell him to leave if he wasn't going to buy anything. But

Albert had a not insignificant amount of influence with the

adventurers in town, so if I handled him that curtly, it wouldn't be

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good for my bottom line down the road. I decided to just hold my

tongue.

"…"

"…"

Despite saying he wasn't buying anything, he sure took his time

eyeballing the shop. I had no idea what he was trying to do.

"Are you really satisfied with such a meager store?" Albert finally

asked.

Oh, so he came to pick a fight?

"I am." I refused to respond to his provocation. I just let it slide with

a disinterested response. "My own shop, with customers buying the

things I've made, and more than enough income to live a

comfortable life with a cute roommate…"

"Roommate?"

Oops, ran my mouth a bit there.

"Ahem. Anyway, I'm satisfied with this shop. I'm not sure what

brought you here, but as I clearly don't measure up to your

expectations, this is just a waste of your time."

"Happiness is cheap for people who haven't experienced life in the

heavens." His barb was filled with sarcasm, but having lived at the

level of nobility myself during my tenure as the second-in-command

of the Bahamut Knights, that wasn't going to bother me. Propping

my head up on my hand, I just fired back with a blatantly

disinterested look.

"…Well, whatever. Hey, D rank."

"What, was there something else?"

"I'll ask point-blank. Were you the one who cut down that owlbear

last spring?"

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"What are you talking about? You were the one who defeated that

monster."

Shoot! He had realized that I was the one who had finished off the

owlbear. Even in that blazing fire, he had actually noticed the extra

wound on it. However highly he thought of himself, he wasn't B rank

for nothing.

"The fatal wound on the owlbear was not made by my sword. It was

inflicted by a much duller blade… Like that bronze sword of yours, for

instance."

"Whoa there. I'm just a D-rank adventurer. There's no way I could

cut down a creature that strong." As I spoke, a murderous aura

welled up from Albert.

Really? He's seriously going to test me with an attack?

I realized what he was planning immediately but didn't know

whether he was actually going to attack with the intent to kill or

planning to stop at the last moment.

"I'm going to ask it one more time. You were the one who cut that

owlbear, weren't you, Red?"

"I already told you it wasn't me."

Albert kicked off the floor while drawing his sword. He swung the

longsword down toward my collar. The blade stopped right before

my neck.

"Whoa?!"

I fell back on my ass a split second later. Albert didn't hide his

disappointment as he looked down at me.

"I was going to invite you to join my party, but I guess I was

mistaken."

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Sheesh, it wasn't easy acting weak and powerless. All of a sudden, a

breeze blew through the storefront.

"Ah."

A furious gale collided with Albert's back.

Rit's twin blades slashed at the haughty adventurer. The fact that he

was even able to react was to his everlasting credit. But because he

caught the attack without being in a proper stance, there was an

unsatisfying plink, and his sword's blade snapped, severed by Rit's

own shotel. Perhaps that had still been enough to kill the attack's

momentum, because despite almost toppling over, Albert managed

to evade her sword.

Unintentionally, I'm sure, he ended up in a position rather similar to

mine when I had purposefully fallen on my butt. But that was all he

could do. There was no evading her next attack from that position.

And even if he wanted to counter, his sword had been broken.

"Wait, Rit!" I shouted wildly, trying to stop her.

Rit's sword was swiftly brought to a halt. Her lethal gaze and the way

her blade was aimed directly at Albert's brow were unchanged, but

the girl took a single step back.

"R-Rit?! Why are you here?!"

"Albert, what do you think you're doing? He's precious to me, so

depending on your answer, I might just kill you."

"Ah… Gh…"

The man sat beneath the glower of a swordswoman who had fought

it out with the demon lord's army. Albert's lips trembled, opening

and closing wordlessly.

"He came to invite me to join him. That was apparently a test as part

of it."

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Rit glared at Albert when I said that. I just shrugged and waved,

telling her it was fine. Rit still looked disgruntled as she sheathed her

swords.

"Phew."

