A Weapon and Deals 2

Tanya basked in the warmth of the baths of Axel. Supposedly, they weren't very good compared to elsewhere, where adventurers were more common and had more cash to spend. But to a sort-of-retired soldier, who could count the number of weeks where she had bathed twice while deployed on one hand, they were luxurious.

The view, of course, only made things better. A completely naked Darkness was one she was quite happy with, and she was envious of whichever man would eventually wed and bed her.

She couldn't obviously, and she would eat her hat if she found a religion that advocated same-sex marriage.

Still, Tanya thought as she gazed at the ridiculous breasts, it was a nice thought.

Tanya cast a quick glance at Chris as she leaned on the edge of the bath and sighed. The Thief seemed oddly shy, like how Tanya had been back when she had been an orphan and been tasked with cleaning herself. She kept giving Tanya odd glances, but seemed totally fine with Darkness.

Tanya shrugged internally. She hadn't been around her for very long.

Tanya resisted the urge to stare at where she knew Darkness was. The first time they had bathed together, Tanya had caught herself staring openly at the woman. Darkness could not have not noticed too, and had had a rather embarrassing talk with the woman about her own chest.

Tanya rose from the water, ready to wash herself down with one last bucket, and then to dress once more. She needed to find that Reincarnate, once they got their reward for the day's work in subjugating that Slime.

A faint giggle reached Tanya's ears, and she glanced at both Darkness and Chris.

Neither seemed to have noticed it. Judging by the serene look on Darkness's face and the embarrassed but not suspicious look on Chris's, neither of them had made the noise, either.

Tanya looked to the windows. Why someone had put windows on the side of the building instead of on top of it, she didn't know, but she knew they were the most likely place for some pervert to be looking in.

Steam obscured her vision, but that was fine. She could just follow the laughter.

It sounded again from the window to her right, and Tanya crept down, stalking towards it. Both of her bathing companions seemed mystified, but Tanya just made a shushing motion towards them. Both played along, and Tanya soon came to the window.

Again, giggling came from the other side. Wishing she had brought her Type 95, Tanya leaped up to the window, roaring.

The person on the other side – Dust, the shock of blond hair told her – shrieked and stumbled down. Growling, Tanya rushed out of the room, forgoing the final washing-down with the buckets of warm water. The other two seemed to have realized what was happening.

Rushing into the changing area, Tanya threw on her clothes and the Type 95 in record time. Even Darkness's bountiful form was ignored in the rush.

As Tanya rushed out of the bathhouses, she missed the look of triumph on Darkness's face. Hurrying to catch up to her leader, she put on her own amulet – the one that told any who looked at it that she was a part of the Dustiness house – and rushed after Tanya.

Tanya activated her Observation spell and then decided on what to do. "I can't find anything, but we can try to look for them. You two go to the general store while I head to the guild."

Both nodded, taking off around the corner. Tanya, instead of running the opposite way, towards the guild, ducked into a nearby alley way, following the faint trail of Dust's mana.

It seemed that he had a bit of potential. Not as much as her, or even many of the actual mages in the Guild. He had enough that it was noticeable. Traceable, even.

Tanya grinned as she took off, rising to a height where no pedestrians or lowlifes in the alleys would see her from the ground and where no one would see her skirting close to the rooftops. It was a bit taxing, but it seemed that Lynn had been right about scepters helping reduce mana costs in this world.

Ducking between alley after alley, Tanya smirked as the sound of footsteps pounding on flagstones crashed into her ears. She was getting close, then.

A few more moments, and the red jacket of Dust bled into her view. Quieter than the wind, Tanya passed over his head, ducking behind a corner and waiting for him to round it. His footsteps stopped abruptly as she stuck out her foot.

The sound of him face planting into the ground and skidding to a stop, paired with his swearing, was like music.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, you-" he began, only to go white as he realized who was walking towards him.

He chuckled nervously. "T- Tanya… Normally, I'd want some sort of compensation for getting assaulted like that, but I'll let it slide." Tanya just raised an eyebrow.

