Volume 4 Chapter 18 Adventurer
When I turned around, there was a tall woman with sunburned skin.
Her gray long hair gave her a lively impression, and her face looked energetic.
Her well-trained physique was strong, and she carried a suitable greatsword on her back, clad in light armor.
She might not be much older than me.
Behind her were 2 men and one woman, who I assumed were her companions.
The moment this person appeared, the young soldier's face contorted in disgust. Who exactly is she?
"...You're back again, Erinja. How many times do I have to tell you that we don't want your help?"
The young soldier clearly showed his disgust as he turned to face the woman called Erinja.
Erinja then shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, "Good grief."
"Why don't you just admit it already? You can't protect the country on your own. If you don't borrow our strength, Ratisse will fall apart."
"...!"
The young soldier clenched his teeth in frustration.
From the conversation, we couldn't quite understand what was happening, and all we could do was tilt our heads.
Right after, Erinja's gaze landed on us, and she quickly approached.
"Oh, you guys are adventurers too, right? Hey, hey, let me ask you something!"
Then she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and continued talking at a ridiculously close distance.
"Hey, we're offering to help them out of good will, but these guys just don't listen. We're even known as the top adventurer party in Ratisse."
The top adventurer party in Ratisse.
If that's true, they should be a valuable asset for the Kingdom's forces, who are in desperate need of more power.
Despite that, they don't seem to be listening, which means they haven't offered to cooperate.
I wonder why the Kingdom's forces don't ask for their support in the subjugation operation...
"It's because you guys present outrageous contracts!"
"Contracts?"
"──We're serving the Kingdom as part of the Kingdom's forces, so it's not outrageous! If it's for saving the country, I think you guys should be able to accept these conditions easily."
As Erinja says this, she takes out a piece of paper from her pocket and shows it to me, who is leaning on her shoulder. In an instant, I shocked by the contents, widened my eyes.
In summary, it was a contract that would guarantee financial support for future adventurer activities from the country. And the amount was extremely exorbitant. It was like a child's scribble, a ridiculously high amount.
"Even though we're risking our lives, it's not strange to expect a reward like this, right? I think this is even a bargain."
Erinja's cheeks curved into a greedy smile.
As if drawn in by that, her comrades also let out unfazed laughter.
Financial support for adventurer activities.
It's not strange to seek that as a reward.
However, the amount was so outrageous that it could allow one to live without needing to continue adventurer activities for a lifetime.
Probably, these guys want to take advantage of the current situation to force the country into an unreasonable contract and then just lounge around for the rest of their lives.
They are quite the unscrupulous adventurers, it seems.
"You guys came to participate in the subjugation mission for the reward, right? If we don't get this contract signed now, you might end up swindled later and regret it!"
"N-no way would we do such a thing to them! We intend to properly give rewards to those who helped with the subjugation mission!"
The young soldier continued weakly, looking apologetic.
"We've had a few instances in the past where rewards were run off with, so we are planning to provide them afterwards, but we have the paperwork for that prepared here. So there's no need for you to prepare a separate contract. While we have received orders from the king to accommodate as much as possible, the amount is just too..."
"Hey, hey, didn't I just say? We're putting our lives on the line to participate in this subjugation mission. And if it's a national crisis, isn't there no time to be stingy with money?"
The comrades in the back nodded in agreement.
Then, Erinja leaned forward, pressing the young soldier, who was starting to grow timid.
"Well, we don't really care. Whether the Ratisse Kingdom falls or whatever, it doesn't matter to us. We can just continue our adventurer business by moving to another country. But you guys, who have the mission to protect the country, are in a situation where you have to gather all the forces you can, right?"
"..."
The young soldier approaches, holding out his self-made contract as if to show it off.
"So, sign this! Soldier, don't you want to borrow the power of the [Tyrant General] Erinja? You seem to be quite high-ranking among these people, right? Then, you should be able to communicate with the King to some extent, shouldn't you?"
Finally, Erinja whispered softly in the soldier's ear, trying to take advantage of his conscience.
"Or what? Are you soldiers planning to abandon this country and its people... or something?"
The soldier's face turns pale and sweat begins to bead on his forehead, while the female adventurer smirks.
As a "small figure" approaches them...
"Wow, what ugly handwriting."
"Huh?"
Before they know it, Cosmos has taken the contract paper from the female adventurer and is staring at it.
After skimming through it, Cosmos holds the paper with both hands and raises it in front of her.
Immediately, she takes an unbelievable action.
Rip!
"......Huh?"
In front of Erinja, Cosmos boldly "tears" the contract that was being held out to the young soldier.
The torn paper flutters and falls to the ground in half.
"...Wh...Wh...What the hell are you doing?!"
"What do you mean, I just crumpled up and threw away a kid's doodle."
Cosmos said this with a straight face, and Erinja, after a moment, furrowed her brows in anger.
"You... you little brat...!"
Just as Erinja was about to rush towards Cosmos, Rose suddenly stepped in from the side, blocking her path and shielding Cosmos.
Erinja stopped in her tracks, taken aback by the unusual intensity emanating from Rose.
The two seemed to be greatly angered by Erinja and her companions' unreasonable demands towards the soldier.
Then, as if speaking on behalf of Cosmos, Rose declared to Erinja.
"The Forest King's Army and the Spirit King's Army, we will defeat them ourselves."
"Huh...?"
Not only Erinja, but also her companions and the soldiers who were listening, were all wide-eyed in surprise.
However, Rose and Cosmos were not joking, and they maintained a serious expression throughout.
"What can you brats do...! You're just low-level adventurers who aren't even well-known!"
Erinja's voice grew harsh, perhaps due to her anger at having her self-made contract torn up and being defied by a younger girl.
"This country is on the brink of destruction! There's no way to survive without our help! So no matter how much money they demand, you shouldn't complain!"
It was true that the country was on the verge of destruction and the army was in need of military power.
However, that didn't mean they could make any demand they wanted.
Who would accept such conditions, like providing financial aid equivalent to that of a mid-ranking country's national budget?
"So go ahead and bark all you want. While you're all swaggering with just your words, we'll take care of everything for you. Of course, it will be 'free of charge.'"
"..."
As Erinja and the others were left in a daze, Ms. Nemophila approached the young soldier and gently reassured him.
"So, don't you ever let yourself be deceived by misleading words. We will definitely defeat both the Forest King's Army and the Spirit King's Army."
"W-wait, who are you...?"
The soldiers, hurt and confused, exchanged glances at the sight of the girls acting so confidently.
It seemed no one could imagine them actually defeating the Forest King's Army and the Spirit King's Army.
However, the image of them being hailed as heroes who saved this country easily surfaced in my mind.
"...Ha, ha! Go ahead and try, you brats. You'll just end up getting killed by the higher-ups!"
Thus, we decided to advance into the Forest King's Army's invasion zone, carrying on the will of the wounded Ratisse Kingdom army.
...I mean, those 3 were so reliable that there was never a moment for me to look cool.
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