Just watching was nerve-racking. Albert was reeling as he stood back

up. He glanced at the counter where I'd been standing and then

turned to face me again, seeing I was standing near the door.

"Why are you there…? When did you…?"

"I didn't want to get caught in Rit's attack."

Albert looked confused, but…

"Get lost," Rit growled menacingly.

"Eep?!" That was enough to set him scurrying out of the shop.

"Red! Are you okay?! You're not hurt, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Good. What was he thinking drawing a sword on you?! You should

have just attacked him then and there. It would have been pure selfdefense."

"There's no way I could kill the only active B-rank adventurer in

Zoltan. He might cause trouble, but he's still critical to Zoltan."

"Really?"

As we spoke, Rit's bloodlust cooled, and her mood shifted back to

normal.

"You idiot! Why would you do something so dangerous? You could

have at least fought back!" It seemed I was now the target of the

girl's anger.

"It was fine. I was pretty confident he would stop at the last second."

"What were you going to do if you were wrong?"

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"I'd have fought back."

"How would that even be possible when the blade was practically

touching your skin already? …Can you actually do something like

that?"

"Who knows," I said, brushing it off.

I moved on to more important matters.

"You didn't have to toss the mead you went to the trouble to go

buy," I chided, holding up the bladder of mead I had caught.

"S-sorry, I just…," Rit stammered, blushing.

"It's fine. Thank you. If anything, I'm happy you got so angry for my

sake."

The reason I had leaped from the counter was to catch the mead

that Rit had flung aside. Maybe it was a little silly showing off a bit of

my speed over something like alcohol after trying so hard to hide my

actual strength from Albert, but…it was something Rit really wanted.

Her not having it just because of me didn't sit right in my stomach.

"All right, it's a bit early, but how about we close up shop? After we

check the books, let's have dinner. Since you got something special,

let's relax and drink tonight."

"…Yeah!"

I had a feeling this was going to end up being annoying later, but for

now, I wanted to enjoy the present. It would've been a waste when

things did get troublesome to not have enjoyed ourselves while we

could.

Why mead, though…?

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It was quite a while later when I finally asked Rit, but apparently,

there was a tradition in Loggervia for newlyweds to take one month

off work and drink mead while enjoying their honeymoon. Rit had

suddenly remembered that and gotten an urge to drink mead with

me… At least, that's what she told me.

Of course, when she said that, both our faces reddened.

It had been three days since Rit had kicked Albert out of the store.

Today was the shop's regular day off, so the two of us went out.

Three men were wearing towels in a stone room, sweat dripping

from every inch of our bodies.

The gaze of Gonz, the half-elf, was fixed on the ground below him,

staring at the sweat dripping from his face to the towel beneath his

feat.

Stormthunder, the half-orc, was enduring it stone-faced with arms

crossed.

I was pondering what I could do to get out of this pointless battle of

wills and hoping someone would put an end to it soon.

"Haaaaah," Stormthunder said, breathing out slowly.

Oh, can this be done now?

"My body's finally starting to get a bit warm," he boasted, grinning a

toothy smile.

We're not really having a competition here!

"Heh, true, it seems like the stove's a bit weak today," Gonz said as

he raised his sweat-drenched head with an indomitable smirk.

No, really, though. What are you guys fighting over? Didn't we just

come to the public sauna to sweat it out a little? And why are you two

staring at me?

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""…""

What do you expect me to do?

The two men kept staring.

Argh, fine, I get it already.

I stood up and moved toward the stones surrounding the stove.

Taking the pitcher of water there, I poured it over the heated rocks.

There was a sizzle as steam billowed up. The energy built up in the

stones was released and filled the room with a white cloud of heat.

"A bit warmer now?"

""Yeah,"" the two answered.

The three of us grinned at one another.

"Geez, Big Brother, this is all because you can't stand losing!" Gonz's

little sister, Nao, was dumbfounded as she placed a wet towel on his

forehead.

The stubborn carpenter had collapsed from dizziness.