He shrunk back even farther, probably wishing he was some sort of creature that could dig through the ground. Tanya smirked, and Dust began to babble again. "Er… it's a deal, right?"

Tanya just smiled plainly. "I wonder if Luna will miss you."

She wouldn't, and if Tanya explained what had happened – or, better yet, never even reported it – his death would be lamented by few.

He licked his lips, sweat forming on his brow. Tanya just continued to stare at him, and then began to walk towards him.

Panicking, he began to back up, for a moment. He seemed to find some well of strength within him, because he stopped retreating. "So what? It's not like you have any proof, right?"

Tanya shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe, but I know that even if we did report it to the police, you would just get time in jail, which doesn't deter you. I think I'll take your punishment into my own hands," she said slowly, still advancing on him.

His eyes widened and his mouth puckered as he thought of what she could do to him with the realization that she wouldn't go to the authorities. "Wait! I'll go to jail, just please, don't do anything to me!"

She took her rifle from her back. "I wonder which one to puncture first…" she trailed off, pointing the thing towards the man's lower region. His imagination filled in the rest.

Dust seemed actually scared. He quickly assumed a kowtowing position, forehead pressed into the stone. "I beg you, the one who is known as 'Tanya the Evil' for your brutal efficiency and unwavering willingness to abandon fellow adventurers, please spare me!"

Tanya stopped in her tracks. "'Tanya the Evil?' What idiot spread that around?"

He looked up from the cobblestone, fear and dread telegraphed. "Well… the efficiency part is because you take so many quests when most adventurers don't take more than three of them a week, while the abandoning teammates is from… uh… me."

She sent him a skeptical look, and he glared at her. "Don't blame me. You're the one who sent a Detonation spell at a pond and then outraced us."

She groaned, and assumed a more relaxed stance. "Whatever. Besides, you shouldn't fear me; I've grown above the need to care about things like my own breast size. What do you think will happen to you when I hand you to Darkness and Chris, though?"

He stared at her blankly. "I'd still be more scared of you," he replied, completely unfazed.

Tanya sighed and, not for the first time, wondered what she had done to deserve the life she'd been given. Then she remembered she had insulted a being that claimed to be god and thought that that would work out well.

She shook her head. "We're getting off topic. Teach me a new skill and I'll let you go."

He opened his mouth, and then closed it, a thoughtful expression coming over his face. One of conniving glee then appeared, and Tanya experienced a bit of uncharacteristic apprehension.

Dust stood, smiling. He had come to a startling conclusion: Tanya could replace him. If anyone asked about a noble from a foreign land who was good with a spear, they would seek out one from the three adventurers with blond hair: himself, Tanya, and Darkness.

It wouldn't take long before they figured out that neither Tanya nor Darkness were that noble, and that he was the only option, despite his attempts at throwing them off with his lack of culture.

But… if the girl in front of her was any good with a spear, then they would think it was her, instead the lazy, uncultured drunkard.

In fact…

He looked up at the girl – because even if she said she was sixteen, she sure didn't look like a woman – and at what was pointed at him. It looked something like a spear.

He rose from the ground, smirking. Tanya took a step back, aiming it at him. Dust never looked energetic or motivated. Maybe lustful, but that was about as far into 'happy' as that man's emotions went.

"May I see your spear?" he asked, laying his hands out.

"It isn't-"

"Regardless," he said, an eyebrow raised, "you are using it as one, currently."

She couldn't fault him for that. She took out the magazine at the bottom – she wasn't risking being killed by a ricochet or misfire – and handed him the thing, staring at him curiously. He held it as if it were an actual spear, instead of a gun with a blade on the end.

"Hmm," he said, hefting it. "Well, it's balanced. It doesn't have a lot of reach, but that isn't necessarily horrible. I'd say from your stance that you don't actually know much about using spears, right?"

Tanya nodded hesitantly. She technically knew less than the infantry the Empire; they were supposed to charge at the enemy with those things.

