Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 145. Three Companion And PTSD

“Utis, please make sure to go to the vigilante corps and hand over the split sticks for Horn, Rappa, and Baritone. Thank you.”

We stopped the camper just on the outskirts of town and saw Utis off. At this distance, she should be able to return on her own without any issues.

It looked like Yaralai’s daughter, Lalaila, had entrusted something to Utis. She kept bowing her head repeatedly.

“Yes. I’ll deliver them without fail. Don’t worry.”

“Um… I’ll explain when I get back, but please tell them that all three were truly honorable.”

“Understood. I promise.”

Utis held the split sticks to her chest, her face showing determination.

“Well then, I better get going. You guys be careful not to get attacked by goblins.”

“I’ll be cautious.”

Utis bowed to us and then jogged toward the town. For now, it seemed there was nothing to worry about.

“Alright, shall we head out?”

“Yeah,” Hagg and Yaralai answered in unison.

I stepped on the gas, heading toward the massive nest.

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By the way, breakfast only cost 300 yen since I just added water and bread to last night’s leftover ingredients. Plus, we spent 2,851 yen for 20 liters of gasoline.

Remaining balance: 9,665 yen.

We were deep in the red zone. I stared at the clear, dawn sky, wondering why I was doing all this for others.

“What’s up? Did you spot something funny?”

Lalaila in the passenger seat spoke up. She had a habit of alternating between a slightly pompous tone and a boyish way of speaking, which was amusing. I glanced at her profile.

The way the sunrise illuminated her features—was she an angel or a devil tempting me?

“Hm?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

At least we’d managed to help two people. That was more than enough. Besides, I could always figure out a way to make more money later.

I pressed down on the accelerator again, trying to shake off the thought.

We stopped the car as the abandoned open-pit mine came into view on the horizon. From here on, we’d go on foot.

“Alright… Lalaila, we’re going to do something interesting now. Don’t ask for details yet. I’ll explain when it’s over.”

“Uh… okay?”

She nodded, though she seemed unsure.

“Everyone got what they need?”

“No problem.”

“As long as I’ve got my hammer, I’m set.”

“Kukuku, as long as I’ve got my phone, I’m all good.”

“Don’t copy me.”

“Kukuku…”

Worrying about these guys was a waste of time.

“I’m good too!”

“Got it.”

Time to surprise them.

I placed my hand on the camper and stowed it in the container using my ability. From the outside, it must have looked like the car just vanished.

“Huh?!”

“Kukuku…”

“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s focus on the task at hand.”

“Huh… oh, okay… what?”

Lalaila looked back and forth between the now-empty space and me, with a dumbfounded expression. If anyone ever looked like a pigeon hit with a peashooter, this was it.

“Hagg, give the orders.”

“Alright. The elf will go first, then Akira, Lalaila, and me.”

“What about Faf?”

“Hmph. She can take care of herself. Don’t get caught, okay?”

“Kukuku… Just worry about yourselves.”

“…Hmph.”

No point in arguing with Faf, who was too busy recording video. Honestly, she looked like she could be thrown into that nest alone and come out fine… no, she’d probably wipe out the whole place with ease.

Hagg and I sighed at the same time. We were likely thinking the same thing.

“Alright, let’s shift focus. Yaralai, we’re counting on you.”

“Understood.”

Yaralai, in his Native American-like outfit, lowered his stance and started moving forward.

…Huh?

Now that I thought about it, Lalaila’s clothes were pretty normal. She had a large feather decoration on her flat chest, but wasn’t it strange that she wasn’t wearing traditional elven attire? Maybe the outfits were just really different between men and women…

Something about Yaralai seemed out of the ordinary…

Losing a bit of tension, we continued to approach the nest.

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“Their numbers have decreased.”

“But their alertness has increased.”

“Can they even coordinate?”

“Hmm, at best, they’ll just bark if they spot something suspicious.”

“Do they have culture or not…?”

Peeking over the edge of the open-pit mine, we watched the nest. Faf was still recording everything.

Lalaila’s expression looked a bit pale.

“Why didn’t we leave Lalaila in town?”

“If she accepted a request for extermination, she should participate.”

“I get the logic, but still…”

Yaralai whispered in a low voice.

“If she doesn’t fight, fear will fester in her heart. That’s very dangerous.”

“Are you talking about PTSD?”

“PT… what?”

“It’s one of those mental health things. But don’t worry about the name. You think this rough method will be okay?”

“Even if it fails, she’ll either freeze in place or get worse.”

“Yeah, getting worse is the problem.”

“What’s left in her heart is the real issue.”

“…I see.”

You can’t keep treating someone forever with drugs and therapy… Although, you’d think elves would have something stronger than SSRIs for serotonin reuptake inhibition.

I see… they’re probably thinking that if the rough treatment doesn’t work, they have the luxury of time to recover. Elves do live a long time, after all.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Hmm… we’re out of bullets, right?”

“Yeah, we used them all up in yesterday’s fight.”

Naturally, we’d run out of bullets during the extermination. The rifle was still stowed in the camper.

“Even so, taking out a few from here won’t make much of a difference, right?”

“No, look there.”

I squinted at the direction Hagg pointed to, focusing my energy. The mine was already full of small holes, but there was one particularly large one.

“Wait… is that… wooden beams?”

“For some reason, there’s a tunnel starting from there.”

“If they were going to do open-pit mining, why didn’t they just dig it all out?”

“Maybe the ground was too hard.”

“Would that be a problem?”

“They might have decided to keep it small until they got through the bedrock. But it’s old history now, could just be a whim.”

“Yeah, fair enough.”

Whatever the reason for the tunnel, it didn’t really matter. What was more concerning was the constant flow of green pests—goblins—coming in and out.

“Is there something inside?”

“Most likely, it’s a vessel.”

I didn’t just imagine it—Hagg’s voice was laced with anger. I could hear him grinding his teeth.

“Lalaila, are you confident in your magical support?”

“Y-yeah. After drinking that energy drink and getting some sleep, I feel way better… uh, yes.”

“Hmph. Humble for an elf, but you don’t need to use polite language with me. Speak normally.”

“O-okay. Thanks.”

“Hmm… Not what I’d expect from that stuck-up elf’s daughter.”

“Watch it.”

“Hey, you two…”

They glared at each other for a moment, then looked away. Like kids!

I sighed, pressing my hand to my forehead.

“After yesterday, their numbers are down quite a bit. The best move is to rush in, save the vessel, and then get out as fast as we can.”

“So, we’re charging in?”

“There’s no other choice. With this group, at worst, we can always retreat.”

“I’ll rescue the vessel.”

“Elf, I understand how you feel, but don’t get too carried away. This time, you follow my orders.”

“…I understand.”

I held back the urge to call out their bickering and instead tightened my grip on my military-style gloves.

“Alright then, time for the hero squad to make their debut.”

Everyone stood up from the edge of the nest, making sure to show themselves.

Too bad there weren’t five colored smoke trails behind us.