"Heh-heh-heh, I forgot I had a wee bit of a cold today."

But I guess Gonz deserved some credit for his display of the classic

blue-collar backbone, still firing back even in such a weakened state.

Stormthunder and I were both at limits of sorts, too, so we were glad

for the excuse to get out.

"Sheesh, don't go dyin' in my sauna!" the proprietor complained.

Zeff, who ran the steam room, was an old man, getting up there in

years.

"And it was such an auspicious day to have Miss Rit come by."

Rit had her hand on her hip as she gulped down some fresh milk.

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"Mmm!"

She seemed to be really enjoying it. Maybe I should have gotten

some, too.

"Still, there aren't many customers today," Stormthunder murmured

as he looked around.

This public sauna was an old one that had been operating for more

than sixty years, apparently. There were two rooms: one for men and

one for women. Outside the steam rooms was an area to wash the

sweat off and clean up when you were done.

Milk, fruit wine, beer, and other drinks were sold outside the sauna.

So in addition to cooling off in the washing area, you could also enjoy

some drinking.

The people of Avalon love their baths and steam rooms. There

weren't many people with proper bathrooms in their homes, but

there were many with little sauna rooms. In subtropical Zoltan,

getting hot and sweaty in the sauna and then refreshing yourself

with a cool water rinse was the way to make it through the summer.

Folk still readily took steams in the winter months, too.

This sauna was run by the owner and a young man who helped out

part-time. The two of them took care of everything from cleaning the

rooms to selling the drinks and maintaining the stoves.

"Are you going to be okay, Gramps?" Stormthunder asked.

"We're all gettin' older," Zeff said with a shrug.

The reason traffic here had gone down was because of the new

public bath that had just opened. It had been built by nobles who

loved their Central trends. The structure contained both a bath and a

sauna. The sauna was not the standard stove style used in Zoltan but

instead was a large facility with a heat source underneath the floor

to boil water and warm the entire room with steam. Because of that,

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an entirely new channel had had to be dug from the river, and it

wasted a lot of water.

It was a very "noble" sort of setup, being very indulgent. Yet even

the working class of Zoltan, who hated Central styles, had taken a

liking to its design. You could sweat it out in a hotter and more

humid room than Zoltan-style saunas could provide, bathe in cool

water as much as you wanted, or even warm up a bit in a heated

bath. On top of that, it also had a restaurant, tavern, barbershop,

and even a massage parlor. It was an extravagant all-in-one

relaxation establishment.

"The competition's just a bit too bad a fit," Zeff said with a tone of

surrender.

"Public baths are places where aristocrats and townspeople alike

strip away their clothes and their privilege and can debate one

another as individuals." Wasn't there a king some two hundred years

ago who'd said that? In line with that belief, the new Central-style

public bath had been established near the line between the central

part of town and the blue-collar part district. Thanks to that, the

public saunas and baths on the working-class side of town were

quickly losing business.

"Come on! Don't give up without at least fighting back! No one

knows what might happen yet!" Nao chimed in from the side.

Oh yeah, hadn't she said she had been coming here since she was

young? She probably felt more strongly about it than others who'd

moved here later in life, like Stormthunder and me. Zeff's response

was anything but motivated, however.

"I can't make a place as big as that. I can barely afford to pay one

part-timer. I'm sure they've got a dozen or more full-time

employees. Not that I've tried to count."

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Nao stomped her foot in frustration. She clearly understood Zeff's

point, even if she didn't like it.

"…Ugh, come onnnn! As long as you're open, I'll keep coming here.

And I'll get a drink, too! One beer, please!"

"Sure thing," Zeff said with a wry smile as he filled a mug to the brim

with the amber liquid.

Stormthunder, Rit, and I were surprised by Nao's outburst, but her

deep affection for this place was clear as day.

"I'll keep coming, too," I declared.

"Me, too! I'll come to warm up with Red," Rit added.

Stormthunder and Gonz both nodded.

