The Golden Goose (3)

“Then, I'll be counting on you for this request. I look forward to good news.”

After receiving Veronica's parting greetings, Leon and Shabel left the Golden Goose.

There were only the two of them.

Ash was not with them.

Ash had agreed to remain at the Golden Goose as collateral until the request was completed.

She herself stubbornly insisted on calling herself a hostage to the end, but there was no better way to describe a debtor being held by her creditor.

“A platinum-ranked adventurer as collateral……”

Shabel sighed and pressed her fingertips against her temples.

She looked dizzy, as though she simply couldn't believe the situation they were in.

“That's why I said we should just leave her behind. Why go out of our way to suffer? It's not like she's your child.”

No matter how capable Ash was as an adventurer, if she kept causing trouble and harming them, expelling her was only natural.

But Shabel wanted to take her along somehow.

“It's just that…… Ash was the one who protected me when I was at my most vulnerable.”

Immediately after the Kingdom of Breta was destroyed, all that remained for Shabel was a desire for revenge against the calamity.

She didn't even know what adventuring was.

How to fight, or how to go on an adventure.

She pushed her body to its limits with nothing but the single-minded determination to grow stronger.

Day after day, she threw herself into deadly situations without even considering the chances of returning alive.

Ash was the one who took in Shabel, who was in such a perilous state that she could have died at any moment.

“If Ash hadn't been there, I would have died for nothing. She was both the mentor who taught me how to live as an adventurer and my savior.”

“Hmm……”

“So I'm sorry to everyone else, but I can't leave Ash behind.”

Leon wore an uneasy expression.

It was a side of things he hadn't known about.

After all, back when it was a game, Shabel and Ash hadn't been this close.

It seemed the characters' emotions and backstories had become more nuanced when the game became reality.

‘Then expelling her will be difficult.’

She had stolen the party funds and gambled them away, yet Shabel was still shielding her.

Unless Ash committed murder or something, it would be difficult to kick her out.

‘Well, I don't care if they get along with each other.’

The thought of having to clean up after them as a slave didn't sit well with Leon.

If Ash was her savior, Shabel alone could repay her.

He had not the slightest desire to shoulder other people's problems and act as a packhorse.

But if they ordered him again, he'd have to do it.

Just as Leon was about to sigh over his pitiful situation—

“I feel terrible putting you through this.”

At the sudden apology, he turned to look at her.

“I didn't want you to see us like this. At the very least, I wanted to keep you from looking down on us……”

Shabel had lowered her head, wearing a self-deprecating smile.

Her profile looked terribly bitter.

Normally Leon would have made at least one sarcastic remark, but he didn't feel like it this time.

“You should return to the inn now.”

“Are you going to handle it alone?”

“I'm the one who insisted on bringing Ash along. I can't take full responsibility for everything she did, but it's not something I should foist onto someone else, at least.”

“Then take another party member with you.”

“Everyone's probably resting. There's no need to disturb them. I can manage by myself.”

Since this had happened because Shabel couldn't give up Ash, the conclusion that she should take responsibility alone was perfectly reasonable.

It also happened to be exactly what Leon had wanted until moments ago.

Then take care.

He only had to leave those words and return to the inn.

Yet when he actually opened his mouth, no words came out.

Shabel had already taken out the request form and was checking its contents.

She didn't look the least bit inclined to accept anyone else's help.

“Are you really going alone?”

“Yes.”

“And you know where you're supposed to go?”

“It's written here.”

Shabel unfolded one side of the request form and showed it to him.

“It only gives the destination. It doesn't say whom to meet there or where to start investigating.”

“We'll find out when we get there.”

She had an impressive talent for confidently declaring that she had no plan.

Without Ash, there was no one to track people or gather information.

If she went alone under those circumstances, she was more likely to waste time than solve the request.

And if that happened, their expedition departure would ultimately be delayed.

Leon arranged his thoughts that way.

It was only to prevent any disruption to their schedule.

“Fine. I'll go with you.”

“Weren't you saying you didn't want to work? You don't have to do it this time, so get some rest.”

“I need to deal with the calamity as soon as possible. It would be better to go together, finish quickly, and come back.”

“……You were the one who said you'd come with me? No complaining later, okay?”

“What am I, a child? Why would I complain about something like that? What on earth do you take me for?”

“……”

Shabel's incredulous gaze remained fixed on him for quite some time.

***

Leon and Shabel had left Milton and were running along the road leading to a nearby city.

They hadn't rented horses.

The physical abilities of the two had already far surpassed the limits of ordinary people.

For short distances, running themselves was more convenient.

