[V8C29] A Con Man’s Handy “A, B, C”s
Translated by Jodas 8: The Witch of the BoundaryAfter leaving Frederik’s room behind, Tia thought as she waddled through the halls.
It was a safe bet that the Monsters had acquired a means of leaving the Crystal Territory. And it wasn’t something that just a small handful of Monsters had either; these were being passed out to many Monsters at once.
the Monsters couldn’t live long in areas of low mana density, so they had been trapped inside the Crystal Territory for many years.
Now that those shackles have been released, the Monsters would likely try to approach humans, the targets of their obsessions, as they pleased.
Some would eat, rape, torture, steal warmth, or slurp up emotions. Monsters who desired tests of strength like the Primordial Beast would likely gleefully swing their claws around.
—In time, a huge war between Monsters and humans would begin. Maybe, it had already begun.
When that time came, where should Tia choose to stand? … She thought real, real, real, real hard about it, but she still couldn’t come up with a good answer.
(Sis and the others were killed? They’re not there anymore?)
It made her sad. It made her so sad. The feelings of sadness welling up made her want to sing it all out, but she was still in the middle of a flock of humans.
The human who killed her fellow Harpies was right here. If she wanted to, she could have her revenge right now. She should just kill him and drop his body at the bottom of Breakneck Gorge.
…That would be such an obvious choice for any Harpy, yet here she was hesitating over it.
(Even if I joined the Monster side, I couldn’t stand by and watch Wren and Sevil get eaten by other Monsters. No way.)
That was the only thing that Tia knew for certain was true.
But she had no idea what to choose based on that truth.
(No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t get it. Then…)
Tia huffed “pefu,” then broke into a waddling run down the hall.
“Ahh…” As he stepped out from the meeting room, Hütter let out a long sigh and rolled out his tight shoulders. He also tried to massage his aching waist.
Even after the Monster attack settled down, there were countless issues to tackle: taking count of the damage, distributing emergency supplies, sending reports farther afield, reestablishing the network of communication, and so on. Hütter had been worked to the bone trying to organize all of it.
Now that the Master of the Lange Hamlet, Frederik, was heavily injured, their combat power was severely drained.
Meanwhile, Rikard, who had come running from the Oks family had tried his best in all sorts of ways, the major retainers of the Lange Family couldn’t help but make a sour face at the sight of him taking control.
Even though they really should get along as fellow Monster Hunters, this was a problem with their personalities. They complicated everything.
On top of that, they made sour faces when the folks from the Wedge Tower spoke as well.
At times like this, his identity as the Dream Mage Caspar Hütter was incredibly convenient.
While he was technically a mage of the Wedge Tower, he was only there on temporary appointment, as well as being a famous and powerful figure that can’t be easily dismissed. (Even though he was actually just a con man.)
Therefore, Hütter held the responsibility of mediating between the Wedge Tower mages, the Lange Family, and Rikard, the Oks Family’s representative; working to keep them all on track.
If the air started to get tense, “Aw, don’t be like that.”
(For example: “Aw, don’t be like that. Everyone should just take a step back and calm down. All of you have raised valid points.”)
If the discussion wasn’t going anywhere, “But that’s enough of that.”
(For example: “But that’s enough of that, why don’t you take a look at this? Let’s get this paper signed right away. Yep, thank you—!”)
If he needed to express a tasteful level of humility, “Come on now.”
(For example: “Come on now, I haven’t done anything that significant. This is all thanks to all of your combined efforts.”)
These were a con man’s handy ‘A, B, C’ rules of thumb that he would be using from today on. Maybe he should teach them to his students some time.
…As those thoughts ran through his mind, he saw one of those said students, Tia, running up towards him.
“Mr. Hütter, I wanna talk about something.”
(Hm… I feel like it would be best not to put this off for later.)
Even the adults were pushed to the brink by the Monster attack, he could hardly fathom what effect it must be having on the kids like her.
On top of that, Tia had actually encountered Monsters herself, so she demanded a certain amount of mental care.
A con man lived or died on the trust he earned from those around him. He’d never let a chance to build that trust slip away from him.
“Sure thing, should we talk while we walk?”
Hütter shortened his gait slightly, enough to match Tia’s walking pace.
As usual, Tia waddled as she walked, but her hips were moving more than when he first saw her, and she’d started to bend her knees a little as well.
