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Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
âWelcome to Miranda Company . â
The moment I opened the door, all the shop employees gave a simultaneous bow .
Items that are clearly higher-grade than those sold on the streetside were lined up inside the shop .
The price tags are mainly listed in silver but those that cost gold and over werenât rare, either .
A boy in front of the door gave me a bow .
âExcuse me, but could you let me look after your weapon . â
Thereâs no reason to refuse .
I obediently handed over my weapon .
Itâs not my fault that the boy fell over when he took it .
âWelcome, what will you be looking for today?â
âI heard that there is a money changer here . â
For an instant, there was a shadow over the shopkeeperâs face .
Money changers probably invite less than upright guests .
But that was only for a moment, the shopkeeperâs affable expression soon returned .
âI will show you, please come with me . â
We went to a table at the back of the shop .
It seems to be a special desk for the money changer, there are tools for discernment like scales and pictures of the crests of the gold coins that can be negotiated .
âWhat shall you be changing today?â
âIâd like to change 5 gold coins for silver . â
I donât like to seem to have lots of money jangling in my pocket .
This much is probably acceptable .
âUnderstood . So we would like to check the money just in case, so please take it out . â
The shopkeeper compared the weight of the gold coin, then shined a light on it, checking the crest .
The standard for gold coins are actually the same so the currency doesnât matter so long as itâs not a counterfeit .
The shopkeeper confirmed that thereâs no problem with the weight and size, so he only tentatively checked the crest .
But the shopkeeper suddenly stopped at one gold coin .
Afterwards, he turned the pages of the crest reference book, looking for the crest on the coin but didnât seem to find it .
âIâm very sorry, but could you please wait a little bit?â
The shopkeeper disappeared inside the shop .
Itâs going to be a pain if he thought it was counterfeit, I canât exactly tell who I got it from .
But contrary to my expectation, what came out wasnât a guard but a neat-looking middle-aged man .
âIâm very sorry about this . Iâm the owner of this shop, Ogil Miranda . Iâm sorry for my employeeâs rudeness earlier . â
âI donât mind, but is there a problem with the coin?â
âNo, it doesnât seem to be a counterfeit, but he probably havenât seen it before, so troubling as it may be, he asked me for my judgement on it . â
Ogil took the cold coin on a cloth and opened his eyes wide .
âThis isâŠâŠ!? This may be rude of me, but how did you come across this coin?â
I canât say itâs a farewell gift from a vampire so letâs make a suitable excuse .
âI got it when I entered Erg forest . â
I wasnât lying .
âYou went to the demon forest and back, thatâs amazing! But then that would explain it . If itâs that place . â
âSo what do you mean by that?â
Itâs troubling if he accepts it just like that .
I was taught lots of things in the forest so I canât calm down knowing my ignorance .
âThis, this is a gold coin made by a long-perished kingdom . â
Ogil crossed his arms on his chest and started telling a story .
â400 hundred years back, there was a large kingdom that ruled over territory encompassed by our Triea kingdom and the Arcland kingdom, its capital was located in the vicinity of what now is the Erg forest . This is a coin that was used in that kingdom . â
If itâs a coin from a Kingdom thatâs been gone 400 years, then itâs natural that the shopkeeper doesnât know of it .
âThe amount of gold is the same as todayâs coins . Well, this coin is historical evidence that federation standard casts had been used since those days . â
âBut it canât be used?â
âThatâs the case, isnât it . Even though the gold ratio is the same but since nobody know of the crest it might get mistaken for a counterfeit . I donât think you should use it . The reason I know of the crest is because I once saw it in my grandfatherâs coin collection . â
He regardfully put the gold coin on the table .
âThe reverse of that coin was half melted from the fires of war, but grandfather talked proudly of it . âThis coin is the legacy of a great kingdom of the past,â he said . â
âEven though thereâs a well-preserved specimen right here,â Ogil smiled bitterly .
âI have a proposal . Would you mind letting me have that coin? Iâll give you 10 royal gold coins for it . â
I looked inside my money pouch right away and it turned out just I expected .
In my pouch there are nine more coins with the same crest .
Almost half the coins Lucy gave me were this kind of coin .
Just where did she get these coins? Did she pick them up somewhere?
âNo, I suppose Iâll just trade 5 normal gold coins today . Thereâs a special memory attached to the coin .
âIs that so? Thatâs unfortunate, but very well . If you change your mind please come to this shop . â
âIâm sorry to have taken your time . â
âNo no no, Iâm glad that you showed me something good . I should thank you for it, normally thereâs a 10% handling charge for exchanging coins, but Iâll give you just the exchange rate . â
Looks like I got unexpected profit .
âIâll exchange these 5 royal gold coins for 50 royal silver coins . Well then, should you feel like exchanging that coin earlier please come to our shop . â
I shook hands with Ogil and took back my weapon from the boy desperately holding on to it .
