Built for the Field
You accepted a quest? Out of nowhere?
...Is this because training hasn't been going well?
Not at all.
Securing funds matters too.
...That sneaky tone of yours really does remind me of Boss.
Fine. What kind of quest is it?
The quest was to drive off an abnormal outbreak of monsters near a village.
There were a lot of them that I wasn't sure the two of us could handle it, but...
That's the last of them, Captain.
Impressive.
You were faster than last time.
Huh? Isn't this just normal?
I'm still nowhere near Commander or Shiyoon, anyway.
Showing off really comes naturally to you, huh.
Show off? Me?
You brush off things most people would consider amazing.
Now I get why your coworker stabbed you in the back.
Th-that's on them for taking it that way!
If we're done, let's go. We need to collect the payment.
Since we wrapped up the quest so quickly, the client even added a bonus on top of the agreed payment.
That was more generous than I expected.
Seeing the number in my bank account go up is nice, but... the weight of cash in hand isn't bad either.
Definitely beats punching a machine over and over, at least.
I agree.
...By the way, Captain.
Are you really okay with things staying like this?
What do you mean?
Like I said when we first met, I was planning to take the [Journey] by myself.
I didn't want anyone else getting dragged into trouble because of me.
I'm not being dragged into anything.
It's my responsibility.
I know. I overheard some of your conversation with that Alicia woman.
But still, I just...
...
What's wrong, Mina?
Nothing. I've just never failed to make progress like this before.
I've been stuck worrying about it.
Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up.
No, it's fine.
Let's focus more on quests than training from now on.
But... Isn't training supposed to be an important part of the Journey?
I'm used to this kind of work, sure, but it feels unfair to force you into this.
Training isn't the only answer.
What's important is getting stronger.
That, and being in sync with one another.
So you're saying...
This quest counts as training?
After seeing Mina fight at the bazaar, I realized something.
You were built for real combat, Mina.
Built for real combat...? Me?
I don't really think things through when I fight, but...
It did feel different from training. My body felt lighter.
Then my guess was right.
You kept improving as the fight went on.
Let's focus our schedule on real missions from now on.
Works for me.
Come to think of it... I never really got any proper training after becoming a mercenary.
Even when there was training, it was through simulations. Close to the real thing.
Sounds like your company works its people hard.
Or is that just normal in your line of work?
Haha, it is on the rough side.
Still... how did you know real combat would help me more?
Figuring that out is part of a Captain's job.
Really...? So you were actually doing your job all along?
All you did was watch me in the training grounds, so I thought you were slacking off.
Hey!
Haha. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I'm counting on you from here on out, then.
Mina looked far more at ease than before.
Alright. Let's wipe out every quest that brings in money.
Starting tomorrow, we're going all in on earning.
No overworking, though.
...But even so, she never told me why she kept such a distance from others.