Chapter 39-A Brief Return To Normality
862 13 23
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

It had been three days since our group of three came back to the Bureau. During those three days, a number of mildly important events happened. 

The first was that Sekh and Zeph ventured out of Damask to exterminate some ratmen. For two days, the two girls massacred a number of ratmen tribes, earning themselves 2 denarii. Currently, the two girls were taking a break on the fifth floor. 

As for myself, I finally received an upgrade to my morning routine. Instead of training at the public sparring grounds, I now get to practice at the citadel barracks with the stationed elites. Although I managed to escape getting muscle aches, I did actually get a few bruises from practice. Overall, my combat prowess is above that of the elite soldiers and I can fend off two of them at the same time, though it wasn’t without great difficulty. 

Additionally, I also started receiving swordsmanship lessons from Gallus himself. From what I could tell, the older man was above Minerva in terms of skill, but could not be considered a true blademaster. 

Apart from my new training regime, I spent the rest of my days helping Minerva with work at the Bureau. Ever since we implemented the clerk training, work at the Labor Bureau had slowly become more streamlined. But improvement was certainly slow and I had to sway, coerce, and comfort people all throughout the three days. I also ended up doing paperwork to lighten Minerva’s load. She seemed quite happy as a result of my hardwork and bought some coffee for us to share during the afternoon. 

“Did the Doux of Damask pay you for taking care of the foglings yet?” Minerva asked me as we enjoyed our coffee.

“No,” I answered with a bored expression. “Worse, I’ve been around his own troops each day. All they tell me is that the administration is busy jerking off rather than actually doing their job.”

“Have you tried asking the administration staff then?” Minerva wondered. 

“Obviously,” I half complained. “All the lower level ones kept saying that they didn’t know or it’s outside their level of authority. Anyone higher would just vaguely say that it’s being worked on.”

“The classic eternity in administration limbo,” Minerva commented mirthfully. 

“I don’t mind doing a good deed, but it feels like they’re not even trying,” I remarked. “Wait, I misspoke. It’s more than a feeling, I’m certain that they’re actually not trying.”

“If you need payment, I can always pay you a sum for your work,” Minerva offered. “Depending on the reward you get later, you can just pay me back.”

“No need,” I replied. “I have plenty of money right now. In fact, I plan to go shopping soon.”

In response, Minerva formed a somewhat reluctant smile on her face. Does she want to go shopping with me? Actually, is she that lonely right now?

“Did you want to go with me?” I asked her curiously. 

“Umm...a bit,” Minerva said awkwardly. 

“I’m just buying equipment for work,” I explained with raised hands. “I’ll go later today to place my order and pick it up when it’s finished. If you want to go out, we can do it during our off day.”

“You’re not doing anything with Sekh at the end of the week?” Minerva asked while tilting her head. 

“Sekh said that she just wants to stay home and sleep,” I informed Minerva. “By the way, you seem really lonely, Minerva.”

“What makes you think that?” Minerva said as her pointed ears shot up in surprise.

“I never see you hanging out with people apart from me,” I elaborated. “From what I remember, you haven’t even done anything with Sekh that isn’t training.” 

“Well...you’re the one of the few people that share my interests,” Minerva replied shyly. “And I have a lot of fun doing things with you.”

“You shouldn’t say that while blushing,” I gently chided. “It’s like you’re trying to imply something else.”

“Oh, sorry,” Minerva said awkwardly. “Well I know I’m technically your boss, but I’m glad that we’re more similar to equals.”

“Agreed,” I commented. “It’s a lot more comfortable for me knowing that we’re not in a real boss subordinate relationship. Anyways, I think I should check on the cookies that I baked.”

In response, Minerva gave a happy hum. The cookies in question were roughly six dozen shortbread cookies that I had left baking inside the kitchen. After checking that they were done, I began to distribute them among the Bureau workers. 

I had originally intended to just make these cookies for Sekh and Zeph, but then I thought Minerva would want some. But that meant that I would have to make more for the clerks. Finally, I realized that I also wanted to eat. A truly vicious cycle. 

After distributing two thirds of the batch to the Minerva and the workers, I climbed the stairs with the remaining two dozen. This delivery was extra special since I also got some milk for the two girls. Before I could even get close to Zeph’s room, Sekh happily bounded out of said room. 

“You brought food,” Sekh said cheerily as she bounced towards me. “I could even smell it while you were walking up the stairs.”

“I’d like to rub your tail, but as you can see, I’m a bit preoccupied.” I replied. 

“Then let me help you carry the milk,” Sekh offered. 

Thus the two of us carried our precious goods into Zeph’s room. Inside the room, Zeph was busy face planting on top of her bed. 

