Chapter 79
Ten minutes after we arrived at the meeting place.
The adventurers who’d be working with us on this quest had all gathered five minutes before the appointed time. As Bronze-class rookies, we made sure to be punctual so our ratings wouldn’t take a hit.
“I’m Mebin Uzzrit. I’m a fire mage.”
The last man to arrive, a mage, introduced himself while shading his eyes from the sunlight with one hand. I introduced myself in turn.
“I’m Nord. I’m a warrior who knows a little magic.”
“I’m Francesca Aitrinen, a half-dwarf thief. I use throwing knives.”
“Call me Sios. And, as you can see, I’m a warrior. Unlike that fellow, I can’t use magic.”
That was the end of the introductions. It was all very brief, but we’d exchanged the information we needed.
We’d also silently settled on our positions if a fight broke out. Fran and the male mage would attack from the rear, while the bald old guy and I fought on the front line.
“You said you can use magic. What kind?”
The male mage, whose name was Mebin, asked me. He didn’t seem to be trying to show off or anything; he genuinely just wanted to know what his party members could do.
“<Burning Hand> and <Freezing Hand>.”
I left out the other magic. Runes were just doodles in a fight, and Beast Regression only strengthened my body.
“Basic spells, then. Am I right to assume they won’t help much in a fight?”
“Well, they’re useful enough. Would you like to see?”
I chanted the spell and activated <Burning Hand>.
─Fwoosh!
By activating Beast Regression only in my palm and combining the spell formulas, the flames roared like a torch.
Damn, that looks hot as hell. I wouldn’t trust myself to take that heat without Beast Regression and not foam at the mouth. Mebin’s eyes widened, too.
“S-spell-formula combination. Ahem. I’m impressed. Are you really not a mage?”
“Since all I can do is heat or cool my palm, calling myself a mage feels a little…”
“If you’re interested, you should join the Mages’ Guild. At Bronze Class, you should be able to afford the joining fee and annual dues.”
Don’t give me that bullshit. The joining fee and dues were in silver coins.
After taking all that money, if you wanted to learn magic, you had to find a teacher and become their gofer. If you got stuck with the wrong boss, you’d suffer like Tirsi.
I’d have to check it out for the sake of rune magic, but I had no plans to join right now.
“Is everyone here?”
Someone spoke to us as we were introducing ourselves. I recognized him: the one-armed traveling merchant.
“Thank you for accepting our guild’s quest today. I’m Robert, the client.”
The one-armed young man greeted the four adventurers gathered at the meeting place.
The Guildmaster’s son had come in person. I’d warned him about the danger, but he was still going all out to help.
“You probably already know, but on this journey, we’re asking you to protect us from any dangers that arise during transport. In particular, please look after me and my companions as carefully as the cargo.”
As Robert spoke, patting the children who’d come with him on their heads, Sios, the warrior adventurer, raised his hand.
“Should we consider protecting your companions a higher priority than protecting the cargo?”
“That’s right. I’d like you to consider them just as important as me, the client.”
“Understood. Though I’m not sure how much help we’ll be, considering the person over there.”
The warrior pointed to the man near the carriage. A slicked-back adventurer with a greatsword slung over his shoulder stood there with his arms crossed, striking an intimidating pose.
Damn, he looks intimidating as hell. His whole body seems to say, ‘Mouth off and you die.’ He looks like the kind of guy who could pop and lock naked in a slum without anyone daring to mess with him.
Maybe he was the Silver-class warrior mentioned in the quest details.
“Please don’t say that. I hired you because I believe this journey will only be safe with your help. I want to get these children home without them getting hurt.”
Robert answered with a practiced smile.
For some reason, though, only two children were with Robert. If I remembered correctly, there was supposed to be one more girl.
‘Did something happen?’
I wanted to ask about it, but I couldn’t figure out how to bring it up. Unlike Arthur Wayne, Nord, a Bronze-class rookie, didn’t know that three children had been kidnapped.