“Um, you know, I…”
Tia hesitated to speak at that point. Hütter felt like it wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk, only that she was trying to straighten out her words, so he quietly waited for her to continue.
Once again, Tia opened her mouth.
“I really have to choose between two things, but I can’t decide. I’m just thinking ‘what do I do’ all the time…”
(Choose between two things? What’s that supposed to mean? Is she talking about romance?)
Hütter thought back on the interpersonal relations surrounding Tia. He had a feeling his first thought was off the mark.
Could she be talking about picking a job, then? For instance, maybe two Offices had given her invitations like ‘Why don’t you come join us?’ That sounded totally possible.
Tia was a rare commodity with her ability to make full use of the Magical Flying Device. At the same time, she had a talent for the incredibly rare choral magic.
“Mr. Hütter, you told me to get a habit of thinking about things for myself, so I thought about it a lot. I thought a whole lot. Mr. Hütter what do you do if you still can’t find an answer to ‘What do I do?’ after all that?”
Tia avoided explaining her situation in any detail. Maybe whoever was recruiting her had told her ‘Don’t tell anyone I’m telling you this…’ or something to keep her from blabbing about it.
“Hm…” Hütter hummed, thinking of a broken-down explanation that Tia could understand.
“Well, let’s see… Let’s say two companies are trying to pull you in, saying ‘Hey, why don’t you come work for us?’ and both of their offers sound appealing. It’d be hard to choose, right? Even after thinking a whole lot about it, you cant figure out which one to choose.”
“Uh-huh.”
“In times like this, before you think, you need to investigate.”
“Pevu…!”
Tia made a surprised face.
‘Just like I expected,’ Hütter thought. He’d figured this for a while, but Tia wasn’t very good at doing research and the like.
If there was something she didn’t understand, she would just ask someone nearby who she trusted, and that would be the end of it.
“First, do everything you can to investigate both options. If you ask people, ask as many people as you can. Then, once you’ve gathered enough information, think about it one more time.”
“Ga-ther… In-for-ma-tion…”
He could say this because he was a con man. In order to think, you needed information first.
You collect that information, organize it, and only then can you start thinking.
That said, there were some times when you couldn’t reach a conclusion no matter how much information you gathered and how much you thought.
“If you still can’t decide, then not choosing is always a choice. There’s some guys out there who blow off every recruiter and go off on a journey of their own.”
“Wow. People do that?”
“Yeah, totally. People who say ‘Choices aren’t something that’s given to you, they’re something you make for yourself!’ Or something like that.”
He decided not to mention that person was himself, back in the foolish days of his youth.
At that juncture, the choice that he made was so god-awful it set him on a track so embarrassing he wanted to die. Being an adult was tough.
“Piyopp! That’s really cool!”
Tia looked at him with eyes of admiration. Hütter spoke with the face of an adult who knows the bitterness of life.
“Well, either way, make sure you make your decision at the right timing. If you delay too long, then there’s a chance both sides are going to turn their back on you.”
“Peu… You too, Mr. Hütter…?”
“Hm?”
He glanced at Tia.
Her amber eyes held a faint loneliness.
“Mr. Hütter, will you turn your back on me, too…?”
Hütter blinked lightly. He couldn’t fathom what Tia was worried about.
But if the mark had concerns, then what a con man’s next moves were obvious.
Either feed that concern, or eliminate it. For now, the latter was the only real choice.
“I’m a teacher, you know? If I turned my back on you, I’d have to go looking for another job. I’m good at that. Really good.”
‘After all, I’m a con man’ He whispered in his mind as he smiled with a self-confident smirk.
Tia let out a relieved chirp of “Pefun.” Then, her sharp eyes softened, and she smiled childishly.
“Thank you, Mr. Hütter.”
“No problem. I’m your teacher, after all.”
(Before thinking and thinking and coming up with a conclusion, ga-ther in-for-ma-tion.)
Tia ran those words through her head.
Were any of her fellows still alive? There had to be some. It had been about two years after the Harpy extermination. But just recently, a Harpy-looking Monster was spotted in the Darwock Royal Palace.
There were other things that bothered her as well. How exactly were the Monsters leaving the Crystal Territory? Who made it for them?
(I thought I had to make a decision right away and do something. I’m glad I talked to Mr. Hütter…)
There had to be some things she could still do before the killing began.