Chapter 114: Foraging fundamentals, part 5
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
◆Bale◆
While Welger & Co. presented itself as a unifying association for merchants all over the country to the public, its other facet was entirely different. Not only did they procure and distribute prohibited drugs, but they also engaged in the poaching of protected species of demons, monsters and plants that would eventually end up in the hands of collectors.
「That’s pretty much where my knowledge ends.」
Bale had indeed told Candy all he knew about the association. Whether anything else was going on was unknown even to him. Having only divulged this much information to thank her for saving his life, he soon returned to his senses and wondered if he should really have done so.
「I see. Your line of work is pretty dangerous, eh?」
「Let this be a secret… only between the two of us」, said Bale hurriedly.
Candy smiled.
「It’s okay. My lips tend to be tightly sealed.」
「At any rate, they’ve probably already taken me for a dead man. In other words, I’m free」, he added, hinting that he would no longer be involved in any dangerous work. 「Okay, it’s not like I was doing anything that big anyway.」
Candy flicked her finger at his nose in response.
「No, don’t say that. You’re more outstanding than you think, Bale-kun. You do your work well.」
「Hm, maybe.」
Unable to continue meeting her gaze, Bale lowered his head and opted for looking at his hands instead. It had been a week since he woke up in that room. Although his wound still stung at times, he was feeling much better and was becoming rather restless.
「Candy.」
「Wha-at?」
「You’re a déraciné, aren’t you? A wandering soul. I’m from the countryside of the Heavenly Kingdom of Reubens.」
「Ara-ara, is that so? I’ve never been to Reubens.」
「Yeah, that’s why… if possible, I’d like to return together with you…」
Man, I really went and said something like that, he thought to himself. Knowing that this lady had put her job on hold to take care of him, he figured that she would leave his side once he had fully recovered.
「I have a lot to thank you for. You’re my saviour.」
「That’s right…」, said Candy, closing her eyes as if she was contemplating the idea.
Watching her sitting there, lost in thought, Bale noticed just how long her eyelashes were. Even without her usual smile, he saw a different kind of beauty altogether.
「I’ll think about it.」
「Eh, will you really?」
「I don’t think I need to repeat myself」, she replied, gently placing one hand on his cheek.
Combined with a smile, Bale almost saw fit to worship the goddess in front of him.
「T-Thank you. When can I expect an answer…?」
「Hmm… when you begin giving your all to your work again, I guess…?」
「Oh, then… I’ll do my best! I can almost move my body as nimbly as before –」
「Even though you hinted that you’ll never do such dangerous things again, I like my boys bad, you know? Ruthless, merciless… when I say bad, I mean bad」, said Candy, appearing enraptured by Bale.
She sighed the sigh of a lady in love.
「So, so… you won’t mind even if I commit grave atrocities in broad daylight?」
「Not at all.」
「That’s good to hear.」
How rare to find a girl like this, he thought. But if that’s the case, then I suppose I should return to work at Welger & Co. It pays well, better than other jobs.
Above all, if Candy likes bad boys, then that alone is reason enough for me to remain as one.
Three days later —
Thanks to Candy’s round-the-clock nursing, Bale was in tip-top condition again, notwithstanding the slight pain that still bugged him a little. He resumed his work, both to bring her back to Reubens and to support them when they got there. Having lived in her room since he regained consciousness, he found himself unwilling to leave it and thus continued staying there even after returning to work.
「Welcome back. Was it a tiring day at work?」
Whether he came back in the afternoon or late at night seemed to matter not for Candy, as she never failed to welcome him home with her charming smile. Beginning to question what exactly the relationship between the two of them was, he consulted one of his closest colleagues one day.
「You get home and a beautiful woman comes out to greet you? You tryna show off or something? Good grief, just die already…」
「No, nothing of the sort. I’m dead serious.」
「Spending every night with a beautiful goddess… man, you must be havin’ a good time. Wish I could get some too.」
Having consumed alcohol, neither of them raised any objection when the conversation descended into vulgarity.
「Nah, I haven’t gotten any.」
「Huh. What, she outta your league or something? There’s only one bed in that rented room, isn’t there?」
「Two, actually.」
「Eh? Why on earth would there be two? You said she’s an ‘adventurer’, right? She’s a wandering soul who rented the room that the two of you are living in now?」
「Hold on… an adventurer without a proper home… and her rented room has two beds…?」
「Get your head outta the gutter, damnit.」
「I’m not delusional, I swear!」
「Look, here’s the first possibility. There are many people like you who came before you. Pretty common, I’d say. When you’re not at home, your goddess-tier slut invites them in, y’know? That kinda thing.」
「Stop. I don’t want to hear any of that.」
「The second possibility, then. She just couldn’t find an apartment with only one bed. This is basically the third possibility, too — she doesn’t really like small rooms, so she got a bigger one that just happened to have two beds.」
「Let’s settle for the second one then. There’re lots of people in that building.」
「Wait. There’s still a fourth, prolly the worst one of all. Don’t you think it’s all too much of a coincidence?」
「A coincidence? As in?」
「You were injured, and she saved your life — granted, that’s fine. I can find you a whole stinkin’ pile of women that look good on the outside but are just downright trashy on the inside. Though rare, saintly women like yours aren’t non-existent either. I mean, since you’re still alive and kickin’, I can’t say I gave a shit.」
He knocked back his glass of beer and paused for effect before continuing.
「See, what happened after that gets me. Since you’re back at work, what business does she have still stickin’ with you? On top of that, she comes out to greet you when you get home… don’t you think that’s a little sketchy?」
「Now you’re just being stupid. Her heart is with me — that’s why she’s still here, sending me off and welcoming me home.」
「Eh… you all right, man? You sure you ain’t being tricked?」
「No way.」
「At the very least… you didn’t disclose anything confidential, did you?」
「As if.」
「Well, okay. As if someone like you would reveal any details about your ‘new job’, right?」
Receiving a hearty thump on the shoulder, Bale clinked glasses with his colleague and laughed.
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