Chapter 525: Where the Money Went

After helping Nor Village, whose people had been living in fear of the legendary basilisk, Tauro and his companions left the area and arrived at the gates of Mandek, the city with the nearest Adventurers’ Guild branch.

“The walls are high, but it doesn’t look like a very big city,” Tauro remarked.

Tauro had already guessed from the span of the walls that Mandek wasn’t a very large city, and reaching the gate only confirmed his impression.

“In the north, there are many cities like this—moderate in size but with tall walls. And since it’s close to the border with the Empire, they’re cautious and place emphasis on defense,” Aeris explained, showing off knowledge she had picked up somewhere.

“You know quite a lot, Aeris. To add to that, much of the northern region is royal demesne, and there are many military bases. I don’t remember clearly, but I think this city belongs to some viscount,” Ankh added, apparently having been here before.

“If you’ve been here before, Ankh, could you guide us?” Tauro asked.

“It was back when I was a mercenary—when I was still a rookie in a mercenary band. The only time I came here was when we stopped by during a border conflict, so I barely remember the place. If that’s fine with you, sure,” Ankh replied with a wry smile.

With Ankh guiding them, Tauro’s group entered the city of Mandek.

“There are more people than I expected,” Ragune muttered as she looked around the city.

“Yes. Compared to the city’s size, it’s quite crowded,” Zion agreed as they made their way down a busy street.

“This place has changed completely since I was here. I think the Adventurers’ Guild was along this street… Oh, there it is! Looks like its location hasn’t changed,” Ankh said, pointing at a building with a blue roof.

It was surprisingly large for a city of this size.

“Wow, what an impressive building,” Tauro said admiringly as he walked toward it.

The adventurers’ guild was a two-story building built on a spacious lot.

With Tauro in the lead, they entered, finding the interior bustling and lively, much like the city outside.

“Next person, please!” the receptionist called out loudly, trying not to be overwhelmed by the energy of the waiting adventurers.

“Alright, let’s line up too,” Tauro said, heading for the least crowded counter.

After a while, it was their turn.

The male receptionist glanced over Tauro’s group and spoke politely.

“New faces, I see. Welcome to the Mandek branch of the Adventurers’ Guild. What can I help you with today? Are you registering to operate here?”

“Yes. We’d like to register our activities. Also, I’d like to check my account balance,” Tauro replied.

He had checked his account at the Dragonfolk Village, but since nearly three weeks had passed, he wanted to be sure.

He handed over his tag.

“Very well. Please sign this form to complete the activity-registration procedure. I’ll take your tag for a moment.” The male receptionist worked briskly, placing the tag on a magical device to check it.

“!? —Honorary Viscount Tauro Giro Sugar of Black-Gold Wings… correct? —Here is your current balance.”

The receptionist was momentarily surprised by Tauro’s title, but he kept his composure and continued professionally.

“Thank you. Let’s see… the balance is… huh? It’s gone down?”

Tauro frowned.

Various sources deposited money into Tauro’s account every month, so his savings should have been steadily increasing.

He regularly checked the balance and withdrew a certain amount before it grew too large, storing the money in [Magic Storage]. But compared with the last time he had checked it at the Dragonfolk Village Adventurers’ Guild branch, the balance had decreased.

This was the first time anything like this had happened.

More importantly, Tauro had no idea why it had decreased.

Since checking the details required another request, Tauro asked the receptionist to look into it.

“Understood. Please wait a moment,” the receptionist said, taking the tag and heading to the back.

It seemed that the magical device for detailed records was located in the back room.

After a while, the receptionist returned with a sheet listing detailed transactions.

“Here you are.”

Tauro took it and scanned the contents.

Huh? Large sums have been withdrawn multiple times recently. Even yesterday… They’re withdrawn under my name, but what does this mean?

He tilted his head in confusion.

“Excuse me. Can you tell me where these withdrawals were made?” Tauro asked.

“? I’m afraid that’s not something we can see… If you yourself don’t remember—” the receptionist replied, clearly perplexed by the question.

…It looks like someone is withdrawing money in my place… What should I do? Maybe I should withdraw everything here just in case, but there’s no way they can hand over that much money at this branch, right?

Tauro divided his savings among the Adventurers’ Guild, the Garfish Trading Company, and his own [Magic Storage]. The Guild account held the smallest share, but a portion of the income from each curry restaurant he owned, along with profits from the Marches Trading Company in Dansas dating back to when Black-Gold Wings was founded, was deposited into it every month. It was still a considerable sum.

And someone was using it.

“…Excuse me. I’d like to temporarily freeze my account. Could you process that for me?” Tauro said, deciding he needed to take measures to prevent unknown parties from withdrawing any more of his money.

“Eh?—…Please come to the back room,” the receptionist replied, surprised by the request from such a major client, but unable to refuse. He let Tauro and his friends into the back room.

Once there, Tauro explained the suspicious withdrawals.

“…I see. You’d like to temporarily freeze the account so no withdrawals can be made? —Understood. It’ll take a few days for the freeze to take effect, but we’ll begin the procedure.”

The receptionist nodded in understanding.

If Tauro had asked to withdraw everything instead, the receptionist probably wouldn’t have responded so calmly.

“Since everything was fine when you checked at the Dragonfolk Village, that means the unauthorized withdrawals happened within the last few weeks, right? Could it be someone from among the dragonfolk?” Aeris suggested after listening quietly to Tauro’s exchange with the male receptionist.

“I don’t know. If someone from the dragonfolk were going to do that, they could have done it anytime. Would they really do it now, at this point?” Tauro replied skeptically.

“There’s no way any dragonfolk would touch the savings of our benefactor, Tauro!” Ragune agreed firmly.

“Then who the hell would want to touch the leader’s savings? The closest people who could are us, but we’re also the ones who couldn’t possibly have withdrawn it,” Ankh said, pointing out the obvious—they’d been lost in the mountains for about two weeks.

“The mystery only deepens…” Zion murmured, folding her arms in thought.

Faced with this unexpected situation in a new city, Tauro and the others were left just as perplexed, each of them crossing their arms like Zion, deep in thought.