A New Job Request (2)

“Me and Yuri getting married…? L-Look… wouldn’t it be awful for her to marry an old guy more than twelve years older than she is?”

“Couples with that much of an age gap aren’t unusual. Just so you know, my wife is a hundred years older than me.”

“Your wife’s an elf, isn’t she? Don’t judge her by the same standards as humans.”

Elves were a race that lived on the Feriana Continent, distinguished by their long ears and beautiful features. They also lived much longer than humans. I had heard that Wolk’s wife was currently a hundred and thirty-six years old.

“Even if it’s to avoid a clash between those two major factions, marriage is taking things way too far, isn’t it?”

“Maybe so, but you two seem to be enjoying yourselves, so why not?”

“What, did you come all the way here just to encourage me to marry Yuri? If that’s the case, go home.”

Just then, Yuri came over carrying the soup she had reheated.

She had probably overheard my conversation with Wolk.

Her face was bright red.

After setting the bowls of soup on the table, Yuri said one thing to me.

“I’m twenty years old.”

“Wait… you’re twenty?”

“My birthday was the other day.”

“What? If you’d told me, I would’ve at least celebrated your birthday…”

“Y-You don’t have to do anything like that! A-Anyway! Please stop treating me like a child!”

What was with her? Don’t yell at me while looking so embarrassed. And suddenly switching to polite speech made her feel strangely distant.

Why was she angry??

Yuri turned away and hurried back to the kitchen.

I protested to Wolk.

“Hey, you jerk. Now you’ve made things awkward between me and her.”

“Of course. She wants you to see her not as someone you need to protect, but as an adult woman in her own right. That’s perfectly natural when she’s already twenty.”

“N-No way… She’s such a cute girl, you know? Surely she could find someone better?”

“You’ve always been hopeless when it comes to romance.”

“Who’s hopeless?”

As I bristled, Wolk let out an exaggerated sigh before taking a sip of the soup Yuri had served.

His eyes widened in surprise.

He kept drinking until the bowl was about half empty, then spoke.

“Mm. This soup is exquisite. Couldn’t Yuri-kun make a living as an SS-rank chef too?”

“Right? Apparently the Hero’s party used to tear her cooking apart.”

At my words, Wolk also looked dumbfounded.

His expression practically screamed, Who could possibly complain about soup this delicious!?

“I see. Perhaps the reason they’re desperately searching for Yuri after firing her is that they’ve only now realized how precious this flavor was.”

“I’m sure that’s it. Even I’m completely hooked on this soup.”

Halfway through speaking, I suddenly came to my senses and snapped my mouth shut.

Damn it. That was practically admitting to him that Yuri had already won me over through my stomach.

Wolk grinned at me.

“See? You’re already at the point where you can’t let her go. Yuri doesn’t seem opposed to the idea either, so give it some thought. Marriage, I mean.”

“Y-You…”

Just as I was about to protest again, Wolk pulled a sheet of paper from his trouser pocket and showed it to me.

It read: Wanted: Live Capture of an Ice Deer. Reward: Fifty Million Xenos and a Diamond Pass Card.

“Putting marriage aside, this is the real reason I came.”

“Capture an Ice Deer?”

“Yeah. The client wants one captured alive.”

“That’s certainly too difficult for your average adventurer.”

An Ice Deer was a deer-shaped monster of the ice element.

Despite being a monster, it could wield ice magic, which made it troublesome. An A-rank one… and if it was a large male, an adventurer would need to be S-rank or higher to have much chance against it.

Incidentally, both male and female Ice Deer had antlers.

The females’ antlers were smaller, though.

Capturing an A- to S-rank monster like that alive made the job considerably more difficult.

If you carelessly kept one alive, you could end up being the one killed. That was how powerful the monster was.

“It’s a difficult job, but the Diamond Pass Card is tempting. You wouldn’t have to register with the Guild every time you entered another country, and you’d be free to enter rare dungeons as well.”

I had avoided taking jobs in other countries because the registration procedures were such a hassle, but if I was being truthful, I had also started getting tired of fighting the monsters around here.

I was thoroughly enjoying my peaceful life, but every now and then, I did feel like visiting another country and fighting monsters I’d never encountered before.

On top of that, even SS-rank adventurers couldn’t enter rare dungeons unless they had special authorization. They were that dangerous, but in exchange, they offered opportunities to hunt unusual monsters. Rare monsters could fetch extremely high prices.

The Diamond Pass Card was a special card that granted access to those rare dungeons.

It also made public transportation free, along with accommodations affiliated with the Guild.

For an adventurer, it was practically a dream card.

The monetary reward for capturing the Ice Deer was fifty million. That sounded absurdly high, but selling an Ice Deer’s antlers would earn far more money. If the cash reward were all they offered, the job would actually be a losing proposition. That was probably why they had included the Diamond Pass Card.

“The Hero’s party and the Twilight Ravens already have Diamond Pass Cards, so they won’t take the job. That’s where you come in.”

“I see…”

Living peacefully all the time sometimes left me feeling bored. At times like that, taking a day trip to another country for an adventure sounded pretty good.

And letting Yuri gain combat experience in a rare dungeon wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Thinking about it that way, the Diamond Pass Card was extremely appealing.

“All right, I’ll take the job.”

“I knew you’d say that, Roy.”

“What’s the deadline?”

“The client said they’d like it done by next month, if possible.”

“Next month, huh… Once we find the target, I could finish the job in half a day.”

Ice Deer were rare creatures. Finding one was the part that took time.

Just then, Yuri timidly came over carrying a tray with tea on it.

She seemed awkward after having left earlier in a slightly angry tone.

Trying to sweep away the uncomfortable atmosphere, I deliberately spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Yuri, we’ve got a job in the Ice Heatland. Start getting ready for the trip!”