Chapter 45

We headed to the exchange office, finished exchanging the materials from the monsters, and then went outside.

I kept all the magic stones, deciding not to sell them. I plan to purify the magic stone from the monster pig today in the dormitory. It almost consumes all my magic power, so it can only be done in a safe place.

At the exchange office, all the materials I intended to sell were sold. This was thanks to selecting only those with extremely high demand.

Popular items include those with metallic properties, those that can be turned into fibers or cloth, and those that can be used as ingredients for medicine. It's rare for these not to sell.

"Souji-kun, that's amazing. You've killed a lot of monsters, but it seems you've only brought back the highest quality materials. You have a great eye for quality."

"Your knowledge is incredible. I don't think anyone knows as much about monsters as Souji. The people at the store also said that the condition of the materials and the way you extracted them were perfect. They even said that some materials would be ruined if not extracted in a special way, but yours were in perfect condition."

The two of them looked at me with genuine surprise. It seems that with a third party involved, they finally understood how impressive I am.

"Maybe it's just experience. Except for abnormal individuals like that monster pig, I have a good idea of how much each material sells for, how to disassemble them, how to preserve them, and how to process them."

Of course, abnormal individuals, which are created by accumulating miasma from dozens of monsters, don't have much information available. Even using the same miasma doesn't guarantee the same type of monster will appear, so I can't cover everything.

Furthermore, new monsters keep appearing, so there's no guarantee that I won't encounter unknown monsters in the future.

"Souji-kun, you're the same age as me, right?"

"Right, that's true. Well, it's a difference in experience. Don't worry about it. We made a lot of money, so let's split it. We'll divide it into three equal parts. I'll also split the restaurant expenses equally, so don't worry."

Actually, that's the main point.

Even though the restaurant's revenue dropped after the first day, we still made a total of 1.4 million bal. Adding the 400,000 bal from selling the materials, we have a total income of 1.8 million bal to divide among the three of us.

"Total of 1.8 million bal. Divided into three, that's 600,000 bal each. I purified 42 magic stones for the two of you, so that's 420,000 bal for purification at 10,000 bal each. The cost to make the inner armor from the monster pig is 100,000 bal. So, for each of you, it's 80,000 bal. From that, we need to subtract the interest of 25,000 bal, so the final amount is 55,000 bal."

It's a pretty bad deal, but it's not a lie. I gave all the magic stones except for the monster pig's to the two of them, which is why the numbers are like this.

When I said this, Kuna trembled.

"How much do you plan to take as a cut! You took 545,000 bal out of 600,000 bal!"

"Well, well, these things happen. What do you want to do? Take the 55,000 bal? Or reduce your debt?"

"Hmm, I have a lot of things I want to buy, so I'll keep my debt as it is."

"Then I'll give you the money."

I handed 55,000 bal to Anne. Since the principal hasn't decreased at all, the interest will remain at 25,000 bal for the next time.

"... Anne, why are you so understanding?"

"Because it makes sense. To double the effect of a magic stone for just 10,000 bal and to be able to use multiple stones in a day instead of just one, 100,000 bal is a bargain. Besides, there's no blacksmith in the world who can make armor from such high-level materials for just 100,000 bal. They would charge at least 500,000 bal."

The noble family of swordsmen is impressive. Even if they don't understand the value of jewels, they have knowledge about weapons. In fact, the prices I set are so low that they are almost a giveaway. If I were to take requests from other explorers, I would charge the price Anne mentioned, and even then, orders would flood in.

"I guess that's true..."

"Also, Souji planned and arranged all the necessary items for the party, like tents, preserved food, backpacks, and equipment. He's the best navigator during exploration. I believe that if we entrust our money to Souji, he will use it for the benefit of the party. If anything, Souji's share is too small."

Kuna looked at me with a resentful gaze.

There's no choice but to compromise.

"Then, Kuna, I can waive the interest."

"Really!?"

"In exchange..."

I smiled. Then, Kuna...

"Ah! You want to pet my tail in place of the interest. You heartless man, the enemy of women, all men only think about girls' tails!"

"... That's a bit too niche, isn't it?"

I was preemptively warned.

"Absolutely, I wouldn't let you touch my tail for such a small amount. I can't even stand you petting it, and if you grab it, I'll hold you responsible!"

I smiled and reached out to Kuna's tail.

