A sterile white room. The smell of alcohol and sadness. Yup, this was a medical facility of some kind alright. Yelah was sitting in one of the several chairs scattered around the small waiting room, nervously awaiting news on her comrades’ conditions. Grehn was pacing, much to the annoyance of other patients and waiters. And Dip?

Dip was chilling next to Yelah.

None of them had been able to fully relax until Rette and Vlugh had been hurriedly wheeled into the depths of the emergency clinic. Well, I understood. I was more interested in seeing more examples of the affluence of mercenary companies. Hayrey and Sons’ had their own clinic! It did make sense, considering their line of work. But what a benefit for the employees! I did have to wonder if this clinic was for emergencies only, or if could be general use.

Yelah glanced up and stared down the barrel of a gun.

“Yo, Yelah. Glad to see you’re back.”

Wha.

“Oh, hey. Haven’t seen you before. Didn’t know Harven was in the market for new goons.”

“Tch. I’m Yafoot! Ya-foot! We do this every time, Yelah. Now where’s Harven’s money? I know you just got back from a job.”

“Oh yeah,” Yelah smirked, “nice to meet’cha again ‘my foot’. Are you stupid, by the way?”

“Yafoot!”

“Like I was saying, you stupid or something? We just got back. We haven’t gotten paid yet. Come threaten me tomorrow.”

“Yelah,” the big goon sighed, “I keep giving you the benefit of the doubt here. Do you know how many times I’ve stuck my neck out for you? If Harven liked me just a little less, I’d be sleeping in the clouds. With your debts, Harven isn’t happy with the fixed deductions anymore. And Hayrey’s is a bitch to work with. So just… get me the money. By tomorrow.”

Dip suddenly began to let out a low growl. Or chirpy type noise? I couldn’t tell if Mr foot was bothered by it or not.

Without another word, the big guy made his way out the door, having a little staring contest with the even bigger Grehn while on his way. Grehn shook his head as he approached Yelah with a look that just screamed ‘I told you so.’

“I told you, Yelah. Why did you borrow money from that guy?”

“Hmph. Like they scare me. What are they gonna do, threaten my family? My freedom? Not like I have that stuff anymore.”

“I’ve got some questions of my own. You’re in debt to some loan sharks? And your company doesn’t do anything about it?”

It seemed like some things just didn’t change, no matter what world you were in.

“Eesh, I almost forgot you were here. But yeah, I’m in a bit of debt. Harven is a bit extreme, but for mercenaries, he’s a miracle worker. The more… reputable lenders just can’t get in with the merc companies no matter how hard they try, but Harven somehow did. So he’s got a stranglehold over the mercenaries, thanks to his rates and benefits.”

“In Yelah’s case,” Grehn said, “She liked how Harven just siphons a fixed portion of her earnings. Minimal financial work on her end, minimal thought. And considering why she’s in debt-“

“Aaaaah! No need to explain that part, Grehn, no need!”

Hmmm. How suspicious.

“Vlugh and Rette’s condition has stabilized, according to the nurse. So we’re free to show her highness around, Yelah.” Grehn said with a faint smile.

“Alright! Yelah! I command you to tell me why you’re in so much debt!”

“Noooo.”

“Your highness, it might be better to show you.”

“Squawk.”

_______

Before me was a veritable nightmare. Never before had I seen obsession and greed on this level, and I collected pens in my past life.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Yelah’s place of residence was little more than an apartment. Not far from the Hayrey and Sons’ headquarters building, still in the confines of the mercenary district, was another building marked with a golden ‘H’. This one was a residential building for Hayrey mercenaries to live in. Going up a series of stairs, we (or rather they) reached Yelah’s room near the top of the building. Impressive! Yelah’s status was apparently enough for some nice real estate, so to speak.

The good feelings didn’t last long. As soon as Yelah opened the door, I was met by an overwhelming fishy smell and a face full of debris. Well, Grehn was. Yelah was too, but she was apparently used to it.

The inside of Yelah’s apartment was wet and disorganized. Tanks of water and stacks of clothes intermingled, and huge cushions littered the floor.

“Why would you do this to me, Grehn?”

“Yeah Grehn. Why did you bring me here?”

“Squawk!”

Dip seemed happy. Even though he reached the ceiling, he waddled over to a particularly worn cushion and flopped on top of it. Yelah’s eyes sparkled and she couldn’t resist, so the next thing I knew, a Yelah was stacked on top of a Dip on top of a fuzzy beanbag thing.

“Are you going to get on too, Grehn?”

“…”

Hah! I’m in your head so you can’t give me a disapproving look!

“In any case, this is where Yelah’s debt comes from. Food, water tanks, and so on. All for Dip.”

Wait. Hold on. So what you’re telling me is that Yelah has borrowed so much fucking money, so much that she is getting threatened with her life by a debt collector, so much real and actual cash. All for Dip. For fish.

“If you have a problem with my spending habits, then say it to my face. My Dippy-poo deserves only the best.”

