Chapter 525 – Where the Money Went

After helping the village of Nol which had been living in fear of the appearance of the legendary basilisk, Tauro and his companions left the area and arrived at the gates of the city of Mandek, where the nearest branch of the Adventurer’s Guild was located.

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

Tauro had vaguely guessed that it was a small town from the size of the walls he had seen from the outside, but arriving at the gate confirmed it, prompting his comment.

“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, the northern territories have many lands directly under the control of the royal family, and lots of military bases. I don’t remember clearly, but I think this town 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 really during my time as a mercenary, specifically when I was just starting out and part of a mercenary band. The only time I came here was when we stopped by during a border conflict, so I barely remember it, but If that’s fine with you, then sure,” Ankh replied with a wry smile.

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

“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 from when I first came here. I think the adventurers’ guild was along this street… Oh, there it is! Looks like it’s 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 Mandēk Branch of the Adventurers’ Guild. What can I help you with today? Registration for activity?”

“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 dragon peoples’ 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 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 Girosugar of Team ‘Black-Golden 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.

Tauro receives various income every month, so his savings should have been steadily increasing.

I usually checked the balance and withdrew a certain amount before it grew too large, storing it in my magic storage. But compared to the last time I checked it at the Dragon peoples’ village Adventurer’s Guild branch, the amount had decreased.

This is the first time something like this has happened.

More than that, I have 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 and see what happens, but there’s no way I can handle that amount here, right?

Tauro’s savings were divided among the adventurers’ guild, the Garfish Trading Company, and his own magic storage. and although the Adventurer’s Guild’s savings was the smallest —but even so, a portion of the income from each curry restaurant that Tauro owns, as well as the profits from the Marches Trading Company in the village of Dansas Village (from when Black-Golden Wings was founded) were deposited into the adventurers’ guild account 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 to them about the suspicious flow of money,

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

The receptionist nodded in understanding.

If I had said I wanted to withdraw everything, he probably wouldn’t have responded so calmly.

“Since everything was fine when you checked at the Dragon people village, that means the improper withdrawals happened in the last few weeks, right? Could it be someone from the dragon tribe?” Aeris suggested, having been listening quietly to the exchange between Tauro and the male receptionist. 

“I don’t know. If someone from the Dragon people 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 Dragon people 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.