"Y'all have some strange tastes," Zeff said, waving us off a bit as a

smile crossed his wrinkled face.

"This is kind of nice," Rit said with a lonely but happy sort of

expression.

I'd only lived in Zoltan for a year, and Rit had only been here about

two years, but that moment was somehow a bit emotional for us.

We felt attached.

"Hmm."

I started to wonder whether there was something an apothecary like

me could do. Not that I was going to think of some brilliant idea on

the spot.

Everyone went home satisfied that day after a nice sauna.

"Hey, old man, we're back."

"Oh, Red, Nao, and Miss Rit? I was just closing up for the day, but…"

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Wait, Rit got "Miss," but Nao and I don't get anything? Well, I guess

it's not surprising; Rit was Zoltan's top adventurer.

"What's that bag you've got?" Zeff's sharp eyes glanced at the cloth

bag I was holding. "It's got some kinda nice smell to it."

"No surprise you noticed it immediately. I came to see about maybe

trying this out."

After the talk at the sauna the other day, Nao had come to my shop,

and we'd talked over dinner about how to keep Zeff's business

running. Rit had joined in, and we'd all ended up agreeing that it

needed something the nobles' big bath didn't have. Figuring out

what that something was should've been difficult, but while we were

talking, I remembered the smoke therapy that the wild elves used.

The wild elves were said to be the descendants of the ancient elves

destroyed long ago. They cast aside the trappings of civilization and

lived a primitive life in secluded valleys. No comforts of modern

society also meant they didn't have clothes. They were totally naked.

They were undoubtedly hardier than humans, but living in a wild

valley without clothes or proper tools was difficult. Like anyone else,

they got sick at times. When that happened, the wild elves used

smoke therapy to treat their illnesses.

They would borrow a cave used by bears to hibernate, cook a soup of

various medicinal herbs in a clay pot, and then use the steam from

that to warm and heal their bodies.

The scented sachet I was holding was something I had made with the

intent of adapting something similar for use in a Zoltan sauna.

"I put some herbs in this, so if you string it up over the stove, the

steam should waft up and fill the sauna with the aroma. And it's

good for soothing your throat."

The effect itself was kind of, well, I hadn't been able to prepare

anything with a particularly special effect on the spot, but the

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fragrance was nice, and I had chosen a mixture that should've had a

relaxing effect.

"How about it? If it works out, I can make more of these sachets and

deliver them on a regular basis for you."

"That's something I've never heard of before, all right, but is it really

gonna go that smoothly?"

"That's what I wanted to test."

We didn't have a sauna room of our own to test it in. We had at least

tried steaming it over a boiling pot at Nao's house to make sure the

scent worked, but without actually testing it in a sauna, it was hard

to really judge.

"Huuuh, y'all sure do have some odd tastes. You really think this is a

problem a bunch of greenhorns are gonna solve?" Zeff asked.

Despite his words, he had a bit of a pleased smile.

"Well, since you went to all that trouble, I guess I can let you give it a

try."

"This ain't half bad," Zeff admitted in surprise.

"I guess the fragrance is a lot more prominent inside a sauna. This

worked better than expected."

The sachet was hanging above the stove, and after adding some

water to the stones a few times to create puffs of steam, a pleasant

aroma filled the sauna. Even I had been surprised. It smelled much

nicer than I'd first thought it would.

"Saunas are an amazing thing. I've been running one since I don't

know how long, but there are still things I don't know. To think it

could be filled with such a nice smell."

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"So? With this, you can still keep your place going, right?" Nao asked

with a mixture of hope and fear that this might still not be enough.

Her question made Zeff laugh out loud. His eyes narrowed, and his

shoulders shuddered as he guffawed.

"Yeah, I suppose with something like this, I might get a few more

customers willing to come. They can't do this at that big ole sauna… I

was actin' like I knew it all about the business, but look at me now.

Guess I was a bit too quick to give up on running this place."

