GILF Hunter

’An opportunity to change the future?’

Mika and Lia muttered almost simultaneously.

The merchant gestured toward the stall in front of him. Something had appeared on the stall that was clearly empty just a moment ago.

The two of them first read the notes on the stall one by one.

- The moment of obtaining the greatest treasure

- The moment of realizing hidden talent

- The moment of facing a life crisis

Among the notes whose meaning they couldn’t grasp at all.

Mika’s gaze, which had been following them in turn, came to a sudden halt in the middle.

’The moment of losing what is most precious...?’

Mika herself couldn’t understand why her gaze was drawn to it.

As Mika’s eyes remained fixed on it for a long while, the merchant reached out and picked something up from the spot where that note lay.

She clearly thought there was nothing there, but the merchant picked something up from that place and handed it to Mika.

Mika took it reflexively without even knowing what it was.

A jewel... no, an unidentified shimmer.

At first, she thought it was a jewel, but it was an object without a clear form. It was an intangible sparkle, as if only the radiance of a jewel had been separately extracted and gathered.

Mika, looking down at it blankly, soon realized what it was.

A crystallization of causality.

Unlike the old days when she was a novice mage, Mika, who had gained some experience as a mage, could understand a little of what was contained within it.

’How... can something like this exist...?’

’Haha... In this world, ’impossible things’ cannot be impossible,’

The merchant replied to Mika’s murmur.

Lia, who had been watching the scene silently from behind, placed a hand on Mika’s shoulder.

’Mika. This is an [Exchange Post].’

’What? This is that thing the Leader told us about?’

There were a few things Ian had explained in advance to be careful of when encountered inside the Labyrinth.

One of them was precisely the place called the [Exchange Post].

Lia remembered that the characteristics of this place were similar to the place called the Exchange Post that Ian had mentioned.

’I don’t really like this place. Let’s just leave.’

’But, this... it feels real.’

Lia suggested just leaving, but Mika hesitated and couldn’t leave the front of the stall. In Mika’s hand, the [Prophecy of the Future] handed over by the merchant was still held.

The merchant gestured leisurely toward the contemplating Mika.

’If you are conflicted, you may view the contents.’

’...Until now, you didn’t let us see the contents when selling items. And if I look, don’t I have to pay the price?’

’No. Viewing is free.’

When Mika asked with a suspicious expression, the merchant shook his head.

’However, you cannot leave with the memory of the future without paying the price. If you do not purchase it, you will lose the memory of what you learned here.’

’...I won’t be able to remember what I saw here?’

’Correct.’

’So I can see it first and decide later whether to buy it or not.’

’Yes. You may decide on the purchase after viewing.’

A sense of anxiety welled up in Mika.

It wasn’t because of suspicion toward this shop or the goods it sold, but an anxiety that she shouldn’t just leave this behind.

She never thought her intuition was particularly good until now, but this time she had a gut feeling that she would surely regret it if she didn’t see this.

’Sorry, Lia. I have to see this.’

’...Alright. Do as you wish.’

Lia didn’t stop her to the end after seeing Mika’s serious face.

Mika carefully looked into the crystal held in her hand.

’....’

A slight dizziness washed over her.

Her body felt heavier and heavier, and her mind grew foggy, making her feel as if she were dreaming.

─!

A shouting voice was heard from somewhere far away.

As her hazy mind gradually woke up, that voice, which had been difficult to understand, also became clearer.

Mika realized it was the voice of someone she knew.

Rin’s voice.

The surroundings, which had been blurry as if shrouded in mist, also began to grow clear. Before long, Mika was able to find Rin shouting.

In the middle of it, Rin was sitting on the floor, embracing someone who had collapsed.

It was Ian, lying there as if asleep.

’Gasp...’

’Mika. Mika? Are you okay?’

It seemed she had been holding her breath without realizing it.

Mika, who barely regained her senses thanks to Lia shaking her shoulder, let out her breath belatedly.

’Mika? What did you see?’

’That is...’

Her hands were trembling. Mika tried to tell Lia what she had just seen, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it and closed her mouth.

Instead, Mika asked the merchant in a trembling voice.

’If I buy this... can I really change it? The future?’

’It can be changed. Although which method will lead to success depends on your own hands...’

The merchant nodded.

Mika, who had been contemplating for a long time while holding the [Prophecy of the Future] she had just seen, asked the merchant again.

’...How much is it?’

