GILF Hunter

Freya led Rin out of the training hall.

Having roughly assessed Rin’s state, she decided it was time to start the training in earnest.

Even with Freya’s help, Rin figured she’d only be doing basic movement drills for a while anyway....

She wondered if they really needed to move locations, but it was true that the Freya Mercenary Group’s training facilities were much larger and better equipped.

For that reason, Rin followed Freya without much suspicion.

’Oh, right. Go pack your bags.’

’My bags?’

Rin wore a puzzled expression at Freya’s words.

She had never been told to pack bags during training before. Just how long was she planning to keep her...? feeling a slight sense of unease, Rin asked Freya.

’For how long?’

’That depends on you.’

...Right. This person was always like this.

Eventually giving up on prying for details, Rin went up to the dormitory and packed some simple belongings.

It was still inside the city, after all. Most necessities would be available there too. Thinking that, Rin brought out only the most basic luggage.

In the meantime, Freya was receiving a bag containing something from Tanya on the first floor.

’What is that?’

’This? Food.’

Food...?

Rin felt an increasingly strange sensation, but she brushed it off again, thinking it might just be a gift.

Freya led Rin through the streets of Labyrinth.

Realizing they weren’t heading toward the training hall they usually used, Rin asked Freya.

’Wait, where are we going?’

’We’re going for your training, obviously.’

She wondered if there was another training hall this way, but since the Freya Mercenary Group was so large and had various facilities all over the place, Rin still didn’t notice anything suspicious until then.

It was when they passed the North Gate that Rin realized something was wrong.

’Excuse me, right now... where are we going?’

’The Labyrinth.’

’The Labyrinth... The Labyrinth?!’

No wonder. She had started getting a chilling feeling from the moment she saw the North Gate.

Flustered, Rin hurriedly asked Freya.

’Just the two of us in the Labyrinth?’

’The first floor is nothing much. You know that, right?’

’There’s... no way that’s true!’

Rin shouted and tried to run away, but Freya was already gripping Rin’s arm tightly.

’I-I need to get consent from the Leader! Because it’s the Labyrinth!’

’I got it.’

’When? I never saw you get anything like that....’

’He sent it in advance by letter this morning, didn’t he?’

It meant that even before Freya requested it, Ian had already prepared the temporary party formation documents and sent them to Freya.

Come to think of it, Ian had asked her to sign something yesterday, and she had written her name on a few papers....

Rin, who hadn’t checked the contents in detail, only then realized the nature of those documents.

’Now we can finally do some proper training.’

’P-proper training? Then what was everything we’ve done until now?’

’That was just playing around. I taught you how to pick treasure chests so you could at least earn your keep; that’s not real training.’

’Eeeh....’

Rin was dragged out beyond the North Gate while listening to such shocking words.

They hadn’t applied for Labyrinth entry, of course, but Freya didn’t seem to care as she walked past the guards.

As if it were a common occurrence, the Labyrinth guards let them through just by seeing Freya’s face.

It was a sudden trip to the Labyrinth.

＊　＊　＊

’Mmm....’

Ian discovered Mika slumped over a desk sleeping while he was passing through the lounge.

Lately, this side of Mika was seen often.

Looking at the open books, it seemed she was studying something....

There was a room specifically made for studying or research, but Mika always read books in the lounge, as if she were the type who couldn’t concentrate in those kinds of places.

Approaching her, Ian shook Mika lightly to wake her up.

’Mika.’

’...Uhe?’

’Don’t sleep in a place like this; go inside and sleep.’

’A-ah, no....’

Mika, who had been face down, rubbed her eyes and sat up.

Ian glanced at the books spread out in front of Mika and asked.

’What were you doing?’

’...Ah! Y-you mustn’t look!’

Mika leaned over the table again, covering the open books and notes.

It seemed to be a secret research project she didn’t want to show others... but since it was about magic theory anyway, Ian wouldn’t be able to understand the contents at all even if he saw them.

Mika, who quickly closed and organized the notes and books, replied to Ian with an embarrassed face.

’This is just, I was doing some research....’

Originally, Mika had hated this kind of research, but recently she had suddenly begun to immerse herself in it.

