Chapter 14 - A Partner and Cashing In on Earth.
My muscles were aching from the fight with Bardos, so I couldn't work. I returned to Earth in the morning.
Exhausted, I went straight home and collapsed onto my futon, falling asleep instantly.
When I woke up, it was already evening.
I'd slept for quite a while. But my body was almost fully recovered, so I'd have no problem with work starting tomorrow.
Right now, I had two problems.
First was the situation with Bardos. A sudden fight followed by a sudden declaration of partnership—it was all so abrupt that I was having trouble keeping up.
Second was my financial situation.
My funds in the other world were fine. I had one hundred fifty copper coins, ninety small silver coins, seventy silver coins, and four small gold coins. In the item shop, cheap things cost one copper coin while expensive ones cost five silver coins. In the weapon shop, cheap items were ten small silver coins and expensive ones were one small gold coin. Food items were generally between one and ten copper coins, so I had no worries about food.
As a hunter, I could get food for free anyway. As for weapons and armor, I'd browse the blacksmith's shop for reference or buy cheap things.
My life in the other world was stable.
The problem was my life on Earth. My savings were getting dangerously low. If this continued, there was a chance everything would get cut off. I needed to cash in on Earth, and fast.
I decided I had no choice. I picked up ten random stones and used Matter Conversion to turn them into gold.
Then I shaped them into necklaces and rings. But gold alone was boring, so I made some silver ones and added what looked like jewels. I even carved some simple patterns into the rings.
And with that, they were done. It was already late.
I decided to head to a certain place I'd researched the day after tomorrow.
The next morning, I finished my preparations and returned to the other world.
I usually hunted before going to the guild, but from now on, I'd be meeting up with my partner to hunt.
Bardos was standing in front of the town gate.
"Yo, Shinsuke! Looks like you haven't hunted yet. Well then, let's get going."
He was pushy, but I had to accept that this was just how he was.
Still, it wasn't a bad feeling.
Hunting monsters with someone else—it was the classic JRPG storyline of fighting alongside comrades.
In contrast, human relationships on Earth were basically about deceiving and being deceived. Even in a business partnership, both sides only cooperate because their interests align, writing up countless contracts to prevent betrayal, all the while plotting for the day they can discard the other.
It was a murky, ugly society.
It could instantly tarnish the innocent feelings everyone has as a child. Compared to that kind of society on Earth, life here wasn't bad.
There were probably swindlers here too, but at least they weren't everywhere.
The fight against monsters was a true life-or-death struggle. Those creatures couldn't care less about human affairs.
To them, we were just prey. Nothing more.
And humans hunted or subjugated monsters, thinking of them as nothing more than prey.
The phrase 'eat or be eaten' was a perfect fit.
Maybe that's why it wasn't a bad feeling. Con artists only appear in a world that's safe and secure.
But this world wasn't safe.
Step outside the town walls and you'll be attacked by monsters and die. This was a world that wealthy, corrupt people couldn't endure.
Thinking about it gave me a slight sense of pleasure.
It made me feel like I was some kind of chosen one.
But I quickly suppressed that feeling.
People like that usually meet a bad end. It's a common pattern in anime. I wanted to die peacefully, at least.
I didn't want to die filled with grudges and hatred.
Well, that's enough of that. We were in the forest now, and I couldn't let my guard down.
Bardos was on alert too, but he seemed relaxed.
As we were searching for prey, we found some: a Falcon.
I immediately grabbed the crossbow I had mounted on the back of my waist.
No matter how much I practiced with a bow and arrow, I could only hit three out of ten shots.
At this rate, it would be useless in a pinch. So I figured I should just make an old-fashioned projectile weapon that I could handle, and I started looking.
Finding one was easy. A crossbow is more powerful than a bow, and it wasn't an incomprehensible weapon in the other world.
It was the ideal projectile weapon. I decided to make one right away.
I used books and YouTube for reference on how to build it.
Wood was plentiful and free in the other world, and as for iron, I could just use my skill to convert some nearby stones.
I failed many times. The trigger mechanism was tricky, but I managed to get it into shape. And finally, model number one was complete.
It passed the tests without any problems, and I was able to take down avian prey with ease.
This was the first time I'd used it in front of someone.
But when Bardos saw it, all he said was, "Huh, so a weapon like that exists. I never knew."
He asked with a distinct lack of interest, but I replied, "This is a weapon used in my hometown, made with a secret technique. It's something that's not in circulation at all. You won't find it in any weapon shop."
To that, Bardos said, "Doesn't matter to me. I'm not interested in projectile weapons. I've always just thrown stones or rocks to take down birds."
What a primitive method, I thought, as I pulled the trigger.
I took down the Falcon in one shot. After retrieving the prey, Bardos said, as if remembering something, "Oh yeah, speaking of birds, that giant bird you took down—I was there too, watching from behind a rock. I saw you using some kind of magic and thought I shouldn't interrupt, so I didn't call out."
"I was surprised when I saw it. I thought the giant bird had the upper hand when your magics clashed, but then your magic suddenly swelled up and pushed it back. At that moment, I was thinking, 'Who is this guy, and just how strong is he?'"
He was behind a rock back then? If I'd used 'Detection,' I would have noticed.
But it was too late for regrets. What mattered was the future. If you fail, you learn from it and apply it next time.
That's all there was to it.
So, we continued hunting prey. The big catch this time was a giant Mantis.
