Chapter 244: 244 Sewer patrol
Following Ian’s instruction to take a seat, Mika and Tanya sat cautiously at the table.
Since the table was currently set for breakfast with various dishes, the warm aroma of food wafting from them stimulated the appetite of the two newcors.
To secure a prominent spot at the rcenary Recruitnt Center, one had to line up before it even opened; to keep that hard-won spot, leaving even for lunch was out of the question.
Combined with the need to save as much money as possible on food, it was daily life for most rookie rcenaries to get by on just one simple al in the evening.
Having lived in a state of semi-forced starvation, the eyes of the two naturally drifted toward the food on the table.
"Here you go. The food is ready."
"Please set it here."
Just then, the innkeeper approached with plates containing fresh dishes. They were the items Ian had ordered in advance.
Slabs of brownish at, freshly grilled and emitting plus of hot steam. A salad filled with green leafy vegetables and chunks of fruit.
Following Ian’s gesture, the new dishes were placed in front of Tanya and Mika.
The dizzying scent rising from the plates made the two of them reflexively swallow their saliva.
"Ah. Since the group has grown, I’ll need to change the rooms. Go ahead and eat."
Leaving those words behind, Ian rose from his seat.
"..."
"..."
Tanya and Mika’s eyes t briefly.
Even while Ian approached the innkeeper to discuss if there were any vacant rooms left, Tanya and Mika just sat there staring at the plates, swallowing hard but unable to bring themselves to touch the food.
Steaks grilled to a deep brown were right there, within arm’s reach. ...But even if they were told to eat, was it really okay to do so?
No matter how many looks the two rookies exchanged, there was no way for them to know.
In contrast, Rin, who had been eating her breakfast without much thought, suddenly looked up and caught their eyes.
"Aren’t you eating?"
"Um... how much is it? We don’t have much money..."
"Huh? Money? Ahh..."
Watching the hesitant pair, Rin suddenly rembered hearing warnings back when she was a rookie about being careful of predatory rcenary captains who might scam them.
Forcing unnecessary equipnt onto rcenaries at high prices. Charging exorbitant fees for food. Rumors said that if you ignorantly accepted everything given to you, you’d be hit with ridiculous bills and end up drowning in debt to the rcenary group.
Those were exactly the kinds of stories unemployed rookies shared while waiting in the recruitnt center.
Rin realized belatedly what the two were worried about.
"It’s fine since the Captain told you to eat first. He doesn’t extort money for things like this."
Although Ian was strict about distinguishing between public funds and personal expenses, he didn’t do anything petty. If he told them to eat, they could eat. He wasn’t the type of person to go back on his word.
"In... in that case."
Strictly speaking, Rin’s words were sothing they should have been wary of as well, but their patience had already reached its limit. No matter how suspicious it might be, they couldn’t endure the temptation of the at before them any longer.
Mika reached out with a fork first, and Tanya, watching the reaction, cautiously picked hers up too.
at!
The tip of the tentatively extended fork pierced through the crispy surface and into the tender flesh. Taking a piece of at dripping with rich juices into their mouths, they shivered at the grease soaking into their bodies. Repeating the motion, they emptied half the plates in an instant.
"You’ll get indigestion. Eat slowly."
Hearing Rin’s words, Tanya snapped back to reality and looked up. Feeling Rin’s gaze, Tanya stole a quick glance and then, struck by a strange doubt, asked Rin cautiously.
"By the way, where are the other mbers?"
"Huh? Who?"
"The other people in the rcenary group..."
"There’s no one else in our group."
"Pardon?"
Tanya asked back with a bewildered face. Mika, who had been quietly chewing her at, also lifted her head with a puzzled expression.
"There’s the Captain and ... so, I’m the only other rcenary."
"But I heard this was a D-rank rcenary group."
"Yeah. It is D-rank, but I’m the only mber."
The forks of the two newcors stopped completely at this shocking revelation. They had heard it was a D-rank group when talking briefly with Ian during the application. Moreover, the guild staff seed to recognize the na ’Ian rcenary Group,’ so they had assud it was a fairly successful and sizable operation... they never imagined the total count was only two.
"Then... did the Captain and you, Senior, reach D-rank just by yourselves?"
"Se... Senior?"
Rin, hearing such a word for the first ti in her life, squird in awkwardness. She had imagined having juniors a few tis, but hearing the word ’Senior’ in reality triggered an imdiate rejection reflex. Above all, the fact that her own career and experience weren’t sufficient to be called a senior pricked Rin’s conscience.
"It sounds weird when you call
that... Hey, just speak comfortably. I haven’t been doing this for long either."
Rin suddenly realized that after hearing their introductions, she hadn’t introduced herself yet.
"I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Rin. You guys can just call
Rin."
"Ah... Yes, Rin-ssi. Please call
Tanya."
"I’m Mika."