“What does the request say?”

“It says to catch an accountant who stole the ledgers and fled. His name is Rufus. Apparently, he was the exclusive accountant who managed the ledgers for the businesses Veronica runs.”

“As I thought……”

Without slowing her pace, Shabel turned to look at him.

“What do you mean by ‘as you thought’?”

“Nothing. Something just occurred to me.”

Leon looked straight ahead, rummaging through his memories.

Something had bothered him ever since he first met Veronica.

Veronica Furnell.

Owner of the Golden Goose.

An NPC who also appeared in the game and was the client for this event.

It was an event in which, after Ash incurred a gambling debt and failed to repay it, she performed Veronica's request in her place.

It was known as 《The Traitor of the Golden Goose》.

He hadn't recalled it right away.

It wasn't connected to the main story, nor was it an important event.

If he hadn't seen Veronica smoking, he probably would never have remembered it.

Her appearance matched the illustration from the game.

It was fortunate that he remembered, even if late. The request looked much easier to complete now.

“There it is.”

Before long, the walls of their destination came into view.

Laven, a small-to-medium-sized commercial city not far from Milton.

It was where the target of this request was located.

The sun had set long ago, and the city gates were already firmly shut.

Guards carrying torches could be seen moving at regular intervals atop the walls.

“What should we do?”

“We go over.”

“Over the walls?”

“If we say the Hero has arrived, they'll open the gates, but there's no reason to cause a commotion, is there? Surely you're not going to say, ‘I can't trespass because trespassing is wrong,’ are you?”

“I-I'm not that inflexible. I do what needs to be done when the time comes. When it needs to be done……”

His voice trailed off slightly, but Leon deliberately didn't point it out.

The two moved to a spot far from the city gate.

The moment the soldiers atop the walls moved away, Leon kicked off the ground first.

He leaped over the wall, more than ten meters high, in a single bound.

Leon vaulted over the parapet and landed lightly in the alley on the inside.

Shabel followed soon after, riding the wind down silently beside him.

It took them only a few seconds to get over the wall.

Shabel let out a small breath only after confirming there was no one around.

Then she folded her hands neatly.

“Guards who work tirelessly through the night to keep the city safe, I'm sorry. I had extenuating circumstances, so please forgive me just this once……”

Shabel whispered quietly, as though making a confession.

Leon watched her in silence.

She had been quite firm before they crossed, but the moment she committed the deed, she began repenting.

It felt like he had made a model student do something bad.

It might even be fun, since it felt like he was corrupting her.

“Let's move.”

The two left the alley and entered the main street.

“Where is Rufus supposed to be?”

“At a branch of the Croche Trading Company. Apparently, they're protecting him there.”

Rufus had been Veronica's exclusive accountant for nearly ten years.

He managed the income and expenses of the businesses she owned, including the Golden Goose.

That was how much Veronica trusted him.

But Veronica said Rufus had taken advantage of that trust to falsify the ledgers for years.

“Apparently, the confirmed embezzlement alone amounts to more than a hundred gold coins. When the embezzlement was discovered, he took the ledgers and defected to her competitor, the Croche Trading Company.”

The ledgers contained Veronica's major business partners, the purchase prices of each type of goods, and even the financial circumstances of each business.

If her competitor, the Croche Trading Company, got its hands on that information, it could launch various attacks.

Even so, Veronica couldn't send her own people to seize it.

A reckless attack could easily escalate into an all-out conflict between the two trading companies.

So her goal was to quietly recover the ledgers and bring Rufus back alive by sending adventurers with no apparent connection to either side.

That was Veronica's objective.

“Telling us to bring him back alive is basically kidnapping, isn't it? I wonder if we're really allowed to do something like that……”

“You knew what kind of job it was when you accepted the request.”

“That's true, but couldn't we persuade him with words? I feel a little guilty about taking him by force.”

What on earth was this woman talking about?

Leon stared at her with an utterly dumbfounded expression.

“That's a little late to be saying that. You've already kidnapped someone.”

“Already kidnapped someone? When did I ever do that?”

“Did I join you of my own free will? I was dragged along by force too. If this isn't kidnapping, what is it?”

“……”

Shabel met Leon's eyes for a moment, then subtly turned her head away.

“……Now that I think about it, I don't think I need to feel guilty. He's a bad person who betrayed Veronica.”

“You change your mind quickly.”

“Let's hurry. We need to finish early if we're going to set out on the expedition as scheduled.”

Shabel hurried ahead. It was obvious she was trying to change the subject.

Leon let out a quiet chuckle and followed behind her.