"What are you doing!"

Kuna jumped back and hugged her tail, breathing heavily. Damn, I missed.

"If I grab your tail, you'll let me take responsibility, right? I really want to take responsibility. Kuna, let's get married."

If I grab her tail, I can marry Kuna. That would be great. I could hold it all night.

Kuna's ears perked up and then trembled as she hid behind Anne.

"Anne, help me. Souji-kun is crazy!"

"Kuna, being proposed to by Souji is enviable."

"... In this party, I'm the only normal one. I'm cutting ties with Souji-kun! If you target my tail again, I'll never speak to you again!"

"Then, there's no choice."

I raised both hands to show I wouldn't do anything.

Kuna looked at me suspiciously from behind Anne and finally came out after a while.

"Really, if this were Elsie, I could tell my brother. My brother is super strict... cough. He cares about me a lot, so he would beat Souji-kun up."

"Is your brother stronger than me?"

"He's stronger than the current Souji-kun. He's the captain of Elsie's elite squad, Irax, and ranked 5. Only my father and middle sister can beat him."

... Impressive, Elsie. It seems they have several Rank 5 members.

Probably, even in the Sealed City Erin, there are fewer than ten Rank 5s. What kind of magic did Elsie use to achieve this?

"I see. What do you think would happen if I proposed to Kuna in front of your brother?"

"He would kill me. His catchphrase is that he won't give his sister to someone weaker than him. Thanks to that, I couldn't even have a boyfriend, let alone a girlfriend."

"I see... Then, I need to become strong enough to be recognized by your brother. It's surprising that he let you run away from home. Your stubborn father too."

"My father and brother are on a distant job across the sea, so I ran away during their absence. They won't be back for another month!"

I see, if they're crossing the sea at this time, it's probably related to the seal. Kuna's father is trying to save his daughter in his own way.

"What if your brother comes to Erin to bring you back?"

"I would definitely refuse. I haven't accomplished anything yet... and besides..."

"Besides?"

"I'm having so much fun with my current life."

Kuna smiled, showing her teeth.

Despite her complaints and dissatisfaction, she seems to be enjoying her current life.

"Hey, you guys. What a coincidence."

Yuri-senpai, our only ally in the dormitory, came out of the underground labyrinth building. She's a small, cute girl with short brown hair.

She was covered in mud and her bag was bulging, probably from hunting.

"Is it okay to talk here where people can see us?"

Our reputation is the worst because we ruined the dormitory's hope. No one except Yuri-senpai even greets us properly.

"It's fine. It's fine. Just talking. Still, the conversation I overheard was incredible. Splitting 1.8 million bal and 80 magic stones? That's way beyond the norm! A Rank 2 party wouldn't make that much in a week, right?"

"Well, I'm a genius."

"I envy you for being able to say that so casually."

Yuri-senpai and I laughed.

"By the way, why do you say it's the first time we've met here? You've been watching us, haven't you?"

For a moment, a fleeting emotion disappeared from Yuri-senpai's eyes, something only I would notice. She was caught off guard by the sudden change in conversation.

However, she quickly returned to her cheerful smile.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I've been in the shallow layers the whole time."

That response was a slip. It assumes that we were in the deeper layers, which is not something a normal person would predict for a first exploration.

On the day of the entrance exam, I sensed a top-tier but inexperienced observer. I could see those characteristics in this senpai.

I've always been suspicious of her. Her flow of magic is too beautiful. It doesn't match her lack of significant responsibility. I once tried to tail her but lost her. No ordinary person could shake off my tailing.

"That was a strange thing to say. By the way, we encountered an abnormal individual, a monster pig, on the fourth underground floor. I had heard about them in class, but I didn't expect to see one in real life."

"That was unfortunate."

"I thought they wouldn't appear in the shallow layers where monsters are regularly hunted and the miasma is thin. Especially on the fourth underground floor, which is a popular spot. ... Do you think this was a coincidence?"

I asked with a smile.

Yuri-senpai also smiled.

"It was a coincidence. Definitely a coincidence."

She strongly asserted.

"Oh, and by the way. I think school will be more interesting from tomorrow. There were some strange people in the underground labyrinth."

Leaving a meaningful statement, Yuri-senpai walked away.

After watching her leave, the three of us went to a bar, enjoyed a little luxury, and then returned to the dormitory.