7th Day

The following day, with 3 silvers and 90 coopers each, we decided to hit Sherry Tavern after having dinner. It was a hangout for many volunteer soldiers.

More than half the establishment had been filled by the time we stepped in. That half was over a hundred. It had a spacious and high-roofed room, two floors, and was lit up all over.

"It's so loud..." Suzune mumbled. It seemed like she didn't enjoy the hubbub of the tavern.

We took one of the empty tables and placed our orders. Taverns were known for alcohol, but non-alcoholic drinks were available to buy. The girls bought that type. I went along with the guys getting alcohol.

"—urk, that's burning," Kanji wasn't exactly thrilled with it. I guess that was to be expected.

"Weakling," Ken shoved a large cup of liquor down his throat. "—gahh. Try to finish it, at least."

Yousuke reacted more subdued. From the look on his face, did he enjoy it? "...It's surprisingly decent, huh?"

"You think so?"

"Yes. You don't like it?"

"I don't hate it. I just don't really taste anything special from it."

He laughed. "That's somehow expected, coming from you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes."

There were many kinds of volunteer soldiers in the tavern. They weren't so friendly to strangers, and who knew what the exact cause was, and how to deal with it. Either way, Suzune doesn't seem to come here for the sake of information. 'We' didn't try to.

"—oh? I've never seen you guys. New ple-peo, new ple-peo?! Hm? You don't get it? It means new people!"

A male volunteer soldier approaches our table with great excitement. From his equipment, he must be a warrior.

"What is your business?" Suzune placidly asked his purpose.

"My name's Kikkawa!" He struck a weird pose, sticking out his tongue as he did. "I'm everybody's friends. Did you know Tokkis? Did you? No? Yeah, I figured. I mean, you guys are still trainees, right? Is Haruchi the same, too? I forgot. Anyway, I heard, I heard. The group of eight people last week. Are you guys those people?"

"Well..."

It was so sudden, but there was no reason to push back. Getting more connections is never a bad thing. 

Even if it wasn't our goal, we gained some useful intel from Kikkawa that night. Such things as clans, volunteer soldiers' ranks, and a particular place somewhere in the so-called Quickwind Plains, just north of Alterna, known as Wonder Hole. They were all at a minimum of details, but we were more than satisfied to receive those pieces of information.

"I see, I see. Suzune-chan, Kei-chan, Kikyou-chan, and Chiaki-chan, huh? Damn, you guys got it good. I'm jealous!"

"Hehe, I know, right? Especially Kikyou-chan!"

"Damn right!"

Kikkawa and Kanji were getting along. While the girls who were the subject of conversation had sour looks on their faces, Ken got busy competing for the most amount of drinks with the other customers. It said something about the loser paying the winner. Considering the fact that the price of drinks were higher for trainees, Ken might get in trouble if he lost. I'll pray for his win.

Yousuke really took a liking to booze. He had bought his second, or maybe his third glass by now.

"Don't go overboard," I reminded him.

Yousuke lightheartedly laughed it off.

Six days have passed since we first became volunteer soldiers. Brief income for the other four days was 4 silvers and 29 coopers on the fourth day, 5 silvers and 11 coopers on the fifth day, 3 silvers and 90 coopers on the sixth day, and 4 silvers as well as 74 coopers on the seventh day. 14 silvers and 14 coopers, minus 1 silvers and 4 coopers (total expenses of those days), give me 13 silvers and 10 coopers. Coupled with the remaining three days, that's 19 silvers and 90 coopers. 

A full volunteer soldier badge cost 20 silvers, but Suzune advised buying it jointly when there were 10 silvers extra. I found that to be the best solution. Other than me, probably half of my companions were not very sparing in their daily spending.

"You know, why not take a day off a week?" Chiaki proposed that on the seventh day.

It was a great suggestion. I'm sure everyone, even Suzune, hadn't thought of that.

If the party kept up their hunting activities incessantly, they'd get to a point where they'd have a tough time cutting themselves off from the activities. I have no idea how hazardous the job of a volunteer soldier is as a whole. As soldiers should, however, life and death scenarios will inevitably become a daily matter. Despite knowing their lives are on the line with each job, many volunteer soldiers give no thought to the prospect of an alternative future apart from sticking to the thorny path. Granted, it is not easy to make a switch, even if you have amassed considerable funds. But they can build that up bit by bit with just appropriate time management. I couldn't see any of that in the majority.

Over the past three days, including the third day, we only visited Sherry Tavern three times. Two of those were strictly with the guys. The ladies weren't so fond of the place, apparently.

At one time, I went there by myself while my comrades were dozing off. The volunteer soldiers would gladly respond if you just paid them a drink or two. But, instead of paying, I was getting paid more. All from women, as well. Whatever the reason, I'd gladly accept their free offers.

I mainly asked harmless questions such as the surroundings of Alterna, the races in Grimgar, and cryptically on the history of the volunteer soldiers. I tried my best not to come out as excessive. I still had no clear understanding of how exactly the Alterna side and the Forbidden Tower dealt with the opposing volunteer soldiers, after all. I had to move under the assumption that the volunteer soldiers themselves could have sided with them from the start, or perhaps midway and that they constantly monitored other volunteer soldiers' movements.

On the day off, by having a word with the lodging house owner, we get permission to treat, accessorize, and improvise the venue. Of course, there's a catch. A big one. It'll potentially chase them in the future. For now, though, there's nothing to worry about.

"Are you okay with this, Kei-chan?"

Kei groaned at Chiaki's question. "The majority won, I can't help it."

"Geh, this is the worst," despite all the complaints, Kanji did a proper job of cleaning the bathroom. All of us wore plain clothing, some with shabby ones from the guilds. The reason is pretty clear.

Honestly, I hadn't seen Suzune as a person who'd use majority rule to make decisions. And I agree with Kei on moving to a better lodging house. Though it depends on the lodging houses themselves, at least we can find one where we don't have to worry about getting kicked out in the future despite doing nothing wrong.

'The rest of the members are too easily convinced as well. With the exception of Chiaki, and perhaps Kikyou, they readily agreed to Suzune's words without a second thought.' Well, Kei fought back, but as she pointed out, the majority won. Of course, Suzune explained the reason why they should stay here before voting, but while that sounds reasonable, I don't think that's all there is to it.

Putting that aside, we first replaced the lodging house's broken equipment with a collective fund. Suzune had finally decided to buy some nice cooking utensils to start making our own meals. She can cook.

Replacing the hay mattress with something else would cost a lot of money, so we have to wait for them.

Performing activities besides just fighting had a much more positive effect than I expected. When it comes to shopping, primarily, it's always something that all the members, including myself, are excited about. I wanted to get a lot of things that weren't quite useful for the simplest reasons. We exchange opinions, sometimes ridicule each other, and pour out various emotions without strings attached.

As I watched my comrades with smiles all over their faces, I couldn't help but wonder. 'What am I getting out of all this...?'

The reason I was doing this didn't really have any impact on me. My impulse was merely idle curiosity.

'Well, I guess I'll just have to look for one.'