Lancer's understanding of this world was limited to a small part of Liberl and the bracers. As for Crossbell, a city sandwiched between the Empire and the Republic, he had no understanding at all, but even after only staying for a day, he could feel the chaos of the city. The tasks in front of him also showed some problems. For example, the tasks in the 'Old Town' were numerous and fragmented, while the problems in the New Town were fewer but more troublesome...
Alex saw Lancer pinching his chin and carefully looking at them, so he simply gave Lancer a brief explanation.
"Generally, most of the people we hire are jaegers with a good reputation. The main purpose of them temporarily joining us is to prove that they won't cause trouble in Crossbell, and at the same time, they help us with some small problems to earn some extra money. This is a win-win for both sides. Although I don't know your situation, I think it's probably similar. Since you were introduced by Guy, I won't ask too many questions. So let's get to the point. These tasks are either long-term or temporarily unable to be completed due to a lack of personnel. You can choose to accept them as you see fit. Normally, it would take at least a year to exchange for a tactical Orbment..."
In reality, what Alex didn't say was that they also needed to accumulate a certain amount of points to get a promotion, but this had nothing to do with Lancer, the 'temporary worker'.
On the other side, Lancer quickly found the tasks he needed.
There were many tasks like solving cases and tracking, but Lancer was more inclined towards 'combat-type' tasks. Among them were three wanted monster subjugation tasks and several hunting tasks. For him, dealing with these monsters was not much different from his current life, and he could also earn some quartz on the side.
Hunting monsters and then returning to the police station to hand in the mission. When he wanted to rest, he would go to a bar for a while. Lancer's life recently had been very 'fulfilling'. Of course, it would be even better if he didn't have to be 'randomly checked' by the people from the police station, but he could also understand their work. As long as they didn't interfere with him, he just pretended not to see them.
And during this time, he also got to know many local people, such as the head chef of a restaurant that left a deep impression on him————Chef Long.
When he saw the words 'Gluttony' at the entrance of that restaurant, Lancer was almost dumbfounded. It was the first time he had seen a restaurant with a plaque like that, but he had to admit that the food in this restaurant was indeed great and the quality of the ingredients was very good.
He even let his cat go and secretly learn how to cook before, but he didn't force it. It was up to its talent to see how much it could learn from lying on the roof beams.
Besides this restaurant with delicious food, the people he saw most often were the trio of Guy, Guy's fiancée, and Arios's wife and daughter.
Cecile, whom he seemed to have met in Armorica Village before, was a very gentle woman. He usually met her when he was clearing out monsters near 'St. Ursula Medical University'. The other party seemed to be interning in the special care ward, and every time he met her, she was either with an elderly person with mobility issues or a child who was injured, and no matter who the person was, she always had a gentle smile.
And Arios's wife, Saaya, was the same, but perhaps because he always met her with her daughter, she felt a little more assertive? As for their daughter 'Shizuku', she was always holding her mother's hand and looking at Lancer with curious eyes. Lancer would usually give her some candy and also receive some compensation, such as stroking her head.
Shizuku was one of the few children who wouldn't run away from Lancer at first sight. Although Lancer wouldn't deliberately make himself look fierce, sensitive children would always notice the tough aura on Lancer. As for Shizuku——————
'This child has a pair of eyes that can see into people's hearts. She probably thinks you're a good person, Lancer?'
Arios's explanation even made Lancer feel a little embarrassed.
After completing his morning mission and returning to Crossbell from the mine, Lancer was, as usual, about to go to Chef Long's for lunch when he happened to see Saaya walking with Shizuku. But just as Lancer was considering whether to go over and say hello, Shizuku, who was holding Saaya's hand, had already spotted Lancer standing on the street corner. She waved in Lancer's direction, and Lancer no longer hesitated and walked over.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Saaya, and good afternoon, Shizuku."
While greeting them, Lancer habitually took out a few candies from his pocket and handed them to Shizuku while stroking her head.
"Thank you, uncle~"
The soft loli voice calling him 'uncle' made Lancer want to complain for a moment, but seeing the soft little Shizuku, he seemed to have no other good 'retaliation' methods besides rubbing her little head a few more times.
Saaya on the other side was full of curiosity. She didn't expect to meet Lancer. Saaya still remembered her husband mentioning this man many times. As for the reason, she was not clear, but at least according to her husband, the other person was a trustworthy person.
"Mr. Lancer, have you completed the police department's request?"
"Yes~ I just finished and was planning to go to Chef Long's."
"Chef Long? Hmm... I'm just about to make some croquettes for Shizuku. Would you like to come, Mr. Lancer?"
Lancer was about to say 'I have something to do', but his wrist was suddenly tugged. Then he saw Shizuku looking at him with an expectant expression.
"Uncle~ Mom's croquettes are delicious!"
"But if uncle comes to eat, then Shizuku's croquettes will be fewer~"
"It's okay~ The candy uncle gave me is also delicious~"
Looking at the 'smart' little Shizuku, Lancer couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then he looked at Saaya, who was smiling next to him.
"Then I'll impose on you, Mrs. Saaya."
"It's okay~"
Although he was invited for a meal, Lancer was too embarrassed to just go with nothing. After buying some desserts on the street, he was teasing Shizuku while following behind Saaya. But just as the three of them were about to leave the square——————
"..."
The ground suddenly shook violently, and Lancer unconsciously frowned. But he didn't do anything and just held Shizuku's hand and followed silently behind Saaya, but his pace unconsciously quickened.
But then, not only did the ground shake, but the sound of a disturbance kept coming from far away to near. Lancer also had a spear of ice in his hand at some point.
"Mr. Lancer?"
"Be careful, something seems to be wrong."
Lancer originally thought that it was just another case somewhere. Generally, this kind of thing would be solved quickly by the bracers or investigators, but the disturbance in the distance was getting bigger and bigger, and what was strange was that he didn't see any bracers or investigators?
'What are Guy and the others doing?'