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Little Wing It
Volume 1
The Holy Light's Blessings On This Wonderful System!
Chapter 3
Redhead Redemption
--
I
--
"Kara, do something! AAHHHH, I'm gonna die!"
"I'm trying, you troublesome girl!"
I responded as I hurriedly chased after the giant red dragon who in turn, is chasing after my partner, Emilia.
That's right. It's this situation again.
I suppose I should start from the beginning.
It's been a few days since my official registration into Little Wing.
Since our boss, Kraz Muehler, didn't have any urgent missions for us, we decided to take on some normal missions.
Or more like, I decided to take on some normal missions, and Emilia just went along with whatever I picked.
At first, we went on some small tasks, like hunting some creatures, etc.
They went unexpectedly well. Surprisingly, Emilia was good at a support role. Though her class is officially Vanguard, same as me, she was much more oriented towards Technics.
Which fits well with my melee offense-oriented style.
We were able to complete a good number of small missions. At that rate, we should be able to steadily take on increasingly tougher missions, which also has better pay.
That was the plan, until a certain problematic partner of mine got cocky because of our recent success.
While I wasn't looking, she snuck off took a mission to hunt a De Ragan, large quadruped dragons that inhabit the Raffon Meadow on Parum.
And when I complained,
"Ah, don't worry too much, we can handle this! We're an awesome team! Don't tell you're scared of an overgrown lizard?"
No, you annoying girl, that's not the problem.
I'm fairly certain that I can handle such a mission alone, though it'll take a while.
The De Ragan, while powerful, can fly, and quite fast for its size, is not as intelligent as its other dragon peers.
Its method of attack is usually predictable and easily evaded, which is why experienced mercenaries can easily dispatch of it, even if it takes some time due to its massive size.
But the problem is this girl.
While she's a decent support, I'm pretty sure she's not quite ready for an oppenent of such calibre. And her over-inflated ego isn't gonna help matters.
And I'm not sure if I can fight a large enemy like this effectively while protecting her at the same time.
But since we already accepted the mission, we're not such a veteran team that we can cancel an intermediate mission without being penalized.
And so, despite my worries, we went on with the mission.
Things went well at first, with the weaker creatures. Then when we finally encountered the De Ragan, things went south real fast.
Emilia got excited and started firing off Techs at it, but it didn't do much noticeable damage.
And it was at that point that she came to her senses.
Since her lone method of damage was easily no-selled, and didn't even distract the De Ragan for any meaningful amount of time, she realized that we were pretty much screwed.
Which brings us to where we are now.
"Ahhh, it's shooting fireballs now! Karaaaa, saaave meeee!"
Cast an ice tech, you idiot!
No use, seems like she can't hear me nor think of that on her own.
I raised my handgun and madly fired at its head. The bullets all bounced off its tough scales.
Luckily, one of them hit it near the eye, causing it to wince a little and miss its intended target.
The De Ragan stopped running and seemed to notice that I was the culprit for this. It swung its two tails heavily at me.
It didn't even turn around.
I dived out of the way, and the tails passed by overhead without making contact with me.
Unfortunately, the wind pressure that came with it blew me quite a distance away.
I rolled on the ground to avoid a hard collision with any boulders and took a quick look at our situation while I picked myself up.
Emilia seemed to have stopped running and was now trying to catch her breath.
The De Ragan, however, must have realized that I was the bigger threat and started charging at me.
I rolled out of the way as the giant dragon barreled towards my previous location and kept on going, smashing some unlucky boulders.
That was a close call...!
While it was dazed, I sprinted towards it and leapt its back. I raised my saber and unleashed a continuous barrage of slashes at the back of its long neck.
The dragon roared out in pain and violently trashed around, forcing me to stop my assault and try to keep my balance.
It'd be quite dangerous if I fall now.
"Hey, Kara, are you crazy!? What are you doing up there!?"
"Shut up or you'll catch its attention again! Just hide somewher- Woah!"
I was telling Emilia to hide but the De Ragan, frustrated that it couldn't shake me off my back, started flapping its wings, causing strong gusts of wind to blow throughout the spacious meadow.
"Waaah! H-hey, Kara, get off there!"
Before I could, the De Ragan started lifting off the ground ever so slightly.
This is bad! My window of escape is steadily shrinking, I need to get off, fast!
I started running towards the lowest point on the dragon's body. The tip of its tails.
