Chapter 70: How The Girls Used Their Paid Leave
“”Paid Leave?””
A system that exists on Earth.
Basically, it is a system available for a limited number of times, and when you use it, you get paid while being on leave.
It also existed in the places where the visitor Souma Nagi worked at, but sometimes it came with a warning: “Don’t try to use it!”
“You guys don’t have any urgent work or Quests you’re taking on independently, do you? If so, take a paid leave tomorrow.”
The day after we went into the dungeon, I told everyone in the living room.
Cecile, Rita, and Aine. Of course, Rafilia and Iris were also with me. In addition, I told Iris the information about the “Golem” that I heard from Eterina Hasburg. I’m going to have her pass it on to the Lord.
It’s up to the Lord to decide whether to believe the information or not. From here on out, it’s the work of the Lord and the regular soldiers. Let’s cut that out and take a break. I’m also tired from all the things that have happened.
“You will get the day off, but still get paid, so you’ll get an allowance. I’ll give you guys 12 Arsha per person in the morning, and you can think of it as free spending money.”
“… budget is okay, right? Aine.”
I check with Aine.
Aine is in charge of the party’s financial situation, so if she’s okay with it, we’ll go ahead with my plan.
“We got paid a lot of money this time, so it’s okay.”
“Good. Then let’s do it. Tomorrow, we’ll all take a day off from work and go on our own. The Quests are done, and we’ve got a place to live, so we’re going to celebrate with the reward we received…”
I looked around at everyone’s faces.
Cecile looked puzzled, as if she doesn’t really understand what I mean.
Rita seemed to have a plan and her ears were twitching as she nodded.
Aine was in the kitchen counting the rest of the ingredients. If tomorrow is her day off, she won’t go shopping.
Reggie is … Oh, and by the way, he’s with me. I can’t just let him walk around by himself and be empty-handed.
Iris and Rafilia were looking at each other and discussing. They’ve become friends over the past few days, haven’t they? But when did they start calling each other “Master” and “Disciple”?
“Do you guys understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes! So, who should be in charge of Master Nagi’s escort?”
…Huh?
Cecile raised her hand vigorously, and everyone around her nodded, “Ah, yes, yes.”
“‘Um, … I said that tomorrow is a day off, didn’t I? We’re all on paid leave.”
“Yes. Of course.”
Cecile replied with a beautiful smile.
“But if Master Nagi is alone, we won’t be able to act freely and calmly because of… worrying about you. So, I think it would be better if someone were to escort you.”
“That’s fine. I’m just going to check out the Adventurer’s Guild and then wander around the town.”
“… Master? We’re free to do whatever we want tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it’s okay for us to voluntarily escort you, right?”
“It’s no different than working, isn’t it?”
“I never thought of being with you as a ‘work’, you know?”
Cecile, you’re looking at me with appealing eyes.
I know what you mean, but as a Master from a civilized world, I think I’d like to give you some free time once in a while.
So why is it so difficult for me… to give you a break?
Rita is nodding with a serious face.
“You know, Nagi. Even though the case has been solved, you still haven’t gotten used to this town yet, so it’s dangerous for you to go alone. Besides, you’ve been in this world for less than two months, haven’t you?”
“…less than 2 months?”
… that’s about right.
I felt like I’d been with you guys for a very long time.
“That’s why I think you should let us, the inhabitants of this world, to escort you.”
“Well, it’s true that you guys are my seniors in this world.”
“So, I think you should listen to us who want to escort you for some reason.”
“Your real intention is coming out!”
But Rita is looking at me as if she’s pleading. Her animal ears are perked up, and her tail is puffed up a bit. It looks like she’s really worried about me.
… Can we keep talking about this?
Aine, Rafilia and Iris all seem to agree as well. As their Master, I can’t let them worry about me.
“Okay. I’m sorry, but I only need one of you to escort me.”
I said.
My business is just to go to the Adventurer’s Guild, so it won’t take long. After that, I’ll secretly listen to the request of my escort and work according to her wishes.
Then it’s as good as giving them a day off, I guess.
If that doesn’t work out, then let’s prepare a “substitute holiday”. It’s my responsibility to make sure that they have a proper day off. And “substitute holiday” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
“I’m sorry, but one of you has to escort me tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
On behalf of everyone, Cecile clapped her hands.
“Now, everyone, let’s play “Peaceful Winner Determination Rock-Paper-Scissors” as taught by Master Nagi! It’s a fair match. Don’t hold any grudges. Is that okay…”
At Cecile’s call, Rita, Aine, Rafilia, and Iris gather around the table.
“““““ Whoever wins the Rock-Paper-Scissors game will be given the right to escort Master Nagi tomorrow! ”””””
Wait a minute, isn’t it usually the loser who has to escort?