Zeff had run a public sauna for so many years, he probably thought

he knew more than anyone else about it. Every time I had come

here, he'd always made tiny adjustments to the stove or the layout

of the stones to best suit the outside temperature and weather.

Doubtless, he imagined that he had reached the pinnacle of

operating a steam room. That was likely why he'd seemed so quick

to call it quits.

"It's been awhile since I've been put in my place like this. You've got

my thanks, Red, Nao, Miss Rit," Zeff said, beaming.

But that meant there was still more that he didn't know. For Zeff,

that was both frustrating and gratifying. At least, that's how it looked

to me.

"I want to buy some of those scented sachets, Red. I'm thinking of

keeping this shop going a bit longer."

"Hooray!" Nao cheered.

She leaped with joy and hugged Rit with a wide smile, ecstatic at

being able to save the place she had been frequenting since she was

a child.

"Thanks for you patronage," I said, equally pleased.

The next time I went to the mountains, I made sure to get lots of

fragrant herbs.

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"Aaah."

I was sitting on a towel, enjoying the sauna while a pleasant

fragrance filled the air. Zeff had said to go ahead and hop in, since

we had gone out of our way to stop by.

"This was a fantastic idea, if I do say so myself. A sauna revolution."

I allowed myself a little self-congratulation, since I was alone. Getting

to relax and take my time in a sauna after-hours wasn't bad, either.

Zeff had said not to worry about the time, so I figured maybe I'd

even do three cycles.

Suddenly, there came a creak, and the thick door to the sauna

opened.

"Waaaah, it really is a lovely fragrance."

"It sure is! This will bring in customers for sure."

Rit and Nao entered.

"W-wait! Why are you two coming in?!"

I frantically wrapped a towel around my waist. The two of them had

towels wrapped around their own bodies, but their chests looked

ready to burst out from behind the fabric. Rit's weren't exactly small,

but Nao's were big.

"It's not fair if you get to have all the fun!"

"Yeah!"

"So you decided to come in naked?"

There were places where it was normal to have mixed bathing, but

around here, it was standard to have separate baths. Plus, in places

that did have mixed bathing, it was normal to wear a swimsuit.

"It's fine. You're the only other person here."

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"Wait, wait, wait. It's definitely not fine. Aren't you married, Nao?"

Being in a sauna together with Nao like this, I was going to have to

apologize to her husband, Mido. Nao just stared at me blankly.

"Wh-what's with that reaction?" I asked.

"Ah-ha-ha! I've got a towel on; it's fiiine!" She laughed heartily as she

put her hands on the portion of fabric covering her waist.

"Okay, okay! I'll get out for now!" I insisted.

It was a shame to have to leave the sauna and its relaxing fragrance,

but there was no helping it.

As I tried to leave, however, Rit blocked my way with arms outspread

to stop me.

"Wh-why are you…?"

"I-it's fine. Let's just enjoy it together," Rit said as she glanced away a

bit, face bright red.

"Should you really be making a cute girl say that?" A suggestive grin

crossed Nao's graceful elven face. "If you're a man, just take it like

one."

"Gh."

I had a feeling what Nao was saying was probably right. Rit was

clearly embarrassed. Her face was bright red. As a man, trying to run

away after she had pushed herself that far would just be pathetic.

Thoughts running wild in my mind, I awkwardly sat back down. Rit

followed me with a surprisingly meek sort of appearance, sitting right

next to me on my left.

"Ah-ha-ha, what are you, a couple of teenagers? What are you

getting so embarrassed about?" Nao laughed in amusement.

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She sat down a little farther than Rit had. The way she chuckled as

she watched us was like the quintessential working-class resident.

"But I suppose it's no surprise you could tell," Nao said to Rit.

"How so?"

"You've got a good eye to pick Red. He's a good man. Way better

than any of those snobs in the central part of town."

"Eh-heh-heh." Rit giggled happily.

Having people talk about me like that while I was still sitting there

was unbearable. I could feel my cheeks flushing, but I was hoping we

could just write it off as the work of the sauna and leave it at that.

