Chapter 53

"Damage isn't that bad..."

"Yeah. The dragon that went wild was shot down before it entered the village. We also couldn't confirm any rampage by the monsters."

The word "almost" was probably referring to the ogre.

Reshid and I came to report to Gustav early.

Gustav tapped his desk with his fingers, silently organizing the information.

Then, after blinking a few times, he nodded in agreement.

"Whoever lured them out, this is enough information."

As he said this, Gustav began stacking gold and silver coins. He made two piles and then slowly looked us over.

"Good work. This is your reward."

Reshid, with a beaming smile, gathered the pile of coins in his left hand and jingled them.

"Alright, that's great. Just sign this for me, will you?"

After putting away the coins he was playing with, he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the counter. Gustav signed it without a word.

"Well, I'm off. If you have a good job, send it my way."

Reshid raised his hand in greeting. His smile was probably due to the joy of the income.

"Ah, wait a moment."

Reshid's business was done, but I had to at least go through the motions.

"Oh? What is it?"

"We need to distribute the materials, right?"

Even as I said this, Reshid tilted his head, not quite getting it.

"Gustav, I'd like to sell these to you."

I placed a bag on the counter. Inside were materials taken from the ogre.

"Is this...?"

Gustav pinched the fang inside and examined it closely.

"Ogre's fang and horns, and the gallbladder and eyeballs... right?"

He looked at Reshid for confirmation.

"Yeah, but... distribution?"

"Yes, distribution."

"Between you and me? That's yours, you know."

"True, I did the hunting, but we were a party, weren't we?"

"We only teamed up temporarily."

Even if it was temporary, we did the job together. The profit should be split.

"Besides, Reshid dismembered it, right? I think he has the right to a share."

There were plenty of reasons to let him take a share. It would be better for my mental health if he did.

"These eyeballs are crushed, though..."

Gustav interrupted Reshid's persuasion and asked.

"Probably because I hit them?"

I recalled the corpse outside the shed. The face was unrecognizable, and the eyeballs were so mangled that it was hard to tell they had been removed.

"Still, I think they were taken out pretty cleanly."

Reshid affirmed it wasn't his fault. That was probably true.

"They won't sell as ornaments. If we sell them as medicine, the price will be lower, but that's the best we can do."

"Can't be helped."

I didn't even know eyeballs could be sold, so I wasn't concerned about the compensation. Besides, I didn't have the luxury to worry about such things.

"The gallbladder is undamaged. It's already used for medicine, so the price won't change. The fangs and horns are magnificent. It must have been a big one."

"It was strong. Really strong."

Probably the strongest enemy I've faced, except for Den-A. It had been a long time since I was prepared to die.

"I see, that's why there's blood on your clothes."

Gustav looked at my clothes and nodded. The blood wasn't noticeable due to the color, but my clothes were stained with both the ogre's and my own blood.

"So, can we exchange all of this for gold?"

"Yes, please."

I nodded, and Gustav grabbed gold coins from the safe behind him. The sound of counting coins continued as he turned his back to us.

After some time, he seemed to have finished the calculation. He turned to me and stacked the gold coins.

"The eyeballs and gallbladder are two gold coins each. The fang is one gold coin, and the horns are five gold coins. In total, ten gold coins."

"Ten...!"

Reshid, standing next to me, let out a shout and froze.

"Thank you. So, five gold coins each, right?"

I picked up a stack of five gold coins and offered it to Reshid. Reshid, suddenly nervous, moved his hands frantically.

"Wh-What? Five gold coins! Don't just hand them over like that!"

"But you already took two gold coins. Why are you surprised?"

I tilted my head.

More than twice the amount of coins he just took, and he's overreacting.

"Idiot! Those two were already a bargain! And you're just giving them away so easily!"

"It's not a big deal. If it's a lot of money, I don't think you need to worry so much."

"I do! Ah, it feels like I owe you something now!"

Even as he said this, Reshid held out his palm.

His body was being honest.

"It's not a debt. This is a fair reward."

I placed the coins in his palm, and he reluctantly put them in his pocket.

"Alright! I'm really leaving this time! See you!"

After a bit of back and forth, the excited Reshid left the stone house. I watched him go with a smile, while Gustav remained expressionless.

"As he said, if you had taken it all down alone, you could have kept everything, right?"

Gustav looked at me sharply.

"That's true, but since we were a party, it's right to share, isn't it?"

"You're right."

Gustav nodded.

"But, there seems to be another motive, doesn't there?"

"It's not that big of a deal."

No, it's not that significant.

"Just, after the job, I want to maintain a good relationship with those I worked with. That's all."

If it's not someone I dislike, I want to maintain a good relationship. It's a matter of managing impressions.

"With your strength, you could act independently without worrying about others. You're a rare one."

"Well, I did it on a whim. It might not happen next time."

A favor when the mood strikes. That's enough.

"Ah, by the way, I need something."

"Clothes, right?"

Gustav answered immediately and pulled out a few sets of clothes from the back.

"You figured it out quickly."

"With that much blood, it's obvious."

Indeed, my clothes were quite dirty with the ogre's and my own blood. It was unhygienic and unpleasant. Blood doesn't wash off easily.

I decided to buy all the clothes offered. I had the money.

"How much are they?"

"Three sets for one half-silver coin."

I searched my bag but didn't find a half-silver coin.

"Can I get change?"

Reluctantly, I handed over a silver coin, and Gustav made a sour face.

"You could have split it yourself."

He muttered and pulled out a bulky pair of pliers from the side. He clamped the silver coin and split it in half with force.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

I took it with a smile. Come to think of it, I could have used magic to split it. I'll do that next time.

"The bag with the clothes is free, so take it."

This kind of service is rare. Is it going to rain today?

"So, why were you so anxious this time?"

After seeing the ogre, Gustav was more flustered than I had ever seen him. Was this due to something in the past? Or did he know something?

"...It's not a big deal."

Gustav spoke as if he didn't want to talk about trivial matters.

"Many people died in the past monster rampages. And wars broke out. I couldn't afford to miss the signs."

"War, that's a serious matter."

"It doesn't seem to be a big issue this time, so it's not an immediate concern. The war... I need to investigate more to understand it."

Gustav frowned and grumbled. It seemed best to leave this to him.

"...If anything happens, let me know."

If something happens, I'll deal with it then. It will probably be fine.

By the time I left the stone house, the sun had almost set.

I squinted at the red light and recalled today's events.

...It was a tough day.

I faced the symbol of my trauma and nearly got killed by a monster afterward.

But as a result, the misunderstanding was cleared, and I gained a method to counter monsters that use fighting spirit.

Overall, it was a positive day.

During the battle with the ogre, I thought about putting off regrets. But it seems there's no need to.

I gained a lot today. It was definitely a good day.

I won't regret it.

I watched the sun set and started walking toward my home.