Gun Girl from Another World

Roast

The negotiations continued shockingly smoothly. The Huohi were, indeed, very willing to consider the idea of a mine, especially in the absence of the mayor's all-or-nothing demands. As for the benefits, they'd get first dibs on jobs from the enterprise.

That mostly meant mining, but since the mayor had said they didn't know how to refine the ore, I suggested it should include apprenticeships to work with it, too. Eventually, the Huohi would have their own skilled blacksmiths and smelters, able to work with all of the materials the best Giri smiths could.

The agreement also included a discount on any ore out of the mine that the Huohi wanted to buy. This had, at first, rustled Ronolo's feathers. The ore is coming from Huohi lands, and we'd still be charging them for it? But the reasoning behind this was simple.

If we allowed first dibs on all ore out of the mine like we were with the stone, there was nothing keeping the Oni from simply claiming all of the ore and selling it to the village at a markup. Ronolo insisted that he'd never do such a thing, and I believed him, but I threw the mayor under the bus, so to speak, to get it through.

Could he say, without the discount included in the agreement, the Lord Mayor that thought so little of the oni and the merchants behind him wouldn't do exactly that? Such men cannot find it in themselves to trust others not to do what they would do, and so the precaution was necessary for their agreement.

I found a moment while we broke for refreshments to go ahead and heed the alert, and by the time we sat back down again, I had several new general skills in the Diplomatic tree. Immediately, I'd seen areas in the growing agreement that needed more polish, and we ironed out a final draft before evening.

Ultimately, the agreement had to be signed by the Regent before becoming official, but by the time we wrapped up, we had an agreement that everyone but the Mayor was happy with, and he was just being a stick in the mud.

"Come on, Lord Oshu," I elbow him as Ronolo and the other elders put their seals on three copies of the agreement. One is for their records, one is for the mayor's, and the third is the official one that goes to Lady Noya. "You should be happy! You're getting your mine!"

"Yes," he agrees petulantly. "One mine. Wealth to rival the Throne in these hills, and we get one lousy mine! You are by far the worst diplomat I've ever seen!"

"That mine is going in the only place ore has been confirmed," I point out. "As far as you know, that's the only place so rich. And even if it isn't, you can have more than one mineshaft in a single mine." I tap the document. "Provided you conform to the safety standards, of course."

"Blast your safety standards," Lord Oshu rants back. "Nobody so over-engineers holes in the ground!"

"Which is why mining is such a dangerous profession. These standards will ensure the miners' safety and secure the mine against instability."

"A waste of time, I tell you! There's no way my cousin will sign off on this … this boondoggle!"

I can't help but wonder what he actually said instead of boondoggle, but set it aside for now. "That will be a discussion between me and her, one I look forward to having."

I am under no illusion that this had been a normal diplomatic situation. It's entirely possible that it wouldn't have been considered worth a real diplomat's time. After all, if Xuhi wanted someone official, he could have ridden hard and not arrived all that far behind the missive, itself.

The hold-up hadn't been the matter at hand, but the incompetence of the one in charge of negotiations. I am no master diplomat. Rather, I was dealing with good-hearted people who wanted an agreeable outcome. Anyone halfway reasonable could have done the same, without stretching it out into a political fiasco.

Speaking of which, I also need to convince Lady Regent Noya to reverse Lord Mayor Oshu's ridiculous embargo on the Huohi. Such strong-arm tactics in such a tame situation only befit a bully and a tyrant.

Ronolo interrupts us both by coming up behind us and slapping a massive hand on each of our shoulders. The grip absolutely engulfs my shoulder and part of my arm.

"Enough," he declares. "The deal is done! Now is the time for celebration of a new step for the Huohi, with their siblings of Giri!"

He turns his attention on me, in particular. "Hero! It will be some time before the roasts are ready! I know the laws of the empire differ, but for the Oni, if you are old enough to fight, then you are old enough to drink!" He moves the other hand from the mayor to my other shoulder to spin me around to face him. "So come! Drink and tell us of the adventures that make you a Hero! Maybe show us some of the talents of one, as well!"

* * *

*Ayre*

Remmi is amazing.

Yeah, that statement goes without saying. She's a divinely selected Hero of the Realm. Of course she's amazing. She almost couldn't be anything else. But it's one thing to say that, and another to see it in action.

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I've seen her fight, and even when I might exceed her in raw numbers (before she catches up again in an instant), I don't think I could ever actually take her one-on-one. Even without the radical power of her Gun, she's on another level from anyone normal in a way that I don't think she's ever really noticed.

Even if she'd started with nothing, even if you stripped her ridiculous status away, even if she started with tens in everything, chopping trees to build up strength little by little, with no way to purchase boons for herself, Remmi never would have stayed that low for long. I don't know how I can be so certain of something like that, but I am. It's just the sort of person she is.

Maybe all Heroes are like that. Maybe that's why they're selected as Heroes in the first place. But I have a feeling that they're all selected for their own reasons, too, and even among Heroes, there's no one quite like Remmi. And not just because she's from an entirely different world, either.

