kscans

Chapter 78 - Consulting with Satsuki-san

After parting ways with Yoshino-san and Lin-san, I returned to the guild. I headed back to the reception area and went straight to Kaede-chan.

"Oh? You're back early, Senpai."

It was still four o'clock, a bit early. That's why Kaede-chan asked with a surprised look.

"I have something to talk to Satsuki-san about. Is she in?"

"She is. Please wait a moment."

Kaede-chan stood up and walked towards the back. After a short wait, she returned.

"Senpai, the Guild Master said she'll see you, so please go ahead. Oh, and I'll settle your account in the meantime."

Kaede-chan held out her hand, so I gave her my sword, bag, and Status Card.

"Is it okay if I just go?"

"Please do."

Having received Kaede-chan's permission, I went to the end of the reception counter and entered the staff area, just like Eleanor-san always does. From there, I went straight to the branch manager's office and knocked on the door.

"You can come in."

That was Satsuki-san's voice.

Having gotten Satsuki-san's permission, I entered the room.

"Yo, good work. Go on, have a seat."

Satsuki-san was lounging on the sofa, fiddling with her smartphone.

"What are you doing?"

I asked as I sat on the sofa opposite her.

"Social game. But it's been a while since I've seen you. It's always been Eleanor."

"The last time I was here as myself was when I first met Nanapon."

"That time, huh... Oh well. So? What do you need? Just so you know, I'm not listening to any lovey-dovey stories. Not from you, Okita-kun, who came to work all cozy with Kaede."

She really is a petty person.

"How do you know that?"

"There are no adventurers here motivated enough to come in early in the morning. It was the talk of the staff all morning."

How sad.

"I just wanted to get to D-rank quickly."

"Hmm, one hundred Skeletons, was it? Well, good luck with that. Oh, right. I had something I wanted to ask you too."

Satsuki-san said as she sat up and placed her smartphone on the table.

"What?"

"What are the Buff Potions like?"

Ah, that.

"I got some Fluffy Grass today and made a potion that increases defense. But I'm not sure about its effects, so I'm going to try a few things. Also, I'm thinking of not selling this one, is that okay?"

"Yeah, I heard from Kaede. I also think it's better not to sell it, so use it for yourself. Especially for Nanapon, since she's a rear guard, that defense-boosting potion would be useful in case of an emergency."

"Then I'll do that. I'll report back if I find out anything new."

Like a true alchemist, I'll conduct some more experiments. This is surprisingly fun.

"Roger. So, what did you need?"

"I met Yoshino-san at the Kunaar Ruins today."

I decided to get to the main point.

"Yoshino? Is she still at the Kunaar Ruins?"

"Not for Eleanor-san, she was training some rookies. In fact, there were three girls who looked like rookies."

"Ah, right, right. She likes that sort of thing. Was it just Yoshino?"

Maybe because she's from a dojo, she likes to look after people?

"No, Lin-san was there too."

"Lin? Hmm, so you've gotten close enough to call both Yoshino and Lin by their first names?"

"Well, somewhat... But I don't even know Lin-san's last name."

"Honestly... You should at least introduce yourself. Lin's last name is Shimizu."

Shimizu Lin, got it.

"So anyway, Yoshino-san invited me to her party."

"Her party? You? Not Eleanor?"

Well, I guess she'd be surprised.

"Yeah, me."

"Hmm, what are you going to do? Are you going to join?"

"I came to ask for your advice on what I should do."

"You're not planning on transferring, are you?"

"Kaede-chan's here, so I won't. Besides, we already talked about how I can't transfer because of my Status Card."

I don't know if Yoshino-san has a unique skill, but if she were to see my Status Card and discover my Alchemy skill, it would be bad. I suspect that Yoshino-san is high enough in status to be able to view other adventurers' Status Cards.

"In that case, do whatever you want. I'm not against it. But there's still the matter of Nanapon."

"That's why I turned her down at first. Then she said it doesn't have to be a formal party, just adventuring together from time to time would be fine."

"Is her aim Eleanor?"

Well, anyone would think so.

"I think so. She said she wants a connection. The Headquarters Director seems to really regret what happened with the Healing Potion deal."

"Hmm."

"Well, I think she wants to get information from me, since I'm living with a guild employee."

"That's possible. But you're planning on selling to the director after your deal with Claire is done, right?"

"That's the plan."

I want to make the deal soon, but Claire has returned to America. I'm just waiting now.

"Hmm, what do you want to do? Do you want to team up with Yoshino?"

"I was hunting Skeletons alone today, and it was seriously boring. They're just small fry, it's like an assembly line. I started to miss Nanapon."

"I get that. They're just bones. Some people do it for a living, but for you, it's chump change."

I don't want to call five thousand yen chump change, but well, it is. It's better to just sell potions.

"So I'm thinking that teaming up might be a good idea. In any case, my main activity will be with Nanapon as Eleanor-san, but she has university, right?"

"Well, yeah. I can't tell her to quit university. Cheating might make it meaningless in terms of academics, but having fun at university is important too."

I get that, I really do. That's why I am who I am today, and why I have Kaede-chan.

"So what should I do? Yoshino-san said she'd teach me various things, so I think teaming up might be an option. But on the other hand, since they're investigating Eleanor-san, I feel like it's better not to get involved."

"Hmm, well, do whatever you want. It's true that adventuring alone is tough. Even as a guild master, I can't recommend going solo. No matter how strong you are, there's a limit to what you can do alone. To put it bluntly, if you collapsed due to an accident or illness while you were solo, that would be the end."

No one would come to help me, and I'd be killed by Skeletons.

"Is Yoshino-san okay? What if she finds out?"

"Even if she finds out, she'll manage somehow. She's my cousin, after all, and she's someone who can be bought with money. If you flash some cash at her, she'll keep quiet. Otherwise, she wouldn't have betrayed me and transferred."

Wow, she seems to be holding a serious grudge.

"Hmm, I'm going to talk to Kaede-chan about it. More importantly, Satsuki-san, do you really resent Yoshino-san that much?"

I might as well ask. Yoshino-san said she wanted to make up with Satsuki-san.

"Resent her? I don't resent her at all."

"Really? Didn't she take her entire former party and transfer?"

"Ah, so you heard from Yoshino. It's true our sales went down because of that. I did worry about what to do for a while. But that's a trivial matter. We're moving billions now. Their profits can be overturned with a single Item Bag."

So the money-grubber found a gold mine even bigger than Yoshino-san in Eleanor-san. It seems this one also only has money on her mind.

"So you don't care?"

"In the first place, she's always been like that. She's the kind of woman who, even when her father said he was retiring because of a bad back, told him to keep working in a wheelchair for her own financial gain. Well, if there's anything that bothers me, it's that she's a pawn of the Headquarters Director."

"Hmm."

Yoshino-san made it sound so serious, but it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. And Yoshino-san is terrible. She's so nice to people, but she's a real money-grubber.

"I see... On the other hand, that means you can have me act as a spy. Get information from Yoshino. People who are trying to get information often let their own guard down."

"Hmm..."

That might actually be effective... I even found out the expected purchase price of the Item Bag today. I might be able to find out the expected purchase price of the level two Healing Potions too.

"That might not be a bad idea."

"Well, do what you want. Oh, but I think consulting with Kaede is a good idea."

"You think so?"

Kaede-chan is smart, after all.

"Yeah, she'll make sure you're not bewitched by Yoshino's huge breasts."

I can't help that. There's definitely some magic at work there. I almost got sucked in so many times today.

I need Kaede-chan to break the evil witch's spell as soon as possible! ...Wait, I was the witch.