"Red saved my son's life. There are some folk who think of him as no

more than an eternal D rank, but when it comes to getting medicinal

plants, he's a pro who does his job perfectly."

"Yeah, yeah. Red's been that kind of person ever since I first met

him. Coming to Zoltan hasn't changed that side of him."

Though wearing so little, the two seemed to be enjoying themselves,

talking about me amid the steam of the sauna. Rit even reminisced

about things from when we'd been together in Loggervia, too. The

two women had really only just met the other day—and through my

own doing no less—but they seemed to be good friends already. I'm

sure it came from that night we'd been discussing how to keep this

sauna from going under.

"Red." Rit glanced over at me.

I did a double take noticing the glistening sweat on her shoulder.

"Let's all come together again sometime," she said with a sparkling

smile.

Because of the new experiment with fragrances, this sauna became

the talk of the blue-collar neighborhood, and it started drawing lots

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of customers again, flourishing as it had in the past. For my shop, the

contract to supply the bags on a regular schedule was fairly good for

business, too. What's more, it was satisfying seeing Nao and her

family chatting so happily as they came back from the steam room. It

was reminiscent of the sense of accomplishment I had back when I

was in the Hero's party and we saved a village.

It had been a day since we signed the deal with Zeff for the scented

sachets.

I was getting things in order to open the shop when I noticed a bit of

a ruckus outside. When I went out, I saw a bigwig from the

Adventurers Guild, a few others from various Merchants and

Craftsmen guilds, a government official, aristocrats, and others all

lined up in front of the store with grim looks.

"Ah… I suppose you're probably not here looking for medicine."

Every one of them was wearing clothes made of quality fabric with

ornate embroidery. Even on a low-end estimate, the cheapest of

them couldn't have cost less than fifty payril. They glanced at one

another. Galatine from the Adventurers Guild, a big guy at almost

two meters tall, stepped forward as the silently elected

representative of their group.

"Red, there's something we wanted to ask. Is it true that Rit…the

former B-rank adventurer, is living in your house?"

The top brass of Zoltan had finally come to call about Rit.

"It's true. I'm living with Rit, and she's helping me out with my shop."

A murmur ran through the group of men who formed the nucleus of

Zoltan.

"We'd like to speak with her…," Galatine said.

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"I don't mind, but you caught us in the middle of getting ready to

open the shop. Rit's currently double-checking the inventory. If you

could wait until she's done with that—"

"Wh-what did you say?! You would have us wait?!" someone

shouted from the group.

"Rit is an employee here, and she's taking care of an important job

right now. If it's something critical like people's lives at stake, then

that's another story, but this isn't something that will be hurt by

waiting just thirty minutes."

"Is that really for you to decide? Don't you think you should at least

talk to Rit first and see if she thinks this is really something that

should wait?" Galantine prodded.

"I know her well enough to be able to answer in her place."

"…That's quite the confidence you've got, Red. I didn't know you had

that sort of a side to you."

"I'm honestly surprised you know so much about a mere D-rank

adventurer."

"I've memorized the faces and records of every adventurer we have

on record," Galantine said without a change in expression. His cool

gaze as he looked down at me would probably have been enough to

make a normal adventurer tremble.

He had been in the previous generation's B-rank party. He was past

his prime now, but the pressure he could bring to bear was still

there. Not that it meant much to someone like me, who'd been in a

party with people who had even more frightening expressions.

Danan was like a wild beast in the arenas.

After glaring at me for a minute, Galatine looked almost impressed.

"…Okay, got it. We'll wait a little bit," he said, letting up.

"Thank you for your patience."

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There were still complaints, but I just headed back into the shop,

putting an end to the conversation. About twenty minutes later, Rit

came back from the storage room with a basket full of the medicines

to restock the shop front.

"Thank you. I'll take care of setting them out," I said.

"It's fine; I can finish it. The higher-ups are here, right? I think I'll

keep them waiting a bit," she said, sticking out her tongue.

