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Chapter 256

Rei was told to name his compensation from Axe of the Thunder God, but he tilted his head in response.

(Compensation. Normally, that would mean money, but I’m not short on money. In that case, magic items? The Axe of the Thunder God, that can emit lightning, is certainly attractive. But even if I had another spear or axe, it wouldn’t be of any use.)

At the back of Rei’s mind, he thought of the Power Axe that he had passed to Ara.

The Power Axe had been a fairly high quality magic item, although still inferior to the Axe of the Thunder God. However, the weapons Rei used were basically the Death Scythe and spears for throwing at long distances. Aside from those, he had daggers for some situations. Because of that, after taking that axe from Vargas, it had basically been kept in the Misty Ring.

Of course, there were quite a few adventurers who used battle axes. But fortunately or unfortunately, barely any of the adventurers that Rei worked with used one. As a result, the Power Axe was never brought out until an issue arose where Ara’s sword became useless.

(In that case, there’s no point in asking for a magic item as compensation. There’s nothing that stands out aside from the Axe of the Thunder God. A necklace that increases resistance to fire is not that useful to me either, as someone who is good at fire magic. ……Then……no, wait? Rank A party. If I think of them as a fighting force……would that work?)

He quickly put the thoughts together in his head. After about 30 seconds, Rei spoke.

「Compensation. In other words, I can consider it as returning a debt?」

「That’s right. I understand it as such……what about Elk?」

Marina nodded at Rei’s words and turned to Elk.

「Of course. I’ll do whatever I can.」

Elk nodded in agreement towards Rei, who was sitting beside him.

Rei, who heard those words, smiled internally but kept expression level as he spoke.

「I see. The war with the Bestir Empire will start soon. I want you to participate in the war and play an active part. As much as possible, I want to maximise the strength of Axe of the Thunder God. The greater the damage to the Bestir Empire, the better.」

「……What? Is that all you want?」

Elk responded at Rei’s proposal.

For Elk, the Mireana Kingdom was his beloved homeland. He thought of Gilm as the place he’d evenutally like to bury his bones. In order to protect his city and country, he had intended to participate in the war as a mercenary from the beginning.

In fact, if Axe of the Thunder God participated in the war, as a rank A party, the Mireana Kingdom would welcome them. For adventurers, rank A wasn’t a position that could be reached by strength alone. However, strength was still something that contributed greatly to it.

「Ah. But, of course, I won’t be satisfied with average battle results. I expect great results like beheading enemy generals and large numbers of enemy soldiers.」

「……I understand.」

Elk nodded firmly when he heard Rei’s requirements.

To Elk, Rei’s proposal was nothing more than a bridge that had to be crossed. After all, the Bestir Empire had taken his loved ones hostage. In exchange for their lives, he had been ordered to kill Rei.

(If the target of assassination hadn’t been Rei……if it had been an ordinary adventurer, I probably would have killed them. And after that, I probably would have been killed as well. After all, Min and Rhodes had been taken hostage. And if I had died, Min and Rhodes……would probably have had to return the debt of my stupid deeds.)

In his inner self, Elk renewed his determination to fight the Bestir Empire. Fighting spirit and bloodlust spilled out from his large body.

「-!?」

Rhodes held his breath momentarily as his dad’s aura as he loooked at the others. However, no one else seemed to show any particular change to their expression after seeing Elk’s aura.

(……I’m still too weak. This was all caused by me as well.)

When Rhodes sighed, Marina turned to look at Min and Rhodes.

As a member of Axe of the Thunder God, Rhodes had met with Guild Master Marina several times before. Still, Marina’s overflowing sex appeal had always dazzled him each time.

However, this time, it was safe to say that Elk’s murderous aura had saved him from embarrasment due to the fear in his heart.

「So Elk will need to achieve merits in the war. What will the other two do?」

「Wait a moment, Guild Master! I was the one who tried to kill Rei. For those two……」

Perhaps Marina’s words were unexpected. Elk’s murderous aura from several seconds ago was suddenly extinguished.

But, Marina silent shook her head at Elk’s response.

「No, it can’t be done. I’m sorry, but this time, it’s not just about you, but about Axe of the Thunder God as a whole. Because of that, the punishment you will receive must also be carried by the whole of Axe of the Thunder God.」

「But, Guild Master!」

Elk still tried to make a plea, but surprisingly, it was Min, who sat next to Elk, who stopped him.

「Elk, don’t worry about it. Like you, I’m also angry with the Bestir Empire.」

「Min……but what about Rhodes? Yes, it’s true that he’s much stronger than most soldiers in terms of ability alone. He has also killed bandits. But, you know that it’s different from war right? You’ve also experienced that.」

「Dad! Even I……」

Rhodes interjected at Elk’s point, but when Elk looked back with sharp eyes, he couldn’t say anymore and kept quiet.

Min spoke as she looked at Rhodes with a bitter smile.

「Don’t worry. In the first place, I’m a mage, so I’ll focus on shooting magic from the back. Rhodes will stay near me as my guard. I won’t be going to the frontlines, unlike you.」

「……In that case……」

Elk tried to nod reluctantly at his wife’s words when a voice was heard again.

「Wait a moment you two. It’s nice that you’re worry about me, but I was the biggest cause of all this. So I want to be able to take responsibilty for it properly.」

Rhodes had retreated at Elk’s gaze earlier, but he spoke up again.

And, when Elk tried to say something again……

「Ah, you can talk about that later in a family meeting or something. Anyway, my request is that Axe of the Thunder God participates in the war. Regarding the division of roles, you can decide that.」

Rei’s words interrupted them.