In the end, there wasnât really anything special about the coins .
I simply didnât want to sell over a special thing given by Lucy to another person, much less to another man .
I seem to have really fallen in love with her, even if I say so myself .
I can almost hear her grinning and laughing loudly .
Finally, I asked the shop owner who went outside to see me off .
âCome to think of it, whatâs the ruined kingdom called?â
âI canât say for sure since itâs not really written much in the history books, but as far as I knowâŠâ
âYuktovania Kingdomâ, was the name, huhâŠâŠ
I left the Miranda store and looked for an inn .
âLucy Yuktovaniaâ
Thereâs no way Iâd forget the name of the woman I love .
This is too much of a coincidence . Her living in that forest, having that coin, and also her name, everything points to the answer âYESâ .
I didnât find it especially shocking .
On the contrary, Iâd rather say I became motivated .
A peerless beauty, a vampire who lived over 500 years, and possibly a member of royalty from a ruined kingdom .
It seems to be true that Iâm attracted by enigmatic women .
Becoming a noble, having my own Kingdom, and ruling over Lucyâs forest .
Luckily Lucy doesnât grow old .
No matter how many decades, Iâll definitely go and see her and make her my woman, no, Iâll âhaveâ her as my woman .
But first of all, I have to find an inn with hot water .
My goal is so small it makes me let out a sigh .
*jingle* *jingle*
âWelcoâmeâ
I was warmly welcomed by the voice of a young woman .
âIâd like to ask, do you have warm water to wash with in this inn?â
âWe haâve, weâve got a biâg kitchen you see . We boil loâts of water~ . But we need to pay for the firewood so there will be extra charges okay~?â
Looks like I found it on the first try, letâs stay here, the fact that thereâs a young woman is great as well .
âThen please, how much for that and a room?â
âWeâll, thereâs an 8 person room for 10 copper a night, a single room is 40 coppers a nightâ . There is the good room but youâll have to ask mother for that . â
I donât really need a good room .
A single room will be enough, the important thing is the hot water .
âSorryâ, itâs hungry wolf hunting season right now and weâre packed, so we raised prices . â
âI donât mind, Iâm participating as well, after all . Iâll have a single room and hot water, please . â
âThank you~âȘ Will a normal bucket of hot water be enough? If you want to use a lot weâll bring you a big bucket, itâll be expensive, though?â
âA big one please, I couldnât take a bath during my travel . I want to really get cleaned up . â
âBut onii-san doesnât really smell that much . There are some really amazing people inside~â
âThose are the only ones who wonât take a hot bath,â she laughed .
Sheâs not a beauty but I think sheâs a charming girl, shame about her breasts, though .
âA single room and a large bucket of hot water will be 45 coppers a night . You may think 5 coppers for hot water is expensive but youâll be getting lots for it so look forward to itâȘâ
âIâll be expecting it . Two nights please, then . â
I took out a silver coin .
âThanks for your businessâ, please write your name on the register~â
I took the change and wrote my name .
âAegir-san is it? You have neat handwriting for a young mercenary . â
I was made to write things down thousands of times, you see .
âI had certain circumstances in the past . I wonder if youâll tell me your name?â
âThat was faâst,â she laughed . Sheâs not wrong, though .
âIâm Maria, daughter of this âLittle Bird Bowenâ~â
âCan I call you Maria?â
âDropping honorifics already~, Iâll let you if you let me call you Aegir . This shop has me and mother and the worker~⊠thereâs three of us . â
Looks like sheâs not the type to fret over the little things .
âIn seasons like this lots of people come and go and weâre shorthanded, so we donât make breakfast . You should buy something on the main street to eat, okay~â
âIâll do that . Anyway, do you know what exactly a wolf hunt is?â
âSo you came without knowing,â she laughed again .
âI donât know very much about it either, but I think the guard-san gathers up coaches around the north gate at dawn for something . â
I see, of course since theyâre called hungry wolves theyâll be exterminated in a wolf hunt .
Facing wolves at night canât be said to be wise .
âThat was helpful . Well then, I think Iâll take a rest soon, how long will you need to prepare?â
âIâll do it now~ . Iâll get the room ready and boil the water so you go and get something to eat~â
The sun had already turned red, itâll be sunset soon .
People had already flocked to the street stalls outside .
Come to think of it, Iâve gotten used the vampireâs life of waking up at around this time .
I should hurry up and get used to a humanâs rhythm .
Besides, I have to get ready for tomorrow and properly fill my belly .
I bought a piece of bread and two chickens-on-a-stick, all costing a total of 3 coppers .
It wouldâve been perfect if there was a stew full of vegetables, but I canât expect something so luxurious .
As I was making my way back to the inn with a chicken-on-a-stick held in my mouth, something pulled my cloak from the side .
