Chapter 277 Kleptomania

Tanya opened her eyes in bed.

It was the early hours of the morning. In the dark room where even the sunlight had yet to reach, Tanya slowly sat up.

It was a time when no one else was awake, but Tanya, who started her mornings earlier than others, always began her day at this hour.

She moved quietly so as not to wake the other members who were still asleep.

As she stood up and prepared to step out, Tanya felt a strange sense of dissonance, unlike her usual mornings.

Pausing in her tracks, Tanya turned her head.

One of the beds beside her was empty.

It was Rin’s bed.

Is she already up...?

It was far earlier than the time Rin usually woke up.

Tanya tilted her head for a moment, but then turned away without much thought.

She probably just went to the restroom.

Quietly slipping out of the room and heading down to the first floor, Tanya made her way toward the kitchen to prepare breakfast as she always did.

— Phew....

"...?"

Hearing an unusual sound she hadn’t heard before, Tanya stopped in her tracks.

A strange noise. Something that sounded like a human voice.

"Is someone there?"

Tanya asked softly, but no answer came.

...Is it a thief?

Something to use as a weapon... She had left her gear in her room because it was cumbersome when making breakfast.

Tanya hurriedly scanned her surroundings and cautiously picked up a frying pan that was nearby.

Straining her ears toward the source of the noise, Tanya moved with careful steps, approaching the origin of the commotion.

It was toward the training ground in the garden.

Carefully opening the door to look outside without making a sound, Tanya immediately discovered the culprit behind the strange noise.

Rin was swinging a wooden sword.

Tanya, who had been on high guard, felt her thoughts momentarily grind to a halt at the completely unexpected sight.

"Rin. What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

When Tanya unintentionally called her name, Rin flusteredly hid the wooden sword behind her back, as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have.

"Ta-Tanya. What brings you out here?"

"It’s time for me to make breakfast."

Tanya looked around to see if anything was wrong and asked Rin,

"What about you, Rin... what are you doing at this hour?"

"Oh, nothing.... I just couldn’t sleep."

Rin gave a vague excuse to Tanya with an awkward smile.

Training because she couldn’t sleep.

Tanya looked at Rin with suspicious eyes, wondering if someone had disguised themselves as her, but then shook her head at the silly thought.

It certainly seemed like she was hiding something, but....

Tanya brushed it off, thinking Rin was just unusually bored because she couldn’t sleep today.

However, even after that.

"Where did Rin go?"

"Isn’t she on the first floor?"

"I didn’t see her."

Mika, who had been searching for Rin after she had been out of sight for a while, noticed the door to the physical training room was slightly ajar.

Just in case, Mika peeked inside and found Rin in the training room.

"Rin? You were here?"

"Ugh.... Oh, it’s just you, Mika."

It’s my first time seeing her use this place....

Mika, staring at the sweat-drenched Rin with a strange expression, asked,

"I’m going to the market, do you want to come along?"

"The market?"

At the suggestion of going out to play together, Rin’s face lit up for a moment before she hesitated.

After a brief internal struggle, Rin answered Mika with a somber face.

"No. I’m okay."

"...Really?"

Mika stared at Rin in shock.

She had never turned her down even once until now....

Mika looked at Rin as if she were being strange, but well.

She couldn’t exactly drag her along if she didn’t want to go.

Mika returned, tilting her head at Rin’s uncharacteristic behavior.

And once again....

Mika found Rin dozing off on the sofa in the lounge and spoke to her.

"Rin."

"Wha-?! Huh?!"

Rin, hearing her name, snapped her head up and woke up.

"Go upstairs and sleep."

"No, I wasn’t sleeping...."

Wiping away her drool and shaking her head, Rin picked up the book spread out on her lap again.

What, was she reading a novel again?

Mika stole a glance at the title of the book Rin had been sleeping over.

Seeing as Rin fell asleep while reading it, it must have been incredibly boring.

She intended to remember the title so she could skip it later.

’Combat Techniques Manual...?’

Mika thought that novels these days had very peculiar titles.

But a moment later, after peeking at the contents from behind the once-again-dozing Rin, Mika was horrified to realize that what Rin was looking at wasn’t a novel, but an actual educational textbook.

Why on earth was Rin looking at something like that?!

This was... an emergency situation.

After witnessing Rin’s strange behavior several times over a few days, Mika and Tanya finally convened the second emergency meeting of the Ian Mercenary Group.

The members of the group, excluding Rin, gathered hurriedly in one place.

"It’s strange, right?"

"It is strange."

"...What’s so strange?"

Mika and Tanya muttered with serious faces.

Lia, who had been called in suddenly for an emergency meeting, tilted her head with a face that said she didn’t understand.

"No, don’t you see? Rin is training and studying!"

"...Is that supposed to be strange?"

To Lia, who had yet to realize the gravity of the situation, the two began to list Rin’s odd behaviors they had witnessed thus far.

"She wakes up early in the morning to train."

