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27.94% Trickster: The Apostle of Loki / Chapter 76: Deal with the Rue

章 76: Deal with the Rue

"Listen up! Next week, we are going on our first excursion into the outside world! As many of you may or may not know, the world outside the walls of our city is filled with monsters. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, most hunters do not actually do dungeon dives. Instead, they make their living by reducing the number of monsters in the wild, making it possible for people to travel a lot more safely."

Even if this world was incredibly modern, it was very rare that someone could afford to pay for a train to deliver their wares. This was something only rich nobles or large guilds could do.

For the rest of the merchants, they were forced to transport their merchandise by using a truck and driving from city to city, meaning they were always susceptible to monster attacks.

So, hunters would get paid for bringing in pieces of evidence, in the form of monster parts like ears or teeth, of killing monsters to the hunter's association, which in turn would get paid by the government, a.k.a. the king.

Our burly teacher continued on, "During this excursion, you are allowed to choose your own parties, with the only restriction being that you cannot be more than five students in groups, and if you want to go by yourself, you must talk to me first."

For obvious reasons, Mr. Brown made sure to focus his gaze on me when he spoke the part about going alone, knowing that I would likely want to go alone just like when we did the dungeon dive. Of course, he was right on the money with his assumption.

I had no intention to fight with a group if I didn't have to, although I did have some thoughts about maybe asking Sarah to come with me. Not because of the fact that a small seed of interest had begun growing inside of me, but because she was a healer.

If there was anyone that could help me a lot, it would be Sarah, as she didn't necessarily have to engage in combat to raise my efficiency. It was more than enough to gain the freedom to act a bit more recklessly, knowing that she could heal me if I sustained injuries.

Still, even her might be more of a restriction than a boon, as it would mean that I couldn't use my clones to fight.

After yesterday, I felt an even bigger need to hide my Skills, knowing that the rise of the demons wouldn't be far away. In reality, I had acted like a psycho yesterday, with my first instinct being to kill the demon to gauge my progress. If my instincts had been wrong, and it had turned out that he was in fact strong, I might not have been sitting here right now.

The more I thought about it, the more bizarre it was. Just the notion that it felt so incredibly natural to take his life should have been scary, yet, I didn't feel a thing. The one thing I felt bad about was the fact that it was a bit too easy.

"Also, the group that manages to bring in the most proofs of kills per person during our excursion will get rewarded with [D]-rank mana essences, which should be suitable for you to make some good progress in your progress."

Mana essences were simply just mediums filled with mana, which had a range of different purities and qualities. If one was an [E]-rank, a [D]-rank essence would be greatly beneficial for the hunter to make a breakthrough to the next rank.

With that being said, most people didn't spend all too much money on mana essences until they hit some sort of bottleneck, where the benefit of mana essences showed their true worth. It was a lot of the time a waste to use a mana essence of a lower rank as the mana purity wasn't all too different from the mana in one's normal surroundings.

Adding to that, it wasn't even a given that a hunter would be able to absorb the mana, it was all a matter of the potential of the body. Different people would find their limits at different ranks, and although it was theoretically possible to break through these with hard work and resources, a lot of the time hunters would settle when their natural limit was met.

Still, no one wouldn't gladly receive a mana essence if it was given to them.

Concluding his explanation with, "I expect you all to register your groups before the weekend.", before leaving the room.

It didn't take long before the rest of my classmates were happily chatting away, talking about and planning the upcoming excursion. I, however, was left alone in the back of the classroom, as the people who I did regard as friends knew fully well that I had no intention of being part of a group.

However, there was one person who did come up to me, someone I hadn't expected to ever talk to me. "Hey, are you planning on going solo again? Would you mind sparing me a couple of minutes before class?"

The assassin of class 1-A had, for some inexplicable reason, walked up to me, polite as always. He wore a slight smile, framed by his long, gray hair, and waited patiently for my response.

Unable to come up with a reasonable answer as to why he had approached me, I finally gave in, "I was, and yes, I do have a couple of minutes. Do you want to go somewhere else?"

Nodding his head, he turned around and signaled with his arm for me to follow him out of the classroom.

==========

Standing under a big oak, we were protected from the harsh rays of the sun as Adam initiated the conversation.

"James, I think I know you as a man who doesn't like to waste time for no reason, so I'll just tell you why I reached out to you."

The man had made quite the accurate observation, I was, indeed, not a man who liked wasting my time for no reason. Though, I would probably not refuse if Sarah wanted to meet up again...

"Go ahead."