Consider the feelings of your Master who tried to give you guys a paid leave, will you?
“““““ Rock-Paper-! ”””””
And the next day.
“Ehehe …, I feel kind of bad for you guys.”
Holding hands with Cecile’s melting face, I left the house.
Yesterday’s battle was so fierce that it gave me a headache.
After eight rounds of heated Rock-Paper-Scissors, the loser, Rita, rolled around in the hallway, Aine mistook sugar and salt for dinner, and Rafilia, for some reason, gave a horrified smile. The smallest Iris was enthusiastic, saying “We have to think about our plans for tomorrow”.
… Though I’m glad to hear that everyone was convinced in the end.
“So, first, the Adventurers Guild?”
“Yes. Now that the Order of Divine is gone, I have to show my face again.”
From there, it’s really free time.
Let’s wander around, trying to figure out what Cecile wants.
“Wow. Ilgafa’s Adventurer’s Guild is pretty lively, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t so the other day when I was here.”
I remember when Rafilia was undergoing pressure interview, it was deserted.
But now there are more than a dozen Quests posted on the Quest board, and many adventurers are gathering there. The Guild Manager has changed, and the woman from back then is no longer here. There’s a younger, feisty-looking woman working as a receptionist.
The tavern attached to the building was crowded, and everyone was talking about the festival the day before yesterday.
“I saw the Sea Dragon up close,” “What? I saw it closer than you.” “Haha, I rode on its head!”
The “Message From The Sea Dragon” that we distributed has also been copied and is currently filling up the Quest board.
It seems we have reached the common understanding that the Shrine Maiden has been freed from her mission. I’m glad.
“I’m sorry. Yesterday you would have found a more rewarding Quest.”
As Cecile and I were looking at the Quest board, a woman from the Guild spoke to us.
She had short reddish hair, wearing a miniskirt and an apron, and looked somewhat energetic.
“You’re a little late, aren’t you? Until early this morning, we had a Quest that said [Looking for a Mage! Urgently Needed! Extra Pay! Travel and Transportation Expenses Paid! Meals Provided! Combat partners welcome as well!]”
“Isn’t it too good to be true?”
“It’s all right. The masked ones and those connected to them have been exterminated. Besides, that Quest was requested by the Lord’s House.”
“Lord’s House?”
“Yeah. I don’t know the details, but I think they were talking about …, needing people to dispose of some dangerous magic item?”
The woman made a little gesture of thought.
I see. He has moved to dispose the Golem left behind by Eterina Hasburg.
He reacted quickly. As expected of a Lord.
“The Lord is also going through a lot, with the Shrine Maiden no longer needed and Young Master Neuel getting sick.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter to us commoners.”
“You can’t be that unambitious!”
She pointed to the sky.
“The Adventurer’s Guild is looking for Heroes to save the world. You can join and become a top-notch adventurer. No, we’re actually short on staff. Thanks to the appearance of the Sea Dragon, Ilgafa’s reputation is on the rise, and there’s a lot of cargo coming into the port! We’re in need of caravan guards. Please, join us now and help us.”
“No, we’re not working today.”
“Oh, no!”
The woman slipped and collapsed.
“If you accept this Quest, you’ll go from C-rank to B-rank B in one fell swoop, and when you reach A-rank, I’ll come up with a way to give you 1.5 times the reward. So!”
“You were actually a member of Order of Divine, weren’t you? You’ve no fully healed yet!”
I seems that their claws were quite deep.
Cecile glared at her as she tried to hang on to me, saying, “Mmm.” Perhaps she flinched from the dark elf’s gaze, but she seemed to miss me and slunk back to the reception desk. But she seems to have pulled herself together and is talking to the next group of people who came in. I hope she finds someone soon.
“It would be nice if there was some kind of Magic Armor Extermination or Gargoyle Suppression Quest.”
Cecile murmured in disappointment as she looked at the Quest board next to me.
“I’ve got a new magic I wanted to try out.”
“Trump card against magical creatures?
“Yes.”
Cecile nodded, looking excited.
She’d always been concerned about the handful of times she’d fought the Ice Golem in the Sea Dragon Dungeon. She said that since she was in charge of magic, she was responsible for taking out anything that worked with magic. She didn’t want to put me and Rita in danger.
You don’t have to worry about it.
Cecile is such a ‘Cheat’ character that she’s too good for me, and she can use magic powerful enough that can blow up the castle walls with a single spell.
“Cecile, you’re doing great.”
I put my hand on Cecile’s head with a pop.
Cecile is looking up at me with a ticklish look on her face.
“So, as a reward, I’m going to accompany Cecile wherever she wants to go today.”