"Hey, you stupid dragon! Stop taking away my partner! Blast of cold, Rabarta!"
A small but fast blue beam emittted from Emilia's rod and exploded into a blast of cold air and ice upon hitting the De Ragan's side and wing.
I held on tight as the dragon wobbled slightly and lost a little control over its flight, causing it to descend to a few meters above the ground.
Now's my chance!
I slid down the De Ragan's tail and let go as I neared the tip, letting myself fall.
The De Ragan trashed around in the air, trying to regain control but it crashed to the ground before it could.
As soon as I hit the ground a good distance away from the De Ragan's crash site, I did a barrel roll to lessen the fall's impact. It still hurt quite a bit, though. I winced internally and didn't notice Emilia running over to me.
"H-hey, you okay!? Here! Healing light, Resta!"
A bright light shone from Emilia's rod, and I felt the pain subside a little.
"Thanks."
This seemed to make her a little happy as she smiled proudly.
But we kinda have bigger things to worry about right now.
True enough, the De Ragan seemed to have recovered and was now heading towards us.
"A-ah, Kara, it's coming again!"
"You don't say! Come on, let's bail!"
"H-hey, wait...!"
Ignoring her complaint, I grabbed her hand and started running away from the De Ragan's trajectory.
It seeemed to be moving slower than before. Seems like my attack, Emilia's Rabarta and its fall did quite a number on it.
But we could still lose if we're not careful.
As we were running away, from the corner of my eye, I saw a red and black blur speed towards the De Ragan.
I turned around and saw a person leap towards the giant creature and slash at its injured wing, causing it to stop charging and loudly roar out in pain.
What was that?
"Huh? What happened?"
"I think someone else attacked the De Ragan..."
I answered my partner's question and continued to watch the mystery person, now running around the side of the dragon, expertly dodge multiple claw attacks and tail swipes, retaliating by attacking the appendage they dodged.
"N-now way...! Who's that?"
I couldn't quite answer her question this time.
The figure then leapt up, using the dragon's forearm as leverage and slashed at the middle of its eyes, causing yet another roar of pain.
Next, the person jumped off the De Ragan's face and raised their weapon, which I now recognize as an orange colored double saber, and slashed at its neck.
And then another slash. And another, chipping off the durable scales protecting the dragon's hide.
And in one final slash, the mystery person slit the De Ragan's throat with their weapon.
They kicked off the dragon's bloody neck and landed a good distance away while said dragon released one final, pitifully weak roar, slumped down and loudly crashed into the ground, thoroughly unmoving.
--
II
"What just happened...?"
To be honest, I'm not so sure myself.
One moment, we were trying to run away from the De Ragan and regroup.
The next, an unknown person arrived and almost effortlessly defeated said De Ragan.
Granted, it was weakened by our fight but still, to defeat it without any difficulties at all means they must be a very skilled fighter.
In any case, I think it would be best to see who our mystery person was. They still stole our target after all. Even though that target was handing our behinds to us.
"Let's check who it is."
"Huh? Are you sure that's a good idea? What if they're hostile?"
I don't think there's a high chance of that being the case. They did save us, after all.
Though Emilia does have a point. We can't be too sure. We'll have to be on guard.
"Well, let's find out then. Come on."
I was going to start walking towards the person's location but I quickly noticed that they were no longer there.
When did that...?
"Kara, what's the hold-up? ... Oh, they're gone."
"No, not "oh, they're gone"!, when did they disappear? And without a sound?"
"Looking for someone, fellas?"
"Eeeyyaaaahh!"/"Woah!"
We were quickly started by a voice from behind us.
It would appear that the culprit was a short red-headed girl.
If I were to describe her hair further, I think the best word to describe it would be a butterfly.
It was pointing out in four diagonal directions, each shaped like a flame. On each side of her head was a flower shaped hair decoration.
And she had bright red eyes.
She was wearing a black zipped hoodie and black shorts, both with yellow linings, along with a pair of red shoes. Her hoodie also seemed to have two yellow streamers protruding from the back.
Talk about not being able to decide between emo and flashy.
"Don't go scaring people like that! Who even are you!?"
Well, my partner certainly didn't waste any time.
"Well, too bad for you, huh? Name's Red. Freelance mercenary. For now, anyway."
This kid's parents certainly don't seem to be very imaginative with names.
And another freelance mercenary? There sure a lot of 'em these days.
