ALL NOVEL Chapter 171
Chapter 171. The Bumpy Family And Faf’s Training
The night of the day we started transporting the mirrors.
From the darkness born of twilight, a lean, muscular elf with blonde dreadlocks slithered out.
“Akira.”
“Yo. What’s the situation?”
“One of them was attacked. Shall I pursue?”
I had asked Yaralai to secretly guard the transport. Although the main focus was on Giro and Clari, the others were more like backup.
This was partly to monitor the hired slum residents, and partly because if word got out that we were moving luxury goods, the risk of attack would increase. Giro and the others caused trouble right away, so I had a feeling this might happen. And now, it already had.
“Is the person who was attacked unharmed?”
“Only threatened. I would have helped if it seemed dangerous.”
“Figures. Can you track the culprit?”
“Possible. But the transporter also fled. Which should I pursue?”
“Ah… they ran off, huh…”
Not that I blame them.
“Find the culprit and keep an eye on them.”
“Understood. I’ll annihilate them.”
Yaralai flashed a sniper rifle from his item bag, his mouth curling into a sinister grin.
“No, no, no! Just figure out where the mirror is. Don’t do anything rash!”
“They’re criminals.”
“We don’t need to go after the small fry.”
“…Understood.”
He seemed to grasp my intent. This guy’s pretty muscle-headed too.
“All right. But I’ll be tailing them, so I’ll be away for a while.”
“Yeah. Criminals operate at night, after all. Here’s some funds—use this for meals. If it’s not enough, come back for more.”
I handed him 100,000 yen worth of silver coins from the container to make it easy to use.
Remaining funds: 1,707,988 yen.
Quest funds: 3,043,010 yen.
“I’ll take it. I’m off.”
“Please.”
Yaralai melted back into the darkness, vanishing entirely. His ability to completely erase his presence left me slightly uneasy, but I trusted him to handle it.
◆
Returning to my secret base in the slum, I found only three transporters remaining. Giro and Clari were, of course, still there.
“Well, one of them fled. Leaving without reason is unacceptable. Even if they come back, they’ll never be hired again.”
In response to my declaration, the bald-headed transporter spoke up.
“About that guy… I heard he was robbed of his cargo. Apparently, those two kids dumped out the contents.”
He glared hatefully at the two children.
“Don’t be so harsh. Everyone makes mistakes. I won’t criticize you for similar ones, as long as you don’t lie or make excuses.”
In this world, admitting responsibility is rare because it invites others to pin all the blame on you. Honesty might be a virtue in Japan, but here, it doesn’t hold much sway.
In some ways, this world’s norms are similar to Japan’s in that regard.
“If something happens, just be honest about it. Unless it’s serious, I won’t fire you or ask for compensation. Not that compensation would solve anything anyway.”
The men exchanged exasperated looks.
“…Fine. We promise. So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Well, since we’re down a person, I’ll need each of you to carry more.”
The men sighed in unison.
“In return, I’ll divide the missing worker’s pay—2,000 yen—among you. Each gets an extra 500 yen. Giro and Clari, you’ll get 250 yen each.”
“What!?”
Apparently, they’d expected more work without extra pay, judging by their collective outcry.
“Also, from tomorrow, everyone moves together. I need you to match Giro and Clari’s pace.”
“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to move faster?”
“To prevent theft. Also, no taking shortcuts through dangerous areas.”
“…”
They seemed reluctant, but taking unnecessary risks is too dangerous. Teaching them otherwise, however, is a challenge.
“If anyone breaks these rules and causes problems, they’re fired on the spot.”
“…Got it.”
Though they reluctantly agreed, enforcing punishments rarely leads to positive outcomes. It reminded me of a story I’d heard during a company drinking party: a foreign factory’s employees completely stopped working after their holidays, rendering their cheap labor costs meaningless.
The difficulty of doing business with a Japanese mindset in foreign lands.
After finishing our agreements for tomorrow, I secretly added more mirrors to the base’s storage. Likely 100 units would be the limit, so I only prepared that amount.
Remaining funds: 1,707,988 yen.
Quest funds: 2,041,010 yen.
Afterward, I helped with food distribution, then it was time for training. Surprisingly, Faf showed up.
“Kukuku… I was free today, so I thought I’d spar with you.”
“No thanks.”
“Kukuku… Don’t be shy. I’ll teach you some grappling techniques for later. For now, we’ll use this.”
“…A stick?”
Ignoring Faf’s nonsense, I accepted the long staff handed to me. It was significantly taller than me.
“Kukuku. It’s a spear substitute. I’ll teach you the forms; the rest is repetition.”
A spear? Why a spear now?
“Kukuku. You can’t rely on bare hands forever.”
“I’d prefer a peaceful life.”
“Kukuku… You don’t mean that.”
“…?”
I stopped short of glaring at Faf. Saying it out loud might make it true.
That day, I learned several forms from Faf and practiced them endlessly. Swinging it with a wave-like energy felt oddly natural to my body.
Later, Hagg took over, teaching me how to channel energy into the spear.
“Feel the wave align with the thrust. No, that’s wrong. Wrap the energy around the spear in a spiral… Yes, like that. Keep practicing.”
“R-right.”
I thrust repeatedly, imagining a spiral of energy coiling around the spear. Focused on repetition, I didn’t notice their conversation.
◆
“Kukuku… Isn’t it time you told him?”
“Told him what?”
A small-horned girl named Farna crossed her arms, smirking at the dwarf Hagg standing beside her.
“Kukuku… Just how strong Akira has become.”
“If he knows, he’ll get cocky.”
“Kukuku… He’s already as strong as a royal guard.”
“That’s precisely why. He only needs enough strength to protect himself.”
“Kukuku… Someday, he’ll understand the meaning of protection.”
“…I dislike cryptic talk. But I’ll thank you for teaching him spear techniques.”
“Kukuku. His energy is remarkably suited to it. He’ll reach mastery in no time.”
“He’ll need a specialized weapon.”
“Kukuku. Then you should make one for him.”
“I was already planning to. The sewing machine design is nearly finished too.”
“Kukuku…”
Hagg never met Farna’s gaze, even to the end.