Chapter 524: After the Subjugation

Fangs of the North Wind had been completely wiped out without managing to do anything against the basilisk, but they were fortunate in one respect: very little time had passed since they were petrified, and none of their stone bodies had been damaged or lost any parts. Thanks to that, Aeris, Zion, and Tauro—who could use light spirit magic—were able to treat them immediately and successfully reverse the petrification.

“Phew… Somehow we managed to reverse the petrification, and their skin is returning to normal,”

Tauro said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he let out a breath.

“Tauro, we ended up being the ones who defeated the basilisk. What are we going to do?”

Aeris asked, having finished her treatment and taking a breather.

“What should we do…? This basilisk is smaller than the King Basilisk, but it’s still fairly large among basilisks, right? If we say that we—who are supposedly lower-ranked than Fangs of the North Wind, who were almost wiped out—defeated it, it wouldn’t sound very convincing… All right, let’s swap it with the smaller basilisk we defeated yesterday.”

Saying that, Tauro stored the larger basilisk in his [Magic Storage] and took out the corpse of the smaller one instead.

“I don’t think we have any credibility to begin with, Leader. We disappeared for a whole year without taking any guild quests, after all. Hahaha!”

Ankh laughed off Tauro’s minor concern.

“Oh, right… Still, we should consider Fangs of the North Wind’s position too. Let’s say we won by sheer luck. That way, both sides can save face, don’t you think?”

Having decided that, Tauro asked everyone to keep quiet about it.

That night, they decided to camp out, since the members of Fangs of the North Wind hadn’t yet regained full consciousness.

The next morning, when the leader Kantaro awoke, the rest of his companions followed suit.

Tauro then showed them the remains of the basilisk that he had prepared, explained the situation, and reported that it had been subjugated.

Kantaro and the other members of Fangs of the North Wind were all surprised that Tauro’s group had defeated it, and once again asked about their guild rank.

“I forgot to mention it earlier, but… we’re B-minus,”

Tauro said, showing his tag to Kantaro and the others for the first time.

“B-minus at that age!? —I see. In that case, I can at least understand how you managed to defeat a basilisk. Even so, you should consider it a fluke that you managed to defeat it this time. Next time, even if we go down, you mustn’t attempt something so reckless. Subjugating a basilisk-class monster without proper preparation is strictly forbidden.”

Reflecting on their own failure, Kantaro warned them because Tauro’s lower-ranked team had taken on the basilisk in order to save Fangs of the North Wind.

In other words, they should have fled rather than risk becoming additional casualties.

Then Kantaro continued.

“…That said, there’s no doubt that we were saved by your decision. As a leader, I thank you. You made a dangerous choice and saved us—thank you, truly.”

With that, Kantaro bowed his head, and the other members followed with deep bows.

The B-rank team Fangs of the North Wind had character to match their rank.

Thus, Black-Gold Wings and Fangs of the North Wind returned safely to Nor Village without a single casualty.

“We had received reports from the other men that you had encountered the target, but I’m relieved you’re safe,”

The village chief said.

When Fangs of the North Wind had encountered the basilisk, they had immediately urged the villagers who were with them to flee back to the village, so the chief hadn’t known what happened afterward.

And after a night passed without any news, he had assumed the worst.

That was why he felt relieved when Tauro and the others returned first thing in the morning.

“We didn’t come through completely unscathed, but thanks to Tauro and his companions, the basilisk was defeated. I think you can rest easy now. It’s embarrassing that we, Fangs of the North Wind, were nearly wiped out… That said, our bodies still aren’t moving properly. Would it be all right if we stayed here for a few more days?”

Though he felt ashamed, Kantaro asked the village chief to let them extend their stay to recover.

“Of course! There isn’t anyone in this village who would treat you rudely, as you have risked your lives for this village! Please feel free to stay as long as you like!”

The village chief replied, grateful to Tauro and the other adventurers for saving the village from crisis.

Tauro and his companions discussed leaving Fangs of the North Wind in Nor Village and heading to the nearby town where the Adventurers’ Guild was located.

“In that case, you should explain the basilisk subjugation to the guild and take all the reward,”

After saying this, Kantaro wrote a letter addressing the guild and handed it to Tauro.

“No, that would be far too brazen of us. We only participated because Fangs of the North Wind hired us. As our employers, please have the guild hold onto your share of the reward, and collect it later,”

Tauro declined the offer, and the group departed from Nor Village.

“The leader is just too kind. We’re the ones who actually defeated the basilisk, you know?”

Ankh said wryly along the road.

“No, Ankh. We were only able to participate because Kantaro hired us for his quest. Besides, if we worked here without first filing the proper notice to operate in this area, we’d be violating Adventurers’ Guild rules. They could have used that against us and taken the entire reward. Even so, Kantaro and the others were willing to give us everything. That’s admirable. That’s why Tauro made sure to divide the shares fairly,”

Aeris explained to Ankh, who had only just returned to the outside world and was still a little out of touch with how things worked.

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

Ragune nodded in understanding.

“As expected of Lord Tauro!”

Zion was the same as always.

“It’s been a year since I’ve been outside, so my sense of how things work is a little off,”

Ankh admitted, now understanding that Tauro’s judgment had been correct.

“Hahaha! We’re all in the same boat. —All right, everyone, let’s head to the next town!”

With that, Tauro stepped to the front of the group, and they set off toward their next destination.