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Chapter 87: Exploitation

1. Exploitation

As the high-grade medicinal herbs kept piling up on the reception counter, the receptionist Pilitza found herself frozen in shock.

“These weren’t stolen. If that many were stolen, the original owner would have noticed, right? Right?”

The one who spoke those stammering words while finishing stacking the massive haul was Emi – the black-haired, black-eyed cursed child Pilitza had treated rudely and kicked out of the branch office yesterday.

Emi had considered if there was any way to prove she harvested the Cysh Grass herself without having an accompanying witness.

While no convenient method came to mind, the alternative she thought of was to demonstrate such overwhelming capability that accusing her of theft would seem absurd.

This receptionist viewed Emi as nothing more than a destitute vagrant struggling to survive.

…Well, that perception wasn’t necessarily wrong, but regardless, she was underestimating Emi’s abilities.

That’s why she treated Emi so dismissively.

If Pilitza recognized that this cursed child was strong and capable, rather than brushing her off and expelling her from the Adventurer’s Guild, it would actually benefit the guild more to register her as an adventurer and have her work for them instead.

That’s what Emi had hoped Pilitza would conclude.

“So these, I gathered them. Can I become an adventurer now?”

“W-W-Wait just a minute!”

Currently the only people at this branch office were Pilitza and Emi, the cursed child standing across the counter.

The other staff member, the vice-chief, was on his lunch break.

Pilitza hid the submitted Cysh Grass out of sight and placed a “Closed” sign on the counter.

“You, come with me for a bit.”

She then led Emi into a small conference room normally used for meeting adventurers or negotiating with vendors.

Ordinarily, Pilitza would never allow herself to be alone in such a confined space with a cursed child. But this time, circumstances called for it.

Carefully guiding Emi inside while suppressing her trembling so the cursed child wouldn’t notice.

That trembling wasn’t from fear or revulsion, however.

It was elation.

Pilitza was quivering with joy.

(All those years spent enduring this rural backwater life have finally paid off! At last, fortune is smiling upon me~!)

…Under normal circumstances, Emi’s ploy would have undoubtedly succeeded.

If her opponent hadn’t been this corrupt receptionist Pilitza, that is.

Emi was indeed highly capable.

Truly possessing the ability to harvest premium medicinal herbs in such significant quantities.

That fact did not escape Pilitza’s notice.

However, what mattered most to Pilitza had always been herself.

Nurturing a capable child into an adventurer, sure.

Doing so would certainly be a great contribution to the guild.

But what benefit would Pilitza herself gain from it?

At best, she might receive a small bonus.

How laughable.

Rather than that, she would…

Cleverly deceive this cursed child.

Squeeze her dry.

Exploit her for all she’s worth.

That was the only vision Pilitza could envision.

Since the other party was just a cursed child, who would come to her aid even if Pilitza exploited her unjustly?

Furthermore, Pilitza still didn’t fully grasp Emi’s strength, so the possibility of retaliation never even crossed her mind.

She felt not a shred of guilt.

For a while after being transferred to Yoshanka, Pilitza had refrained from misconduct, but not out of remorse – it was simply her being cautious.

And once she became convinced the scrutiny on her was more lax than she expected, she resumed her unscrupulous ways just like back in the capital (though her methods had grown even more cunning since then) .

Skimming reward payments, mishandling requests, inflating expense claims…

Taking advantage of not getting caught, she had been indulging quite freely.

Someone like her was never going to feel guilt now.

In any case, Pilitza’s honed criminal intuition was whispering to her:

This was an opportunity to make money.

Pilitza decided to follow that instinct.

“So you’re saying you discovered a habitat for Cysh Grass in the Kaise Forest?”

“Yes.”

Despite her recent life at the baron’s estate helping her speak a bit more, Emi wasn’t particularly skilled at conversation.

Growing impatient with the sluggish interview, Pilitza finally managed to get Emi to confirm the above fact while scribbling on her notepad.

“A Cysh Grass habitat in the outer Kaise Forest… We have received such reports at the guild before. However, that area was supposed to be within the Lovely Bunnies’ territory, was it not…?”

“Defeated them.”

“I see, I see indeed…”

To reiterate, Pilitza did not comprehend Emi’s true strength.

She dismissed Emi’s “defeated them” remark as a boastful lie.

(The Lovely Bunny leader must have changed recently. With that, their territory relocated too. This kid just luckily stumbled upon the new vacant area. How fortunate for her…and me.)

Why “for me” too? Because if that safe Cysh Grass habitat had been discovered by another adventurer instead, Pilitza would have needed to provide proper compensation.

But if it was this young cursed child, she could deceive and exploit her for all she was worth.

“And in the forest, there are many venomous snakes called Yasago. How did you deal with those?”

“Defeated them.”

“I see, I see indeed…”

The fact remained that this cursed child had ventured into the Kaise Forest and returned unharmed.

Which meant she must have employed some countermeasure against the venomous snakes, undoubtedly a survival technique learned from her vagrant lifestyle.

While Pilitza would have liked to inquire about the details as potentially useful information, conversing further with this uncommunicative cursed child was becoming bothersome, so she decided not to press that topic.

