"You're still here, Roko?"
"Yeah." Roko didn't even look up as he continued to shift around the dirt the oil monsters had made their nest only a day ago.
"You're a hard worker aren't you." Isla called, as she hopped down the rather steep slope to the chamber where the oil monsters used to be, "What's even left to study? Like what are you even doing here?"
"Cause."
"Cause of what?"
"Cause of their encampment." Roko replied as he continued to shift through the dirt, "Traditionally, SOMETHING must have died here for the monsters to have taken root. But no one knew this place existed so what's going on?"
"...Oh, CAUSE. Like cause and effect. I read those above sentences completely wrong then."
"Isla, stop breaking the fourth wall."
"Was the situation not that the infection started in the camp that you found abandoned and then moved to this underground one?" Perry asked, curiously.
"Yeah but why this one?" Roko mumbled as he pulled up the night vision goggles he had borrowed from Helena to explore the caverns, "Even if this was a better place to move to, how'd they come to that determination without human interference?"
"Sounds like you're underestimating the monsters to me." Isla said as she picked up a nice flat rock, "Are you sure the monsters aren't as intelligent as you are?"
"I'm hoping not." Roko sighed as he massaged his temple, "Otherwise, we'd have a real problem."
"Haha. I'm sure it'll be fine." Perry laughed nervously.
"Did you need me for something?" Roko asked.
"Ah well, I wanted to thank you for your help in this mission." Perry smiled, "With Helena's persuasion, we managed to get double the rewards for this extermination. Don't know how she managed that with such a small village but we're sincerely grateful nonetheless!"
"Helena probably footed the bill for the other half." Roko replied as he went back to digging in the dark, "Good for building relationships between herself, this village and your party. Nominal cost for herself."
"Really? She never mentioned doing that."
"Why would she? It's a secret she can pull on anytime. That's the real value."
"Are you sure you should be telling us this then?"
"Telling you this won't change the effective value much."
"I guess." Perry scratched his head, "I mean, we wouldn't have succeeded at all without your party putting in so much work."
"Well, we do have a very effective weapon with us."
"Easy on the eyes too." Perry nodded.
"I'm telling your wife." Isla scoffed.
"Do it. My wife'll never believe you."
"Better take some pictures then."
"Hope you got the money to pay the fees then." Roko called.
"You can't be serious."
"Just ask Corissa for permission. I'm sure she'll give it if only to try and be friends with you."
"...How much are the fees?"
"Higher than the permission card she'll give you will sell for."
"What the fuck is this economic system?!"
"It's not my design. Just a result of the fanaticism around her."
"So how much does the permission card sell for?" Perry asked curiously.
"The exact economics, you'll have to ask Helena since she keeps track of that for fun. Last I heard, there hasn't been one in a while so it'll probably go for something a bit higher but normally it goes for at least 500,000 gold."
"That's one whole week of eating out at restaurants." Perry gulped, "And some change."
"But WHY?!" Isla cried.
"Aside from the permission card looking fancy? It's only effective for a single day and requires Corissa's signature." Roko replied, "So not only does it contain her signature, but the date its effective for is also written by her. It's a rare collectible."
"People CAN'T be this down bad for her." Isla clutched her head as she processed this information.
"Believe me, I wish it wasn't this complicated." Roko sighed.
"Wait, so you're telling me, I can get a permission card worth thousands of gold from her..." Perry mused, "Then take a few pictures and sell THOSE for even more money?"
"Sure can."
"...Can I join your party?"
"Ask Varis."
"Damn, I knew there was a catch." Perry snapped his fingers in a semi-sarcastic gesture.
"I'm telling the boss you were gonna jump ship." Isla scowled.
"Do it. The boss will try to change jobs with me."
"That fucker would, wouldn't he?" Isla moaned.
"How much money have you made off being Corissa's friend?" Perry asked.
"Zero."
"Why?"
"Unfortunately I have this disability called 'having morals'." Roko scowled.
"That sounds serious and uncurable." Isla nodded, "I'm afraid it's terminal."
"I'm hoping it terminates me soon."
"You need help with that?"
"Not anymore than I already have."
"Well, we'll just leave you alone to your work then." Perry chuckled, "Come back for lunch soon though. Corissa has something real special prepared, I can tell."
"One last piece of advice." Roko called out.
"Yeah?"
"If you try to sell a permission card, Helena will tell you the best price and get you that much, but secretly, she will have sold it for 20% more than what she told you and pocketed the profits. Kaguya will give you the same price, sell it for that price and give you that much."
"...So the only difference is if we care about the third party making a profit off our card." Isla said.
"Yep."
"...This is starting to become too much of a hassle." Perry scratched his head.
"How do you know all this anyway?" Isla's eyes squinted.
"Someone tried this a long time ago."
"Who was it?"
"I'll give you one guess."
"...Roland?"
"Exactly."
"...Alright. Good to know. Thanks."
And as they left, Roko could hear the mercenaries whispering to each other,
"So how we handling this?"
"I dunno, we better go ask Roland for more information first."
