Arc 2 - Chapter 3: Protocooperation (3/3)

Half an hour after Lucia ran to the adventurers' guild holding her skirts, Neko got bored and they left the carnival. Even as they were leaving, people were pouring into the carnival.

"Lucia is their mother? A few people got into a fight and they ran to her. Don't they have security guards in the guild?"

"Since she owns the guild, it is her duty to protect her place. We don't want the building to be damaged," Lucie said.

The adventurers Yu had imagined were people with incredible sword and magic power, so damage to the building might have been inevitable. Now it made sense for Lucia to rush to the guild.

"Anyway, it's none of my business. I'm happy to leave that money trap place."

At the carnival, Lucie had dragged him somewhere again, and because he didn't want to look like a miser, he had taken out silver from his pocket again.

"This is our house." Lucie stopped in front of a three-story house with a garden. Behind a tall fence was a green garden and an ornamental pool.

"It's a nice house."

Yu was jealous that Lucia could afford to live in such a house.

"Thank you."

Yu waited, expecting her to enter her house, but when Lucie waited instead, there was an awkward silence.

"Tonight was beautiful," Lucie said. She was holding one arm and looking at the floor.

"Yes, thank you for inviting us." Yu realized that Lucie would continue to stand here if he did nothing, so he spoke again as soon as he finished his sentence. "Then we should go now, good evening."

"Good evening."

When Lucie entered her house, Yu and Neko walked back to the inn where they were alone.

"You were so happy tonight." Neko stopped holding Yu. "Do you love that low life form?"

"No." Yu didn't love her, even though he thought she was beautiful. "But I felt better when someone talked to me. Maybe you'll feel better if you talk to me too."

Neko remained silent. Yu didn't like having the last word, he felt he was talking to himself.

"I apologize for calling you stupid." He regretted insulting her, even though she always called him that. Neko didn't speak again. "Actually, the devil says walk to Lucie. They are already rich, solve the money problem once and for all - why did you hit me?"

Neko slapped Yu's thigh hard. Even Yu couldn't hit as hard as she did, he rubbed his burning thigh.

"Why not be adventurers? We can't achieve anything without taking risks."

"Is that why you hit me?"

Neko wouldn't tell Yu why she hit him. It was frustrating that she was always silent and only talked about what she wanted, but Yu was patient.

"If I were strong I would consider joining the adventurer's guild, but I'm not, I could die, and if I die you'll be on your own."

"I am strong," said Neko. "I can tear people apart with my magic."

"Was it you who defeated that four-armed monster?" Yu's impression was that the monster had forced Rie's hand. "If you're as strong as you say, why didn't you stop it right away?"

"It was an exception, a special monster sent to kill us!"

"It's still an example that there are limits to your power. It is indeed difficult to achieve something without taking risks, but we have to plan the risks we take wisely." Before taking a risk, they had to calculate what could be lost as well as what could be gained. "If you go, I can't do anything, it's not easy to accept, but I need a little child."

Neko continued to listen to Yu without speaking. Yu was relieved that Neko's silence this time at least had a good reason.

"But you have to accept that your loss would be as difficult for me as my loss would be for you. I don't think there are many people you can tell your story to, many people you can ask for help. In short, like crocodiles and the birds that eat the scraps from their teeth, we need each other and we should think twice before we get into situations that could endanger one or both of us." Yu looked at Neko, hoping she would understand.

Neko opened her mouth to speak a couple of times at first, but then she stopped talking and closed it again. After walking for a while, she stepped forward and blocked Yu's path.

"You're the bird that eats the leftovers, then."

Yu laughed. "Is that the only point you're interested in what I said?"

"No." Neko was serious. "You're going to bring back my mother, who's gone because of you, and while you're doing that, I'm going to heal you. Can your little brain understand that?"

"My highly developed, perfect brain can understand that." Although Neko's face was anything but serious, Yu continued to smile slightly.

"HELP! HELP!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a black woman who appeared out of nowhere. Neko sensed the woman coming up behind her and ran away, but Yu could not. The woman slammed into Yu, knocking him to the ground, and continued running without looking back.

"What the fuck are you doing?" The first thing he did as he looked after her was to check his money pouch. "Good, she didn't steal anything."

"Maybe she needed help, the first thing you think is..." The white cat ears on the top of Neko's head flickered. She took a few steps forward and came to a position where she could see the street between the two buildings.