“…So, can I become an adventurer?”

“Hmm, well you see…”

Originally, Pilitza had assigned gathering Cysh Grass as a “task” for adventurer registration, so having completed that task, it would be strange not to register Emi as an adventurer (though in reality, no such “task” is actually required, but we’ll set that aside).

However, if Pilitza registered Emi as an adventurer, she would immediately become protected under the “Adventurer Rules.”

The “Adventurer Rules” were various regulations established by the Adventurer’s Guild.

Among them were provisions explicitly prohibiting the unjust exploitation of adventurers.

Hence, Pilitza could not make Emi an adventurer.

The only reasons Pilitza could take advantage of Emi as she pleased were the two overlapping conditions of her being a socially scorned “cursed child” while also not yet an adventurer.

“…The fact that you gathered Cysh Grass and completed the ‘task’ is true.”

“…Then?”

“However, I regret to say that amounts to insufficient grounds for me to acknowledge you as an adventurer.”

“………”

Furrowing her brow in a remorseful expression, Pilitza relayed that conclusion.

Emi remained expressionless in response.

Impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Truly an eerie brat.

But Pilitza assumed she must feel disappointment and dejection.

“Let me explain the reason. First, regarding the herbs you brought – nine-tenths of them are not actually Cysh Grass, but rather a different variety called ‘False Cysh Grass.’ While still medicinal herbs, their value drops considerably.”

“That can’t be.”

“It’s fact. As the guild’s receptionist, I take pride in my material appraisal abilities. I’m not mistaken.”

An outright lie.

Everything Emi had submitted was undoubtedly genuine Cysh Grass.

“Ordinarily, attempting to pass off counterfeits for a requested item would constitute fraud. While you likely didn’t intend that, you did file a false report to the guild. If this were an actual request, you would have faced penalties. Needless to say, you cannot be considered to have completed the ‘task’ then, can you understand?”

“………”

Pilitza continued spouting fabricated lies as they came to mind.

The other party was just a vagrant cursed child, after all.

An uneducated, uncultured existence.

She wouldn’t see through Pilitza’s deceptions.

“…However, even if only one-tenth, the fact remains you did harvest real Cysh Grass. To simply discard you after that would be too wasteful in my opinion.”

“………”

“So, I’ve decided to give you another chance.”

“…A chance?”

Pilitza pressed on.

“Yes. A new ‘task.’ For the next month, deliver a minimum of 3 Cysh Grass stalks to me every day. This is separate from guild requests, so… Yes, how about you bring them to my home around 8pm? I live on the first floor of the triangular-roofed house behind the main street. There, I’ll determine if they’re genuine or not and let you know the results. That way, you can also learn to identify the herbs properly. Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”

“………”

“Ah, of course I won’t ask you to do it for free. Since it’s not an official request, the guild can’t provide compensation, but…I’ll pay you an allowance out of my own pocket. Here’s the amount for today.”

With that, Pilitza took out 5,000 enn from her pocket and handed it to Emi.

Emi stared at the money, her expressionless visage pondering something silently for a while, before turning her gaze back to Pilitza.

“If I do that ‘task’, I can become an adventurer?”

“Yes, if you keep it up diligently for a month, I’ll take it up with my superiors and make sure you get registered, somehow!”

A lie.

By the end of that month, Dakkante, the chief of this guild branch, would be returning to Yoshanka.

Unlike Pilitza, he would never permit such exploitation of a cursed child by his staff, even if they were the victim.

Not only that, but Dakkante was quite astute, making it difficult for Pilitza to continue her exploitation of Emi while concealing her existence from him.

There had been numerous instances where her usual fraudulent ledger doctoring and accompanying embezzlement had nearly been uncovered.

Pilitza intended to deal with Emi before the Chief’s return.

“Do you understand now? I can’t afford to keep the reception closed and waste any more time with you. Our discussion is over.”

With that, Pilitza abruptly ended the conversation and ushered Emi out of the conference room.

“…If I work hard, you’ll make me an adventurer, right?”

“Yes yes, of course~”

As the cursed child left the guild after reconfirming one last time, Pilitza gave an affirmative response while grinning and eyeing the herbs Emi had brought.

(Yesterday’s Cysh Grass sold for 50,000 enn per stalk, so…wow! Today’s sales from 10 Cysh Grass stalks is 500,000 enn!?)

A whopping two months’ worth of Pilitza’s own salary.

Incidentally, the Cysh Grass Emi submitted yesterday had already been sold off, with Pilitza pocketing the proceeds herself.

Of course, she wouldn’t be keeping the full amount.

She would properly remit the guild’s commission fees, taking only what should have been the adventurer’s reward payment instead.

That way, the ledgers would balance out.

“Ufufufu…ufufufufufu…!”

She couldn’t stop laughing.

Ever since being transferred to this rural town of Yoshanka, it had been five grueling years of hardship.

Enduring the frigid sea winds, Pilitza had persevered through a countryside life she never wanted.

This must surely be a reward from the gods for all her efforts.

Suppressing the urge to break out into celebratory leaps, Pilitza returned to her desk and resumed her duties.