âWonât you buy a tomato?â
A little girl showed me a basket full of tomatoes .
The reason she had a grim face was surely because she still has a basketful to sell at sunset .
Looking at them closely, they were bruised and misshapen .
Probably the wholesalers sold her the bad ones because sheâs a tiny girl .
âHow much?â
âAh! Three sen each!â
I bought all eight she put on the platter and handed her three coppers .
âT, thank you very much! The change is, um, umâŠâ
The girl probably couldnât do math, she became confused .
Not being able to do math, she must get tricked a lot, being unable to tell whether one copper for three is enough or not .
When I told her to keep the change she repeatedly bowed to me in thanks .
âUmm, really, tha, thank, muguu!â
So I stuffed one of the tomatoes I bought in her mouth .
âCalm down . Itâs the tomato you sold, it doesnât taste bad, right?â
I tried a bite as well and it was ripe and tasty, contrary to how it looked .
Now that sheâs sold out, the girl can relax a little and was stuffing her face, but because of her small mouth it seemed like sheâs taking forever to do so .
Once I looked closely, she seemed barely past 10 years old and still had childish features, she canât be called a woman yet, but her fine features matched well with her blonde hair .
She was dirty all over so her cuteness didnât stand out, but sheâs definitely going to grow up into a beauty .
I better call dibs while I still can .
âWhatâs your name little lady?â
âHyes! Iâm Ruu!â
Seeing her, she looks so tense even I began to feel strange .
âIâm Aegir . Iâm staying at this Little Bird Bower . Tomorrow morning, at dawn, if you have anything for a light breakfast come and sell me . â
âThank you very much! Iâll be here at dawn, so please!â
Even though she was a child, itâs not strange to be doing business at dawn .
The strange one is the vampire and her disciple making love at dawn .
âI think sheâs got plenty of potential, but itâll be several years before I can harvest . â
âWelcome back, what will you be doing? Iâve already prepared your room~ . Iâll be bringing your hot water soon, okay~â
âThis oneâs about ripe enough to eat . â
âWhat is it?â Maria said with a strange face as she guided me . I entered the room while staring at her butt .
The room was quite spacious, it mainly contained a desk and a moderate-sized bed and also a wooden box for storing armor .
The room was almost entirely made of wood but there is a part of the floor that was stone . âThis part is for washing your body,â she explained .
Then, before I had the chance to settle down, she brought a large empty bucket 1 meter in diameter and three small ones filled midway with water .
According to Maria, you get inside the large bucket and pour water from the 3 smaller ones to wash yourself, then pour the water out to the rain gutter by the stone floor .
She specifically said to be careful not to get water outside the stone area since the floor would rot .
âFor 50 coppers I can give a special back-washing service,â she said . I immediately took out a silver coin and she turned bright red and said she was joking .
âIâll welcome you gladly, though . â
âYouâre going for the wolf hunt tomorrow right~? Get your mind off the gutter and get some sleep~ . Itâs for me and my family too . â
âAll right . Iâll properly earn money tomorrow and ask for Maria again . â
âIâm not coming in to a lewd manâs room like that~ . Iâm going to wake you up tomorrow so get some sleep once youâre done washing, okay~â
Maria left, I washed my body and my clothes, then feeling refreshed, I jumped onto the soft bed .
She said this is an ordinary single room but itâs really comfortable, I think I can probably stay here for a while .
Gold coins are worth more than I thought so I wonât be troubled for cash for a while, but fighting wolves while getting experience is also about right .
I havenât really had battle these two years and a half, after all .
At the forest I only went as far as training my body, and the kids from today were just childâs play .
As I was thinking how nice it would be if my battle sense returned, I felt the sensation of a soft bed I havenât felt in a while and drifted to sleep .
I sensed light and opened my sleepy eyes, then I heard the sound of the door being knocked .
âOâi! Aegir saân! Itâs morning already~ Get up~â
Right, Iâve got to get up .
I slept very well last night, must be because of the freshness after having a bath .
The door opened and Maria was there .
Letâs give her a morning greeting .
âYouâre finally up . Good mornâŠâŠâŠ UWAAAAAH!â
She suddenly screamed, so I checked myself to see whatâs wrong .
Last night I washed my clothes and went to sleep as-is, so obviously I was naked, furthermore, because of the fate of waking up my thing was standing upright .
âWha!! Why are you naked!? Hurry and put something on! Rather, itâs thick! Itâs big! UnbelievableâŠâ
Maria fell into a huge panic but I just checked my clothes if they were dry and slowly put them on .
Iâm not particularly against showing my thing to a woman .
Itâs been certified by Lucy as a splendid adultâs thing, after all .
And since itâs a tool for fornicating women, itâs natural that I would, right .
That said, itâs not my hobby to happily expose myself .
