Chapter 244 Sewer patrol

Following Ian’s instruction to take a seat, Mika and Tanya sat cautiously at the table.

Since the table was currently set for breakfast with various dishes, the warm aroma of food wafting from them stimulated the appetite of the two newcomers.

To secure a prominent spot at the Mercenary Recruitment Center, one had to line up before it even opened; to keep that hard-won spot, leaving even for lunch was out of the question.

Combined with the need to save as much money as possible on food, it was daily life for most rookie mercenaries to get by on just one simple meal in the evening.

Having lived in a state of semi-forced starvation, the eyes of the two naturally drifted toward the food on the table.

"Here you go. The food is ready."

"Please set it here."

Just then, the innkeeper approached with plates containing fresh dishes. They were the items Ian had ordered in advance.

Slabs of brownish meat, freshly grilled and emitting plumes of hot steam. A salad filled with green leafy vegetables and chunks of fruit.

Following Ian’s gesture, the new dishes were placed in front of Tanya and Mika.

The dizzying scent rising from the plates made the two of them reflexively swallow their saliva.

"Ah. Since the group has grown, I’ll need to change the rooms. Go ahead and eat."

Leaving those words behind, Ian rose from his seat.

"..."

"..."

Tanya and Mika’s eyes met briefly.

Even while Ian approached the innkeeper to discuss if there were any vacant rooms left, Tanya and Mika just sat there staring at the plates, swallowing hard but unable to bring themselves to touch the food.

Steaks grilled to a deep brown were right there, within arm’s reach. ...But even if they were told to eat, was it really okay to do so?

No matter how many looks the two rookies exchanged, there was no way for them to know.

In contrast, Rin, who had been eating her breakfast without much thought, suddenly looked up and caught their eyes.

"Aren’t you eating?"

"Um... how much is it? We don’t have much money..."

"Huh? Money? Ahh..."

Watching the hesitant pair, Rin suddenly remembered hearing warnings back when she was a rookie about being careful of predatory mercenary captains who might scam them.

Forcing unnecessary equipment onto mercenaries at high prices. Charging exorbitant fees for food. Rumors said that if you ignorantly accepted everything given to you, you’d be hit with ridiculous bills and end up drowning in debt to the mercenary group.

Those were exactly the kinds of stories unemployed rookies shared while waiting in the recruitment center.

Rin realized belatedly what the two were worried about.

"It’s fine since the Captain told you to eat first. He doesn’t extort money for things like this."

Although Ian was strict about distinguishing between public funds and personal expenses, he didn’t do anything petty. If he told them to eat, they could eat. He wasn’t the type of person to go back on his word.

"In... in that case."

Strictly speaking, Rin’s words were something they should have been wary of as well, but their patience had already reached its limit. No matter how suspicious it might be, they couldn’t endure the temptation of the meat before them any longer.

Mika reached out with a fork first, and Tanya, watching the reaction, cautiously picked hers up too.

Meat!

The tip of the tentatively extended fork pierced through the crispy surface and into the tender flesh. Taking a piece of meat dripping with rich juices into their mouths, they shivered at the grease soaking into their bodies. Repeating the motion, they emptied half the plates in an instant.

"You’ll get indigestion. Eat slowly."

Hearing Rin’s words, Tanya snapped back to reality and looked up. Feeling Rin’s gaze, Tanya stole a quick glance and then, struck by a strange doubt, asked Rin cautiously.

"By the way, where are the other members?"

"Huh? Who?"

"The other people in the mercenary group..."

"There’s no one else in our group."

"Pardon?"

Tanya asked back with a bewildered face. Mika, who had been quietly chewing her meat, also lifted her head with a puzzled expression.

"There’s the Captain and me... so, I’m the only other mercenary."

"But I heard this was a D-rank mercenary group."

"Yeah. It is D-rank, but I’m the only member."

The forks of the two newcomers stopped completely at this shocking revelation. They had heard it was a D-rank group when talking briefly with Ian during the application. Moreover, the guild staff seemed to recognize the name ’Ian Mercenary Group,’ so they had assumed it was a fairly successful and sizable operation... they never imagined the total count was only two.

"Then... did the Captain and you, Senior, reach D-rank just by yourselves?"

"Se... Senior?"

Rin, hearing such a word for the first time in her life, squirmed in awkwardness. She had imagined having juniors a few times, but hearing the word ’Senior’ in reality triggered an immediate rejection reflex. Above all, the fact that her own career and experience weren’t sufficient to be called a senior pricked Rin’s conscience.

"It sounds weird when you call me that... Hey, just speak comfortably. I haven’t been doing this for long either."

Rin suddenly realized that after hearing their introductions, she hadn’t introduced herself yet.

"I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Rin. You guys can just call me Rin."

"Ah... Yes, Rin-ssi. Please call me Tanya."

"I’m Mika."

