Kays Translations

Chapter 17: “Guild Contribution”

　Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ! !

MEGYAAAAAAAN!! Klaus exclaimed in astonishment.

"That's right. I wanted to see that reaction~ It was noisier than I expected, though..."

Lady Salazar, sipping the tea prepared by Terrine, said with a smirk.

"W-What? Seriously?!"

"Seriously."

Well, it's really weird hearing Lady Salazar, who's reached the age of middle-aged, using such youthful language... It feels incredibly out of place... 

But at the same time, it makes her words sound even more believable.

"Really...? B-By the way, is it valuable?"

"Valuable... oh, it certainly is. It's not even comparable to Mandrake(*Mandragora) roots."

Seriously, though...

It's worth more than 250 gold coins?! How much is it?!

"So, I have to ask. Where did you get this? ...You did go to the Twilight Mine, right?"

"Ah, y-yes. I really did. In the depths of the mine, there was... how should I put it, a sort of graveyard, and beyond that..."

I wonder...? Ms.Salazar tilted her head in confusion.

"Um, the graveyard in the depths of the Twilight Mine?"

Ms.Salazar exchanged glances with Terrine.

"Haven't heard of such a thing before."

"Y-Yes... I believe the abandoned mine transformed into a dungeon, becoming the current magical light stone mine. It's been quite a while since that happened..."

I wonder what's going on.

"Hmm... Perhaps you stumbled upon the tomb of dwarves who once mined there. Some ancient dwarven clans used the mines themselves as their burial grounds.”

"In that case, it's an ownerless mine, right? ──It's been at least a thousand years since it became a graveyard."

Ah...

A thousand years.

No wonder there are such massive spirit light stones there.

There's a tale that spirit light stones found in graveyards are crystallized souls of the deceased. It might not be entirely false, then.

...Well, if the souls of that many deceased have been confined within a narrow graveyard for over a thousand years, it's not surprising that they would form massive crystals.

"We need a detailed investigation. Will you be able to provide the location later?"

"Y-Yes, well..."

It sounds like a terrifying place, akin to where Skeleton Generals might emerge.

Some action should probably be taken...

So Klaus marked the location of the discovered graveyard on a map and was allowed to leave for the day. 

However, the guild couldn't cash in the massive spirit light stone at its full value; they had to settle for the usual trade-in guild price.

For reference, the base price was around 600 gold coins...

So—-

"W-What?! 600 coins?!"

"Yes, there might be some fluctuations, but it's generally around that amount."

　What?

"W-What...?"

"Oh? Unhappy?"

Klaus shook his head vigorously.

No, I'm just... really intimidated.

"So, I wanted to pay with magic stones this time as well... Unfortunately, I handed most of them over to you last time. I have plenty of small ones, but... well, you know."

"Um... So, what about the spirit light stone pick-up...?"

"It's alright."

He couldn't help but worry that they might say it's impossible to take the stone back, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. 

Frankly, even though it's the base price, he didn't want to bring home something worth 600 gold coins...

(What should I do...?)

And then, unexpectedly

"Huh? You mean it's okay now...?"

"Yes, it's okay. I figured something like this might happen a couple of times due to sheer coincidence, so I made sure to have the money ready~"

Wow, I must have really caught their attention...

"Here you go, 100 gold coins. ...The base price would be around 600 coins, but there aren't many workshops capable of handling a spirit light stone this size, so the demand isn't that high. What will you do? If you sell it to us, I can add some extra points to your guild contribution, but... are you selling it to us?"

Implicitly, it felt like they were saying, "You wouldn't be able to handle this yourself, right?!"

It hits the mark, but...

It feels like I'm being haggled down, but I don't have any connections to sell this, nor the courage to do so. 

Plus, a hundred gold coins is a considerable sum.

He stole a glance.

A mountain of gold coins neatly piled on the tray.

*Gulp...*

Seeing that, there's no way he could refuse.

"P-Please..."

"Of course, Terrine."

"Yes. These are the hundred gold coins for the reward... Please make sure to count them carefully!"

Ah, yes.

It's quite a fortune. Even Terine's hands are trembling.

*Inhale, exhale, calm down...* Ah, there they are, all one hundred of them.

This isn't an amount the guild casually pays out. Even a single gold coin is a considerable sum...

That amounted to a total of 100 gold coins.

"Also, if you're interested in magic stones, you can buy them at a fair price... Would you like to buy them this time as well?"

"Yes, please."

Last time, one Magic Stone (Large) was worth five gold coins, but that was the guild's selling price under the trade-in system. 

If he bought them directly, he could get a better deal.

"Alright then... Here you go. This will be... um, 20 gold coins for one...:” 

“So, for all of them..."

Four times as much as yesterday, huh? 

But if you buy it at the store, it'll cost even more, they say…

"Here you go."