His body was standing straight, exuding confidence and calm, as he spoke curtly, "I want to make a deal with you. As you may know, Bellatrix is the heir to the Rue family, and this means that she has a certain reputation to uphold, and is subject to a lot of expectations. So I would like you to pair up with her during the excursion to increase her chances of getting promoted to the A-class again."

It made sense, to an extent at least. Hiring someone in order to make the heir of their family look good was probably a pretty good investment, however...

"I have three questions. If you cannot answer these truthfully, I will assume the negotiations to be over with."

The man just nodded, showing his sincerity and willingness to cooperate.

"First of all, what's the reason for choosing me? Shouldn't there be a lot of candidates more suited to it, like Sebastian or Sophie?"

Shaking his head, he talked me through his reasoning, "Sebastian would be too proud to make a deal like this, and Sophie hates my sister to death. However, there are other reasons why you are the best candidate. Excuse my manners, but, first of all, you are a commoner, which means that you are probably always in need of money. Secondly, you somehow always manage to find ways to make things go your way, meaning you could probably think of a way to kill a lot of monsters as well."

'He is pretty good at this...'

Crossing my arms, I continued with my second question, "Alright. However, we both know that getting her promoted to the A-class with just this is impossible, so what exactly is expected from me?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he acted as if it was no big deal, something his words quickly confirmed, "Even if you agree with the deal, I know that there is no way for me to make any tangible demands. It would probably be better to regard this deal as me making a gamble, betting on the fact that you would be able to perform well, no matter what."

The deal only got more and more lucrative for me, as there was no real downside other than the fact that I had to live with helping his bitchy sister.

Still, there was one more question I wanted an answer to before I accepted his proposal.

"Why is it that you are going so far to help your sister? Bellatrix was the one who repeatedly underestimated Ainu at every step of the way, putting herself in this position. You would have probably survived for a long time during the survival event if she listened to you and you didn't fight in that open valley."

The emotions behind his smile changed, as his eyes turned sad, "You said it yourself, it's because she is my sister."


章 77: BROTHER!

"What do you mean, brother?! Why do I have to pair up with him for the excursion?! I can find my own party!"

'This steak is truly delicious... I wonder what kind of sauce this is...'

Bellatrix wasn't happy when her brother and I were talking with her, explaining the situation at hand. Luckily, Adam appeared to have already thought of this, as he had rented a private room at the restaurant we were currently in.

Her acting like a complete brat almost made me think that it was natural for Adam to have gray hair, I would probably have imploded because of the stress. Pinching his nose, he kept his calm as usual, although I wouldn't be too surprised if his hair suddenly started falling out.

"Bella, please just listen. I have already talked to our parents, and although they don't want to force you to receive help, you know what is going on. If you don't show your worth at Ainu, there is no telling what will happen. Just listen to what James is proposing, please? For my sake?"

The unruly child calmed down a bit, hearing her brother talk with reason and love. Still, she couldn't help crossing her arms and pout a bit, "Fine! Go on then, tell me. What are you thinking, commoner?"

Rubbing my chin with my thumb and index finger, I tried my best to vocalize the inner workings of my mind. "Well... Although the steak and the complementary sauce are truly delicious, I can't help but be a little disappointed by the potatoes... It feels like such a shame that..."

"Brother, please! Don't force me to group up with this idiot! You can't do this to me!"

She threw herself at her brother who was sitting next to her in desperation, her eyes suddenly seeming like they were on the verge of crying. "Please don't tease her so much, James. You also want this to go well, so please be a bit serious."

Shrugging my shoulders, I gave up on having a bit of fun with the brat who was tightly clinging to her brother, as if she wanted him to protect her from the weirdo in front of them.

"Fine. Let's start with this. From what your brother has told me, it seems that you don't actually have any friends, or anyone for that matter, who would want to make a party with you."

"Guh!"

It was a critical hit, as she put pressure on her hurting heart in order to not instantly fall dead, but I didn't care. "So that means you will be going solo no matter what unless you try your best and suck up to someone, which you will probably be too proud to do anyway. Based on that, it shouldn't matter much to you if we just register as a party but go our own ways."

Her head quickly turned to her brother, who quickly looked away in response, not wanting to see her narrowed eyes glaring at him, "Dearest brother..."

"Yes?"

"Why is it that it sounds like James is telling me that you won't be partying with me during the excursion?"

Turning his head back, Adam just casually explained himself, although it was clear from the drops of sweat that had started to run down his neck that he wasn't all too calm anymore. "Well, naturally it's because I won't. A big part of our house is already complaining that I've been helping you too much. If I continue to do so, they won't believe that it is your own achievement."