I managed a wry chuckle and then turned my attention to ensuring

there was enough money to make change at the counter. Yep, there

were enough commons, quarter payril, and payril.

"All right, I'm done here. I'll just go turn them down and be right

back. I work here now," Rit said.

"All right. I don't know what I'd do without you, so make it quick."

She grinned happily at me, and then, as she headed outside, a

smaller, thin man slipped in behind her. He had been standing out

front a bit earlier.

"If I recall, you're with the Thieves Guild," I said.

"You're awfully knowledgeable for a D ranker," the thin man

responded.

At a glance, the slim man might have seemed like a trivial low-level

sort of person, but the way he carried himself and the way his eyes

focused on the arms and legs of the person he was dealing with

without meeting their eyes had all the hallmarks of a ferocious and

skilled coward who constantly lived with the risk of being betrayed.

The Thieves Guild was an organization that operated on the

underbelly of society. In other places, they were sometimes called

the mafia or a gang. In the East, I believe they were sometimes called

yakuza. They were a criminal organization but had established a

place for themselves as members of the political establishment

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under the guise of keeping pickpockets and burglars from doing as

they pleased. Not that I had really put much thought into question of

whether they were a necessary evil or just plain evil.

It was not that uncommon for the Thieves Guild to approach the

Adventurers Guild with a contract, and they had probably

approached Rit with a job to take care of some problem or another

at some point. As a general rule, though, the Thieves Guild used

Albert for their higher-difficulty quests. It was well-known that Albert

was close with Golga, the head of the guild.

"Apparently, the others are planning to try to persuade Rit, but she's

a true-blue hero. She can already get anything she wants. There's no

way they or I could provide the sort of compensation she might want

to change her mind. So talking to her is just a waste of time."

And what might she want? What exactly did this guy even know

about her?

"So then me?" I asked.

The thief's lips cracked into a broad grin as he took out a small locked

box from his cloak and opened it in front of me. Inside was a single

elven coin made of pure elven platinum, sitting atop red silk. An

elven coin was the most valuable currency on the continent,

equivalent to ten thousand payril. The metal it was made of was

created back in the ancient time of the elves. It was a long-lost

forging method, which meant that not only could it not be

counterfeited, it could not even be properly cast.

It was harder than steel and resistant to heat, acid, and corrosion. On

top of that, if you held elven platinum in your hand while connecting

with your blessing, in exchange for the metal transforming to

worthless lead, it would have the effect of boosting all your

blessing's skills up one level for a single minute.

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Naturally, it was not a common item or even something to be used in

trades between merchants. It was used for exchanges at a national

level and would probably be better classified as a treasure than a

currency. Although, when I was traveling with Ruti and the others,

we didn't hesitate to use them for an advantage in fights against

powerful enemies… Well, everyone other than me, of course. All I

could use were common skills, so even if they went up a level, it

wouldn't have made that much of a difference.

Anyway, it had been a long time since I had seen one of these coins,

but it wasn't as if the material was that rare. If you explored deep

into ancient elf ruins, you could find a decent amount of it. Not many

parties could do that, though.

Even a mainstay in the Thieves Guild probably couldn't have

imagined that I had seen more than my fair share of elven coins.

Mistaking my expression for shock, he continued, speaking with a

proud tone.

"It's perfectly reasonable to be surprised. This is a miraculous item

that a man might go his whole life without ever seeing. This is an

elven coin. I'm sure you've at least heard of them before, right?"

"Yes, I know of them."

"Then we can make this quick. Will you wash your hands of Rit in

exchange for this? With this much money, you could live comfortably

for the rest of your life without having to work away at this little

shop, right? The world would be better off with Rit adventuring, and

she would be better off, too. You'd be happy; Rit would be happy;

we'd all be happy, too. Everyone wins. And if you are looking for a

woman, I can provide that for you. A looker who can send chills up

your spine with a single touch. Can you imagine it? I'm talking a fiftypayril-a-night sort of woman. Not those half-circle quarter payril,

either—fifty full payril."