When Yu followed Neko, they saw the same thing: two burly men holding a thin man by the collar against a wall.

"We are not heroes, let's go."

"My mother would have intervened."

"I don't remember giving birth to you, and since I'm not your mother, I don't need to intervene."

"You're just a coward!" While Neko and Yu were arguing, two people who had not noticed them were beating the man against the wall.

"If I don't want to be stabbed in the middle of the night by dangerous men in the alley, why does that make me a coward? I'm just doing what any normal person would do, I'm keeping quiet. And you, who used to look down on people, what has changed that you want to save someone now?"

"Because that's what my mother used to do."

"You are not your mother, stop talking nonsense, let's get out of here. And maybe the person they beat up is actually a bad person, maybe they beat him up because he wanted to hurt the woman who just hit us, how do you know? The best thing is to ignore it and leave."

"I'll find out after I ask him."

"He's not going to admit he's guilty!"

Without another word, Neko rushed forward and entered the head of the alley. Unable to keep up with her, Yu stayed behind and ran after her into the street.

"Who the fuck are you?" said one of the punks who noticed Neko and pointed his finger forward.

Yu appeared behind Neko, grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to pull her back and out of the alley.

"Don't be stupid, let us go."

"Let this nigger go." Neko ignored Yu's warning.

"I said don't be a stupid! What part don't you understand?!" He yelled. "We apologize, we're leaving now."

Yu tried to drag Neko away before the punks could mess with them, but Neko easily shook Yu off and threw a wind spell she had created at the punk who was talking to her. The wind, like a fist, hit the punk and sent him flying all the way to the building at the end of the street.

As the man who ate the wind spell fell after hitting the wall of the building, his friend could do nothing but watch in amazement. He realized that there was nothing he could do when the other person was a wizard. Before Neko could cast another spell, he ran away, leaving his friend behind.

"I didn't expect it to be so easy, but I hope you didn't put us trouble with dangerous people." Yu felt his chest tighten with fear as Neko challenged the thugs.

"Thank you," said the black man Neko saved.

"No need to thank me, just give me five silvers or something and everyone can go home."

Yu was going to try to make up for the silver he had lost at the carnival, but Neko stopped him with another tap on the thigh.

"I don't have much money with me, but I can invite you to dinner at my house if you like."

"Yes." Neko accepted the offer.

---

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Marino Swann, thank you for saving me," said the man Neko had saved from punks.

They had gone to Marino's house after their report to the city guards that Marino's wife Rashel had brought. By the way, Marino's wife was the woman who ran into Yu and kept running without looking back. When she met Yu again, she apologized after apologizing.

It was small compared to the other houses in the neighborhood, but not modest. This was a mansion in the wealthy area from west of the city. From the house he lived in, it was easy to see that Marino had above-average wealth.

Marino had two little daughters, Odette and Charlotte. He was married, had children and a good job. Yu wondered how he could get himself into trouble when he had such a good life.

"Who were those men?" Yu asked the question he wanted to know the answer to. He wished he hadn't accidentally gotten involved with some very dangerous people.

"My creditors." Marino answered, albeit reluctantly, having been rescued by Yu and Neko.

"I don't think any bank would beat a man in the street, did you borrow money from loan sharks?"

"When the bank stopped lending, I had to borrow money from a loan shark, and when I couldn't pay, it happened as you can see."

Yu was a person who did not like borrowing money or being in debt. He always wondered why other people used credit cards, went into debt and bought expensive things even though they couldn't afford them.

"What is the story of these debts?" Since he had nothing else to talk about with Marino, he was going to make him tell his story so as not to fill the room with silence.

As Marino told his story of war, misfortune, crisis, rivalry and conspiracy, a plan was taking shape in Yu's head, full of letters, bets and gold.

He hadn't actually designed the plan from scratch, it was just a story he had heard in the First World, but he knew it worked. So it could work here too.

"Mr. Swann." After Marino finished his story, Yu addressed him formally. "Where is your company?"

"Located in the Guild Quarter, Swann Postal Service."

"Can we make an appointment for tomorrow, just after sunset? I want to make you a business proposal."

"We usually close before sunset."

"But we can't come then because we sleep during the day. You're welcome." Yu and Neko still hadn't settled down to sleep.

Marino, feeling indebted to Neko for saving him and therefore unable to break Yu, gave him the date he wanted.