Chapter 125: Karan’s question- Part three

Well They paid someone to write it, right?

Karan answered, and Hector nodded in agreement.

Thats true. Ive been asked by the order to look into it, and I found that they paid ten thousand dinar to have it written.

Is that really all?

What Nick? Do you have something in mind?

If you hang around the adventurers of a place like Fishermen, you can easily find poor nobles that will write whatever you want if you pay them. But if your plan is to disappear without a trace, and you dont want to get too involved with someone, its probably not that easy, especially when you dont want the person writing the letter of recommendation to do anything unnecessary. Its a bigger blind spot the more they know the adventurer

Really? Theres a lot of poor second and third sons of nobles. 

But dont forget that he wouldnt want them to do anything unnecessary. Would Karios, who is crossing such a dangerous bridge, use a noble hes never met before?

Hectors face became more serious.

Probably not. They could demand more money, or even threaten him. Many of these people are always scheming for a little more pocket change, and the fastest way to get it is from people that are basically committing fraud in the first place.

Do you think its worth looking into whoever wrote that letter of recommendation, Hector?

I get what you mean, but

What?

Its all just a guess, right?

Its your job to find that out.

Does that mean I can treat this as a request?

Hector peeked over at Karan.

How much does that cost normally?

I dont know, but Wait. Old Wilma paid me to tell her if I found anything interesting.

Youre not going to charge both of us are you?

Nicks expression was clearly disagreeable, and Hector responded with his own displeased smile.

Calm down, Im not. But I accepted hers first, so if I find anything Ill tell her first, and then make sure it reaches your ears too. If theyre stingy with their reward, help me out with the costs. When I feel like an investigation is going to take a good amount of time and money, I like to have an estimate upfront. How about it?

Yes, thanks.

Youve got a deal.

Hector held out his hand, and Karan shook it.

Nick had some strange feelings as he watched them.

The sun had set by the time they left, but the streets were still busy. Winter was one thing, but most people worked during the summer. At night, the streets naturally filled up with people.

Nick and Karan bought food from the stalls on the way back, something called fried octo. It was made by taking the legs of a creature named octolegs that resembled an octopus with a shell on its back, covering them with wheat flour diluted in water, and frying them.

Octolegs were a specialty of regions close to the ocean, but since they had strong vitality, they could be transported live without having to freeze them, as was necessary with other kinds of seafood. It was a kind of seafood that everyone, from poor people to nobles could enjoy,

Its also good if you soak it in soup or eat it with lots of cheese.

Yes. The stalls in the hammer alley have been doing that lately.

Ach ach

Careful not to get burned.

Karan giggled.

It feels like youve been becoming more mature.

Eh!?

Nicks sudden comment silenced Karan.

H-hey, are you alright?

D-dont say weird things! Geez

Karan swallowed the fried octo she still had in her mouth and took a deep breath.

And then, she timidly asked.

What do you mean?

The way you calmly dealt with a shady guy like Hector. And you didnt get mad at him for talking about your past right after meeting him.

Ah, that

Karan seemed a little disappointed by his answer, but at the same time breathed a sigh of relief.

Im not lying. You didnt notice that?

No, thats not it How do I say this

Karan put her hand on her chin, and started talking once she found the right words.

Humans dont have tails.

Thats right.

And their ears dont really move.

I can move mine a little.

Really? No wait, thats not the point.

Karan seemed a little exasperated, and Nick apologized with an innocent smile.

Sorry sorry. Go on.

Its a little unfair.

Is it?

Its easy not to let it show when youre happy or sad.

Thats true, but we cant hear from very far away either, and our sense of balance is worse than races with tails.

Your sense of balance is better than cat peoples. Most people cant do a handstand on one finger.

Thats a product of my training.

Nick proudly smiled, but Karan nodded in agreement.

Yes, its because you trained. And I changed the way I think about it. To stop thinking its unfair.

The way you think? How?

I try to imagine what people in front of me would look like if they had big ears and tails. If I talk while imagining that, I forget to get mad.

Nick felt a chill as he heard this, not because he thought it was unpleasant or anything, but out of respect.

How did Hectors ears and tail move?

Like someone thats sad because his hunt failed but hes trying not to let it show. Like hes trying to keep his tail straight but its drooping at the tip.

That just sounds cute.

He knew about what happened to you and me, but didnt help you, and failed with his investigation of Karios too.

I guess thats true.

Maybe He feels a little awkward. Like maybe he wanted to do something but couldnt.

Karan once again put her hand on her chin as she thought.

I think youre giving him too much credit

But she was not too far off the mark.

Nick knew. Even if some of the wording was wrong, Nick would probably agree that on some unconscious level, Hector was working out of guilt. Nick would sometimes grumble about All Martial Arts to Hector, and since Hector himself was a literary person of sorts, he agreed with Nick. When Nick was kicked out of his party, Hector sympathized more with him than the rest of his former party members. He also probably planned to win Nicks favor.

If there was one exceptional element in all of this, it was how quickly Nick formed another party and got back on his feet.

Then lets have him work hard.

Yes.

Theres something else I want to ask

What?

Nick was about to ask how his tail moved, but as he saw Karan happily walk through the street at night, he stopped. As he saw her poke her head into the stalls looking for something tasty, he felt as though the mature expression she had before was replaced by one of an innocent girl.

Its nothing.

Nicks heart was shaken when Hector talked about what was going on with All Martial Arts, but hid it. Since Karan could see through Hector, he wondered if she also saw through him.

Hn? Weird.

But he figured there was no point in thinking about it.

Karan was Karan. They had exposed their embarrassing pasts to each other, so it was too late to care about that.

Accepting that she knew about it felt important to him somehow.

Forget about it, Im thirsty. Lets get something to drink.

Yes!

They walked leisurely through the streets.

It was almost summer, and there was a restless feeling about the night stalls.

The sound of people practicing their singing and dancing somewhere far away reached Nicks ears.

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