*

　In the morning, Makoto left the room, biting down on his absent-mindedness.

''Good morning, brother.''
Yeah, good morning.

　Fene greeted me cheerfully, and I returned the greeting and patted his head with a waggle of eagle.
　When Mako started to walk away, she followed him happily.
　He seems to be indebted to me for the debt, but he shouldn't be conceited.
　It's easy to erase your gratitude if you demand something unreasonable.
　This reminds me of what happened twenty years ago.
　When I joined the company, I had a feeling of gratitude for the president who hired me, but by the time a year had passed, I had lost that feeling.
　People are like that.

'Good morning, sir.'
Good morning.

　I exchange greetings with Shelly in the middle of the stairs.

'What's for dinner?'
Please wait a little longer.

　Shelly giggled, wondering what was so funny.
　Just as she was about to take a seat at the counter, Yuka came down.
　She had low blood pressure, or maybe it was the low blood pressure, and her eyes were about 20% more than usual.

'Good morning,'
...Good morning.

　Yuka returned the greeting to Shelly with a tone that said she was in a bad mood.

'Good morning, Miss,'
Who is this guy?
You could make a little more of a gesture.

　Why do they mimic fighting in all directions?
　When Mako was around Yuka's age, she was a little more aware of her surroundings.

''So, who?''
It's Tom from the dungeon.
Do you see that sign that says Fene?

　He must be looking at the status.
　Yuka narrowed her eyes and said.

'Fene is Tom.
What?

　I was annoyed by his brusque tone, but there was no point in getting angry here.

''Fene is a Foxtail, a race that can fool you about your appearance and status. A picture is worth a thousand words. Fene, show them.
Okay.

　Ha!　Fene shouted.
　Then, with a sound of a bomb, a cloud of smoke rose up.
　When the smoke cleared, Tom was standing there.

''Well the status name has been changed to Tom.
Do you believe me?
Yeah.

　Yuka cowered lightly.

'That's enough.'
Ha!

　The smoke rises again and we return to Fene.

'Dinner?'
You'll have to wait a little longer.

　'Whew,' Yuka replies.

'Let's talk about the future until the food is ready.

　When Makoto took a seat at the table, Yuka sat in the front and Fene took a seat next to him.

'So, where do you want to start?'
Yeah.

　Mako crossed her arms.
　It was a definite matter to live as an adventurer, so they should discuss how they would operate.
　But there is a more important topic on the agenda.

''About how we'll distribute the rewards, I suppose.
Is that it, of all things?
That's a start.

　You forgot all about the bounty.

"I believe in the exchange of money for life.
Isn't that too much to ask?
People betray each other for money, and they will kill each other. I don't like discussing money, but I don't think it's a good idea to screw up.
Well....

　Yuka nodded with a divine look on her face.

'How do you plan to distribute it?'
The reward will be split exactly three ways.
'I think the burden is different for each role, don't you?'

　When Yuka turned to look at her, Fene narrowed her shoulders apologetically.
　When it comes to the combat aspect, it won't be so reliable.
　However, what Makoto is looking for in Fene is knowledge and skill.
　I'm not afraid of being useless in battle as long as you contribute in these two areas.

''Is that enough for you?''
I don't mind being divided into three equal parts. I mean, I wouldn't be calling for a trisection if I didn't.
That's true.

　With that, Yuka crossed her arms as if she were contemplating.
　She's probably thinking about the disadvantages of accepting the proposal.

''What happens if I don't accept the proposal?''
It's just that we can't work together.
You don't have a choice.
You have the choice to accept the terms or not.

　Yuka's lips twitched in frustration, but since it was a prerequisite for teaming up, she had to make him swallow it.

''Is this trifecta the whole time?''
As soon as we get a new member, we'll divide it up.
When it gets big?
Why don't we talk about it then?
....

　Yuka snorted as she crossed her arms.

'Just for the record, I'm not changing my terms.
I know!

　Yuka said back as if she was miffed.

''........What's your advantage?''
'I want to make sure it's as fair as possible and avoid any trouble.

　He clearly wants to take the initiative by swallowing the unfavorable conditions, but it's not entirely a lie.
　Yuka opened her mouth after a long silence.

''......I understand.
Don't complain about it later.
I know!　I'll give you three equal rewards!

　Yuka yells at me and I cower my shoulders.

'Fene, can we set up a joint account for the three of us?'
We'll set up a joint account and transfer the money. You can do it.
He's lucky.

　Now I won't have to check my balance every time I do a kill or request.

''I'd like to say we're forming a team now, but...''
Is there anything else?
'Yeah, it's about information gathering. I'm going to have to rely on Fene for this one, but I was wondering if the information is available for free.

　Personally, I don't think that's true.
　Because Fane said that he made his living exploring dungeons.

'If you need to buy information, you can't make me pay for it myself. So what do you think?
That depends.
Well, I suppose that depends on the circumstances.

　Mako held her temples.

'I hope you cut me a receipt for the information when I buy it.
Why don't you come with us?
...together.

　Yuka is right, if you're present, it's not a problem.
　However--.

''Is it okay if it's not one-on-one when you're buying and selling information?
I don't deal in contraband. It's okay.

　I guess I was overthinking things.

We're a team now.
Oh, well, let's finally get to the point.

　Mako straightened up.

''Our goal is to become a better organization than the Knights of the Veris Kingdom.
Yeah, well, you're right.

　Yuka agreed, and Makoto inwardly patted his chest.
　Here, ''The goal is revenge!'' I don't want to hear that.
　Individual and organizational goals should be kept separate.

'The Knights of the Order?'
They're not exactly Knights of the Order, though.
My brother's a big boy.
It's only a dream, though.

　Fene said with a twinkle in her eye as Mako replied with a wry smile.
　The sight of him makes me feel guilty.
　Maybe I shouldn't say that I dream of living a slow life from now on.
　I glanced at the counter and saw Shelly smiling at me.

'The road of a thousand miles starts with a single step, erm, so I'm going to aim for an A-ranked adventurer at first. Me and Yuka are E-ranked, how about Faine?''
...and I'm a "D" student.

　Fene said apologetically.
　I'm sure it was difficult to get a rank because of the large amount of debt he was in.

'What kind of requests can you get with a D-rank?'
Collecting herbs, gathering materials, that sort of thing.
"Shio pow-wow.

　Yuka said as she spat.

'We're going to build up from here,'
I know.

　Yuka turned away.

'After we eat, we can go make a joint account and get a request ... or we can get equipped.
Didn't you just get your equipment?
It's not me. It's Fene's equipment.
Well, my brother.

　As if he was worried about not having any money on hand, Fene called out to him in a cursory manner.

'Don't worry about the money. I'll get it out of you.'
Lie!
You'll have to buy your own.
'Wow, I know. I'm not just saying it.

　Chet, Yuka clicked her tongue adorably.

'I mean, I can't have my brother do that much for me.
Don't get me wrong. It's an investment.
Is it an investment?

　Fene's eyes widen in surprise.

'I've decided that I need to strengthen you in order to move up.
Okay, okay!　I'll do my best to live up to my brother's expectations!

　Fene said, her eyes welling up with excitement.

'Breakfast is ready.'

　As if he was trying to time it, Shelly placed the food on the table.