Mika immediately dropped the formalities as Rin suggested, but Tanya looked on with an awkward, cautious face. The offer to speak comfortably was sincere, but depending on the person, it wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

Rin nodded as they exchanged names. As a senior who had started mercenary work slightly earlier, she wanted to say something impressive, but no good advice came to mind. Her accumulated experience wasn’t that deep yet.

"I want to tell you something useful, but I don’t know much myself... Honestly, I’ve just been doing whatever the Captain told me to do."

Rin’s gaze shifted to Ian, who was still talking to the innkeeper. Naturally, the gazes of Tanya and Mika followed toward Ian’s back. Both had accepted Ian’s offer to join, but they actually knew nothing about this mercenary group.

Rookie mercenaries don’t exactly have many choices. No matter how strange or unreliable a place might seem, if there was a chance to gain experience while working, they had to cling to it with everything they had.

Furthermore, a D-rank group—not just E-rank—was the best possible starting opportunity. They were in a position where they had rushed over as soon as they received the offer, without time to look into who Ian was or search for rumors.

Curious about the group she’d be working for, Mika cautiously asked Rin.

"So, um... what kind of person is the Captain?"

"The Captain?"

*Our Captain is someone you can trust...*

Rin’s conscience caught her just as she was about to spill a typical compliment. Was he a trustworthy person? ...To be honest, not exactly. Ian’s instructions always contained a level of reckless audacity that walked the tightrope of trust. Plus, there was his bold investing based on inexplicable confidence. Seeing how he spent money, Rin always doubted if the group’s financial state was actually okay.

Rin still occasionally dreamed of hiding and running away from debt collectors with Ian.

"...I guess he’s an okay person?"

"..."

"..."

Rin’s answer, which came after a very long silence, was clearly a forced formality to anyone watching. The two newcomers stopped using their utensils, their expressions stiffening. Seeing their reaction, Rin panicked and shook her head as she continued.

"No, I mean, he is a good person, but, um..."

As Rin was trying desperately to salvage the situation, Ian returned to the table after securing the new room. Seeing Ian arrive right in the middle of a conversation about him, the two flinched in surprise.

*...Were they talking behind my back?*

Sensing the awkward tension at the table, Ian took his seat.

"Were you talking about something I shouldn’t hear?"

"A-ah, no!"

"No, sir!"

All three answered Ian simultaneously in a panic. ...They really were talking behind his back, weren’t they?

Ian, sitting down with a slightly somber expression, held out a key.

"They agreed to tidy up the room right away, so you two should move your luggage after you finish eating. Rin, you should move there too."

"What about you, Captain?"

"I’m going to keep using the room I had."

Ian had rented a new triple room for the three of them, deciding to stay alone in the double room he had been using. Having reached D-rank, he had enough leeway to pay for an extra room. His thought was that it would be better in many ways for Rin to live with the other mercenaries rather than with the Captain.

"Leaving the two rookies by themselves would be a bit much, and it’s better for Rin to be with the members, right?"

"I suppose so."

Although Rin had adapted to living with Ian, she couldn’t deny the unavoidable discomfort that came from the rank difference between a Captain and a mercenary.

"But why aren’t you eating? Should I order something else?"

"No, we’re fine!"

When Ian asked the two who had stopped with half-full plates, they realized it and quickly began shoving the remaining meat into their mouths.

"If there’s anything else you want to eat, you can order more."

"Wait, really?"

"...You order for yourself."

*You didn’t buy me stuff when I was a rookie...*

Muttering quietly to herself, Rin ended up ordering a new dish with her own money. While waiting for the food, Ian spread out the documents he had brought from the guild. Curious about the contents, Rin tilted her head and asked.

"Captain. So, have you been looking for rookies all this time?"

"That too, and I was looking for some other work suitable for D-rank."

The mission Ian was eyeing this time was for an area that required prior entry permission from the guild. Since it only required a simple permit and wasn’t a restricted zone, he had been able to get the entry papers while handling the recruitment registration today.

"Now that we’re D-rank, we should do jobs with better pay."

Of course, D-rank missions were harder than E-rank. However, there were a few intermediate missions that had low difficulty but offered higher pay than E-rank.

What Ian brought was a representative mission perfect for those who had just reached D-rank—a place he had even written strategy guides for as a recommended area for beginners.

Being recommended for beginners meant the difficulty was easy and the cost-efficiency was high. If it were a game, he might have skipped it out of boredom, but in this situation, there was no reason to refuse.

Interested, Rin peered at the documents from the side.

"What kind of mission is it?"

"Oh. Sewer patrol."

"Pardon?"

Hearing the strange words, Rin frowned and stared at the papers, but the words ’Sewer’ were indeed written there.

"I was worried there wouldn’t be any spots left... but when I said we’d take it on a regular basis for a while, they gave me the permit immediately."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The three of them stopped their spoons, their expressions frozen.