I was good at negotiating when I pyed Everst Dynasty, so I wasn't worried about how I would handle things. A party like this looking for a tactician usually meant one thing, I thought. They were broke! Or rather, that was an extremely blunt way of putting it. It usually meant that they weren't clearing enough missions. I'd be willing to bet that they also lost a party member recently, but I won't bring that up for obvious reasons.

  So, what did it all mean? He he he he he, I ughed internally as all eyes were on me. "I'm not going to be asking for money, not yet, at least..." I began. To excel at negotiating, you had to satisfy the needs of both parties.

  "R-really?" Kimmel asked in disbelief. He seemed to be the leader of the party, so seeing that startled but somewhat relieved expression on his face confirmed my theory. They were broke! I thought again but chose not to dwell on it.

  "Yes, but I will be asking for something else in exchange..." I looked everyone in the eye as I delivered my outrageous demand, "I want a minimum of fifteen kills per hunting mission."

  At this, Batti smmed his fist on the table and countered with, "That's crazy!" It was, but I continued the act.

  "What's so unreasonable about it? I'm not asking for money, so the next best thing is EXP."

  "If you kill that many, we won't have anything left over!" I was starting to like the guy. He had a good head on his shoulders, contrary to what his appearance suggested.

  "That's not true," I said, "Some areas are crawling with monsters, so that renders your point moot."

  "Y-you!" He was about to throw hands when Sarde grabbed his arm and shook his head. I'd imagine he'd say something like, It's wrong to hit a girl, but Batti lowered his fists after that, so I didn't get to hear it. How disappointing.

  Kimmel said, "I'm sorry, but fifteen kills is too much. We're a party of seven, and we need all the EXP we can get." He fshed a pained expression for a split second that I didn't miss. I was right about that, too! They did lose a party member! I thought as I moved on to the next pn of action.

  "Ok, then. How about ten?"

  "I-it's still too much," Kimmel replied, but I wasn't going to walk away here, so I went for a final push.

  "What if I told you that you could get your hands on your own hunting grounds? Would you change your mind then?"

  "Impossible! She's clearly lying!" Batti shouted, but I ignored him.

  "C-could you really do that for us?"

  "Yes," I answered confidently, but I was panicking on the inside. I mean, it could be done if those eggs are still there, and even then, it'd be a gamble, but I need all the EXP I can get. There was simply no other way to stand a chance at surviving Adaptive Mode.

  "How are you going to do it?" He asked dubiously.

  "It's a secret," I answered in a cutesy tone of voice. I also added a pyful wink for good measure, but he didn't react negatively or explode in rage as Batti the Beast over there, confirming once again that he was a calm and collected individual.

  "Please, I want to know how you pn on achieving that."

  "And I want to prove that I can be trusted, so I won't be telling you," I answered with a smile. I wasn't lying about that. If they couldn't pce their trust in me as their tactician, then this wasn't worth my time. I would simply get up and return to the inn. I could even make a routine out of killing those Floating Eyes in the forest, I thought to myself as I mentally went over the few options I had.

  Sensing this, he asked, "Then, are you going to need anything?" Wonderful! Simply wonderful!

  "Not something but someone," I answered as I eyed Phildina with a somewhat evil-looking grin on my face.

  "Phildina?" Kimmel asked.

  "Yes, I will need her and her Pegasus to make this pn work."

  "Then, we will support you all the way." Good. That way, we can all be happy... I thought to myself as I delivered the final piece of information,

  "Phildina, we will be departing first thing tomorrow morning to the cave in the forest."

  "Should I come here?" She asked.

  "Yes," I answered, "come prepared."

  "Ok," she agreed nonchantly. The negotiations were over, and I had an enormous task on my hands.