As I entered the cave where Goblins crawled out endlessly, I had only one thought.
“It’s like a dungeon from a game.”
The cave was not particularly narrow, but it was still abnormal for thousands of Goblins to live inside it.
Was this physically possible?
I had thought of monsters as a kind of living creature, but perhaps they were fundamentally different beings.
“A game...? A dungeon...?”
Kyle furrowed his brow.
“It’s from my previous life. Don’t worry about it.”
It was unfortunate that this world had no games.
If it did, I could apply the terrible revenue models developed on Earth—things like loot boxes and collections—and generate enormous sales.
“To casually go around talking about your previous life....”
Kyle shook his head as though he could not understand.
“Why? Are you ashamed of your previous life?”
“....”
Kyle fell silent at my teasing question.
Was he actually ashamed? How had he lived in his previous life?
Kyle’s expression as he cut down Goblins was frightening, so I did not ask further.
“It has been a full two hours since we entered. I think we should take a short rest.”
When the Goblins before us had been more or less cleared away, Hastol spoke while wiping the blood from his sword.
We had brought more people than necessary, so the battle itself was proceeding easily, but we could not completely let down our guard.
In an environment like this, fatigue accumulated easily, and fatigue led to poorer performance and mistakes.
If there was no reason to push ourselves, regular rest was essential.
“A rest sounds good.”
I quickly put away my staff.
The Goblins that kept appearing at every moment had been wearing me down.
“Understood.”
Kyle calmly sheathed his sword as well.
No matter that Goblins were monsters, they were clearly living beings. Yet he killed them without batting an eye.
The contrast with his usual childish behavior made him even more unsettling.
“Ahem.”
Perhaps Hastol sensed something strange from Kyle as well. He moved away from Kyle and approached me.
“Reincarnators truly are remarkable. You are so young, yet your skills exceed those of most mercenaries.”
Hastol clicked his tongue as he looked at the Goblin corpses scattered around me.
“You flatter me. Even ordinary students at Beaumont Academy can do this much.”
It was not false modesty. All I had done was burn a few Goblins to death.
The students of Beaumont Academy, who sparred with each other as though trying to kill one another on a daily basis, would laugh as they cut through a few Goblins.
Considering that everyone would have to enter real combat one day, those brutish spars were efficient.
I shuddered slightly when I realized I was beginning to view Beaumont Academy’s culture positively.
Was I starting to be tainted by this academy, too?
“You were not fighting in earnest.”
Hastol laughed heartily.
He was half right and half wrong.
I was doing my best. I simply was not spending money.
There was no need to spend money and put in extra effort when the Goblin subjugation would end easily even without my enthusiastic participation.
I intended to enjoy the feeling of being a mercenary for a while, then return to the academy.
“Here. Take this.”
Hastol held out a small bundle.
“During a mission, it is difficult to eat regular meals, so you need to consume calories whenever you can. It does not appear that you brought food, so I will share ours with you.”
When I opened the bundle, it contained jerky and hard bread.
It was not a particularly appetizing menu.
“It may not suit academy students’ tastes, but it is the best we have.”
Hastol read my expression and quickly explained.
“For mercenaries, good food is food that is easy to store and carry. In that sense, there is hardly anything more suitable than jerky and dry bread.”
As if to prove Hastol’s words, the other mercenaries who had come with us were tearing into jerky as well.
“Hmm.”
Unexpectedly, Kyle did not seem to have any major complaints.
As though trying to save time, he silently stuffed bread and jerky into his mouth.
“I’m fine.”
I returned the jerky and bread to Hastol.
“We do not know how long it will take to subdue all the Goblins in this cave. It would be better to eat....”
Hastol looked at me with a troubled expression.
“If I’m going to eat, I should eat something delicious.”
Before Hastol could raise an objection, a chicken skewer I had purchased from the Shop appeared in my hand.
When I took a bite, the plump meat pulled apart along its grain, and white steam rose from it.
When I could buy a warm, tender chicken skewer right here, there was no need to abuse my teeth by chewing cold, hard jerky.
And....
“Would you like one?”
“Uh...?”
As though enchanted, Hastol reached for the chicken skewer I held out.
“It is delicious.... To think that I would eat proper food in a place like this.”
Hastol’s eyes widened.
“Would the rest of you like some as well? Besides chicken skewers, I can offer pumpkin pie, roasted potatoes, or fruit. It’s my treat.”
I spoke to the other mercenaries.
The items my Shop sold were limited to items displayed for sale somewhere in this world.
That meant I could not buy dishes made and sold by restaurants.
Still, it was not a major problem.
I could buy any food that was already prepared and displayed for sale, as well as unprocessed ingredients.
“I-I would like bread, please!”
“Could I have an apple?”
“Two chicken skewers!”
Since Hastol, who played the role of captain, had broken the ice, they had no reason to hesitate any longer.
Every mercenary rushed toward me and held out their hands.
“Now, now. Come in order. I can give you as much as you want.”
This was insurance.
If I earned the mercenaries’ favor, they would take my side and stop Kyle if he went on a rampage later.
