Boukensha Ni Naritai To Miyako Ni Deteitta Musume Ga S Rank Ni Natteta Chapter 8

On the west side of the capital city of Orphen, large and small rocks are scattering round in a wasteland, while a great number of complicated geometric patterns drifted in the sky. Immediately after, an intense lightning bolt strikes the ground, hitting the black demonic spiders of the vicinity.

"I still have more~"

Every time Miriam shakes her cane with a light movement, various geometric patterns appeared in the sky and numerous lightning bolts strike the demons one after another.

A few meters behind, Angeline and Anessa are looking at this scenario.

"…… Magic surely is convenient for this kind of extermination quests."
"That's true. But that Milly… does she fell stressed or something?"

Miriam's magical momentum is not as extraordinary as usual. Somehow, she seems upset.

"Perhaps… her favorite sweets were sold out," said Angeline while smiling wryly.
"…Actually, that might be the reason. How sad."

Anessa gathers three arrows at the same time in a single and agile movement and releases them. The arrows accurately hit right in between of the eyes of the demonic spiders that somehow manage to avoid the lightning bolts and then, they exploded. It seems that the arrows have an explosion enchantment engraved in them.

Due to the power of the blast, Miriam's big and triangular hat is blown away.

"Oops," exclaimed Angeline while she rushes and catches the hat.

A few moments later, all the demonic spiders who roamed in the wasteland have been exterminated. The expressions of the three girls are rather calm and refreshed, despite the fact that demonic spiders are AA Rank magic beasts. Angeline grew.

"Ane, you must hurry and become an S Rank adventurer. That way I can live more comfortably…" says Angeline while stretching her arms.

"What are you talking about…?"

Right then, Miriam reaches out to them.

"Ah, my hat got blown way."

Now that the big hat is not covering her, a pair of cat ears can be seen swaying around on top of her head. Most people don't know this because the hat hides her ears and the robe covers her tail, but Miriam is a beast-man.

Angeline handed the hat to Miriam, who caught up to them.

"Here"
"Thank you, Ange~," says happily Miriam while taking her hat from Angeline. After that, her body starts to s.h.i.+ver. "U~h, it's getting cold. So winter has come already."
"Yeah, let's go back soon and have some mulled wine."

The three people decide to go back to Orphen. On the way home, the clouds that cover the morning sky become darker and soon enough, snow starts to fall. The wind rapidly turns colder due to the snow that mixed with it. Soon enough, the noses and ears of the three girls turn red, and their breaths become white.

Because Orphen is located in the northern zone of the continent, its winters are cold. However, Angeline was raised in Tornela, which is also in the northern zone, so the cold they are experiencing now is not a real problem for her.

"Winter… The cold always numbs my hands," says Anessa mutters while blowing in her hands.
"The fingertips are vital when using a bow, have you bought gloves or something?"
"Hmm~, I am used to have my hands bare, so no, I haven't. Although I could use gloves without the tips on the fingers."
"I see……Then, as Ane can't work properly, I will return to the Tornela. It's perfect."
"Again saying that… I told you already, the snowfalls will be so bad this time that we won't be able to travel north."
"Mmm…"
"But~, I would also like to take a day off. I want to go to a hot spring."

Although autumn is already behind them, and they enter a new holiday season, Angeline's party does not actually remember a time when they had at least a three-day break. Regardless of how many of them are subjugated, it seemed that the movements of magic beasts were becoming more active rather than calming down. Recently, even Angeline's party has been taking on request to subjugate A Rank magic beasts. Little by little the people fl.u.s.tered by the increasing number of magic beasts left the city of Orphen, which resulted in an insufficient number of adventurers.

"……The lack of adventurers in the guilds is worrisome," muttered Angeline.

"Yes, I think so too.” agrees Anessa while nodding “I hope these B Rank requests help me increased my Rank at least a little."
"Adventurers are leaving Orphen almost every day…even the higher Ranks parties have left. It is really bad."
"Well, at least we have been busy with all these magic beasts."
"Yeah~. Usually, calamity cla.s.s magic beasts come with big rewards. But anyone would grow tired if they have to hunt them regularly."
"Right, because adventurers do not like to be tied to only one thing."
"……I really have to think about that."

In any case, the three return to the guild and report the completion of the subjugation request. The receptionist girl pushes the completion mark on the report, however, her smile and expression looked amazingly tired.

"All right, time to go the tavern. I really want to drink some sweet mulled wine," said Miriam while openly stretching her body.
"… … Please, you go first," said Angeline.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Some small errands…… I'll join you later."
"Huh?" although Anessa and Miriam feel curious about this, they leave the guild and go to the tavern.

"Hey, where's the Guild Master…?" asked Angeline while turning to the receptionist girl.

The receptionist was startled by the sudden question and the serious look on Angeline's face and became a little fl.u.s.tered.