Mages were meant more for reconnaissance, protecting planes, accompanying ground movements, and carrying out special operations. That Tanya had used her blade as much as she had was just to subvert her opponents' expectations that they would be having a battle of purely magical skills.

Even then, she didn't know all that much. "What would you know?" she asked, suspiciously eyeing the man as he slashed the air with her rifle.

He looked at her, just as suspicious as she was of him. "You want a skill or not?"

Tanya rolled her eyes. Of course she did. She didn't even have to take the skill if she didn't want to, and she'd be getting it at no monetary cost to herself.

"Fine. I won't ask about your history – because you use a sword and wield a spear like you were born with it in hand – and I won't tell them about who was peeking in on us. In return, you'll give me skills and lessons on Spearmanship," she said, holding out a hand and smirking.

A similar smirk was plastered on his face, and Tanya wiped her hand on her clothes after they shook hands. He seemed rather pleased with himself, and turned to walk off. Tanya copied him, heading in the opposite direction.

"Hey." Tanya turned around, looking curiously at the squinting man. "How did you catch up with me?"

Tanya just smirked, ignoring the question. Dust walked off, and both parties gloated to themselves that they were getting the better end of the deal.

-OxOxO-

While Chris and Darkness scoured the Guild, Tanya had another reason for visiting the area.

The other two were set on finding the person who had intruded on them. They were stationed inside the guild, searching for that person by talking to various groups and looking for someone who reacted embarrassed upon meeting them.

Tanya couldn't care less, but she was happy to let them try and find someone that didn't exist.

She had described an entirely false person – brown hair, brown eyes, on the taller side – so that Dust wouldn't be found. All of which were entirely subjective descriptions. The definition of 'tall' would probably be different for the two of them.

So Dust was safe, and Tanya got to sit outside and bask in the sunlight while they talked to people. Of course, she had a reason for being outside.

Luna had said that no one resembling a Hero Candidate had come in yet. Tanya knew a few things that set them apart from regular adventurers though, something that Luna didn't seem to have grasped yet.

All of them were dressed in clothing from her first life. All that Tanya had to look for was someone in a t-shirt, or office clothing, or something with a language she knew on it. Some of that clothing had made its way into this world's attire – Taylor and several policemen had ties, while jackets and zippers were commonplace – but all of it was piecemeal. Only reincarnates would be wearing all of it.

All Tanya needed to do was wait for them to show up to the guild. They would need to, if they wanted to fight the Demon King.

On the other hand, it was possible that they had decided to skip this town and move on to the next one. Regardless, either suited her options.

As long as they weren't a threat to her, she would be fine with them.

Another hour passed, and just as Tanya was getting bored with basking in the sun and contemplating if she should deconstruct her gun for a bit of practice, her target walked into view.

Smirking, Tanya made preparations for the ruse she was about to pull. Pointing a weapon at someone else in broad daylight was probably against the rules, which just meant she needed to get out of broad daylight.

She rose from where she had been sitting and stashed her gun in an alley nearby, covering it with an errant bag of trash. She methodically tied her hair behind her head, and then threw on the hood that she had sewn onto her mantle. Her hair was highly noticeable – only she, Darkness, and Dust had it, among the adventurers – so hiding it was a necessity.

Tanya thought, for a moment, about her friends and the last life she had been forced to leave, and let tears well up in her eyes. This needed to be convincing.

She activated a Reinforcement spell, and she began to study the girl. She was wearing a black shirt, had her hair in pigtails, and was wearing glasses. The glasses hinted at her past – Tanya hadn't seen many of those – but the shirt she was wearing raised a very large flag.

The black t-shirt she wore said 't-shirt' on it in white lettering. Tanya didn't understand why anyone would buy or wear something like that, but the fact that it was written in kanji meant she was a reincarnate.

Of course, the fact that she was holding a scepter taller than its holder, that also looked based on both fire and ice was another clue, but the final nail in the coffin was the look of wonder that enveloped her face as she looked around, with long, sleek, black hair whirling around her face as she tried to take in everything.

