I decided to just accept the contract as a formality. But for some reason, I had a feeling we would need firewood for tonight’s dinner. The contract would be a good starter for the fuel.
We also had a countermeasure against any more punk attacks.
I turned to the blue-haired man with delicate features and a purple robe, the one who stood next to the Chotos family. “I’ll be leaving the rest to you, Ginem.”
“Yeah, I got you. I’ll make sure to look after the old man’s shop.”
Could you believe Ginem Bari was actually concerned about the safety of Mr. Chotos’s shop? He seemed to have thought about a lot of things after he suffered that initial defeat, and he told me he wanted to reflect and start seriously training with his golems again—from the beginning.
Yeah, that’s good. Turn over a new leaf and stop hunting newbies, Ginem.
“Say, Ginem. You won’t betray us for a payday, right?”
“I owe you big, Nemaki. You saved my life. I won’t dishonor that,” Ginem Bari replied with a dignified expression. Then his face crumbled pitifully. “Besides, there’s no way I could ever betray Miss Goretaru. I’d get so murdered…”
“Ehhh? You’re just scared of Gol! You sounded so cool just then, but you instantly ruined it.”
Ginem had taken to calling Gol stuff like “Miss Goretaru.” Even though he was casual and didn’t try to “sir” or “mister” me, he was unfailingly polite with Gol. He really didn’t make any sense. He’d been all twitchy with me to start, but he’d slowly opened his heart. Now he could say whatever was on his mind to me. Conversely, he regarded Gol with absolute awe.
It was almost as if he’d had a terrible epiphany.
In any case, in a somewhat wild turn of events, Ginem wouldn’t have to find a job any time soon, as he’d been paid in advance by the Paisley Company for the job he ultimately failed. In the meantime, he was settling in Tibar to practice with his golems and work as a bodyguard. You could say he was a perfect match for Mr. Chotos’s shop.
“Well, you don’t have to worry. There’s no one in Sadie who I can’t beat. If I call myself this shop’s bodyguard, no creep’s going to so much as glance at it.”
“Eh? Really? I’m pretty sure you lose to me every single time.”
After our tons of Gol vs. Clown Brigade matches, Gol had become so familiar with the jesters’ movements that she was far stronger than them. Usually, Gol decapitated all four with a single chop, ending the fight in less than a minute.
“Yeah, but not because I’m weak! You guys are just bizarrely strong!”
“Ehhh? You sure you’re not just small fry?”
“You…! I definitely won’t lose next time, got it?!”
As Ginem and I argued, Mr. Chotos wryly smiled.
In truth, I had asked Ginem to watch over the man’s shop as a kind of insurance, though I didn’t think I needed to worry about the Paisley Company meddling anymore. You see, the Zibil branch office seemed to have gone out of business. Five days before, one of Mr. Chotos’s customers had shared a rumor that a fire had broken out in that branch.
It seemed that right before the Paisley Company building went up in flames, they had a quarrel with some great, enraged spellcaster and earned the spellcaster’s ire. Although there wasn’t any definitive proof of this—as everything had turned to ash—the people of Zibil whispered that the destruction had to be the result of spellcraft.
What a terrifying story. Jeez, how badly off is public order in this world?! I absolutely don’t want to meet some crazy, pyromaniac spellcaster.
In any case, the Paisley Company had committed hundreds of evil acts, so such a fate was bound to come knocking eventually. I couldn’t just dismiss this as “someone else’s problem”—it was a lesson. I needed to always pay attention to my own actions and comport myself with modesty and kindness toward others.
Now, the following is just my personal conjecture as a master detective, but I believe the true identity of the culprit who destroyed the Paisley Company branch office was a Fire spellcaster.
I mean, obviously, right? They burned down the building and camouflaged it as a normal fire. It’s obvious they used their absurd, flashy Fire spells to do crime!
Seriously, the Fire attribute is good-for-nothing. Hmph! It could only be used for assassination and arson. It needed to learn from the peaceful Earth attribute, which had no other real use aside from enjoying a nice golem-fighting game, where the only stakes were who bought whose lunch.
As a side note, when Mr. Chotos heard the Paisley Company had been burnt down, rather unbelievably, both he and Ginem accused me of secretly setting the building on fire.
That was absolutely outrageous. A cooked-up baloney accusation, and utterly inconceivable. That branch manager had already agreed to mutual noninterference by way of my brilliant negotiation skills. I was a proud, cultured man and an honest gentleman. How could I do something so barbaric as to break that promise?
In the first place, it was totally beyond my ability to turn such a huge building like that into a magnificent blaze; I couldn’t even use Fire spells. Moreover, lately I’d spent every day being badgered by Teru to play house in the shop, so the resident five-year-old could provide me with a flawless alibi. Logically speaking, I was clearly innocent.
Unfortunately, it seemed Mr. Chotos and Ginem could never become master detectives like me.
At any rate, now that the Paisley Company’s business had been so upended, I didn’t think they would meddle with Mr. Chotos’s shop or Tibar again.
“Well, everyone…take care, now.” I said my farewells in a cheerful tone and patted the crying, sniffling Teru’s head before starting down the street.
“Hey, Nemaki,” Mr. Chotos called out.
“What now, mister? I just said goodbye; don’t try to ruin it.” I turned with a dejected look, but I was surprised to see Mr. Chotos’s eyes were no longer disgustingly teary.
With a serious face, he said, “Remember, Nemaki. When you’re done with your important business, you can always come back to Tibar, all right?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Well, I would consider returning home whenever I felt like seeing the face of my adorable stepsister, Teru. I didn’t care at all about seeing any unsightly old men.
Mr. Chotos snorted. “Jeez. You’re going to be like that till the very end, huh?” He sounded irritated, but there was a smile on his face. “If you don’t know where else to go at the end of your journey, don’t hesitate to come right back home. I’ll keep that second-floor bedroom empty for you and Goretaru.”
“…”
After I quietly nodded, I turned on my heel, my olive-brown robe fluttering from the momentum. “Thanks for your care. See you later.”
I began walking down the streets of Tibar, Gol by my side.
After a short while, I turned around one final time. A balding, middle-aged man and a fair-skinned, innocent girl… They didn’t look anything alike, yet their continuing farewell waves were identical.