While thinking about tonight's dinner, Hekkeran opened the door to the inns. If it was his favorite pork stew, he would be very happy. Having these kind of thoughts as he entered, the words that he heard were not the typical "Welcome back" or "Good work" which he expected but
"— I've already said! I don't know!"
"No, no, even if you say that…"
"It's not like I‘m that girl's guardian or her relative. It's impossible for me to tell you where she is."
"Aren't you comrades? I can't simply take ‘I don't know' as an answer and leave. This is my job after all."
On the first floor of the inn, in the center of the dining area, a man and a woman stared at each other.
Hekkeran knew that woman well.
Though her eyes radiated an intense ferocity, the feature that stood out the most were the pair of ears which were far longer than those of a normal human. That said, her ears were still only about half as long as those of typical elves. That's right, her race was half-elf.
Elves tended to be slimmer when compared with humans. It seemed like the woman here had also inherited this trait. Her whole body was very slim. Be it the area around her chest or her waist, there were no visible curves on her body. She was as flat as a board. From afar, it wouldn't be surprising if people mistook her for a man.
Clad in neat leather armor, without the typical bow and arrow on her, the only weapon she had right now was the short dagger on her waist.
Her name was Imina, and she was one of Hekkeran's comrades.
However, Hekkeran was unfamiliar with the man currently arguing with Imina.
Although he appeared to be groveling in front of Imina by lowering his head, not a single shred of sincerity could be seen in his eyes. In fact, the feeling present there was disgust. At least for now, it appeared that he was trying to keep things civil.
The man's arms and chest were packed with muscles. His appearance alone could force anyone standing in front of him to give him what he wanted. While he didn't seem like the type of person who relied on violence to get things done, Imina was still capable of handling him if he did.
Even though Imina didn't appear to be very strong, deep in her body dwelled a strength that was enough to take care of thugs who only relied on their muscles.
"Didn't I already say so from the very beginning?"
Noticing that Imina's voice was starting to become strained with emotion, Hekkeran hurriedly interjected.
"What's wrong, Imina?"
Hearing the sound of a familiar voice, Imina turned her head and was surprised when seeing Hekkeran.
For a ranger like Imina, who excelled in perception and awareness of her surroundings, not noticing Hekkeran's approach showed just how distracted she had been earlier.
"…Who the heck are you?" asked the man who was viewed as an intruder by Hekkeran.
Having met his gaze, Hekkeran felt that the atmosphere between them was on the verge of coming to blows. However, for someone like Hekkeran, who had survived countless life and death situations, the gaze was nothing compared to the intense stares of ferocious monsters.
"…That's our team's leader."
"…Oooh, so this is the renowned Hekkeran Termite-san."
Hekkeran was disgusted by the sudden change of attitude.
Even though Hekkeran didn't knew the purpose behind the man's visit, if he came all the way to what was considered by Hekkeran's team to be their stronghold — the inn — the chances of him not recognizing Hekkeran were non-existent.
Perhaps the harshness in the argument from before was to measure the extent of what Hekkeran was capable of. If Hekkeran displayed even a slightest hint of weakness, the man probably would have proceeded to use intimidation next.
Amongst workers or adventurers, there were always those who were capable of slaying monsters but rather timid towards humans. Even then, the most they would do would be to take a step back, but if things were pushed too far, it would definitely end in a bloodbath.
Even though we just met, he's already like this… This guy… is definitely the type I can’t stand.
While it was true that this was one of the commonly used methods for negotiation, it was a method Hekkeran didn’t like. He would much more prefer it if the other party got directly to the point instead of going about in circles.
"…Could you be a little quieter, please? This is an inn, and you're disturbing other guests. I'd be much happier if you could do that."
Although he was saying that, not a single guest could be seen nearby. Just where did all the people go? It wasn't as though they hid themselves away, the guests of this inn were already quite used to this kind of talk because the majority of them were also workers in the first place.
However, it was truly a rare occurrence for this place to be devoid of people.
Hekkeran glared at the man using a strength on par with mithril-ranked adventurers. As though confronted by a monster, the man wilted.
"I–I… I'm very sorry. I did not intend to do that initially."
After managing to calm his voice down, the man attempted to speak once more. However, he instantly became quiet again when he saw Hekkeran's glare. Judging from his reaction, it was clear that the man was used to this kind of work, where violence was a common occurrence.
What's a guy like this doing in here?
Although the type of work that Hekkeran's team did was under-the-table business, he didn't recognize this man, and Hekkeran had no idea why he had been sent here. He simply didn't fit the profile of someone who came bearing requests.
It bothered Hekkeran, and he ended up weakening his gaze and asked the man directly.
"…Just why on Earth are you here?"
"About that, I'm looking for a person that Termite-san also knows, Furt-san."
Hearing the name Furt, the image of a person appeared in Hekkeran's mind.
Even so, was hard to imagine that she would have any connections with this man. That was Hekkeran's conclusion.
"Arche? Did something happen to her?"
"Arche… Ah! That's why. I got confused just then, but we're both talking about Furt-san here, Arche Eeb Rile Furt-san."
"And!? Did something happen to Arche?"
"No, no, I only wish to discuss something with her… The content of the discussion is private, that's why I wanted to know when she would return."
"As if I would know that." Hekkeran replied sharply.
For someone who was never direct when speaking, the man was briefly stunned by Hekkeran's words.
"If that's the case, the conversation is over."
"I–It can't be helped then. If that's the case, I'll have to wait here."
"Get lost."
Hekkeran gestured to the entrance of the inn with his chin. Hekkeran's attitude shut the other man up once more.