kscans

Chapter 103 - By the Way, Where'd You Even Hail This Taxi?

The next day, I woke up at ten, got ready, and left the house. Of course, I was in my Eleanor-san form, but I wasn't wearing the black robes. However, I was carrying two shoulder bags. One was for personal use, and the other was a 100-kilogram Item Bag containing the Healing Potions for Claire.

As usual, I turned off my invisibility at a convenient spot, hailed a taxi, and headed for the Ikebukuro Guild. When I arrived behind the guild, I saw that a taxi was already parked in the lot.

I paid the driver, got out of the taxi, and walked over to the other one. The automatic door opened, and I got in.

"Getting out of a taxi only to get into another taxi is a strange thing to do..."

I couldn't help but mutter as I boarded.

"If you're not happy about it, I can just pick you up from your house from now on."

The muscular driver who heard my muttering replied. Of course, it was Harry.

"No way. If you come to my house, I'll seriously kill you."

It would cause trouble for Kaede-chan, so I'm being quite serious.

"Whoa, scary, scary. Anyway, you're wearing normal clothes today. They look good on you."

"Thank you. But that line implies I'm not normal usually. You're not very popular, are you?"

"What are you talking about, dressing like a witch..."

So noisy.

"Were you back in America too?"

"Nah, I stayed here. I was watching your guild and going to Frontier."

"Oh. Where did you go?"

"The Kunaar Ruins. Nothing but swords drop there."

Of course. The only thing that ever dropped for me were skeleton swords.

"You seem to have bad luck..."

"The 'it dropped' line is a total lie, isn't it?"

"Who knows?"

"Tch! Well, whatever. It's lunchtime, so I'll treat you today."

It's not going to be ramen, is it?

"Take me somewhere nice."

"Leave it to me!"

I'm worried...

"Claire, welcome back."

I stopped my conversation with Harry and greeted Claire, who was sitting next to me.

"I'm back. Sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Well, it's fine for me. But the people at HQ seem to be getting pressured by their superiors."

"It's the same in every country."

So it's like that everywhere. It was the same at my old company. Choosing to be a freelancer was the right decision.

"So, did you bring the money?"

"I brought it. That was the main reason it took so long. It would have been one thing in dollars, but collecting yen in cash was a hassle."

Well, it can't be helped. This is a transaction that isn't going through various channels.

"If you want to do business in the future, you should have yen ready."

"Is there more?"

"Of course there is..."

Hehe.

"Sigh... I'll have it ready. Did you bring the items?"

"Of course. First, this. The 1000-kilogram Item Bag. Is this design all right?"

I took a black bag out of my own white one.

"I don't care about the design. It's a shoulder-strap type... that's fine."

"Then, here you go."

I handed the bag to Claire.

"Isn't the money usually first?"

I don't care about that.

"It's a sign of trust."

"Well, I'm not planning to run off with it... Is this really 1000 kilograms?"

"Trust is important."

"Right. Then, here is the promised one billion yen."

Claire took an attaché case out of the bag she was carrying. I accepted the case, and when I opened it, I saw stacks of ten-thousand-yen bills lined up neatly.

"You can count it here if you want."

Are you an idiot... One billion yen is one hundred thousand ten-thousand-yen bills.

"That would take until sunset. Trust, trust."

I closed the attaché case without counting and put it in my bag.

"Then our transaction for the Item Bag is successfully concluded."

"It is. Now, about the Healing Potion Lv2, first a confirmation... it's all right if I sell them to other people, right?"

"Go ahead. As I said yesterday, it's fine as long as you don't sell them in massive quantities."

I have no plans to do that for now, and even if I did, Claire would probably sell hers first.

"Then, here you go."

I handed Claire the bag containing the Healing Potions.

"Is this the 100-kilogram Item Bag?"

"That's right. Inside are one hundred Healing Potion Lv2s."

"I see. Then, here you go."

Claire said, and once again took an attaché case from her bag and handed it to me. I checked inside and saw it was filled with wads of cash. I had no intention of counting it, but it was probably four hundred million yen.

"Confirmed... Then our business is successfully concluded."

"Yes. It was a good purchase. Thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine."

Claire will probably still make a profit from this, but as for me, I managed to get 1.4 billion yen for what cost me only a few tens of thousands. It was a very good deal for both of us.

"By the way, you said you had something to ask me?"

I asked about what Claire had mentioned on the phone yesterday.

"Ah, that. Is it true you were in Frontier with a strangely dressed girl?"

That would be Nanapon.

"It's true. She's my disciple."

"Could it be the girl from before? I heard she had blonde hair, but wasn't that girl's hair black?"

Claire had met Nanapon when she was kidnapped. In fact, Claire was the one who rescued her.

"Apparently, it's a wig. She's still a student, so it's to protect her identity."

"Oh... How old is that girl?"

"She's a nineteen-year-old university student."

"University student? I thought she was in middle school."

Calling her a middle schooler is a bit much. She's short, sure, but she's definitely not a middle schooler.

"She's a proper university student."

"It's not just you, but Asians tend to look young."

"How old do I look?"

"Around twenty? Which means you're probably pushing thirty?"

Pushing thirty... I mean, I'm twenty-six, so technically I am, but it's still depressing.

"I'm actually twenty."

"I can tell by your shocked face. You're pushing thirty."

How rude.

"I'm twenty."

"Whatever. We'll leave it at that. More importantly, I'm glad it was that girl. There were things written online about a witch taking a child for a sacrifice."

So Nanapon was a sacrifice.

"They're just writing that for fun, aren't they? She's simply a companion I go to Frontier with."

"Then it's fine. That's all I wanted to ask. I just wanted to confirm."

Was it an order from her superiors, I wonder?

"You'd better not cause any trouble for Nanaka-san."

I made sure to give a warning.

"I won't. I've got my hands full with just you."

You mean with business, not me.

"All right! We're here! I've been checking out a lot of places recently. This is the best one."

Harry said as he stopped the car. Of course, my gaze fell upon a ramen shop with a long line out front.