Ganersam Volume 1

We found ourselves back in the living room, with the two girls sitting across from us.

“Aren’t you going to ask us what we’re doing, at least?”

Amel asked while fidgeting and Nia was looking at the floor, silently.

“You’re spying on us, no questions needed.”

Emma said coldly, her arms crossed. I couldn’t believe this is the same girl that had been teasing me before this.

Emma realized I’m looking at her, and she motioned me to shut up...

With a small cheeky smile on her lips.

So she’s probably not mad, she’s just having ‘fun’.

“We’re not spying, um... we’re just collecting info, that’s all.”

Well, if it comes to this, then I guess I’ll join in the game.

“You know, I’m really concerned about taking you in, Amel.”

Hearing my words, Amel stiffened up.

“Riko you idiot! Just what are you saying!?”

Amel said as she covered her face from embarrassment, her head shaking violently. That isn’t the response I was expecting, but I’ll just push her a bit, just to see how far this could go.

“Is it really that embarrassing for us to know you’re interested in joining?”

“It’s just... I told him I want him to choose a team for me since he understood me best. He’s not supposed to say that to his target. I outright said that I want to prove my worth, not join a team just because they’re friends with him.”

Oh... I think I know what’s going on...

They’re a couple.

Well, maybe not yet, but both of them are too shy to confess.

Oh well, it’s not my problem anyway.

“Umm... he said none of that. He just told me you’re interested in going adventuring. He said he wanted you to join us because he trusts in us, that’s literally it.”

“Eep?”

Amel, realizing she made a grave mistake, squeaks in shock.

She turned around, her face tomato red.

No, it’s chili red, not tomato red.

“Ah... I see... so you like him.”

Emma teasingly said, a smile creeping onto her face.

“No, it’s not like that!”

“Oh really, what if I told him that? I wonder how will he react?”

She said while closing in on Amel.

“Please don’t!”

“You know, it would make quite a good revenge for spying on us.”

She slowly whispered in her ear.

“Stop!”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Alright, maybe that’s a bit too far, Emma. Guess it’s time for me to butt in.

“But couldn’t you choose a team yourself? I mean, if you care so much about him, why didn’t you join him?”

I knew the true answer to that, but I asked anyway. Emma shrugged her shoulders and returned to her seat.

“Riko is still in the bounty hunting business, and I want to try and become a normal adventurer. Completing quests, going to far places, having a good time with fellow party members, things like that. Bounty hunting is exhausting, especially if you’ve been doing it for years. It took a lot more seriousness compared to your average adventurer.”

Seeing how they collect intel and make plans, it does seem like an exhausting and dangerous job.

But nah, I know you’re too shy to be with him. I mean, this happens sometimes. You have a crush on someone, you like them so much to the point a normal interaction becomes awkward.

I understand, I understand very well.

“And I’ve been bounty hunting for years. Most of it is solo missions, whether it’s collecting data regarding a corrupt noble or taking out high-level monsters, most of it I do alone. Riko had been adventuring for a while before he became a bounty hunter, so he probably knew more about it compared to me.”

“How did he become a bounty hunter?”

Emma asked, she’s probably curious how the person she sent ended up choosing such a dangerous job.

Although no matter how you look at it, Riko’s gift is perfect for a bounty hunter. I had a hard time believing it was purely coincidental. Also considering how I choose my gift based on a light novel, I won’t be surprised if he got inspired by some other media.

“He said that his team was originally a team of four, but during one of their adventures one of them died, so the team split up. They all believe the dead member is now in a ‘perfect’ place, but things aren’t the same after that, so they stopped. He is still in contact with his friends though, he even spares time for them when we visit Alpha.”

Perfect place... do they mean heaven?

“Is that why you’re in Alpha when we get kidnapped?”

“Not exactly. Riko came to Alpha to spy on the noble, and I followed him because I’m bored. I got interested in your party because of Nia, but we weren’t expecting things to turn out the way they did.”

“Then why are you so surprised when you see him in the mansion?”

“I genuinely forgot he was there for the noble. As a bounty hunter, you need to be on your guard at all times. Since I forgot, I wasn’t expecting him to show up there, and immediately assumed he was a traitor.”

