kscans

Chapter 256 - A Job

"What do you mean?"

"Do you watch the news or anything?"

The news…

"I see it sometimes."

Since the little couple usually hogs the TV to play games, I rarely get to watch it, but I do see headlines on my phone.

"Do you know that the Emereldas Mountain Range you sold off isn’t doing so well?"

"Oh, yeah, they still haven’t opened it to the public, right? People are criticizing them for it."

It had been about six months since I sold the Emereldas Mountain Range, but it still wasn’t open to Adventurers. It was originally scheduled to open in June, but it had been postponed, and the news was full of complaints from all over. The message boards were also full of people demanding they hurry up.

"Exactly. It seems there have been a lot of problems."

"Problems?"

"First, the Emereldas Mountain Range turned out to be much larger than expected. And because it’s a joint leasehold, the survey efforts of the SDF and the US military are not coordinated. That’s the main reason for the delay."

Ah, that sounded plausible.

"There’s no precedent for a joint leasehold like this."

"Right. And to make matters worse, there’s that dragon."

"That dragon" probably meant the Sand Dragon. A monster that camouflages itself as the ground or rocks, a giant lizard about five or six meters long.

"Didn’t Arc teach them how to deal with it?"

Apparently, you just had to throw a rock at any suspicious spots.

"It seems there are suspicious spots everywhere, so they’re constantly throwing rocks. Naturally, that’s slowing them down."

That made sense. They were dealing with a five or six-meter-long monster, so they had to be cautious. When I went with the SDF before, they were cautious to an almost absurd degree, so I could imagine it would take time.

"So that’s why it’s delayed… What a pain."

"Yeah, it’s a real pain. We’re being flooded with inquiry calls again, though not as bad as before. Things had finally started to calm down, too…"

I heard she had to unplug the phone lines because of Eleanor-san.

"My condolences."

"They were so annoying I just unplugged the phone lines again."

What a free spirit. That was Satsuki-san for you.

"Good for you."

"Yeah. Anyway, despite the delays, they were on track to open it next month."

Huh… Hm? She used the past tense.

"Did something happen?"

"Another problem came up."

It was one problem after another. For the record, this wasn't Eleanor-san's fault.

"What kind of problem?"

"They found a strange cave…"

"A cave…"

"Naturally, they have to investigate it, but at their current pace, it’s going to be extremely difficult. It’s another postponement."

Probably. They have to survey it… Surveying…

"So what does that have to do with me becoming an Adventurer again? You’re not suggesting I should go, are you?"

"Wow, Okita-kun is so smart."

Anyone would have figured that out.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. Let me explain a bit. You guys made a map in the underground ruins of the Kunaar Ruins before, right?"

"We did. There were gold bars there that feel pretty pathetic in hindsight."

I now had more than a hundred times that much money.

"Because of that track record, a request came to our branch."

"I see… But I’m retired."

"Right. So my plan was to send our convenient Clairvoyance user."

Nanapon?

"Isn’t that impossible? She’s weak."

"Of course, I’d provide an escort."

"Yoshino-san?"

"When I brought it up with her, she asked, ‘Does it pay?’ in one breath and hung up on me."

Still the same money-grubber… Seriously, her only good points are her face and her chest.

"Well, that sounds like Yoshino-san. She doesn’t do dangerous things."

She was cautious to begin with, so she probably had no motivation for it either.

"I suppose, but she didn’t have to hang up on me so fast, did she?"

"Maybe it’s because you’re cousins and she feels comfortable with you?"

"That girl… Ah, no, Yoshino doesn’t matter. Anyway, since Yoshino turned it down, another Adventurer was assigned as an escort, but Nanapon threw a tantrum."

A tantrum, huh…

"Of course she did. She’s a timid little rabbit who’s only brave at home."

"That’s right. Well, she’s right here in front of me, and she really is a homebody."

She’s right there? Kaede-chan is probably there too.

"She wants to go with Eleanor-san?"

"Exactly. She won’t stop whining about how she wants Eleanor-san."

That sounded just like Nanapon.

"So you want me to go?"

"Nanapon can use her Clairvoyance, so just whip up a map real quick for me."

"Hmm…"

What should I do?

"No good?"

Honestly, it wasn’t no good. I was bored, I wanted to go, and I had a strong desire to get some exercise. But…

"What did my wife say?"

"Tch. Kaede said it’s probably fine."

She clicked her tongue…

"It’s fine? I thought Kaede-chan would stop me…"

"She said you’ve been staring blankly at your sword lately. She says you’re scary."

……I’m holding it right now.

"Scary? Arc said that too."

"She says it looks like you’re about to cause some kind of incident."

"The killer witch can’t live a peaceful life." That was Nanapon’s voice. They must be on speakerphone.

"I’m not going to cause an incident, but if Kaede-chan says it’s okay for me to go, then I guess I will."

"You sure? The pay isn’t that great."

"I don’t need money anymore. How much do you think I have?"

"Well, that’s true. Still, I never thought I’d see you work for free."

Because I am the Golden Witch.

"No, I’m seriously bored. Lately, all I do is drink with Kaede-chan or watch the two little ones play games."

"The Golden NEET."

Black Nanapon was so annoying. She was in a similar boat.

"Well, something like that. So I’d like to go on a little picnic."

"A picnic? Well, alright. I’m counting on you, then."

"Understood. When should I go?"

"Coordinate that on your end. The Americans are sending an Adventurer too, apparently."

Because of the joint leasehold… Hm? America…

"It’s not the ramen idiot and the money-grubbing lady, is it?"

"Them. That’s why Nanapon objected. She saw them pointing a gun at you."

I see…

"Seriously? It’s them?"

"The first condition was that they had to be able to communicate."

Even though we have Translation Potions… Well, I guess it was better to have two idiots I knew than some strangers who might try to probe for information.

"Alright. I’ll go with Nanapon then. Nanapon, come over here this evening with Kaede-chan."

"I can come now, you know."

"I’m going to go meet with the two idiots and talk to them first."

"I see. Understood. In that case, I’ll impose on you later. The maid’s cooking is so delicious."

It really, really is. That’s my Mia for you.

"Alright, I’m counting on you. Tell Kaede-chan to do her best at work, and that I love h—… she hung up."

What a jerk… Wait, was it Satsuki-san?

It was probably both of them…