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I consulted Michelle and Letina about the newbie training too; as expected, they didn’t have any objections and readily agreed to it. Having their approval, I went to tell Gadius that we were officially taking on the commission. I also got information on what kind of beginners we’d be dealing with.

“Looks like they are beginners aged between fifteen to seventeen. Guess they had a bit of a slow debut.”
“So they’re our age, huh? I wonder if we can really do a good job as teachers.”
“I’m pretty sure they’d raise their hands up once they see your bow skill, Michelle.”
“Will they really?”

Michelle was listening from the side, but she suddenly brought that up. Honestly, she could even easily shoot the eyes of the opponent that was so far away I couldn’t even see properly, so everyone with the eyes to see would be shocked.

Had she been born twenty-five years earlier, she would’ve surely been part of the Evil Dragon extermination team.

Cortina and I had abilities that were hardly specialized for battles, but since we had various technical skills, we managed to overcome difficult situations by combining all the skills we had.

Michelle on the other hand had a single combat-oriented ability, and this was the result. As expected, the qualities of Gifts were quite evident.

Thank God a peace-loving girl like she wasn’t born during those times.

“Their area of operations has been a small port…or rather, a fishing village, west of Raum. Because of that, I couldn’t get accurate information, but there shouldn’t be much that needs special attention in a rural place.”
“There was a student making dangerous drugs at the kingdom’s border, you know?”
“That’s because he had the duke’s backing. This time there’s no one that important around. They are just small fries from the countryside. I heard they were quite naughty too.”
“What are they even doing in Stollar?”

It was certainly doubtful why they decided to come all the way to Stollar which was on the northern boundary of the kingdom, when their base of operations was the western fishing village.

I didn’t know where that village was exactly, but it should be quite far away from here.

“I bet their naughtiness got them kicked out of the village. This commission is because the Guild pointed out that their basic skills are lacking.”
“I’m surprised people fresh out of the countryside managed to put up such a commission.”
“Looks like they gathered some small change through Floating Wakame harvests.”
“Bwgh?!”

Hearing the familiar name, I ended up choking. Floating Wakame were sea monsters that floated on the water surface and dissolved plants for nourishment. I remembered we met quite a misfortune when we tried to harvest them once. Speaking of it, that was also the first time that came.

“Ohh, that thing that dissolves swimsuits.”
“Oh my, I’m surprised that I captured it.”

Even Michelle and Letina, who didn’t suffer direct harm, remembered it.

So Finia and I who did suffer directly would too, of course. Finia furrowed her brows in a rare show of disgust.

Cloud was bending over a little. What happens to him later depends on whether he remembered Finia’s immodest appearance, or the punishment that followed after it.

“They are all guys. They probably didn’t even need swimsuits.”
“Huh, not even swimsuits, you say?”
“Well, I mean, they didn’t wear anything below. I’d hate to do it though.”

Cloud answered Letina’s question instantly. With all of them being boys, they would have no sense of shame in that regard. Lyell and I also did stuff like fishing all naked where Maria and Cortina couldn’t see us.

Our certain parts got bitten by aggressive fish in the process so Maria had to heal us while looking at us with scorn, but I supposed that’s youthful indiscretion for you.

“So barbaric… Will we really be okay?”
“Strength-wise, they won’t even reach your feet. You should guess it from the fact that they have no other choice but to earn money with Floating Wakame.”
“What was that about them being naughty?”
“Stealing a bite of the dried fish, or smoking at the fishing gear storage and causing a small fire, and things like that.”

Gadius quickly answered my question. In other words, he had already investigated the problematic parts. But still, causing a fire isn’t very good. Depending on the region, that would’ve been deemed a serious crime.

“I will contact the Guild, so the commission will start once the other party is ready. You should be ready to set out at any moment.”
“Okaay! It’s gonna be my first time being a teacher.”
“I haven’t been one either. I’ve always been the one being taught.”
“As for me, I have given some instructions at the senior academy.”

Letina puffed her chest with pride, but didn’t you use the fire attribute inside the forest? Haven’t you grown quite dull since you stopped participating in combats?

“Ah, Letina is a no-go. This commission would span for some days.”
“Huuuhh?!”
“Besides, you are Maxwell’s fiancee. It is bad for your reputation to keep messing around too much.”
“Ugh…”

Letina couldn’t argue back after Gadius’ remonstration. She was here thanks to Maxwell’s kindness. It wasn’t good to be too selfish.

“Well, just give up on this one. Anyway… we don’t know if those guys can even prepare properly, so we should prepare everyone’s share on our side.”
“That’s plenty possible. They are basically amateurs.”
“But wouldn’t our luggage grow too heavy? I’m not sure if we can carry so much.”
“We have a carriage so that’ll be fine!”
“And I have Elizabeth!”
“Unfortunately, the carriage will not work inside the forest.”
“You have a two-horse carriage? And with three horses in total, your expenses should be quite significant.”

Michelle and Cloud puffed their chests in pride at Letina’s remark. Since she spoke about the costs, I suppose she’s aware of how costly having horses can be.

“That’s beside the point. We are already fourth-rank, so we can earn quite a bit.”
“Mgh, yet I am still a third rank…”

Our ranks went up after Letina’s withdrawal. So her rank was the same as when we parted. She looked frustrated about that, yet also seemed to be enjoying this situation.