Vol 3: Chapter 3

The application for a meeting with a Lev citizen who lives in the Lev Magic Empire has been completed. I wrote and submitted the names of Emma-san, ??the daughter of old man Hinga, and his granddaughter, Lulusha-san. After this, they will contact the Empire on the other side, and if Lulusha-san wishes to meet, they will schedule a date for the visit, and if she does not wish to meet, they will inform us of that.

The application result will be put up on a bulletin board at 7:00 in the morning, so I just have to wait for it.

Incidentally, the person in charge at the counter was a Lev citizen, and their eyes, from behind the spectacles sitting on the nose bridge, was looking at me as though trying to get a read. Even if that person was a Lev citizen – to be honest, I don’t think I can tell apart one Lev citizen from another – the impression I got from them was quite different from Muge-san.

We camped in the public square that night. A huge bonfire was lit in the center. Adventurers gathered around it, wrapped in blankets to sleep, and to serve sake. There was a small inn, but it couldn’t accommodate the number of people gathered here.

Dante-san talked about Leon and the Golden Brigade while biting into a dried meat that had been cooked over fire.

「Well, it’s not a uncommon story, though.」

A young man venturing to the city because he couldn’t make a living in a rural area, or else wishing to get rich quick. However, even in the city, you have to compete for work, and those who are confident in their skills become adventurers.

In the case of Dante-san, he lost his wife to an epidemic early and left his daughter, Non-san, in the care of the church and chose to be an adventurer to earn money quick.

「I would always be talking about being solid and steady.. so before long, my companions pushed the defensive position onto me.」

In the Adventurer’s Guild, he met and parted with various people repeatedly, until a party gradually became fixed.

「I would always guard the rear while Leon and the other close quarters fighters fought in the front.」

「Man?, Dante has always been amazing since back then.」Mimino-san said.

「Was the party name at that time “Golden Brigade”?」I suddenly wondered.

「Yeah.. Leon was the leader. He longed to be an adventurer who would make a lot of money and be sung by bards all over. That’s why he named it “Golden Brigade”. He had a grand idea.」

「Only in appearance, not attitude.」Mimino-san snorted.

They might be somewhere in this square as well, but at least they couldn’t be seen from where we were and I don’t even want to look for them again.

「That’s not something you achieve by aiming for. Rather, there are only a few adventurers who have the potential to be heroes. There aren’t many people like Reiji-kun.」Mimino-san said.

「..Huh?」

Why did my name come up there?

「Mimino-san, we promised not to talk about that right.」

「Ah, right..」

「What are you talking about, Non-san, Mimino-san?」I asked.

But Mimino-san put both hands on her mouth and shook her head.

「Haa.. I’m the one who told them to keep quiet because I knew it would bother you, Reiji.」

「Dante-san, what are you talking about?」

「Do you remember the time when you fought the giant snake?」

「Of course.」

I was able to reunite with the members of the Silver Balance due to that incident. No way I could forget it.

「And about what happened when you defeated it?」

Dante-san rummaged inside his backpack and took out Ouroboros’ core – split in two. This was our only share from defeating it. But it does contain an excessive amount of mana, so it can probably be used for something.

「Do you mean when I climbed up on Ouroboros’ head and killed it with my short sword? I remember.」

Because of that, my short sword became loose and I sold it to a blacksmith during the journey. My main weapon right now is the dagger I got from the Border Earl (or Berserker). The scabbard stands out, so I wrapped it with a bandage.

The dagger is ridiculous. It doesn’t get a single nick even when I use it a little unreasonably. How much could I sell it for? I’m not selling it, though. I mean, since it contains Mithril, I may not be able to sell without permission, right? I remember that the circulation of Mithril is controlled by the government.

「Yes, that’s it. You were shining at that time.」Dante-san said.

「It was the【Light Magic】that Non-san cast on me, correct?」

Non-san nodded in response. It seems that it has an effect close to support magic, which exerts a special effect on evil.