And with that, a hundred gold coins were returned, and five large magic stones inside a wooden box were presented.

"You used it yesterday too, didn't you? Absorbing that much magic essence in such a short period is dangerous, you know. It's best to avoid heavy usage in a short period if possible. ...If you don't heed the warning, I won't be responsible for the consequences."

Huh?

What will happen?

“It's going to burst.”

“Scary!!”

While sipping tea, Ms. Salazar casually says.

What's going to burst?!

Head? Stomach? Bladder? Emotions?! Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure?!

"…By the way, about the Skeleton General. You managed to defeat it quite well, didn't you?"

Well, why don't you ask yourself?

At the same time, Ms. Salazar scrutinizes the jawbone of the defeated skeleton, placed on the table.

"Uh, yes. Well... I couldn't have done it alone. I had reinforcements."

Twitch.

"Reinforcements? But, Klaus, weren't you planning to go solo in the dungeon?"

"Y-yes. I intended to explore the dungeon alone, but, by chance... there happened to be a passing intermediate adventurer who provided support."

Well, they didn't really have much of a chance to do anything.

If it weren't for her, there was a high chance Klaus would have encountered the Skeleton General alone in the depths of that graveyard after taking the Spirit Light Stone.

"Oh, I see. An intermediate adventurer happened to pass by, huh?"

Terrine, who had been glanced at briefly, trembled for a moment but quickly suppressed her emotions and closed her eyes.

"Yeah, well, coincidences like that do happen occasionally."

"Yes, it was just a random coincidence."

Because, seriously, it was!!

*Ufufufufufu.*

*Ahahahahahahaha.*

Both of them shared a dry laughter, hiding something within.

"Well then, that's settled! Please convert the other dropped items into cash as usual."

"Of course. By the way, considering the achievements you've accumulated, if you contribute a bit more, you might even be eligible for promotion to intermediate rank."

Saying that, Ms. Salazar assumed the demeanor of a guild master, smiling gracefully.

"I-I'm truly grateful... I will do my best."

"I'm expecting great things from you—"

With those words, Klaus left the guild master's office, bidding farewell to Ms. Salazar and Terrine.

*Thud...*

"Tierra."

"....Y-yes."

Silently, a girl emerged from the corner of the room.

It was that dark elf girl.

"──...What are you doing? Why were you seen?"

"I-I'm sorry... That man started behaving strangely after entering the mine, and when I followed him, a Skeleton Knight suddenly attacked us."

Saying so, Tierra lowered her ears and apologized meekly.

"Sigh... for something like that. I had high hopes because Terrine recommended you... Do you understand? I won't tolerate a second time."

"Y-yes!!"

It seemed she managed to defuse the situation for now.

However, there wouldn't be a second chance. After all, encountering Klaus twice in the hunting grounds for low-level adventurers, even if Klaus was oblivious, would raise suspicions.

To avoid that, she absolutely couldn't afford to be found again.

"Well... thanks to that, Klaus-san's life was saved, so I suppose there's a silver lining in this misfortune."

"Thank you! ─ However,"

Tierra suddenly persisted.

"What is it?"

"Um. I didn't defeat the Skeleton Knight."

"Huh? But Klaus said it was thanks to the reinforcements, meaning you, right?"

"W-well, that's not wrong... I mean,"

After hesitating for a moment, Tierra continued, 

"W-well, the truth is, it was quite formidable for a mid-level monster, and I was struggling... Then that man attacked and... in the end, I defeated it on my own."

She apologized once again.

However, Ms. Salazar, without paying attention to her apology, raised her head abruptly, her eyes wide open.

"W-wait, wait, wait a minute. A-are you serious?! Y-you defeated it?!"

"N-no, I was completely helpless... I'm sorry... It was just a Skeleton Knight, after all."

W-wait…

"Wait a minute. First of all, the premise is wrong. That was... No, what you definitely engaged with was the Skeleton General. It's a high-level monster, so struggling against it is only natural."

"What? No, I mean, it was Twilight Mine, you know? Even if there were Skeleton Knights, they shouldn't be... "

*Clunk.*

In front of Tierra, there lay the jawbone of the skeleton that Klaus had left as proof of his victory.

It looked like an ordinary bone, but...

"Tierra, there's no doubt this belongs to the Skeleton General. I can confirm it."

"T-that's impossible!! B-but,──ehhhh?!"

"Sigh... please, tell me the whole story."

A low-level adventurer had overwhelmed a high-level monster.

Klaus himself remained unaware of the significance of this event.

※ ※ ※

Today's results────.

～Amount of exchange～

Gold coins x 33

Silver coins x 1063

Copper coin x 45

~ Converted Items (magic stones) ~

Gold coins x 100 ⇒ Magic stone (large) x 5 Purchased

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