Checking on my partner, she didn't seem to like Red's response so I raised a hand towards her to signal that I'll take care of this. This seemed to calm her down a bit.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Kara Draken, and this is my partner, Emilia Percival. We're mercenaries from Little Wing."
I politely introduced ourselves to Red, who, annoyingly, had a look of clear boredom on her face.
"Little Wing, huh? Interesting. So, you're hired mercenaries?"
"Yes, we are! Do you have a problem with it?"
Ahh, this girl. I'm getting the feeling that she doesn't like this emo girl very much.
"Well, I guess so? You almost got wiped out by that De Ragan earlier... And you didn't even notice me sneaking up on you. Wow, you're total amateurs, huh?"
"What did you say!?"
"H-hey, calm down, Emilia!"
I hurriedly caught my partner as she attempted to charge at Red, who had a slightly amused expression.
I'm getting quite irritated too. But I should be the adult here.
"Ah, excuse my partner. She gets like this."
"And what do you mean by that, huh!? Whose side are you on, anyway!?"
Ah, crap. Looks like she changed targets.
Emilia continued on trying to break free from my hold so I had no choice but to continue restraining her while attempting to talk to Red.
"Eh, no worries. I'd expect that from an amateur, really."
"WHAT!? When I get my hands on you, I'll...!"
You'll get your butt handed to you in record time, I'm sure.
Though, I had to strengthen my hold on her as she started trashing around harder that it's actually starting to hurt.
"A-anyway, thanks for assisting us earlier."
"Ah, don't mind it. I was just passing by, actually. Take the credit for the kill, if you want."
Well, that's certainly doubly lucky for us.
In any case, we should get going and file a mission report as soon as we get back to Clad 6.
"Hey, Kara, how long are you gonna hold me? Wait, you're enjoying this, aren't you? Ah, I knew it. Let me go, you perv!"
"The hell? If I let you go, you're gonna go nuclear again, so shut up and stay still!"
This annoying girl...!
"Ahaha, you guys are a riot! You sure you're mercenaries?"
"You...!"
This other annoying girl...! Stop provoking my troublesome partner, already!
Why am I surrounded by problem children? What did I even do to deserve this?
A little while later, Emilia finally stoped trashing around.
"Haa... Can you let me go now? This is really tiring..."
"Alright, I'll let you go, just don't cause a ruckus, alright? Stop falling for her taunts."
I was really getting tired of restraining this noisy girl.
And so I let her go. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have any plans on charging Red again.
"Well, we should get going now. We still need to file a mission report."
"Huh? Oh, sure, you'll handle that, right?"
This lazy girl. Can't she at least do that?
"Oh, you guys are leaving?"
Red asked us as we started walking towards the direction of our ship.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks again for earlier."
"Sure, don't mention it, miss."
...what?
Did this kid just call me that?
"Pfft!"
Don't you laugh, you annoying partner! Isn't this joke getting a bit old!?
"I'm sorry, but I'm a guy."
"Huh? But I thought your name was Kara...?"
Now, I'm fairly certain this kid's just playing dumb!
"Yes, that is indeed my name."
"Oh... So you're a guy with a female name... got it."
"Now you listen here, you little kid!"
"K-Kara!?"
Ignoring my partner who seemed shocked by my outburst, I marched towards Red.
My irritation was steadily building up over the course of our interaction but it just reached the tipping point.
I expected her to start laughing because I lost my cool, what with the gigantic troll she's turning out to be.
But surprisingly, I seem to have struck a chord with my "little kid" insult as she recoiled quite a bit.
Heh. Turns out this kid is only good at dishing it out.
"Kid!? I'm not a kid, I'm seventeen! I'm just a late bloomer!"
"She's older than me!?"
Emilia shouted out in surprise. I was quite shocked myself but I kept that in.
"Late bloomer, my ass! You're just short, butterfly head!"
Indeed, Red was a whole head shorter than me.
"B-butterfly head!?"
"Ahahahaha!"
Lauging in the background was my not-so-useful partner. She seemed to be enjoying watching Red on the receiving side of the burns.
Since I was able to release my annoyance, I managed to calm myself down.
Really, how unprofessional of me.
"Ah, sorry, lost my cool there."
"Err... yeah, I went too far too..."
Red sheepishly apologized as she crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.
"Hey, aren't you gonna apologize to me too?"
"Forget it, Emilia, come on, let's go."
Really, Red seems to be done making fun of us so can't this troublesome girl just let it go?