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The thief had probably done plenty of touting in the red-light district

during his time at the bottom of the ladder. He had so naturally

slipped into a clear and fluid sales pitch.

But…

"That's too little."

"Huh?"

"Rit's worth far more than that. Pile up a thousand elven coins, and it

still wouldn't be enough."

"What are you saying…?"

"Besides," I said, lowering my voice so Rit, with her abnormally sharp

ears, wouldn't be able to hear me. "Rit's infinitely better than any

fifty-payril-a-night woman."

The thin man probably sensed that there wasn't any opening there

to latch on to. He scoffed slightly as he locked the box and put it back

in his cloak.

"Not the least bit moved by ten thousand payril… Are you that big a

heavyweight or simply that stupid a fool?"

"I just know she's worth more than that. Why else would the Thieves

Guild be willing to pay me ten thousand?"

A sour look crossed the slender thief's face.

"As you wish. Sheesh. I guess it's to be expected of the man Rit

chose, but you've got some serious guts for a D ranker. Well, if you

ever change your mind, let me know. I'm open to negotiations."

"That won't be necessary, so you can just give up on it."

Still determined, he placed a business card with his name on it on the

counter before slipping out of the shop.

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From the clamor outside, it was clear that, despite Rit's firm

rejection, the top brass refused to give in.

"Is it a problem with the rewards?"

"No!"

"We can arrange ampler compensation."

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"I don't need it!"

"We can offer a peerage."

"I refuse!"

"If you want a man, my son—"

""What are you saying?!""

That last comment got shot down by the people around the one

who'd made the suggestion, and the man backed off dejectedly.

"Argh, get a grip already!" Rit shouted, finally unable to take it

anymore. "I signed a lifetime employment contract for working with

Red here! I'm retired from adventuring! And if you try to run Red out

of town or anything, I'll be leaving with him!"

Lifelong employment? Someone must have intimated that

something might happen to my shop to make Rit snap like that. The

blond girl's words transformed our vague arrangement into a more

formal, tangible shape I hadn't really considered, and finally, the

Zoltan higher-ups gave up and left.

Rit was still indignant as she returned. When she saw my face, she

looked embarrassed.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Well, if you shout that loudly…"

"…I was, um, annoyed? They were just so persistent and kept saying

such weird things, so I just…"

I waved Rit over. She approached, looking a little uneasy. I gently

extended my right hand.

"Hold out your hand," I said.

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"?"

When Rit put her hand forward as I'd asked, I wrapped it in both of

mine.

"R-Red?"

"It's a present."

I slipped the gift I'd been planning to give her on her first payday into

her palm.

"Wha…?"

"It's a bit cheap for you, but call it a deposit on that lifetime

employment contract."

"Ah! An amber bracelet!"

Rit held a bracelet with a leather band and a single bead of amber. It

was not expensive by any stretch, even for the most modest of

adventurers, but…

"This is…"

Rit peered at the yellow-colored bead. Amber was a precious stone

made of petrified tree sap. Because it was originally a liquid, it was

possible to have tree bark or petals trapped inside. The amber I had

given Rit had a leaf in the shape of a ring enclosed within.

"A deposit, huh…?" Rit was smiling as she jokingly held the amber

bracelet up to the ring finger of her left hand. "Giving me this might

really foster the wrong idea, you know."

Likely getting embarrassed after having said that, Rit covered her

mouth with the bandanna around her neck.

"The wrong idea? Then while you've still got the wrong idea, there's

something I wanted to buy… Could you tell me what kind of

gemstone you'd like?"

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Argh, dammit, I was blushing too much. This was just as

embarrassing for me as it was for her.

"…Anything is fine. I'd love anything you picked for me."

Unfortunately, blessings couldn't provide any kind of skills when it

came to love. Even swordsmen like us, forged in the flames of a

hundred battles, could only fall back on inexperienced mumbles…

Even so, this moment was precious to me.