After all, to Rei, it was Elk who was important to his request. If Elk, a rank A adventurer used his power to his full potential, he would be a powerful force for the Mireana Kindgom. Moreover, it was also true that Min was a mage with great skill, so it would also be good if she could demonstrate her skill.

(In the next war, the Demon Soldiers will definitely appear. In that case, it will be necessary to prepare our forces to be as strong as possible. In that sense, by goal was achieved by I pulled both Elk and Min into the battlefield. It’s too bad for Rhodes, but the situation won’t change much with or without him. However, as Elk said, Rhodes is much stronger than an ordinary soldier.)

As he thought about it, Marina, who had been silently listening and hadn’t gotten herself involved in the dispute, clapped her hands to gather the attention of everyone.

「Well then, Rei’s punishment for Axe of the Thunder God is to participate in the war. I’m sorry, but since it’s a punishment, you won’t get paid.」

「Ahh, that’s not an issue.」

Certainly, the reward from being hired as a mercenary wasn’t high, but if you contributed notable merits, the reward would be greatly increased. However, since Elk and the rest of the party had been active as rank A adventurers, they had plenty of money and were not particularly concerned with the reward. Even though it was painful for them to participate in the war without any rewards, in the end it was only a little painful.

「The guild will confisticate any rewards that Axe of the Thunder God receive. That is the Guild’s punishment for Axe of the Thunder God.」

「I understand. ……Guild Master, Rei. This time, I’ve cause a lot of trouble. ……I’m very sorry.」

Elk gave a bow, followed by Min and Rhodes.

After a few seconds, Marina spoke up.

「It can’t be helped……I won’t say that, but something like this was bound to happen eventually. Also, it was brought up in the conversation about the war earlier, but don’t overprotect Rhodes. I know that kids are cute, but doing that will prevent a child’s growth. This is a warning not as a guild master, but as a Dark Elf who has lived much longer than you.」

「……」

Marina continued to speak to the silent Elk and Min, who had raised their heads.

「I’m not saying it’s wrong to from a party with family. In fact, I’ve seen a lot of people who have formed a party with their family. And, with your ability, Axe of the Thunder God was able to rise to a rank A party. But it’s also a fact that parents will eventually need to separate from their children. Please think carefully about it. ……Ah, I ended up talking about quite a bit. Anyway, this matter is now closed! I’ll get in touch with Daska, so don’t worry about it. Please prepare youself for the war and hone yourself. Now then, you can all leave.」

Saying that that was it, Marina stood up from the sofa, went to her desk and started reading documents.

The four of them watched her, but eventually realised that there was no point in staying any longer and left the office.

「Rei, so……about that. How about getting some food together? I don’t expect this to make up for anything, but will you let me treat you?」

Those were the first words Elk said after leaving the guild.

As expected, he was feeling sorry for causing so much trouble in this situation.

「I see. I’m happy for you to treat me to a meal. Of course, it’s not just me, it’s Set as well, right?」

「Guru~?」

As Rei came out of the guild, Set who was coming over, gave a cry a tilted his head when he heard about getting fed. Elk, who was feeling very sorry for the trouble he had caused, didn’t reject and nodded his head.

「O-Of course. But where would you like to eat? Since it’s not just us, we can’t take Set to an ordinary dining place right?」

「Hmm, you’re right. As far as I know, the Satisfied Stomach will cater for Set. Of course, he can’t go inside.」

「Satisfied Stomach? Min, do you know about it?」

「Ahh. It’s an eatery on back street. I think the shopkeeper son there was an adventurer. I heard that the taste and quantity of food there is above average.」

「I see, if you say so, then it must be so. You okay with that Rhodes?」

「Hm? Ah, right. I don’t mind, but……ah, no, sorry. Actually, I’m fine. There’s something I’d like to think about by myself, so I’ll split up with you all here.」

After saying that, Rhodes left before Elk and Min had any time to say anything.

For Rhodes, it was because he needed some time to think carefully about what Marina had said.

Elk and Min realised that. Although they looked somewhat regretful, they let him leave without stopping him.

「……Well then, shall we go? A lot of things happened today, so I want to eat and drink to my fill. Rei and Set, eat as much as you’d like. Well then, please lead the way to the Satisfied Stomach.」

After Elk said that, Rei led them straight to the Satisfied Stomach without another word.

「Heh~……this is quite nice.」

Elk muttered to himself as he stuffed stir fried meat, skewers and stew on the table into his mouth.

In his hand was a cup with a high alcohol percentage beverage, which he drank from as he picked up food.

The Sastified Stomach could be considered a common eatery. Normally, there would have been a big fuss if a celebrity like Elk came over, since it was past 2pm and peak hours, there were only a few guests in the dining area. Moreover, the owner, Dishot, wisely reserved the rest of ths eatery for them, so only the customers who were already present were suprised by Elk’s appearance.

And even for those customers, Elk’s presence alone wasn’t something to raise a fuss about. Thanks to that, Rei and Elk enjoyed their meal without being disturbed by their surroundings. That said, since Set naturally couldn’t enter the dining area, he had his meal outside.

「Wait a moment.」

Saying that, Dishot brought out a juicy Fang Boar steak with a crunchy exterior.

It was probably due to Dishot’s skill as a chef that the meat had almost no odour.

When he saw that steak, Rei smiled as he suddenly thought of a mischievious idea.

「Dishot, I have some fried udon that doesn’t exist in Gilm. ……Would you like to try some?」

「Oh, is that a challenge for me? All right, I accept the challenge.」

Dishot said that with a smile as Rei’s words had stimulated his pride as a chef.

In response, Rei also smiled and took out the pot containing the fried udon with demiglace sauce that he had bought in the city of Abuero.

……In the end, the huge pot of fried udon was eventually finished by Dishot and Elk.