âHurry up and put something on! Wait, why are you putting your top on first! Cover the important things first!â
âSorry, itâs gotten so big it wonât fit in my pants . Iâd like to wash my face first, so, water please . â
âI canât believe you anymore~! How can you be so calm!â
Maria handed over the buckets of water while she looked to the side .
But even as she was screaming, from the start her gaze wouldnât part from my nether regions .
While I washed my face it settled down so I put my pants on .
âYou still want to look?â I asked, and she replied by slamming the door shut .
I picked up my actual spear and put on my armor and cloak .
Since Maria was sulking and withdrew inside, I raised my hand in the lobby and said, âIâm going . â
From the inside of the inn, a hand came out and waved .
When I got out of the inn another voice called .
âUmm! Good morning!â
Ruu believed our promise yesterday and waited in front of the Little Bird Bower .
âHere! Umm, apples! Theyâve only been picked this morning so theyâre still fresh!â
Sheâs like that too yesterday, this girl gets flustered easily .
Looks like sheâs selling two for a copper so I bought four and put one on her head .
Itâs adorable how she bows with a shy smile on her face .
As I chewed on the apples I went towards the north gate, the opposite one from when I arrived here, and just as Maria said, there were guards and several medium-sized carriages headed by two horses lined in a row .
I heard a familiar voice .
âYo Aegir! You also want to go on the wolf hunt today?â
âMorning . I found an inn without problems thanks to you, Grey . You saved me the trouble . â
âWhat, donât mention it . This may be sudden but we donât have much time until departure . Show your town entry token and get in the coach . â
Normally, nobody would participate without asking about the mission and the rewards in detail, but because it seems to be a regular job, people were coming in one after another without asking about the details .
Besides, I believe heâs not the type of guy to double-cross me, so I quietly got on the coach .
âAll right! Letâs go!â
The six coaches each carrying 10 people started off together .
Luckily, Iâm in the same coach with Grey .
âGrey, truth be told I donât know anything about the wolf hunt other than that weâre hunting wolves . Can you tell me about it?â
âIs it your first time? You have quite the appearance so I thought you were a regular⊠Oh well, weâve got time while weâre moving, Iâll explain on the way . â
âSorry for the bother . â
âFirstly, the target for the hunt is just as the name âwolf huntâ says . But the crucial part is that weâre hunting wolves that are half turned into monsters, in other words, weâre exterminating âhungry wolvesâ . â
Itâs not that strange for animals to turn into monsters .
Genuine monsters rarely come out but ones that used to be animals were relatively common along highways .
Because of that, their strength is no big deal and their threat level is not significant .
âOnes that have completely turned into monsters and act alone are quite common, but at the level of hungry wolves, theyâre still recognized as allies by other wolves . Yet because of their wide difference in strength, they often become leaders of huge packs . â
In other words, it became a pack of wolves led by a monster .
âThen come winter the game in the forest dwindles . The starving wolves normally belong to separate packs but comes together one after the other into one large pack, and they would come to open areas like highways and villages searching for food . â
âOf course, if it were a normal wolf pack they wouldnât be a problem . Everyone around here knows that, merchants and coaches carrying people who go from town to town would increase their numbers by getting armed guards . â
âBut this is not enough against a pack led by a hungry wolf, is it?â
âThatâs right, merchant caravans numbering 50 people would get destroyed, villagers in pioneer villages would all get eaten . â
If itâs a 50-person merchant caravan, then the number of armed guards couldnât be counted on oneâs fingers .
Being capable of destroying that, the strength of the hungry wolf and the number of wolves it leads must be in the double digits .
âSo before winter weâre calling every armed mercenary and strongmen and send them into the forest to lure the wolves out and destroy them . Their numbers shouldnât be too much now when thereâs still food . â
âIn that case, wouldnât it be easier to let them gain numbers and defeat them when they come out into the plains?â
âThe pack gets amazingly big once winter comes and we would suffer heavy losses . Besides, if the army moved together in large numbers they would quickly run away . â
âThereâs no way we can run and catch up with wolves,â he laughed .
âWhich is why we need to whittle the wolvesâ numbers down as much as possible in this season . Killing the hungry wolves in particular would mean that even when winter comes the wolves wonât form a large pack so it gets maximum preference, hungry wolves are rare so replacements donât appear so easily . â
âHowever, in this season the pack hasnât gotten large so if we send in a large number of people they will be on guard and wonât come out to attack . Which is why weâre sending in small parties stationed far apart . Of course, with the small numbers the danger gets correspondingly higher . â
Well of course, a pack of wolves is like an army with a leader .
They have enough power against small groups of people .
âItâs like injured people keep coming out every day, this year, more people were found dead each day . Though itâs rare that a party gets annihilated . â
As I thought, Grey is not the type to tell a lie, but there are others in this coach besides the two of us .
I want him to notice the shoulder of the guy next to him shivering .