"Huh? Why would I...? Aren't you just this guy's extra baggage?"
"Why you little...!"
I was wrong.
--
III
--
"Ooohh, the nerve of that little girl..."
Emilia groaned out as she slumped down on one of our ship's seats.
When I saw her about to charge Red again, I grabbed her and quickly ran back to our ship, shouting out a quick "bye" to the redhead.
Emilia managed to calm herself down significantly by the time we reached our ship, thankfully.
Said ship was now on auto-pilot back towards Clad 6.
"When I see her again, I'll...!"
"Can't you just let it go? You've been mumbling to yourself for a while now."
"You're one to talk. You flipped out earlier too!"
Yes, I indeed lost my calm for a moment there.
That girl, Red. She seemed to be very skilled at irritating people.
In the short time I've known Emilia, I'd never seen her fly into a frenzy like that before.
Even I, the level-headed one, or at least I think I am, got a little heated.
Red was just a natural troll, it looks like. Though that doesn't take away the fact that she's an immensely skilled mercenary.
She was able to beat that De Ragan without breaking a sweat, whereas we had our hands full from the get-go. Though that's to be partially blamed on Emilia messing up at the beginning.
"Still, for a mercenary of her calibre, I'm curious why she's freelance..."
I wondered out loud while slumping down on my seat. That mission was tiring, in more ways then one.
"Hmm, maybe she just likes working alone? With her attitude, I won't be surprised if she's an outcast..."
My partner said some valid points. I don't think she'll get along well with people due to her behavior.
But it's not like you can't work alone when you're a hired mercenary. Maybe she has her reasons on why she prefers being freelance.
"But still, it's gotta be easier being hired. I can certainly attest to that."
The pay isn't drastically higher, but the steadiness of the income is really the difference maker. Jobs are always available, and you can choose one that suits your skill level.
Which my partner did badly on in our current mission. We're really lucky that Red was passing by, if we're to believe her words.
"Huh? Why do you say so?"
Oh, right. This girl doesn't have experience being freelance. Must be the reason why she doesn't value hard work at all. Tch, some people.
Well, I guess I better explain. Who knows, this might cause a change in her or something.
"Well, for one, a steady income is a godsend in our current economy. What with the recent resource dwindling and all."
It's really hard to live everyday when you're uncertain how much money you're gonna earn each day.
But with a steady income, I can even splurge a little with my savings.
I was even able to replace my black coat that got destroyed when I was, well, killed by that Svaltia.
For the curious, I was now wearing a long sleeved, raised collared, blue long coat with black highlights.
Emilia nodded along as I went on with my explanation. Good, she's listening.
"There's also the matter of transportation. It's difficult when a job calls for you to go to an another planet."
The fee for interplanetary transport isn't cheap, mind you. Which is why having a company property ship assigned to you is very convenient.
"And of course, probably the best thing is the living conditions."
"What, really?"
"Yeah, really. Where I turn in for the night pretty much depends on my earnings for the day. Hotels, Inns, even a cave. I slept in a lot of places."
Which is why I'm really glad Little Wing comes with free roomings. Even if I'm broke, at least I still have a place to rest.
Emilia made a face of understanding and softly said "ooohh". I really hope she truly understands how lucky she is to be hired right from the start.
"Oh, right, you have your own room. Boy, some people have all the luck. I wish I had my own room."
Wait, how did I turn out to be the lucky one? Wasn't I the one who got trapped in a relic site with an annoying person?
Well, she got trapped too, yes, but I'm pretty sure I'm not nearly as loud and annoying as her.
"You don't?"
In any case, she just said something interesting.
"No, I'm sharing."
Ah, so that's the situation. Well, with her attitude towards work, I'd understand if Kraz thinks she doesn't deserve her own room yet.
I was told she couldn't keep a job for any amount of time, and that she'd just laze around in bed the whole day if left alone.
"I mean, I'm sure it's tough looking out for yourself all the time, but think of me, stuck with the boss!"
Wait, really? She's rooming with Kraz?
I expected Chelsea or someone else, maybe even Kunoh. But she's sharing a room with the boss himself?
Wow, he must really want to keep an eye on this problematic girl closely. There's that tsundere parent vibe again.
"He doesn't cook, or do the laundry, or clean, like EVER. I have to do everything!"
"Sounds like someone I know."
She ignored my remark and kept on ranting about her living situation.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he's just doing that so she wouldn't completely be a sack of potatoes and laze around 24/7,
But I'm pretty sure he's just being lazy. Heh, these two are quite similar if you would just squint a little.