Ian thought that as Mika’s skills as a mage grew, she had naturally started to take an interest in research.

’....’

Mika swallowed hard while watching Ian’s reaction.

Thinking that he probably hadn’t noticed what the contents were, Mika let out a sigh of relief in her heart.

What Mika was researching... was research to prepare for the memories of the future she had purchased at the exchange.

In other words... it was research to find a way to prevent Ian’s death.

It wasn’t something she could show to the person involved.

...Should she just be honest? She had thought about that quite a lot too.

Because if it were Ian, he might be able to come up with much better ideas than Mika.

But....

Can a person really maintain their composure even after learning about the future of their own death?

Wouldn’t his judgment be clouded as death approached, leading to wrong choices?

If the future changed because of that... might they miss an opportunity they could have otherwise prevented?

Because of those thoughts, Mika couldn’t bring herself to tell Ian the story.

Fortunately, Ian didn’t try to pry into what Mika’s research topic was.

’If you need any materials, let me know. I’ll get them for you.’

’Yes. If I need anything, I’ll tell you.’

Ian left those words and returned to the office. Mika sighed softly as she watched his retreating back.

Phew....

It had been quite a while since she started the research, but there was no progress at all. Because the future felt bleak, she couldn’t concentrate at all.

Maybe she should just take a walk....

Thinking that, Mika came out to the street for a walk.

The street where old bookstores and magic item shops were clustered, where Mika always used to wander.

In the past, it was a place where she looked for grimoires.

Of course, she was still wandering around the old bookstores. The difference now was that instead of grimoires, she was looking for books that might help with her research.

However, she wondered if researching alone with books like this would be meaningful.

Progress would only happen if she started researching with some plausible material.

But materials related to Mika’s research were all expensive without exception.

Wasn’t it the task of preventing someone’s death?

Since it was something anyone would be interested in, there were many researchers, and materials that might be related to that research were items that the wealthy always bought for large sums of money.

Mika had saved up a fair amount of money, so she could probably afford that much... but the problem was the availability.

Those were precious materials as much as they were expensive. Since they were also materials the wealthy always coveted, it was hard to even find them for sale without using some kind of connection to ask around.

Of course, if she asked Ian, he could certainly get those materials for her.

But if she did that, there was a high possibility Ian would notice what Mika was researching. They were such famous materials, after all.

It was at the moment when Mika, unable to find a way, was sighing and looking at the items in the shops.

The sound of the shop owner talking to another customer accidentally reached Mika’s ears.

’Did you hear? I heard a Mandragora came on the market a few days ago.’

’I don’t know which mercenary group it was, but they hit the jackpot.’

’I know, right. Just by selling that one thing, imagine how much the brokerage fee is....’

...Mandragora?

Hearing that name, Mika approached the shop owner.

’Is that true! Where is it going?’

’Huh? Where else, it would’ve been sold to the southern shopping district. How could a hole-in-the-wall shop like ours even get a glimpse of it?’

’Ah... the south.’

It was the district in Labyrinth where only the wealthy lived.

If such an expensive material appeared, it would naturally have been sold to the southern shopping district, which paid the highest price....

Still, since it was such a famous item, rumors were bound to spread among the merchants, so the shop owner gave her a hint about the Mandragora’s whereabouts.

’I heard they’re putting the item up at a party for the group that sponsors that shopping district. They say there’s going to be an auction there.’

’A party....’

There was no way Mika could get into a place like that alone. Maybe if it were Ian.

If she had a connection somewhere, she could have at least tried to talk to someone. She should have bothered to join a mage association or something and associated with famous people.

’...Ah! Thank you for telling me! I’ll buy something from your shop later!’

At that moment, the face of a certain person who could help her flashed through Mika’s mind.

Returning to the dormitory at a run, Mika kicked the door open and rushed inside.

’Airi!’

’Et?’

’Please help me!’

Mika flopped down in front of Airi.

A flustered Airi stammered as she spoke to Mika.

’W-what’s the matter? I’ll help you....’

’Really? Then attend a party with me!’

Airi dropped the book she was holding onto the floor.

Wh-why are you saying such harsh words to me...?

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