[center][h3][b]Sayu Takayomi[/b][/h3][/center]


Sayu gave a questioning glance towards Cecilia at her insistence on splitting the proceeds between them and the adventurer girl. She wouldn't want to put off the adventurer from helping them. After all, they knew nothing about this world and having a local guide them would be a blessing beyond belief.


Thankfully, it seemed the adventurer girl wasn't offended at all by their change of mind, though she definitely noticed the sudden disappearance of her smile.


[quote]

"Ah, well... You did kill them, so I suppose the mana gems are yours. Bu, wait... You said you guys were penniless? Do you mean that like, you don't have any money?" A slightly concerned look spread on Laynea's face and she looked at each of the girls. "Because, you know you'll have to pay the gate-toll before entering the city, right? I'm not sure how it works where you girls are from, but here you either need to be an adventurer, a registered citizen, a merchant or from nobility if you want to get into any big towns without paying." She paused, shuffled a bit of dirt with one foot before adding. "And you can't exchange the mana gems for money unless you actually get into the city and visit the trade post..."[/quote]


"Uh…" Sayu awkwardly glanced at the others before answering. "Yes. We don't have any money. We have lost them all due to… uh… bandits.. Yes… bandits taking all our belongings… Luckily, they didn't know that these clothes were enchanted with magic so they let us go wearing them."


"Well… I suppose… we would have to rely on your kindness, Miss Laynea." She forced an awkward smile.


[i]Why in the world do you need to pay to enter a city?! We're lucky we meet with her here or else we'll never be able to enter one without sneaking in![/i]


[i]Then again, with our superstrength, perhaps scaling the walls wouldn't be such an impossible feat…[/i]


[i]But then again, do we really want to be criminals from the get go in this world?[/i]


Sayu wasn't afraid of breaking stupid rules like that. But being a criminal would be a really bothersome thing. They would be chased by guards and she would not want to hurt another human.


[quote]"Anyway, I'll at least help you harvest the materials from these guys before anything else, okay?" Laynea then said, with a smile as casual as if she was talking about picking apples.[/quote]


"Thank you," Sayu nodded. She glanced at the others once more, telling them 'Guys, you better watch what she's doing!' only with her expression.


Of course, she herself watched as closely as she could at how the girl skinned the remains of the dead monster. Or rather, the process of simply gouging out their head for the gem that was embedded in them. It was gory, for sure, almost like a butcher carcassing his meat.


And yet, to her own surprise, she wasn't really that bothered with it.


[quote]"Anyway, sorry. But you can't really split these with me. I took a quest to hunt a specific number of the little rascals, after all. But if you want to head back to Krosana with me regardless, just head on out of the forest that-a-way!" She pointed in a direction. "I'll swing by and pick you up once I'm done hunting the last little vermin I need to fill my quota, alright? Bye for now, ladies~!"


And with that, before any of the other girls had a chance to protest, make a request or even reply, Laynea was off. Running at remarkable speed, seemingly heading deeper into the forest.

[/quote]


"W-wait!"


She was too late. The girl had already vanished behind the thick trees.


Sayu sighed, looking at the others. "I suppose we should take her advice…"