Chapter 532: The Great Border City

After spending the night at the lodging house in the military facility, Tauro and his party set out early in the morning toward the city of Suwen.

The general himself saw us off, which was a bit embarrassing—but I’m sure he felt the same way.

After all, Tauro was a person who had been bestowed a title by the king himself, and his list of titles was more than sufficient. From the perspective of a general who held only an honorary count title, this was a situation where losing one’s head—quite literally—would not have been unthinkable, so caution was only natural.

Tauro and his party were sent off with great care by the military personnel, and arrived at the border of the County of Suwen by early afternoon.

There, they immediately encountered a checkpoint on Count Suwen’s side. the military personnel had their luggage checked so relentlessly that it bordered on harassment.

“High-ranking adventurers, huh? It’s rare for anyone other than the military to come from this side. You may pass.”

The soldiers glanced at the platinum tags that showed they were B-rank adventurers to confirm Tauro and his companions’ identities, and then let them pass with little fuss.

Tauro was a little surprised by the quick check, which was completely different from how military personnel were treated, but he was grateful to be allowed through.

 “So the Count of Suwen really doesn’t get along with the general…”

Tauro finally muttered once they were some distance away from the checkpoint.

“With treatment this blatant, it’s easy to tell.”

Ankh gave a wry smile.

“That’s normal for nobles who share a territorial border with conflicting interests, you know? There’s tension with the Empire on the northern border, so things are probably even more prickly than usual.”

Aeris offered her perspective as a noble.

“Haha… Maybe being an honorary noble really was a blessing…”

The territory he’d originally been slated to receive in Saishi bordered the former domain of Marquis Haragura—thinking about what might have been, Tauro couldn’t help but smile wryly.

After staying the night in a village along the way, Tauro’s party arrived in the city of Suwen around noon the following day.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been in a big city.”

Ragune voiced the thought as they passed through the city gates.

Her comment was fair—aside from the royal capital, it had been nearly a year since we last visited a city of this size.

“For a count’s city, it’s quite large.”

Aeris, ever the daughter of a marquis, evaluated it with a hint of rivalry.

“I suppose so. But I feel most comfortable in a place the size of the dragon-peoples’ village. …Damn, I’ll live!”

As Zion was expressing her thoughts, she suddenly remembered her training period at the Dragon’s Lair, and her usual catchphrase came out.

“The dragon people  village is plenty big, and when it comes to variety and convenience, it’s on a whole different level.”

Ankh lightly tapped Zion on the head, as if to say she was comparing the wrong things.

“Hahaha, the dragon people  village is in a class of its own. Still, this city is big enough. The walls are high, and even the villages along the way fenced off, and the vigilance is high. It really feels like a border territory.”

Tauro summed up his thoughts and headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild.

The Adventurers’ Guild, Suwen Branch, was unlike any they had seen before. Aside from its distinctive blue roof, the building stood within a vast, fenced compound, resembling a small fortress inside the city.

“…That’s imposing.”

That was Tauro’s honest impression.

Once inside, however, it was the familiar Adventurers’ Guild they knew.

Perhaps reassured by the atmosphere, the party naturally headed to the reception desk.

“Excuse us. We’re from another area, so we’d like to register for activity here.”

Representing the team, Tauro presented his tag and began the procedure.

“Yes! Welcome to the Suwen Branch! May I take the representative’s tag? ──Oh? Eh… lord Tauro Jirosugar?”

The receptionist ran Tauro’s tag through a magical device to confirm his identity, then was at a loss for words.

She ran it through the device again and again, but the result never changed.

“Tauro-sama, may we take you to the back for a more thorough confirmation?”

With a tense expression, the receptionist gestured for Tauro’s party to follow her.

At that moment, Aeris tugged lightly on Tauro’s sleeve and said quietly,

“Tauro.”

“…Got it. ──You’ll have to check in the back, I understand. Ah, can I just say something before that? –I’ll just cure all the status ailments affecting this entire branch. ‘Status Ailment Recovery!’”

While moving to follow the receptionist, Tauro cast a spell to remove what he believed were status abnormalities afflicting many of the adventurers present.

“What are you doing!?”

The receptionist stiffened, alarmed by Tauro’s action.

“Sorry. I just noticed that quite a few people here seemed to be under some kind of abnormal condition.”

Tauro answered calmly, as if it were nothing, and continued after her.

“…This way.”

The place they were led to was a special room where high-ranking adventurers gathered.

Since Tauro and his party were high-ranking adventurers themselves, the treatment was not unusual. However, this time, it was likely also meant to ensure that the suspicious adventurers couldn’t escape by placing them among other elites.

That was precisely why Tauro had cast Status Abnormality Recovery beforehand.

Yes—many of the adventurers and staff in this branch had been affected by someone’s ability: Charm.

“…We’ll need to conduct a detailed verification of your identities. Would you be willing to undergo an appraisal by a high-ranking appraiser?”

The receptionist asked, with several staff members present.

“Yes, of course. I also have documentation from a senior appraisal conducted at a military facility earlier, so I’ll submit that as well. ── I can trust you all now, so please feel free to appraise me as much as you like.”

Tauro smiled gently as he answered—already certain that the impostor group had been here before.