“You ok?” I asked while placing the tray of cookies on the desk. 

“Tired,” Zeph moaned into her pillow. “I’ll get up and eat in a bit.”

“Better start soon otherwise I’ll eat your portion too,” Sekh cautioned as she devoured a cookie. “Iblis, can you pack some of these for me next time? I really liked the sandwiches you made for me when I went to hunt those ratmen, but it’d be great to have some cookies too.”

“I’ll make sure next time,” I replied while scratching her tail. 

I continued to eat cookies and relax with the two girls for a while. I have to admit that these cookies are quite good, which both Sekh and Zeph agreed with. Once I had my fill, I went back downstairs to do a few small tasks before finally going to buy some new equipment. 

The first and most important of my orders was barding for my courser. Considering how I use my horse quite aggressively, I can only consider it to be good luck that my horse hasn’t been slain under me. Unlike most armor and weapons, I could not make such a purchase at Adrea and Orthus’ shop. Instead, I went to a more specialized shop for my equipment. For the price of 5 solidi, I placed an order for a full cotton barding that had steel scales for the peytral, criniere, and shaffron. Although it was not to the degree of a true cataphract barding, I have no reason to use that much armor. Once I finished getting the measurements for my horse, I began making my way to Adrea’s shop. 

“Welcome back,” Adrea said when I entered. “Are you buying something on display or placing a custom order?”

“Custom order,” I answered while reaching into my bag. “I have the schematics right here.”

Adrea took the three pieces of parchment from my hand and began to examine my rough drawings.

“A glaive, mace, and shield,” Adrea remarked as she scanned the papers. “Oh, you even included the materials and measurements for each. Orthus and I should definitely be able to meet this order in a week or so.”

“How much do you think the total cost is going to be?” I asked her. 

“Maybe 10 denarii in total,” Adrea said after a short pause. “The bulk of the cost is going to be that mace, while the other pieces shouldn’t cost much. And how come you’re buying a glaive, isn’t the one you’re using much better?”

“Doesn’t hurt to have a replacement,” I lied. 

My actual reason for getting this model is to use the template for my divine arm. At a glance, the two polearms were identical. However, the new model had a serious improvement with the addition of a spike in the back. Should I end up facing more heavily armored opponents, the spike would be an essential tool. 

“Well thanks for your patronage either way,” Adrea said to me. “Orthus is really going to enjoy making that mace too. It’s not everyday that someone wants such a high quality weapon.”

“Do the noble families here not like wasting money on expensive swords?” I asked curiously. 

“There are only so many idiots that can purchase jeweled swords,” Adrea complained. “And Orthus always complains about those orders too. My husband keeps prancing about how people don’t appreciate practicality. If only the surrounding areas could make more Damask steel for us then Orthus would finally be able to craft weapons of war to his heart’s content.” 

“A respectable dream,” I commented. “Well I’ll be leaving now.”

“I’ll send you a message when the order is done,” Adrea informed me as I left the building. 

It would probably take more than a week for all my orders to be finished, the barding being the most time consuming of the four projects. I just hope that I don’t get assigned to any major mission before I can try out my new gear. 

“Welcome back,” Minerva waved to me when I came back during the evening. “If you’re wondering about the two upstairs, they’re taking a nap right now.”

“So it’s a regular day,” I commented. “Honestly, I feel like their caretaker sometimes.”

“Pretty sure you are,” Minerva pointed out. “On the topic of being a caretaker, I need your help with something.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I said grimly. “I’m just kidding, what do you need?”

Minerva gave a heavy sigh before commencing her explanation. “In short, I need your help training rookie mercenaries. Damask and its surrounding territories are in dire need of armed men to take care of monsters, beasts, and bandits. The Doux’s men aren’t enough and the casualty rate among new mercenaries is staggering.”

“Interesting, you can’t count me in,” I replied with an easy smile. “I’ll try rope Sekh and Zeph into helping me out.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate that you’re around,” Minerva said with a broad smile. “I’ll send notices to the surrounding areas. We should be able to start some time around late next week.”

The rest of the day proceeded without trouble. However, at noon on the following day, I was given a notice that the Doux’s administration wanted to pay me for my assistance with the fogling problem. Thus I ended up coming back to the citadel, though I entered the administrative offices instead of the sparring grounds. 

For a while, I sat boredly in the waiting room outside of the offices. But before I could commence my nap, a man came out of the room with a coin purse in hand.

“Here is your payment,” the worker said while handing me the pouch. 

“Thank you,” I replied as I began to count the payment. 

I didn’t really have to count since I was only paid 18 denarii. Although it was a good amount of cash, I was fighting greater monsters. The normal amount for such a job would be closer to 3 or 4 solidi.