"Must be really tough, huh?"
"You have no idea."
Believe me, I do.
I'll keep that comment to myself, though. I have no energy for another argument.
"Well, at least now I have a place to hide when things get really bad."
She said while smiling at me.
I have this feeling she's talking about my room.
No way. I'm a little nervous about that "things getting really bad" part. I'd probably be labeled an accomplice if she hides out in my room.
"You mean, Chelsea's room?"
"What? I'm talking about your room! Oh c'mon, we're partners now! Can't you be a little more partner-ish?"
And what, pray tell, does being more partner-ish mean?
Ah, this girl is tiring me out faster than I can rest.
Our little conversation, though, was interrupted by the comms system beeping, signalling an incoming transmission.
"Blech. This isn't gonna be good news."
Emilia lightly complained as she answered the transmission.
"Uh huh. Uh huh... He told me paid his tab this month. Well, that may be true, but- Okay, I understand. I'll give him the message."
She closed the transmission and wearily slumbed back down on her seat with a sigh.
I asked.
"What tab?"
"Not mine! I'm not even old enough to have a bar tab!"
Woah, why is she getting so defensive? I never even suggested that it was hers.
She must have realized this and calmed down while muttering a quick "sorry".
Anyway, now that she said it was a bar tab, I'm getting the feeling it's for Kraz.
"It's for the boss, isn't it?"
"Yeah, who else? Half the calls we get are from bars trying to get him to pay up."
I'm getting a bit worried about the fact that our boss is such an alcoholic.
But hey, as long as I can work relatively peaefully and get paid, I'm not gonna file a complaint or anything.
"It gets old fast, you know? He says I'm lazy, but most days he's off in some bar by noon."
"Well, it's not like he can use company money to pay it off, right?"
"Yeah, but, isn't he being a little unfair? To me, specifically."
Emilia's got a point.
If he's gonna reprimand her about not working hard, then the least he's gotta do is work hard himself.
Well, of course, that's just what I think.
"I'm not saying he has to work dawn to dusk, but he could put in an honest day at work every now and then. Some guardian, eh?"
Oh right, I keep forgetting he's Emilia's legal guardian. Well, I can't be blamed if he does a good job of not showing it.
Whatever, it's not my problem to solve. It's not like me and Kraz are close enough that I can have a heart-to-heart with him about his work habits.
In any case, Emilia seemed to be satisfied that I'm at least listening to her complaints. This must be a first for her.
"Well, we better bring him that message, then."
At my statement, Emilia only sighed once more.
--
IV
"H-hey, Kara! Can you come over here?"
Emilia called out to me.
The moment I disembarked from our ship, I found her standing in front of the office's doors, looking like a lost kitten.
Well, I guess the report can wait. I made my way over to her. She brightened up a little at this.
"What is it?"
"Uh... You wouldn't, um, coming with me to see the boss, would you?"
"You still haven't given him the message?"
I sighed in slight exasperation.
The moment we arrived back here in Clad 6, she immediately transported out of the ship ahead of me wordlessly.
I thought she was going to tell Kraz about the tab so I didn't pay any heed to it. Turns out that wasn't the case.
"Err, no. You see, my stomach does flips just thinking about it. Sorry, but can I trouble you?"
You always do.
Really. Why did she even rush out before me if she's just gonna get cold feet and wait for me anyway?
I'm just gonna have to get used to such problematic behavior, it seems.
"Sure, whatever."
Well, it's not like it's gonna be something difficult. Might as well do what she wants.
"Thanks, Kara."
She smiled at me as she thanked me.
I guess I can let this slide.
I took the lead and went forward to the office doors, with Emilia following close behind.
As soon as the doors slid open, I could clearly hear a musical jingle. One that goes with those news shows.
"Hi! You're watching Gurhal Channel 5, with our headline news! I'm Hal... with today's top stories!"
See? It was a news show.
Seems like Chelsea's the one watching. And she's also watching quite seriously, as if she's anticipating something.
Curious, I decided to check it out. Emilia didn't seem to have any complaints about this and peeked over too.
"After two years of construction, a ceremony was held last month to celebrate completion of a new subspace generator on Parum."
Ah, really? I'm quite out of the loop. Not that I care.
"Natsume Shu, spokesperson for Inhelt Corporation, and the genius behind subspace theory, was on hand to kick things off. He was joined by military officials and an endless parade of industry giants."
