Elemental Cats

Toz pondered on how to dispose of Hugh and ensure that no matter what kind of specialist the Explorer's Guild calls in, neither he nor his cats will get caught. While Toz stood there, looking at Hugh glaring at him from the ground, Lucy climbed up on his shoulders and whispered in his ear.

There was no real need for Lucy to whisper, but he liked the feeling of plotting in front of the victim. Especially when Hugh looked at Lucy with wariness instead of the glance of frustration he had directed toward Toz before that. Aside from Toz's cold gaze, he didn't look that scary. But Hugh still remembered what had happened when he locked eyes with Lucy, and his entire vision was overtaken by darkness. The feeling of being small and insignificant in front of a greater being still hadn't left him.

And when Lucy looked at him again, after having whispered a few things in Toz's ear, Hugh averted his gaze. It was pretty obvious that the black cat was giving suggestions on what to do with Hugh since the young man looked like he had given up on helping him. And if they weren't going to help him, they would get rid of any evidence and future troubles. Before the duo could get any further with their conspiring, Hugh decided his life was more important than a possible treasure hunt.

"Wait."

"Wait? For what?" Although Toz responded sarcastically, his smile had returned.

"The orb, what do you want to know?"

"Well, what do you know about it? Begin with telling us that."

"Then it won't be much. I only know that it would be worth a lot. The orb appeared in that mountain range over there before disappearing into thin air. And that the mountains and surrounding wilderness were left chaotic for several days afterward. Based on everything that happened, it should be a very rare treasure."

"So you're desperately chasing a strange orb you don't even know where to find because it might be sold for a lot of money?"

"If you put it like that..."

"Fine. How did you find out about it, to begin with?"

"Rumours spread. And when the request came to exterminate rats in the same place that the orb disappeared, I decided to take the chance and try my luck."

Hugh's explanation sounded somewhat reasonable to Toz, but he didn't have a way to verify it, so he could only remain doubtful.

"Are you in such desperate need of money?"

"Maybe not THAT desperate, but I've hit a wall in my training, and it's one that can be solved with money, so..."

Although Toz hadn't personally ever hit a wall in his training, he hadn't gotten that far yet. But it was still pretty common for mages to not progress any further no matter what they did. Some only need to satisfy some weird condition for their inclination to allow them to grow stronger. Others need to work more on their mana control. Mages with several attributes like Toz usually refine their bodies several times with all their elements if they haven't already to break through the wall blocking their path forward.

Toz didn't know what Hugh would do with the money he could get by selling the orb. But if he is limited by his inclination, then he can buy something. A specific material maybe, to help his inclination let go of the reins and allow him to reach the next level.

Since there didn't seem to be any desperation for the orb itself, merely for the money, Toz doubted that Hugh would pursue the orb to the ends of the world if there was another much more convenient solution a few meters away. But it was still up to if Hugh was speaking the truth or not, so Toz continued with his questions.

"What would you do if I told you the orb is no more?"

"I wouldn't believe you," said Hugh almost immediately.

"That's unfortunate." Toz's smile slowly left his face.

"...but I would keep my mind open since I don't even know what the orb really is." Hugh's words put the smile back on Toz's face.

"That's good because the orb really is gone. But if you only want money, I might have another solution to your problem.

"You see that pit over there? Can you guess what's down there?"

"No..."

"It's the Scorched Earth Rat King."

"..."

"The same overgrown rat that was about to kill you when we intervened."

Since Hugh still doubted him, Toz pulled Hugh by the leg over to the pit so he could see for himself.

Hugh had still been doubtful of Toz's words, but the reality was difficult to ignore with the irrefutable proof in front of his face. He was still staring blankly at the barely breathing and badly tortured body of the Rat King when Toz continued.

"While it might be slightly more damaged now than when you last saw it, it's definitely the Rat King. Believe me now?"

"...yeah. With that thing in front of me, I have no choice but to believe."

"Great. It's gonna be a hassle dealing with the guild, and about every single other organization, after killing it. I don't want that. And you want some money. Money that you could easily get by selling the Rat King's body to the guild."

"Wait... So you want me to take credit for defeating it?"

"Yeah."

While Hugh's limits for reasonability had already been stretched when he figured out two third level mages and two second level ones had defeated the Rat King even he couldn't put a scratch on, what Toz wanted was about to break those limits.

Just defeating the Rat King would grant immense honor and prestige with the Explorers Guild at least, possibly some other places as well, depending on what happens with the body. A body that can be sold for a lot of money. With the versatility of money, who wouldn't want more of it?

Hugh finally turned his gaze away from the Rat King and looked at Toz.

"Why?"

"Didn't I already tell you it's going to be troublesome dealing with everything? Besides, it's not exactly like I need money."

"It sounds too good to be true, but I don't really have that much of a choice, do I?

"Not really."