Chapter 110
My first impression was that this place was awfully bleak...
After parting ways with Muge-san, we foreigners arrived at a place surrounded by walls so high we had to crane our necks to see the tops—a place about the size of a schoolyard.
There was a small plaza in the center, with fewer than ten buildings lining it. The buildings themselves were squat, single-story stone structures.
It seemed this was as far as foreigners were allowed to go in the Lef Magic Empire...
There were still quite a few people here, though. Nearly a hundred, I would guess. Almost all of them were armed like adventurers. They couldn't enter because they weren't Lef, so did they really have work to do in such a cramped place?
"I've finished delivering the package to the guild."
Dantes-san had returned.
This time, we'd been hired to deliver a letter to the Adventurers Guild's reception desk, a space that looked as though ten people would fill it to capacity.
"Here, Reiji."
I accepted my Adventurers Guild card from Dantes-san. It had been issued before we came here—and now that I thought about it, it was the first form of identification I'd received in this world.
'Adventurers Guild — Issued by the Adventurers Guild of Alzanyu City, Kurvaan Holy Kingdom
Name: Reiji
Rank: Bronze
Party: Silver Balance
This official registration card certifies that the person named above belongs to the Adventurers Guild. It also requests that the relevant authorities in each country promptly grant permission whenever the person named above travels.'
As a newly minted adventurer, I was Bronze rank. Dantes-san and the others were Silver rank—well, they'd been demoted recently—so it would be a long time before I caught up to them. Even so, I was happy to have a guild card bearing the same party name as everyone else.
Jelly-san had joined the party, too. She was already Iron rank, one below Silver and two above me. I would never forget how she'd pestered me by saying, "Young master, you can call me senpai, you know~?"
Jelly-san herself wasn't here, though. She'd gone for a walk as soon as we arrived.
"...There was something strange about the inside."
"Strange? What happened, then?"
"Well—actually, let's take care of Reiji's business while we talk."
My goal was to meet Lulusha-san, who was inside the Empire. Applications to meet Imperial citizens were handled in another building, and that place was crowded too—a line had formed, with about ten people standing outside the building.
The people here weren't adventurers. They looked more like merchants.
"As for why so many adventurers have gathered in a place like this... Apparently, they're recruiting adventurers to enter the Empire."
Dantes-san began explaining once we took our place at the end of the line.
"Huh? We're allowed in?"
"Yeah. I didn't ask for the details. We had to prioritize your meeting, Reiji."
When Dantes-san said that, Mimino-san and Non-san added,
"We went in once, too, but that was only because we happened to accept a guild request like that."
"That's right. Quite a few other people were jealous of us."
Dantes-san and the others had come here before, entering the Empire on a guild request. It seemed unusual for adventurers to be allowed into the Empire, but it wasn't impossible.
Still, it seemed rare for this many adventurers to swarm the place all at once.
"Gathering this many people... Could they be planning some large-scale monster hunt?"
That was when I said it.
"—You there. Could you be Dantes?"
A voice suddenly called out to us.
Dantes-san looked over with a start. A group that appeared to be a seven-person adventurer party stood there.
The one who had called out was an adventurer with reddish-brown hair slicked straight back. He looked to be in his late twenties. He was tall, and his armor consisted of simple metal protectors combined with monster leather.
The thing that drew the most attention was his cloak. The bright yellow cloak looked brand-new, without the slightest sign of fading, and the other members wore matching ones.
"Leon...?"
"That's right! Hey, what the hell? Your petrification's been cured? Seriously? How'd you do it?"
The man called Leon had a friendly look in his eyes—or that would have been a generous way to describe the brazen familiarity with which he patted Dantes-san's left arm.
Dantes-san wore a complicated expression.
"—Oh, and is that little one over there Mimino? Well, damn... Hahaha. Who would've thought you two would team up? ...Mimino, I haven't forgotten the money you stole from our party. Just like a halfling, always so money-grubbing."
Leon immediately narrowed his eyes and glared at her—but hold on. What did he mean by "stole"? Mimino-san would never do something like that.
Mimino-san stared back at Leon with an expression harsher than any I'd ever seen on her face, flames of anger burning in her eyes.
"Stole!? How dare you say that! If that's the case, then you all stole Dantes's future!"
"—Mimino-san, please calm down."
Non-san stepped in front of Mimino-san, and I moved up beside her.
"That's right, Mimino-san. You don't need to get so worked up... By the way, who is this rude man? Can I punch him once?"
"—Wait, Reiji-kun!? What are you saying? Even you?"
As Non-san hurriedly tried to stop me, the man called Leon blinked, then said,
"...Heh-heh-heh. Ahahahahaha! You really are funny, kid. What the hell, Mimino? Are you keeping this mad-dog kid at your side as a bodyguard? A guard like that doesn't stand a chance against us. You may not know this, but we've become Pure Gold-rank adventurers—our 'Golden Brigade' has!"
Ah, it was all coming into focus. I was starting to understand.
This was the man who had once been a companion Dantes-san protected—and who had then abandoned Dantes-san when he was petrified.
Of the people wearing yellow cloaks, three looked confused. The other three wore expressions filled with all kinds of conflicting emotions—anger, guilt, and more.
"Dantes... If you're fully recovered, this is perfect. Come back to my side. You were incredible with a shield. We're seven people now, but we're planning to add more Pure Gold-rank adventurers and become a top-class party. You can keep up with us, can't you?"
"...Leon."
Dantes-san let out a sigh and said,
"Apologize to Mimino."
"...Huh?"
"If Mimino stole the party's money, then what was the point of that rule we'd agreed on—that injuries to party members would be paid for with party funds? Mimino paid for my treatment with the party's money and all her own savings. It still wasn't enough, so she even had to go into debt."
"Well, yeah... You left the party. So it wasn't an injury to a party member anymore, was it?"
"I figured I'd die anyway, unable to do a thing, once I was petrified. I didn't want to be a burden on everyone."
"Then—"
"—But do you understand how reassuring Mimino was to me—and how grateful I was to her—for being the only one who stayed with me? So no matter who you are, I won't forgive anyone who insults Mimino."
"!"
The fighting spirit blazing from Dantes-san's body made Leon immediately put some distance between us. That speed of reaction... He was a Pure Gold-rank adventurer, for all his faults.
"And besides, you're wrong."
Dantes-san came over beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"This boy you mocked—Reiji—is stronger than I am."
"...What?"
Leon glared at me suspiciously.
Wait, Dantes-san? Surely that's going too far, isn't it? I don't think even I could break through your ironclad defenses. You're ridiculously tough, aren't you?
"—I've told you many times in the past that underestimating people based on their appearance is a bad habit. It seems you haven't changed... I can see how little you've grown."
"Dantes... You think you can mock me and get away with it...?"
"That's enough."
At that point, one of the people in yellow cloaks—a tall, slender woman with her hood pulled low over her face—stepped between us.
She was one of the people who had looked as though they didn't understand what was going on between Dantes-san and Leon.
"We didn't come all the way here to pick a fight, did we? Leader, I could do without any unnecessary trouble."
"...Tch."
After clicking his tongue, Leon turned his back on us.
"Remember this, Dantes. We're going somewhere you can't possibly reach!"
He left us with that parting shot.
The hooded woman who had intervened glanced at me. Her emerald-green eyes were brimming with curiosity, but she soon followed after Leon.