âThe rewards also include danger compensation . Doing nothing but stand in the sun from dawn to dusk gets you 50 coppers . If you kill wolves, each body gets you 50 coppers . For us, you should take out the fangs on both sides as proof . Be careful, if you break it too short itâll become invalid . â
âI see, so participating for a day earns me a dayâs room and food . â
âAnd the terms say to bring your own weapons, after all,â Grey laughed .
âThen, for the main part, the hungry wolf, you get at least 2 gold . Extra reward since theyâre strong . The stronger the hungry wolf gets, its fangs get redder, so if you bring us the fangs we can quickly see how strong it was . â
âI see, so Iâll get a fortune if I hunt out the hungry wolves . â
âItâs not going to be that easy . Even though itâs in the name, you actually donât get to see the hungry wolves much . If you do see one, you must be lucky⊠or maybe unlucky . A party meeting a hungry wolves usually mean someone gets injured or died . On top of that they often run away without us being able to hurt them, though being hit with your weapon might take care of that . â
âI hope so . Can you tell me how to tell the difference between hungry wolves and normal ones?â
âOf course . The answer is: youâll know when you see it . Theyâre big, theyâre fast, and they have red, shining eyes . You wonât miss âem . â
Rather than fear, I feel more love and lust for red eyesâŠ
âWeâll be there soon, anything else you want to ask?â
âJust one more . You were saying about moving in parties earlier, but you wonât mind me moving alone, right?â
The air inside the coach froze .
Grey spontaneously was taken aback .
âOi oi! Aegir, donât tell me you donât have a party! You should take care of these things beforehand, or at least negotiate at the north gate before we depart! You should know that you should pass on participating if you donât have a good party!â
So while I was showing Maria my thing and eating the apples I bought from Ruu, everyone else were negotiating to form parties .
âTaking charge on my own is allowed right?â
âWell, weâre not going to say no, but once the wolves come out your lifeâs over you know . I donât want you to die for nothing . â
As far as city guards are concerned, mercenaries should be disposable pawns . Greyâs really a good guy .
âNo problem . Even if Iâm aloneâŠâ
âHey, can I talk to you for a moment . â
A female voice cut in from my side .
âWe have some circumstance and another and weâre just me and her over there . If youâre on your own, would you like to go with us?â
The woman who called out looked about 20 years old, she had red shoulder-length hair and a body just slightly shorter than me, which is tall for a woman .
Her body is muscular and tense, and her breasts are so-so .
The other one who seems to be in the party was about the same age as the redhead, she had chestnut-colored hair reaching below her shoulders and her height is on the short side .
Her body seems to be soft as a woman would be and her breasts and butt stand out properly .
She looked my way with a dissatisfied or just disinterested face and lightly nodded .
This woman doesnât seem to be very eager .
âWhat are you going to do? Theyâre a two-woman party . â
Greyâs eyes seem to be implicitly telling me to pass on them .
In matters of life and death, having a relatively weak woman as a companion is clearly a minus . «TN: Aegir dude, havenât you learned anything about judging from appearances from living with a monster of a woman for 2 . 5 years?»
Far from assistance, if they get injured and hold you back youâll be fighting with a handicap .
âAll right . Iâll be in your care . â
I raised a thumb at Grey .
Strong men are probably preferable in battle but if weâre going to go together, then it definitely has to be a woman .
Whatâs more, though these two are of different types they are rather beautiful .
My only acquaintances in this town are Maria with tiny breasts, and Ruu whoâs a child .
Whether or not there are large breasts nearby makes a difference in your spirit .
âWell, if you have the leisure to make a choice like that then I guess youâll be fine . Now weâre at the location, weâre going to let you down one party at a time so starting from the parties on the back of the coach, get ready!â
Without saying anything, Grey seems to have read my thoughts .
Iâm becoming more and more impressed .
âIâm Mireille, a mercenary from Sheera village . My weapon is this sword . Iâll be in your care!â
The weapon Mireille showed me was an 80 cm long double edged sword, the blade seemed to be iron but it was thin, it looks to be the same weight as a one-handed sword for men .
She had ordinary leather armor and a metal shield, it looked heavy for a woman to carry so she must have confidence in her strength .
âIâm Carla, a hunter . I fight with a bow so if the enemy comes to me Iâm running away . â
The bow Carla carries is a relatively large one that looks hard to use, but since sheâs a hunter then she must be good at handling it .
The quiver next to her contained 10 arrows fletched with differently colored feathers .
She was wearing simple armor made of tanned leather, she probably doesnât expect close combat .
But thanks to that, her ample breast and butt lines were clearly showing and looked great .
âIâm Aegir, an independent mercenary . Birthplace unknown . My weapon is this . â
I showed my signature bardiche and of course their expression changed .
