Volume 2 Chapter 9 I Was Proposed, But...
When the talk comes to an end, Karan claps his hands. Whether they were waiting in front of the door or not, a staff member enters the room and hands Karan some documents. After following them with his eyes, he hands me one of them.
The document I received was about the procedure for subduing the Kobold King. It stated the rewards for subduing the Kobold King, as well as the guild's offer to buy the carcass as an additional reward.
If I had requested it, mercenaries could have obtained valuable materials from the carcass of the Kobold King without selling them. However, I didn't feel the need for them, so I asked them to sell everything.
As a result, the reward I obtained from this incident was more than double the savings I had diligently accumulated since joining the Mercenary Guild.
I understand the desire of mercenaries to aim for big game. After all, I earned in one hunt what I had struggled for over a month. However, considering the fact that I had teetered on the brink of life and death, I didn't feel inclined to actively pursue it.
If I write my name on this document that was given to me, then the reward will officially become mine. But before that, I've come up with something.
"Um, I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"I want to give a part of this reward money to Mikage."
"Yukina-sama!?"
The one who was surprised by my words was none other than Mikage.
"Why in the world..."
"Well, it might be that I dealt the final blow to the Kobold King. But I definitely would have died on my own, and I couldn't have even thought of challenging it before. The results were all thanks to Mikage. So, there's no doubt that Mikage is included among the contributors this time."
"Y-Yukina-sama..."
Mikage was moved with a passion that was way beyond my imagination. I thought I was sticking to my principles, but...
'Ugh, this is how your likability goes up, huh. This natural airhead──'
Why is Gram so upset? I don't get it.
"No, that's not it. Silver Flash will receive a separate payment from the guild for this time. It's an apology for the lack of information and for supporting in defeating the Kobold King."
"...No, it's my way of expressing my gratitude."
"Got it. I'll do as you wish."
After discussing, it was decided that one-fifth of my reward will be sent to Silver Flash. I'll sign the documents and hand them over to Karan.
"That settles the matter of defeating the Kobold King. Now, there's something else. I need to talk to Yukina-kun."
"Is there still something else?"
"Don't be so cold, Silver Flash. This is beneficial for Yukina-kun."
As Mikage's eyebrows twitched, Karan suggested something to me.
"──Yukina-kun, are you planning to promote to the 4th rank mercenary with this opportunity?"
"...Promote?"
I reflexively spoke out, but I couldn't immediately understand the meaning in my head.
"It's not that surprising. I had previously investigated your mercenary activities. While it's true that you mainly targeted small fry, you have also taken on several Kobold subjugations. Your reputation from guild members who handled the requests is excellent. They say you do a much more meticulous and reliable job compared to other rookie mercenaries."
Perhaps my attempt to earn more rewards with each request has contributed to the evaluation of my work.
"In addition to that, there is the achievement of subjugating the Kobold King this time. The guild has determined that your abilities are more than enough for promotion to the 4th rank. Of course, you will have to take the promotion test for that."
"If possible, I wish they would just promote Yukina-sama to the 3rd rank instead."
"That's impossible... Still, is it just my imagination that you have been acting a bit strange today, Silver Flash?"
Please don't worry. Today is the first time I've had a proper conversation with Mikage, but even I think something is strange about her.
"...Well, anyway. If you're someone who has the ability to defeat the Kobold King, then you should have no problem promoting to 3rd rank by achieving more accomplishments. As a first step, why not consider promoting to 4th rank?"
"......"
I didn't nod or shake my head, and instead fell into deep thought.
In the end, I couldn't come up with an answer on the spot and decided to put it on hold.
"It's a sudden matter, and whether or not to take the promotion exam is up to the mercenary themselves."
Without showing any signs of being upset, Karan nodded casually.
What surprised me was Mikage's reaction. Instead of being surprised by my indecision, she accepted it without any resistance.
After leaving the guild and parting ways with Mikage, I thought back on that moment with Gram.
"Hey, why did you refuse! You should definitely get promoted!!" I thought it was gonna be like that.
After leaving the reception room, when I asked Mikage about it, she smiled as if she was troubled.
"To be honest, I really wanted you to get promoted, but I didn't think Yukina-sama would make the decision even if I said it."
That's exactly right, but this person's understanding of me is so deep, it's scary. We've only been talking seriously for a day, you know?
"Well, yeah. He's pretty casual on the surface, but when it comes to the crucial moments, my partner is a die-hard stubborn person. I can sense that because I'm a stubborn person too."
"...Am I really that stubborn?"
"Remember when you jumped out in front of the Kobold King? You completely ignored what I said. I was really chilled to the bone at that time."
You're not really that chilled, are you? Rather you were all fired up at the end there.
"It's about the nuances of language. But more importantly, why did you hesitate to answer Karan? Being a mercenary is only temporary for you, right, partner? And you've already saved more than enough money to buy Kyunei-chan, so there's no longer any meaning in continuing as mercenaries. In fact, it seems like there might not even be a need to 'buy' anymore."
"Yeah, I guess so."
As Gram said, my initial purpose of becoming a mercenary was to earn the money needed to 'buy' Kyunei as a pr**titute. And actually, with the reward this time, I had already reached the target amount.
To be clear, I don't have any reason to continue being a mercenary. I have no intention of letting go of Gram at this point, but the necessity of actively pursuing a career as a mercenary had disappeared.
Until recently, the old me would have rejected Karan's proposal and retired from the mercenary business. However, my mindset had started to change.
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