An old but prim looking person was shown on screen.
Ah, so that's Natsume Shu. The brains behind the subspace stuff. I've heard about him before but I didn't really pay much attention.
Really, these things shouldn't concern mercenaries too much. It's a different world from ours.
But I guess hopes are high that this new facility is gonna lead to breakthroughs in subspace research.
I'm guessing this is because of the resource dwindling. Should this research prove successful, that problem may be solved, or so I've heard.
"If all goes well, manned subspace flight may be just around the corner. This research could be the key to solving Gurhal's current natural resource problems."
The purple-haired reporter, Hal, said.
And right after that, she did a quick outro, and the news was over.
I looked over at Chelsea and she was looking quite aghast.
"Zut Alors? The news is over already? How can that be?"
I didn't know Chelsea was such a fan of news shows.
I glanced at Emilia and she gave me a quick shrug before turning over to Chelsea.
"What's the big deal, Chels?"
"They said nothing about Skyclad! After all the money we spend on the subspace program, our name should be in lights!"
Ah, so she wasn't a news fan. My bad.
But still, I was quite surprised that Skyclad is contributing to the subspace research.
Though, I really shouldn't be, I realized. Skyclad is a very big company, after all. And they're connected to a lot of stuff.
But...
"It won't do much to help business around here. We're just a subsidiary, after all."
Exactly what my partner said. I doubt that Little Wing's gonna get much publicity even if Skyclad does.
But hey, don't ask me about this stuff. I'm just going off on what I think and heard.
"But we're not here to talk PR. Is the boss around?"
Oh right, we were going to deliver a message. It completely slipped my mind.
Well, in any case, Chelsea seemed to have recovered from her... uh, shock, and was now back in receptionist mode.
"Mais oui. In fact, Monsieur Kraz was just saying he wanted to see you two. I see the news, and completely forget."
Well, I guess Chelsea's got her unique qualities, huh?
"Eh, don't worry about it. So he's over there?"
"Since you are going to see him anyway, could you take him this?
Chelsea handed a piece of paper to Emilia. I couldn't quite read the contents without looking closer.
Emilia looked it over and gradually formed an "I'm done with this" expression on her face.
What's on that paper...?
"A receipt from... Red Velvet Lingerie, Dagora City?"
Ah, I see.
What a legend.
"That... that doesn't sound like much of a business expense..."
I commented a little absent-mindedly.
Emilia gave off a "you think?" look, while Chelsea nodded.
"The head office agrees with you. They will not reimburse it. Tell him it'll be coming out of his own pocket!"
"That dirty old...! No wonder he can't afford to pay his bar tabs! What's he even thinking!?"
No, no, no.
He is a legend.
"Take it up with him. Complaints are not my department!"
And Chelsea sends us off like a pro.
Well, I guess it's true, though. If we have complaints, we gotta take it to him.
Not that I will. I'm still new here so I'll keep my mouth shut a little.
Can't say the same for my partner, though, who was now marching angrily towards Kraz's desk.
What happened to all that flipping stomach business earlier, then?
"We need to ta- pew wee! What the- Are you drinking your alcohol or bathing in it!?"
I followed Emilia to the boss and immediately realized what she was complaining about.
Kraz didn't seem particularly bothered about that, though. He might even be enjoying it.
"Oh, there you are."
He said as he lazily acknowledged our presence.
Which riled up Emilia even more.
"Don't "there you are" me!? You got another call from a bar asking for pay!"
There, she delivered the message. Can we go now? I feel like I might get drunk from the smell alone.
"And would you care to explain this?"
She slammed the legendary piece of paper on his deck.
Why do I feel like I'm watching a daughter lecture her deatbeat father...?
"One o' my receipts. What are you doing with that?"
"You didn't really think they'd let you expense this, did you? Have you drowned all of your common sense?"
"That's completely legit. You gotta lay the groundwork before you close the deal. Now if you don't mind, we have business to discuss."
A legend, I tell you.
Before Emilia could clap back, Kraz straightened out (a little) and looked like he had something important to discuss.
"Cheer up. It's the perfect job for you two."
A handpicked job?
I guess it's a good thing he doesn't know about the mess that was our recent mission.
Else, he's gonna get a different idea of a perfect job for us.
Emilia was actually listening, right now. Color me surprised.
"This is an urgent, top-of-the-action-item-list sort of job. There's somebody we need to track down."