âA monstrous-looking spear? Axe? Can you really swing it?â
âOf course, Iâm not going to bring a weapon I canât use . â
âIf youâre going to tank for me then Iâm fine with anything, just donât fall over and die first . â
As we finished our self-introductions we arrived at the place weâre in charge of .
The coach returned to town for a while and will be back at dusk .
Acting as guard for the coach, Grey didnât disembark and went back to town as-is .
Weâve reached our landmark, but according to what Grey said, the wolves are already perfectly aware of us before we entered the forest .
Now if we had some idle chat to show some carelessness, there will be a high chance of them coming out .
Of course, I welcome the idea of having a chat with two women .
âWell then, now weâve got nothing to do but have a talk and wait for the wolves . â
âOh, before that, it might be too late but for the rewards, can we split the hunt equally? We could split based on who did the finisher but the disputes are a pain . â
Looks like her previous party split up because of that .
âThatâs right . This way, even if youâre a showy idiot all will be settled by us getting extra income . â
âCarla! Quit being sarcastic!â
âYou donât trust me at all, do you . I can prove myself if the wolves come out . â
Carla turned away with a huff, saying âweâll see . â
Following through for her partner, Mireille proactively started a conversation .
Sheâs a sociable one .
âThatâs an amazing weapon you got there . Were you in an army or something?â
âNope, Iâve been in a mercenary group but I know nothing about regular armies . â
âHee . But you still look like youâve got some money to spare? Your armor isnât made of ordinary leather, right? Itâs skillfully stitched and the leather is good stuff . â
âI got these as a gift from somebody so I donât know much about it but you seem to do . â
âWell, I once worked in a place where they make leather . I made most of my armor by myself . â
The armor Mireille wears looked to have a rough finish but it was thick on the vitals and the easily-targeted stomach, it was made for combat .
âIt must be good being able to make armor by yourself . If my armor gets worn out will you check it out for me?â
âAll right, but of course Iâm going to charge you . â
âWith what youâre getting for the hunt you sure want to earn money, huh . â
âThatâs about right, I guess . Weâre barely getting by . The participation fee can get us our lodging fees somewhat, but winter is coming soon, and if I donât buy food and pelts my family is going to be in trouble . â
âYou said youâre from Sheera village . You working away from home?â
âWell I guess so . Though I say Iâm a mercenary itâs not like itâs that far away from here . I go back home often enough⊠. farming villages around here donât have any specialties and the land is not that fertile either . Other than farm work, itâs hard to get by without going away to work . I went out to work when I was 15 but there wasnât anything but playing mercenary or shaking my ass at men by the roadside . I donât have a hobby of flirting with men so I chose this road .
âHow about Carla?â
She would be bored if we left her out so I chatted her up .
âIâve been a hunter since I was born . Whether my prey be animals or humans is just a triviality . â
Seems thatâs the end of it .
âSheâs from a stray hunter family . Since her father died she had no place or group to care for her so she lives by hunting in the forest and occasionally barters for vegetables . Somehow we got along well and ended up here . Though sheâs a sourpuss sheâs good at using the bow so I can trust in her . â
âYeah, I trust beautiful women . â
Carla turned towards us and immediately called us names as she turned back .
So she can clearly hear our talk .
âYou got straight to the point, did you . But I think youâve got quite a high hurdle to pass before you can get on Carla . â
Once again Carla turned, glared at Mireille, and turned back again .
âNow itâs my turn to ask, where did you come from?â
âI donât know . â
âDonât âI donât knowâ me! I told you a lot about us, wouldnât kill you to tell us back!â
âThatâs not what I mean . I really donât know . For as long as I remember I was something like a slave . I thought I mightâve been sold or kidnapped but I donât remember anything . â
âAh⊠. sorry, nevermind then . â
Sheâs got a relatively rough manner of speaking but she surprisingly minds these things .
âI donât actually think anything of it . After that stuff happened, I ran away and somebody raised me deep in the mountains . I just left a while ago so Iâm not really worldly wise yet . â
âHee, youâve got some luck there . â
âYou can say that again . Iâm a lucky guy . â
In exchange for a destroyed mercenary company I gained a mother and a lover, not bad luck at all .
âThen today should beâŠâ
âTheyâre here!â
Carla stood up, nocked an arrow on her bow and ran behind us .
Mireille also took her sword and followed Carlaâs sight .
I too held my spear in my right hand and set up a stance with my shield in my left, I looked to where Carla was looking but I couldnât see anything .
âTheyâre there . Theyâre coming here while laying low in the grass . 4 in the center, 2 on the right, 2 on the left . â
So this is what they call a hunterâs eye, itâs a big deal but as for me, I canât do anything other than prepare my spear .
Finally Carla turned down her voice, making her voice into a whisper .
âTheyâre going to be here soon, the 4 in the center will probably come firstâŠâŠ3âŠâŠ2âŠâŠ1âŠâŠNOW!â
Just as Carla yelled from the tall grass (though itâs called tall itâs only knee-high at best) four wolves came jumping in .
