Unemployed (GXG) (GIRLXGIRL) (GL)

35

“Are you done talking, Old Man?” Merle asked. “Or are you going to fight me again?”

“No… not at all, I was originally hired to be the King’s sword. I no longer have a master, so there’s no reason for us to fight.

“I see,” Merle said. “But you’re strong, Old Man, and I think I’ve got an opening.”

“I’m not sure if I want to take it,” Page said. “I’m completely jobless because of you; I’ll be in serious trouble if I can’t earn any money.”

“And why do you need money so badly?” Merle asked.

As a shadow came over Page’s face, Ramiel replied in his stead: “Our town has been abandoned.”

“Hey, Ramiel,” Page said before Ramiel put a hand to his chest and silenced him.

“So that’s why,” Merle said. “I feel it’s going to be a long story, so let’s go somewhere we can sit down.”

Merle escorted them from the line, led them away from the throne to a parlor. Both Ramiel and Page were stunned by the lavish decorations; countless masterpieces of painting and ornaments hung on the walls and even the walls and the floors that formed the foundation were made of first-class materials.

“I’ve got a lot of possessions I don’t need,” Merle said, disinterested. “I’m thinking of selling all these later to aid other troubled towns. Now, sit down, let’s talk.”

What King would think about selling off all these riches for the sake of other towns? Neither Page nor Ramiel could say anything at the Demon King’s strange words.

They sit down as ordered, Lucille offers them tea despite the unexpected visit and the hostilities.

“The town where Page and I hail from is ravaged by disease,” Ramiel explained. “Due to fear of infection, other settlements refuse to trade with us. We’re completely isolated. At first, the medicines and daily necessities dwindled until the people started leaving as well.”

“So that’s why you said it was abandoned?”

“Precisely,” Ramiel said. “Now that our dwindling medicine supplies have completely run out, the weakened citizens are just waiting for death to claim them. Page and I were unaffected by the disease so we headed to the city to look for work then send back medicine and other necessities.”

“Do you have any doctors?”

“We had just the one, but as a result of their efforts to save the other townspeople, they also caught the illness and died.”

“It’s difficult not having a doctor,” Merle said. “There is only death awaiting them.”

“I desperately want to hire a new doctor but few would come to a town plagued by sickness. And given the expenses of buying medicine and supplies, it’s difficult to afford their fees.”

“If I may interrupt, Ramiel, it’s here that we heard about you, Demon King,” Page said. “The King feared that with your return, you’d try to conquer us, the humans, so he paid us handsomely for our services. We would have had the money to hire a new doctor if I defeated you.”

“But, you lost to me and then lost your job, which is where things went wrong.”

“Completely and utterly,” Page said. “Our dreams were shattered and we became aimless wanderers.”

“Is it so expensive to hire a doctor?”

“If we become traveling mercenaries, it’ll take five years, but in five years, the town will surely have collapsed by then.”

“That sounds about right if there’s such a huge wait,” Merle said. “Right, Lucille, gather all the doctors in town.”

“Y-You, you’ll really…?” Page asked.

“Yes, really, we’re going to become very busy,” Merle replied.