“The schedule is unchanged. We’ll set out, stop once for lunch, and arrive in the evening. Then we’ll part ways.”
That was the standard schedule for a carriage escort quest.
Adventurers usually spent two or three days on a quest, including the return trip and a day of rest after reaching the city. Bronze-class adventurers earned an average of 10 copper a day, so this quest would normally pay 20 to 25 copper.
Had he offered 30 copper for this quest out of consideration, so he could get the children home as quickly as possible?
“It seems we’ve finished with the questions. Shall we set out?”
At Robert’s question, we nodded.
─Clatter!
The transport carriage passed through the city gate and set out toward Haysvent.
***
The four of us didn’t make small talk as we traveled.
Were we staying quiet because we were professionals who didn’t chat on the job, or because things were just awkward?
Either way, it suited me just fine.
─Swish, swish.
─Whirrrrr.
I secretly carved the ᚲ(Kenaz) rune into my forehead and hid it beneath my bangs.
My five senses were enhanced, allowing me to hear the conversation inside the carriage. An old man was serving as the driver, so Robert and the children were riding in the cargo wagon.
─Now that we’re going home, does that mean I won’t see you anymore, Uncle?
─You can come see me now and then. If your parents let you, I’ll stop by Wina’s house whenever I come to Haysvent.
─Really? You promise?
─All right. I promise.
─Will I get to see Maila, too?
─Of course. When you come to Sargadis, stop by the Transport Guild. By the time you, Samula, are grown up, Maila will be a full-fledged guild member, too.
─Yes! I’ll definitely come back! To say hello to you, too!
─Hahaha. I might have a child of my own by then, you know?
I didn’t know each child’s name, but from their conversation, it didn’t sound like anything had happened to the third child.
‘A full-fledged guild member.’
This was just my personal guess, but what if that girl was an orphan?
I couldn’t think of any other reason a child wouldn’t return to where she’d come from. Maybe she had no home to go back to, so she’d decided to stay with Robert and become a merchant.
Since it didn’t seem like anything serious had happened, I deactivated the rune.
─Whirr.
Once I turned off the magic, my five senses returned to normal.
Still, rune magic didn’t seem so bad when one spell could be put to so many uses. Maybe I should set aside a day to beat up some goblins who knew shaman magic.
‘But would mana inheritance happen if I beat up a rune mage who wasn’t a goblin or a half-human?’
It’d be a problem either way.
I’d be stealing mana by killing someone, so I could end up becoming a heretical shaman who practices human sacrifice. If I heard, ‘An adventurer who kills rune mages to steal their mana has appeared,’ I’d think that guy was a piece of shit, too.
‘Thank goodness nobody else can see it.’
I wonder if there are any worthless rune mages like Tabula who aren’t worth keeping alive. Beating one up would settle things for sure.
“Jjujju! (Food!)”
The journey was peaceful.
Birds flying around in the fall pecked at bugs and grains, while a cool breeze blew over us as we walked along the road.
The carriage even matched our pace, making it feel like we were out for a stroll.
Maybe the young kobolds scattered across the plains had plenty to eat this time of year, because we didn’t see a single one. Or perhaps the adventurer escorts who’d passed through before us had beaten them to death.
“It’s nice and easy.”
Just as Sios murmured contentedly, to our surprise, we reached Haysvent without a single fight.
─Murmur, murmur.
The sun was nearly setting, and the area in front of the city gate was packed with people. We ended up waiting there for dozens of minutes.
“Next! State your purpose for visiting and show your identification!”
At first, I thought it was taking so long because there were so many people in line. But that wasn’t it. The identity checks were much more thorough than in Sargadis, so the line barely moved.
“Something must have happened.”
The escort had more or less come to an end, and Fran had come over beside me. She spoke quietly. I agreed. A security check this strict meant someone had given them specific orders.
“It’s because of the kidnappings.”
That was when the Silver-class greatsword warrior, who hadn’t spoken once during the journey, said that without looking away from the front.