"She’s suddenly doing things like studying!"

"She’s even been doing physical conditioning...."

"And she won’t even go out to eat snacks with us anymore!"

...Is that strange?

Doesn’t that just make her a diligent and good person?

When Lia looked at them with that expression, Mika and Tanya had nothing left to say.

Ultimately, failing to convince Lia, the two shook their heads in resignation.

"It’s no use. Let’s give up on Lia."

"She’s a newcomer, so it can’t be helped."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

Lia replied defensively, but the two had already left her behind and gone elsewhere.

...What’s this. Is this some new type of hazing for the rookie?

Lia returned to her room alone with a slightly gloomy expression.

***

Ian stared at Mika and Tanya, who had suddenly come to find him.

"Um, Captain. Is there such a thing as a curse that makes you diligent?"

"...?"

A diligence curse?

He didn’t know why they were asking such a thing, but....

Just in case, Ian first checked the status windows of the mercenaries.

Fortunately, no one was afflicted with anything like a curse.

"You mean becoming diligent?"

"Yes, like suddenly studying or something?"

Why would they suddenly be curious about that?

Ian tried to recall what he knew about curses.

Diligence.

Compelling someone to perform strange actions fell under fairly high-grade status ailments.

Sloth.

Obsession.

Kleptomania.

Madness....

Quite a few states that caused a mercenary to act out came to mind, but a diligence curse didn’t ring a bell at all.

"I don’t think there is one."

"Really? What should we do...?"

"If the Captain doesn’t know, then there really must not be one...."

At first, he thought they were just asking out of curiosity, but seeing how troubled the two actually seemed, Ian grew curious.

There wasn’t a curse that made one that way after the fact, but there were traits related to studying.

Mercenaries with [Academic Passion] or [Thirst for Knowledge] don’t see their stress rise when made to learn, and they might even increase their Intelligence or learn new traits while studying on their own.

Unfortunately, there was no separate way to attach such a personality trait after birth.

"It would be convenient if there were something like that, though...."

"Pardon?"

As Ian muttered that, Tanya and Mika flinched and backed away from him.

"But why do you ask? Did you see something like that somewhere?"

"O-Oh, no.... We haven’t seen anything like that at all."

Let’s not tell the Captain for now.

Mika and Tanya locked eyes silently, nodded, and quietly fled from Ian’s room.

***

Mika and Tanya, facing each other and nodding silently, shared a wordless signal.

Three, two, one...!

Mika and Tanya, who had been hiding around the corner, lunged forward simultaneously.

The target: Rin!

"Whoa, waah! What the!"

Rin nimbly backed away and slipped between the two of them.

In their attempt to pounce and grab Rin from both sides, the two collided their heads together forcefully and tumbled to the floor.

"Wh-what the. It’s just you guys. You scared me so suddenly...."

"Uugh.... My-my head."

"Owie... What was that for, Rin?"

"No, what was that for from you guys?"

Were they trying to play some kind of prank?

Thinking that and about to help the two up, Rin’s arms were suddenly grabbed by the pair who had sprung back up.

"Wh-what is it.... What’s wrong?"

Rin, who had thought it was just a simple prank, sensed from their expressions that this was not a playful atmosphere.

Mika and Tanya grabbed Rin from both sides and dragged her to a corner of the hallway.

She could have broken free if she used her strength, but because the mood was so serious, Rin followed them submissively, feeling a bit intimidated.

"Rin. Something is going on lately, isn’t it?"

"No... nothing is."

Confronted with Tanya’s question, Rin avoided their gaze and tried to brush it off.

But anyone could see from Rin’s face that something big was happening.

In the first place, if Rin’s behavior hadn’t been strange, the two wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of catching her and prying like this.

"Are you not going to tell us?"

"...."

"What did you say to me last time?"

Mika asked while poking Rin’s cheek repeatedly.

She was referring to the time when Mika had been cursed.

She was bringing up the words Rin had said back then when Mika tried to hide her worries from the two of them.

Rin flinched as she too recalled the words she had said to Mika at that time.

"I think you said to trust your comrades."

"...."

"Didn’t you say it was hurtful because we’re friends?"

Mika’s finger pressed firmly into Rin’s cheek.

"O-okay, I get it. I’ll tell you."

Having her own words thrown back at her, Rin let out a sigh and spoke.

Only after hearing those words did the two release Rin’s arms.

"...Actually."

The three of them sat in a small circle in a corner of the hallway.

Rin finally brought up the story she had been hiding to Mika and Tanya, who sat facing her.

"I... I feel like if I stay like this... I’ll have to leave the mercenary group...."

"What?!"

Upon hearing Rin’s sudden words, Mika and Tanya sprang up.

"What are you talking about!"

"Did the Captain say that?"

"No, it’s not that.... But based on the circumstances, if things continue like this...."

Rin, who had been worrying alone until now, hesitated before finally pouring out her thoughts to her friends.