After leaving the labyrinth, I dropped Theresia off at the mercenary agency on the way back to the guild and was greeted by the deputy warden, Leila-san.

''It's only been an hour or so, but you're brave to come back after an engagement. Theresia, leave the weapons you have used with the artisans, as long as they don't get the gore off them and take care of them.

　Theresia nodded her head in a persistent way. And she didn't move from her spot, staring at me.

''........Mm?　Normally, I'd go back on my own without saying a word. Theresa, is there something you want to tell me?
..........
But what's the point if you can't talk about it? I wish I had the skill of 'giving your heart to the world'.

　We worked together all day today, working together, fighting together, and defeating a powerful enemy. Theresia protected me, and I'm sorry to say that I'm leaving her easily in no small part of the world.

　However, if I have a ticket, I can hire Terezia. There are only two tickets left, is there any way to procure more?

''Leila-san, I'd like to hire Teresia again tomorrow, but since there are only two tickets left, is there any way I can purchase them?''
'First of all, mercenaries cannot be reserved. To ensure that all seekers have an equal chance of being hired, the mercenaries to be hired will be determined at the time of the visit. Tickets can be purchased from the guild, but the limit is ten tickets per month. This is another measure to prevent searchers from becoming dependent on mercenaries and losing their ambition, but there will still be those who depend on them.



　Theresia was looking at me the whole time, but in the middle of our conversation, she walked into the mediation office.

　Leila-san looked at me curiously with the one eye that wasn't hidden by her eye patch. There was a faint smile on her mouth.

''Hmm. It's rare, but you seem to have taken a liking to that lizardman.
What ... really?
''Normally, only in jobs such as demon handlers would the sub-humans take a liking to them. There are many mysteries about the mental structure of sub-humans, even for us. Sometimes, there are people who are not demon handlers and do not have the skills of 'Ishin-denshin' but they are liked by sub-humans.

　I have one idea as to why they liked it. It's the part that was displayed on the license earlier, 'Increased confidence'.

　Is it because of the fact that you supported Theresia by 'Support Defense 1' and 'Support Attack 1', or is it because of the fact that you formed a party? To specify, I was going to ask Louisa a question about trustworthiness when I asked her about her contribution.

'Well, in your case, it's probably just that they liked you. If that's the case, that's a different story. You'll pay a reasonable price for it, but I can change Theresa's seal of servitude to make you a master. In that case, I have set a price of one hundred tickets for your employment.

(One hundred ... for the price of being able to hire Theresa a hundred times. (If that makes her a permanent companion, I don't find it expensive)

　But if the purchase limit is up to ten cards per month, then I'd have to wait ten months, and I can't hire Theresa during that time. I guess I'll have to ask Louisa if there's any way out of this.

''But buying out the mercenaries means I'll have to take care of all the food, clothing, and shelter. You've only just become an explorer and you can't prepare such funds. If you have gained experience as an explorer and you still want to hire her, then offer her again. Don't be in a hurry, the chances of her liking and buying another employer are slim to none in my experience.

　--almost. If it's difficult to find a way to increase 'trustworthiness' or if it's compatible with different people, Leila's words are probably correct.

　But as soon as possible, I want to prepare a hundred copper tickets. Since the party is made up of a vanguard, a middle guard and a rear guard, I want to collect two of each, including me -- and even though it's only one search, the cooperation with her is so perfect for me that I can't even think about going through the search without Theresa! ...

All right. I'll have a hundred tickets for you as soon as possible.
'All right. I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow, but this place opens at eight in the morning, so come early.

　Bowing to Leila-san, I leave the mercenary agency. I see a demon demolition shop, but first I want to show Redface, who was labeled as a bounty hunter, to Louisa-san. Maybe I should just bring back the materials as proof that I defeated them.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　When they arrived at the guild, Rival's party was about to come out from inside. They would carry the Chief to the healer and then pull up to the entrance of the labyrinth again.

