Myne’s Request

OUR CART MADE STEADY PROGRESS, and we arrived at one of the last

towns before Galia. All that remained between us and Galia after this place

was the fortified town that defended the border, to which we were headed.

That was likely where Lady Roxy's troops would soon be stationed.

"Thank you for everything," I said to our driver.

"No, no, thank you! You made me a lot of money. I'm only sorry I

can't take you any farther; it's just too dangerous past this point. I can't risk

the potential damage to my cart."

"This is more than far enough," I said, handing him his promised

fifteen gold.

The driver was not an adventurer; however, he told us that army

caravans arrived in this town periodically to ferry profit-seeking

adventurers to and from the border. Those caravans were our best bet for

getting there safely. For his part, the driver intended to search for

adventurers heading home, so he could make some money and ensure

protection for himself and his vehicle. He didn't plan to stay long if he

could help it.

"Myne, let's go," I said.

"Right behind you."

The town we walked through had been built purely to bolster support

for the border, and a wide variety of supplies arrived daily that were then

delivered to the front lines. The place was also packed with adventurers,

more than I'd ever seen anywhere near Seifort. Every one of them was there

for monster hunting.

There was never a shortage of hunting jobs so close to Galia, so this

town was an excellent place to make money. The rewards for successful

hunts were phenomenal. For experienced adventurers, this town was

probably next to heaven. At the same time, the area was prone to stampedes

of rampaging monsters, so this heaven was defined by a constant state of

danger.

There were two types of monster stampede: small and large scale.

Holy knights sent here from Seifort were in charge of subduing large-scale

stampedes, colloquially referred to as "death parades." These comprised

tens of thousands of monsters, which would wipe out ordinary hunting

parties in a gruesome instant.

Small-scale stampedes, if you could call them small, were made up of

a few hundred monsters. Experienced adventurers often handled these,

gathering into giant parties of hundreds to face down the horde. They were

sometimes led by former holy knights, men and women who had been

broken by the constant petty power struggles in the kingdom and eventually

washed up in this town. Perhaps they dreamed of making names for

themselves and one day returning to Seifort in glory.

"Where are we going, Fate?" Myne asked.

"Let's find someplace to eat first. Somebody's been eating all my food

supplies."

"Ah, okay."

That somebody was Myne, but as usual, she showed not even a tiny

hint of remorse. In fact, she looked as if she lived by the logic that my stuff

was, by extension, her stuff. That didn't matter, really. I was getting used to

it. As long as she wasn't angry at me, I didn't care what she did. Every time

I contemplated crossing the line with her, I thought back to the time Myne

had snapped and sent a rude holy knight flying through the air, far away,

into the great beyond…

What kind of punishment awaited people who made Myne truly

angry, if that was what you got for a low-level offense? I dreaded to think.

"What are you doing, Fate? Let's go." Myne was already marching

ahead of me.

"Wait, wait, don't just go walking off without me…" I nevertheless

followed Myne into the shop.

Wait, that smell…it's meat! It was such a beautiful scent! I didn't

even know I'd started drooling. The shop was filled with the sublime aroma

of barbecued meat. The scent alone would go well with ten loaves of bread!

I still had a good amount of money saved from our journey, and

recently, all I'd eaten was our stock of traveling preserves. It was definitely

time to buy something a little luxurious. I searched for a free seat, but the

shop was completely full. A group of adventurers had finished eating, but

they were just sitting around shooting the breeze.

Can't you guys see us here? How about making some space for

people who want to eat?!

As I stood there with my unkind thoughts, Myne left my side and

went straight up to the chatty adventurers.

"If you've finished your meal, leave," she said, her voice flat and her

face expressionless. "People are waiting to eat."

I had a feeling I knew how the next few seconds would go, and it

wouldn't be pretty. I didn't want to get wrapped up in it, so I slunk toward

the back of the shop to watch the events unfold from a safe distance.

The adventurers clearly did not understand the danger they were in.

The most experienced of them waved Myne off. "Take your ugly face and

put it somewhere I can't see, girl! I got no business with kids. Why don't

you go hit up some other boob? Oh wait, you can't, 'cuz you don't got

none!"

