"So, why are we going together with this girl?"
"…………" (Other 3)
Yes.
For some reason, the budding merchant girl, Arly, was still with Crimson Vow.
And for some reason, Mavis was the only one who thought the very common sense thing: "I should just say no."
Reina and Pauline felt a strange sense of duty, thinking, "As fellow merchants, we cannot overlook the release of such ignorant and dangerous materials into the open!"
...And Mile just thought, "She seems like an interesting girl."
Perhaps she seemed a little like her previous life self (Misato), who was socially awkward and had no friends.
Well, unlike Misato, who couldn't even say what she wanted to say, Arly said some outrageous things without hesitation, so there didn't seem to be any overlap between them at all...
However, in terms of "seemingly not having friends," she felt like completely similar.
And then Arly followed them to the inn...
"If it's not good to send large amounts of monster materials through the Hunter Guild, there are other ways to make money!" (Arly)
"How?" (Pauline)
Hearing that it was a money-making opportunity, Pauline jumped at the chance with great interest.
"A porter. Transport heavy, bulky, and fragile items.
Mass transportation without the need for carriages. This would be..." (Arly)
"Ahh."
"Ahh."
"Ahh..."
"Eh?" (Arly)
Arly was confused by the poor reaction of the members of Crimson Vow.
"Umm, we are C-Rank Hunters so..."
"Carrying luggage is considered an odd job that only professional contractors or low-earning hunters below D rank have to do to make a living!"
"For us C-rank hunters to accept such a job is shameful. It means that our superiors are taking away work that should be done by specialists or new hunters..."
"Even if we have large capacity storage magic and the scale is different, the fact remains..."
"Eh……" (Arly)
As a novice merchant who didn't know much about Hunters, it was understandable that she didn't know about such things.
And…….
"Well, if I put the items away when I pass by the jewelry store..." (Arly)
"It's a crime!"
"Isn't it a theft!"
"There's no way I could do that!"
"...I see, that's a good idea!" (Pauline)
"Pauline!!" (Reina + Mavis)
"Pauline-san..." (Mile)
The three of them looked at Pauline with cold eyes.
"J-just kidding, I was just kidding!" (Pauline)
Pauline said this in a hurry, but if it had been someone else it would have been understandable, but coming from Pauline it was no joke.
"Hey, everyone, what do you think I am?!" (Pauline)
Pauline was anxious, but...
"Miser"
"Money-obsessed"
"Will do anything for money"
"The same as Arly." (3 of CV)
"What is thaaaat!!" (Pauline)
Pauline seemed was properly recognized by her companion.
Pauline seemed a little upset, so Mile thought she might have teased her a bit too much and brought the conversation back to Aluri.
"Why did you become a merchant, Arly? It doesn't seem like a good fit for you..." (Mile)
Mile was a pretty rude guy.
Normally, you wouldn't say something like that to someone.
If her younger sister from my previous life heard this, she would probably say something like, "That's the kind of thing you mean, big sister..."
"My father is a merchant..." (Arly)
"Ah, to follow in your father's footsteps..." (Mile)
"I was saying it would be nice to earn money easily without having to do heavy labor or sweat..." (Arly)
"Is that not the case?!" (Mile)
Unfortunately, things weren't going well.
Also, Arly's voice seemed to have gotten lower and less inflected.
Her face was now expressionless, and the tension from earlier was gone.
She spoke slowly and didn't say much...
"Why did your mood suddenly drop and you become so expressionless and silent all of a sudden?" (Mile)
"…This is my true nature… When I’m working, I force myself to act like that…
It's getting to the point where we're running out of time..." (Arly)
"What on earth is that?!" (All CV)
Just as Mile had said, it seemed she wasn't cut out to be a merchant...
"...So, Arly lived in the royal capital...
So why did you come to a regional city? Normally, I would think that a merchant would want to go to the royal capital..." (Mile)
Reina and Pauline nodded in agreement at Mile's words.
And Arly's response was...
"The astute merchants who were born and raised in the regional cities will quickly head to the royal capital, so the only ones left are those without the skills… So I thought I could easily rise up…" (Arly)
"……" (All CV)
No, they knuw what they're trying to say.
And it's not like it's hard to understand.
But…….
"What on earth is that!!" (All CV)
…Right. Even though they could understand it, it was a way of thinking they couldn't agree with...
"Not all merchants in local cities are stupid!"
"By that logic, doesn't that mean you're also an idiot who doesn't have the skills to survive in the royal capital?"
"...And you haven't made any progress at all!"
"Tahaha..." (Mile)
A tough one.
...But in a different sense than fighting.
Somehow, everyone at Crimson Vow was starting to feel tired...
Author's Note
...
Thank you very much! (^^)/