Ah, a search mission. Haven't gone on much of those.
Me and Emilia nodded as we listened to the details of the job.
"A missing person search? Who is it? A witness in a murder trial? Some corporate bigwig."
What's my partner saying? Isn't that too much?
It's probably gonna be a thief or a missing mercenary something. Well, as long as the pay's good.
Meanwhile, Kraz had an amused grin on his face. Ooohh, that can't be good.
"Not quite. It's someone I loaned some money to a while back. And you're going to collect."
Ah, it's an errand.
If he wasn't my boss, I'd have walked out right before he finished that sentence.
Well, there's still gotta be pay, right...?
"Wait, this job's for you? Go find him yourself!"
"Just can it, you!"
And we're back to our regular telecast of father-daughter quarreling. Oh wait, maybe it's guardian-noisy girl...
"Because someone around here botched up a job at a certain relic site, we can't get any real work!"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
Emilia quited down quite fast, it's almost comical.
I snickered at her, which she didn't like, at all.
"Hey, you were there too, you know!"
"Wasn't in Little Wing back then."
She released an exasperated sigh and turned back towards Kraz, who was typing at his device.
Before long, a holographicpicture of a grey-haired person with middle aged features and beast ears appeared on Kraz's desk.
"Your target is one Wurley Kokov. Male beast, age fifty one. His ship's been sighted in the Crodog Region of Moatoob. No city, no casinos... last place I'd expect him to be."
What kinda name is that?
Whatever. Seems like we're taking a field trip to Moatoob, then. In the forested areas, too.
"If you know where he is, why not get him yourself?"
Emilia muttered quietly but I picked it up just fine. I'm assuming Kraz did too as hus expression turned into an annoyed one.
Don't underestimate a beast's hearing prowess.
I mean, these ears aren't just for show.
"What was that?"
"Nothing! Nothing! C'mon, let's get out of here before the fumes start getting to us!"
She quickly denied everything and hurriedly grabbed my arm.
Hey, watch it.
"Good. We have a new recruit coming in. Can't have you messing it up."
Huh, really?
We're not getting much work, but there's someone who wants to sign up?
"Hey, what do you mean I'll mess it up? Ah, whatever! C'mon, Kara, let's just go!"
"Hey, wait...!"
Emilia didn't seem to particularly care though, and tagged me along as she hastily marched towards the exit.
And just like that, I was dragged out of the office.
--
V
--
I stepped out onto the slightly damp ground, a few leaves crunching beneath my foot's weight.
We were now in the planet of Moatoob, in the Crodog Region, specifically.
"Hey, Emilia, come on, let's get this over with."
I called out to my partner, who was still complaining about the job.
Really, just get over it. If we do this properly, Kraz might give us some real jobs in the future.
"Ugh, where does he get off!? Kara, do we LOOK like his personal debt collectors to you?"
"Right now, yes. Come on."
I looked around and I saw lots of other ships parked all around.
I thought this was a rainforest? What's up with all these ships? Some kind of festival going on?
"What was boss talking about? I was expecting the middle of nowhere, but this place is like a parking lot. How are we ever going to find Wurley out here...?"
Emilia complained yet again. I think it'd be best if I ignore her for now. She's not gonna stop, anyway.
"Not that we should be doing HIS dirty work for him in the first place."
Well, he's our boss. As absurd as his request may get, we should still follow.
Though that's now what Emilia thinks, I believe.
"As if expensing lingerie wasn't bad enough, now he's using the company to run errands. Someone needs to set him straight."
"Then why don't you say something?"
Really, if all she's gonna do is complain, then why not talk to Kraz herself?
Though, that might not be a good idea since she's not exactly that much better.
But at least she doesn't buy lingerie with company money. What was he even gonna do with those?
Wear them? Now that's disturbing...
"Fat chance. He never listens to anything I say."
Yeah, I should have guessed.
When it comes to people wanting to know what I have to say, I'm really bad. Most of the time, I answer before I think.
And this is one of those situations. What do I say now?
"If that's how it is, that's how it is. As far as he's concerned, I'm only taking up space."
Ugh... damn it. Don't make such a sad face. I don't know what to say.
See, this is why I don't meddle with other people's business. What if I only make things worse?
I looked away.
Ah, really. Good job, Kara. Some partner you are.
"Sigh... I just want him to show me a little more respect. Is that too much to ask?"
At the very least, I'll be honest.