"Typical." Roko sighed as returned to his work.
"What's for lunch, Corissa?" Momo asked, poking her head into the kitchen of their inn.
"Ah, gimme a bit." Corissa replied, "I've been helping out with the inn's kitchen and hadn't had enough time to prepare for our lunch."
"What if we got some of the inn's lunch?" Helena asked.
"Well, you could, I suppose." Corissa said as she stirred the pot of soup she was cooking, "But the inn doesn't really have an impressive menu."
"Aw, I'm sure you can improve their menu." Momo said without a hint of doubt.
"Well, I can improve their dishes." Corissa sighed as she added a dash of pepper to the soup, "But I don't think I can add any new dishes."
"Madam Corissa!" a waiter called as they ran in, "We have an order for a cheesecake!"
"A cheesecake?!" Corissa cried, "That's not on the menu!"
"We have a seemingly bigwig merchant dining today."
"That'll be the 27th time that's happened whenever Corissa decided to help out a small kitchen." Helena nodded.
"Ooo! Ooo! I can fulfill that order!" Momo volunteered excitedly.
"Can you?" The waiter asked skeptically.
"Sure can! Corissa, go ahead and take 5 for a minute!" Momo said, grabbing an extra apron off a hook.
"Eh? But the soup..." Corissa yelped.
"Ah, I can watch a pot boil." Helena volunteered, "I'll even promise not to put anything in it."
"That's a concerning statement." Kaguya frowned.
"You help too, Kaguya!"
"Must I?" Kaguya sighed, "Well, I suppose I am rather lacking in the cooking department compared to everyone else not named Helena. Some practice could be helpful."
"Them's fighting words." Helena squinted her eyes.
"You focus on our super special lunch, okay Corissa?" Momo called, cracking a few eggs into a bowl as the start of a batter.
"O-Okay..."
Corissa sat down on a chair at the back of kitchen, taking the time to release a long and heavy sigh. It had become a habit, damn near tradition for Corissa to help out at whatever inn they were staying at as a sort of thanks for their hospitality. And like Helena said, some high profile customers would show up whenever this happened. Some damn near stalking her just to taste her food even if there was no real proof that she actually made said food. Sill, at least it was helping out the local economy.
"Hm?" Corissa looked up as a black hand hovered over her eyes for a moment. Looking up, she recognized Varis silently offering her a milk tea.
"Ah! Thank you!" Corissa smiled as she took the drink from her knight, "Mmmm… You're surprisingly good at making this, Varis."
Varis didn't reply as he simply continued to stand next to her, her ever reliable guard. Corissa sat there, taking a few refreshing sips as she slowly let the stress of her day melt off her. Yet there was still something weighing on her. The dream of her past remained freshly disturbed in her memories, pulling attention back to itself as if demanding to be addressed. Corissa knew she could never get an answer from Varis. But for the sake of rest, she had to ask,
"Hey...Varis..." Corissa said solemnly looking at the ground as she spoke, "What happened to your dream? What happened to becoming a hero?"
Varis didn't answer. He didn't even react much beyond turning his expressionless helmet towards her.
"Do you still want to be a hero?" Corissa asked, "Is that why you became a mercenary? Am I distracting you? And I...holding you back?"
Varis placed a hand on Corissa's shoulder, drawing the girl's gaze up to him so she could see him firmly shake his head.
"...Yeah, I suppose you could've left at anytime if you wanted to chase your dream." Corissa offered a small smile, "But...I also don't want you hold back on your dream. I also don't want you to have no dream either. I'll always be by your side so…let's keep dreaming together."
Varis looked down, unable or unwilling to respond. But this time, he did something unexpected, he dug into Corissa's pocket and pulled out her phone.
"Eh?" Corissa looked startled as Varis quickly swiped through her phone and handed her a call that lead straight to Roko.
"Hello?" Roko's voice came through a bit static-y at first.
"H-Hello?!" Corissa yelped, quickly taking her phone back in her own hands.
"Hold on, let me just get to the entrance...there." Roko said, his qords coming through clearer now, "What's up?"
"O-Oh...nothing..." Corissa said, still baffled by this sudden call that she didn't make, "I was just...talking to Varis about some stuff."
"...What kind of stuff?"
"UMMMM..." Roko's polite skepticism sent waves of terror and fear through Corissa. Flashes of her short one-sided conversation flew through her head at light speed as she wondered if she had said something wrong, "Just...you know..." Now her mind was trying to construct some kind of excuse but as her mind reached their panic breaking point, Corissa just decided to tell the truth, "Just...dreams and stuff."
"Dreams?"
"Yeah like..." Corissa sighed as she settled into what felt like a punishment, "I just...Varis always wanted to be a hero you know. So I wanted to tell him to uh...not give up on his dream and that I'd always support him."
"...This was a long time ago?"
"Yeah." Corissa said, surprised that Roko locked onto that fact so quickly.
"I see." Roko sighed, "I get it now."
"Should I apologize?" Corissa asked.