Immediately one of them received an arrow Carla shot between the eyes, made a high-pitched whimper and died .
Then Mireilleâs sword also cut a jumping wolfâs gut open, scattering entrails all over the grass .
A wolf whose surprise attack had failed tried to regain its posture in confusion, but it was defenseless against the most dangerous entity .
As the wolf were about to roll over a steel blade swung down behind it and cut its front paws apart at the joint .
After âdestroyingâ the wolf I braced my leg as a pivot, still with my weapon downward, and spun around .
The fourth wolf evaded my bladed spear point and hit the handle, avoiding being cut in half .
However, it was hit on the head and cracked like an apple, collapsing on the ground without so much as a whimper .
âNext, both sides!!â
Faster than Carlaâs shout, two wolves each from both sides jumped in to attack .
Mireille put up her shield and dealt with the two on the left, but the two on the right circled further behind that expected, avoided me who was in front and rushed towards Carla .
ââCarlaââ «TN: Iâll mark non-Aegir POVs like this from now on»
(Crap!! They went in further than I thought!)
I live in the forest .
I was supposed to know well how wolves work!
My bow wonât make it in time anymore .
I hurriedly took out the knife on my waist but with my small build thereâs no telling whether I could fend off the wolfâs attack .
The moment the wolf were about to thrust its fangs at me, it abruptly stopped .
The reason is simple .
It was because it was hit with a heavy axe-like spearhead on its flank .
âAfter finally meeting a beautiful woman Iâm not about to let her get a scar now would I?â
ââââ
I raised my spear, still with the wolf stuck on the spearhead, and swung it down over the head of the other wolf .
With a squelch, they completely became two pieces of scrap .
Now there are only two wolves remaining, Mireille was able to safely fight with them using her shield but she lacked a finishing move against their coordinated attacks .
I continued my fight, standing in front of Mireille and raised my spear overhead as if to say âleave it to me . â
Mireille seemed a little worn out so she took my backup and switched with me to put her breath in order .
Her moves showed sheâs not used to battles .
I swung my spear down all at once and struck the ground .
Naturally, the wolves jumped to avoid it, but there was a gap between them being airborne and getting their feet firmly on the ground, so I swung my spear back upwards, taking one and sending it flying .
Thereâs no need to go after it, something like a wolf shouldnât be able take one of my launches and survive .
The moment I turned towards the last wolf, Mireilleâs sword had already been lodged in its throat .
âNow, that was dangerous, huh, Carla?â
*pon pon*, Mireille patted Carla on the shoulder .
The feeling of tension is no longer there .
The pack of 10 wolves from earlier had been annihilated . «TN: Yes, I counted 8, too . No, I donât get it either»
Then, since wolves are sensitive to the smell of their companionsâ blood, they wouldnât go in that direction .
Furthermore, though in hunting wolves there was a need for us to change locations, it was nearly evening already so we agreed that this was enough for today .
â5 silver for 10 wolves, that couldnât be divided to 3 people, so how about we each take one silver for now?â
âHee, youâre good at numbersâ, Mireille said interestedly . Carla was silent beside her .
âThen Iâll take my share for today . Weâll settle the rest with tomorrowâs share . â
âI⊠Iâm not taking mine . â
Carla said so in a mumbling voice, unlike her attitude earlier .
âThe hell are you saying? If I turned down payment every time things got a little dangerous for me Iâdâve starved to death by now!â
âNot that! Iâm a hunter, I shouldâve been the one who knows the most about wolves, but Iâm the one holding everyone backâŠâŠ I canât agree to an equal split like this!â
âYou sure worry about strange things, girlâŠâ
Mireille was at a loss as to what to do with the strangely prideful Carla, so I proposed something that would make all three of us happy .
âSo you wonât take your share because I helped you out, is it?â
âRight . If you werenât there Iâm sure Iâd be having it bad . So you can take my share of the payment . â
âHow about we do this . We split the earnings equally, and as Carlaâs thanks for my help, you let me rub your breasts until the return coach comes . â
âWha!!!!!?â
âPfff!â
Carla opened her eyes wide and Mireille burst out laughing .
âIf Carla doesnât feel indebted to me then her pride wonât get hurt, with the earnings split equally there will be no complaints and the party will be at peace, and I get to have my fill of soft breasts . How about it? Nobodyâs loss . â
âI had you for a more scary battle freak but youâre unexpectedly a horrible perverted bastard arenât you . â
A man who doesnât like women ainât straight .
My crookedness had just been straightened out recently .