“You’re terrible.”

Nia silently said. She was silent this whole time, so for her to be the one saying that must hurt. Amel is now covering her face with a pillow.

“Stop it! Riko already scolded me, so you don’t need to scold me too!”

"Sigh...”

I can’t help but let out a smile.

This is my party, huh? Well, it’s not too bad.

“Anyway it’s getting late, I’m going to sign off.”

I said as I left the sofa.

“Good night.”

The girls replied to me. It feels great to have three girls say that.

The night passed without any major occurrence.

Assuming we didn’t count Emma who somehow slipped on the carpet when trying to stand up, face planting herself onto the table.

Luckily the table is fine, though.

I genuinely doubt Emma’s good luck.

“What are we going to do today?”

I asked as we were having breakfast.

“I’m going out to collect more intel, but I’m not sure it’s the type of mission you three should join.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“I guess? We’re penetrating his second mansion at Omega, so I’ll be out for a while.”

“Omega?”

“The capital.”

Alpha and Omega, huh.

“Should we go out and train?”

Nia asked as she looked at me. She probably meant raising my level in order to control my magic.

“If you want to train, there’s a field south of town which is filled with high-level monsters. Be warned, though, most of these monsters live underground, which means they could appear out of nowhere.”

“On second thought, I’m not interested.”

The girls gave me a confused ‘why?’ look.

“I’m not interested in facing enemies I couldn’t even see. There are firearms here, I’ll just use them instead.”

“You are aware of the fact that firearms are extremely expensive, right? Just because you got one for free, doesn’t necessarily mean you should keep on using it. Besides, That would also mean your high stats are going to waste. How about you learn to use a physical weapon instead? Maybe like a sword?”

“The reason I choose to become a mage is because I don’t want to get close to the monsters. Using a sword defeats that point.”

“So you’re a scaredy-cat?”

“Yes.”

I would rather say it now instead of it getting used against me in the future.

To be honest, I’m not in a mood to go grind anyway. I would like to rest, especially after what happened the last couple of days.

Things are going far too fast for me to keep up.

“Guess we’re staying home for today...”

Emma said as she slump onto her chair.

“You don’t have to go with me though.”

“It’s dangerous if it’s just the two of us. You know my weakness, and Nia can’t deal as much damage as she used to.”

To be fair, I can’t control my magic, so it’s not like I would be much of help.

I wonder if there are some kind of level-up potions here? It would be nice if there is since life would be much easier.

“I don’t really mind staying home for today.”

Nia said as she finished her meal, it’s great to know we all share the same mind.

Soon after that, Riko came to pick Amel up and they headed out.

Thanks to what happened last night, Amel looked a bit awkward when he saw Riko, but after a weird pause, she followed him out anyway. We then find ourselves lazing around the penthouse.

Emma, who was becoming really bored, eventually headed out to the local library alone. It’s just me and Nia now.

Nia, who was laying on the sofa across from me, was reading a book. I can’t catch the title, as the book is facing down, but from its shape, it looked like another light novel.

The girls really love to read.

“I’m starting to get bored.”

I muttered to myself. We’ve been hanging around the inn for half a day now. This world didn’t have games yet, so I had nothing to do. When I said I’m staying home, my plan was to just sleep through the day.

But for whatever reason, I just can’t get to sleep.

As if some kind of event is about to happen.

“You regretted not following Emma out?”

“To be fair, Emma’s heading to a library, I’m not particularly fond of reading.”

I’ve seen the light novels from this world, and most of them are more like normal thick novels compared to light novels.

I should still pick up several, though, it’s probably better than doing nothing.

“Actually, since I haven’t gotten the chance to tour the town yet, do you mind guiding me?”

“Wouldn’t Emma be jealous of that?”

“Why should she?”

“She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s far too early for that.”

“Really? I thought you two had always been together.”

“Nah, I just met her a couple of days ago, not long before we met you.”

“Say... is the rumor about the Amnesia Clansmen true?”

How did it jump from me having a girlfriend to the rumor about Amnesia Clansmen? Does being an Amnesia Clansmen raise your chances with the ladies?

... Actually, maybe it does.

I have these three now.