“Six children have been kidnapped in Haysvent alone over the past ten days. One of them was found dead.”
The greatsword warrior told us something that made the back of my neck prickle. I already knew about it, but seeing the effort being made right in front of me to prevent it made it feel all the more real.
“Was it a bandit group?”
“We don’t know the cause. I heard not a single one of the five missing children has been found.”
“I see.”
Two of those kids are right beside you, though. I made that joke to myself, but I still felt uneasy.
Whoooosh─.
Maybe it was because the setting sun cast dark shadows, but Haysvent’s city gate felt somehow ominous. Was it my imagination, or did this unfamiliar city look like the stomach of some other creature?
“Next! You there with the carriage, come this way!”
After waiting for nearly an hour, we finally reached the guards.
The guard’s face was stern, but I could see how tired he was. In a cold voice, he moved his pen across the wooden board in his hand.
“The representative should state the purpose of the visit, the number of people, and their identities.”
“This is a carriage from the Transport Guild. There are four Bronze-class adventurers, one Silver-class adventurer, me, a driver from our guild, and two children.”
“Children?”
Robert calmly answered the guard, who had narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Yes. Wina Enberg and Ricardo Diltan, citizens of Haysvent.”
“…All right. Everyone, show your identification. If possible, your citizen certificates.”
We were holding our adventurer plates, so we had no choice but to open our bags. Sios and I showed our long-term residence permits, and everyone else had some kind of ID on them, too.
The problem was the children. They were old enough to have been issued identification, but since they’d been kidnapped, they had nothing to prove who they were.
“I’ll sign as their representative. Will you let them in?”
At Robert’s request, the guards frowned and conferred with each other.
They muttered among themselves, then sighed as if they couldn’t bear to see the children anxiously watching them, waiting to find out what would happen.
“Sigh… Sign here. And once you’re inside the city, we recommend visiting the guard station with something that can prove the children’s identities.”
“Thank you.”
Thanks to the guards’ consideration, the problem was resolved one way or another. It was probably hard to imagine children this young being caught up in a kidnapping case.
─Clomp, clomp.
Once we entered the city, the first thing to catch my eye was the colosseum in the very center.
I knew Britannia had copied Romagna when it introduced colosseums, just like bathhouses, but this was my first time seeing one in person. It was smaller than I’d expected, but so tall it seemed you could see it from anywhere in the city.
Though I’d probably never fight as a gladiator in the colosseum.
“Adventurers, you’re free to go now.”
Robert said after stopping the carriage once we were inside the city. Mebin gave a quiet laugh at his words.
“If you hire people for the return trip, I’d appreciate it if you let us know. I’ve never had such an easy escort in my life.”
“Hahaha. Goodness, I’ve been taking nothing but losses lately. In any case, thank you for your hard work. Farewell.”
Robert scratched his head with a laugh, climbed back into the carriage, and drove off. The rest of us looked at one another.
“Ahem. Good work, everyone. Anyone want to go for a drink?”
That was what Sios said, but what kind of bond did we have with him, considering we hadn’t even fought together? Faced with our awkward smiles and silence, the bald warrior looked embarrassed.
“I guess not.”
“It seems that way. Let’s have a drink if we run into each other again sometime.”
Mebin recited, word for word, ‘Top 1: the most meaningless thing to say to a high school classmate,’ then left. Mages’ Guild members could stay for free at the guild in any city, so he was probably heading there.
“Well, I should find a place to stay, too. See you around.”
Sios gave an awkward farewell and went on his way. Fran and I chuckled and started walking.
“Should we drop our things off at the inn and shower first? The job was easy, but we still worked up a sweat.”
“The bathhouse probably isn’t open yet. In Haysvent, they open after eight in the evening.”
“Damn.”
Some cities did that to save on operating costs, but this one had built and maintained such a huge colosseum while cutting back on a public amenity like the bathhouse.
It gave me a pretty good idea of what kind of city Haysvent was.