“Yelah…” Grehn sighed, which was apparently a more common occurrence than I thought. “You make enough from our missions that you could afford so much more. Just lay off on the spending a bit and you would have never gotten into debt.”

“Whatever.”

These people… Well, ultimately it was no concern of mine. As long as Yelah got paid and gave the guy his money or whatever to avoid trouble. Hm. I’d have to remind her, just in case.

“You two, why don’t you go get the money from the job? That way, Yelah won’t have to stress anymore.”

“I agree with her highness. Yelah, you go fill out the paperwork. I’ll take a tour of the city.”

That made Yelah sit up.

“Huh?! Really, Grehn? You’re going to dump all that shit on me?!”

“It’s ultimately your job as team leader. Have fun!”

It was truly impressive how quickly a big guy like Grehn could run down a flight of stairs.

“Sorry about that. I just thought embarrassing her by bringing in a third party like you might give her a wake-up call.”

Grehn’s sword clanked as he made his way down the mercenary-filled street. It was the middle of the day, so the smell of food was starting to become thick in the air. Before he wandered into the main street, Grehn turned into a small store thick with smoke. He came out holding a skewer with some kind of weird… squid?

“Do you know about druids?”

“You guys have druids?! I mean, I guess it makes sense, but I haven’t seen any examples of Mind being used to manipulate plants. But Yelah’s Ability might’ve been a hint for people being able to turn into animals.”

“…What? I’m talking about druids.”

Uh, yeah? Druids? Nature mages that can control plants or turn into animals like bears or something?

“This is a druid.”

Grehn held up the squid skewer. The fuck? This twisty squid thing? Wait….

“Grehn. What exactly is a druid?”

“Ah, you don’t know? Druids are creatures that live in the ground. They are quite bizarre, considering they have these tentacles, but they are fairly common in central Somuia. Their shape is perfect for burrowing underground, which is why they thrive there.”

You’re fucking with me. These squids with twisty heads drill through the ground. Like drills. Drill squids. Druids.

Get me out of this world.

“They’re pretty tasty, and plenty of lunch for me. Sorry for the little detour. Is there anything you want to see?”

“Yes! I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re a big muscular dude who only eats squid and move on! So I was looking around your Locks and…”

Grehn munched on his drill squid while he walked down the widening street. Indeed, the street was widening. The closer Grehn strolled to the Rotor’s circular building, the wider the street became. And the nicer the buildings became.

This city was perfect for us. With all the flowers covering the buildings, we could super easily cover the forest in living plant life for us to get food from. Or at least grow flowers near the river thanks to the sprinkler project I had started.

But to do that, we would need to get into the city and carry a ton of flowers away. I was starting to get nervous. Our plan hinged on attaching Linker Bees, so we were essentially sitting ducks until then. Well, not completely, but it did feel that way. Even for now, who knew how long it would take for Ben to be able to fly through the city and map it out?

“What’s with the flowers?”

“Well, the people of Yiwi are quite wealthy. Wealthy, and enthused with plant life. It makes sense, considering their proximity to the Vultuous Forest. The flowers here are a big part of why I decided to move here. If there’s a reason they chose these colorful flowers to cover the city, I don’t know it. I just see them as incredibly beautiful.”

“Beautiful and tasty-looking.”

“I…suppose a bee would be enthused by flowers. Actually, we never thought about that. How did you bees find anything to eat in the destroyed forest? Hold on. Those chunks of rotten meat… Did you…?”

“Ahem. So, you moved here from elsewhere? What’s up with that?”

“Right… It’s no secret. I am not Somuian; I hail from Rikitan. Actually, Rette does as well. I worked as a mercenary there too, but I had always heard of the Vultuous Forest and the nearby cities. The shroud of vultures on the horizon, the unimaginable shades of green, the wealth and opportunity. Unlike others from my homeland, I am not particularly infatuated with the sea, so choosing to move here was not a hard decision.”

“So you were always a mercenary?”

“It is a common career. And a no-brainer for me. I enjoy fighting and especially enjoy fighting with swords. If I can help people at the same time, then why not?”

Why not indeed. As someone who lived a relatively cushy life as a human, I still couldn’t see why people would choose dangerous jobs that mostly consisted of fighting. Maybe it was a cultural thing. But no matter. We had finally arrived at the big circular building.

And man. Seeing a shaft that huge up close was mind-boggling. All joking aside, the Rotor was really a testament to this world’s level of development. The city center where we had arrived was entirely cast in shadow, the sun being covered by the Rotor’s fins. Even where they connected to the shaft, the blades were so huge that they covered the bustling plaza.

This was where the magic apparently happened. I was so curious to see what exactly the point of the Rotor was, I almost didn’t notice the protesters.

“Good people of Yiwi! It is the fault of the Crown! We have tirelessly worked to discover the true story behind the Burning, and we have made shocking discoveries! The City Lord, the royal knights! Even the King himself! They worked together to destroy our forest and eliminate our livelihoods. For what? For their own greed! Their own nefarious intentions! Good people of Yiwi, stand with us! We must cooperate to oppose those who would bring us down! Down with the City Lord!”