Seeing it, Bardos said, "Hahaha, nice! A monster like this is my specialty. Shinsuke, you take care of the small fry around it. Hey, let me have this one. Please?"
He pleaded with me.
It was a little weird, but fine. I wasn't picky about my prey. I let him have his way.
After we finished hunting, we had our haul exchanged for money at the guild.
The standard was to split the earnings. Since there were two of us, a fifty-fifty split was normal. I counted the money and divided it evenly so it would be fair.
Bardos said, "You don't have to be so precise. As long as I can enjoy a good fight, that's all that matters. I'm fine as long as I have enough money to eat."
To that I replied, "I can't do that. As partners, we have to do this properly, or I'll be the one feeling bad about it."
I told him off.
You have to be thorough with these things. If you slack off even once, it's hard to break out of that laziness.
Bardos made a face like, 'Huh,' and accepted the money.
We took on an adventurer job as well.
The merchant escort mission ended with just a few monster attacks. We also took on a patrol mission, and while the number of monsters hadn't increased much... something felt off.
Bardos didn't seem to notice, but the monsters seemed agitated, more aggressive.
Usually, even if they noticed us, they wouldn't attack right away. They'd either watch us or run away. Only large monsters or big groups would attack.
But this time, even a single, regular-sized monster charged at us. Something was strange.
I reported it to the receptionist, but she said, "I think you're just overthinking it. Well, I'll write it down in the report just in case, but you should be fine."
She told me with a bright smile.
Well, it's always better if nothing happens.
An unchanging daily life is a treasure, after all—though I guess my life is already pretty strange, commuting between worlds.
I said to Bardos, "Sorry, but could you give me the morning off tomorrow? I have an errand to run. I need to visit an acquaintance."
Bardos replied, "What, that's no fun. Can't I come with you and meet them too?"
It was a reasonable question.
But I couldn't let that happen. "He really hates people. It took me weeks just to earn his trust. But his skills as a blacksmith are incredible, and he's teaching me on the condition that I don't tell anyone where he is. Sorry about that."
It was a lie.
It was an excuse I'd come up with because I couldn't bring Bardos to Earth.
"Is that so? Oh well. In that case, let's meet at the guild tomorrow after lunch."
Bardos said, and we parted ways.
I felt a little guilty. I was lying to someone who said he'd taken a liking to me. But I told myself it couldn't be helped and headed home.
The next morning, I ate breakfast on Earth, grabbed the items I'd made for cashing in, and headed to a certain place.
I took a train to a town an hour away and entered a back alley.
This was a place for people who did jobs you couldn't really talk about—in other words, people who worked in the underworld.
The reason I came here, and not a normal pawn shop, was because it was no good.
Normal shops require identification when you cash things in.
Of course, I have my motorcycle license, so that's not an issue. The problem is the number of times I'd be using their services.
Even if I claimed the items were from my house, if I came in too often, the shopkeeper and other customers would start to think my house was full of treasure. I'd seen a show on TV called Antiques Roadshow, and they often targeted people who frequented pawn shops.
There was no guarantee that I wouldn't be chosen, and my skills wouldn't be exposed.
Shows like that will do on-the-spot interviews if they think it'll be interesting.
With that in mind, I sought out a place where people in the underworld operate.
It's an unspoken rule among these people not to ask about the other party's circumstances as long as money is involved.
It's a common trope in anime, and it exists in reality too. I found the shop and went inside.
Inside, there were five men who looked like yakuza.
They glared at me when they saw me. But after dealing with monsters and bandits, it felt like being glared at by a child. I wasn't scared.
I went up to the shopkeeper. "I want to cash in these valuables."
I said, showing him what I'd brought.
The shopkeeper said, "Heh, nice stuff. Good quality, good craftsmanship. Where'd you get your hands on something like this? For items of this caliber, I'd say two hundred thousand. What do you say?"
Two hundred thousand yen. It wasn't a bad amount.
I nodded, took the money, and was about to leave.
One of the yakuza stood in my way.
"Yo, buddy. Looks like you made a nice haul. How about it, wanna work for us? Of course, you'll have to hand over all the money you just earned as an initiation fee."
The yakuza said. There was another one behind him, but I still wasn't scared.
So I replied, "Find someone else."
My words were short and to the point. I said what I thought and walked past the yakuza, but he grabbed my shoulder.
"Hey, wait a damn minute, you bastard."
The yakuza glared at me, but it wasn't scary in the slightest.
I silently unleashed my magical power and looked at him.
At that, the yakuza seemed to get scared and let go of my shoulder. The other yakuza backed away as well. Is magical power similar to killing intent? Or did I unconsciously let out my killing intent?
In any case, they were no match for me.
I brushed off my shoulder as if there was dust on it and left the shop.
I was a little tense, but my power was quite formidable on this Earth.
I'm sure those yakuza will call their friends and come after me, but I have magic. I just have to rough them up enough that they don't find out.
However, my biggest concern is their connections to the police.
I'd like to think that doesn't happen in reality, but the police are just a collection of humans. They're not immune to the allure of money. I wore sunglasses, a hat, and a mask just in case, but a disguise like this will be seen through eventually.
I need to think of my next move. For now, I have no plan.
And so, my business on Earth was finished. There was still an uncertain future ahead, but I could think about how to deal with it from now on.
Around that time, in the other world, a certain adventurer party had returned.