"Well…that…why? Is there a problem?"
"There is no problem at all… But right now, I need to have a serious talk with the Guild Master. So, go ahead and call him."

The receptionist seems rather lost at first but she eventually goes into the door behind her. After a while, a middle-aged with brown hair that shows a few gray lines comes out the same door while yawning and stretching his arms. His name is Lionel and he is the Guild Master of the city of Orphen.

Lionel has carefree expression and is scratching his head leisurely, as he always does.

"So you decided not to run away this time, Guild Master……" says Angeline as she snorts at the man.
"Do you need something~? If this is about your vacations you must a little longer, Ms. Ange~."
"It is not about that, not today… Adventurers are scarce nowadays. Generally, it is uncommon for high Ranking adventurers to take on low Rankings request but now, they've been almost forced to do it. Adventurers should not be tied by anything. Whether they accept a request or not it must be a decision they take with their own free will…I think that is the reason many adventurers have left Orphen."
"No, well… right now disaster cla.s.s magic beasts are appearing left and right, if we allowed adventurers to refuse a request on their own free will the death toll of the general population will increase as well as the number of villages that will disappear~…" replies Lionel while he scratches his cheek, just like a child that is being scolded.
"So, you want us to investigate the reason why the magic beasts are increasing in number and deal with it… It is almost as if you wanted us tied to this situation…forever…"
"No~, I am sorry you feel that way~. I'm actually really thankful for all your help. But at the time of promotion test for Rank A, adventurers are explained that to deal with high-Rank disaster grade magic beasts, some measures must be taken. Well, for a while, there we didn't have problems with disaster cla.s.s magic beasts, the city was calm, but in this situation, it cannot be helped… So, please, keep working hard. People with power have bigger obligations than others~."
"If you're not doing anything about our current condition, then I have every right to complain!"
"That's why we increased the requests fees, as well as including a fixed salary for adventurers. I'm sure we have never done this before…at least not when I was an adventurer~…"
"This is not about money!" yells Angeline, interrupting Lionel's comment. "I didn't become an adventurer to kill magic beasts every day of my life! You can't keep taking advantage of us…! If you don't do something about this, adventurers will keep leaving Orphen every day! Do you understand?!"
"Well, I am of the same opinion. Exploring and traveling is also part of the adventurers' job, but the situation with the magic beasts is something we simply can't ignore. This city and the neighboring towns can't allow to turn a blind eye to this problems and let the adventurers roam freely, that's why I had to ask all adventurers to work like this, and frankly, that's the reason this old man is exhausted~."

Angeline lifted her eyebrow.

"Do not feign ignorance, Guild Master! Just because you are tired doesn't give you the right to be negligent! If the guild doesn't have enough people, you can always hire some armed mercenaries and have them work as temporary adventurers, or you can ask the retired adventurers to come back for a period of time, you can even ask the guilds from Estogar (Esutogaru) to send someone if there are not enough people in Orphen! There's also the possibility of asking the Lord to move the army! This is no longer an issue only for adventurers!"
Lion bent his mouth with a bad feeling. "Well~…if I did all that, this old man might end up dying…and I'm only thirty-nine~."

"You force us to work like crazy and you dare to say that! You don't have to risk your life in the frontline, you should at least work a little harder, so the adventurers do not have to leave this place!"

At that moment, Angeline hits the counter with her fist, making the deep crack that was already there even deeper. The receptionist got startled because of this and stepped back while screaming "Hii".

"Ok~, I get it. It is impossible to do it immediately because there are a lot of procedures I must do first, but I will do something." says Lionel as if giving up.
"It is a promise then, Guild Master… If nothing is done, sooner or later the number of death will surely increase…"
"If push comes to shove, I will take action myself. I was an S Rank adventurer after all~."

Seeing Lionel acting so confident, Angeline draws a mocking smile on her face. "That's an amazing thing to say, seeing that I have defeated you with just one hit…"
"Gah! You promised you would never talk about that, Ms. Ange! Ah! That was not true, of course! Because the Guild Master is the strongest person in the guild!"

After hearing that, the receptionist girl couldn't hide the awkward expression on her face. That's because, a couple of years back, Lionel decided to challenge Angeline, a really promising adventurer who climbed the Ranks with a surprising speed. "I'm gonna teach her a small lesson to that showoff~," thought Lionel at first, however, this ended up backfiring on him as Angeline defeated him with a single to the head. Later, Lionel asked Angeline to keep that match a secret, because all his dignity as the Guild Master might've disappeared otherwise.  However, everyone in the guild thinks that the Guild Master never had any kind of 'dignity', although no one ever said it out loud. His carefree att.i.tude has always been one of his strengths as well as his weakness.

