Chapter 30 Tidying Up the Mountain Path
The moment I thought we would fall, I hugged Yuruyana and jumped aside, barely avoiding being crushed by Thomas.
But getting hit by the high water column from the front, I and Yuruyana's hair, which was just drying a bit, got soaked again.
The water level had decreased a bit.
I let out a deep sigh, took a big breath, and shouted at the man laughing loudly by the entrance to the building.
"Luka! Manage this properly!"
"Huh!? Why am I getting yelled at?"
"You know what Thomas is capable of, you're the deputy captain after all."
"Well, to be honest, I did think he would do something, yeah."
He scratched the back of his head and immediately confessed.
It's our shared responsibility since I knew and brought him along.
"Thomas, you're not hurt...?"
"I'm fine, cough, sorry!"
When Yuruyana asked the coughing Thomas if he was okay, he noticed he was still holding him and let him down.
Keel, who had been watching the whole thing helplessly, peeked out from behind Luka and murmured in a small voice.
"Yuruyana is in the men's bath..."
I get how he feels, but don't say it out loud.
Before it got even more chaotic, I asked.
"So, why are you here? Wasn't your accommodation somewhere else?"
"The town mayor said he'd upgrade our hotel for all the hard work we did with a small crew."
To summarize Luka's grin, he basically got us better treatment in exchange for keeping quiet about the extent of the damage.
"Don't I get any reward?"
After helping out as a civilian and definitely being the top in kills, I felt like my achievements were stolen by [Fourth].
It was a bit frustrating.
Then Luka nodded.
"We'll talk about that in detail tomorrow. I'll make sure the price for the magic gems we collected gets enhanced, so don't worry."
"Well, then that's fine..."
If Luka said he'd handle it, it would happen.
Even though Thomas is physically better, that's why Luka was chosen as the deputy captain.
I just need to expect a little extra income.
It's kind of awkward to just stand around n*ked chatting forever, so we gathered ourselves and finally slipped into the hot water.
"You know... Mr. Thomas, when Senior Tsukumo's around, things get a bit... no, a lot more reckless."
I almost said "klutz" there.
"When the senior's around, I get really relaxed..."
"Relaxed, huh..."
Thomas scratched his head, giggling.
"Well, the senior always covers for me when I mess up."
"Don't make him cover for you."
That's not relaxation, it's being careless.
Keel nodded seriously at that.
"But I get it. He was super reliable today. I almost fell for him."
"Isn't that a bit easy?"
You good there, [Fourth]?
"By the way, Captain, what's the plan for tomorrow?"
"I'm not the captain. I'll break down the Salamander in the morning, do a bit of shopping, and then head out. Should be back to the capital by tomorrow night."
"Lucky. I want to go home soon too."
The 3 of them would probably join in cleaning up the mountain path after sorting out business.
With that amount to clear, it wouldn't end before the day after tomorrow at the earliest.
Poor guys.
* * *
I thought I might toss and turn a bit at night, but I didn't dream at all.
Not sure if it's because I've built up some resistance, or if the bed was just that good, but I want to believe I'm feeling a bit better.
When I woke up, Yuruyana was already up.
The slightly damp hair told me that.
"...Morning bath?"
"Yep! It felt so good! You should go in one more time, Tsukumo!"
"I'm good, thanks..."
How much does he love that hot spring?
If he's enjoying it, then it's whatever.
After checking out of the hotel and heading to the mountain path entrance, the maintenance work had already started up.
As I got close to the sunburned locals gathered to discuss the day's plans, Thomas spotted me immediately among them.
"Oh, senior! Good morning!"
"Senior? Are you a soldier too?"
A rugged man with a big scar on his face tilted his head, looking at my casual outfit.
"No, I'm just a civilian. Just know you a bit."
"──Senior, what's up with you?"
Stop calling me senior, it's just going to get complicated.
"I need a place to cut up a salamander. I can't just do it in a tourist hotel parking lot."
"I get it. We're gonna have to process it around here anyway, so that works."
The guys are probably seasoned hunters.
They're leaving the collection to the younger ones and taking care of the dissection here.
Keel is probably dragging Luka along for 'life experience' or something.
"You can handle a salamander, huh?"
"Yeah, kinda. I can't do it like a pro hunter, but I can at least get the magic gem out."
"Hmm...?"
I can tell it's suspicious.
I got permission, so I wrapped up the small talk, borrowed a corner, and started the dissection of the salamander I pulled from my bag.
Yuruyana hopped out of the car and squatted beside me, looking intrigued.
"Does that knife have magic on it too?"
"It's Arcane Machinery, actually."
The big knife made a little *whum* sound when it channeled magic.
I hear they eat the meat and use the skin for crafts around here, but a corpse left overnight in the early summer lava fields is definitely not edible.
I traced the faint magic lingering in the corpse, pinpointed the gem, and slid the knife into the salamander's chest.
Then,
"What's up with that knife?"
The older hunter, looking at me suspiciously, let out a low growl.
"Even with a soft belly, I've never seen a knife that can pierce a salamander that easily..."
He started to say something, then looked away and fell deep in thought.
"Wait, I've seen a knife like that before..."
The only person besides me and the Fourth members who had that kind of knife and came here before is one particular person I can think of.
"Could it be that person also had this kind of expression? I think they were older though."
Yuruyana seemed to have the same thought, grabbing my face and forcing me to look at the hunter, pointing at him.
The tough-looking man studied my face closely and then suddenly realized.
"...Sure enough! They had dark, curly hair and were tall!"
It was definitely Grandpa's doing after all.
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