Well, Amel is technically Riko’s, but still.

Anyway, back to Nia’s question.

“Which one?”

I decided to just play dumb for now.

“About how you’re from another world, I’m a bad person in my previous life, and Emma’s an angel?”

How did she know that much? I thought she only knew about the Amnesia Clansmen coming from another world.

Just how much did she hear last night? But I’m pretty sure we didn’t mention sinners last night, or did I miss something?

Keen on dodging the question, I stood up.

“On second thought, let’s go find a quest. I’m really bored.”

“That’s a terrible way to dodge a question, but if you don’t want to talk about it then I’m fine. You don’t need to force yourself.”

Nia said as she stood up. She went to her room and picked up her equipment.

I went and picked up my LIAR and we left the inn.

Sometimes, humans confuse me. I understand that they didn’t want to answer a question sometimes.

Especially since I’m a cademon, one of the enemies of humanity. I’m not surprised if William, or any other human for that matter, didn’t trust me.

Besides, it’s just a question out of curiosity, it’s not something he needs to answer.

I would be fine if William just gave me a no, yet he looked very awkward after that.

He kept forcing out awkward small talk as we walked down the streets of Misana.

Is this a part of their custom?

Humans are quite peculiar.

“You looked a bit weird carrying two guns like that.”

We were walking down the streets of Misana, but surprisingly no one batted an eye despite me carrying two guns on my back. I guess people in the home of bounty hunters were probably used to seeing others carry massive guns.

“I guess.”

I’m carrying Emma’s sniper with me. Both Emma’s sniper and my LIAR were holstered there. The sniper was pretty heavy, but thanks to my strength, it wasn’t much of an issue. LIAR, as the name suggests, is pretty light.

We entered the guild. The adventurers guild here is smaller compared to the one back in Alpha. It’s also a lot quieter.

“I wonder what should we choose...”

There weren’t many quests on the board.

“We’re not picking up Emma first?”

“Emma’s probably still engrossed in some book, so we should let her finish it.”

“I just hope she isn’t going through the good parts.”

I would also get annoyed when I’m disturbed in a good spot, you’ll just lose the feel of whatever you’re reading.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my right shoulder.

“You really do have a talent for appearing out of thin air.”

“I came back from the toilet.”

“I thought you were going to the library?”

“I just came back from there. I thought you’ll be bored eventually, and I took my chances.”

She’s wasting her high luck on stupid stuff like this.

“How about this one? The receptionist recommends it.”

Emma pulled a paper from the board.

“Giant Snake subjugation quest?”

The pay is good and based on the description, the animal had low resistance to both magic and physical attacks, but two things disturb me. One of them, is of course, the word ‘giant’ in front of the name. If the past experiences ever taught me about anything, it would be to never trust beings with an extra word in front of their name.

The second is,

“Why was it posted two days ago?”

The quest dates from two days ago, which is really concerning. If such a great quest exists, why didn’t someone finish it before us? This isn’t a world where the NPCs only walk left and right without doing anything.

There must be a catch. I took the request and walked toward the receptionist.

“We would like to know more about this quest, please.”

Seeing us interested, the guild receptionist’s face lit up with a smile.

“Yes, please accept that quest. It had been... hey, where are you going!”

The receptionist grabbed my shoulders as I turned back.

“There’s something to this monster, isn’t there?”

“Um... Well...”

She started stuttering. There’s definitely something bad.

“So, you see, the snake had been appearing on the trading route for a while now, causing the roads to be closed. As a result, a lot of goods are forced to be shipped by air, causing a huge steep rise in prices.”

That probably explained why the reward is high.

But the fact that no one took it for two days means it’s probably a bad deal.

“So... what are the drawbacks?”

“While it has low defense and low resistance to both physical and magic attacks, it’s extremely fast. It’s really hard to hit from afar, and it’s very dangerous if you get close.”

“Does it go below ground?”

“Yes, occasionally.”

An enemy that is large, fast, and goes underground.

For normal adventurers, it does seem dangerous. But since LIAR is an assault rifle, I should still be able to fire at it and at least hit it a couple of times.

The receptionist gave me a pleading eye.

“Fine, I’ll take it.”

“Thank you very much!”