Ooh, you shouldn't have said that. I winced. "Don't treat Myne like a

child" was on page two of my instruction manual How to Handle Wrath: An

Explanatory Guide to Myne. I was not going to take responsibility for his

actions.

Just like that, the once festive atmosphere was destroyed in an abrupt

outbreak of violence.

Ooh. Oof. That looks like it hurts, I thought. Ugh, that too…ouch.

Myne, go easy on them, go easy… That part of the body doesn't bend that

way. Oh dear. Are you really going to do that, too? You must be joking. Oh.

Not joking. Clearly not joking. That looks bad. That looks so bad…

Even just watching the carnage from my spot at the back wall, I was

drenched in a cold sweat. As I expected: flat-chested was a very dangerous

insult to throw around. So I opened the How to Handle Wrath: An

Explanatory Guide to Myne instruction manual in my head and wrote a new

entry.

All eight of the experienced adventurers ended up piled atop one

another. Their eyes were rolled back into their heads and they frothed at the

mouth. In their near comatose condition, they slurred in fear about the

wrath of a frightening little demon.

In just a few moments, they'd been handed a traumatic defeat they'd

carry the memory of for the rest of their lives. If only they'd thought to

measure her power before running their mouths. They'd been caught

completely off guard by her cute, youthful appearance.

Myne plonked herself down into one of the newly emptied seats and

began placing her order. The waitress listened, writing it down as her legs

quivered with terror. The poor woman…

Myne looked over at me, then waved me over. "Fate, quickly. There's

a free spot over here."

No, don't call me over now, Myne! They'll all think I'm as scary as

you! I thought.

As I took my seat, the waitress cleaned the mess from our table and

dashed toward the counter.

"Wait! I haven't ordered yet!" I called after her.

Forcing a glutton like me to wait was pure torture. I wondered

whether I'd done something to anger Myne.

"I ordered for the both of us," she said. "I'm kind."

Something in her red eyes searched me for agreement. I'd so looked

forward to ordering one of my favorite dishes…but I supposed it was nice

of her to consider me when she ordered, even if she'd kind of forced the

whole situation on me.

In any case, I had two options here, and only one was a good idea.

"Yeah, you are kind," I said. "Thanks, Myne."

"Eh…" Myne turned away from me.

Apparently, she wasn't used to people actually giving her

compliments. When I thought about it, she always carried herself without a

care for anyone other than herself. She was feared, but never complimented.

Perhaps she was a little more thoughtful toward me than other people

because of my Skill of Mortal Sin…?

When our food arrived, it was a huge plate bearing an even huger

hunk of roasted meat. But…just one. Where was my food? I felt like I was

going to cry.

"We share this," Myne said.

"Oh, so that's what you had in mind. But why are you doing all this?"

Usually we ordered separately. What reason did Myne have for

wanting to split this particular meal? Did it mean she wanted us to get along

better? If so, that would mean Myne sometimes thought like a regular

person. I felt a little relieved having figured this out.

Then Myne went and opened her mouth. "It's a pre-battle ritual," she

said. "You share food with partners before departing for a hunt. It's a

tradition from long ago."

"Oh, okay… Wait. What did you just say?"

"We're going to eat this together, and then we're going to hunt a

fearsome, powerful monster. Then you will pay me back what you owe

me."

Ah. It was finally time to repay Myne for her favor. I'd arrived just a

short way from the sentinel city Lady Roxy would be stationed at, and now

I was stuck on a detour, hunting what Myne of all people called a fearsome,

powerful monster. I suddenly doubted that she was really as kind as she

said. But I'd promised; I had to help her.

I was apprehensive about the upcoming battle, but also curious, and

in many ways excited. For a long time now, I'd wanted to fight beside

another warrior with a Skill of Mortal Sin. Funnily enough, I'd ended up in

a position where I couldn't avoid it. In a way, Myne was forcing this

opportunity on me too.

I took a piece of tender, barbecued meat that Myne cut from the huge

slab and ate heartily. Eat together, fight together. That was our agreement.