Alright, as planned.
Because that’s what I originally planned to do today.
“EH? Oh, yes. Wait a minute, Master!
Cecile bowed to me with a surprised look on her face.
She continued to back away and walked out of the Guild building. She was on a sunny street, looking up at the sky, looking at her feet - checking the position of the sun and shadows? Why?
Oh, she’s back. Waving her arms around, cute like a little animal.
“Okay, okay. It’s still a little early in the day, but …”
“Is it early?”
“No, it’s nothing. I just had an idea of where I want to go. Um, um…”
Cecile pressed a finger to her cherry-red lips and nodded her head.
Then she ran over to the “Map of the Area around Ilgafa” on the wall of the Guild. She was trying to point to a point on the map, but she couldn’t reach it. She was stretching as hard as she could, saying, “Hmmm, hmmm!” She’s so cute.
“Here?”
I pointed to the extension of Cecile’s finger.
Cecile was standing on her tiptoes, shaking and nodding her head.
The place on the map was called “Knot Hill.”
It was a monument on a hill just outside of Ilgafa - less than an hour’s walk from here.
“It is said that this is the place where the Daughter of the Sea Dragon and the Sea Dragon Hero met for the first time. I wanted to go there just once with… Master Nagi, if that’s okay with you?”
“Okay.”
Originally, I was going to respond to Cecile’s request today.
So, I won’t say no. There’s no need to make such a desperate face and make watery eyes, Cecile.
The Knot Hill was located outside the walls of the port city of Ilgafa.
Since it was near the town, monsters rarely appeared. When they do, it’s at night. And only low-level ones at that.
That’s why it seems to be a tourist spot for some of the more skilled residents, where they can look down on the sea. However, the Guild woman said that everyone was busy cleaning up after the festival today, so it might be free…
We left the town and walked up the hill, a little off the main road.
Cecile, who was walking next to me, looked nervous for some reason.
When I spoke to her, she said, “What is it, Master Nagi?” “No, I’m not hiding anything. I’m not hiding anything!” “No, you can’t. You can’t use [Mind Linkage LV1]” “No, but if you really want to…” She was fuming all the way.
It’s obvious that she’s hiding something, but it’s okay because it’s fun to watch…
After climbing up the hill, we arrived at “Knot Hill” where we could look down on the sea and the port town.
There were a few people ahead of us. Even though the town was busy cleaning up after the festival, there seemed to be people on vacation.
For example, a Beastgirl who was laying a rug on the grass and arranging it with her hands.
For example, a maid preparing tea by boiling water in a kamado made of piled up stones.
{Note: Kamado is a traditional Japanese wood- or charcoal-fueled cook stove.}
For example, an elf girl cutting bread out of a basket into six equal portions.
For example, a girl of elementary school age who had nothing to do but wander around among the four of them, lost in thought.
It looked like everyone was getting ready for a picnic.
The four of them - Rita, Aine, Rafilia, and Iris.
They were so focused that they didn’t even notice us.
“… I see…”
“… ehehe.”
Cecile looks like she’s in some kind of trouble.
Come to think of it, there was no way that Cecile would think of doing an escort mission just for fun on her own, just because she won the “Peaceful Winner Determination Method Rock-Paper-Scissors”. I’m sure everyone had planned it together yesterday. The whole party was going to have a picnic today. Was she planning to tell me, “Let’s eat lunch here,” when the time was right?
You should have told me. What were you going to do if I said no?
“You didn’t have to hide it, you know?”
“If I had told you in advance, you would have said, “It’s your day off”, wouldn’t you?”
Cecile is looking at me with her index finger pinched together.
“That’s because as a Master, I’ve given you some free time.”
“Yes. So we decided to do what we wanted to do in that free time, as Master intended.”
… I’m done.
“… ehehe.”
In the end, there was no way I could say anything to Cecile, who was complaining to me with a face like she was about to cry…
All I could do was pat Cecile on the head.
… I’ll be sure to explain the proper use of paid leave to everyone later.
“Oh, it’s Master Nagi and Cecile…”
Rita noticed us and waved at us.
“Hey. Cecile.” “We’ve been waiting for you.” “Huh. I guess Iris won the battle.”
Aine and Rafilia are shouting and Iris is nodding her head. No, the mission didn’t succeed. It was so obvious.
Just as the kettle was spitting out steam on the stove, the preparation for the early lunch was finished…
Just as Cecile and I were about to join the others, suddenly…
GUAGYAAAAAGAHAHAHAAAAAAA────!!!
“Help me, ──────! ────! Help!”
From the street, there was the sound of metal scraping, and footsteps dragging wet things…
Someone’s scream rang out.
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