"But it's fine if a commoner helps me? In what galaxy is that better?!"

"Bellatrix, it's because I'm a commoner that it is fine. Is there any noble that would believe that you paid for help by a commoner?"

Intervening, I tried my best to fix this shit-show of a discussion, not wanting to waste any more time watching their little theatrical display.

Her forehead creased a bit, as she became frustrated that my logic was pretty sound. In this world, there was such a clear difference between nobles and commoners, at least commoners who didn't come from a lineage of hunters, that it would seem inconceivable.

Still, it was quite impressive that the Rue family somehow managed to keep up with what was happening with the siblings, knowing how hard Ainu was at keeping its secrets. It was probably something akin to Adam being forced to report the progress of his sister to the house.

"Fine... Tell me then. How are we supposed to party up? Don't you want to go alone like you always do? Aren't you a huge loner?" 'Ouch!'

Finally, she appeared to have accepted her fate, her beautiful face turned into a sad frown. 'Woah, wouldn't she be much more pleasant to be around if she acted like this more often?'

Putting my elbows on the table, I let my head rest on top of my hands, "It's simple. After we have registered as a party and we go out on the excursion, you will be staying somewhere safe while I go and kill monsters. That's all."

It was a simple plan, but it was a plan where I would get the chance to kill a lot of monsters without having to risk anyone discovering my secrets while at the same time making a lot of money. That was, after all, the biggest reason I accepted the deal.

400,000 USD was the amount I managed to exto... negotiate for Adam to pay me in return for me helping Bellatrix.

*Bam!*

Slamming her hands on the table, the girl got furious when she heard my excellent plan, "So you expect me to just stay away for three days?!"

I waved my hand, quickly dismissing her naïve thoughts. There was no way I was planning on her to do nothing during the entire excursion. After all, there were a lot of upsides to bringing her with me.

"No, not at all. I'll also have to sleep and rest every now and then, so you will have to keep watch during those times. So don't worry, you will be seeing me a lot during those three days. Also, someone will have to prepare food."

"BROTHEEERRRR!"

****

[Arthur's Pov]

"[Arc of Light]!" *BAM!*

The huge arc of energy I sent out created a huge explosion when it got in contact with the dummy I was practicing my Skills on.

*Thud*, "Huff...huff..."

Having poured out all the energy in my body once again, I let my body fall to the floor, trying my best to regain my breath. I had spent all my time training like a madman after the duel tournament, repeatedly tormenting my body in order to catch up to the monsters I idolized.

'It's still not enough...'

Although I was making progress at a truly rapid pace, it felt as if it was never enough. Mostly because the rate of spars that I won against Sophie had stopped increasing. As of right now, I was generally winning 3 out of 10 spars, but because the beautiful dragon also grew stronger, it never increased.

I had no intentions of just keeping up with her, I wanted to become her equal. No, I wanted to become stronger than her. Strong enough to be able to protect her if needed, although she could probably take very good care of herself.

Falling with my back to the floor, I stared up at the ceiling and let my thoughts wander for a while, knowing there was no way for me to continue training before I had recuperated.

"Still, at least I can gauge how much stronger she is..."

There was another person who I desperately wanted to catch up to as well, someone who I had no idea just how much stronger he was. From completely playing with me at the tournament to taking down a dungeon boss all by himself, James appeared to be truly above everyone else by miles.

The worst part was that it was impossible to gauge his mana signature as well, as he didn't seem to emit any mana at all. It was as if he had found a way to completely hide it from the outside world; It was as if he didn't exist.

It felt so bad that I was actually happy to see him injured, to see him unconscious, lying in the infirmary, but it was as if it confirmed that he was also an ordinary person like the rest of us, just another mortal who had his own struggles.

'Who would be happy that their friend is hurt... What a good friend I am...'

Truly pathetic, that's what it was. I was a pathetic person, and I had always been. Always making excuses for myself, like I would be strong if I wasn't born a commoner. I could have saved my family if I was born with talent.

I was tired of it! I didn't want to make excuses for myself anymore!

Standing up, I raised my sword once again, ready to free myself from the pathetic shell of my past, fully prepared to take my real first step forward. 'I can also become strong!'

"[Arc of Light]!"

*BOOM!!!*


クリエイターの想い
Antenz Antenz

Adding this as I completely forgot!

Please do write a review if you have time and energy to do so! It would make me incredibly happy to get it officially reviewed, as it will reach a lot more eyes.

Cheerios!

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