<h4>Chapter 59: The Merchant</h4>


    The name of the man who appeared from behind Arnold was Reis.


    He was a middle-aged man with streaks of white on his pale brown hair and wrinkles below his eyelids. With a medium build clothed in a good quality suit, he could be regarded as a rich person.


    What caught Aria’s interest was what hid in the depths of his eyes, not how he was dressed. There was a great sorrow lurking behind his gaze… It felt like a stagnation.


    The sixth sense of an elf who grew in nature was extremely sharp.


    They could judge, from the moment they met, whether someone had any ill intentions toward them.


    (He doesn’t seem like a bad person… But…)


    Something about that man bothered Aria, but she couldn’t figure out what exactly it was. But while she pondered about it, Vulcan was extremely excited about the offer she just received.


    「A nominatedmission, that’s amnya~zing! It seems that Aria-chan’s skill is recognized, nya~!」


    When someone was nominated for amission, it served as proof of the chosen’s abilities and poprity. For Vulcan, who had trained Aria, there was no greater happiness than knowing her pupil’s skills were recognized.


    Hearing Vulcan’s remark, Aria couldn’t help but express her concern about the situation and question Reis about his choice.


    「Nominated…mission? What kind of quest is that? Also, why does it have to be me? I mean, there are other higher-ranked adventurers in this guild.」


    「My request is an escortmission. I’m a merchant. Currently, I’m transporting a certain “thing” from Renald until ddstone, an Earl’s territory. I need an escort to protect me and what I’m carrying.」


    「I was the one who nominated you, Aria-chan! You and Vulcan are already strong enough to defeat demons, after all. There’s also Tama who single-handedly brought down four trolls by himself! Reis is a person I can trust, and I knew Aria-chan with her strong sense of justice would be the right person for the job. ?」


    (Ho~… So it’s not just me, my dear master’s abilities and credibilities were considered as factors to nominate her as well.)


    Reis’s and Arnold’s answers satisfied Tama.


    When they first met, Aria was just a D-rank adventurer.


    Now she had finally reached this milestone along with Vulcan.


    「My desire is for your entire group to ept thismission. Would you spare some time to sit and discuss themission in detail?」


    「Nya~? Me too, nya~? My apologies, nya~, but I can’t ept it. I can’t leave my business closed for too long, nya~.」


    「I see… I understand. It truly is a pity, though.」


    For some reason, Reis wanted not only Aria but Vulcan as well to participate in his request.


    Vulcan’s decision to not participate was reasonable. She couldn’t leave her shop closed for the three days journey by coach from Renald to ddstone, not to mention the round trip.


    「Well then, let’s hear the details of thismission. Ste-chan doesn’t seem to like this kind of discussion. Vulcan-san, could you go with Ste-chan to order a meal?」


    「Meowger! 」


    Aria’s original intent was to have Ste by her side as she discussed the contents of themission. One look at herpanion’s face made her quickly change her mind.


    Ste’s appearance resembled a zombie. Dazed and drooling, she stared in the direction of the bar-room from where the fragrance of food came from.


    After leaving Ste in Vulcan’s capable hands, Aria headed to the conference room.


    With Tama secure in her arms, she prepared to hear the details of themission from Reis and Arnold.


    「Let’s begin. As I said before, themission is an escort request for Aria-chan. The one to be escorted is Reis himself, while the cargo… Is the skeleton of the 〝Earth Dragon?」


    「The skeleton of… an Earth Dragon! Since you said Renald, does that mean…」


    「Yes, it’s the skeleton of the dragon corpse that appeared out of nowhere in Renald a month ago. Right, Tama-chan?」


    Arnold’s statement confirmed Aria’s suspicions.


    This so-called 〝Certain Cargo?was a dragon corpse. The Earth Dragon that had been killed by Tama one month ago to save Aria’s life in thebyrinth.


    It was Ste’s former body.


    A rumor spread about Tama since he appeared around the same time as the corpse, filled with wounds. There was also a rumor about how it was all for Aria’s sake.


    Arnold knew about those rumors and winked at Tama, but the kitten just tilted its head and feigned ignorance.


    「The truth is, there’s an auction for the corpse of the Earth Dragon in Renald. I bid for its skeleton since I can use it for business.」


    Due to his merchant profession, Reis might sell the skeleton to a cksmith as forging material or use it in another way.


    Aria worried about this “other way”, but decided to not think too deeply about it.


    Her elf sixth sense told her Reis wasn’t a bad person.


    Moreover, she trusted Arnold wouldn’t try to do something to her. Before Arnold put themission on the board, themissioner’s identity was checked and a trusted adventurer would be chosen toplete the request.


    「It’s preferable to depart as soon as possible. Tomorrow would be ideal. As for the reward, how about this much?」


    Reis presented themission notice made by the guild.


    「Are you… Sure about this amount? 」


    「Yes. This is an important cargo for me, after all.」


    The reward that was written on themission notice astounded Aria.


    The sum was lower than the reward for the demon subjugation quest she received before, but it was still a huge amount of money.


    「Since there’s the possibility of being ambushed by thieves, I increased the reward. This job will be dangerous, but I’m sure Aria-chan and Tama-chan can do this. ?」


    「… For you to go as far as saying that, I have no choice but to fulfill your expectations. You’re with me too right, Tama?」


    「Nyan~! (Of course, Master!)」


    Tama’s purr served as an agreement to her question, so Aria decided to ept themission.


    But there was one more question she needed to ask.


    After all, she couldn’t leave Ste on her own in the city.


    「By the way, May I ask if Ste-chan is also permitted to participate in thismission?」


    「I don’t mind as long as it is one of yourrades. There’s nothing better than more escorts, right?」


    With Reis agreeing to it, Aria started pondering on how to handle Ste.


    Thebyrinth provided a limited space to fight monsters. Aria thought it might be a good idea to let Ste run loose on the highway since she didn’t seem to like the notion of working together.


    It was a golden opportunity to let Ste get used to the role of fighting while protecting arade.


    (Fumu… Is that okay? We’re being paid to escort Ste’s former body, the Earth Dragon’s corpse. I wonder how she’ll feel about this request?)


    Tama considered asking Ste’s opinion on this matter.


    She was a former enemy turnedrade. They would share blood and tears from now on.


    As he stared at her, he couldn’t help but worry endlessly.


    Meanwhile, the girl in question was blissfully unaware of the situation as she devoured her food with gusto alongside Vulcan.