Chapter 50: So When the Hell Will It All Be Paid Off?

With the egg’s fate entrusted to Deneb like that, next.

“We’re taking three days off starting tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

“Yes sir!”

They agreed right away, surprisingly.

Well, this is normal, I guess.

Usually, after safely closing a Gate matching their rank, Hunters take about a week off, or up to a month at most.

Fatigue from life-or-death battlefields accumulates, and the longer it builds up, the longer the recovery period. So taking enough rest is only natural.

Me, who’d only taken a single day off and kept pushing forward until now, I’m the abnormal one.

But hey, for me, the dungeons I’d been going to were total pushovers, and fatigue never really piled up.

This time, though, we went into a High-Rank Gate, and Marcel and Deneb aren’t as strong as I am.

So it’s better to let them rest enough.

“Oh, Deneb.”

“Yes?”

“Take one day off, then come see me.”

“Ooh, finally…! Understood!”

With that, just like I promised Deneb, I’ll teach her magic.

“Don’t I get anything?”

“…? Yes.”

For some reason, Marcel’s making a disappointed face. What’s your deal?

“It’s best to rest properly when you’re resting. That way fatigue doesn’t build up.”

“Understood… sir.”

There’s no energy in his reply. Did I do something wrong?

‘Ah, I get it.’

From that wistful attitude, Marcel’s definitely itching to move right now.

He overcame a three-year trauma. He probably wants to challenge a new Gate as soon as possible.

In that case.

“Then, Mr. Marcel, do you want to do as you please during the break?”

“Do as I please… you say?”

“Yes.”

Marcel rests his chin and thinks intently. Before long, he speaks.

“Alright.”

Along with a look that seems somehow happy.

“Oh, and you did deposit the money, right?”

“Yes. Right after we left the office.”

Hearing Marcel’s words, I immediately checked my Artifact.

True to his word, nearly half the mercenary pay we got from Crescent has been deposited.

Originally, I planned to split it exactly into thirds, but Deneb insisted she only wanted a Porter’s share since she was a Porter right now.

I said it was fine, but Deneb wouldn’t budge on her stance. So Marcel and I each took 45%, and Deneb took the remaining 10%.

Well, even that 10% should be about as much as a Magic Stone from a C-Rank Gate, right?

‘It does come in.’

As expected from a High-Rank Gate. The profit is incomparably higher than a Low-Rank Gate.

Since I entered a High-Rank Gate way faster than I expected, maybe I’ll pay off the debt sooner than I thought.

I was thinking it’d take about 30 years to pay it all off, you know? At this rate, can I cut it down to about 10 years?

So when the hell will it all be paid off?

“Pfft, heheheh…”

“…?”

“…”

Marcel and Deneb were staring at me with weird looks, so I quickly wiped the smile off my face.

Around these two, I unconsciously let my guard down. So much so that I forget to keep up the act.

I need to be careful…

* * *

Two days later.

I called Deneb over, just like I said I would.

“Hello!”

Whether she’s excited about learning magic, Deneb’s face is brighter than usual.

With her looking forward to it that much, I want to live up to her expectations, but…

From what I’ve seen so far, Deneb’s skill is about average for a D-Rank Hunter.

Meaning a bit below the baseline. And that’s me setting my standards very low.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“The Association office.”

And so we arrived at the Association office.

The first place to stop is the reception desk.

A familiar face appears. It’s Irene. This person’s always here every day.

“Hello.”

“Welcome. You’re always consistent, huh?”

Through her, I check the raids hosted by the Association.

E to C-Rank. That’s the full range of Gates the Association manages.

Yesterday Marcel was with us, but today it’s just the two of us.

So the Gates we can go to are limited.

“The usual, please.”

“Pfft, what’s with this kid.”

I said it with a bit of flair, and Irene let out a snort of laughter.

She spread out a map and pointed with her finger at the location of a D-Rank Gate, the farthest one from the Association office.

“Huh? Ms. Verdi, didn’t you say you were taking three days off?”

Deneb asked me with a puzzled look.

“Dungeons are big.”

Gates located farthest from the office generally tend to have fewer participants.

Usually, it’s mostly parties that lack confidence in boss competition, or solo Hunters who just kill the mobs and pull out.

And lately, it’s become hard to even find parties that try to take down the boss that way.

I don’t really know the reason, but…

“Yes, they are big…?”

This idiot still looks like she doesn’t understand.

“It means I can use magic as much as I want without worrying.”

“Ahh.”

Once I spelled it out that far, she finally seemed to get it.

Well then, let’s go.

* * *

“Deneb.”

On the way to the Gate, something suddenly occurred to me, so I called out to Deneb.

“Yes?”

“What did you do with the egg?”

“Oh, it’s right here!”

Deneb shoved the backpack strapped to her back toward me out of nowhere.