Oh, sure, she claims she's perfectly normal there, but people are people, no matter where you go, and exceptional people are going to be exceptional regardless. Even if they don't start in the right circumstances to show it.

But today was something even more incredible. Not the escape from the estate, not the discovery of being used by the mayor, not the resulting investigation …

… Wow, we've had a busy day …

No, all of that was … fairly normal for us, as ridiculous as that thought strikes me as soon as I have it. But to see her go from all of that and step right into the role of a Diplomat like it was her class all along was something else.

I'm used to her being smart. I'm used to her knowing all sorts of things that engineering specialists should know, not combat classes. I'm used to having my mind blown every other day by her ridiculous stories and ideas. But then to just swoop in and sweep aside the mayor and hammer out an entire agreement in a single day, it's just unbelievable.

And now, we're celebrating with Oni. There's bonfires going and fatty boar roasts flavored with nothing but rock salt and wood smoke keep the bellies full. I've been nursing a wooden flagon of the heavy oni liquor, too, but every time I start making progress on it, some laughing man or woman swoops by to top it off again.

The world's getting soft around the edges, and I don't think the heat in my belly is all from meat anymore. Actually, I could probably do with some more of it. Elves don't eat as much meat as humans, and definitely not as the near-obligate Oni, but something in the back of my mind is reminding me that the grease is good for counteracting some of the alcohol.

I make my way toward the biggest fire pit, swerving around some figures dancing to the sounds of drums and pipes and begging off joining in when a woman I don't even see the face of tries to pull me toward it. Mostly, I don't see her face because I am eye-level with her cleavage and am trying to find anywhere else to look a moment later.

I think that amuses her more than anything, because rather than take offense, she assures me mine will come in due time, even if I am a tiny elf, and she spins away back to the music again. Maybe she is even drunker than I am.

Dancing sounds like fun, but I'm worried I'd just make a fool of myself, so I continue with my original plan of getting some more roast. As I close in on the fire I had set my sights on, I find Remmi already there, animatedly talking with the oni chieftain.

I vaguely recall that's where I left her some time earlier, intending to mosey around and see the rest of the party. I squint my eyes as I try to recall how long I've been gone, but decide it couldn't have been too long. I do remember it being lighter, unlike now where the only light is from the fires, but dusk fades fast, so that doesn't mean much.

Remmi's been drinking, too, I'm sure. There's a sparkle in her eyes that isn't just firelight, and she's talking with her hands even more than she normally does, only to pause occasionally to take another pull from her cup. There's a pork leg in her other hand, and she alternates between the drink and the meat, but manages to keep talking as quickly as she can swallow it down again.

Chief Ronolo is displaying similar manners, but looks significantly less intoxicated, even if his bites and gulps are much bigger.

I make my way back over and greet them with a wave of my hand not holding the flagon. "Hey! You aren't still on the story about the abomination, are you?"

"What?" Remmi turns to look at me and laughs at something. "No! That was forever ago, Ayre! I'm regaling him with Kyuuga's antics right now!"

Ronolo throws his head back and laughs. "Imagine, training with a rodent! But this rabbit sounds like a true warrior!"

"Kyuuga is something, alright," I agree with a nod that feels a bit too heavy. "But he always liked me more than Remmi."

"So did the pirates," the yellow-haired Hero belts out.

"Pirates?!" Ronolo turns back to her with a look of disbelief.

"Yeah! I haven't told you about that adventure yet, have I? Ayre walked right up to a group of pirates, introduced himself, and they hauled him off like treasure!"

I feel my face go red at that, but I can't disagree, that was roughly how it happened, much to my embarrassment. "I thought they were adventurers! How was I supposed to know they were dungeon monsters?"

"Dungeon monsters?" Ronolo repeats. "I thought you said they were pirates!"

"They were both!" Remmi chirps with that wide grin that says she's proud of the confusion she's caused. "The dungeon caught a whooooole pirate ship and kept the crew alive by turning them into dungeon monsters! They all talked with cliche pirate noises and wanted to dress Ayre up in sailor cosplay!"

"They were trying to turn me into a pirate to make me part of the crew," I correct her. I feel my cheek bulge and my lip jut out in a pout, but I can't bring enough willpower to stop it. Or stop my ears from drooping. "If they'd succeeded, I'd be doomed for eternity right along with them!"

"In a cute outfit!" Remmi counters like it's a valid counterargument. "Still, it's a good thing I was able to infiltrate the crew and get to you!"

"By mugging some poor girl and stealing all of her clothes," I argue back. "I can't blame her for being infuriated at you!"

Remmi hides her grin behind her mug. "Well, she got pudding out of the deal, so it all worked out."

"Pudding?"

She turns back to Ronolo and gives a big, animated nod and grin. "Yeah! We cooked for the entire crew! Now, we're practically honorary members, and without the whole cursed to wander the caverns for all eternity schtick!"

Gosh, our adventures really haven't been normal, have they?