"No, Varis just needs to borrow my words for a moment." Roko replied, "Look, Varis may have had a dream like that long ago, but all semblance of that dream was destroyed the day your village was attacked. You must know that feeling too, right?"
"...Yeah..."
"It's the same for Varis. He had to rebuild himself and the person he is now is not the same person who held that dream. I can't speak for who he is now but if I had to guess, he wants to say it's fine. He doesn't have a dream but he has a purpose and that's enough to give his life meaning."
"And...what's that purpose?"
"Are you dense? It's you."
Corissa's heart skipped a beat as her cheeks grew flushed. I mean, it wasn't an unexpected answer but it still had it's impact on her.
"Protecting you is his life's purpose now. The only thing he really needs or wants at this point. If I'm wrong, Varis, smash some ice over some table or something."
Glancing towards her black knight, he only nodded in agreement.
"But..." Corissa said, not even sure what she was objecting to before the words slipped out of her mouth, "But...I don't want my life to be his only purpose. I want to support him as well! I-I want him to be like he was before, with wonderful dreams and-"
"Corissa, that person died. Just like how you're not the same person you were before, Varis doesn't want, or rather, doesn't need a big dream like that anymore. This isn't even a matter of trauma. Even if everything went fine, Varis could still reach this conclusion. That's just the nature of men. Dedication is all we need to sustain ourselves sometimes."
"But..."
"Corissa, remember what I said about 'contentment'?"
"Yes..."
"Not everyone needs to chase big dreams. Not everyone needs to be happy all the time. I get you want to inspire and support other people's dreams but you can't make someone start dreaming out of nowhere just because you want them to. Varis is living a dream he never would have let himself believe a long time ago. Just let him stay by your side. You feel the same don't you?"
"...Yes..." Corissa said, a strange discontentment stemming from this explanation of contentment taking root after the seed was planted in their first conversation.
"Dreams and happiness is good and all but if you want them so much, you'll end up causing problems to obtain them."
"No I won't." Corissa muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" Corissa yelped as Roko's voice grew stern.
"Hey Corissa! Mind if we take some pictures?"
"Ah, sorry, I gotta go." Corissa said, "Perry wants to take some pictures I think."
"Isla with him?"
"Yeah. And Roland's with them I think?"
"Varis, keep Corissa safe for me, okay?"
Varis nodded as Corissa ended the call.
With that strange call over with, Roko took the time to lie on his back and look up at the sky several meters above him. He had searched every inch of the cave and found no indication of anything that could've explained the monster's move into this place for their nest. So what was left?
Perry's explanation made sense. Maybe the oil monsters came across this cavern and moved into it after considering how much better it was as a nest location than before, even if there were no corpses in it. The problem Roko had with it was that it was too...intelligent for lack of a better term. If humans couldn't find this cave, could these oil monsters have found it? Possibly, but then to make the determination that this random cave was a better hiding spot? Without any real incentive to it? Was it possible? Again, possibly but it didn't sit right with Roko. Yet there were no dead, no humans and no grimoires. Was there nothing more to it? Did Roko have to accept that the monsters were smarter than he thought they were?
No...it wasn't really a matter of them being smarter more than it seemed more...understandable. These monsters that defied logic and creation doing something that made sense to us humans? That seemed...wrong in a way. If there really were no humans to guide them in this scenario, then that meant these monsters were understanding human thinking. Whenever or not Roko believe that to be possible or not, that was a very dangerous development that these monsters would have achieved. It would make fighting them...much more difficult. If this was true…
Roko shook his head. Enough theorizing. Focus on the problem at hand. Assuming that Roko was right, what was left that could have attracted those monsters? These monsters wanted women sure but that wouldn't be here of all places. And there were no dead around in this cavern...right? I mean yeah sure, humans typically buried their dead but not THIS deep. Maybe if there was a connecting cavern that a human died spelunking in? But there were no signs of this cavern being connected to anything, much less any sign that a human died even remotely nearby. Maybe a squirrel or something could've fallen down into this hole and died? There were no such remains though that could've just gotten processed, Roko supposed. But honestly, did so many squirrels died here that the monsters saw fit to move? Saw fit to bother to convert them? This situation seemed so ridiculous that Roko ended the train of thought before it could get any further.
Focus. Think. What else could be underground that the monsters could want? Well...for reference, what would humans want underground? I mean, there's plenty, but mostly it's things like gold or oil. Heh. Wouldn't it be funny? The oil monsters digging for oil? I mean humans in this world doesn't seem to need oil as much as his more modern world but wouldn't it be funny if we had to literally fight oil for oil? Maybe Roko could introduce them to renewable energy sources like solar or geothermal instead of fossil...fuel...fossil…
"FOSSILS!" Roko shouted as he sat back up in a tizzy, "But how...I'M A FUCKING IDIOT! Analyze Map!"
Roko's map pulse hadn't reached down here the first time so using it now would provide new data and said data began pouring in as Roko recognized exactly what he had been looking for trapped in a rock. So Roko pulled out his phone and made a call.
"Momo, I need you down here right now."
…
"What do you mean, you're making a cheesecake?!"