"Woah, really, what makes you so adamant? Honestly, I'm not so sure we can trust him, or that he'll even be of any help." (Klaus)
Yeah, I'm curious about that, too.
"Trust is probably the wrong word. I wouldn't say I trust him, he's too much of an unknown for that. I still have no idea what he really wants. I'm not just talking about his mysterious reward, either. One of the reasons I want to bring him along is that, for some reason, I get the feeling that he'll end up in the forest with us one way or another. I'd rather keep him close enough to know his movements." (Ilina)
Well, there's some truth to that. One way or another, I plan to learn her item box spell. The whole point of all this effort is to have her willingly teach it to me – my unnamed reward. If that weren't an option, I might shadow them until I could figure out how it works. I don't really want to resort to violence or threatening with people who haven't done the same to me.
"Okay, so what are the other reasons you want to bring him along?" (Klaus)
"Well, one is that I'm convinced he means us no harm. We don't have to worry about him betraying us in that way." (Ilina)
Klaus chuckles in response.
"Oh, his response to you accusing him of selling us as slaves, huh? Fufufufu…I didn't realize it scored him so many points with you. Funny that you feel that way over some words after he went so far as to put a knife to your throat." (Klaus)
"Well, I don't think he had any intention of harming me then, in retrospect. Even if you'd tried to kill him, I don't think he was going to hurt me. Given how you reacted afterward, I'm sure you came to the same conclusion. Also, yes, the way he looked when he mentioned that he'd kill someone if they tried enslaving us…I'm convinced that he meant it. However, that's not the only reason I think he won't harm us." (Ilina)
I'm surprised she knows that I wouldn't have killed her, but I wasn't exactly trying to hide my intentions either.
"Do tell, what's the other thing that makes you sure he won't turn on us?" (Klaus)
Ilina pauses for a minute, as if thinking something over, then sighs deeply.
"Ah, that's related to the third reason I want to offer him the job. I think Mizuki might be the one who came to our aid outside the tavern. If I'm right, he's more than capable enough to join us." (Ilina)
Eh…what!?
"What!?" (Klaus)
Looks like he and I are on the same page. Why does she think that? Did I slip up somewhere?
"Ilina, why do you think that? I'm sure he's no weakling, but who or whatever intervened tonight was on another level. They were able to turn themselves invisible, and they took out five B-rank adventurers in under three seconds. Someone that can use two different spell classes at that level simultaneously is a monster beyond comparison, and they could have disarmed me easily without resorting to the tactics that he did to win our wager." (Klaus)
Alright, Klaus, I admit I went a little overboard, and I agree that I got some serious cheat skills when I came here. Still, calling me a monster is just rude.
"I'm just saying I suspect him. That's why I went to check outside our door after he left. Him being the invisible man would explain other things from tonight, too, like why I haven't seen him be afraid once. Not when he saw all those bodies by the tavern then willingly walked alone with us, not when I had you challenge him, not when I told you to kill him, not when he mentioned killing slavers, and not even when he heard that we wanted to find an Elder Dragon." (Ilina)
I have vastly underestimated this girl…she's perceptive.
"No, you saw how surprised his face was when you mentioned the Elder Dragon!" (Klaus)
Bingo, I'll take my Oscar now, thank you.
"Surprised, maybe, but not scared. He agreed way too quickly afterward, with no follow up questions, so he might have been faking the surprise. If he were the invisible man, I bet he heard our conversation with those repulsive adventurers. In that case, he knew the answers to almost every question he asked, and my feeling of being tested makes sense. As for what he was testing, why he went through all this effort to hide his strength, what he hopes to gain out of this job, or pretty much anything else about him, I'm at a loss." (Ilina)
She sounds quite disappointed by the last statement, but I can't blame her. Uncertainty bothers me, too. One thing is for sure though, I need to be a lot more careful around her.
Klaus lets out a deep sigh, taking in her conjecture.
"Alright, so we've decided we'll be taking Mizuki into our party for the job. Who else should we bring then? More importantly, will you be telling Mizuki about the reason for this job?" (Klaus)
"Personally, I don't think we should bring anyone else. I trust Mizuki as far as our safety is concerned, and if I'm right about him, then any other reinforcements would be pointless if not an outright risk. They might upset forest dwellers in their stupidity, or even turn on us if they found out who we are. Mizuki already knows all that, so we can sleep soundly. As for telling him our motivations…I've yet to decide."
Well, I'm a little interested in why they want to hunt an Elder Dragon, but I can live without knowing. If they want to harm it, they'll end up dead and it won't matter. If they just want to talk, I'm sure I'll find out the reason eventually.
At this point, I decide that I've gathered enough info for now. Anymore and I'd be like a peeping tom. They've given me a lot to think about, so I depart the inn via stealth mode and return to my room at the guild.
Once there, I spend about an hour making more coins. This time, I manage to finish without collapsing. After, I have a nice satisfying sleep.