''Oh, Aricht. I left that female explorer in the care of the healer. She'll be moved to sickbay later, so you can talk to her there.
'Thank you, Mr. Rival. Thank you so much for your help.
'Well, don't worry about it, we're doing this for a living. I'm sorry, we could have used the return scrolls to get around in an instant, but they're expensive and if you use them you'll get a negative contribution rate. If you don't rescue them with your own feet, they'll subtract 100.
'So much ... so much ... then a Budwick party with scrolls ...'
"Depending on how you behave until you meet 'named', it's probably a negative, and your pecking order is probably down. Well, it's no use, I owe my life to them. They will learn their lesson, and will start to search steadily, not just as a guide.

　Some people might benefit from it in terms of guiding beginners if they don't get redface. But that kind of thing is too risky if you don't have a strong explorer to do it - I've learned from this one too.

''Aricht, are you coming to 'Akebono's Field' again tomorrow?　Or do you want to dive into another star one labyrinth?
I haven't decided yet, but I'm going to dive into the same maze again.
Okay. Then invite that searcher to join the party if you can. Maybe it's because he doesn't specialize in forward or rearguard, or maybe it's just his personality, but he couldn't join a party... but it's too dangerous to dive alone from level 1.

　Beginner explorers are stronger when they gather specialized professions - if that's the common sense of explorers, then the position of Valkyrie will be stronger as they move up in level, but just like the rogue, they will be seen as dexterous and poor at level 1.

　But would that Chief come with me? If he can restrain me with an attitude from above, then the meaning of my reincarnation in the Labyrinth Country will fade away.

(..........but I've been blown away by that kind of logic. They say that when life and death are at stake, a person's true nature comes out...)

　Even though she was in a tight spot, the Chief didn't run away from the situation, but tried to challenge it bravely. She dared to risk her life, even though she admits that she has always been able to get around in life.

　But I'm not easy enough to make it all go away by itself. After listening to the story, I concluded that if our interests are in line with each other's, then we can team up like explorers - and Rival-san looked at me with an amused look on her face as I came to the conclusion.

'Is that it, or was the relationship bad in a previous life or something like that? Well, there are a lot of people who start talking to each other with real feelings after reincarnation. I think we can get along surprisingly well.
'I wish it were. I don't want to be hostile at least.
You're not very good at it, are you? Well, just listen to the old man's ramblings. There aren't many people who can continue to hate the man who protected them. So long, good luck with that.

　Say what you want and Mr. Rival has gone. It's supposed to be me protecting the Chief, but I can't deny that.

　It would be difficult or even impossible. I can't even imagine that section chief becoming friendly to me or trusting me to party with him.

　--But in the corner of my head, the indication of the license that 'Kyouka''s trustworthiness has increased is firmly engraved. If you turn the page now, you'll be able to confirm it.

　It's vaguely imaginable that 'support recovery' will increase your trustworthiness, but what will that change? Such a convenient story about a visible change in attitude....

''Atube-sama........Ah, thank goodness. You're not injured, and you haven't been poisoned.

　Finding me, Louisa-san runs up to me with a tearful look on her face. The section chief who was carried in earlier was unconscious, so she was worried if I was okay too.

As you can see, I'm unharmed. It's thanks to Louisa-san's ticket.
''Oh, no... I just threw everything to the mercenary agency, not that you would say that much...''

　Louisa says with a flush on her face, even though she has just come running.

　I'm sure I'm going to surprise her more in the future, but I need her to know what's going on, and hopefully she'll continue to share her secrets with me.

''Louisa-san, can I ask you to lend me a few ears?''
Yes, yes ... what is it, a secret story?

　Louisa lent me an ear and I whispered so the others couldn't hear me.

'I took down this thing called Redface, can you take a look at it?'

　-- Louisa-san's surprise was still huge. When I pulled away, her eyes widened and her lips quivered with a shake.

　When I show her the leather bag containing the harvest, Louisa doesn't understand for a moment what it means, but she understands a beat later and is more aware of her surroundings.

''Well, cool. Well then, please go to the private room in the back........''

　He tried to be as calm as possible, but his voice was trembling. I followed Louisa, carrying my leather bag, half expecting to see what the outcome would be.