Tanya was sure she would have looked like that, if she had been told she was going to a fantasy world.

As it was, the girl seemed completely unaware of the amused looks the shoppers and shop keepers present in the adventurer-specific stalls were sending her.

Tanya smirked as she let tears flow from her eyes. This would be easy.

Running towards the girl and crying furiously, she passed her and braced herself. With all of the might endowed upon her by her Reinforcement magic, she kicked a protruding stone and tripped.

She fought the urge to right herself with a Flight spell or activate an Active Barrier. This needed to be convincing, after all.

She felt pain bloom to life in her body as she slammed into the ground. Blood began to pour from her nose, and Tanya curled up on the ground, only half-faking her sniffling as she repeated a sentence in her head like a mantra.

'Come on, girl, why don't you help the short, pathetic girl who has fallen near you. It's the start to your adventure here.'

"Are you okay, little girl?" she asked. Tanya clenched her teeth at the reminder of what she looked like for only a moment, and she looked up at the girl. Tanya just continued to cry, staring up at her pathetically, trying to avoid direct eye contact, as if she were shy.

The girl leaned down, crouching next to her. "There, there. It's okay. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" she asked, handing a handkerchief to her.

Sniffing, Tanya took the piece of cloth from her, wiping away the tears and blood. "Th- Thank you, ma'am," she whispered. The girl continued to smile, patting Tanya on the back. A bit more coaxing on the girls part, and Tanya began to regale her with a fabricated story she had made in the past hour.

"I- I was walking through the alleyway, trying to get home. My momma doesn't have money. So- some mean men took away all of the food that I went to get. Momma's gonna be mad!" she cried, once more descending into sobs.

The girl continued to pat her on the back, and Tanya smirked internally. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Tanya looked up at the girl. "We- Well… you could help me! You look like a powerful adventurer! Maybe you can scare them into giving me back the food!"

The girl paused for a moment, indecisiveness marking her face. Tanya looked back at the ground, as dejectedly as she could, and began to speak. "We- Well, it's okay. I just hope momma doesn't have to sell daddy's old clothes. He went to the army, and hasn't been back. I hope he's okay…"

That seemed to do it. Resolve seemed to come over the girl's features, and she stood, taking Tanya's hand in her own. "Come on. We'll go show those mean men, right?"

Tanya's face lit up, and she rose quickly. "Come, this way! I know where they hide out!"

She began to run towards the alley she'd stashed her, ignoring the girl's cries that she slow down and be careful. Tanya pointed down the alley, motioning the girl closer. She rushed past Tanya, unaware of the smirk that Tanya finally let show.

Activating her Agility Reinforcement, Tanya kicked the bag of trash off of her gun and picked it up. Just as the girl had begun to turn at the curious sound, Tanya leveled her gun at her and shouted, "Freeze!"

Tanya began to activate the other portion of her plan. People could still see into the alley way, so solving that problem was necessary.

An application of a few Illusion spells would hide them for now. She was on a time limit, since making the alley seem to be anything other than unnaturally dark took too much mana, and some curious passerby would eventually wonder why it was so dark during the middle of the day.

She would have enough time for this, though.

The girl finished turning around, and her eyes widened. She seemed to do just as Tanya had said, not moving an inch. "But…"

Tanya smirked, but didn't answer the unasked question.

The girl had a brain; she should learn to use it. "Drop the weapon. If you do not, I will have no choice but to fire on you."

Stiffly, the scepter dropped from her hands, clattering loudly against the ground. Tanya grit her teeth. This needed to end faster.

"P- Please…" the girl muttered. Tanya just glared.

"There, there," Tanya said, mimicking the girl's earlier words, "no need to be scared. I just want you to say something for me. Then I'll let you go."

The girl didn't move, and Tanya took that as her cue to tell her what to say. "Speak the words, 'I promise not to harm Tanya von Degurechaff, otherwise known as The Atheist.'"