âSo, whatâre you gonna do? As for me, the sooner you decide the longer I get to enjoy myself . â
âKuuh! All right, touch as you like! You just want to rub them, right! But do it over my clothes! That, and if you touch anywhere else Iâm chopping your hands off!â
âAnd thus Carlaâs breasts were ravaged by a perverted man . â
âShut up! SHUT! UP! Mireile!⊠. Hey, didnât I say over my clothes!!â
ââOver your clothesâ doesnât include armor, right? I can at least put my hands inside your armor, canât I?â
âWait! Thereâs just underwear under my armor! Ah! Wait!â
âA promise is a promise, Iâll be in your care until the coach comes . â
I sat behind Carla, I put my hands around her sides and started rubbing away on her ample breasts .
I didnât grab them roughly but gently, as if kneading them .
There was thin cloth under her armor but the feeling reached my hands just fine .
âYouâre quite sweaty . â
âCanât be helped after all that workout!â
âYour scent is rather nice, too . â
âNo sniffing!â
Carla probably couldnât get a decent bath, there were smells other than sweat coming from her .
I could say it stunk, but since it drifted from a beauty like Carla itâs not so unpleasant .
As both my hands were rubbing her breasts I blew on her ear and she made a huge reaction .
I can already feel her nipples standing straight at the center of her breasts .
I breathed roughly at her ear on purpose and rubbed her nipples as if pinching them .
âKyaa! Wait! Enough!â
âIâm only rubbing your breasts as promised, no? Weâre doing it until the coach comes, right?â
âI did say breasts⊠. but that sensitive spotâŠâ
Mireille was laughing at first, but now she was gulping at Carla who was starting to melt .
The air became quiet and the only sounds that could be heard were Carlaâs and my rough breathing, and the regular rustling of clothes, only the sounds of me rubbing her nipples from over her underwear . â
âMm! Mmmmm⊠. . Hey, wait!!â
Suddenly, Carla raised her voice .
âWhat is it?â
âYouâre hitting it on purpose! Thatâs not what we promised!â
While feeling a woman, I couldnât keep my cool .
My penis grew large and pushed up my trousers, encroaching onto Carlaâs butt sitting so close .
âItâs because Iâm rubbing a womanâs breasts . Itâs nothing weird, not like Iâm rubbing it on you . â
âBut! Ah!! Itâs hitting my buttâŠâŠ itâs bigâŠâŠâ
Iâm not in the mood to argue so I caressed her rougher, breathed at her ear from point blank range, and accidentally pushed my erect thing against the crack of her butt .
The sounds Carla was making changed, I can hear her gritting her teeth .
Sheâs finished, any time now I guess .
I pulled strongly on her cork-stopper-like nipples and licked her behind the neck, breaking my promise .
âNnaaaAAAAHHH!!â
Carla made a loud shout then uncurled herself, twitching . She ran out of strength .
Her nipples gradually became smaller, and she rested her head on me .
âCarla? ⊠Seriously? You came?â
âThatâs, definitely⊠not, trueâŠâ
Carla frantically stood up, trying to make an excuse to Mireille, but she then collapsed and fell face down .
The back of her pants was soaked as if she had been sitting in a puddle of water .
âHee, so youâre staying in that Little Bird Bower . A private room there costs quite a bit but itâs rather nice, huh . â
âWhere are you two staying?â
âWeâre staying at X Bower, weâre renting a double room . Carla canât sleep next to someone she doesnât know . We had to spend 20 coppers a night thanks to that, even though we couldâve spent 10 for the common room . â «TN: The name of the inn was omitted in the raw . :/ »
âThatâs not so bad isnât it, itâs money well spent if itâs for sleep or food . â
âThatâs if youâre someone with money! Anyway, youâre going to participate again tomorrow, Aegir?â
âIf theyâre doing it . Doesnât look like they go every day . â
âRight, so wonât you go with us again tomorrow? Carlaâs all fired up to fix her reputation, too . â
âYeah, please . â
âSo, North Gate again tomorrow, okay! Carlaâs coming too, hey, youâre still giddy? Well, I never seen anyone rub breasts the way he didâŠâ
In the end, Carla was dead tired and leaned on Mireille on the return coach and didnât say a word, but since she didnât refuse me sitting next to her, she was probably not that angry .
I bought food from a cart and tomatoes from Ruu, then went back to the inn, washed, and slept .
Itâs only been the second day of me doing this but it had already felt like my daily routine .
Iâm going to be fighting along with two women tomorrow so to make myself look good I should get enough sleep .
As an aside, in order to soothe my dick that had been in the mood since caressing Carla I thought to settle matters by my own hand, but I was unexpectedly seen rubbing it by Maria who came to bring me more hot water .
Maria broke into a scream, but she didnât release my member from her line of sight .
If I stopped there itâs going to disturb my sleeping so while gazing at Maria I let loose what seemed to be a bucketâs worth of cum and asked for additional water, but Maria left the bucket there and dashed away at full speed .
Doing it by myself is unsatisfying after all .
I donât mind prostitutes, so bring out the women already .
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