Chapter 29: A Zodiac's Gotta Eat, Too
Kai and Menchi walked back to town, taking a wide berth around the slaughterhouse wharf.
In that short time, the plate of pork stir-fry, enhanced with Menchi's Green Seasoning, had already restored Kai's stamina to near-full. Her Hatsu, combined with her genius-level cooking, was incredibly effective.
As they passed through East Town, Menchi nudged his shoulder.
"Yeah, I see them," Kai said, glancing at a group of men asking a local for directions.
Kakin's people.
He had cut off his surveillance of Babimaina's team ten days ago, but he'd noticed Kakin agents starting to poke around East Town four days ago.
They're still looking for the 'baby in the blanket.'
From the looks of it, they were getting nowhere, which was good news for Kai.
The Ochima team wasn't having much luck either. Both sides were now expanding their search to the towns, digging for any clue, any rumor. They were hoping to find an original Kakin native who might remember something from 24 years ago, when the island had "ghosted" its way to this continent.
Kai had kept his "Kai-Crows" with Shizuku for the past half-month. He'd had them "help" her (in exchange for food) just to stay close. Through them, he'd learned the Ochima team's true objective: they were looking for the tomb of an ancient Kakin king.
...And what will they do if they find it? Open it as a tourist attraction?
He followed Menchi to meet Ginta. The three of them then went to see the Ochima official in charge, the balding young man, Sloe.
On the way, Kai asked, "Ginta, you're not joining?"
"This isn't my mission," Ginta said. "I was hired to deal with the poachers, and that's done. If Ochima wants to hire me, they have to submit the request through the Hunter Association, have it reviewed, and then forward it to me. It's too time-consuming."
Menchi pointed to herself and Kai. "What about us? We're Pro Hunters, too. Don't we have to go through the official channels?"
"My fee is high. You two, however, are probably willing to accept the pay scale for a civilian contractor, right?" Ginta said. "If you are, you don't need to go through the Association."
"Oh, I get it!" Menchi said. "It's a little bit of a loss, but I'm just here for the experience! A smaller paycheck is fine!"
Kai added, "That's only for official government contracts, right? If it's a private client, especially for a small job, does the Association really bother to review every single one? Hunters are supposed to be free agents."
Ginta glanced at Kai, then nodded. "That's true. However, the rewards from a government contract... are on a different level from private work."
"They've got the money!" Menchi sighed.
"It's government funds," Kai said with a cynical grin. "The more they spend, the more they can justify budgeting for next time."
Ginta gave Kai another long look. "The 'reward' I'm talking about isn't just money."
Menchi was confused. "What else is there?"
"You're still new, huh?" Kai said, patting her hand like a veteran. "A job like this... it's a prime networking opportunity. You rub elbows with the V5. You're not dealing with small-fry clients. You pull this off, and maybe someday a king or a president will hire you as a high-level consultant. They'll put you on the payroll for life. That's the real score."
He remembered that the "Dragon" Zodiac, Botobai, was a government prosecutor in his day job.
"Oooooh!" Menchi's eyes lit up.
"Sloe's call for 'local help' was just a cover," Ginta said. "I'm sure the Blanchett Company told him about us. He was aiming for Pro Hunters like you from the start."
"Don't leave me out, old man," Kai said, flashing his own Hunter License. "I'm a Hunter, too."
"We're here," Ginta said, leading them into the building.
Sloe wasn't surprised that Ginta, the Zodiac, was passing on the job. His budget for hiring freelance Hunters was on a completely different, lower pay scale than the official one for a Zodiac. It was only natural Ginta wouldn't take a pay cut.
"So, you two... Menchi and Kai, is it?" Sloe said with a polite smile. "The contract is for five days. 2 million Zeni if you find nothing. 4 million if you find a significant discovery. And 10 million Zeni each if you bring back a concrete result. Here's the contract."
"The pay's a little low, but whatever." Menchi grabbed the pen and signed her name with a quick, practiced flourish.
Dako and the other four freelance Hunters, who had been hired two weeks ago, watched with barely concealed jealousy.
...That's the exact same contract they gave us!
We've been at this for half a month! How do they get the same pay?! Just for flashing a License?
Gotta... stay calm...
Dako, the team leader, shot a look at Shizuku.
After two weeks, they'd all realized that this "dazed" girl with glasses was, apart from Kanzai, probably the strongest one on their team. She was the only one who never seemed tired or stressed, even after a full day of sneaking around the reserve.
But even now, watching this blatant unfairness, Shizuku had zero reaction.
Is she really that clueless?
"Excuse me, can you help me?"
As the amateurs fumed, Kai walked right past them, holding his own contract, and stood in front of Shizuku.
"With what?" Kanzai, the Tiger Zodiac, immediately bounded over, looking for action.
Kai pointed to the contract. "I... can't really read all this. I was wondering if she could read it to me."
"What's to read?" Kanzai scoffed. "Just sign it."
Kai looked up at him. "You're Kanzai, right? The 'Tiger' Zodiac?" He glanced at Ginta. "What, are they giving away Zodiac memberships? That's two I've run into. A guy at your level still has to hustle for side-gigs like this?"
Ginta, standing off to the side, felt like he'd been hit by a stray bullet.
"Hey!" Menchi snapped from behind them. "Am I illiterate? Why didn't you ask me to read it?"
Did you even read it? Ginta thought, remaining silent.
"What's wrong with being a Zodiac?! A Zodiac's gotta eat, too, you know!" Kanzai was suddenly furious, his voice rising as he glared down at Kai. "Are you lumping me in with those 'Association Specialist' desk-jockeys who sit around cherry-picking their missions? Are you trying to pick a fight?!"
As he yelled, a terrifying, powerful Ren exploded from his small body.
Sloe, the normal human, just felt the sudden, crushing pressure. But Dako and the other freelance Hunters, who knew what they were seeing, turned white. Their foreheads were instantly beaded with cold sweat.
This... this is the power of a Zodiac?!
Shizuku, completely oblivious to the murderous Aura filling the room, was just staring at the piece of paper.
Kai was also completely unfazed. He just looked at Shizuku. "You already signed one of these, right?"
"I did...?" Shizuku said, her head tilting.
Her tone was so ambiguous, Kai couldn't tell if it meant, "Oh, I did? I forgot," or, "I did? Are you sure?" or just, "Is that so? Whatever."
He had a sudden, violent urge to crack her head open just to see what was inside.
(End of Chapter)