Her body was beginning to shake, and Tanya walked forward. "Hey. Just say that, and you can leave."

She stuttered out the sentence, and Tanya watched as the staff at her feet contracted. It shrunk, and the fire and ice that it seemed to exude retracted, becoming simple designs on the side.

Sighing, Tanya dropped the Optical Decoy spells, and let the gun rest on her shoulders. "There, that wasn't so hard. You can go."

The girl seemed to blink, sinking to her knees as a gasp left her body. "But… why? Why not kill me? I could become a threat."

Tanya chuckled. "You may not have realized it, but by swearing not to hurt me and actually meaning it, you invalidated the contract you made with heaven. Your scepter doesn't have whatever special properties it had, and it's little more than a particularly strong scepter now."

The girl continued to stare at Tanya, fear and confusion present. Tanya sighed. "Look, I don't hate you or anything. It's just…" she said, trailing off. She grabbed her gun with both hands, taking a bit of solace in its familiar presence.

"That contract meant you would be motivated to kill me. Now that it's gone, you don't need to. You won't get the power of my relics, and you won't get a wish if you kill the Demon King. I suggest that you find a quiet job and ignore becoming an adventurer," she explained. She turned to the entrance to the alley, but the girl's voice called out.

"And if I want revenge?" she shouted. Tanya turned, a calculating look in her eyes, all of the pity she felt for the girl gone.

"Let me make this clear: you live because I don't think you can become a threat. If that changes however…" she trailed off suggestively. The woman shrunk back, clutching the scepter.

Tanya walked over, and the woman pointed it at her. Tanya rolled her eyes. "It's lost its power, and you haven't even gone to the Guild. You don't have any skills that you can even use."

Tanya grabbed it with both hands, and yanked it away from her. Leaving behind the girl, who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown, Tanya felt a bit of pity. She sighed, and grabbed the bag at her belt.

"Here. You don't have many Eris, but you can have this," she said thrusting a handful of money towards her.

She knew that she shouldn't pity her. She knew she probably should just kill her.

But… she was just a child, and Tanya couldn't really fault her for her idealism and wanting to run off towards danger to protect the innocent. Those feelings were at least better than the rage that fueled the people that Tanya had fought.

The girl grabbed the ten thousand Eris Tanya had handed her. Without another word, Tanya turned back to the entrance. Darkness and Chris might be looking for her.

Eyeing the staff in her hands, Tanya got an idea. Chris had refused to teach her any skills, saying that she didn't have anything that would be worth her time. Maybe this would suffice as payment?

-OxOxO-

Chris stared at the staff in her hands.

She recognized it. It had been created recently, by a God she didn't know the name of. It had even been sent out with a promising Reincarnate.

And here it was, lying in her hands, not a day after they had been reincarnated.

Eyes cold, she looked up at the blonde madwoman who had handed it to her. "Well? Will you teach me a skill now?"

Chris nodded mechanically, wishing she could descend to the world in her true form and teach this cruel person a lesson. She had been right to help spread the rumor about her being 'Evil'.

She had killed someone for this. She had killed an innocent teenager for this. She had decided that learning a skill, that protecting her own life, meant more than any and all of the people that Heaven sent to stop both her and the Demon King.

Chris would take it, and she would seal its latent power.

Why The Atheist was giving it up, Chris didn't know. It could magnify the level of her spells exponentially. No one could stop her then.

Still, if she was going to give it up…

The blonde beamed at her. "Thanks Chris! Sorry we couldn't find that pervert…"

Chris just nodded, ignoring Darkness and Tanya's antics as the former lamented not finding and being ravaged by this mysterious pervert.

Chris took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. It was better if she got the relics, instead of them landing in the hands of some corrupt noble.

So, despite her fears that the only reason the psychopath had killed the Reincarnate was to get a weapon to barter for skills with, she would accept whatever she gave her.

She would worm her way into this crazy loli's trust, and stab her in the back as soon as she could. She was a Thief, after all.

Assassination was not above her, not with this… pseudo-Demon.