「That made you stand out too much.. it was as if “a hero subjugating a monster” like in fairy-tales.」

「Huh?」

「When I went to the Adventurer’s Guild the next day, I came across a bard. It seems that he was watching the whole thing from a distance.」

「A bard? I’m kinda getting a very unpleasant feeling.」

「He was enthusiastic about wanting to make a song about how you defeated Ouroboros.」

「........」

Come again?

「N-No, I refused. I didn’t become an adventurer to stand out, after all. But he was too persistent and said he wanted to tell the city about the hero who saved them, and since I didn’t want it to be about me, and it was none other than you who actually defeated the snake, so...」

「Basically Dante sold you out by giving the bard details and removed himself from the song.」

「Dante-san!?」

「Mimino! You said you didn’t want the bard to sing about you, too, right!?」

「And Reiji-kun feels the same way. The bard didn’t ask me anything, and I didn’t tell him anything.」

「You were right next to me at that time!」

The two were quarreling, but I just wanted to writhe in pain due to embarrassment. No, I was already writhing in pain. I covered my face with both hands. It’s too embarrassing!

Even though I left the Holy City in a break-up-like manner, I am being sung about in the city! This will definitely reach Earl Sillys’ ears, wouldn’t it!? So, if we meet again someday, he’s going to let me hear it!

「’The hero who saved the city’ ..Pupupu, Pupupupupupupupu!」Zerry-san drummed with her mouth.

「Zerry-san!?」

When I removed my hands from my face, the cat beastman was closely peering into my face with a nasty smile.

「..Zerry-san, don’t make me remind you about your–」

Just as I was about to say “debt,” a number of shining coins, reflecting the light of the bonfire, fell onto my stomach.

「Wha- Wha....」

「Upupupupu. Bocchan.. It’s a big mistake if you think that you can do whatever you want with me as a debt slave day and night.」

「You stupid cat! Where did you steal it from?! Return it!」

「—You take me for a robber just because I brought money!? You’re wrong! I legally won it from gambling!」

Gambling is not legal. Private gambling is illegal in this world as well.

And what was that about “I do whatever I want day and night”? A lying habit? Why is the nun looking at me with an unsettled expression? You know that’s not true, right? We were all in the caravan together everyday, right?

「There is an adventurer’s gambling den over there. And there was this impertinent yellow-cloaked guy with swept back hair, so I squeezed him out of his money.」

「Zerry-san..」

I put my hand on Zerry-san’s shoulder and shook her.

「Eh, a-ah, did I do something again!?」

「—You did a good job.」

When I gave a thumbs up, Dante-san, Mimino-san, and Non-san also raised their thumbs.

By the way, Zerry-san brought only silver coins, which doesn’t even cover half her total debt.

The next day—I woke up in the public square, used【Convenience】to produce water and washed my face. After that, I cooked a meal with Mimino-san. I bought goat’s milk from a general store, and baked some bread. Even if there aren’t enough inns, the other side of the wall is the Lev Magic Empire, so there was a wide selection of general stores.

After finishing the meal, I went alone to the building where I applied for a meeting.

「..Eh?」

The result of my application was posted up.

『Ms. Emma has passed away, meeting impossible. Ms. Lulusha.. No meetings allowed due to authorities’ instructions.』

I was frozen for a while.

I was shocked about the “passed away”, but I knew that was a possibility.

However, “authorities’ instruction”?

What is this ..?

When I asked the staff at the meeting application office about this, they said “It is of no concern to us. Since the application department and the investigation department are separate, after all.” They didn’t even know which authority the “authority” was referring to.

The staff was quite unhelpful and I was getting irritated, but it didn’t seem like I would get any further with this, so I returned to the public square for the time being.

Something seemed to be going on when I returned.

「Actually, Muge-san, who returned to the Empire, designated us for a request. The content of the request is to help collect materials inside the Empire.. How about it, shall we accept?」Dante-san, who returned after visiting the Adventurer’s Guild, said.

Even if I stayed here, my application for a meeting will not be accepted. I thought about showing the “Phosphorus Stone” left by old man Hinga, but it doesn’t make sense to show it to the meeting application department.

In that case, I might get some information if we go inside.

「Let’s do it.」I said, without a second thought.