“Sorry but that’s all,” the worker informed me. “We unfortunately don’t have more to offer you.”

Just as the words left his mouth, the man immediately scurried out of the room, leaving me to just gawk at my subpar payment. Well I do know how to force a payment out of the administration, but I didn’t feel like antagonizing the poor workers. Which is fine since my finances are stable and steadily increasing. 

“Zeph, can I have a moment?” I asked when I came back to the Bureau.

It took a little for the white haired girl to notice and make her way to me. When she came, I simply pressed the 18 denarii into her hands.

“Here’s your share for helping with the fogling situation,” I told her. “With this, you should be able to resume your travel.”

“Are you sure though? ” Zeph asked with wide eyes. “This is quite a lot for what I did.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I reassured her with a smile.

“Thank you so much then,” Zeph replied with a bow. “I am very much in your debt.”

“There’s no need for that,” I waved off. “I can’t believe you’re the same person as the sore loser from the archery tournament.”

Instead of the regular annoyed pout, Zeph simply looked away shyly. Certainly an interesting turn of events. Well I’m glad that I got to see something like this. 

For the rest of the day until evening, we ignored the issue of Zeph’s departure. It was only around dinner that I brought up the subject to Minerva and Sekh. 

“Now that your finances are stable, are you going to continue wandering the world?” I asked Zeph. 

While Zeph stayed quiet, Sekh’s tail suddenly shot up in confusion. On her face was a worried expression.

“You’re leaving?” Sekh asked as she tilted her head. 

Zeph began to stare at the table and mutter incoherently in response. Despite all her boldness during the tournament, Zeph is now an awkward stuttering mess. Almost like a young child being embarrassed in front of their family. Now that I think about it, I’m even getting second hand embarrassment from Zeph’s behavior. 

“Actually,” Zeph finally spoke. “If it’s possible…, can I stay here?”

“Huh?” I blurted out in confusion.

At the same time that I expressed my surprise, the leopard girl to my side jumped up in joy. 

“Of course you can,” Sekh almost shouted. “You’re more than welcome to stay. Even if Minerva doesn’t hire you, we can keep doing jobs together so you can pay for food.”

“Why do I have to be the bad guy?” Minerva complained. “Well, technically I can’t hire her since the Doux won’t allow an increase in staff now. However, I can definitely pay for her living expenses so she can be a standby mercenary.”

“Thank you so much,” Zeph replied happily. 

I feel like I’ve been left in the dark. Did Sekh and Zeph really bond that much during their three days together? Well, Sekh is a remarkably amiable person so it’s certainly within the realms of possibility. 

Instead of spoiling the moment by making fun of Zeph, I just sat back and let the two idiots do whatever they were doing. Similar to me, Minerva was also observing the situation with mild amusement. The happiness continued well after dinner and culminated with me buying sweets. 

It was later that night that I found myself comfortably cuddling with Sekh. 

“What happened to ‘it’s too hot to sleep?’” Sekh teased as she poked my cheek. 

“The weather is colder now,” I argued. “Plus I really like hugging you.”

“Did you just pout?” Sekh asked with wide eyes. “Ugh, I’m so angry that it’s dark. Actually, I’ll just pretend that you did pout.” 

“Maybe I’ll give you a visible pout one day,” I said while stroking her tail. 

“Tomorrow,” Sekh asserted. “I won’t take no as an answer.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved off. “I love you too.”

Sekh gave her usual response in the form of a delighted giggle. I could already feel my spirit being lifted by her cute little laughs. I wonder how much I would need to reach enlightenment. Maybe a year’s worth? 

“Sekh, how did you and Zeph hit off so well?” I asked her while resting my chin on her shoulder. 

“Not a clue,” Sekh answered cheerily. “I think we’re just compatible.”

“Is that so?” I replied with a chuckle. “Now that I think about it, you’re even closer with Zeph than you are with Minerva. Do you not like her?”

“It’s not like that,” Sekh argued. “I like Minerva, it’s just that I have a much harder time talking to her. Apart from training with each other, I don’t have that many shared interests with her. Personally, I think that you and Minerva are much closer in terms of personality and interests.” 

“So you want to bang Minerva?” I teased.

“Not really,” Sekh argued. “Even if you’re similar, she can’t possibly replace you.”

A gentle wave of emotions washed over me and I found myself hugging the leopard girl even tighter than before. Sekh likewise tightened her grip around my waist and the two of us fell into a peaceful slumber in each other’s embrace.

For those who still remember the cost of Sekh's equipment around 20 or so chapters ago, you've probably realized how ridiculously expensive Azel's equipment is. It's important to keep in mind that equipping a light infantryman in the middle ages was astronomically cheaper than equipping a heavy or even medium cavalryman.

23