’I do not take money here. Instead, we trade.’

This was not a place that accepted gold coins.

True to its name as an [Exchange Post], the price could only be paid with something of equivalent value.

’I will take one of your greatest talents.’

Mika felt that it wasn’t a metaphor, but meant in the literal sense.

Fear and anxiety washed over her.

Not the fear of losing her own talent...

But whether she could find a way to stop this future with her own abilities after having it taken away... she couldn’t be certain of that.

’Hey, wait a second.’

’Who?!’

Someone else’s voice was heard from behind. A startled Lia and Mika hurriedly turned around.

’Ah... Miss Frey!’

’So you were here. I spent quite a while looking for you, going around from the top for no reason.’

Frey, who walked closer, seemed to have realized immediately what was happening after seeing the two of them.

’How can you just offer to pay like that without knowing what the price of the goods is?’

’But, this is...’

Mika’s hand holding the prophecy trembled slightly.

Frey checked the note to see what Mika was holding and clicked her tongue. Of all things, she saw the most troublesome one.

After thinking for a moment, Frey took something out of her pocket and held it out to the merchant.

’Here. You take this too, right? Use this for the payment instead.’

What Frey held out to the merchant was an unidentified crystal.

The merchant nodded silently and took the crystal from Frey.

’The price for the goods has been received. From now on, that future depends on the guest’s hands.’

There was no room to intervene. Mika realized belatedly that Frey had paid the price of the prophecy on her behalf.

’Tha-That... thank you. I’ll definitely pay you back somehow.’

’Forget it. I was also worried that a few chests wouldn’t be enough to pay the price properly, so let’s just say this settles it. Be sure to tell your Leader that you received something expensive.’

It was an item she had kept all along because she didn’t have a particular chance to use it. Frey waved her hand at Mika, who said she would repay her, thinking it was just as well.

In Frey’s opinion, that hot spring voucher was a much more valuable item.

Lia, who had been watching the scene silently from behind Mika, spoke to Frey.

’You didn’t really have to do that. I was going to drag her out by force.’

’What?’

’Since he said the memory would be erased if the price wasn’t paid, wouldn’t it just be over if we left?’

’What? Haha. You can’t stop it with that.’

Frey laughed after hearing Lia’s words. She was thinking too naively.

’Does that mean it was a lie?’

’No. It’s true that the memory is erased, but it only erases exactly what you saw. The emotions you felt when you saw it remain.’

It would depend on what kind of future was seen there, but the shock of seeing the future was not something that could be explained in words.

If one left the shop, they would be unable to remember what they had seen, but the emotions they felt when they saw it would remain exactly as they were.

In the end, that person would be obsessed with the thought that they missed something important, and would eventually seek out this Exchange Post again and wander within the Labyrinth.

If you don’t want to buy, you shouldn’t see anything from the start; seeing and then leaving was the worst choice.

Frey asked the two with a puzzled face.

Knowing Ian’s personality, she thought he would have educated the members in advance about important things. She felt a bit of doubt.

’By the way, didn’t you hear from your Leader not to use the [Devil’s Exchange Post]?’

’That’s...’

Mika answered carefully while watching Frey’s reaction.

’The Leader... told us to calmly weigh whether it’s a gain or not if we happen to encounter an [Exchange Post] alone, and then trade... He said there are many useful things if you buy well.’

’He’s a complete lunatic...’

Frey shook her head vigorously.

She had met quite a few mercenaries, but this was the first time she’d seen a guy who spoke about the [Exchange Post] in that way.

Lia had a question while listening to Frey’s story.

She seemed to know about the [Exchange Post] in extreme detail... And even paying the price with an unknown object. Could it be that Frey had actually used that place herself?

Thinking so, Lia asked Frey.

’Miss Frey, you seem to know that place well too, have you perhaps used an Exchange Post before?’

’Me? Of course I used it. Since they said they were selling a future of finding the greatest treasure of my life, I bought that and found this [Eye].’

’....’

Frey answered Lia’s question as if it were natural.

’What was it... they said I had a tremendous talent for holy magic, but I have no intention of becoming something like a cleric. Giving away something like that and buying this was a huge gain.’

’...I-Is that so.’

Frey was in no position to talk about others either.

’Come on. Let’s go up quickly. Everyone is waiting.’

When Mika stopped briefly in front of the stairs and looked back, the merchant and the Exchange Post had already vanished without a trace.