Even if all eleven mercenaries ate their fill for an entire day, one Gold Coin would be enough.
Considering how much I had been earning lately, it was pocket change.
Spending one or two Gold Coins to earn goodwill was not a waste.
***
“It would be nice if our mercenary company had at least one reincarnator. Just being able to eat something delicious while working makes me this happy.”
“Idiot. Why would a reincarnator become a mercenary? No, even if one did become a mercenary, they would not join our mercenary company. Unless they made their own, of course.”
“I envy not having to carry food around. Even jerky and dry bread become quite heavy when you need to carry enough for several days.”
After eating delicious food to their satisfaction, the mercenaries’ mood relaxed.
As they chatted noisily in the dark cave, it felt as though we were in a tavern.
Of course, we could not drink alcohol when Goblins might appear at any moment.
“Are you going to keep eating only jerky?”
I casually approached Kyle.
“....”
Kyle glared at me.
Perhaps because he was the only one eating something unpleasant, he looked to be in an especially bad mood.
“I know you hate me, but it’s your loss if you don’t eat.”
CRUNCH.
I bit into an apple I had bought for dessert.
Whether it was because sweet food was difficult to eat freely here, or because it was a different variety, apples in this world tasted several times sweeter than apples on Earth.
“You think I’ll be swayed by something as insignificant as food?”
Kyle growled sharply.
“I know you. There is no way you would offer something without considering your own benefit. You want something, so you are trying to rip me off by using food as an excuse.”
“Ah, is that so? It is not as though we are close enough to treat each other to meals.”
His smug rambling irritated me, but he was almost right.
I had suffered so many losses in my previous life that I resolved to calculate first before acting in this life, and I had been putting that into practice.
That said, I did not go to the trouble of calculating the cost of every chicken skewer or apple.
“Yes, you are right. I have no intention of giving you food for free.”
I decided to go along with Kyle’s assumptions.
“I knew it! Say it! Your ugly desire....!”
Kyle even looked pleased.
What had made this friend like this?
...Was it me?
“Two Silver Coins for one chicken skewer. One Silver Coin for two apples.”
“You are... charging money?”
When I held out my hand, Kyle’s face stiffened.
“You are not poor like the mercenaries.”
Or was he? Considering how he had sold his pride dirt cheap last time, he might be poor.
“Just one or two Silver Coins?! Are you insulting me?!”
“Then should I demand Gold Coins? I have a conscience.”
Kyle became angry over the strangest things.
This was already a price inflated tenfold. Any higher and it would enter scammer territory.
“You. I will kill you someday.”
“That is harsh. Since the subject has come up, let us talk. What have I done that was so terribly wrong?”
Laughing off his threats to kill me was one thing once or twice, but hearing it constantly was starting to irritate me.
I wished he would show some other pattern by now.
“By your standards, there may be many things you dislike about me. But was that not the same for both of us?”
I stepped closer to Kyle.
Kyle’s hand moved toward his sword hilt. It was a threatening motion, as though he would draw his sword and swing it at me immediately, but I was not particularly afraid.
“Did I follow you around and bully you like you did Lucia, or did I pull schemes behind your back? If I held malice toward you, I could have strangled you far more skillfully and insidiously than with your pathetic antics.”
I gently pressed down on Kyle’s hand gripping the sword hilt.
He acted as though he did not suppress his anger and always expressed it, but his roughness was limited to words.
The only times he had actually attacked were circumstances such as a spar or a Mock Battle, where the matter was unlikely to become a problem.
The fact that he only bothered Lucia despite having suffered more at my hands was proof enough.
He was an opportunist who could only attack from safe positions where he believed there would be no retaliation.
He might be able to stab me while I slept, but he was not someone who could draw his sword before me.
“But I do not do that. As you said, I am someone who considers profit. Tormenting you would have no meaning beyond making me feel a little better, so I do not want to spend money, time, or effort on it.”
Throughout history, countless nations had been defeated in war and perished. But there were also many nations that exhausted their national strength in war, won, and still perished.
A victory that gained nothing was merely hollow.
“If you bring me enough benefit, I could stand on your side whenever you want.”
For now, Kyle did not seem to have a use, but he was a reincarnator with strength far beyond his age and considerable ability in combat.
Would he not somehow be useful one day?
“Make a wise decision. Decide whether making me your enemy will benefit you, or whether getting along with me will.”
Kyle stared at me without answering.
I could not guess what he was thinking.
Perhaps I had hurt his pride and made him even angrier, or perhaps he was calmly considering my offer.
Only ambiguous silence settled between Kyle and me.
“If you are rested, get up! Let’s move!”
Just then, Hastol shouted while kicking the mercenaries’ backsides.
I would have to postpone hearing Kyle’s answer for a little while.
“Think about it slowly. And take this—it is a gift.”
I placed a newly purchased apple atop Kyle’s head.
Kyle immediately reached up and snatched the apple, then twisted his face into a fierce scowl.
Seeing that he did not immediately throw it away, perhaps my words had gotten through to him.
“....”
CRUSH.
The apple burst in Kyle’s hand.
Had the conversation... had no effect?