“…?”

I tilted my head, not understanding what that gesture meant.

Deneb opened the backpack. Inside was a giant-sized egg.

Even at a glance, it looked far too heavy for a girl to be carrying.

“…Isn’t that heavy for you?”

“Nope. It’s not heavy at all?”

I was inwardly shocked. Just as I’d expected, Deneb’s strength far surpasses that of an ordinary human.

Maybe she awakened in that direction.

‘Wilhelm…’

Realizing that a kid like that had become interested in magic because of me, I felt a faint pang of guilt toward her brother.

If she’d obediently taken up the sword, she might have become a swordsman as outstanding as her brother.

‘Well, I’ll just teach her with everything I’ve got to make up for it.’

I have no intention of half-assing it. I’ve always given my all to what I take on.

‘But then again, carrying it around like that feels like it draws way too much attention.’

I reached out to call Deneb with that thought, but then—

‘No.’

A sudden thought made me stop.

If I left that egg unattended and it hatched while I was away, something irreversible would happen.

It’s better to keep it somewhere I can see it at all times.

‘Let’s think positively.’

Neither Marcel nor I had been willing to step up, but Deneb volunteered herself.

She said she wanted to, but if no one there had stepped up, it could have led to a troublesome situation, so I’ll tolerate this much.

“Just hold on a little longer, Kanna.”

“…Kanna?”

“That’s this egg’s name. If it’s male, it’s Kan, if it’s female, Kanna!”

So you’ve finally lost your mind.

I was about to say that, but I swallowed it down, knowing she’d get sulky again.

‘You shouldn’t get too attached to an egg either…’

What if the Demon Beast that hatches ends up causing harm?

‘…I’m not its parent, what the hell is this.’

My head throbs. How the hell did things end up like this?

If anything, I’m the one being too devoted to Deneb.

I never used to be like this with other people.

* * *

And so we stepped inside the Gate.

“Caw! Caw!”

An ominous bird call greeted us. Looking around, this dungeon seemed to be a jungle.

‘Annoying…’

I wanted to use magic, but the surrounding vegetation was in the way. Should I just burn it all down?

I was thinking that when—

“Whoaah!”

Deneb’s scream rang out.

I turned my head to see what was going on…

A monstrous bird with a dinosaur-like face had snatched Deneb’s backpack and was soaring into the sky.

“Ms. Verdi! This is a disaster!”

Hmm, it is a disaster, isn’t it.

The monstrous bird flew high into the sky and vanished from our sight.

“Kanna! We have to chase it, fast!”

“Yeah, we should…”

As Deneb looked ready to sprint straight toward the bird, I spoke in a relaxed, calm tone.

I know I seem too optimistic about this… but honestly, a part of me hopes that egg never gets found.

It’s true I was disappointed when we got nothing from the Earth Dragon, and it’s also true I got excited when Marcel found the egg in the middle of all that.

If we’d walked away empty-handed back then, I would’ve tried to treasure that egg as our only gain.

But thanks to Hames splitting the profits, I made a decent chunk of money.

With cash in hand, the desperation faded.

Besides, that egg is hard to sell in the first place. Proving its value is tough.

“We have to hurry! Kanna must be scared right now!”

Deneb started rushing me as I kept up my optimistic attitude.

Look at you, acting like a guardian. And we don’t even know what’s inside.

“You don’t have to make such a fuss. We can find it.”

Who do you think I am? I used to be an S-Rank Hunter.

There’s no way I’d lose track of some trash-tier Demon Beast like that.

“R-really?! What kind of magic will you use this time…”

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“What are you waiting for?”

I said calmly to Deneb, who was looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.

Pointing at the vegetation spread out before us.

“We have to go find it. The egg.”

“Huh…?”

“If you don’t follow, I’m leaving you behind?”

“W-wait a moment? You’re really planning to just walk into the forest like this?”

“Is there a problem?”

“A-ah, no! But… I, uh, thought you’d use some kind of magic.”

Deneb hesitated, then spoke carefully. Looked like she’d been hoping I’d use magic.

‘Well, that would be easier, I guess…’

I’d thought about doing that at first too, but I changed my mind.

We came to this Gate to teach Deneb in the first place, right?

Since I’m teaching her anyway, I felt like I wanted to teach her more than just magic.

For example, how to survive when you’re isolated in a dungeon.

I didn’t expect the egg to get stolen, but still, it was just some trash-tier Demon Beast that took it.

Unless a Dungeon Break happens, Demon Beasts can’t leave the dungeon, so even if it’s a bit annoying, we can find it.

If worst comes to worst, I can just blow this whole jungle away with my magic.

…Then wouldn’t the egg turn to ash, you ask?

Not my problem.

“Let’s go already. I’m really leaving you behind?”

“I-I’m coming with you!”