Mika imdiately dropped the formalities as Rin suggested, but Tanya looked on with an awkward, cautious face. The offer to speak comfortably was sincere, but depending on the person, it wasn’t sothing that could be done overnight.
Rin nodded as they exchanged nas. As a senior who had started rcenary work slightly earlier, she wanted to say sothing impressive, but no good advice ca to mind. Her accumulated experience wasn’t that deep yet.
"I want to tell you sothing useful, but I don’t know much myself... Honestly, I’ve just been doing whatever the Captain told
to do."
Rin’s gaze shifted to Ian, who was still talking to the innkeeper. Naturally, the gazes of Tanya and Mika followed toward Ian’s back. Both had accepted Ian’s offer to join, but they actually knew nothing about this rcenary group.
Rookie rcenaries don’t exactly have many choices. No matter how strange or unreliable a place might seem, if there was a chance to gain experience while working, they had to cling to it with everything they had.
Furthermore, a D-rank group—not just E-rank—was the best possible starting opportunity. They were in a position where they had rushed over as soon as they received the offer, without ti to look into who Ian was or search for rumors.
Curious about the group she’d be working for, Mika cautiously asked Rin.
"So, um... what kind of person is the Captain?"
"The Captain?"
*Our Captain is soone you can trust...*
Rin’s conscience caught her just as she was about to spill a typical complint. Was he a trustworthy person? ...To be honest, not exactly. Ian’s instructions always contained a level of reckless audacity that walked the tightrope of trust. Plus, there was his bold investing based on inexplicable confidence. Seeing how he spent money, Rin always doubted if the group’s financial state was actually okay.
Rin still occasionally dread of hiding and running away from debt collectors with Ian.
"...I guess he’s an okay person?"
"..."
"..."
Rin’s answer, which ca after a very long silence, was clearly a forced formality to anyone watching. The two newcors stopped using their utensils, their expressions stiffening. Seeing their reaction, Rin panicked and shook her head as she continued.
"No, I an, he is a good person, but, um..."
As Rin was trying desperately to salvage the situation, Ian returned to the table after securing the new room. Seeing Ian arrive right in the middle of a conversation about him, the two flinched in surprise.
*...Were they talking behind my back?*
Sensing the awkward tension at the table, Ian took his seat.
"Were you talking about sothing I shouldn’t hear?"
"A-ah, no!"
"No, sir!"
All three answered Ian simultaneously in a panic. ...They really were talking behind his back, weren’t they?
Ian, sitting down with a slightly somber expression, held out a key.
"They agreed to tidy up the room right away, so you two should move your luggage after you finish eating. Rin, you should move there too."
"What about you, Captain?"
"I’m going to keep using the room I had."
Ian had rented a new triple room for the three of them, deciding to stay alone in the double room he had been using. Having reached D-rank, he had enough leeway to pay for an extra room. His thought was that it would be better in many ways for Rin to live with the other rcenaries rather than with the Captain.
"Leaving the two rookies by themselves would be a bit much, and it’s better for Rin to be with the mbers, right?"
"I suppose so."
Although Rin had adapted to living with Ian, she couldn’t deny the unavoidable discomfort that ca from the rank difference between a Captain and a rcenary.
"But why aren’t you eating? Should I order sothing else?"
"No, we’re fine!"
When Ian asked the two who had stopped with half-full plates, they realized it and quickly began shoving the remaining at into their mouths.
"If there’s anything else you want to eat, you can order more."
"Wait, really?"
"...You order for yourself."
*You didn’t buy
stuff when I was a rookie...*
Muttering quietly to herself, Rin ended up ordering a new dish with her own money. While waiting for the food, Ian spread out the docunts he had brought from the guild. Curious about the contents, Rin tilted her head and asked.
"Captain. So, have you been looking for rookies all this ti?"
"That too, and I was looking for so other work suitable for D-rank."
The mission Ian was eyeing this ti was for an area that required prior entry permission from the guild. Since it only required a simple permit and wasn’t a restricted zone, he had been able to get the entry papers while handling the recruitnt registration today.
"Now that we’re D-rank, we should do jobs with better pay."
Of course, D-rank missions were harder than E-rank. However, there were a few interdiate missions that had low difficulty but offered higher pay than E-rank.
What Ian brought was a representative mission perfect for those who had just reached D-rank—a place he had even written strategy guides for as a recomnded area for beginners.
Being recomnded for beginners ant the difficulty was easy and the cost-efficiency was high. If it were a ga, he might have skipped it out of boredom, but in this situation, there was no reason to refuse.
Interested, Rin peered at the docunts from the side.
"What kind of mission is it?"
"Oh. Sewer patrol."
"Pardon?"
Hearing the strange words, Rin frowned and stared at the papers, but the words ’Sewer’ were indeed written there.
"I was worried there wouldn’t be any spots left... but when I said we’d take it on a regular basis for a while, they gave
the permit imdiately."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three of them stopped their spoons, their expressions frozen.
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