Lisette's Business
Help! Captain, Ms. Mina!
...First thing in the morning, Lisette came to us with a request I didn't quite understand.
You want help?
Sorry, but go ask someone else.
Whuh...!
That's cold.
You could at least hear her out.
If she needs help, tell her to put in a proper request.
I don't want to get suckered into unpaid work.
D-don't worry about that! I'll make sure you're paid properly!
What's going on, Lisette?
Well... I decided to participate in a bazaar hosted by the Monolith Order.
The schedule's tight, so I gathered some people to help out, but...
I'm so sorry!
My grandmother suddenly fell ill...
There's no one else who can take care of her but me!
I-I'm sorry too. My father works for the Town Guard, and he was seriously injured...
I'm terribly sorry!
H-huh?
I know today is the day of the bazaar, but...
I just couldn't possibly force them to work!
...They just bailed with excuses.
I'm not interested.
Training's not going well already. I don't have time to mess around with—
I can pay you this much!
Isn't this just some bazaar? Why are you offering this much?
Looking at the note Lisette handed over, the amount really was outrageous.
I did my research and built a lineup that's guaranteed to draw attention.
If anything, what worries me is the whether we'll have enough stock.
That's impressive...
Hey, Captain. What do you think?
For that much money...
Alright. Let's do it.
Yay! Then I'm counting on both of you!
Oh my, look at this doll! It's adorable!
Take a look, everyone! This price is for today only!
The bazaar was far more crowded than I'd expected.
Just as Lisette had claimed, by the time we were drained from dealing with the flood of customers...
I think we managed to get through the urgent orders, at least.
You two can take a break! I think I'll be fine on my own for now!
You sure you'll be okay by yourself?
Yes! Compared to working at the store, this is nothing!
...And so, Mina and I ended up taking a short break.
Do you really like money that much?
Is there anyone who doesn't?
I mean, you have a point, but...
I've never seen you look that excited before.
It's just a habit. I grew up alone with my sister.
She was the kind of person everyone adored, but...
She was terrible with money.
If I left her alone, she'd buy weird stuff like germanium bracelets or dowsing kits.
Easy to talk into things, huh...
Some people are like that, yeah.
When I was younger, I thought every household was like mine. Turns out they weren't.
That's why I had to learn how to keep track of expenses.
...Even so, things were still better back then. My sister hadn't been hospitalized back.
So you became a mercenary because...
Regular part-time jobs couldn't cover her medication.
...Hey, don't look at me like you feel sorry for me.
The company helps out now, too, so—
Huh?!
Just then, the ground shook with a thunderous roar.
That noise just now... What was that?
It came from the bazaar area!
Damn it...! What's going on over there?
I'll go ahead! Follow me!
A-a Voidborn!
This can't be happening! There weren't any alerts today!
Everyone, run! It's dangerous here!
As Lisette shouted to the crowd, the shadow of a Voidborn loomed over her.
Ah...! W-when did it get this close...?
What is that thing? A monster? A Corrupted Object?
It's a Voidborn!
C-Captain! Ms. Mina!
Lisette, get over here!
It's dangerous over there!
Ngh...!
This thing's pretty strong.
Judging by its size, it was a high-level Voidborn.
With the [Journey] still underway, it was too dangerous for Mina to handle alone.
Until NOA backup arrived, we had to buy time somehow...
...Doesn't matter!
I've fought plenty of guys like you before!
The strain in her movements gradually faded, and the momentum quickly shifted in Mina's favor.
The Voidborn, once so imposing, was now desperately trying to defend itself.
Hiyah!
Y-you took it down...? But that thing was huge...!
Amazing, Ms. Mina! You're the best!
I-it's not that big of a deal...
You're the best, Mina!
Cut it out already! Seriously!
...That should be all for my report.
*Sigh...* Well, this is troublesome.
Do those things normally pop up like that all the time?
Well, usually we detect them beforehand on our end, but...
Since it's all handled by people, accidents like this can happen.
The person in charge will be buried in incident reports for this, though.
Still, we were lucky that the two of you happened to be there.
I heard your training wasn't going well, but you're pretty capable in actual combat.
Wait, has that spread all over town already? And why?
Unnecessary commentary, Ms. Roberta.
Haha, what's the harm?
If any civilians had been hurt, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
Thank you. You kept the damage from escalating.
...Yeah.
That's enough for me.
Watching Mina let out what felt like a sigh of relief, I thought to myself...
Maybe I'd finally found a way forward after all.