After taking the word of the Guild Master, Angeline leaves the guild and starts walking to the tavern, with her anger stills showing in the stiffness of her shoulders. Outside, the snowfall has intensified, the clouds are thick and extremely dark. Although there's still some before the dusk, the streetlights are being lit.

Despite the fact that the tavern is rather small, there's a considerable number of people inside, probably enjoying the warmth of the place. The fireplace s.h.i.+nes read while a group of drunkards is making a fuss around it, and it seems a pleasant breeze is blowing from one of the windows.

"….Mulled wine, please, with plenty of spices. Also, a sautéed duck breast as always," says Angeline as she sits next to the two people on the counter seats.

Although the bar owner is attending the rest of the clients, he looks at Angeline and nods. She is quite familiar with the owner. Although they've never spoken much because he is terribly silent and seems kind of unfriendly, Angeline doesn't even know his name yet.

"Did you finished your errands~?" asked Miriam as she gulped the cup with mulled wine.
"…I just gave my opinion regarding the problem with the number of magic beasts."
"Do you think it'll work out? Would they be able to regulate the high Ranking adventurers so they don't leave this city or flee to another guild?" says Anessa while pa.s.sing on some cheese.
"They'll have to call in some retired adventurers…like the Old Silverhead, or the Musclehead General."
"Don't call the poor Mr. Chebolg a Musclehead General~… But, those people are already quite old… Is it really okay~?"
"Do you also think that, Ane?"
"…No, I honestly cannot imagine those people getting weaker because of their age."
"Right? Those retired people really are a mystery…"

Angeline tastes the mulled wine placed in front on her. It contains plenty of honey and spices, it is sweet, hot and fragrant, with such richness that makes you feel as if a fire has been lit within your body. The sautéed duck breast is also extremely appetizing and with a lovely aroma.

Outside, the wind gradually grows stronger, eventually closing the window whit a loud slam. Snow enters the establishment each time a customer opens the front door. It seems is going to be a particularly cold night.

In nights like this, Angeline remembers how she used to sleep together with her father Belgriff when she lived back in Tornela. Every time that happened, her father was surprised at first because her hands and feet were stone cold, but then, he would smile wryly and let her stay with him. After having decided to move to the city of Orphen in order to become an adventurer, she tried to sleep to sleep by herself to the best of her abilities, but the memory of crawling into Belgriff's bed every time it was cold made it almost impossible.

"Daddy was warm…"
"What?"
"Daddy was very warm every time I hugged him, especially on cold days like this."
"Ange really is spoiled child~. He he~." Miriam's laughter makes Angeline pout a little.
"There is nothing embarra.s.sing about being spoiled by my daddy… what did you two usually do?"
"Well, we lived in an orphanage, remember? Even in winter, our beds were separated from each other and the number of futons didn't increase either. So, we clogged together in one of the beds, piled up all the futons on top of us and stayed like that the whole night."
"Oh~. That's why Ange embraces me so often. Because she is sensitive to cold weather~."
"W-What are you saying, you moron?! You are the one who hugs me all the time!"

Right then, Angeline and Anessa realize how many cups of mulled wine Miriam has drunk and the state she was in. Her cheeks are red and her eyes kind of sleepy, and she clings up to them more than usual.

"Funya~, I feel really good~."
"Oh dammit! She's drunk too much she's not very good at that!"
"It was delicious because it's cold outside~… I couldn't help it~."
"I should take her home before it's too late… Ange, what will you do?"
"I will drink some more, I want to clear up my anger."
"Ha~, *Hic* …more… *Hic*"
"You are useless! Well then, see you tomorrow." Anessa goes out of the store while dragging Miriam, who is throwing a little tantrum. Apparently, they lived in the same rented house. I wonder if they will sleep on the same bed this evening, thought Angeline. Now that she was by herself, Angeline orders another cup of mulled wine, a bowl of pickled vegetables and a baked sausage.

If the guild scouts out mercenaries and other warriors, and the former high-Ranked adventurers come back, the numbers of adventurers will be enough. The cause of the increase of magic beast will be clarified faster and measures after that happens will be easy to take. Angeline's burden should also be reduced to a large extent. Even former adventurers who are unable to complete a quest due to old age or the like may be able to guide the lower Ranked adventurers. As a result of raising the quality of adventurers, Angeline will become more likely to take vacations.

"But… is it going to work so well…?"

She then remembers when her dad used to teach her, he was a really good teacher. He did not talk too much, but he watched over her all the time and advised properly when needed. It would be great in Angeline's dad could help the guild. While thinking of that, an idea suddenly strokes Angeline.

"Why I did not think of that before," if she can't visit her dad, she just needs to call Belgriff and have him come to the Capital.

She has sufficient funds to do so and every time she comes back from a quest she will be able to hug Belgriff. Besides, it will be easier to introduce him to everyone.

But there is one big problem, it is winter season. Tornela is closed by the snow and it is hard to travel to the capital. It is hard to send letters, too.