"Let's just finish this mission."
"You really think that'll change his mind about me?"
For a moment, I thought she was being sarcastic.
But I looked back, and she was looking at me hopefully.
Damn it, don't do that. Sometimes, I forget that she's still young. Well, I'm not much older but I guess I matured faster because of my job.
Emilia's just a sheltered kid.
"Y-yeah, I'm sure."
I stuttered out, almost biting my tongue.
"Ah, fine... I don't even like these investigations, much less fighting... But if you say it'll change his mind, then I guess I'll bear with it."
She's smiling at me again.
Why do I get the feeling I'm becoming this kid's emotional crutch?
But I guess it's not so bad, if she's like this. When she starts getting loud again, then that's a different story.
"Hey, someone's coming."
I told my partner as I spotted a figure approaching us.
It seems to be a short, dark-skinned male beast.
The person looked us over and gave us a slightly cross look.
"You- what are you doing here?"
He asked.
"You don't look like the kind of people who go around visiting cultural heritage sites."
Well, he's got good observation.
"We're looking for someone."
I told him, which seemed to ease uo his expression a little.
"Um, did something happen here? Why are there so many ships?"
Emilia asked, while slightly hiding behind my back.
If I didn't know any better, I'd chuckle at her getting intimadated by a kid.
But with beasts, you never know. He could turn out to be old enough to be our dad.
"We just got here ourselves. We haven't had much time to look around. So far, it looks like we're the only people here."
True, there aren't any people around despite the number of ships.
As I thought of possible reasons as to why, another short beast approached us. This time, a female.
"No luck, Tonnio. The pace is dead. You do better? Oh, you found someone."
The female beast said, giving us a quick look-over too before turning her attention back to the male, Tonnio.
"But not who we were expecting. They're here on their own manhunt."
"Who's that?"
Emilia asked, now a little recovered from her initial intimidation.
Tonnio straightenied out, and looked like he forgot something.
"Guess we skipped the introductions, huh? We're mercenaries. Name's Tonnio Rhima."
"And I'm Liina Rhima. My husband and I work together."
Husband? So they are older than us.
It's not that weird. Beasts are just like that. If I remember correctly, they were called Beastlings.
Emilia nodded, still a bit wary, and prepared to introduce herself.
"We work for a company named Little Wing. I'm Emilia Percival, and this is my partner, Kara Draken."
Please don't mind my name.
Thankfully, they didn't. Even Emilia seemed to have realized that it was getting old and pushed the conversation forward.
Or maybe she's not that comfortable joking around with older people?
"Looking for someone, too?"
"We were hired to patrol the heritage site."
Emilia looked confused at Tonnio's answer.
"Heritage site?"
He looked quite aghast.
"Wait wait wait. You you came here without even knowing what the place was?"
"Lighten up, I'm new at this!"
There's that loudness we were missing.
"If this is a heritage site, where are all the tourists? There are certainly enough ships to go around..."
She's got a point.
I've never seen such a deserted heritage site.
"You've got good instincts, at least."
Tonnio perked up a little and complimented her, causing her to close her eyes and smile proudly.
Please don't inflate her ego again.
"Something definitely feels wrong here. The wildlife is acting strange too. Out for blood. There must be something going on inside the site."
The female, Liina supplied.
True, I feel like we're being watched for quite some time now.
"We aren't going to figure out what it is standing around. The answers are in there."
Tonnio pondered out loud, before perking up as an idea seemingly came to him.
"We seem to be going the same way. Why not go together?"
That's not a bad suggestion, actually.
They seem to be veterans at this so our journey will probably go much easier.
Though it will probably go vice versa for them. What with this problematic girl beside me.
"We'll only slow you down."
"I know who you mean by "we". Stop looking at me like that!"
Tonnio and Liina chuckled at our little spat and looked at each other.
"They kinda remind me our first mission together, don't you think?"
Woah, what?
Way off the mark there, bud.
"W-we're not like that! Not at all!"
Why are you getting embarrassed, you annoying girl!? Stop getting red, damn it!
Ugh, whatever.
"Hahaha, relax. We're just kidding."
"Don't worry if you're still a little wet behind the ears. I'll go in with low expectations, eh?"
Well, it seems like the team-up is happening then.
I'm honestly grateful I can have assistance in getting my partner out of trouble.
Looks like things are gonna go alright for once!
"... not like that at all..."
"Stop mumbling, you creepy girl!"
Or maybe not.