“Wouldn’t the guild lose money?”
“We’ll do fine without your business. How many adventurers do you think there are?”
That was true. The guild was managing just fine before I came by. One customer was a drop in the bucket. “But, why just that person?”
“Well, she’s still a minor and not an employee at the guild. You know her.”
“You’re not talking about Fina, right?” There was only one underage girl I knew.
“You know what’s going on with her family, too, don’t you?”
I nodded. She didn’t have a father, her mother was sick, and she had a little sister three years younger than her.
“I’ve been giving her work, too, but I’m supposed to keep work in the guild.”
“In other words, you want me to hire Fina directly to butcher my kills?”
“That’s right. She’s pretty good at it, even for her age. She’s also good at skinning, so I don’t think she’d damage the merchandise, either.”
“I don’t mind, but I don’t know how long I’m staying in town.”
“That’s fine. Just do it as long as you’re around.”
“Actually, how much should I pay her? I don’t know the market rate for harvesters.”
“The guild takes twenty percent. You can just give her ten percent of how much you sell the harvested materials for.”
“Is ten percent enough?”
“That’s actually on the high side. You can even give her less if you think it’s too much.”
“Got it.”
“Well, I’ll call in Fina, so just wait here.”
Mr. Gentz happily headed into a back room. I thought he’d be gone for a bit, but he immediately returned with Fina.
“Yuna!” She ran over and hugged me. Yeah, she was cute. I gave her a pat on the head.
“Fina, how’ve you been?”
“Good. Is it true that you’re giving me work?”
“Yeah, could you butcher the monsters I’ve brought in?”
“Thank you so much.” Fina’s face broke out into a wide smile.
“So, Fina,” said Mr. Gentz, “you don’t have to come over here for a while.”
“But…”
“The reason why we’ve had more work lately is because your big sis was bringing in stuff without harvesting it. If she gives you the work, we won’t have as much to do in the guild. I’m going to have you put in a good day’s work today though, so don’t worry. She brought in some wolves, horned hares, and orcs—ten of each.”
“That’s so many!”
“So, what should I do starting tomorrow?”
“Can I come over to your inn tomorrow, Yuna?”
“Sure.”
“In that case, I’ll come around seven.”
It was kind of early for an appointment, but the people in this world started working as soon as the sun came up and finished once the sun went down. Nobody worked under the light of a mana gem.
I left the freezing warehouse for the muggy heat outdoors. I collected my cut from Mr. Gentz and went back to the inn.
Chapter 19:
The Bear is Dubbed
the Bloody Bear
I HAD A DELICIOUS BREAKFAST that day at the inn, too. Not having to cook was the absolute best. As I basked in my hermit’s dream come true, Fina came skipping in, full of energy.
“Yuna, good morning!”
“Morning.” I slurped my hot soup, savoring the taste. “Just wait a bit. I’ll be done eating in a sec.”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
“Elena, could you bring Fina something to drink?”
“Yuna?”
“It’s fine, just sit. I have something to tell you today.”
When I said that, Fina sat down obediently in the chair in front of me. Elena came back with the drink immediately.
“Fina, there are a ton of things I don’t know about, so could I ask you about them?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything you need for butchering? All I know is that you need a knife.”
“That’s the main thing. The sharper it is, the better the skinning goes. If your knife is dull, it’s tricky to get a wolf’s pelt off without damaging it. If it’s high-level monster, sometimes you can’t butcher them with a normal steel knife.”
“What about your knife?”
“It’s a steel knife, but Mr. Gold made it, so it’s a good one.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“I guess just a place to do the butchering. It’ll help if there’s water nearby, too.”
“That’s it?”
“I’ll need a whetstone and a place to store the materials. After a while, the meat starts to spoil.”
“So, for the time being, that means you need a whet tone, a place to harvest, and a place for safekeeping, right?” That was alright. I could use the thing I’d made earlier. “One more thing. What are you going to do while I’m out doing quests? Do you want to come with me? Or do you want to wait?”
“I want to go with you, but I’d be in the way.”
“Why would you want to come with me?”
“If I go with you, I might be able to pick some herbs for my mom.”
“In that case, do you want to come?”
“Really?”
“I can protect you. Are you fine with spending the night out?”
“Uhh, I think it’s fine if I tell my mom beforehand. But she’d be worried if I stayed out a long time.”
“In that case, we’ll just do a day trip today. Could you tell your mom it might end up being an overnight and two days next time? Or should we talk to her together?”
“It’s okay. I’ll make sure to tell her.”
I finished my breakfast and took a slow walk to the guild. We got replacement whetstones at a tool shop on the way. When I got to the guild, the other adventurers were keeping Helen busy, so I just headed toward the D-rank board on my own. Fina followed behind me.
The D-rank board didn’t get a lot of attention. The busiest one was the E-rank board. Some people watched me, but no one said anything. It was a busy morning, and no one had time to pay attention to me while they were scrambling for work.
Escort a merchant to the royal sector.
Orc slaying, includes the meat.
Slay a demon monkey that is plaguing our crops.
A sword or magic teacher above D-rank.
Acquire Melmel grass.
Investigate