"d.a.m.n, I'm such an idiot," sighs Angeline as she drinks the mulled wine. "However…"

Angeline keeps thinking of Belgriff and Tornela while looking at her meal. She wants to bring Belgriff to the capital, she wants to bring him to this bar and to the delicious sweet shop. She wants to introduce him to all the adventurers, including Anessa and Miriam. But more than that, she wants to go pick rock cowberries in the mountains of Tornela, and wash dishes in a small house and plow the fields. She would like to do that, and she wants to see her dad, that goes without saying.

"…I want to go home after all," Angeline rests her chin in the counter after finis.h.i.+ng the wine. It gives her a refres.h.i.+ng sensation on her flushed face.

Another customer sat on the empty seat next to her. Although it is so cold and snowing, customers are entering and exiting one after another. Angeline figured that everyone must be seeking warmth.

"Hmm…?" The bar owner finally brings the sausage and a bowl with pickled vegetables and puts them next to the mulled wine. As usual, there's no amiability in his demeanor. Angeline nods and places some coins on the counter.

As she bites into her sausage filled with meat juices, she hears a voice saying "Oh" from the costumer next to her. When Angeline turns, she finds a blue-haired female merchant sitting there.

Angeline's eyes are wide open due to the discovery of an unexpected person.

"Oh… it's been a while."
"Indeed it has, Lady Angeline. Thanks for your a.s.sistance that time." The female merchant smiled broadly.

Angeline met her when she was traveling home but ended up rescuing a girl called Selen from some robbers. It's been six months since then, but Angeline still remembers her due to the impressive event they lived together. The two-day journey in the merchant's cart, their encounter with robbers, Selen's rescue and the journey back to Boldor.

As for the female merchant, it is impossible for her to forget her encounter with the "Black-Haired Valkyrie".

"You seem healthy…"
"Yeah, fortunately."
"…and you came back to Orphen."
"Haha, I got here just now. I transported some fish from Elbren to Bordol. Thanks to the cold, it is not necessary to have cooling magic to keep the fish fresh, which also lowers the expenses of transportation."
"Bordol…Is the weather colder there?"
"Well, it was cold alright. I'm from Estogar, y'see, so I'm not really used to cold weather…"
"And yet you're here. The Far North…"
"Well, it is an important place for merchants. Also, sin I am in good relation with the Bordol House, it's become really easy to do business in the north. I can trade as much as I want." The female merchant smiled and drank some of the mulled wine.

She seems to have various benefits from the Bordol House as one of Selen's benefactors. Suddenly, the female merchant said something she just remembered.

"By the way, I went to Tornela during the autumn festival, and I met your father."

Immediately after saying that, Angeline grabbed the female merchant. The female merchant was startled by this and let out a small scream of surprise.

"How is my daddy? Is he okay?"
"Y-Yeah, He seemed healthy. He also got rid of the elite guards of the Bordol Family quite easily."
"Yes… Wait, what? What do you mean?"

The female merchant explained the quarrel between Belgriff and Helvetica's guards during the Autumn Festival. While listening to the story, Angeline frowns grumpily, bents her mouth into a grumpy expression, and hits the counter with her fingertip.

"To herself… I won't allow anyone to recruit daddy, not even if the other person is Ms. Selen!"
"Oh, don't worry. Everything is in the past now."
"Mmm… as expected of daddy… Great. He is great, isn't he?"
"Well, I was honestly surprised, He didn't make any unnecessary movements while fighting, even though he has an artificial leg."
"Yeah … he would be even more amazing if he had both of his legs."
"His red hair really gave him the appearance of the "Red Ogre". He is calm and gives the impression of being a stoic man. It understandable why Lady Angeline appreciate him so much. Ahh…" says the female merchant as some kind of lip service, while letting out a light sigh. However, Angeline's eyes started to gleam and she grabbed the merchant's shoulders, oblivious to the real meaning of those words.

"So you really understand…"
"Oh, y-yeah."
"Very well, now that we are on the topic, we will talk about my daddy's charm throughout the whole night!"
"W-Wait! Lady Angeline?"
"It's okay. Tonight is my treat."
"Well, that is appreciated, but I have business talks tomorrow."
"Don't worry, if there's any loses I will compensate you."
"No, trust is also important as a merchant…."
"Owner, two mulled wines and some cheese! Quick!" Angeline casually takes some coins out of her purse and puts them on the counter. Her eyes are fixed on the merchant.

The mulled wine sounds good, I guess, thought the blue-haired merchant when she realized she could escape the situation. She laughed it up and started talking. Maybe if she said that it was an S Rank adventurer's fault she was late for her morning meetings, her client might show her some empathy.

Angeline's expression when talking with the merchant is most likely similar to this.

Remember to have moderation when you go out for drinks